It bears repeating

Thanks to Vlorbik, I've revisted one of my favorite Rafe Esquith quotes. I just don't get tired of reading it. I hope you won't either.

"Many people in the public schools want certain things done for economic or political reasons. Frequently, teachers attending staff development meetings are taught not by master teachers but by publishing-company employees. Why do fifth-grade teachers need hours of instruction before they can use a fifth-grade math book? Book publishers don't go to bed at night worrying that Johnny can't read; they worry about sales and profits. If our teachers can't teach, they're unlikely to be reformed by textbook publishers.

My school currently has two literacy coaches-- former teachers-- who constantly beg me to use their materials with my children. When these coaches try to convince me about their approaches, they rarely rely on arguments about improving reading. At the end of the last school year, my fifth-graders scored in the ninety-first percentile in national tests while the rest of the school scored in the forties. The coaches know this, so why do they want me to change my methods? They want to satisfy their boss, who wants to please his boss, who wants to impress her boss-- administrators all. It's insulting (and boring) to listen to them drone on about how to use their books.

The same song-and-dance routine accompanies the promotion of the latest new-and-improved math textbook. Seriously, how many ways can you teach a child his multiplication tables? Arithmetic hasn't changed. If a math text is so complicated that the average fifth-grade teacher can't understand it without hours of instruction, then there's something wrong with the book, the teacher, or both. These companies interfere with creative and effective teachers. If we want Johnny to calculate better, we need to hire better teachers, not buy newer textbooks."

--Rafe Esquith, An actual classroom teacher
excerpted from There Are No Shortcuts

Vlorbik also suggested that I watch the movie: The Hobart Shakespeareans. It's now at the top of the queue.

The Paved Mind

This is fun. Ed was reading the paper yesterday when he realized Animals in Translation had been mentioned on the editorial page: The Paved Mind by Verlyn Klinkenborg, New York Times, May 22, 2009.

Klinkenborg is talking about perception but he could just as easily be talking about mastery & automaticity.

Speaking of mastery, the Spring 2009 Direct Instruction News has an article by Engelmann on "Mastery & Rate of Learning." I'll get passages posted shortly.


automaticity theory

Steve H on the GI Bill

After Crimson Avenger asked how school districts are responding to the stimulus bill, Steve H commented:

I was just thinking about the GI bill after WW II. If they really want to help kids, give the money to them and not the schools. You will get a lot more effort per dollar. A lot more school improvement will happen when kids and parents start paying attention and expecting more.

I agree.

How about a little history this summer?

If you're looking to infuse some history into your child's summer study plans, I have a great recommendation for you. History Odyssey by Pandia Press (the people with the great history timeline) has put together a very nice world history curriculum that brings together literature, history, and geography. The courses are divided into four periods: Ancients, Middle Ages, Early Modern, and Modern.

The best part is that you can download the initial lessons from each of the levels in a new try-before-you-buy feature that you really can't go wrong with.

Here's what you get in the trial PDF absolutely FREE:

• table of contents
• introductions
• applicable worksheets
• applicable maps (for History Odyssey)
• applicable appendices
• first several lessons (enough of the course to keep you busy for several weeks)

Level 1 (1st - 4th grade)
Level 2 (Grades 5 and up)
Level 3 (Grades 9 and up)

If you visit the Pandia Press website, you can review the table of contents/course outlines, lesson samples, and book & supply lists for each of the levels. Many of the literature and reference books should be available in your local library. This is my second year of using History Odyssey with my children and I've not been disappointed yet. My hope is that you won't be either.

I highly recommend you download the free trial PDFs and think about how you might use this to enrich your child's summer study plans. If you like it like I think you might, you'll be back for more.

http://www.pandiapress.com/

change

from The Rivertowns Enterprise, 5-22-2009:

Camp told the Enterprise on Wednesday morning that she was pleasantly surprised¹ by her first-place showing and attributed the support she received to the large-scale door-to-door campaign she ran, covering, in her estimation, about 80 percent of the community.²

"I believe the school system is too expensive and there needs to be more improvement in academics--they're not what they should be," said Camp.

Among her first priorities Camp said is to recommend the district eliminate the Math Trailblazers at the elementary level, which some parents³ have criticized. She vowed to "spend taxpayers' money like I spend my own -- very carefully."
p. 18

This election, 5 candidates ran for 2 seats; the board president and her running mate were challenged by 3 reform candidates. 1500 people cast votes for BOE, and Robyne's total was 801. John Dawson, also a reform candidate & a teacher in Yonkers, received 621.

Robyne was the only candidate of the 5 who was not endorsed by a newspaper.


¹ pleasantly surprised = stunned
² a force to be reckoned with
³ many parents

Journal News endorsements
Unfair description of Irvington voters
Irvington Budget approved; stricter bus limits defeated; board president ousted

Dimensional Analysis

We've talked about this subject in the past, but I thought I would bring it up again.

While working with my son, I've been trying to get him to look at units carefully, but unfortunately, I don't get a lot of help from his Glencoe Algebra I textbook ("units" is not even in the index). It's not as if they think that units are unimportant, but they don't go into details. For most problems, they take care of themselves if you think about it a little bit, so my son doesn't like it when I try to get more formal.

For example, if they talk about 60 miles per hour, I try to get him to think of it as

60 * 1 mile / 1 hour

where the units can stand alone and are multiplied and divided just like regular numbers. I don't want him thinking that there is a units called "miles per hour". I want him to treat units like numbers, and manipulate them like numbers. The base units are "miles" and "hours"; distance and time.

This came up when we were doing some more complicated D=RT problems. When problems are simple, units are simple. When problems get complicated, then units can cause your brain to explode. I told my son that units are your friends. They can tell you if you are trying to add apples with oranges.

Therefore, I've been pushing the idea that units are just like factors that are multiplied and divided and squared. If you calculate the area of a rectangle, you might multiply 5 ft times 7 ft. I want him to look at it like this:

5*(1 ft) * 7*(1 ft)

Where the units are separate and can be manipulated like numbers. I told him that after a while, he can think of "1 ft" as simply "ft". Since everything is multiplied together, you could think of it as:

5*7 * ft*ft

or

35 *(1 ft)^2


By now, he is annoyed and wondering why this formality is necessary. I explain that if he keeps the units with the numbers at all times and multiplies and divides them just like the numbers, the units will tell him if he is making a mistake. This is hard to justify with easy problems where the units are obvious, but you don't want to wait until the problems get difficult to add in these concepts of units.

I also explained to him that if you talk about something like moment: weight times distance, you can get "ft-lbs" for the units. I told him that the dash is commonly used, but it really means multiply. If you want the moment generated by a 60 lb. child 5 ft out at the end of a seesaw, then you would calculate moment by multiplying the two together:

60*(1 lb) * 5*(1 ft.)

which would give you

60*5 * lb *ft

or

300 ft-lb

But it really should be thought of as

300*ft*lb


Also, if you look at units as things you multiply and divide, then it's easy to see how to convert units using identities. If you want to convert 10 feet per second to miles per hour, you start with:

10 * ft/sec

I can multiply this by 1 and not change it (1*a = a). I also know that

3600 * sec = 1 * hr

I can rewrite this as:

(3600 *sec) / (1*hr) = 1

Or, I could invert it to get:

(1*hr) /(3600 *sec) = 1


I can then use this as my "1" to multiply the 10 ft/sec. So:

10 ft./sec * (3600 sec)/(1 hr)

To get:

10*3600 * (ft * sec) / (sec*hr)

Since the units are all multiplied and divided, I can "cancel out" the sec/sec because anything divided by itself is just 1, and then get:

36000 ft/hr

This kind of formality might seem unnecessarily difficult because we are only half way there, but once you practice it a bit, it becomes easy. It is also very necessary when the problems and units get much more complex.

