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accountable  (əˈkaʊntəb ə l)-adj.1. responsible to someone or for some action; answerable 2. able to be explained Since the early 1990's (perhaps before, but I wasn't particularly concerned before then) both state and federal politicians have been calling for measures to ''hold teachers more accountable.'' Most of their ideas have lacked ...

accountable  (əˈkaʊntəb ə l)-adj.1. responsible to someone or for some action; answerable 2. able to be explained   ''We must embrace a culture of innovation and accountability by adopting proven reforms''  -Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, January 3, 2013 The last two years in Virginia have seen calls for limiting continuing contract status for ...

Yesterday, The Atlantic posted an article by Joel Klein titled ''The Case for a Teacher Bar Exam.'' On one hand he argues that American teachers are not valued as professionals and we need to make greater efforts at doing so. But, he seems to imply that teachers are not treated as professionals because they aren't. One solution- give them a test ...

I’m stuck tonight unable to sleep.  It seems dumb, but I cannot stop thinking about those HB555 changes.  I’ve got this image in my head of what the end of the 2014-2015 school year will look like in Ohio, and it’s a little something like this: We’re a year into holding kids back in third grade for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.  Elementary ...

It wasn’t that long ago when I followed the report card legislation from first mention, through the “Yes, it’s happening/No, it’s not” debates, to the 11th hour NCLB waiver application, and finally to the May 30, 2012, NCLB waiver approval. In May we were left knowing that the NCLB waiver application submitted by the state of Ohio included ...

Last week we reported on the new Virginia plan for meeting federal waiver requirements from No Child Left Behind. Pass rates were set at 82, 68, 52, and 45 percent for Asians, whites, latinos, and blacks respectively. After talking to several other educators, the state's explanation-- ''if we look at where these children are starting from, we're ...

Target pass rate of 82% for Asians. Target pass rate of 68% for whites.  52% for Latinos and 45% for blacks.  Those are the new performance goals for math in the state of Virginia and it's good enough for a waiver freeing us from the untenable mandates of No Child Left Behind. No matter how reasonable the explanation sounds, the result-- 82% pass ...

Which is the more noble task? Generating the idea or carrying it out?  Action without thought is ineffective, but thought without action is useless.  The dichotomy reminds me of James' warning in the Christian Bible's New Testament.  He reminded early Christians that ''faith without works is dead.'' For two millennia, Christians have debated the ...

Sometimes I wonder what the word “reform” even means in the world of education today.  When I scroll through my Twitter feeds and Google reader, I see far leaning left reformists who want a total overhaul to schools as we know them.  They idealize schools without borders, totally individualized and student-driven learning paths, no standardized ...