Category: Formal Education

March 19, 2024

I recently had a conversation about absenteeism that I found exasperating. So did the superintendent I spoke with, I’m sure. You can judge who had more cause. The quotes here aren’t verbatim, as I jotted them down afterwards, but the […]

March 12, 2024

When I began teaching English as a second language (ESL), I had anywhere from seven to 13 different languages in my classroom because our district was in an area with a lot of recent immigration. It was an entry point […]

March 11, 2024

Reasonable people can come to different conclusions about the proper role of standardized testing, what qualities should be measured and how to measure them. Those debates are healthy and productive. It’s less productive when we stake out our positions without […]

March 4, 2024

The casual observer might be surprised that there’s much controversy about homework. A common sense, man-on-the-street view would be straightforward: Teachers should assign homework, and students should do it. After all, practice makes perfect, and kids can’t learn without exerting […]

September 15, 2023

A new report from Curriculum Associates demonstrates what happens when educators set ambitious targets for students–and what happens when they meet them. The report comes at a time when students continue to struggle academically in the wake of the pandemic […]

September 11, 2023

The Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida voted Friday to accept the Classic Learning Test, a controversial standardized testing alternative to the SAT and ACT, on applications to its 12 campuses starting this fall. Florida is […]

August 30, 2023

Evidence-based reading research, or what many refer to as the Science of Reading, has been a much-discussed topic within the literacy landscape for the past few years. While it may seem like the “next new thing” in reading instruction, the […]

June 9, 2023

Picture the following: A student volunteers to answer a math question in an elementary school classroom. The teacher knows from working with the student previously that although she can easily follow the algorithmic steps of the math problem, she struggles […]

June 5, 2023

As a restaurant manager, how would you feel if you were suddenly tasked with inspecting the food in your own kitchen? Or as a gymnastics coach, how would you react if you were asked to score your own team’s performances […]

June 2, 2023

The National Council on Measurement in Education’s (NCME) annual meeting has always offered an opportunity to learn about innovative research and new trends in student assessment. It is a chance to get hints of where the field is moving and […]

April 17, 2023

Critical thinking is plainly in decline. Everywhere we look, people are uncritically consuming and spreading information that is distorted, misleading, and sometimes intentionally deceptive. Conspiracy thinking is rampant–QAnon, Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook shooting, Pizzagate, and unfounded claims of […]

April 13, 2023

Two in three students say their professors grade fairly over all, according to the recent Student Voice survey of 3,004 two- and four-year students by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse. About one in 10 of students says their professors […]

April 3, 2023

Standardized tests can be hard on students. Many of us still remember the frustration and anxiety we experienced when we were younger and sat down for our first round of testing. To make matters worse, it’s fairly common for students […]

March 31, 2023

Arts education belongs in every student’s curriculum — and not just because the arts can improve skills in other content areas. As an instrumental music teacher, I am used to advocating that the arts are essential to all students even […]

March 22, 2023

The NAEP results in late 2022 revealed that reading scores fell for both fourth and eighth grade readers as a result of the pandemic. Only 33 percent of fourth graders are reading proficiently, which means that two-thirds read below grade […]

March 17, 2023

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Think about it for a minute. You are facing a new challenge – whether it be learning to fix a burst pipe, tackling a new hobby, or just struggling […]

February 23, 2023

The evolving needs of the IT workforce are constantly discussed–even people who are far from it understand the constantly growing needs for computer science. And yet, U.S. high schools don’t consistently offer computer science education and IT classes. Current situation […]

February 16, 2023

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Report Card on learning loss was a sobering but not unexpected reckoning for how deeply and broadly the pandemic impacted student learning and achievement. NAEP state-level findings of drops in math and reading […]

February 8, 2023

With all the surprises sprung on the world over the last few years, it can be both exciting and frightening to imagine what 2023 might hold. Will this be a year defined by amazing breakthroughs for humanity—like cracking the formula […]

January 11, 2023

A recent study found that community college students earn degrees quicker and increase their earnings if they get extra help in credit-bearing courses rather than taking remedial courses. The seven-year study, conducted by scholars at Trinity College in Connecticut and […]