For example, how about the mass unit called a slug?

1 slug = 1 lbf*sec^2/ft

Where lbf is pounds(force) or a weight. If you don't know how to formally deal with units, you will be lost.

concerned parent on Everyday Math & tutoring

"Parents are shelling out money for their kids because of such programs."

This is the problem. I live in a high SES town where the parents volunteer in the classroom, help with homework, read to their kids each night, make sure their kids get to school on time, and purchase a copy of the Everyday Math reference book to keep at home and help with homework.

Many of these same parents still shell out $80/hour (cash) to the teachers to tutor their child on the side; or they send their child to Kumon, Huntington, or Sylvan because their child just isn't getting EM. These parents are convinced there's something wrong with their child even though their child is trying to pay attention in class and diligently doing all the work.

In these cases (I know of many), there should definitely be an option to support the child because they all don't have access to a teacher like Cheryl or to Singapore Math, for example. They get the teacher they get (who may have little if any interest of content knowledge when it comes to mathematics) and are subjected to ill-conceived curricula such as Everyday Math. Who lobbies for these children?

In these cases I would rather see taxpayer money go to effective tutoring than to pay for teacher in-service or a math coach who lacks advanced math content knowledge and is merely a cheerleader for the math curricula d'jour.

where have I been?

So....yesterday I stumbled across this fantastic blog devoted to Singapore Math.

Then today I was reading the Grade 4 Word Problem on the new blog.

Then....after clicking around some more...I discovered that: the great new blog is written by Cassy T. The way you can tell is: it says so on the top of the blog.

So now I'm praying Cassy's blog hasn't been around for MONTHS.

[pause]

And I find that: YES!

IT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MONTHS! Since February 19, 2009 to be precise.

Remind me never to get involved in a school board campaign again.

Intellectual DNA

I've just left a comment at Robert Pondiscio's post "In Defense of the Liberal Arts" at the Core Knowledge blog:

I had a revelation not too long ago re: the liberal arts disciplines (including math, science, philosophy, rhetoric).

The disciplines are the intellectual DNA of the professions.

Law and medicine are called the "liberal professions" because they derive from or are descended from the liberal arts disciplines. If you've had a liberal education, you're at a tremendous advantage when it comes to learning a liberal profession.

I've believed for some time now—because I think I've lived it—that a solid grounding in the liberal arts disciplines turns you into a fast learner in the world of work. Siegfried Engelmann has a terrific new article out on the ways in which teaching to mastery increases the speed of learning. A central reason why disadvantaged children are slower learners when they begin school than advantaged children is that they lack the prior knowledge middle and upper-middle class parents take for granted.

It seems likely to me that, for adults, a liberal education is the equivalent of the "prior knowledge" advantaged children bring to Kindergarten. A student who graduates college with a "survey" knowledge of the liberal arts disciplines combined with a major in one discipline brings a vast store of prior knowledge to the world of work (and family & politics & religion—)

I'll get passages from Engelmann's article posted soon, I hope.

Everyday Math causes hoarding in Anchorage

Yesterday was the last day of school at my local elementary.  Today, I went to pick up some stuff and to say bye to all of my kids teachers.

I spoke to four teachers cleaning out their classrooms.  Every single one of them was in the process of hoarding math text books and scavenging worksheets to help supplement their forced transition into Everyday Math next year.

Of course when the subject of Everyday Math came up while I was talking to two of them, I started my rant.  "Your preaching to the choir" was their exact response.

My kids 3rd grade teacher was talking about how she was taking a class in Everyday Math this summer.  As a 30 year teacher, she told me how she has been through this before.  She said that she talks about she addresses the alternate algorithms like she is required to do, but then says "Now let me show you a better way" and continues to teach like she always has.

My kids future 6th grade teacher had already talked with the middle school pre-algebra teacher about what sort of things she needs to supplement to ensure they are ready for middle school math.

On the way out I ran into the Principle, and made a comment about EM.  "Oh I love Everyday Math" was his response.

Strange how the response varied so much between the teachers and the administration.

On another math related note, all three of kids scored advanced in math on their Standards Based Assessment (SBA) end of year tests.  My 5th grade son managed to score a 600 out of 600.  The only perfect score in any subject in the whole school.  Of course next year, all three of them will be taking EM.  At least my son qualified to take pre-algebra at the middle school next year, so I won't totally be working on my own on my EM insurgency.

p.s. sorry I haven't posted in a while :)

Internet4Classrooms

The speech therapist at school told us about this site: Internet4Classrooms.

Apparently it has short reading passages with comprehension questions following, which is what I need for Andrew.

Looks good so far --

due process for parents of general education kids

from Barry G:

As people think about lobbying their Congressman/Senator, it might be good to have some outlines in hand for legislation that offers parents due process for general education. One thing that SPED [special ed] laws allow is, for example, testing. If a parent requests their child be tested to determine possible LD or other problems and to determine the need for an IEP, the school must comply. If they do not, the parent has the right to have the child tested by a firm of their choosing, and if the results show the child has problems, the school then has to reimburse the parents for the cost of the testing. And in fact, upon initial request, the school has 60 days to make a determination of whether the child qualifies for an IEP.

We need laws that allow parents to be recognized. Parents should have the right to have their child tested in math, English etc using say ITBS. If the results show the child is doing poorly, the parents can be reimbursed for the cost of testing and also reimbursed for tutoring, or using Sylvan, etc. Rough idea, I know, but you get the gist. Any thoughts?


SPED: special education
LD: learning disabilities
IEP: Individualized Education Plan (for SPED kids only)
ITBS: Iowa Test of Basic Skills [parents of general education kids can order the test & give it to their children themselves, which I did one year - around $40 - ask me if you want details: cijohn@verizon.net]

Singapore Math comes to Dobbs Ferry

Westchester Math Lab

Walking distance from my house.

speaking of SAT scores...

Colleges Acknowledge SAT and ACT Score Cut-Offs in Admissions

This is news only because journalists continually write articles quoting college admissions officers saying SAT scores don't matter, or are going out of style, or are used holistically, or are "optional," or god-knows-what.

Trust nothing a college admissions officer tells a newspaper.

Some of the comments are great.

I was “waitlisted” at two of my top schools and when I called to follow-up, I was told point blank it was for my SAT scores. Sorry, but I have a hard time buying the holistic bit. Particularly given the number of applications some of these schools receive. They need to have an initial filter; test scores give it to them.

On a related note, I was also shown a list of applicants, while applying to grad school, and they were sorted by GRE score. Again, the person who showed me the list said, point blank, we sort first by scores.

— erin


When my first child and oldest daughter was readying to choose a college, I asked the admissions department of my alma mater whether she should apply. I was told, first, before any other topic was raised or question was asked, that the college board cutoff was such and such–about fifty points higher than my daughter’s score.

She had gone to a pricey progressive private high school, where her grades were not bad, though not straight As. She did well in English, but also in biology and math–her only really weak course was chemistry.

Her guidance counselor, a Harvard graduate, was unable to interest the admissions departments of any major ivy league school in considering my daughter.

