Recent Comments
Tag Archives: teacher evaluation
Testing Wags the Dog and Other Tales of Unintended Consequence
Summary: Testing in schools has taken its impetus from corporate measurement, and has a place. But the steps taken to assess skills have altered classroom chemistry and in the end may have retarded the very progress the tools have been … Continue reading
Let Us Not Be Blamed: A Meditation on the State of Teacher Unionism, Corporate America, and Poverty
Summary: Unions are targeted by corporate based reformers as the bad guy, and do need to take better charge of the debate, but the real culprit at base is the political failure to impact poverty. Maureen (we shall call her) … Continue reading
School Culture: The “Disagreeable Giver” and the Culture of Continuous Improvement
Summary: Can evidence of successful leadership style in the corporate world be transplanted to schools and kick start a culture of continuous improvement? Do nice guys and gals finish last and ultimately assholes prevail in the race to the mantle … Continue reading
School Reform Via Targeted Hires and “Big Data”
Summary: The use of “big data” and derivative algorithms to predict which applicants will be successful hires in companies may prove useful in the identification of quality teacher candidates. The fact that 46% of new teachers leave the profession within … Continue reading
School Reform: Yes, There Is Some Good News!
Summary: School reform is a long and often discouraging slog. This is a pause to celebrate the many hopeful events and trends that together refresh for the next round. It is time to celebrate positives in the many headed effort … Continue reading
School Reform: Has the Baby Been Thrown Out With the Bath Water?
Summary: In the tight focus on testing for basic skills and the evaluation of teachers, do we look past issues such as critical thinking and civic education? Every now and then in my personal life I stop and realize I … Continue reading
School Reform: Testing and Mistaking the Forest for the Trees
Summary: The struggles in our schools will not be won by resort to more standardized testing, but by a recommitment to the central role of the teacher in the classroom. The stories of impactful teachers are legion; the myth of … Continue reading
School Reform: Testing and Data — Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Part B
Summary: A continuation of the last post which explores the relationship between testing, the data it collects, and the legitimate role and limits of both in school reform. Already the digital data perspective has altered how we think of and … Continue reading
School Reform: Testing and Data — Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Part A
Summary: Testing and the data collection it produces can be a useful tool in school reform, but serious question persists that in this forest it is too easy to lose perspective, and end up magnifying testing results beyond their legitimate … Continue reading
schooldog 