There aren't really any of my own thoughts in today's entry; instead, I wanted to post three articles about various (and large and important) controversies in education today.
Exhibit A discusses that AP classes, despite their labels, do not actually prepare kids for college. I would agree, because I have seen this first hand. Students in AP classes often do not have the requisite skills to succeed in those classes, let alone in college. This well-written article discusses additional flaws with the AP testing system.
Exhibit B is a short piece by Alfie Kohn, who argues that homework does more harm than good. I'm a proponent of the flipped classroom, which is not exactly homework, since homework basically serves to reinforce skills students have just learned. So I guess on this subject, Kohn and I agree.
Finally, Exhibit C is yet another example of educators attacking standardized tests. You'd think with all this backlash, the standardized testing movement would go away. Sadly, these policy reformers seem to be stubborn and ignorant of data.
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