I asked the college admission department if a legacy mattered at all. “Somewhat,” I was told. Eventually, my third child was admitted, but he made the board score cut.

This practice has at least one side effect that has not been well understood. It is actually part of the decline of the humanities in American colleges and Universities, because the boards emphasize quantifiable ability–obviously so in mathematical skills, but still true in the “verbal” part of the exam: what else could such an exam do but quantify? Even the writing exam is graded, not on quality of the writing, but on quatifiable features, e.g. whether it has topic sentences at the beginnings of paragraphs (a custom universal in America but nowhere else, and only due to college entrance exams, including AP English), whether it has a standard three-paragraph form, whether it has an intro and a conclusion, and so on. THe content can be invented; can be virtually nonsense, but the template of the essay form to which all high school English writing is now taught can be measured, counted, and scored. Likewise the multiple choice questions which test for information processing ability only. There is no way to build a standardized test for humanitas.

— droll


Our child is a high school senior. He scored very well on his ACT but his cumulative GPA at the time of applications was just below 2.5. He was, nonetheless, offered scholarships and entrance into honors programs at different schools. You don’t need to convince me that these test scores are really where it’s at.

— jay


Having retired from the college counseling field, I recall when it became non-PC to use a single test score as a cutoff for admissions. There was some discussion of this being racist and not being the purpose for which tests were standardized (and thus leaving schools open to lawsuits). So colleges were coached to say they viewed test scores as “only one factor in a holistic assessment.” It my observation that some college admission teams actually employ holistic assessment and some only pretend to do so. Some admissions staffers value test scores because they value tests but don’t know an instrument’s limitations; others are racists. It’s hard to discern who is who isn’t it?

— George


The holistic approach apparently does not apply to the NJ state schools. My sister’s twin daughters did not do well on the SATs, but they each have excellent gradepoints, extra-curriculars, outside jobs, sports, and stellar course grades for the college courses they have taken in their junior and senior years of high school. They and my sister were each told flat out that it was meet the cut-off score or we don’t look any further. Luckily, the non-state schools that they each applied to accepted them(2 acceptances each). I wonder if this policy is linked in any way to the budgetary issues in NJ government?

— Jim McNerney


I have had years of experience at graduate school admissions for my department. First, the TOEFL had an institution-imposed minimum for admission, and experience told us that it was too low. Also, there is doubt about testing conditions in some countries.

Second, we came to understand that there are only three scores on the General portion of the GRE: high, middle, and low. Enough students take the GRE more than once, so we were able to see the variances in scores not attributable to additional education.

Third, subject-area GRE scores are useful. Since we did not require them (but were encouraged), when good scores showed up we regarded applicants as confident in their disciplinary knowledge.

Fourth, general and major GPAs are unreliable because they depend on the standards in place where they were earned. From less-highly-regarded institutions, applicants may have perfect GPAs, stellar letters of recommendation, and miserable GRE scores. When admitted, their failure rates were high, unless they dug in and made up for what they had not learned. OK GPAs from top institutions, or from students who had lots of jobs to get through college, were treated as just fine, and that’s mostly how they turned out.

— Leading Edge Boomer

preparation for College Admission Exams

SAT Question

I started reviewing typical math questions in a SAT test prep book I have. My reaction is that preparation would make a VERY big difference. I think I will have to put together my own simplified list of things you have to know automatically.

However, I read in this book that when you apply to college, they get to see ALL of the scores from all of the times you took the test. They said that some colleges will average the scores and not just take the highest ones. I was thinking that I would have my son start taking the test several times to get him up to speed. The book said that this isn't the best thing to do. You're better off practicing at home and then taking the test. If the results are about 100 points (total) below what you get in practice, only then should you take the SAT a second time.

Haven't been there and haven't done that.

When I was in school, I took the PSAT and the SAT once, with absolutely no preparation.

election

Camp & Dawson

Robyne Camp Answers to 10 Questions

John Dawson: Answers to 6 Questions

Community Service

Is it now common for schools to require community service? What are some examples of how this works? I don't see anything explicitly required by our schools. This came up because my son was asked to play the piano at a special meeting in another town. In the course of the conversation, the person (who was a high school teacher in the other town) said that they would give him a letter of community service. My first reaction was irritation. My son would (should) make the decision without that carrot dangling in from of him. Of course he said yes, but when I mentioned the community service angle, he wasn't surprised. He said that they push that all of the time at school, although he didn't think it was mandatory for our middle school.

Philosophically, all of this bothers me. I always remember what Ollie North's lawyer said during the Iran-Contra scandal:

"I'm not a potted plant. I'm here as the lawyer. That's my job.”

That's how I feel. I'm not a potted plant. I'm here as the parent. That's my job.

I don't want my son always looking for an angle or for something to go on his resume, but I can see the changes taking place.

Castles in the air

I was at a meeting recently with several district-level administrators from around the country, and the discussion turned to the current financial situation. Either I’m completely naïve about the realities of school funding, or they’re in denial about the current state of affairs. I still don’t know which is closer to the mark.

Given the state of things, one would expect administrators to look at the $100 billion in stimulus funds as a temporary reprieve: a two-year window to get their houses in order before feeling the full effect of the financial downturn. It should allow for a softer landing.

But there was no talk of reducing expenses, finding efficiencies, or eliminating programs. Instead, the primary focus was on using that money for teacher training, with new data systems a secondary interest. There weren’t many specifics available: some wanted to focus teacher training on RTI or on target areas (reading and math), and the discussion around data systems was very general (ie, “must be easy to use,” etc. - nothing that would be helpful in actually building or customizing a system).

While the Department of Education has repeatedly said that the stimulus funds are a one-shot deal, these administrators were convinced that all they had to do was show some kind of progress – however they chose to define it – and the money would be renewed. I haven’t heard anything about continuation of funds from any other source, but these folks were certain that as long as they moved the needle in some way, the money would keep flowing.

In fairness to them, the guidance for use of the stimulus funds is focused on academic outcomes, and that’s the framework they have to operate in. But the expectation for renewal was totally new: first time I’ve heard that anywhere, yet there was a clear expectation among everyone there that it would happen. And a clear lack of planning for what would happen if it didn’t.

Has anyone else seen this sort of thinking? Any signs as to how your districts are dealing with the stimulus money or the financial situation in general?

letter to the editor, part 2

Letters to the editor are becoming a specialty around these parts.

I love the line about parent expectations & artificial turf.


update 9/5/2009

The LoHud link no longer works. Here's the full text of the letter:

Unfair description of Irvington voters

MAY 18, 2009

I was taken aback by the denigrating tone of your May 11 endorsement of Irvington school board candidates. The editorial betrayed a disturbing ignorance of local issues when it sniped at Irvington residents, caricaturing them as wealthy "movie and media stars," and conveyed irony that residents expect "... students to continue to perform with the best of them," despite an unwillingness to spend large sums for artificial turf fields.

The editorial's focus on dollars and cents misses the central point that Irvington residents - the majority of whom happen to be middle- and upper middle-class - have been rankled for years by a district administration that repeatedly ignores or belittles parents' concerns about the uneven quality of academic programs; implemented a controversial new math curriculum despite overwhelming community opposition; and has overseen the installation and replacement of four different middle school principals in less than six years. In this context, residents were understandably angry to discover that district expenditures have risen above $26,000 per student - the second-highest level in Westchester County.

Contrary to what was implied by your editorial, I am proud to be a member of a community that uniformly and vigorously supports its public schools. If we didn't, we would have walked away from these battles long ago.

