The problem with Pearson-designed tests that threatens thousands of scores
I’ve written about some of the problems with new standardized tests given to students in New York — including mistakes with scoring for gifted and talented programs, concerns about product placement in test questions and badly written questions and possible answers — but here is a piece on a different issue surrounding the exams and the company that designed them, Pearson. This was written by Kathleen Porter-Magee is a Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the editor of the Common Core Watch blog, where this post first appeared. Previously, she served as a middle school and high school teacher and as the founding curriculum and professional development director for Achievement First, a network of public charter schools. She can be found on Twitter at @kportermagee.
By Kathleen Porter-Magee
It’s testing season in New York, which can mean only one thing: It’s open season on
They made him take the test
cfnews13.com
Nobody stopped it.
Nobody in Florida with the power to do so stopped the state from forcing a 9-year-old boy named Michael, who was born with a brain stem but not a complete brain, from taking an alternative version of the standardized Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
He is blind and he can’t talk, nor can he understand basic information, but, yes, Michael had to “take” the test.
I wrote about Michael recently when it became news that he was going to have to take the test. For those who didn’t see that post, here’s some background: Michael, shortly after birth, came into the care of a woman named Judy Harris who owns and operates an Orlando care facility for children called the Russell House. The facility is under school board jurisdiction and, therefore, is subject to the same rules and regulations as other schools, including the requirement that every child must take some version of the FCAT.
A News 13 story reported that the state provided a teacher to work with Michael twice a week for an hour, but his ability to comprehend is beyond extremely limited. News 13
Eighteen myths about education
Eighteen myths about education
Here’s an infographic about some myths about education, from InformED, a blog by Open Colleges, an online education provider based in Sydney, Australia. An Infographic by Open Colleges 