Smarter Balance (Common Core) Pilot Testing Cancelled at Ballard; Who Else?
It's a busy education news day but this is important news.The testing consortium for Common Core assessments that Washington State belongs to -Smarter Balance - announced today that they need a one-week delay for the field test. The testing window was to start on Tuesday, the 18th.I have not found out yet how many Seattle schools were participating (I only knew of Hale and Ballard) but the distric
New York Times Story on Later Starts for High School
The story even throws in a nod to efforts here in Seattle. (Update on SPS and this issue to come.)The takeaway?“Even schools with limited resources can make this one policy change with what appears to be benefits for their students,” Dr. Miller said. And who is getting the most traction? A civic-minded (and tired) Missouri teen named Jilly Dos Santos. Jilly Dos Santos really did try to get to sc
Legislatively Speaking
Well, that teacher evaluation law change - the one Arne Duncan was using as something of a blackmail stick - went down with a whimper, not a bang. I attribute this to a couple of things. One, there seemed to be confusion about what the money was for and how much any district actually used (and therefore might lose). Two, Duncan had not given any guarantee for the waiver if the law got changed. T
Friday Open Thread
The Florida legislature will be considering a bill to meet grad requirements for high school students by substituting computer science for ...PE. Yes, that makes sense with childhood obesity. The rates of childhood obesity have leveled off but this doesn't seem to make sense. I would think allowing anyone in a sport to not take PE but high school PE is a way to teach kids about the importance o
3-13-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: "Redshirting" KindergartnersFrom Ed Week:The youngest kindergarteners in any class are about five times more likely to be retained in school compared to their older peers, a new study states.Moreover, educators don't tend to modify their teaching to include a variety of age groups present in kindergartens—but they should make such accommodations, wrote Fr