CURMUDGUCATION: Metrics and Behaviorism

CURMUDGUCATION: Metrics and Behaviorism:

Metrics and Behaviorism

 Mark Garrison is a helluva guy. He lists scholar, activist, evaluator and artist as his businesses, and lists two books and three albums among his achievements. He has clearly put a whole lot of thought into the current state of education policy, with a particular sharp eye for the problems of Trying To Measure Stuff. Garrison says many things I agree with, but he says it all smarter.


In "Metric Morality," Garrison addresses the issue of just what can be measured, and why the current educational measurements are doomed to fail. I love this stuff, because it cuts to why the whole concept of educational metrics is, as he puts it, "fraudulent."

"They confound properties of individuals, individual schools and individual school systems with the relations those individuals, individual schools and individual school systems have with their social contexts." In other words, they talk about qualities like "wetness" as being properties of the individual and not as they are related to whether one is standing inside, under an umbrella, or outside naked in a monsoon.

They "follow the long discredited practice of defining the object of measurement 'operationally'; that is, things and phenomena are defined by how they are 'measured'." Garrison's example is perfect-- the definition of "intelligence" is the ability to do well on an intelligence test. Yay, tautology.

They use the "flawed definition" of measurement which is the process of assigning numbers CURMUDGUCATION: Metrics and Behaviorism:

The College Board Botches Its Re-Promised, January 7th, 2016, PSAT Score Delivery | deutsch29

The College Board Botches Its Re-Promised, January 7th, 2016, PSAT Score Delivery | deutsch29:

The College Board Botches Its Re-Promised, January 7th, 2016, PSAT Score Delivery

On December 15, 2015, I wrote a post about The College Board’s delayed reporting of October 2015 PSAT scores. I reposted the piece on Huffington Post on December 21, 2015.  Below is an excerpt:

According to Nancy Griesemer of the Examiner, school counselors were told that the PSAT scores would be available by mid-December. This is in keeping with the College Board’s information for educators, which tells educators to expect online PSAT results “around two months after the test”:

In the past, students’ PSAT/NMSQT paper score reports were received by schools approximately two months after the test. As we roll out the redesigned PSAT/NMSQT during the 2015-16 school year, the paper score reports will not be received until approximately three months after the test. We will, however, release results online around two months after the test. Results will be released to educators online one day prior to scores being released to students online.

It is now mid-December– two months after the mid-October PSAT. No scores.

Instead, the College Board has declared Plan B– which is Plan A, Delayed: An online access that school counselors will be able to view on January 6th, 2016, and students, on January 7th, 2016.

Well. It appears that January 7th, 2016, came and went without The College Board’s delivering on its once-postponed promise for those October 2015 PSAT scores for at least some October 2015 PSAT test takers.

At 11:48 a.m. CST on January 08, 2016, I received the following email from a Pennsylvania parent:

Greetings Ms. Schneider. I read your 12/21/15 article about delays by the College Board in reporting October 2015 PSAT scores and thought you would be interested in a new delay that nobody appears to be reporting as the crisis deepens at College Board.

As you noted in your article, the scores were supposed to have been made available online yesterday, January 7. Indeed, the College Board’s website states that the scores were made available as of yesterday by logging into student accounts. But at least for students at several top ranked public high schools in [Pennsylvania], this is not at all true. Students and school counselors are unable to view October 2015 PSAT scores, and no explanation or fix has been offered by College Board. Please see the email below from my 

The College Board Botches Its Re-Promised, January 7th, 2016, PSAT Score Delivery | deutsch29:

Get on the Bus? I’ll Pass – Why I Am NOT Attending Florida Teacher Union Rally in Tally Next Week. | Welcome to the Testing Games

Get on the Bus? I’ll Pass – Why I Am NOT Attending Florida Teacher Union Rally in Tally Next Week. | Welcome to the Testing Games:

Get on the Bus? I’ll Pass – Why I Am NOT Attending Florida Teacher Union Rally in Tally Next Week.

Enough is enough, they claim. Florida’s state teacher union, FEA, is hosting a rally against high stakes testing next week in Tallahassee, Florida. I guess holding up signs against testing in front of the Capitol is their idea of action. Get on the bus, their signs declare.

I’ll pass.

Yea. Yea. I know I will take a heap of crap for this post, but meh. It is what it is.

Why am I not jumping on the bus? Um. Been there, done that. Need more.

