Cristina Duncan Evans was a high school social studies teacher in the Baltimore City school district, and a member of the America Achieves Principal and Teacher Fellowship. This blog is no longer being updated.
Assessment
Opinion
What Opting In Reveals About Opting Out
Every year millions of students Opt-in to voluntary Advanced Placement tests. What can these students tell us about the reasons other students and families are choosing to Opt-Out?
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Thank You, Ordinary Teachers, for Doing Extraordinary Things
Teachers go beyond their everyday roles to support students and families every day. But they need better support from their districts.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Education Majors Are Too Easy
Teach For America shows that top students can be attracted to teaching. Why haven't schools of education adapted by raising their entrance standards?
Teaching
Opinion
A Key to Authentic Learning Projects: Authentic Audiences
No one ever asks for more worksheets. Projects with authentic audiences are the best way to get students inspired.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
School-Performance Measure or School-Income Measure?
Numbers can't tell us everything about a school. School Performance Measures that aim to do so are a fallacy at best, and at their worst, they're harmful to low-income students.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Opt-Out Movement Needs to Address Educational Inequity
The opt-out movement is right to call for a richer, more authentic learning experience. They're wrong to stay silent on the educational inequality that makes testing necessary.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Baltimore Unrest Is a Call to Action for Teachers
Teachers have a responsibility to advocate for their students and create schools and communities that counter systemic injustice.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
School Segregation Continues to Hurt Districts, But New Solutions Exist
School segregation is alive and well. Next Generation Schools offer a way to address this long-standing social problem.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Schools Can't Improve Without Support for Low-Income Students
Can we increase student achievement without addressing high concentrations of poverty? Teacher Cristina Duncan Evans explains why we can't.
Assessment
Opinion
Teacher Evaluation Means Nothing Without Teacher Buy-In
If teachers don't believe the evaluation process is valid and worthwhile, then they won't take it seriously and potential positive effects will never trickle down to students.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Taking Aim at School Police Is the Wrong Approach to Student Safety
The national conversation about police brutality has led some to question the purpose and effectiveness of armed school police officers.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Where's the Creative Thinking on Charter Schools?
We can't afford to get stuck having the same argument over and over again instead of finding new solutions for our kids.
Assessment
Opinion
Common Core, Data, and the Road Ahead
Los Angeles Unified School District teacher Robert Jeffers says that common standards and the related assessments could provide important instructional opportunities for teachers.
Education
Opinion
A Love Letter to Teaching
Learning is a joy. We can reach its delights on our own as individuals, but how wonderful it is to take someone's hand and show them the way.