"No Excuses" Is Destroying Lives in the UK
Leonie Haimson twitter-points to an incredibly disturbing report from The Prince's Trust, a British charity set up by Prince Charles* to help disadvantaged young people in the UK. By their account, giving out lots of bad grades - just like New York State recently did, with SecEd Arne Duncan's hearty approval - is destroying many young British lives: Key findings > One in six young people (18 pe
NY State Tests: Misguided Mixing of Norms and Criteria
Before I go any further, I think I need to regroup. Most of you probably have a good familiarity with what I'm going to discuss; however, I think it may be helpful to step back for a moment and think about some of the basics before we proceed. I know it will be helpful to me. When we last left our discussion of the crashing of New York State's test scores, I was explaining how NYSED and its commi
AUG 10
Scoring NY Tests With the Triple Lindy!
One of my guilty pleasures is screwball comedies, and one of my favorites stars the great Rodney Dangerfield: Back To School. In the climatic scene of the movie, Rodney wins the big diving meet ("Hey gang, forget about the football game; let's get pumped for the big diving meet!") by flawlessly executing a dive that defies all known laws of physics: the Triple Lindy! What makes the Triple Lindy
AUG 09
@NJEA Tenure Proposal Is Working!
Let me be the very first to congratulate the NJEA, New Jersey's largest teachers union, on their policy triumph! Jersey City public-school teachers have not fared well under the state’s tenure overhaul, which Gov. Chris Christie signed into law one year ago this week. Under the new rules, which allow an arbitrator instead of a judge to make an essentially final decision on whether a tenured t
"College AND Career Ready": A Useless, Phony Phrase
According to the 2011 American Community Survey from the Census Bureau, 32.9 percent of New Yorkers (state, not city) 25 or older had at least a bachelor's degree. On the new,"more realistic" test scores released for New York State this week, 31 percent of students demonstrated "proficiency." Coincidence? Perhaps, but it's got me thinking about something that's bothered me for a while... It's i