Honestly, FEA could have hosted this rally 3 years ago and I would have made sure to fill their buses with my teacher and parent friends. I would have made the signs and MC’d the Get on the Bus? I’ll Pass – Why I Am NOT Attending Florida Teacher Union Rally in Tally Next Week. | Welcome to the Testing Games:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/8/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Teachers trade winter break for training in bringing the arts to class | 89.3 KPCC

Teachers trade winter break for training in bringing the arts to class | 89.3 KPCC: Teachers trade winter break for training in bringing the arts to classLAUSD music adviser Chris Rodriguez leads teachers through a conducting lesson during an arts integration workshop over winter break. PRISKA NEELYTeachers at arts integration workshop this week sounded pretty strange as they engaged in dialogue u

by mike simpson / 15min 

What school segregation looks like - EducationNC

What school segregation looks like - EducationNC: What school segregation looks likeON THE FIRST DAY of every semester during my five years as a teacher at Garinger High School, I had a candid talk with my students about how the world perceives them. The school, sitting off of Eastway Drive in east Charlotte, is high-poverty, majority-minority, and distinctly urban. I knew, from my own experiences

by mike simpson / 32min 

Closing Schools Makes No Sense …for Children - LA Progressive

Closing Schools Makes No Sense …for Children - LA Progressive: Closing Schools Makes No Sense …for ChildrenHillary Rodham Clinton has attracted a lot of attention recently for making a bold statement about closing schools that were performing “below average,” saying: “I wouldn’t keep any school open that wasn’t doing a better-than-average job.”US News & World Report rushed to Clinton’s defense

by mike simpson / 1h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Schools - As the World Turns

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Schools - As the World Turns: Charter Schools - As the World TurnsYou could call it a soap opera or use another, more colorful, word (but this is - mostly - a family blog.)UpdatesMary Walker School District.  Rolling in the dough and that would be Gates Foundation dough.  So now we're at over $2M for the last couple of years.  That's buying them four consul

by mike simpson / 2h 

Guest Commentary: When school reform harms - The Denver Post

Guest Commentary: When school reform harms - The Denver Post: When school reform harms Defenders of the status quo and those trying to empower students and parents in the K-12 system call themselves reformers. Even the doyenne of the status quo, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, claims to support education "reform."In Colorado, Denver-centric "refor

by mike simpson / 2h 

Right-Wing Network Puts Friedrichs v. California Teachers in Samuel Alito’s Lap | PR Watch

Right-Wing Network Puts Friedrichs v. California Teachers in Samuel Alito’s Lap | PR Watch: Right-Wing Network Puts Friedrichs v. California Teachers in Samuel Alito’s LapJustice Samuel Alito has been scouring the land looking for a case to make his mark on history.Could he hold a big bank accountable for ripping off millions of consumers? Could he interpret intellectual property law to give more

by mike simpson / 2h 

The Working Families Party and the Future of the Democratic Party - The Atlantic

The Working Families Party and the Future of the Democratic Party - The Atlantic: The Pugnacious, Relentless Progressive Party That Wants to Remake AmericaThe Working Families Party has pushed the political debate to the left in the states where it’s already active. Now—in the era of Occupy and Bernie Sanders—it’s ready to take that fight nationwide. At a recent private dinner in Manhattan, a smal

by mike simpson / 4h 

'Difficult conversation’ on charters finally comes to LAUSD board - LA School Report

'Difficult conversation’ on charters finally comes to LAUSD board - LA School Report: 'Difficult conversation’ on charters finally comes to LAUSD board After three revisions, a resolution aimed at curtailing future charter school expansion in LA Unified is finally coming before the school board for a vote on Tuesday.While the measure is largely symbolic in that it cannot change policy regarding ch

by mike simpson / 5h 

John Bel Edwards has not Taken Office and Already his Team has Made Some Major Missteps | Crazy Crawfish

John Bel Edwards has not Taken Office and Already his Team has Made Some Major Missteps | Crazy Crawfish: John Bel Edwards has not Taken Office and Already his Team has Made Some Major MisstepsI am not happy.I’m actually quite pissed off and had to take extra blood pressure medication today to prevent my head from exploding off my shoulders.  I think I am like a lot of people that supported John B

by mike simpson / 5h 

The Mary Walker School District rescinds their request for charter schools in the Seattle Public School District | Seattle Education

