I was talking in the physical world today about a discussion I had in the virtual world about AP College Board courses and their reliance on the memorization of facts in order to prepare for a test (presumably for college credit). Aaron, I don’t get how you can hate the College Board so much but [...]

I want to start the conversation off with a question: if we are working diligently to create lifelong learners, does an emphasis on exclusive teacher accountability denigrate the efforts of the system to cultivate this trait in kids? By the way, I am NOT talking exclusively about standardized testing. In my mind, I am ALWAYS [...]

A lot of politicians and business elitists seem to think that there is some severe crisis in American education as a result of scores on international tests like the NAEP and the TIMMS. There are a number of reasons why we should be wary of this kind of assertion in doing a statistical analysis, but [...]

In another post I wrote about how assignment structure is detrimental to teaching kids “how” to think and how we are creating a generation of students that are incapable of completing a task without an assignment sheet, rubric, models, or constant guidance. I think it is important we take that one step further and investigate [...]

One of the problems with the development of project and problem-based learning is that students are given too much structure in how to complete these types of activities. It is amusing to me how we talk about how much we care about student success and preparing them for the future, but we also provide them [...]

Let’s assume, for a second, that performance pay becomes a reality in schools. Teachers are paid based upon some quantitative data that suggests student learning. Whether this is an accurate metric or not is irrelevant for the question I want us to consider. With the institution of a merit/performance pay system, do districts forego the [...]

Dr. Kevin D. Washburn (@kdwashburn) recently posted an article on the Edurati Review that discusses thinking about thinking. Definitely read that article if you haven’t gotten the opportunity to do so. Dr. Washburn hits on a topic that I think is extremely important for us to consider. Here is an excerpt from his article: “Few [...]

I support standardized testing and so do you even if you don’t know it or want to admit it. What you don’t support is standardized testing in its current form or for that use that has become synonymous with the term. Imagine if standardized testing was not mentioned in the same sentence as the “No [...]

It seems as though politicians are rallying around the notion of national standards and there are few individuals voicing an opinion and raising questions about the effectiveness of such measures. I, on the other hand, am beginning to wonder if the entire country realizes that standards as they are currently envisioned limit the amount of [...]

It is rather intriguing to look around the world of education and listen to the varying beliefs on “what” should be taught in schools. Curriculum is always a favorite target of mine, and many of you who read my work regularly know my feelings on our inflated, overstuffed, irrelevant curricula that emphasize a need to [...]