Recently, I read that the whole over-emphasis on standardized test scores has been taken to a new level. It seems officials in the San Marcos, California, school district want to reward students who score high on the annual state standardized tests by increasing their classroom grades.

It seems especially high school students are not very motivated to try hard year after year on annual tests. What's in it for them? High test scores on annual state achievement tests are not linked… Read More

So, I am in Dublin attending an international conference on gender and education at Trinity College.

I miss my family.

A lot.

But I will share a little bit about what I have learned while here.

Let's see. Mmmmn. Well, I learned that Trinity, the oldest college Dublin established in 1592, first admitted women in 1904. I always find facts like this interesting. In his opening remarks to the conference attendees, the Provost of Trinity seemed almost apologetic about the date. Yet… Read More

So, I am getting ready to go present a paper at an education conference.

Again.

Been there, done that.

I've been to conferences in Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Antonio. Generally, two conferences a year. Most are national, a few international.

Wales, anyone?

I'm sure most working moms will agree that traveling is hard.

Getting ready to travel is even harder.

This time the conference is in Dublin, Ireland, and I will gone a whole week -- 7 days and 7 nights. These… Read More

I made the point in my last posting that teaching to the test in and of itself is not such a bad thing.

This brings me to my second point on this topic: which type of test?

It gets dicey when teachers are required by their state, district or whomever to teach all year long to the SAME TYPE of test, in particular the big standardized, multiple choice examination (SAT anyone?).

I have done research in schools where students spent hours… Read More

Okay, so I did promise to open the can of worms on teaching to the test.

Before I get going, let me first define what exactly that means, and then in the next post (Part Two) I will clarify which tests I am talking about.

First, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with teaching to the test. Good teachers do this all the time, in fact, most of the time. Backwards curriculum design or beginning with the end in mind is… Read More

A nationally-renowned professor of Measurement at UCLA once told me that children's standardized test scores really only tell you one thing for sure: their parents' social class.

The higher the test scores, the more expensive the homes in the neighborhood.

It's just that simple.

That there is ALWAYS a direct correlation between a pricey neighborhood and high test scores in the local public schools.

Don't believe me? Go to your state's department of education website and look up the school districts in the most… Read More