Kathy A. Kaufman
Irvington

And here is the Journal News endorsement to which Kathy was responding:

Our recommendations for Irvington school district
May 11, 2009

It would be so easy to lapse into assumptions when talking about Irvington. The pricey restaurants, the movie and media stars, the big houses - while taking stock of these things, the casual observer might easily conclude that the locals just throw money around. Members of the Irvington school board could set you straight on that one.

Twice in as many bond votes, district voters rejected propositions to spend millions to renovate athletic fields - this despite the pleas of so many disenfranchised (or so they said) young people. The last vote, in December, wasn't even close. A $6 million bond failed by nearly 1,000 votes. Additionally, from where this Editorial Board sits, it seems the public discourse over school funding here has taken on a harder edge. At the same time, district residents expect Irvington students to continue to perform with the best of them.

Among the five candidates running for school board, we think two offer district residents the best opportunity to reach both those aims - Tanya Hunt, the board president, and Kevin Swersey, a challenger. Hunt, a full-time mom and former press secretary to members of Congress, has been on the board since 2006. She knows the district inside and out; she was an active PTSA and Irvington Education Foundation volunteer before joining the board.

As board president, she has led the district through what doubtless has been one of the toughest budget deliberations in years. The $51 million budget before voters May 19 would increase spending less than 1 percent; taxes would rise 0.2 percent. Ten positions would be axed. Another ballot question aims to cut transportation costs. "I believe it is critically important in these difficult times to have school board leaders like me who intimately understand the complexities of governing and running a school district," Hunt replied to our questionnaire. We agree.

Swersey is a fine wine consultant. He has served minimal duty as a volunteer - it used to be that everybody running in Irvington had extensive volunteer experience. More recently, though, Swersey has worked hard on his own to drill into the school budget, pressing for answers, probing for savings and efficiencies, holding officials accountable. Whether Swersey actually "has the goods," so to speak, is another matter. In this economic climate, however, it is painfully clear that what district residents want is someone who will press for answers - and keep pressing. We think Swersey, better than the other challengers, would fill that bill.

Also on the ballot are John Dawson, a teacher in Yonkers; Paul Janos, the former Tarrytown mayor; and Robyn Camp, a lawyer.

A Journal News editorial

Robyne Camp won with 53% of the vote.

She was the only candidate of the 5 who was not endorsed by a newspaper.

One Step Ahead of the Train Wreck

Barry Garelick has a great new article in EducationNews.org!

SAT Question of the Day

This is the question of the day from the College Board


"The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E."


The Sun has been shining for "nearly" five billion years and is thought "that it has" sufficient thermonuclear fuel in its core "to shine" "for about" another five billion.

A "nearly"
B "that it has"
C "to shine"
D "for about"
E no error


[Ed. My question is how do you define "error" in writing?]



Correct Answer: B

Here's Why:

The error in this sentence occurs at (B), where there is awkward and unidiomatic phrasing. The awkward “that it has” should simply be “to have.”

Question Type: Identifying Sentence Errors (Writing)

[Ed. Too bad they don't give hints on the test.]

"Hint - Look for awkward or wordy phrasing."


[Ed. Awkward or wordy phrases aren't "errors" to me. This tells me that SAT prep can make a huge difference.]

the candidates

questions & answers

at last it can be told

I am going to say something scandalous: Just because we went to school for teaching doesn't mean that we come out of school as master teachers.

Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching
by Robyn R. Jackson

Long term debt unsustainable

Alert, alert. Common sense moment just occurred for President Obama.

So why is the government being positioned as the solution to so many of our problems? Inquiring minds would like to know.

am I hearing things?

Click on this link.

Then tell me if the web site is talking to you.

The answer better be 'yes.'

The market steps in

As the parent of children in the public school system, I receive many solicitations for tutoring services. This pitch for a summer school session, in particular, caught my eye.

Math Facts Boot Camp
Pre-Algebra
Algebra I
Algebra II
Geometry
With the new emphasis on “real world” or “integrated” math, many educators agree that the skills that go into solving math problems, pure and simple, are being lost. Chyten’s math Facts Boot Camps are comprehensive and intensive courses in which the ability to solve equations is brought back to its rightful position, front and center in a student’s math mind.
Five 2-hour session

Although many of our government schools seem to be more focused on making sure students are “engaged” and “love learning” rather than on actually teaching vital skills and concepts, at least it’s reassuring to know that the private market has stepped in to help. Well, it can help those families that can afford to pay $550 [edited to correct price] for this “boot camp” class.

I notice that these boot camps are targeted to middle- and high-school students. For many, this is when the sh*t hits the fan, and parents may be ready to part with their hard earned money as they come to realize what vital skills their children have not yet learned (were not taught, perhaps?) in school.

http://www.chyten.com/ces/site/global/ads/summer_catalog_09.pdf

the experts, such as they are

I think I've mentioned before that Irvington is now so roiled by dissatisfaction with district leadership that each of the various letter-to-the-editor writer-dissenters have acquired a fan base.

I am an avid follower of David K:

...whatever their own views might be, the current board members have utterly deferred to the super, unfortunately so. The current board is intimidated by the "veil of expertise," be it the lawyer's or the super's or the facilities guy, which means we're back to the "structural" problem.

And of Les J's:

I have not understood why salaries and increases for the administrative staff have not been reported out as a matter of course. I work for a public institution and all of our salaries, all of our raises, and, for those few eligible for bonuses, bonuses are a matter of public record and are published in paper and electronic formats. Why is this not the case for Irvington ???

David K.:

It's b/c the Board either doesn't share that philosophy, hasn't thought about having a philosophy on such matters to begin with, or is held captive by counsel whose view presumably is "nothing more than the law dictates." I'm trained as a lawyer -- I get it -- but our school district is supposed to be run by us, not by the "experts," such as they are.

Have I mentioned I've become a community organizer?

Well, I have.

a school district not my own

more fun with nominally high performing schools

Atoning Slavery With Calculators

Brown donates 12,000 graphing calculators to Providence’s middle, high school students


In an ironc twist of fate, Brown University and its African American president, Ruth Simmons, attempt to atone for the university's links to slavery by keeping all kids down on the mathematical plantation.

Rather than work backwards to quantitatively define what knowledge and skills (and GPA and SAT scores) are needed to be accepted into Brown University, they decide to throw some calculators at the problem and see what sticks to the wall. The biggest winner? TI.

"The calculators, which cost a total of $118,000, represent the first step toward fulfilling the university’s pledge to improve public education in the city’s schools."

"Simmons said that Supt. Tom Brady suggested the graphing calculators because they fit nicely with new math and science curricula that will be introduced this fall. "

"Two years ago, Simmons made a personal donation of $25,000 to help buy graphing calculators for the entire freshman class at Hope High School."


“At Brown, Ph.D. students have to teach college,” she said. “Wouldn’t it be great if they taught in public schools? We say, ‘We are the elite. We are professors.’ Well, that doesn’t serve us well. We have to get universities back into every level of education.”

They will have to get education credentials first!

Incentives

The quality of patient care when focused on the patient, the unresponsive school district, Precision Teaching, business acumen, and Don't Shoot the Dog. The connection is

Incentives Matter.

We need to Incentivize the behaviors we want to see more of.

Behavioral Science has shown us that We Improve What We Measure. Positive Reinforcement works best by measuring successes and rewarding them. But even just charting the results with no other reward improves the outcome for what's measured.

