An Inconvenient Truth About Teacher Quality « The Core Knowledge Blog

An Inconvenient Truth About Teacher Quality « The Core Knowledge Blog:

An Inconvenient Truth About Teacher Quality

by Robert Pondiscio
December 5th, 2011

Tags: assessment, Assessment and Testing, Curriculum, Dan Willingham, David Grissmer, math, NAEP, reading, standards, teacher quality
Posted in Assessment and Testing, Curriculum, Education Practice, Literacy, Teaching,accountability | No Comments »

If teacher quality is the most important factor in student outcomes, then why are math scores rising, while reading scores stay flat? Do we just happen to have really good math teachers and really lousy reading teachers? That can’t be: in the case of 4th grade teachers, the exact same teachers are responsible for both subjects.

Or maybe it’s not the teachers. Could it be the curriculum?

That’s the question posed by Dan Willingham and David Grismer in an op-ed in the New York Daily News this morning. They point out intriguing data from the National

Teachers For Social Justice: Call to Action: Fight CPS School Closings!

Teachers For Social Justice: Call to Action: Fight CPS School Closings!:

Call to Action: Fight CPS School Closings!

by Teachers For Social Justice

For more information on school closings, go to ctunet.com/closings.

To get involved, contact teachersforjustice@hotmail.com.

Killer apps and creative disruptions | Thoughts on Public Education

Killer apps and creative disruptions | Thoughts on Public Education:

Killer apps and creative disruptions - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

You’d have thought Salman Khan was George Clooney. After his keynote presentation and follow-up seminar at the California School Boards Association’s annual convention in San Diego on Friday, school trustees besieged him with question and requests. A few sought his autograph, others mugged for a photo with him. Eventually, the event moderator gently reminded them, [...]

Geograhy shouldn’t be destiny and won’t with Student Bill of Rights - by David Haglund

by David Haglund

In his biography of Steve Jobs, author Walter Isaacson recounts an interesting story about Steve’s first days at a low-income middle school in Mountain View. Early on, confronted with violence, overcrowding and poor instruction, he threatened to drop out. His parents scraped together enough money to buy a house just three miles away on the [...]

Innosight Institute’s Michael Horn on the coming age of online learning - by admin

by admin

Should Portfolios Replace Placement Tests? - Education - GOOD

Should Portfolios Replace Placement Tests? - Education - GOOD:

Should Portfolios Replace Placement Tests?

by Liz Dwyer

How do we know if a student is ready for high school algebra—or college-level English or math? Most K-12 schools and universities rely on placement tests, high-stakes standardized exams, to decide. And, if you don’t do well on that single test, you’re out of luck.

At the college level, one third of students—even those who earned A’s and B’s in high school—have to take remedial courses that don’t count toward their degrees because they didn’t score well on a placement test. But are all those students really that far behind or is there a misalignment between the work they can actually do and what the test questions ask?

The love affair with the single high-stakes exam is cooling. Many educators are looking to take a more holistic approach to figuring out what students really know and can do. That often means using portfolios, a purposeful collection of a student’s best work, to assess the way students demonstrate proficiency in a subject.

Inspired by visual and performing arts traditions, education portfolios have long been common in the classrooms

How Gaming Is Changing the Classroom

by Liz Dwyer

By the time she’s 21 years old, a student will play nearly 10,000 hours of video games. But can kids play their way to learning? An increasing number of educators are recognizing that students aren’t responding to old-school lectures, and they’re looking to engage the gamer generation by bringing gaming into the classroom.

Since 2009, an entire school, New York City’s Quest to Learn, has used gaming-based learning principles to help students achieve. Instead of sitting kids in front of a screen all day, the school uses a gaming curriculum

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author.

By Marion Brady

A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading testsfor 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public.

Read full article >>

Daily Kos: Breaking: Cain to endorse Gingrich today

Daily Kos: Breaking: Cain to endorse Gingrich today:

Breaking: Cain to endorse Gingrich today

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

at least according to Fox News.

The two of them have apparently developed a friendly relationship

there was the "debate" that only included the two of them.

Here's one question - will Romney's people try to dismiss it, perhaps even on the grounds of one man straying from his marriage to endorse another, perhaps contrasting it with Romney being faithful to his wife? Candidate would not say it, but some staffers might try to put it out there to appeal to the family values types

Here's another - does Cain have any staffers/organization that he can turn over to Gingrich, especially in Iowa and NH?

