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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

This Week In Education: Thompson: "Naive" Use Of Test Scores In DC & Elsewhere

This Week In Education: Thompson: "Naive" Use Of Test Scores In DC & Elsewhere

Thompson: "Naive" Use Of Test Scores In DC & Elsewhere

TestThe Washington Post’s award-winning Bill Turque notes the irony of the release of the National Research Council’s report on the "naive" use of test scores in the D.C. schools with the start of the district’s official test prep season. As the NRC explains, Michelle Rhee’s teach-to-the-test regime only produced modest increases in test scores. Motivated by last year’s drop in scores, however, some schools have already abandoned the teaching of science and social studies as they focus on specific bubble-in skills. Some teachers have been instructed to focus on ten students who are within seven points of advancing to a higher