Recent news
These are three of my favorite articles that I have read about education recently.
The Hechinger Report
Are the Common Core tests turning out to be a big success or a resounding failure?
Emmanuel Felton April 2015
This spring, students across the country are sitting down to new tests tied to the Common Core, or at least that was the plan.
Last week, technical issues brought testing to a halt in three states, while in yet more states, thousands of parents refused to let their students sit for exams that are expected to be much harder than the old state tests they are replacing. This all comes at a time when the standards, the tests and how test scores are used are being fiercely debated by school boards, state legislatures and the U.S. Congress...
(Photo/Russell Contreras)
Education Week
Chicago School Designed With Blended Learning in Mind
Bryan Toporek April 2015
On the first permanent campus of the Intrinsic Schools, the physical design of the building is meant to play an integral part in blended learning.
Visitors to the charter school operator’s 60,000-square-foot space, a former lumberyard that was gutted and reopened this school year as an educational center on the city’s northwest side, see students and teachers working in different, interconnected classrooms, known as “pods,” divided up by function and subject area.
In one section of the pod, teachers lead groups of students through lessons. In another area, students work independently on Google Chromebooks using a mix of software...
(Photos by John Zich for Education Week)
The Washington Post
Statisticians Slam Popular Teacher Evaluation Method
Valerie Strauss April 2014
You can be certain that members of the American Statistical Association, the largest organization in the United States representing statisticians and related professionals, know a thing or two about data and measurement. That makes the statement that the association just issued very important for school reform...