Speaking glibly against high-stakes testing is easy but their effects are like residual pesticides. They linger in systems long after their application. The ideas that prompted their widespread use persist even among those who might disavow over-testing. Sometimes detection of toxic testing residuals can be tricky. Standing in front […]
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Democrats: There Are Better Choices Than School Choice to Improve Education
Over the next year we can expect to hear a lot from Republican presidential candidates about school choice, the word of choice to marshal political support to expand the number charter schools and vouchers for private schools. Democrats, except maybe the governor of New York, have traditionally opposed public funding for vouchers. However, many have […]
What’s the purpose of education in the 21st century?
Debate about the purposes of education never seems to end. Should young people become educated to get prepared to enter the workforce, or should the purpose of education be focused more on social, academic, cultural and intellectual development so that students can grow up to be engaged citizens? … But it doesn’t have to be either-or. […]
What If We Approached Testing This Way?
Frequent high-stakes testing and its misuse for teacher evaluation are poisoning the assessment waters. Assessment should not be the goal of learning. The word “assessment” should not make students, teachers, administrators and parents cringe. It does not have to be this way. For students and their teachers the most effective use of assessment is to guide […]
US Education, 2012: The Age of Wisdom and Foolishness
Test score “plunges” are in the news, dampening schools’ traditional first-day optimism just as they reopen after the summer break. Charles Dickens’ opening lines in a Tale of Two Cities seem an especially apt, if ahistorical, descriptor of the current state of education in the United States. The views expressed in this article are mine […]
Why Are Education Innovations Always Slip Slidin’ Away
Why are Education Innovations Always Slip Slidin’ Away? Slip slidin’ away Slip slidin’ away You know the nearer your destination The more you’re slip slidin’ away- Paul Simon If market-force strategies won’t work, what will? How can we generate innovations that successfully address persistent achievement gaps? How do we get to depth, dispersal and institutionalization…. innovations […]
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