The Mary Walker School District rescinds their request for charter schools in the Seattle Public School District | Seattle Education: The Mary Walker School District rescinds their request for charter schools in the Seattle Public School DistrictThe Mary Walker School District (MWSD) has rescinded their request for approval of charter schools in the City of Seattle after requests were made twice,

by mike simpson / 5h 

NYC teacher fired for lessons about Central Park Five - NY Daily News

NYC teacher fired for lessons about Central Park Five - NY Daily News: EXCLUSIVE: NYC high school teacher claims she was fired for Central Park Five lessons that administrators feared would create 'riots'The Central Park Five ordeal led to a 2014 settlement and now a controversy at an Upper West Side school.A teacher at an Upper West Side high school was fired for creating a curriculum with lesson

by mike simpson / 5h 

SCHROCK: A teacher’s creed

SCHROCK: A teacher’s creed: SCHROCK: A teacher’s creedJohn Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.I am a professional.I do not earn hourly wages or punch a time clock. I am a salaried professional who works as long as needed to get the work done. My salary should reflect the importance of my profession in society.I alone determine what, how and when to teach the components of m

by mike simpson / 5h 

King: Schooled by loss, ‘saved’ by teachers - POLITICO

King: Schooled by loss, ‘saved’ by teachers - POLITICO: King: Schooled by loss, ‘saved’ by teachersThe man charged with downsizing the federal role in public schools is a passionate policy geek who says his own teachers saved his life.John King, who stepped in as education secretary Jan. 1, spent his free time in college designing curriculum modules on Puerto Rican history. As New York state’s edu

by mike simpson / 6h 

Concerns about racism help drive more African-Americans to home-school | Michigan Radio

Concerns about racism help drive more African-Americans to home-school | Michigan Radio: Concerns about racism help drive more African-Americans to home-schoolBrandon Kirksey, 7, is home-schooledCREDIT GABRIELLE EMANUEL / MICHIGAN RADIOOn a quiet street in Detroit, light pours in the back windows of the Kirksey home. It falls on a wall of textbooks, puzzles and multi-cultural children's books.Bran

by mike simpson / 6h 

Readers Need Not Apply (by Ann Policelli Cronin) - Wait What?

Readers Need Not Apply (by Ann Policelli Cronin) - Wait What?: Readers Need Not Apply (by Ann Policelli Cronin)Connecticut educator and fellow education blogger Ann Policelli Cronin recently posted a great article about how the “education reformers” and their Common Core and Common Core testing scheme are seeking to narrow down the role of public education.In the name of making students “College a

by mike simpson / 6h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Getting Low Income Students to College

CURMUDGUCATION: Getting Low Income Students to College: Getting Low Income Students to CollegeThe issue was raised again last summer in Hechinger's in a story that in turn called back to a book from 2014, so this is not a new issue. But as Benjamin L. Castleman and Lindsay C. Page noted inSummer Melt, we don't just have a problem getting low-income students to aspire to college or apply to college

by mike simpson / 6h 

Join the Feb. 17 Nationwide Walk-Ins for the Schools All Our Children Deserve! | Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools

Join the Feb. 17 Nationwide Walk-Ins for the Schools All Our Children Deserve! | Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools: Join the Feb. 17 Nationwide Walk-Ins for the Schools All Our Children Deserve!The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is linking together parents, educators, students, school staff and community members in dozens of cities across the country on February 17 as they WALK-IN to support the qu

by mike simpson / 7h 

Who donates to Jeb Bush’s education foundation? Here’s the somewhat surprising list. - The Washington Post

Who donates to Jeb Bush’s education foundation? Here’s the somewhat surprising list. - The Washington Post: Who donates to Jeb Bush’s education foundation? Here’s the somewhat surprising list.When Jeb Bush was governor of Florida from 1999-2007, he became a pioneer in the corporate education reform movement that centered around using standardized test scores as the chief metric of “accountability”

by mike simpson / 7h 

LAUSD teachers union to challenge number of tests students take | 89.3 KPCC

LAUSD teachers union to challenge number of tests students take | 89.3 KPCC: LAUSD teachers union to challenge number of tests students takeFor years, teachers unions and activists in California have protested that there’s too much testing in public schools that eats away at precious learning time.The largest teachers union in California, United Teachers Los Angeles, is now beginning steps to chal

by mike simpson / 7h 

Ed Notes Online: Sea Change: Opt-Out Catching Fire in Communities of Color?

