CURMUDGUCATION: David Coleman's Master Plan

CURMUDGUCATION: David Coleman's Master Plan:

David Coleman's Master Plan

David Coleman, the architect of the Common Core and current head of the College Board, has spoken many times about what the long view of education reform would be. One frequently quoted speech was his keynote address at the Institute for Leadership Senior Leadership Meeting in December of 2011.

The seventy-minute presentation is a lot to watch, but I recently stumbled over a transcript of the whole mess, hosted online by the nice folks at Truth in Education. This was Coleman in 2011 delivering a speech entitled "What Must Be Done in the Next Two Years" at a time before reformsters had learned to be more careful about concealing the details of what they had in mind. The transcript is twenty-six pages long, so we're just going to skip through highlights.

The Testing Smoking Gun

It was Lauren who propounded the great rule that I think is a statement of reality, though not a pretty one, which is teachers will teach towards the test. There is no force strong enough on this earth to prevent that. There is no amount of hand-waving, there's no amount of saying, “They teach to the standards, not the test; we don't do that here.” Whatever. The truth is and if I misrepresent you, you are welcome to take the mic back. But the truth is teachers do. Tests exert an enormous effect on instructional practice,direct and indirect, and it's hence our obligation to make tests that are worthy of that kind of attention. It is in my judgment the single most important work we have to do over the next two years to ensure that that is so, period. So when you ask me, “What do we have to do over the next years?” we gotta do that. If we do anything else over the next two years and don't do that, we are stupid and shall be betrayed again by shallow tests that demean the CURMUDGUCATION: David Coleman's Master Plan:

ICYMI: This Week's Recommendations

Here are just a few of the articles this week that deserve your time and attention!

Common Core "Results" Aren't Actually Test Scores 

Bernie Horn provides a great explanation-- clear, simple, and comprehensible to civilians-- about why the results you read in the paper aren't what you think they are.

America's Teaching Force by the Numbers 

I can't say that Laura McKenna hit it completely out of the park, but as mainstream media outlet coverage of the teacher "shortage" goes, this is not bad. 

Educating Governor Kasich

New-to-me blogger Abby White comes from Ohio, and she has some thoughts about John Kasich and his approach to education. 

Delivery Man

I used this old piece from the Economist earlier this week, but it's a particular direct but brief profile of Sir Michael Barber, the big cheese at Pearson. 

Hansen Was Angry

Ohio newspapers have been ploughing through pages of newly-released documents dealing with Ohio's messed-up department of education. This is just one example of the shenanigans, but all of the coverage is worth folowing.

New Teachers Are Educated, Not Trained 

Russ Walsh with a pointed reminder that puppies are trained, and teachers are not. Also, a fine list of what the basic elements of a good teacher education program would be.

ICYMI: This Week's Recommendations