3-7-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Seattle School District Seeks Input on Math Selections

From SPS:Elementary math instructional materials - We want your feedback!The elementary math adoption committee work has reached a critical stage. In looking to partner with parents and community to find the best possible math program for Seattle Public School students for the 2014-15 school year and beyond, the committee invites you to give us your thoughts and opinions. The committee is excited

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Reactions to New SAT

To note: college success is better verified by GPA than SAT or ACT.From the president of Bard College via Time:The SAT needs to be abandoned and replaced. The SAT has a status as a reliable measure of college readiness it does not deserve.  The blunt fact is that the SAT has never been a good predictor of academic achievement in college. High school grades adjusted to account for the curriculum an

by Melissa Westbrook / 2h hide  //  save

Music Org for Music Education

Just learned about the National Association for Music Education's Broader Minded: think beyond the bubbles program.  Music not only impacts academic achievement, it also shapes the way our students understand themselves and the world around them. Let's think beyond the bubbles and educate the whole student.They have good insights and arguments for supporting music in our schools.  Consider this go

by Melissa Westbrook / 2h 

Education News Updates

Legislature:The Washington Senate voted unanimously for a bill to make it easier for minors to seal their records (for minor crimes).  I'll have to read the bill but I doubt it will protect your child if the incident happened at school and it is now part of a school record.  The FERPA changes would allow that kind of data to go out to vendors of all kinds (and even our friends at the Seattle Times

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 2h 

Friday Open Thread

Documentary Brunch this Sunday with the film, Girl Rising.  It's a documentary about 9 girls in Nepal, India, Cambodia, Haiti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Peru, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.  Go be inspired. And free mini-cupcakes.  SIFF Cinema Uptown, all ages.Fun fact for the kids - apparently crocodiles can climb trees...up to thirty feet. (Somewhere a bird is saying, "You've got to be kidding me.&qu

by Melissa Westbrook / 2min 

What We Don't Measure By Testing (Tell Me Big Data-Where is this Listed?)

From the Maria Montessori page:

by Melissa Westbrook / 9h 

  

3-6-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Updates on People and OrganizationsA couple of readers asked about some people and organizations that they feel have been perhaps too quiet.First is director Sue Peters.  I'm not sure exactly what people were expecting from Sue but I think she is doing exactly what she should do as a new director.   She's behaving like the new director that she is - i.e. learning r

by mike simpson / 4h

3-7-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

It's Time for Congress to Investigate High Stakes Testing

More than 400 educators, citizens, bloggers, activists and parents met in Austin, Texas for the first Annual Network for Public Education Conference. The press release just doesn't seem to be getting much press.  Diane Ravitch was on the Ed Show last night on MSNBC. I suppose that's a start but the real story, Ed, is the call for investigative Congressional hearings on how high stake standardized

by freetoteach / 27min 

Let's do some critical thinking

Sent to the Denver Post, March 7.The Douglas County school superintendent says that students should not just "compare and contrast" but "create and evaluate" and engage in critical thinking ("Educators to state: Let's go above common core," March 6).Agreed. Let's start by evaluating whether we should have common core standards and tests at all. How many policy makers

by skrashen / 36min 

David Coleman's New SAT: Still Racist, Still Classist

It should come as no surprise that the head of the College Board, David Coleman, has made the new SAT more in line with the Common Core.  One thing he can't change, even with efforts to provide some online tutorials to those who can't afford $5000 SAT prep courses, is the fact that students from poor backgrounds score lower than those with higher incomes.   It has always been the case, ever since

2 by Jim Horn / 35min 

SAT Bad Press = SAT Reboot

Please consider a couple responses to the SAT 2016 reboot announcement, and then another piece on the cost of the Common Core. Put the pieces together:SAT Reboot 2016: "Nonsense It All Is" (P. L. Thomas)Changes To The SAT (The Onion, satire)Common Core Costs Too High, Failure Guaranteed

by P. L. Thomas / 3h  

3-6-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Do we need the SAT?Sent to USA TodayNot mentioned in the discussion of changes in the SAT ("Sharpen those pencils: The SAT test is getting harder," March 6) is the question of whether we need SAT-type examinations. In two different studies, researchers from UC Berkeley, Harvard and Princeton reported that high school grades were a good predictor of college success, and th

by mike simpson / 5h 

3-7-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

The Lakeland Ledger: Halt Voucher Expansion Until Public Schools Are Adequately Funded

From the editors of the Lakeland Ledger: Now, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, is calling for sales tax revenue to also be diverted to pay for the program. In addition, he wants to expand the pool of eligible students to include families whose incomes rise beyond required levels. About 83 percent of students using vouchers end up at religious schools, the state reports. However, th

by Bob Sikes / 3h  

3-6-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: How John Kirtley’s Push for Voucher in Florida Benefits John KirtleyMiami Herald reporter Kathleen McGrory has the latest on expansion of  Florida’s voucher program: TALLAHASSEE — Nearly 200 schoolchildren greeted Senate President Don Gaetz last month when he visited a C

by mike simpson / 9h

3-7-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

This Week In Web 2.0

In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth , I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” (you might also be interested in The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2013): Quizlet for learners: a step-by-step guide is by Lizzie Pinnard, and is excellent. Quizlet is on The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards list, so I’m adding this lin

by Larry Ferlazzo / 15min hide  //  save

Several Excellent New Posts & Articles On Assessment

Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen several exceptional posts and articles on teacher and student assessment, and thought I’d bring them all together in one post. I’ll be sharing to which “Best” list I’ll be adding each one, but you can also find all my lists on assessment at A Collection Of “The Best” Lists On Assessment. I’ve got to start off with a series of exceptional posts on assessment that

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

Today’s “Frazz” Comic Strip: “Why Did You Become A Teacher?”

