Anti-testing movement growing, finding success around country
A new report on growing resistance to high-stakes standardized testing around the country finds that the movement is growing and meeting some success in numerous states where officials have decided to cut back on the numbers of tests students must take and/or the consequences for students and educators. The report, titled “Testing Reform Victories: The […]
Why kids should choose their own books to read in school
At one time many public schools gave students time to read books of their own choosing, an activity based on the common-sense theory that kids will read what interests them, and that kids who can choose what they read will learn to enjoying reading, and, hence, read more. Unfortunately, many schools no longer let […]
Interactive science classes benefit black, first-generation college students, study finds
A new study about college-level science shows that all students do much better when traditional lecture classes are made interactive — but those most helped are first-generation and black students. The study — titled “Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work?” — looked at data from six semesters of large science lecture […]
‘We must push back against the misguided and dangerous belief that a new generation of teachers can emerge spontaneously’
The Urban Teacher Education Consortium is a national consortium of teacher educators who are dedicated to development strong preparation programs for cities across the country. Members of the consortium have just released a position paper on the training of teachers, releasing it at a time of “encroaching dehumanization and disempowerment of both teachers and their […]
9-7-14 Answer Sheet
Answer Sheet: Does holding kids back a year help them academically? No. But schools still do it.It may seem to make sense to hold back for a year a student who can’t read well but a mountain of research shows that it doesn’t actually help. Unfortunately, school reformers don’t seem to care what the research says. Here to discuss this is Paul Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman Un