Final question - does anyone here even care?

Jersey Jazzman: The Queen Of Gutting Tenure

Jersey Jazzman: The Queen Of Gutting Tenure:

The Queen Of Gutting Tenure

by Duke

We have a new queen of gutting tenure: Dr. Janine Walker Caffrey, the Superintendent of Perth Amboy. The queen was crowned by none other than Star-Ledger Opinion Editor Tom Moran, who has, within the space of two weeks, given her highness space for an op-ed decrying tenure AND the patented Moran-style hagiography (a treatment highly recommended by reformy hedge fund manager David Tepper).

I dealt with the substance of Moran's piece over at Blue Jersey. Let's talk about the style:

To earn such a huge amount of the S-L's space, Caffrey must have vast experience as an administrator in New Jersey's schools, right?

Wrong:

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Even More Population Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About Our World’s Population Of 7 Billion: Explore your world is an amazing interactive. Here’s how it describes itself: We live in a world of 7 billion people, living … Continue reading →

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections. Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011: The Best Web 2.0 … Continue reading →

More Online “Choose Your Own Adventure” Games

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories: Westward Trail is very similar to the famous Oregon Trail game. Its major advantage is that it’s actually online and can be … Continue reading →

Edublog Award Nominees Announced!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

Voting is now open for the 2011 Edublog Awards! You can view the official nominations, and vote, at the Edublog Awards site. Voting will be open until December 13th. Thank you to those who nominated this blog for The Best … Continue reading →

Create A Fake Conversation With Siri

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 11 hours ago

I Fake Siri lets you create a fake conversation — in text — with the new iPhone voice feature Siri. You can then link to, or embed, your creation. It’s just another fun opportunity for ELL’s to practice writing, reading, … Continue reading →

Even More Christmas Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 17 hours ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa: Here’s a wild Christmas light show from The Telegraph: MacMillan has a nice Christmas Advent Calendar telling about world holiday traditions. (Thanks to Michelle … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good School Reform Posts & Articles

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 17 hours ago

Here are some recently published good posts and articles about education policy issues: Choking on the Common Core Standards is by Joanne Yatvin and appeared in The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common … Continue reading →

Huffington Post Piece

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 21 hours ago

In case you missed it, The Huffington Post has reprinted my annual choices for the best and worst education news of the year. You can see it at The Best (and Worst) Education News of 2011.

History Of Technology Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology: A Before-Its-Time Machine is a diagram from The New York Times of the “first” computer design — “Researchers are planning to build a working … Continue reading →

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections. Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011: The Best Ideas … Continue reading →

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

I’m beginning my annual “The Best…” list highlighting “year in review” images. There aren’t a whole lot right now on the date of this post, but they’ll soon be coming out of the woodwork. I figured it would be helpful … Continue reading →

I Love This Article! “The 5 Best Toys of All Time”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

The 5 Best Toys of All Time is a must-read article from Wired by Jonathan Liu. “Stick” is ranked as number one. I’d also suggest you read his follow-up piece, Get a Kid the 6th Best Toy of All Time. … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Tech Tools

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

I recently revised an older post and converted it into The Best Good, Inexpensive & Simple Classroom Technology Tools. Please contribute additional suggestions…..

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 day ago

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections. Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011: The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically “The Best Research Available On Parent [...]

“What Are Parents Thinking?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 day ago

What Are Parents Thinking? is a new article in ASCD Educational Leadership by a “head of school” (I assume that’s another name for principal). He talks about some of his school’s parent involvement/engagement efforts, particularly using online surveys. I’m not a big fan of surveys — in my community organizing career, we always felt that [...]

Two Pieces On Parent Engagement & Community Organizing That Might Be Worth A Look

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 3 days ago

Just this week, two short pieces talking about community organizing and parent engagement were published. They might be worth a look: What Inspired Me to Study Parent and Community Engagement at Harvard Education Publishing. Education reform through community action at The Washington Post.

“Building Trust With Parents”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 4 days ago

Building Trust With Parents is another excellent post by Chris Wejr. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Visiting a wealthy suburban school

"This is a school? I thought it was a museum." -- Terence Lewis, 17, a senior at Furness High in South Philadelphia

Chicago Rep. Cynthia Soto

“We need explanations, specific explanations” for the decisions to close or restructure the schools. -- Chicago News Co-Op

GOP candidate Buddy Roemer

"I believe that Mitt Romney represents the one percent and I believe that Newt Gingrich is the