If you’re reading this on an RSS Reader, you may have to click through to see the comic:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy

Judge denies motion to dismiss lawsuit challenging teacher job protections is from Ed Source. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights. Former superintendent backs tenure, layoff laws as defense opens in ‘Vergara’ lawsuit is also from Ed Source. I’m adding it to the same list. A Small Request for My Friends at Gates is by Rick Hess. I’m adding it to

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h  

3-6-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul”The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul is a very interesting piece in this week’s New York Times Magazine. Here’s an excerpt: Still, Coleman concedes that the redesigned SAT won’t quiet everyone’s complaints, and he doesn’t expect there to be a universal celebration of what they’ve done. You ca

by mike simpson / 9h 

3-7-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Toni Berrios. This is what she calls being responsive to constituents.

Running for her political life, Toni Berrios is trying to to recreate herself into a progressive. But with a 12 year record to run on, that is hard to do. Twelve years of pension underfunding. Twelve years of voting for pension theft. Twelve years of kowtowing to her patrons, Mike Madigan and Big Daddy Berrios. Back in November my wife Anne wrote Representative concerning SB1342. It was a bill th

by Fred Klonsky / 4min 

Chicagoland. A city is only as strong as its people.

by Fred Klonsky / 6min 

DFER want to kick Chicago’s ass.

If you don’t know what DFER is, don’t feel bad. They hide in the shadows, known only to a deep-pocketed charter promoters, bought-off politicians who are recipients of their largesse and education geeks. Like me. A few years back DFER Director Joe Williams wrote that he would kick my ass for writing mean things about them. But he didn’t. Or couldn’t. Or something. Anyway, DFER stand for Democrats

by Fred Klonsky / 27min 

Lee Talley. Bruce Rahmer’s tax return.

- Lee Talley is a retired Illinois school teacher. Fred, After watching the March 5th watching the debate for Republican governor I noticed that candidate Bruce Rauner was stumbling over the question posed about his daughter getting preferential treatment for admittance to Walter Payton Preparatory High School. He stated that the family moved downtown to his wife could be closer to her non-profit

by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

3-6-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: The state union leadership supported Dillard. Throwing good money after bad.In the weeks and days since the IEA, IFT (minus the CTU) and AFSCME endorsed Kirk Dillard for Governor, Bruce Rauner’s lead has increased by 4% according to just released polls. Dillard stands at 14%. Unless there is video tap

by mike simpson / 9h 

3-7-14 Education Research Report

Education Research Report:

Infants using known verbs to learn new nouns

Before infants begin to talk in sentences, they are paying careful attention to the way a new word is used in conversationsThere is a lot that 19-month-old children can't do: They can't tie their shoes or get their mittens on the correct hands. But they can use words they do know to learn new ones.New research from Northwestern University demonstrates that even before infants begin to talk in sent

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 46min 

Preschoolers can outsmart college students at figuring out gizmos

Preschoolers can be smarter than college students at figuring out how unusual toys and gadgets work because they're more flexible and less biased than adults in their ideas about cause and effect, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Edinburgh.The findings suggest that technology and innovation can benefit from the exploratory learning and p

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 37min 

Head Start more beneficial for children whose parents provide less early academic stimulation

One year of Head Start can make a bigger difference for children from homes where parents provide less early academic stimulation, such as reading to children, helping them recognize and pronounce letters and words, and helping them count. Showing parents how they can help their children with reading and counting may help, too.Those are the conclusions of a new study by researchers at the Universi

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 1h hide  //  save

Classroom Focus on Social and Emotional Skills Can Lead to Academic Gains

  Classroom programs designed to improve elementary school students’ social and emotional skills can also increase reading and math achievement, even if academic improvement is not a direct goal of the skills building, according to a study to be published this month in American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). The benefit holds true for students across a range of socio-economic backgrounds. In

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 1h 

Preschoolers Can Do Algebra, Psychologists Find

Millions of high school and college algebra students are united in a shared agony over solving for x and y, and for those to whom the answers don’t come easily, it gets worse: Most preschoolers and kindergarteners can do some algebra before even entering a math class. In a recently published study in the journal Developmental Science, lead author and post-doctoral fellow Melissa Kibbe and Lisa Fei

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 2h 

Education Research Report: Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012-13

Education Research Report: Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012-13: Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012-13Among schools with permanent buildings, the overall condition of about 24 percent of the permanent buildings was considered less than good. “Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012-13,” a First Look report from the Fast Response Survey System (F

by mike simpson / 7h