So we better measure the right things.

What outcomes do we want to incent?

Often, we're talking about this at the student level. But what if we turned it around, and instead of using e.g. Precision Teaching just on students, we did it to the teachers? The principal? The School Board?

Seriously, if we want transparency from the school board, can we chart it? What if we kept a celeration chart on the web showing the District' Response Time to a parent's request for data? Just KNOWING the chart is publicly available should have an effect.

Or how about keeping a chart showing number of conversations board members have per week with non ed-speak people? ie.e parents or students?

Or a chart showing the number of conversations had without a lawyer present in the room?

Or a chart showing how many parent suggested curricula/materials/ideas were adopted?

Any other suggestions for what behaviors we want to incentivize? Any suggestions for the metrics to do it?

How about in the classroom, by the teacher? How about at the principal level?

Any chance we could get a school board to adopt putting the celeration chart for their principals/teachers/etc on their web site? That would really make a difference.

pass fail

Live from New York

Happy Mother's Day

source: Simply Art


Or, if you're not in a Mary Cassat frame of mind, there's always the Mothers from Hell 2.

I was a charter member of Mothers from Hell 1.

Switched on Mom has a blog!

You probably all knew that.

This is exciting.

Two MCPS officials gave the presentation and led off with one of those painful “warm-up” exercises where they 1) offer a statement like “Most parents want their children to have the opportunity to go to college,” 2) ask those gathered to raise their “Agree” or “Disagree” card–and then 3) have the participants share why they said what they did.

[snip]

“This is more than an information campaign,” the MCPS official intoned, “this is about advocacy.” Roll tape/DVD of the “Seven Keys to College Readiness” – “a pathway identified by MCPS that will increase the likelihood of students being ready for college and earning a degree.” (The video is on the Keys homepage.)

Next the presenter shared a cautionary tale from his own family, of a nephew who was getting A’s and B’s in elementary and middle school but got off track in high school. He should have tried AP classes but didn’t. He didn’t graduate on time with his class, so Uncle MCPS had him move in and he was now taking remedial classes at Montgomery College on his own dime. Tough stuff. But it went further. Uncle MCPS persuaded the kid to tell his story to the camera and to us directly. Roll tape again. “If there had been a better relationship between my parents and the school, I would have done better,” the student said. Ouch.

Sobering Seven Keys Meeting

A better relationship?

Steve H on "language arts"

My son is now in 7th grade and I still don't know what goes on in Reading and Language Arts.

This area gets double the time now. Reading is a full course and LA is a full course. He reads books (all of the same genre - He never gets any history or biography books) but there is not a lot of writing going on. One time, he had to do a board game for a book. That would be his third so far in his school career. One time, he was allowed to do a web page about a book. My son can create a video and upload it to YouTube in minutes (self-taught). What he really needs is more help in writing.

Everything I see about schools screams low expectations.

Twenty-first century skills are vocational. What kids need are knowledge and skills that have passed the test of time; reading, math, history, and critical analysis and writing.

Three board games.

wow

That's a lot of board games.


the high school vanishes

Lucy Calkins, Lucy Calkins, part 3

Becky does Cargo Cult Lucy (you may have to hit refresh a couple of times)

5 figures

nice work if you can get it (contracts here)

Everyday Math, an implementation

Saint Paul public schools use Everyday Math for their curriculum in all elementary schools, regardless of type of school, including "city wide", magnets, or any flavor of "type" attached, be they self-designated Montessori, Core Knowledge, IB, or any other supposed program. I've been trying to understand how Everyday Math is implemented.

Recently, I was able to find a great number of resources on the Saint Paul public web site, including standards, frameworks, tools, curriculum planners, worksheets and other items that the district uses to support its teachers, coaches, admins with EM. I found these illuminating, if not encouraging. Perhaps they will enlighten others whose schools use Everyday Math as well.

Here is the K-6 Framework document for Mathematics. It sets out the overarching vision the district has and lists the standards they say they implement. It's a confusing document, poorly organized. I've excerpted some of it below, but to get a feel for it, it's best to read it.

The framework doc mentions that SPPS has been working with an organization called Institute for Learning, IFL, at the University of Pittsburgh. They help with the planning and execution of the curriculum. (anyone have an opinion of IFL?) The framework says "These principles guide not only administrative leadership, but curriculum, instruction, and assessment in an authentic standards-based model." Some of the IFL's nine principles of learning are excerpted below, mostly the lowlights. (I love how they service-marked one of them--AccountableTalkSM!

1. Organizing for Effort
An effort-based school replaces the assumption that aptitude determines what and how much students learn with the assumption that sustained and directed effort can yield high achievement for all students. Everything is organized to evoke and support this effort, to send the message that effort is expected and that tough problems yield to sustained work. High minimum standards are set and assessments are geared to the standards.All students are taught a rigorous curriculum, matched to the standards, along with as much time and expert instruction as they need to meet or exceed expectations.

...

5. Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum
Thinking and problem solving will be the "new basics" of the 21st century. But the common idea that we can teach thinking without a solid foundation of knowledge must be abandoned. So must the idea that we can teach knowledge without engaging students in thinking. Knowledge and thinking are intimately joined. This implies a curriculum organized around major concepts that students are expected to know deeply. Teaching must engage students in active reasoning about these concepts. In every subject, at every grade level, instruction and learning must include commitment to a knowledge core, high thinking demand, and active use of knowledge.

Commitment to a Knowledge Core
�� An articulated curriculum that avoids needless repetition and progressively deepens understanding of core concepts.
�� Curriculum and instruction organized around major concepts.
�� Teaching and assessment focus on mastery of core concepts.
High Thinking Demand
�� Students expected to raise questions, to solve problems, to reason.
�� Challenging assignments in every subject.
�� Extended projects.
�� Explanations and justification expected.
�� Reflection on learning strategies.
Active Use of Knowledge
�� Synthesize several sources of information
�� Test understanding by applying and discussingconcepts.
�� Apply prior knowledge.
�� Interpret texts and construct solutions.

6. Accountable TalkSM
Talking with others about ideas and work is fundamental to learning. But not all talk sustains learning. For classroom talk to promote learning it must be accountable to the learning community, to accurate and appropriate knowledge, and to rigorous thinking.Accountable TalkSM seriously responds to and further develops what others in the group have said. It puts forth and demands knowledge that is accurate and relevant to the issue under discussion. Accountable TalkSM uses evidence appropriate to the discipline (e.g., proofs in mathematics, datafrom investigations in science, textual details in literature, documentary sources in history) and follows established norms of good reasoning.Teachers should intentionally create
the norms and skills of Accountable TalkSM in their classrooms.

Accountability to the Learning Community
�� Students actively participate in classroom talk.
�� Listen attentively.
�� Elaborate and build on each other's ideas.
�� Work to clarify or expand a proposition.
Accountability to Knowledge
�� Specific and accurate knowledge.
�� Appropriate evidence for claims and arguments.
�� Commitment to getting it right.
Accountability to Rigorous Thinking
�� Synthesize several sources of information.
�� Construct explanations and test understanding ofconcepts.
�� Formulate conjectures and hypotheses.
�� Employ generally accepted standards of reasoning.
�� Challenge the quality of evidence and reasoning.