Ed Notes Online: Sea Change: Opt-Out Catching Fire in Communities of Color?: Sea Change: Opt-Out Catching Fire in Communities of Color?Of the 60 plus people in the audience, at least 70 percent were people of color, with the majority being African American, and over half the group was under 40 years of age.Mark Naison reports on The BK Nation Forum on Testing and the Opt Out Movement, held at Juds

by mike simpson / 7h 

Education Writer Alfie Kohn on Leaving Behind No Child Left Behind Behind | janresseger

Education Writer Alfie Kohn on Leaving Behind No Child Left Behind Behind | janresseger: Education Writer Alfie Kohn on Leaving Behind No Child Left Behind BehindOn several occasions over the holidays, I was reminded of something I already knew: most people don’t want to wade in the weedy marsh of education policy.  If the mainstream press says the new Every Student Succeeds Act is a big improveme

by mike simpson / 7h 

The Puzzle of School Reform Cycles | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Puzzle of School Reform Cycles | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: The Puzzle of School Reform CyclesAnyone over the age of 40 who is familiar with public schools knows that similar reforms come again and again as if policy makers suffered amnesia. Consider, for example, the fundamental (and familiar) question that has launched periods of reform like changing seasons: Should

by mike simpson / 7h 

Forest wants revamp to too-negative charter school report | KSL.com

Forest wants revamp to too-negative charter school report | KSL.com: Forest wants revamp to too-negative charter school report RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — State education leaders sidetracked a report describing the overall student population at North Carolina's charter schools as whiter and more affluent than student bodies at traditional public schools after Lt. Gov. Dan Forest complained it was too neg

by mike simpson / 7h 

Ed Notes Online: Video From Philly: Who Are WE?

Ed Notes Online: Video From Philly: Who Are WE?: Video From Philly: Who Are WE?This wonderful video is just another reason why MORE's love our colleagues in Philly in Caucus of Working Educators, a social justice caucus challenging the Randi-supported leadership of the union. In a very short time as a caucus, which grew out of connection to our local NYCORE, they have built a caucus with wide outr

by mike simpson / 7h 

Why Kindergarten Is The New First Grade : NPR Ed : NPR

Why Kindergarten Is The New First Grade : NPR Ed : NPR: Why Kindergarten Is The New First Grade"What are some of the things that the monsters like to eat in this story?" teacher Marisa McGee asks a trio of girls sitting at her table.McGee teaches kindergarten at Walker Jones Elementary in Washington D.C. Today's lesson: a close reading of the book, What Do Monsters Eat?"They like to

by mike simpson / 7h 

Let's Make 2016 a Progressive Year for our Schools and Communities | The Progressive

Let's Make 2016 a Progressive Year for our Schools and Communities | The Progressive: Let's Make 2016 a Progressive Year for our Schools and CommunitiesHow can we make 2016 the year we reinvent public education? It’s a tall order. But if we set a few key intentions for our work, we have a shot at making real progress.For starters: let us please, PLEASE not get so caught up in the Presidential race

by mike simpson / 7h 

Randi Weingarten Tells Feds: Your Opt-Out Actions Fly in the Face of ESSA - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Randi Weingarten Tells Feds: Your Opt-Out Actions Fly in the Face of ESSA - Politics K-12 - Education Week: Randi Weingarten Tells Feds: Your Opt-Out Actions Fly in the Face of ESSAAttention John King and Company: The American Federation of Teachers is not happy with the way that you are handling opt-outs in this new, post-No Child Left Behind era.Both the NCLB law and the one that replaced it, th

by mike simpson / 7h 

With A Brooklyn Accent: Support for Co-Naming Lymon Place "Elmo Hope Way"

With A Brooklyn Accent: Support for Co-Naming Lymon Place "Elmo Hope Way": Support for Co-Naming Lymon Place "Elmo Hope Way"Dear District Manager DudleyAs founder and director of the Bronx African American History Project, I would like to offer my enthusiastic support for efforts to co-name Lymon Place, "Elmo Hope Way." This is an important part of the BAAHP's efforts

by mike simpson / 8h 

All Things Education: From Duncan to King

All Things Education: From Duncan to King: From Duncan to KingMost regular readers of the blog know that for the most part I have not been a fan of the policies of (recently) former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, even if I think his intentions were good. Too much emphasis on testing, too much arbitrariness, too punitive, too much over-reach, too little thought given to the impacts of privatiz

by mike simpson / 8h 

K12 Inc. Tries to Pivot from Virtual School Failures to Profit from "Non-Managed" Schools | PR Watch

