Education Reform – Embrace the Absurd

Bye-bye Miss American Pie

And the three men I admire most The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died Will historians and songwriters look back on July 14, 2022 as the day that standards-based Education Reform died? And is this how it ends, not with the bangContinue reading “Bye-bye Miss American Pie”

10,000 Hours

The so-called “Ten-Thousand Hour Rule” became popularized after the 2008 publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success. By popularized, of course, I mean that the discussion of the relationship between success and 10,000 hours of preparation presented by Gladwell was simplified and bastardized so that it could be deliberately misapplied when presented toContinue reading “10,000 Hours”

250,000 Tubas!

Not since 76 trombones led the big parade have a bunch of brass instruments caused this much buzz – or perhaps it would be more fitting to say caused this much oom-pah. For you see, at the core of the Biden-Harris Administration National Effort to Support Student Success is a call to action to provideContinue reading “250,000 Tubas!”

We Swallowed a Fly

State Testing Edition I know of a state that started to test I don’t why they started to test Soon followed by the rest. First, the state tested at 4, 8, and 10 Kids filled in the bubbles and picked up a pen Their essays proved direct writing was best But I don’t why theContinue reading “We Swallowed a Fly”

Are You My Accountability System?

The new commissioner glided confidently across the room and took her spot, perched at the head of the table. Looking up at her were the young, eager faces of her newly assembled cabinet. All so very excited to be there. Each one ready to do their part to improve student learning – no, to improveContinue reading “Are You My Accountability System?”

In The Interim

All signs indicate that we are entering a time of transition for large-scale state testing. Consensus on the need to reform state testing may be surpassed only by widespread agreement on the need to reinvent and reimagine public education in the United States. I hesitate to add the modifier K-12 or P-14 to state testingContinue reading “In The Interim”

Testonyms

In elementary school, first I learned about synonyms and antonyms. Synonym – Same; Antonym – Opposite; Got it. And synonym and antonym are such cool words – “and sometimes y.” It got a little more complicated with homonyms, which might be homophones (pronounced the same, differ in meaning or spelling), homographs (spelled the same, differContinue reading “Testonyms”

Those Crazy, Hazy, Lazy Days of Testing

Lived through those crazy, hazy, lazy days of testing Those days of W, Obama, and peers. Thrived on those crazy, hazy, lazy days of testing We thought state testing would always be here. [Fast forward through 20 years or so with carefree, upbeat verses] [End with one gloomier verse, maintain the upbeat tempo but aContinue reading “Those Crazy, Hazy, Lazy Days of Testing”

Why are Vertical Scales So Horizontal?

What images come to mind when you hear the word vertical? Is it the towering buildings that surround you when you attend a conference in New York City or Chicago? Is it your favorite ski run in Utah? Snowboarders soaring above the halfpipe a few months ago at the Olympics. Maybe that scene from TheContinue reading “Why are Vertical Scales So Horizontal?”

Toward What End

I owe the 1990s an apology. No, not for canceling performance events as a tool in large-scale testing; leaving us vulnerable to No Child Left Behind and the advocates of selected-response tests. I’m not quite over that yet. We can work through those issues in a later post. What I need to apologize for todayContinue reading “Toward What End”