Data-Driven Common Core Does Not Compute
More and more it feels like the education leaders who are tasked with overseeing the data-driven Common Core implementation and assessment policies are “Lost in Space” and their data “does not compute”. During the school year 100% of teachers are expected to “unpack” the standards, differentiate instruction, and use collaborative protocols and individualized “scaffolding” to accommodate diverse s
Barriers To Learning
Inside the classroom, the teacher has the greatest impact on student performance. It is also true that parents are the most influential teacher in a child’s life, and learning that doesn’t occur outside the classroom can have a much greater impact on student achievement, than what transpires inside the classroom… “Decades of research have shown the staggering societal costs of children in poverty.
JUL 17
Hard Skills Are Soft Skills Dependent
“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” ~ Daniel Goleman Common Core emphasis on a narrow and shallow set of testable hard skills rather than collaborative learning activi
Stress Impacts Student Performance
Decades of research and studies have documented the impact of stress on cognitive performance such as critical thinking, judgment, and decision-making skills. The ability to concentrate, follow directions, process new information, and make good decisions are all greatly diminished and impaired by stress. The high level of stress induced by the high stakes consequences of standardized tests has in
Climbing Rungless Ladders
Common Core definition of rigor; learning activities that cultivate student grit, climbing a rungless ladder… Nearly 1 in 4 children in America are currently living in poverty, and one would expect that a data-driven campaign to raise academic achievement in America would take into account this staggering figure. The Ed Department awarded Race To The Top funds to assist states that adopted the Com
JUL 16
College and Career Readiness: A Data Dilemma
The Common Core will not be able to deliver on the “promise” of data-driven instruction if the data used to inform instructional strategies and evaluate student achievement, is not valid or reliable. It is dishonest and dispiriting to tell any student, regardless of ability or disability, that he or she is not “ready” for college based on a GPA, standardized test score, or some other data point.
JUL 15
Reading fiction improves college and career readiness
From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. ~ Helen Hayes Common Core enthusiasts CLAIM that students need to read much more nonfiction and informational text if they are to be ready for college and careers. Must not have read the following informational texts that cite research and EVIDENCE s