Rank, RANK amateurism from #PARCC tools and #commoncore
I’ve commented on this previously. And one more here. I had forwarded to me an email message about PARCC releasing some kind of planning tools to get ready for the big assessments.
I decided to examine the prototypes again to see if there was anything different. They’re the SAME things they released in November when I first looked at them. The exact same.
But here’s what I want to emphasize, and this is REALLY important, so read carefully. This is costing billions of dollars. These are supposedly professionals with big budgets. And they give us this as proof of how awesome
I decided to examine the prototypes again to see if there was anything different. They’re the SAME things they released in November when I first looked at them. The exact same.
But here’s what I want to emphasize, and this is REALLY important, so read carefully. This is costing billions of dollars. These are supposedly professionals with big budgets. And they give us this as proof of how awesome
The crowd at #SXSWedu and #edtech could ultimately learn from this.
A great article from the NYT on Sunday comes at a pretty good time, given the passing of SXSW in Austin, TX these last few days. I was, of course, not in Texas, but I followed conversations and happenings online related to education, or the hashtag #SXSWedu. You get the impression that a lot of tech gurus descended upon the event to sell their wares as the greatest solution for public education. From the NYT article:
Such digital humanitarianism aims to generate good will on the outside and boost morale on the inside. After all, saving the world might be a price worth paying for destroying everyone’s privacy,
The Algebra of the Market: “Equality” Does Not Equal “Equity”
Let’s start with a graphic and Question 1: Do Student X and Student Y below have EQUAL opportunities to move the boulder?
The answer is obvious, “Yes.”
Now, let’s go one step further and consider this: In the free market (both the U.S. economy and the “free market” of ideas within schools), capital (economic, social, linguistic, connectedness, etc.) moves that market.
Question 2: Are the equal opportunities to move the boulder of the free market EQUITABLE for Student X and Student Y?
The answer is obvious, “No.”
Student X has the lever of privilege that includes his home and community, but also access to challenging courses and the best and most experienced teachers once in school. None of these advantages for Student X
The answer is obvious, “Yes.”
Now, let’s go one step further and consider this: In the free market (both the U.S. economy and the “free market” of ideas within schools), capital (economic, social, linguistic, connectedness, etc.) moves that market.
Question 2: Are the equal opportunities to move the boulder of the free market EQUITABLE for Student X and Student Y?
The answer is obvious, “No.”
Student X has the lever of privilege that includes his home and community, but also access to challenging courses and the best and most experienced teachers once in school. None of these advantages for Student X
