Why Do You Ask?

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sticklers

Click comic for larger view.

Sheryl asked a great question on Twitter this evening. I truly hope her conversation goes well tomorrow. Here was her question and purpose for asking Twitterers.

Speaking to 80 superintendents tomorrow that want to know-- what should a 21st C edc leader know and be able to do to lead effectively today.

What would you tell them? Resources? Related posts? What is important for today's superintendent to know? Want to show Twitter grp think

There are so many things that came to mind, but I had to - I just had to - bring something up. It is an opportunity to demonstrate how void NCLB is. Really. If all our kids need to really know is how to read and do math, then why isn't that enough for today's adults? We brainwash our kids into believing that reading and math are the end-all, be-all to a successful life. If we really believed this, then it would be good enough for us too, right? As a matter of fact, if we say we want better for our kids than we do for ourselves, the reading and math is MORE than we need.

It just isn't logical. Sheryl, give the Superintendents everything you've got. You can speak from your overflow of knowledge and practice, and give them more than they can handle. All the best.

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Labels: BitStrips, education, NCLB, SherylNussbaum Beach

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sticklers

Based on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) results for Math and Social Studies.

Read the Article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Please read the entire article. From the article:

Cox was puzzled by the drastic drop in social studies, calling it "cause for concern." Last year, about 83 percent of the sixth-graders passed the social studies test, as did about 86 percent of the seventh-graders, according to state figures.

She wondered whether the new social studies standards were clear and
if some of the detailed test questions caught students off guard. Cox
will ask a group of teachers and curriculum specialists to determine
what may have happened.

"We have to do better with this," Cox said.

Changes could be made to the
test and to the material teachers teach, said Dana Tofig, spokesman for
the state education department.

Oops. The test was an inaccurate measurement of student competency?

The shame is that no one will take responsibility and become accountable for this. We'll say it is a starting point, and we'll learn from this "mistake" or "error." Yet who suffers for all this? The students who now have this faulty measure of their abilities on a permanent record. Testing is never the true measure of person's value, nor is it a good measure of their abilities.

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Labels: BitStrips, CRCT, education, standardized testing