School Standards That Encourage Deeper Thought

“A Trial Run for School Standards That Encourage Deeper Thought” by Fernanda Santos
New York Times, April 24, 2011

Topic: Pilot schools in New York try out the new Common Core Standards

Summary: The "Common Core Standards" are slated to replace state guidelines/standards in 2014. The standards have been adopted by 42 states (including Oregon), the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. With the new standards, "book reports will ask students to analyze, not summarize. Presentations will be graded partly on how persuasively students express their ideas. History papers will require reading from multiple sources; the goal is to get students to see how beliefs and biases can influence the way different people describe the same event."

Intended audience: Teachers, parents

Key Points:

· New standards challenge students to think analyze

· Replacement of standards that have been implemented as a result of NCLB

Relevance: These look like good standards. You can look over the website for Core Common Standards here: http://www.corestandards.org/ . I find it interesting that Oregon has adopted these standards. The English class they were describing in the article sounded a lot like my Lit classes in high school. There will definitely be challenges, but it looks like the standards put more emphasize on critical thinking, understanding, and analyzing and less on the right answers and standardized testing.

No test left behind

"School Daze" by Jon Carroll
Monday, March 14, 2011 in the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/14/DDL31I8GD3.DTL

In South Carolina, 80% of students failed to achieve proficiency scores on state-mandated tests. Solution? Lower the proficiency standards on state-madated tests. 80,000 of the country's 100,000 public schools will more than likely be labeled "failing" after the next round of madatory state benchmark tests.

As Sam Dillon put it in the New York Times: "Critics of the law say it is a bit like requiring all city police forces to end certain crimes - like burglary and drug trafficking - by 2014. They have also long predicted that the law will, over time, determine that all but a handful of schools are failing - a label that would demoralize educators, lower property values and mislead parents about the instructional climates in their schools."

The writer contends that more than likely these tests are ill-conceived, poorly thought out and of course really don't tell us what they claim to be telling us: is a child proficient in a subject? We have heard it many times before, but it appears many legislators have declared war on public schools in general and teachers specifically.

With increased class sizes, higher standards on tests and fewer teachers theing should get real interesting in the next few years. This will no doubt affect us all. Let's hope this signals a rallying cry, the writer states, that says "down with no child left behind."

Resistance to Test-Based School Reform is Growing

Valerie Strauss
"Resistance to Test-Based School Reform is Growing"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/resistance-to-test-based-school-reform-is-growing/2011/04/18/AFkb0n0D_blog.html
The Washington Post - "The Answer Sheet" Column
April 18, 2011

Ms. Strauss documents protests by teachers and students that are occurring across the nation regarding standardized testing and other school reform ideas.  The protests started locally, but are starting to go national with Facebook groups, blogs, parent groups and teachers possibly coming together in a march on Washington D.C. on July 28-31.

In North Carolina the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school districts tested 52 new standardized tests and possibly adding more tests next year.  The Los Angeles School District will be implementing value-added tests that will be used to rate teachers.  President Obama has spoken out against more testing ,but ironically his proposals have increased testing.  Opponents state these tests do not adequately measure kids' learning, do not prove how good or not good teachers are and are a waste of money and time for the school kids and teachers.  Teachers have also been motivated by Diane Ravitch's book stating at one time she favored the No Child Left Behind program, but now shows it does not work

This is another article on how the public debate can be changed in favor of teachers, kids and schools and against standardized testing, poorly planned school reform and attacks against teachers.  Anybody want to go to the Washington D.C. march in July?!

Former Obama Staffer Changes Universe - Lengthens Day

Emanuel Gets Boost, and Challenges, in Schools Bill
Rebecca Vevea
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/us/17cncschools.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=educationNew York Times/Chicago Times
April 16th 2011

Summary: A sweeping public school reform bill unanimously approved by the State Senate gives Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel a chance to fulfill a campaign promise and lengthen Chicago’s school day, currently one of the shortest in the nation. But he will have to overcome daunting budget, educational and labor obstacles.

Audience: General Readers

Key Points: 1) NCLB test emphasis has caused cuts in social studies, science, PE etc... 2) Chicago has one of the shortest school days in the nation. 3) More school hours will cost more money.