7. Socializing Intelligence
Intelligence is much more than an innate ability to think quickly and stockpile bits of knowledge. Intelligence is a set of problem-solving and reasoning capabilities along with the habits of mind that lead one to use those capabilities regularly. Intelligence is equally a set of beliefs about one's right and obligation to understand and make sense of the world, and one's capacity to figure things out over time. Intelligent habits of mind are learned through the daily expectations placed on the learner. By calling on students to use the skills of intelligent thinking—and by holding them responsible for doing so—educators can "teach" intelligence. This is what teachers normally do with students they expect much from; it should be standard practice with all students.
Beliefs
�� I have the right and obligation to understand and make things work.
�� Problems can be analyzed and I am capable of that analysis.
Skills
�� A toolkit of problem-analysis skills (meta-cognitive strategies) and good intuition about when to use them.
�� Knowing how to ask questions, seek help, and get enough information to solve problems.

...

Eventually, they do get to the actual standards. Leaving aside whether NCTM or Minnesota standards are any good for now, you can read the standards, and then read what the framework says they need to do for instruction, and you'll see that it never says anything that would actually meet the standard.

Here's an example: For First Grade, the standard says (some pieces left out):

Teachers will:
�� Establish daily 60 minutes—or more—mathematics lessons.
�� Spend 35–40 minutes teaching Part 1 of the lesson,15–20 minutes on Part 2 (the practice and review), and 5 minutes on the closing.
�� Ensure that all students receive Part 1 of the lesson (no pull-outs).
�� Teach math to a heterogeneous group of students. Ability grouping is not recommended for Part 1 of the lesson.
�� Provide Flexible Group Lessons/Activities daily.
During Part 2, at least one or two flexible group lessons that are 5–7 minutes in length,are offered to a small group of students needing extra time/practice to learn an expected Secure skill/standard. (Pull-outs for support services could occur during Part 2 of the lesson.)

Provide students needing enrichment—in pairs or in a small group—activities to extend,enhance,and enrich their math learning, during all of Part 2. These activities must support the learning goals of the topic or strand of the current Everyday Math unit. If you determine they are demonstrating proficiency on the skill taught during Part 1, they may be excused from that as well. (Pullouts for support services could occur during Part 1 or 2 of the lesson.)
�� Teach, in sequence, all lessons in both Teacher Guides of Everyday Math,covering four to five lessons per week.
(Follow the pacing guide of the curriculum.)
�� Use the Everyday Math Games as part of the lesson, part of flexible groups, part of
homework, or at other review times. Students should play the games at school, up to four or five times per week.
�� Have students write their mathematical thinking/processes used to reach a solution, at least two times a week.
�� Create a classroom environment that recognizes and supports the strengths and abilities of diverse learners.
�� With students, create ongoing class charts, including vocabulary aids/graphic organizers.
�� Read Content Highlights at the beginning of each unit to support deeper mathematical knowledge and instruction.
�� Regularly analyze student work with their colleagues.
�� Provide multiple ways of presenting mathematical concepts.

�� Create a classroom environment where students take central roles in the math-talk
learning community.
This includes:
1) students listening in order to understand each other's thinking;
2) students reasoning, defending,and proving their math concepts to one another;
3) students using thelanguage of mathematics in order to engage in Math-Talk/Accountable Talk; (Refer to Principles of Learning #6.)

Read the rest of the document for more. Remember, those were for FIRST GRADE.

Other documents that shed light on how the district operates:

The Math Coaching Vision document is here. This appears to be how math coaches create accountability, at least at their quarterly coaching meetings.

Here is a document explaining what you would be seeing if you visited a District Model Classroom teaching Everyday Math.


This document is called Everyday Math Instruction Evidence . It lists standards and benchmarks of what is supposed to be happening in a classroom during instruction, presumably so the teacher or teacher evaluator can determine if such elements are occurring.

Here are some of the things they are looking for :

a. Creates a rich math classroom environment
- Number Line, Number Grid posted and used
- Student generated charts are available
- Word Wall is available for student use
- Math Literature is read by teacher to class and available to students
b. Provides Part 1, Part 2 and a Closing, including pacing
- All students participate in Part 1
- Students are placed in appropriate flexible groups, for reteaching and for enrichment
- A closing includes students sharing what they learned and/or what still confuses them
- The pacing expectations are closely followed
c. Uses open ended questions - Accountable Talk
- Encourages critical mathematical thinking
- Students use reasoning, defending, and proving skills
- Students use the language of mathematics
- Students and teacher are questioners
- Students take responsibility for their learning

Read the document for more.

Writer's Workshop

SteveH has been asking questions about how to explain what happens in classrooms, and how to relate that to what parents are told about schools, administrators, teachers, etc. He asked if teachers were even teaching, or just going through motions; if administrators have control over what teachers do in classrooms, or not, etc.

I am trying to find out just how bad the current writing curriculum mandated by the Saint Paul, MN public school district is.

The curriculum is called Writer's Workshop.

It's been difficult to find district-wide info such as syllabi, curriculum maps, on WW. Instead, I've been able to find little blurbs on the various elementary schools' own web sites--note that each school speaks differently about the same program. It seems to be a good example of the chaos that Steve is trying to wrap his head around. Here we have a curriculum which is positively abysmal in its goals, implemented district wide, yet appears to mean vastly different things inside each school and each classroom anyway.

I've included here everything I can find about the Kindergarten portion of Writer's Workshop.

All errors are in the original web pages.


from Prosperity Heights Elementary:

"Writer's Workshop
Depending on your class situation and available time, Writer's Workshop activities is a useful and meaningful extension to the current curriculum. Writer's Workshop is a teaching technique that invites sutdents to write by making the process a meaningful part of the classroom curriculum. Writing is an expected activity on a daily basis. Students are exposed to the organization and thought required to create a story or write about a favorite topic. Because they are allowed to chose the topic, students are motivated to create and complete works to read to classmates.

For Kindergarten stduents, whose skills will greatly vary, the goal is to move pre-emergent readers into the writing process by eliciting a story from a drawing, and encouraging the student to move from drawing to writing by guiding the student in the use of phonetics to sound out words. Ideally, students become enamored by the power of their words, and will strive for the independence of fluency. Writer's Workshop can be paired with reading activities to create a powerful motivating tool when teaching literacy. "

From Webster Magnet Elementary:

Writer's Workshop

We are writers! During Writer's Workshop we write, write, write! By the end of kindergarten we will be independent writers using sound spelling and standard spelling to communicate our ideas. We will record our thoughts with labels and sentences. Some of the concepts we focus on in Writer's Workshop are: directionality of print, using letter sounds to write words, using word wall words and environmental print in our written work, the difference between letters, words and sentences and using spaces between words. We know our ideas and stories are valuable and enjoy sharing them with others!

from Randolph Heights (note this applies to their whole program, rather than focusing just on Kindergarten:

Writers Workshop


Randolph Heights is implementing a new writing curriculum - "Writer's Workshop". During Writer's Workshop, students learn about the techniques that authors use to make writing effective.

Each workshop session begins with a mini lesson presented by the teacher. Lessons may be on skills or the craft of writing. Grammar skills suich as subject-verb agreement, capitalization, paragraphing and punctuation are developed during mini lessons. Students are also taught about the writing process - drafting, revising, and editing - during mini lessons.

The next step in Writer's Workshop is planning and drafting. This is when the students are writing in their notebooks. Writing assignments are generated by the mini lessons on skills and craft.

During planning and drafting time, while students are working on writing, the teacher meets individually with students. This time is used to assess progress ona written work and to reteach/review skills taught in mini lessons.

During the last 5 - 10 minutes of Writer's Workshop, students gather together to share their writing with the entire group or to bring closure to the lesson.

