Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

What A Trip to Colombia Taught Me About the US Testing Frenzy

Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Testing Frenzy Déjà Vu In recent news, NAEP scores fell dramatically due to COVID-19’s impact on learning. Every media outlet has a take on the situation, and everybody seems concerned. The Secretary of Education said recently that we all need to “raise the bar and […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education

Is It Fair to Test Learning Loss?

Executive director of FairTest weighs in on standardized testing reform Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! The Nation’s Report Card  As I prepared to interview Harry Feder, the new executive director of FairTest, the latest Nation’s Report Card was published. As a result, our chat felt especially timely.  […]

Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy

The NAEP Chicken and the Common Core Nonfiction Egg

What came first…the NAEP Chicken or the CCSS Egg? In 2009, there were revisions to the reading content in  the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the “largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.” The revisions increased nonfiction reading. In 2009, the development of the the Common […]

Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy

Well, They Are Just 17…You Know What I Mean? The NAEP in Perspective

The “Nation’s Report Card” is released by The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) every year where students are tested at ages 9, 13, and 17. In 2012, the testing results for readers at age 17 were abysmal, demonstrating only a 2% growth in reading scores over the past 41 years. I was bemoaning this statistic to a friend who […]

Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School

Reading for Fun, Not Reading for Fun(ds)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2013 test reported that there was a 2% growth in reading scores over the past 41 years for students at age 17. NAEP also reported that students who claimed to read for fun scored higher on standardized tests with the obvious conclusion that the more time a student spent […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized

NAEP's Solution to Flat Reading Scores: "Read for Fun"

The release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Progress Report for 2012  (“Nation’s Report Card”) provides an overview on the progress made by specific age groups in public and private schools in reading and in mathematics since the early 1970s. The gain in reading scores after spending billions of dollars, countless hours and effort […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, School Improvement, Uncategorized

Reading Proficiency Increases 2% in 41 Years…That's All.

I recently had to write a position statement on assessment and evaluation.  The timing of this assignment, June 2013, coincided with the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Progress Report for 2012. This “Nation’s Report Card” provides an overview on the progress made by specific age groups in public and private schools in reading and […]