The new Answer Sheet
If The Answer Sheet looks different than it did yesterday, you are right. We’ve moved to a new publishing platform, which, hopefully, will make it easier for you to read and see more written and multimedia material. Engaging in an online discussion should be simpler too. At least that’s the hope.
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Two important points about test-based accountability
This post is an excellent look at the consequences to society of using standardized tests scores to evaluate students and educators. It was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. , and it originallyappeared on the institute’s blog.
By Matthew Di Carlo
I have two points to make. The first is something that I think everyone knows: Educational outcomes, such as graduation and test scores, are signals of or proxies for the traits that lead to success in life, not the cause of that success.
For example, it is well-documented that high school graduates earn more, on average, than non-graduates. Thus, one often hears arguments that increasing graduation rates will drastically improve students’ future prospects, and the performance of the economy overall. Well, not exactly.
The piece of paper, of course, only goes so far. Rather, the benefits of graduation arise
Beating ‘Compliance Acquiescence Disorder’ in school
The first piece I published by David Bernstein, in which he talked about how schools fail kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, obviously tapped a nerve out there because it got a lot of response. Here’s another post from Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., and has two sons, ages 7 and 15, who have ADHD.
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