Leadership Blog

Walt Gardner's Reality Check

Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Opinion Putting Standardized Testing in Context
It's easy to design a standardized test that can engineer practically any desired results.
Walt Gardner, September 18, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion Emotional Intelligence Matters
Emotional intelligence can matter more than academic intelligence in success, both in school and beyond.
Walt Gardner, September 16, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion The Importance of Grammar
Creativity and grammar are compatible.
Walt Gardner, September 13, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Schools and the Economy
Fiscal policy and corporate accountability play a far more important role than educational attainment in determining economic growth.
Walt Gardner, September 11, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion Poverty Undermines Intelligence
I don't know how children from impoverished backgrounds manage to get through the school day.
Walt Gardner, September 9, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Competing on an Unequal Footing
There are unavoidable costs associated with parental choice that are given short shrift.
Walt Gardner, September 6, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Where's the Fairness in New Tests?
The only way to draw valid inferences about test results is to allow sufficient time for teachers to adjust their instruction.
Walt Gardner, September 4, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Chronic Absenteeism
Students have to take responsibility for their part in learning.
Walt Gardner, September 2, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Textbook Wars Flare Again
Since students often lack maturity, schools err on the side of indoctrination, rather than on education.
Walt Gardner, August 30, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion The Year of Change in Public Schools
The real question is whether students will receive a quality education as a result of the unprecedented changes slated for the new school year.
Walt Gardner, August 28, 2013
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Education Opinion Rating Colleges the Wrong Way
Quality and quantity cannot exist simultaneously in higher education.
Walt Gardner, August 26, 2013
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Education Opinion The New Teacher-Old Teacher Debate
Some old teachers are burned out and some new teachers are hotshots, but this is not an observation peculiar to education.
Walt Gardner, August 23, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion How Counseling Hurts Students It Purports to Help
In our attempt to democratize higher education, we too often do a terrible disservice to students.
Walt Gardner, August 21, 2013
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Education Opinion Draconian Policy for Weak Teachers
Underperforming teachers are being stripped of their licenses because evidently firing them isn't enough.
Walt Gardner, August 19, 2013
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1 min read
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