"I won't threaten you, but I expect much of you." How many of our students and our teachers confidently feel that this expresses the culture of their schools? I only wish that all education, at every level, really were characterized by unanxious expectations--high expectations requiring vigorous and appropriately rigorous engagement accompanied by respect, compassion, and humanity. Read Full Post >
When I hear the term "whole child" these days that I'm not always sure that my understanding--and I'll make a claim to including everything from kids' very individual brains and hearts and bodies to their connections with family, community, and tradition--is quite what others have in mind. I hope it is, but somehow I can't equate an emphasis merely on the detailed enumerations of standards represented by the Common Core or multiple-choice tests (and teaching geared toward them) with any reasonably whole children I know. Read Full Post >
As a society we have the know-how to teach every kid well. We have the wealth to create schools in which every student is known, valued, and educated. Know-how and wealth. What's missing, of course, is the will. Read Full Post >
Thousands of Michigan students participated in a pilot program that administered an online version of the social studies portion of the state's standardized test. Read Full Post >
I believe we're in a "golden age" with the Common Core State Standards. It's certainly a golden age for curriculum publishers, who can now sell the same materials in 45 states, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the classroom. The standards are being rolled out in distric... Read Full Post >
I'm often surprised when teachers are surprised when their students perform poorly on tests. Sure there are kids whose scores belie their skills, such as those who have test anxiety or had a bad day or took the test on an empty stomach. For the most part, though, students' performance on tests is pr... Read Full Post >
Are policymakers lost in the haze or throwing up a smoke screen with sex education and health testing in DC? Read Full Post >
We've been "data driven" for at least a decade in education, with many a fortune made on assessment training for educators. I have no problem with using data to inform instruction, but I am starting to think we've gone too far in demanding that instruction be driven by data. Collecting data is not ... Read Full Post >
@eduleadership In the wake of several major cheating scandals, most notably Atlanta's, several prominent voices, including Yong Zhao and Diane Ravitch, seem to be calling for an end to standardized testing. It's easy to understand why. In what future generations will cite as a textbook case of Cam... Read Full Post >
@eduleadership It's DC all over again. EdWeek's Christina Samuels writes on the District Dossier blog: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published on its website the entire 400-page state report that alleges that principals and teachers changed student answers on state tests in order to get high... Read Full Post >
