The results from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress have been released, and it’s a “Gray Day” for Kentucky. The NAEP changed its reporting formats dramatically this year, which is giving yours truly and at least one reporter fits as we try to find important information. I did locate one map generator in the…
The Herald-Leader is reporting that the ACT, Inc. is unable to make required upgrades to its digital testing support systems in time for KPREP high school End-of-Course testing this coming spring in Kentucky. ACT will be able to support only a small portion of the number of students who must take these tests this coming…
Education Week reports the nationwide fight continues hot and heavy about whether or not the Common Core State Standards testing consortia should allow their “reading tests” to be read to learning disabled students. A map included with the EdWeek report, makes it clear that Kentucky currently stands out with the very loosest policies on allowing…
The Hechinger Report out of Teachers College at Columbia University writes that a new report shows many teacher preparation programs in the U.S. have poor quality. Lead researcher for the new study on math teacher preparation is William Schmidt, co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University. He says: “Our very worst programs…
WFPL’s Devin Katayama posted an article about the new Writing Program Reviews for Unbridled Learning school accountability yesterday. These are the same reviews I raised questions about four days ago. Per Katayama, the Kentucky Department of Education claims that “there is no true comparison” between writing score results from KPREP and the results from the…
We’ve talked before here and here about the remarkable programs in the Taylor County public schools that meet all their students’ needs, along the way producing perfect high school graduation rates. Just like charter schools, Taylor County provides students with options to meet different needs and ambitions. In fact, Taylor County’s superintendent, Roger Cook, proudly…
A rather remarkable letter has been circulating in the web for several days and now has surfaced in a major news outlet’s blog. “Catholic scholars blast Common Core in letter to U.S. bishops” showed up this morning in the Washington Post’s The Answer Sheet blog. I was aware of this letter, but it is so…
The Fordham Foundation points out that Next Generation Science Standards omit most of the material found in high school chemistry and physics courses. And, the Common Core State Standards cut off at about the 10th grade level in math, as well. That’s a real problem, because if there are no standards for upper level high…
Yesterday the Kentucky Department of Education released results from the first round of Program Reviews in “Arts and Humanities,” “Practical Living & Career Studies” and “Writing.” These reviews are going to be used in place of tests in these areas in the new Unbridled Learning school accountability program. But, there seems to be a problem.…
An October 23, 2013 post in the Hechinger Report says: “In Kentucky, for instance, the first state to adopt the Common Core and begin introducing the standards in classrooms, there is still large variation in how devoted teachers and principals are.” Wow! There is another Common Core myth in trouble. And, no, I didn’t write…