Posted inCommon Core, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized

End of Course Test: A Testing Week That Shouldn't Count

Guest Writer: Rebecca Leech [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] This week, the rural Tennessee high school where I teach is finishing our annual TCAP End of Course standardized testing. End of Course tests are given in […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Middle School, Principals' Corner

Chicago Public Schools: Going too Far

Imagine if an unknown adult came to your classroom to remove a child to question them privately. This happened last week at two Chicago Public Schools. The unknown adults were from the CPS legal department. The classrooms they visited were rooms where the teacher had refused to administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). Students […]

Posted inEnglish Language Learners, Featured, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education

Welcome to America: Now Take this Test. The Realities of Refugee Students and their Teachers

This year’s ASCD Conference in Los Angeles was weighed down by sessions about the CCSS and flipped classrooms – topics that reasonably should have been big 3+ years ago.  But there were a few diamonds among the rough; educators who presented with prescient understanding oncoming issues that the education community must face.  One of those […]

Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Uncategorized

Education’s Ancient Texts: The Rosetta Stone and Standardized Test Data

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] As I stood in front of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum in London, I had to wiggle my way through the blockade of tourists who were trying to photograph the small […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Principals' Corner, School Improvement

The Necessity of Failure: The Challenge of Assessments

I have just finished grading final exams for high school sophomores, and I can’t help but wonder if I am guilty of cheating. Balancing high standards with opportunities for retakes shapes my approach to developing assessments. In my view, a student who fails one section of multiple choice should have the opportunity to write more […]