CNN Interview: What They Dropped Out
I just watched my interview with Randi Kaye.
I am happy to say that the editors clipped out her opening question, in which she tried to use NAEP scale scores as “grades” for the U.S., , which they are not.
A scale is a trend line. It is better to see scores go up than down. The scale itself is an artificial construct (as all scales are). It is not aligned with any standards. You can’t say that a 300 is good or bad, you can only say that it is higher than 350 and lower than 400.
When scale scores go up, it is usually only by a few points. Depending on many factors, a 1-point gain may be statistically significant–or not.
Randi Kaye asserted at the opening of our interview that a scale of 250 was “proof” that U.S. education was
I am happy to say that the editors clipped out her opening question, in which she tried to use NAEP scale scores as “grades” for the U.S., , which they are not.
A scale is a trend line. It is better to see scores go up than down. The scale itself is an artificial construct (as all scales are). It is not aligned with any standards. You can’t say that a 300 is good or bad, you can only say that it is higher than 350 and lower than 400.
When scale scores go up, it is usually only by a few points. Depending on many factors, a 1-point gain may be statistically significant–or not.
Randi Kaye asserted at the opening of our interview that a scale of 250 was “proof” that U.S. education was
A Humanity-Biased Educator in Australia Blasts PISA
I regularly read the posts from Phil Cullen in Australia, which he calls “The Treehorn Express.” Here is one of his best.
You will notice that he includes a link to Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet, showing how ideas travel fast around the world.
NAPLAN is the Australian national assessment program of
You will notice that he includes a link to Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet, showing how ideas travel fast around the world.
NAPLAN is the Australian national assessment program of
Romney’s Education Agenda
I read Romney’s education agenda carefully.
You should do the same.
It’s pro-privatization.
It repeats the myth of “failing” public schools.
There is not a good word in it for public education.
Romney is avid for charter schools and vouchers.
Here is the analysis of his agenda that I wrote for the New York Review of Books.
You should do the same.
It’s pro-privatization.
It repeats the myth of “failing” public schools.
There is not a good word in it for public education.
Romney is avid for charter schools and vouchers.
Here is the analysis of his agenda that I wrote for the New York Review of Books.
Dilemmas of School Choice
Karen Francisco writes about education for the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Whenever I see her work, I wish I lived in Fort Wayne, so I could see everything she writes. She is one of our most thoughtful commentators on the subject of education.
In this article, she ponders the complexity of school choice.
What happens when parents want their children to go to a school even though it has low scores?
What should public officials do? What are the tradeoffs between accountability and choice?
In this article, she ponders the complexity of school choice.
What happens when parents want their children to go to a school even though it has low scores?
What should public officials do? What are the tradeoffs between accountability and choice?
In Louisiana, Private Schools Can Get an F and Public $$$
The following post was written by a teacher in Louisiana who is a former journalist. Private schools that accept vouchers can score an F with no accountability. Students may enroll in a private school that is far lower-performing than their own public school, and the private school gets $8,000 of public money:
Academically Unacceptable? Not If It’s A Private School.
Nobody wants a doctor who scored an F in medical school. Nobody wants a plumber who scored an F in training courses.
Conventional wisdom holds that nobody wants her kid to attend a school that scores an F.
But what about a private school that scores an F? According to the state of Louisiana, private schools that score an F