...but there's not a whole lot to report with 5 days of school left (why is it that many? School should really be over now. Anyway...)
I found this article to be quite poignant. It's a repeat of many things I've already posted (particularly how poverty plays into education, Race to the Top, and unappreciation of teachers), but all are important.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Now that testing is over...
...very little is happening. Every teacher here that I have talked to says there is no point to the last two weeks of school. Especially since their grades are due by the end of this week. What a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
However, we must remain professional. So "learning" continues as if nothing were wrong. But the students can tell that the teachers want summer vacation to be here just as much as they do.
My schedule is also back to normal (that is, boring). So I read education policy, of course. Here is an interesting article about gifted education, which I think is looked at much less than SPED, and clearly more research needs to be done. But that is the bane of education research in general. Change is so slow to happen. Aaargh.
However, we must remain professional. So "learning" continues as if nothing were wrong. But the students can tell that the teachers want summer vacation to be here just as much as they do.
My schedule is also back to normal (that is, boring). So I read education policy, of course. Here is an interesting article about gifted education, which I think is looked at much less than SPED, and clearly more research needs to be done. But that is the bane of education research in general. Change is so slow to happen. Aaargh.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Parental Units
...can often determine the result of a child's education. It's well known that students from broken homes don't do well in school, and then their children don't, and then their children, and so on down the line through a never-ending cycle.
And on the other side, overachievers are bred by overachievers are bred by overachievers... you get the idea.
And of course, VS does it again, with this article about the same topic.
I am finished with testing nonsense, hooray! Thus I have a lot of free time again. Not so hooray...
And on the other side, overachievers are bred by overachievers are bred by overachievers... you get the idea.
And of course, VS does it again, with this article about the same topic.
I am finished with testing nonsense, hooray! Thus I have a lot of free time again. Not so hooray...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Standardization is not standard
More complaints about standardized testing today. Surprise, surprise.
One of the ESL teachers was in the testing coordinator's room today, and he was saying how useless the tests were for his students, since the tests are not written to cater to students whose first language is not English. At this school, there are three levels of ESL students: A, who are *just* learning how to speak, B, who have a pretty good grasp of the language, and X, who know English well enough to be placed into mainstream curricula. This teacher said that the A students by definition should *not* pass the standardized tests. If they do, we have to move them up to B status and then they miss a year of instruction. Yet, their scores count against the school when they fail. Qua? In what universe does that make sense?
While this article does not relate to standardized testing, nor is it by Valerie (amazing! Even more amazing, it's by Jay Matthews, whom I normally detest, and while I'm still not a fan of his writing here, he does make a good point, and this probably should have been a completely separate sentence, but oh well)... it does relate to education policy as a whole, and states why politicians tend to generally ignore it.
This is the last week of testing. Then there are two more weeks of school, in which students will learn nothing and do nothing, because everything they did previously was so they would do well on the tests. So we're going to waste two weeks. Awesome.
One of the ESL teachers was in the testing coordinator's room today, and he was saying how useless the tests were for his students, since the tests are not written to cater to students whose first language is not English. At this school, there are three levels of ESL students: A, who are *just* learning how to speak, B, who have a pretty good grasp of the language, and X, who know English well enough to be placed into mainstream curricula. This teacher said that the A students by definition should *not* pass the standardized tests. If they do, we have to move them up to B status and then they miss a year of instruction. Yet, their scores count against the school when they fail. Qua? In what universe does that make sense?
While this article does not relate to standardized testing, nor is it by Valerie (amazing! Even more amazing, it's by Jay Matthews, whom I normally detest, and while I'm still not a fan of his writing here, he does make a good point, and this probably should have been a completely separate sentence, but oh well)... it does relate to education policy as a whole, and states why politicians tend to generally ignore it.
This is the last week of testing. Then there are two more weeks of school, in which students will learn nothing and do nothing, because everything they did previously was so they would do well on the tests. So we're going to waste two weeks. Awesome.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Trash Talking Testing
Only a few more days of testing left! It seriously wastes so much time, both for students and for teachers. This article sums it up nicely. Awesome.
It's Friday! Hooray! And less than three weeks of school left!
It's Friday! Hooray! And less than three weeks of school left!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
I'll let Valerie speak for me today
She often lets someone else speak for her, anyway. Here's an article about the obvious but ignored (and mostly easily fixable) problems in educational policy. This one is quite silly and has no real relevance but I found it to be an amusing read.