Relevance: Education reform will not be easy, no matter what shape or form it takes.

Just Let the Children Play!

“Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School” by Alison Gopnik
Slate, Posted: March 16, 2011, Accessed: April 12, 2011

Topic: Play based exploration vs. direct instruction for early childhood education

Summary: The article talks about some studies and experiments with 4-year olds that point towards exploration and play as effective ways to “teach” young children.

Intended audience: Educators, Parents

Key Points:

• Play based exploration allows children to be more creative and learn more
• Direct instruction squashes creativity and scientific thinking

Relevance: This touches on a lot of the subjects we have talked about in Ed Psych. It also mentions NCLB and the requirement of federally funded preschools to go towards a curriculum based on direct instruction to get results for standardized tests.

Obama bashes his own education policies

Valerie Strauss
"Obama bashes his own education policies"
Washington Post
March 30, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/obama_bashes_his_own_education_policies/2011/03/29/AFKbDlyB_blog.html?wprss=rss_education

Topic: Ideas for improving education

This article points out differences which exist within the President’s administration and apparently, in his perception of what he thinks is good vs. what his secretary of education believes in. How this all gets finally resolved with the re-write of “no child left behind” will be interesting to see.

Key Points: The reason and use of standardized testing is one area of contention where I hope to see resolution.

Relevance: This new “no child left behind” policy will be key to defining the future of education, watching how this debate plays out in the coming months will be very enlightening.

Tests are Boring

“Obama Says Too Much Testing Makes Education Boring” by Stacy Anderson
NPR, March 28, 2011 Accessed: March 28, 2011

Topic: Standardized testing is not the way to go.

Summary: Obama is pushing for a rewrite of federal education laws. He is critical of No Child Left Behind and of the overuse of standardized testing.

Intended audience: General Public

Key Points:

• Too much testing makes education boring for kids.
• “Schools should be judged on criteria other than student test performance, including attendance rate”
• Obama administration would like to change standards from No Child Left Behind to a new standard saying that by 2020 all students graduating from high school should be ready for college or a career.

Relevance: Teaching to the test is a hot topic as is No Child Left Behind. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. What does “ready for college or a career” even mean? I’ve also posted a video from during Obama’s campaign for president that shows his opinion then is in-tune with his opinion now on the issue of standardized testing.

Most schools could face 'failing' label under No Child Left Behind, Duncan says

Nick Anderson
"Most schools could face 'failing' label under No Child Left Behind, Duncan says"
Washington Post
March 10, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030903089.html?wprss=rss_education
Topic: Improving Education
The article talks about “No child left behind” requirements and the eventuality that a majority of schools will soon fall into the failing category.

Key Points: This is a good article to get an idea of both sides of the argument and where their focus is. One side seems very focused on the costs and specific test results. The other side seems very focused on keeping jobs and the union agenda. Both sides are very politically charged however, in the mean time, I worry that the focus isn’t on actually getting kids prepared for their lives with basic skills and fundamental knowledge.

Relevance: Improving education and doing it in a fiscally wise way is a challenge that will not go away any time soon.

Posted By Doug K

Senate Moderates Release NCLB Overhaul Plan

Alyson Klein
"Senate Moderates Release NCLB Overhaul Plan" - Education Week
Published Online on March 2, 2011
Complete URL:  http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2011/03/a_group_of_moderate_democratic.html

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado and Sen. Kay Hagan, of North Carolina led a group of 11 moderate Senate Democrats in releasing some principles aimed at revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or NCLB.  They are hoping their statement will appeal to some moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats as their support will be needed to pass the ESEA reauthorization bill through the Senate before it goes to the Republican dominated U.S. House.  Their statement consists of 5 key points:


1)  Change the accountability measurement, Adequate Yearly Process, to measuring student progress over time instead of measuring one cohort of students against another.  The Senators also want to reward or provide incentives to schools that make major strides in student achievement.
2)  "Stick with the Obama administration's four options for turning around the lowest-performing schools, which include steps such as turning a school over to a charter operator, closing the school, removing half the teachers, and/or putting in a new instructional program, and extending learning time while beefing up professional development."
3)  Make sure that colleges of education are held accountable for the performance of their students.
4)  Continue with President Obama's "Race To The Top" Program.
5)  "Fix the so-called "comparability loophole" in Title I, so that schools would have to report salary data for teachers in addition to other expenses."