K12 Inc. Tries to Pivot from Virtual School Failures to Profit from "Non-Managed" Schools | PR Watch: K12 Inc. Tries to Pivot from Virtual School Failures to Profit from "Non-Managed" SchoolsIf you were a public school and Wall Street didn’t like you that might not seem like such a big deal. What do financiers know about educating children? It’s a big deal, however, if you are 

by mike simpson / 8h 

CCSF’s accreditor found noncompliant with federal education standards - The San Francisco Examiner : The San Francisco Examiner

CCSF’s accreditor found noncompliant with federal education standards - The San Francisco Examiner : The San Francisco Examiner: CCSF’s accreditor found noncompliant with federal education standardsCity College of San Francisco’s accreditor was out of compliance with federal education standards two years ago and has until next year to prove it has met every standard, the nation’s top education off

by mike simpson / 8h 

Poor health: when poverty becomes disease | University of California

Poor health: when poverty becomes disease | University of California: Poor health: when poverty becomes disease Talmadge King Jr., MD, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine, tells the story of an ER physician who had lost a document and was searching frantically for it in the garbage bins behind Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. What he found instead in the mountain of rub

by mike simpson / 8h 

What’s behind grad rate increase? - POLITICO

What’s behind grad rate increase? - POLITICO: What’s behind grad rate increase?THE PUSH TO RAISE THE GRADUATION RATE: With President Barack Obama expected to trumpet the nation’s record high graduation rate of 82 percent during Tuesday’s State of the Union address [http://politico.pro/1Uzxobi], Morning Education looked at what brought about the recent growth in high school completion after decades

by mike simpson / 8h 

Roanoke Parents Across America fighting to keep charter schools out of Virginia | WSLS

Roanoke organization fighting to keep charter schools out of Virginia | WSLS: Roanoke organization fighting to keep charter schools out of VirginiaROANOKE (WSLS 10) – A new budget amendment this year going before the general assembly would make it easier for charter schools to set up shop in Virginia, but one organization in Roanoke is fighting it.Laura Bowman with Parents Across America says the

by mike simpson / 8h 

School Voucher Program Gets a Failing Grade in Louisiana | Care2 Causes

School Voucher Program Gets a Failing Grade in Louisiana | Care2 Causes: School Voucher Program Gets a Failing Grade in LouisianaMany advocates of school choice rightly point out that students from wealthy families already have school choice because wealthy families have more options when selecting where to live and where to educate their children. Implementing school choice for all other students

by mike simpson / 9h 

Deliberately deceiving the public on Common Core | NewBostonPost

Deliberately deceiving the public on Common Core | NewBostonPost:Deliberately deceiving the public on Common CoreOn Nov. 17, 2015, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted not to move forward with the PARCC test (a national Common Core-based test) and instead to adopt a “hybrid” test called MCAS 2.0. Although it was widely reported that Massachusetts had dumped Common Co

by mike simpson / 9h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

The “Dear Colleague” Letters and John King’s Homework | deutsch29

The “Dear Colleague” Letters and John King’s Homework | deutsch29: The “Dear Colleague” Letters and John King’s HomeworkNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) both include sections regarding civil rights, which originate with the Title IX Amendments of 1972. NCLB includes civil rights in its Title IX:IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed topermit discrim

1 by mike simpson / 20h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Rules for Tools

CURMUDGUCATION: Rules for Tools: Rules for ToolsTom Vander Ark is as prolific as hell, so I have to admire his tenacity and energy, but every time I read his stuff, I'm driven to conclude that he's kind of a tool.I don't intend to make a personal judgment-- for all I know, he's a delightful gentleman. But he often seems to achieve the near-perfect expression of the corporate tool approach to the e

by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/7/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMTransform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan SingerTransform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer: Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the InsideChancellor Merryl Tisch and Vice-Chancellor Anthony Bottar are both resigning from the New York State Board of Regents, the governing body for education in New York Sta

3 by mike simpson / 23h 

Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer

Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer: Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the InsideChancellor Merryl Tisch and Vice-Chancellor Anthony Bottar are both resigning from the New York State Board of Regents, the governing body for education in New York State. Bottar represents a region in upstate New York and Tisch holds an out-large position. With

by mike simpson / 23h