Education

QUESTIONING “CORRECTNESS”

December 20, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Is “correctness” the only way to judge whether students are learning to write and to think? Teacher Talk’s Erica Jacobs argues that it shouldn’t be. She’s been in the classroom for 30 years, and says it’s true that, in this age of text messaging and IM, students seem to care less about commas and apostrophes. But:

Because we were taught that “correctness” was the most visible signal of a good education, we continue to impose that standard. Once we give up these preconceptions, we can measure the education of our youth more accurately.

Jacobs developed this viewpoint after working with learning-disabled students, for whom “correctness” of spelling, punctuation, and other grammar points wasn’t even on the radar. But these students were equally capable as their non-LD peers, she says, of thinking critically. So while Jacobs isn’t in favor of giving up on correctness, she does think it’s time to expand what counts as correct. She suggests one measure might be how critically students can question the information they receive:

They want the reassurance that there are answers out there in the world, but are intrigued by the notion that some questions do not have answers—or at least not easy ones...It’s time for society to ask better questions in assessing learning, to give up correctness as the standard, and to concede that maybe the old measure isn’t the only measure.

Seems like a worthwhile exercise to us.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Blogboard blog.

Events

School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Teaching Students to Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically
Ready to embrace AI in your classroom? Join our master class to learn how to use AI as a tool for learning, not a replacement.
Content provided by Solution Tree
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Empowering Students Using Computational Thinking Skills
Empower your students with computational thinking. Learn how to integrate these skills into your teaching and boost student engagement.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: October 23, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: October 2, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: September 18, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 28, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read