While writing about large-scale assessment over the past month, the lyrics to Grace Slick’s White Rabbit grew louder and louder in the back of my head. I’m not certain, but it’s probably not a good sign when pondering the past, present, and future of your field evokes a 1960s psychedelic rock anthem.
Category Archives: Education Reform
The Fallout & The Future of State Testing
As state officials in Massachusetts struggle to deal with the fallout surround the end of the MCAS graduation requirement and the rest of us try to envision the future of state testing, it’s critical that we have a clear understanding of where we are, how we got here, and where we want to go.
Farewell, MCAS Graduation Requirement, and We Thank You
Last week, a ballot referendum in Massachusetts ended the test-based MCAS graduation requirement. While remembering what went into making that requirement a reality in 2001 and kept it in place for so long, I have to wonder what comes next and whether this will become a case of be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
All Kids Can Learn. Therefore, …
You spend all summer thinking about what to write for blog post #300 and then spur of the moment, ripped from the headlines post #299 becomes your 6th most read post all-time (#3 not TS or NAEP related). It’s absurd, but we embrace it and we move on.
Because it’s a new school year and all around me I see and hear “All kids can learn!” But what does that phrase really mean?
Learning Loss or Learning Correction?
As we begin a new school year, student achievement still falls short of pre-pandemic levels. How worried should we be about that lost learning? How much of the “shortfall” is the result of intentional decisions? How much reflects a change in direction? Test scores alone cannot answer those questions.
We’ve Been Rotten To The Core
The conventional wisdom appears to be that educating the whole child is a new concept. That we’ve always focused on the 3 R’s. But that is not true. We may not have been very good at it, but until recently, we always had a more holistic view of what constituted the common core of public education in the United States.
Completing The Recipe For State Standards
Developing state content and achievement standards was a good idea, but to this point that idea is only half-baked. State standards will only reach their full potential for guiding instruction and student learning when we fill in the critical missing piece.
When Will They Ever Learn?
I spent a morning this week taking standardized Reading, Writing, and Mathematics tests. First takeaway, standardized tests are not meant for 65-year-olds (as long as I can still draw the clock face). Why did I put myself through that exercise? It’s all for the blog.
The Personalization Paradox
On the surface, standardization seems to be the antithesis of personalization. The current attitude toward standardized tests and testing bears that out. But if we look below the surface, we might reach a very different conclusion.
Death By A Thousand Arrows
Theory of Action for Educational Assessment and Accountability: A concept that sounds good on paper until you see a theory of action on paper. Generally not much actionable action and the theory tends to be theoretical. But lots of arrows!
Embrace the Absurd 