Dear Diane, "To the extent that we can teach students to seek evidence and rational explanations, we will reduce magical thinking and encourage the application of reason and intelligence." —Diane Ravitch, Bridging Differences, Sept. 29 We agree! That's my "core." We also agree that Arne Dun... Read Full Post >
Alternate title: What Does the Best and Wisest Parent Want? Dear Deborah, I am glad to see that you are trying to draw us back to the issues where we have genuine differences! You and I agree that testing and accountability—as currently practiced under NCLB—have become enemies of good... Read Full Post >
The U.S. Department of Education needs to permit direct communication between state education officials and reviewers during the peer review process for state tests, a report by the General Accountability Office concludes. Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, We can go on forever about why "testing as we know it" cannot lead to becoming a well-educated people. We agree, we need to invent a road test—which might in some cases look like AP exams. Or, it might look like the examination system used at Central Park East Secondary School or ... Read Full Post >
Dear Deborah, Over the past week, you and I have each weighed in on the defects of testing. You have been arguing for many years that standardized testing is replete with flaws. I have only recently recognized the ways in which pressure to raise scores, mainly prompted by NCLB, has corrupted testin... Read Full Post >
State officials approval a detailed process for handling complaints about teaching materials in evolution-related lessons. Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, Yes, the ways in which standardized bubble-in tests are open to abuse are rampant—and gaming of test scores has increasingly important repercussions. In the long run it leads to an increasingly toxic education in the name of “standards.” I urge you to read the two chapters in ... Read Full Post >
The College Board publishes standards for college-readiness in science—a follow-up to its language arts, math, and statistics standards. Read Full Post >
Editor's note: See author's "P.S." added since entry was first published. I will have to delay a bit before I can get to the book you recommended. When I finished "Daniel Deronda," I immediately plunged into Robert Caro's wonderful biography of Robert Moses, "The Power Broker," which I am enjoying... Read Full Post >
A major state tech group objects to proposed NAEP standards. Read Full Post >
