Category Archives: Education Reform

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.

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.

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!

There’s only so many wings you can pile on your plate at the Super Bowl party. There’s only so much trash you can squeeze into each $2 trash bag from the transfer station after the party. There’s only so much you can fit into a school year. We need to make choices.

We know the pattern in education. A new idea or intervention emerges from academia. We get excited, implement it (often without fidelity), disrupt everything, gradually lose interest, try to return to the status quo until the next big idea comes along. We cannot afford to repeat that pattern with regard to undoing systemic racism. The disruption is too great, and the stakes are too high.