This is my personal favorite, which appears on the Crossroads Elementary website, but appears to be a draft document (that I cannot find anywhere else on the spps web site) of Saint Paul Public Schools' Project for Academic Excellence:

Launching Writer's Workshop: Living the Writerly Life
The Literacy Initiative of the Project for Academic Excellence is guided by two sets of standards for what students should know and be able to do: the Minnesota Standards and the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) Standards. In this first unit of study of the year, Writer's Workshop addresses the NCEE Kindergarten Writing Standard 1: Habits and Processes of Writing Standard.

Students will:
* Write daily.
* Generate content and topics for writing.
* Write without resistance when given the time, place and materials.
* Use whatever means are at hand to communicate and make meaning: drawings, letter strings, scribbles, letter approximations and other graphic representations, as well as gestures, intonations and role-played voices.
* Make an effort to reread their own writing and listen to that of others, showing attentiveness to meaning by, for example, asking for more information or laughing.

The teaching objectives of this unit are based largely on the Habits and Processes Standard. As such, they are only begun in this unit and continued throughout the year.

Students will:
* View themselves as confident and competent writers.
* Develop the habits, fluency, and stamina of writers by writing daily, including recording oral stories.
* Develop an understanding that ideas for writing come from many sources, including oral stories that can be remembered, told, and written down.
* Generate their own topics by choosing an idea from their own oral stories or writing folders to work on over the course of a few days.
* Understand the steps of the writing process from collecting entries through publication.
* Reflect on the quality of their writing.
* Practice the rituals and routines of the Writer's Workshop - ways of working independently, productively, and resourcefully in a workshop environment.
* Listen to stories read aloud as a way to develop an understanding that they will be writing stories like their favorite authors.

This is bad enoughm ut it doesn't really say what's happening in a classroom--it could all be perfect teaching of writing for all this says.

So what does happen in a classroom?

I was able to find this link, pointing to a 4th grade class at Galthier Magnet Elementary, pointing to a page for the use of Writer's Workshop. The page says:

Writer's Workshop

Here you will be able to receive help on our current theme in the workshop.

Click on this link to review the what's on our SMARTBOARD for the realistic fiction unit!

Ah, a SMARTBOARD. So shall we see that SMARTBOARD presentation? Read it and weep.

Here is the movie.
This is apparently classroom instruction on how to write realistic fiction for fourth graders.
My favorite part is the end where we see a note to parents saying they need to help their child do their writing homework, including using the "editing checklist" to check their work.

Different Planets

I went to a gathering of top state educators this evening. (Maybe someday I can give more details. I have a number of funny anecdotes.) There was no particular agenda or goals. Everyone just got to talk. I realized that I couldn't talk about anything. I felt like I was at a party where everyone wanted to talk about politics or religion. I clam right up in those situations. I was thinking that they were all so darned sure of themselves. I realized that I felt this same way at many of the school parent-teacher meetings I've attended. They are on a different planet. It's like when one of my brother-in-laws starts talking about politics (or Buddhism). The conversation is one-directional by definition. I contrast this with the bi-directional conversations I have with another brother-in-law. We have interesting conversations about everything, and it's not because we agree.

which picture doesn't belong?

and why?

Now that the School District has admitted that they have no copyright on the information and pictures posted on their website, we are again able to take this public information, gathered, processed, and presented with public funds and post them on the Valhalla Voice.

Here are six pictures from Valhalla's website. Today's question is:

"Which doesn't belong and why?"

The answer is the cow of course. Not because there is no cow in Valhalla, but because there was a cow in Valhalla.

Is it getting to be time to put the public school system out of its misery?

Grade Reversal?

I'm collecting anecdotes!

Specifically about cases in which smart students are getting lower grades than their classmates. 

Perhaps they aren't explaining their answers to math problems.

Perhaps they don't do well with the arts & crafts/"creativity" components of English and social studies assignments.

Perhaps they don't cooperate well in group assignments.

Perhaps they participate insufficiently in class discussions.

Perhaps their classrooms are too cluttered and chaotic for them to concentrate.

Perhaps they are overwhelmed by big, interdisciplinary projects and multi-step directions.

Perhaps they are too uninspired to "go that extra mile" that top grades require.

And perhaps the actual academic requirements in math, science, writing, etc., are so low that they have no way to exhibit their strengths.

Whatever your child's/students story is, please share it here.

(Cross-posted at Out In Left Field)

Why Students Don't Like School

first review

Am going to get a review up on Amazon -- you all should, too!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Enjoy celebrating Mexican-style; but, please don't call it "Mexican Independence Day" which it is not. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the battle of Puebla where an outnumbered Mexican army defeated the French forces on May 5, 1862. It's actually a bigger deal in the U.S. than it is anywhere but in Puebla, Mexico, perhaps.

It doesn't make the chips, guacamole and margaritas any less fun though. Have a good one!

Why?

Teacher and Teaching by Richard Henry Tierney, S.J.

Google Books has a pdf file of the book available for downloading.

'switched on Mom' says they're rolling out initiatives down Montgomery County way

"Once a child is identified as being three years behind it shouldn't matter whether they are purple, from the planet Ork; they need placement that is appropriate to get them back on track. Anything less is just child abuse disguised as political correctness."

And yet where I live (Montgomery County, MD) the drive is precisely toward heterogeneous classrooms, and away from homogeneous grouping. They they are rolling out something called The Seven Keys to College Readiness. Benchmarks are being set that are unrealistic for some students, and too low for others. Advocates who call for more homogeneous grouping and a differentiated gifted curriculum are painted as elitists and even racists.

Elitists and racists, no doubt. Parents are stinkers.

Still and all, it could always be worse (and, if experience is a guide, it will be). At least the concept of college readiness has caught the attention of the folks running Montgomery schools.

Unlike here. The folks running my own district (per pupil spending: $26,718) will have no truck with college readiness.

Last fall I asked the administration to include "college preparation" on the new 21-page Strategic Plan.

They said no.

Actually, they didn't even say 'no.' What they said was:

The strategic plan does not have specific mention of college readiness or international benchmarks. However, as a practice we are reviewing the Standards for Success—which you know is based on University preparedness.

Yes, indeed, I do know. I happen to own the book. Also, I possess all of the pdf file downloads that comprise the book, and I know where to find them on my hard drive. Ed read the history standards & says they are sound.^*

So this is a terrific resource, and we can all sleep soundly at night knowing it is being "reviewed." But it's not on the Plan.

You can find all of the Standards for Success material here. (Click on "ordering information" for pdf files.) College work samples in English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Second Languages here.





Universities Push to Influence State Tests for High School Students
Understanding University Success
review of College Knowledge by David Conley

^* for passersby: Ed is a historian

class size in Kenya

In our sample of schools in western Kenya, for example, the median first grade class in 2005 (two years after the introduction of free primary education, and prior to the class size reduction program we exploit here) had 74 students; average class size was 83; and 28 percent of first grade classes had more than 100 students. These classes are also very heterogeneous: Many of the new students are first generation learners and have not attended preschools (which are neither free nor compulsory in Kenya). Students differ vastly in age, school preparedness, and support at home. These challenges are not unique to Kenya. They confront many developing countries where school enrollment has risen sharply in recent years: understanding the roles of tracking and peer effects in this context is thus particularly important.