I proctored again today. Almost finished with stupid testing!
I proctored again today. Almost finished with stupid testing!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Environs
It's kind of amazing how much impact one's environment has on one's personality. There is one teacher I work with whose style I really admire, and her kids seem to respect her, too. But when it came to dealing with the testing situation, she was a total bitch. Most teachers don't seem to realize what an ordeal it is for the testing coordinator to deal with all the minute details that are necessary for these required tests, but this woman was completely ridiculous about it.
On the other side of the coin, I was sitting in with the ED kids (emotionally distoibed) while they tested with a couple of "regular" students. I have been with these kids before in their self-contained classroom, where there are a pain to deal with. But here, they were fantastic. Because of the difference of the teacher. The difference was amazing-- it was like they were different children.
Oh, teaching styles. How much you matter.
On the other side of the coin, I was sitting in with the ED kids (emotionally distoibed) while they tested with a couple of "regular" students. I have been with these kids before in their self-contained classroom, where there are a pain to deal with. But here, they were fantastic. Because of the difference of the teacher. The difference was amazing-- it was like they were different children.
Oh, teaching styles. How much you matter.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
And the testing continues...
I've been up to my eyeballs in logistics with the testing, and I'm not even the one in charge. It's ridiculous. One more week...
On my lunch break, I have fulfilled my Valerie Strauss obsession. In this article, she explains exquisitely about why Matthews' "Challenge Index" is problematic. This is what inspired my dislike of Matthews (even more so than his poor writing), so clearly I strongly agree with her.
This one discusses why innovation is not always a good thing. Also well-written.
On my lunch break, I have fulfilled my Valerie Strauss obsession. In this article, she explains exquisitely about why Matthews' "Challenge Index" is problematic. This is what inspired my dislike of Matthews (even more so than his poor writing), so clearly I strongly agree with her.
This one discusses why innovation is not always a good thing. Also well-written.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Bad Slacker
...though I was actually quite busy last week. There seems to be some sort of pattern in May when the weather turns nice, when teachers happen to "get sick" and substitutes don't feel like working. So, I step in. Also, prepping for testing has been quite the feat.
Speaking of which, that's basically all this week will be about: the ever important, increasingly less popular SOLs. Kind of ridiculous, no?
I'm still trying to keep up on education policy. There were two today from VS. The first discusses the failures of education policy in general and is, of course, spot on. The other, from a guest writer, talks about the unfair position in which teachers are often put. Both well-written and salient.
Speaking of which, that's basically all this week will be about: the ever important, increasingly less popular SOLs. Kind of ridiculous, no?
I'm still trying to keep up on education policy. There were two today from VS. The first discusses the failures of education policy in general and is, of course, spot on. The other, from a guest writer, talks about the unfair position in which teachers are often put. Both well-written and salient.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Testing testing
I've been so busy this week! It's been amazing!
Mostly, though, I've been helping getting things ready for the SOL tests. The testing coordinator gets so overwhelmed with paperwork this time of year that she can't do the job all by herself. It's kind of ridiculous. On top of that, I will be trained to administer these tests. Yes, we have to be trained. Every year. More ridiculousness.
On Tuesday, I actually administered a different standardized test, called the DPRs (Degrees of Reading Power). They are somehow supposed to test what grade level students read at, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. I realize I am not an expert in standardized testing, but what makes someone at a fifth grade reading level versus a fourth grade reading level, and can you really assess those minuscule differences by having them fill in the blank with the missing words? (That's all the test was... 70 questions of that. Evidently it's called "cloze.")
Speaking of testing, here is a well-written article about just that to wrap up the week. Horaaaaaaaay Friday.
Mostly, though, I've been helping getting things ready for the SOL tests. The testing coordinator gets so overwhelmed with paperwork this time of year that she can't do the job all by herself. It's kind of ridiculous. On top of that, I will be trained to administer these tests. Yes, we have to be trained. Every year. More ridiculousness.
On Tuesday, I actually administered a different standardized test, called the DPRs (Degrees of Reading Power). They are somehow supposed to test what grade level students read at, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. I realize I am not an expert in standardized testing, but what makes someone at a fifth grade reading level versus a fourth grade reading level, and can you really assess those minuscule differences by having them fill in the blank with the missing words? (That's all the test was... 70 questions of that. Evidently it's called "cloze.")
Speaking of testing, here is a well-written article about just that to wrap up the week. Horaaaaaaaay Friday.
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