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I went to one of the presentations by Senators McAuliffe and Oemig, and I came away thinking that what they say sounds nice and makes the public happy to hear, but they don’t have anything specific to say except that “the system is broken.” “Thanks, but Read More...
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You know, I tire of the commentators’ beef with Tiger Woods not winning every tournament he enters. Sometimes people just have a bad day or a bad few days. I think about this with a few of the students I would expect to easily pass the state test, and Read More...
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At a meeting in June my principal discussed the efforts of our school in narrowing the achievement gap (such a cliched term nowadays). Specifically, the gains of the lower end students were highlighted. An obvious upward trend could be seen. But, the Read More...
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A new requirement in California forces every 8th grader to enroll in Algebra and take a proficiency exam. This will be the first time students must take an upper-level math test prior to entering high school.
The hope is that “the new policy will push Read More...
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One of my criticisms of NCLB is that it causes too many schools to focus all of their attention on the bottom 25% of a school’s population while ignoring the middle- and upper-level students. Some of the effects of this focus in my school are: fewer upper-level Read More...
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Washington State’s mandatory test, which needs to be passed to receive a diploma, is called the WASL. Recent articles have noted the recent announcement that 91% of the students passed—if you do not count the students who dropped out.
By my figuring, Read More...
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It’s state testing day number 6 today! Woo-hoo!
I’m amazed how much time it takes to give our state test, the WASL. Just reading the scripted introduction
and providing the instructions can take ten minutes. Then, the exam itself takes 2-3 hours per test. Read More...
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A while back I had a student, Davy, reach the final week of his final semester in high school, and he had a 40% in my senior Mythology course while maintaining an attendance rate of 60% (and I think a blood-alcohol level of 2.0 most of the semester). Read More...
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According to a new study in a Washington Post article:
At a time when more authors are writing more books for young people, fewer children are reading for pleasure. A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts showed that the percentage of 13- Read More...
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I sometimes feel this way about standardized testing and class sizes in my school. Read More...
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I read an article today about high school seniors who are trying to pass the WASL in order to graduate. While I believe a minimum standard is acceptable for students to reach, I also feel that the credits earned should be the standard. However, that is Read More...
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This week is my state’s standardized testing week. David Horsey (in a March 5, 2004, cartoon) and I feel quite similar when it comes to standardized testing, especially as indicator of school and student success. Here is his great cartoon: Read More...
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Is it possible to create a culture of failure?
My school is currently being asked to discover why the Freshman failure rate is so high. 1/3 of the Freshmen failed a class during their first semester in high school, and statistically speaking 30% of Freshmen Read More...
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Why do so many states create their own state test?
I’d love to see every state use the ACT and SAT with every high school student. Maybe each state could divert the funds currently used for their own state tests to pay for all students to take one or Read More...
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Ok, before you read this post, I’m going to admit freely that this issue is one which brings out my snarky and biased side.
A writer with the News Tribune advocates higher pay for math and science teachers to lure better and new teachers to the profession. Read More...
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