Education Reform – Embrace the Absurd

To Dreaming Things That Never Were

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw The quote above is from Shaw’s play, or collection of plays, Back to Methuselah. I’ve read that the full play covers the time period from Adam and Eve in theContinue reading “To Dreaming Things That Never Were”

Pitch Clocks, State Tests, Taxes, & Tolls

Phew! We’ve made it through the first week of the pitch clock era in major league baseball. A clock was inserted into our beloved game and the world didn’t come to an end. Baseball still retains the critical attributes that differentiate it from other sports and make it so special. (Frankly, I was more concernedContinue reading “Pitch Clocks, State Tests, Taxes, & Tolls”

It’s Time We Talk About Seat Time

Take a seat. We need to talk. The term seat time literally refers to the minimum amount of instructional time, or teacher-student contact time, schools are required to provide. As with most compliance regulations, the minimum often is also the maximum. There is variation by state, but between 5-6 hours per day for approximately 180 days,Continue reading “It’s Time We Talk About Seat Time”

What Might Have Been

Spring 2023! For eight years, we have awaited patiently, more or less, its arrival. This was the year that we would finally learn whether the kids whom we labelled as “on track to college-and-career readiness” year after year would actually be classified as college-and-career ready when it came time to take that final test. ThoseContinue reading “What Might Have Been”

Do I See What You See?

Perhaps it’s due to a disconnect between what’s assessed on the state test and what goes on in the school. Perhaps it’s just perspective. One group looking down at the state test results and the other group looking up. Whatever the reason, more than two decades into the NCLB era of assessment and accountability, itContinue reading “Do I See What You See?”

Hammer Time!

We need to recognize once and for all that standardized tests work best when they serve as a flashlight on what works and what needs our attention – not as hammers to drive the outcomes we want in education from the top down, often pointing fingers to those with greater needs and less resources. – Secretary ofContinue reading “Hammer Time!”

Education is a Matter of the Heart

On January 31st, we celebrate the feast day of St. John Bosco, whose words, Remember, Education is a Matter of the Heart, are a credo of educators around the world. Don Bosco, as he was known, was a nineteenth century Italian priest who dedicated his life to the education of young people, particularly those living in poverty.Continue reading “Education is a Matter of the Heart”

That Ragged Old Item

Each year they arrive ready to change the game Developers and psychometricians with freshly minted degrees As eager to disrupt as we were eager to please. So, I wasn’t surprised when the bold one exclaimed with disdain, I remember that sandwich cut into six slices! Students deserve better items, no wonder we’re in crisis! IContinue reading “That Ragged Old Item”

Reading Revisited

The Reading Wars are over. While most of us were lost in the chaos of the pandemic, the political circus of the last five years, and the endings and beginnings of real wars around the world, a victor in the long and often bitter Reading Wars emerged cloaked in the mantle of science – theContinue reading “Reading Revisited”

The Most Important Question

In states across the country, lots of questions are being generated as state policymakers and local educators pore over results from the Spring 2022 state tests in English language arts, mathematics, and science. More often than not, however, the single most important question of all is not asked directly. At the district and school level:Continue reading “The Most Important Question”