The title of the article is a little misleading as it is on moderate U.S. Democrat Senators, but the first sentence of the article clarifies the title.  In looking at the 5 points, if you had asked me 2 months ago does this sound like good proposals I would have said yes.  But now after doing more reading and studying through the MAT Program, I have some different opinions.  On point 1, though it sounds good to reward schools for making major strides we have to be honest in stating that the money will go to predominantly white schools as they will have the money and power to make things happen.  On Point 2, the whole point is to blame the teachers which makes no sense to me.  I actually like Point 3 and it appears this group wants to work with teachers on the measurements and having support to do a good job.  Point 4 is more of the NCLB.  Point 5 seems like good intentions, but when the article says this would be like TARP I do not really see the TARP program as a good policy to follow for schools.  The bottom line for all these points is the changes they are proposing will have a huge effect on our schools, our teaching programs, students and society as a whole, but the question to me is: will the changes work?

Obama's 2012 Education Budget

"The Problem(s) with Obama's 2012 Education Budget" by Valerie Strauss
The Washington Post
Posted online on February 14, 2011
Complete URL:  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/the-problems-with-obamas-2012.html


Ms. Strauss butchers President Obama's 2012 Education Budget Proposal by saying his budget will not improve  public schools.  And she states the $77.4 billion proposal will probably be reduced even more as it will have to go through the Republican controlled House of Representatives where more cuts will be made (as was the case in 2011 Education Budget which has not yet passed Congress).  She goes on to say that Obama's budget, "is really a restatement of the administration’s ineffective educational values: increased competition for funding rather than equitable distribution of resources, more dependence on standardized tests for evaluation, more punishment for lowest-performing schools and an expansion of charter schools."


Strauss also maintains that Obama's "Race to the Top" initiative did not improve the educational system as his administration contends.  In her opinion, "Race to the Top" takes money away from effective programs such as ones like the Harlem Children's Zone that deals holistically with education in poverty stricken areas or Career and Technical Programs which will receive $264 million less than last year.  Strauss even argues  Education Secretary, Arne Duncan (who worked on the 2012 budget with Obama) is being hypocritical because he, "criticized No Child Left Behind’s (also a part of "Race to the Top") emphasis on standardized testing as resulting in narrowed curriculum and other problems, yet he still, inexplicably, wants more."


In the little reading I did on Obama's 2012 Education Budget, it appears he is playing to the centrist position of America knowing it will not make the left or the right sides happy, but hoping this will help him pass something through the divided Congressional chambers.  There will be many more articles written about the new budget, but this is a good primer for all to read so they know where our 2012 dollars will go towards education.  There is also a link in the column to the actual budget document for those who would like further detail.  It looks like the debate on the budget will be an interesting one!

Is our current testing system achieving desired results?

Nick Anderson
"Rhee faces renewed scrutiny over depiction of students’ progress when she taught”
Washington Post
February 10, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/10/AR2011021007240.html

Topic: This is basically a piece that highlights the actions of a school system chancellor. It basically magnifies a hit piece on her which was blogged by a teacher unhappy with her actions to hold teachers accountable. Whether the information of the article is factual or whether the Post should be re-printing blog information is a topic for another day.

The interesting discussion to me is the way in which the testing results of students are used and manipulated.

On one hand, it is very hard to measure whether students are meeting some basic benchmarks without testing them. On the other, the temptation for teachers and administrators to falsify, manipulate or misuse the test results is great.

As a tax payer, I like to see my money being used wisely. Although I like the intention behind the standardized testing, my hope is that some kind of reasonable balance can be met. There is importance in a grasp of facts which can be tested, but things such as creativity and innovation are much harder to measure but I believe are just as important.

Intended audience: Voters who can be swayed in regard to the chancellor and her policies.

Relevance: The discussion on the effectiveness of the current student standardized testing is at the forefront of both teachers, administrators and government watch-dog groups.