eduwonkette
Through the lens of social science, eduwonkette took a serious, if sometimes irreverent, look at some of the most contentious education policy debates in this opinion blog. Find eduwonkette’s complete archives prior to Jan. 6, 2008 here. This blog is no longer being updated.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Educational Testing: A Brief Glossary
While you’re waiting for Dan Koretz’ book on testing to arrive – I think eduwonkette and I should get some kind of consideration for shilling for this book so often here – here’s a brief skoolboy’s-eye view on testing. Actual psychometricians are welcome to correct what I have to say.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
An Immodest Proposal
This year’s statewide fourth-grade math exam administered in New York State -- the one with the remarkably high gains -- contained the following item:
School & District Management
Opinion
Inspiration and Perspiration
Graduations are sacred events in American society. They mark an important transition, and graduates and their loved ones are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. For this reason, it’s a very tricky thing to comment on news stories connected to graduations. One doesn’t want to appear to be denigrating the achievements of the graduating students, many who have overcome substantial odds to obtain a diploma.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
How Much Math Does a Teacher Need to Know to Teach Math?
I once asked a colleague if he’d read a particular book. “Read it?” he replied incredulously. “I haven’t even taught it!” A former college English professor, he came by the joke honestly. The first time I taught a course that I had never taken myself, I acknowledged the absurdity, at least to myself. I stayed about a week ahead of my students. Out-of-field teaching? Not exactly. I was teaching a course that was in my field, but outside of my immediate area of expertise. The teaching assignment was justified on the grounds that, as a Ph.D.-holder, I was deeply grounded in the core theoretical perspectives and research traditions in my discipline, and that I could therefore pick up the literature in a subfield quickly and accurately, and teach that literature competently. (At the time, no one was concerned with pedagogical content knowledge, the idea that there is practical knowledge of how to teach a subject that differs from mastery of the subject itself.)
Education
Opinion
"Independence" Day
I’ll try to stay reasonably serious this week, but some things are just too ridiculous to pass up. On Friday, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced that it had selected the NYC Leadership Academy to provide principal training and development services. The press release proclaimed that the Leadership Academy was “chosen from among multiple bidders in a competitive procurement process.” The DOE is negotiating a five-year contract for a total of $50 million, beginning Tuesday, July 1.
Education
Opinion
skoolboy returns!
I'm taking a break this week, so skoolboy is taking the wheel. If you have compliments, thoughts, news, or tips, you can reach him at skoolboy2 (at) gmail (dot) com. An early Happy 4th to everyone!
Education
Opinion
Demographer Takes On New York City's Gifted and Talented Admissions
Andrew Beveridge, the New York Times' demographer, turns his attention to New York City's gifted program in this Gotham Gazette column. Based on his estimates, here's the bottom line on the change in gifted and talented admissions in NYC:
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Guest Blogger Sarah Reckhow: Easy to Blame
Sarah Reckhow taught at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore from 2002 to 2004 and was a Teach for America corps member. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at UC Berkeley. Her dissertation explores the role of national philanthropies and community organizers in urban education policymaking.
Education
Opinion
Cool People You Should Know: Andrew Ho
If you've been reading the New York papers this week, you've already heard of Andrew Ho, an educational psychologist who teaches at the University of Iowa's School of Education. Ho studies high-stakes score trends, and has done some excellent work comparing NAEP and state score trends.
Federal
Opinion
The Unintended Consequences of Focusing on Proficiency
I'm totally in awe of the regular commenters here - for me, they are the best part of this site. I had to share this comment by Rachel, who had this to say about the post below:
Federal
Opinion
New York's Lake Woebegon Effect
Sol Stern nails it in his article on test score inflation:
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
When Measuring Achievement Gaps, Beware the Proficiency Trap
Though we can thank the No Child Left Behind Act for drawing our attention to the "achievement gap" - which is now loosely deployed to reference gaps between African-American and white/Asian, poor and advantaged, suburban and urban, or even male and female kids - it's also done us a great disservice by distorting the way that we measure, and think about, differences between groups.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Are New York City Schools Shortchanging High Achieving Students? The View from 2003-2008
Savvy New York City parents have long suspected that high achieving kids are losing out in the push to boost the achievement of the lowest performing students. But those suspicions are often cast aside by public officials as helicopter parent whining or muted class warfare.
Education
Opinion
Welcome "Urban Angle" to the Blogosphere
Watch out, Edu-fogies - there's a new youngish blogger on the block. Here's what Urban Angle: A Gen Y Perspective on Education Reform is all about: