Assessment
One way of changing education is to change how we assess learning.This isn't going to be a post about standards, but we need to start with them to get into the center of the discussion (this is not to...
View ArticleTrojan Horse
The LA Times had a piece over the weekend about Value Added Assessment as a way of measuring teacher success or failure.And this has sparked new posts (or links to older posts) debunking and critiquing...
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National Standards and Local Communities
The goal of state and national standards is laudable: ensure that every kid, anywhere in the States, gets an education of comparable content and quality. However, that idealism and good intent can get...
View ArticleIf We Outsource Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment, What's Left?
In the NY Times this weekend, they ran a story about parents in New York City schools boycotting field tests, or standardized tests written by Pearson that test what questions should go on the actual...
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The Common Core and 70 Percent Nonfiction
Common Core is getting a lot of buzz of late, but one element that has received scant attention is starting to draw notice: by grade 12, fully 70% of all reading should be nonfiction. Moreover, the...
View ArticleTalking About Textbooks
As we work on open content, I try and separate my notions of the textbook from my notions of the textbook industry.At its most basic, a textbook provides a starting point for the processes of learning....
View ArticleCommon Misconceptions Around Common Core
There's no getting around it. The Common Core standards bring out the crazy.Benjamin Reilly does a good job of collecting the crazy in one place, but his "alert" highlights a real issue: the amount of...
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Getting The Details With Common Core
On Wednesday, OPB ran one of the better stories I have heard within mainstream media on the Common Core standards; the piece was reported by Rob Manning. The piece focused on adoption within Oregon,...
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Questions On Data Collection and the Common Core
As mentioned in earlier posts, much confusion exists around the Common Core standards. There is also some full throated paranoia mongering confusion about the requirements of data collection and the...
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If We Need Data, Who Collects It?
Getting data on how people learn and how they can be supported while learning is a worthwhile goal.However, collecting data takes time, and the means by which these data points will be collected and...
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Parent Information Night On The Common Core
Last night, on Tuesday, June 12th, I attended what was called a "Parent's Academy" on the in-progress Common Core rollout. The event was put on by Portland Public Schools. The goal of the event was...
View ArticleHow Common Core Should Be Rolled Out
After attending the Portland Public Schools Common Core parent event, I've been thinking about the event, the people tasked to staff it, and the split between the Common Core standards, what our kids...
View ArticleBullying: One Kid Talking To Another About Not Taking A Test
While collecting up my thoughts after the Portland Public Schools Common Core event last week, I came across this set of talking points written by the district "as a support to principals and teachers...
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If A Test Falls In A Classroom
It is difficult to keep up with the amount of misinformation spewed on a regular basis about the Common Core standards. The conversation is complicated because, depending on who is talking, the words...
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