Peer Effects and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya (pdf file) Esther Duflo1, Pascaline Dupas2, and Michael Kremer3, 4
NBER abstract

tracking: first controlled experiment

Abstract

...This paper provides experimental evidence on the impact of tracking primary school students by initial achievement....One hundred and twenty one primary schools which all had a single grade one class received funds to hire an extra teacher to split that class into two sections. In 60 randomly selected schools, students were randomly assigned to sections. In the remaining 61 schools, students were ranked by prior achievement (measured by their first term grades), and the top and bottom halves of the class were assigned to different sections. After 18 months, students in tracking schools scored 0.14 standard deviations higher than students in non-tracking schools, and this effect persisted one year after the program ended. Furthermore, students at all levels of the distribution benefited from tracking. A regression discontinuity analysis shows that in tracking schools scores of students near the median of the pre-test distribution score are independent of whether they were assigned to the top or bottom section. In contrast, in non-tracking schools we find that on average, students benefit from having academically stronger peers. This suggests that tracking was beneficial because it helped teachers focus their teaching to a level appropriate to most students in the class.

Conclusion

This paper provides experimental evidence that students at all level of the initial achievement spectrum benefited from being tracked into classes by initial achievement. Despite the critical importance of this issue for the educational policy both in developed and developing countries, there is surprisingly little rigorous evidence addressing it, and to our knowledge this paper provides the first experimental evaluation of the impact of tracking in any context.

After 18 months, the point estimates suggest that the average score of a student in a tracking school is 0.14 standard deviations higher than that of a student in a non-tracking school. These effects are persistent. One year after the program ended, students in tracking schools performed 0.16 standard deviations higher than those in non-tracking schools....students who were very close to the 50th percentile of the initial rank distribution within their school scored similarly at the end line whether they were assigned to the top or bottom section. In each case, they did much better than their counterparts in non-tracked schools.

Peer Effects and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya (pdf file) Esther Duflo1, Pascaline Dupas2, and Michael Kremer3, 4
NBER abstract

This will have no effect whatsoever on the folks running our public schools.


stagnation at the top - Fordham report
Tracking: Can It Benefit Low Achieving Children?
Linda Valli on tracking in 5 Catholic high schools, 1
Linda Valli on tracking in 5 Catholic high schools, 2
"school commitment" in Valli's study of tracking in Catholic high schools
7th grade depression starts in 1st grade

ability grouping in Singapore
characteristics of schools where SAT scores did not decline
The Other Crisis in American Education by Daniel Singal
Hiding in Plain Sight: grouping & the achievement gap
tracking: first random-assignment study

SAT equivalence tables
SAT I Individual Score Equivalents
SAT I Mean Score Equivalents

chickens have come home to roost
the deathless meme of the high performing school
Allison on the naturals

election

candidate statements

Hiding in Plain Sight

On April 28th NAEP results for 2008 were released. Sam Dillon has an article in the NY Times where he uses these results to bludgeon NCLB for failing to close the black/white achievement gap.

Between 2004 and last year, scores for young minority students increased, but so did those of white students, leaving the achievement gap stubbornly wide, despite President George W Bush’s frequent assertions that the No Child law was having a dramatic effect.

The article provides some great graphs that show black/white children's scores for reading and math for the last 37 years. Interestingly, the graphs show steady improvements for both subjects and both demographics that Dillon ignores. James Taranto has a provocative response questioning whether Dillon would have been happier had the data shown static white achievement and increasing black achievement.

So minority kids are doing better than before. But because white kids are also doing better, and therefore the "gap" remains, the Times suggests the law is a failure. By this measure, it would have been better to pass a law that only benefits minorities than one that benefits everyone.

To be fair, closing the racial gap was one of the stated goals of No Child Left Behind. But what a strange, uncritical attitude the Times has toward the federal government when it reports with a straight face that the law is a failure because it seems to have helped children of all races, rather than observing that this calls into question whether the goal made any sense in the first place.

Ouch!

It made me think of a more problematic question. The graphs show a gap that's been pretty stubborn for 37 years and although the article was written to criticize NCLB as ineffective law since it hasn't closed the gap it was written to address, there's a bigger story here. The only significant gap reduction follows school desegregation and then, essentially nothing. In fact you could use the graphs to make a pretty good case that the last 37 years have seen nothing but improvement in math while in reading, NCLB seems to have reversed a bit of white decline and black stagnation. The real question to ponder here is why the gap seems immune to change.

You certainly can't claim there hasn't been a lot of effort expended in trying to close the gap. I would argue that much of the curricular turmoil of the last two generations is driven in large part by these very attempts. Federal and state involvement in local schools has also been accelerated by this effort. The evidence says that pushing on teacher quality, curriculum, administration, pedagogy, unions, pay, charters, vouchers, and everything else in the kitchen sink has accomplished little by way of closing the gap.

The gap represents about a three year difference in grade level. Could it be that having classrooms populated with kids exhibiting this gap, being fed a curriculum designed for the median student in the room is a problem? The one thing I've never seen addressed (except in very limited settings) is this curricular mismatch.

The graphics lay it out starkly. These are two completely different sets of kids. Three years difference is huge. Keeping them together in the name of racial equality or equal access is never going to close the gap. Everything we've done is piddling on the edges of a conflagration. If you really mean to close the gap then that educational goal has to stand in line ahead of our social goals until it's fixed, doesn't it?

Could it be that the slopes we see on these graphs are due to all the piddling around the edges while the gap is due to ignoring the obvious need to provide appropriate curricula? Could it be true that the shallow slope is an artifact of having an inappropriate mix in the classroom. And finally, would the slopes of both demographics improve with more appropriate placement?

Once a child is identified as being three years behind it shouldn't matter whether they are purple, from the planet Ork; they need placement that is appropriate to get them back on track. Anything less is just child abuse disguised as political correctness.

stagnation at the top - Fordham report
Tracking: Can It Benefit Low Achieving Children?
Linda Valli on tracking in 5 Catholic high schools, 1
Linda Valli on tracking in 5 Catholic high schools, 2
"school commitment" in Valli's study of tracking in Catholic high schools
7th grade depression starts in 1st grade

ability grouping in Singapore
characteristics of schools where SAT scores did not decline
The Other Crisis in American Education by Daniel Singal
Hiding in Plain Sight: grouping & the achievement gap
tracking: first random-assignment study

SAT equivalence tables
SAT I Individual Score Equivalents
SAT I Mean Score Equivalents

chickens have come home to roost
the deathless meme of the high performing school
Allison on the naturals

bubble

Irvington Union Free School District

2000-2001: $25,124,756.00 (enrollment: 1744)
2008-2009: $50,583,424.00 (enrollment: 1888)

only one child

I realize that you have an entire school system to worry about and that I am focused only on one child. However, after many years of experience with education, I have become convinced that a large percentage of children with real potential are brushed aside and discouraged by education systems that concentrate on the system rather than the needs of each child. The converse is also true. Where the needs of each child are understood and accommodated, schools succeed. I have experienced it personally.

a Grandfather takes a stand

a grandfather takes a stand...

...for his Grandchildren's Education

how to improve your child's public school education

to do

STEM Education

Is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) education anything other than a NSF-funded way to get more Smart Boards in schools?

Not happy with redefining mathematics, it sounds like K-12 education is trying to redefine the educational needs of all scientific fields. However, they don't seem to understand the difference between science and technology; what is taught in college and what is taught in a technical school. The difference is math. The difference is theory versus hands-on skills. Students at colleges of engineering don't get degrees in "technology". It's engineering.