Schools short of money, but no talk of reducing testing
Sent to Education Week, August 24, 2011
Schools are "facing tough budget choices" (August 24) and cutting back on teaching positions, tutors, support staff, summer programs, and extracurricular activities. According to an ASCD survey (SmartBrief poll, 2011-12), 78% of respondents said that they are "experiencing a lack of funding and it has affected student learning.
Unmentioned in the Ed Week article is the fact that at the same time money is so short, we are keeping a number of useless tests and actually increasing testing to astonishing levels, in the face of empirical evidence showing that these tests do not increase student achievement
A clear example of a current useless test is the High School Exit Exam used in many states. Studies consistently show that high school exit exams do not lead to more college attendance, increased student
Is a dog a reader's best friend? No.
Sent to the News-Sentinel (Indiana), August 24
Do children improve in reading when they read out-loud to dogs? ("Why a dog may be a young reader's best friend," August 21). A close look at the Tufts study reported in the News-Sentinel shows that the children didn't take a reading test: The test they took measured how many words they could pronounce correctly in one minute. This isn't reading. Reading means understanding what is on the page.
Even if we accept the test as legitimate, the improvement was tiny, about four words per minute, according to