Student learning has become a contest. As we look for solutions to the deliberate disengagement of students and ways to help all students achieve, we begin to look at why some aren't, and search even harder for solutions.
How could each situation listed here be turned into an opportunity for the student to leap the standard and find success?
By Mark
In the last two weeks, a few things have me thinking about the age old debate over how schools "grade" students. First, in Nevada, there was this discussion about the merits of allowing students in public high schools take exams to earn state-required graduation credit (as opposed to putting in the seat time).
Second, there were the 28 letters I sent home to students' parents this past Monday updating them that their students were earning a D or F in my English class.
When I look at those 28 letters, there are really only probably seven kids getting the low grades who I think genuinely have not yet exhibited the minimum language arts expectations which I have at this point in the semester and thus "deserve" the F. The other 21? Missing assignments. I'd bet dollars to donuts that those 21 would pass an on-demand-test of minimum language arts skills and content, and I have few concerns about next spring's state tests for those kids, even though they are presently earning Ds and Fs in my class. They've been able to show me that they have the skills through classroom work and other assessments, some of them far exceeding the standards from the very first assessment–yet their grade is an F.
I know that this discussion is almost as old as the model of education present in most public schools today, but how do you as a teacher reconcile the necessity of "grades" and the reality that grades do not necessarily reflect actual skill in a content area?
Are these kids earning failing grades due to a lack of content knowledge and skill or due to a lack of ability to submit complete work on time...which incidentally is not one of my content area standards? Is the idea of a mastery test (in lieu of seat time) really out of line? We put so much stock in those one-time snapshot tests to assess school and teacher effectiveness, so why not a one-time snapshot test for a kid who has the skills but doesn't want to spend 90 hours this semester in a class which will penalize him for poor organization, not a lack of skill?
by Brian
I generally don't like articles that begin by saying something like the Obama administration's Race to the Top will fail. My default position is optimism, and I don't want it to fail. But I read an article like that today that made a lot of sense.
Marion Brady, writing in the Washington Post says that it will fail for a reason no one is talking about: A curriculum adopted in 1893 that grows more dysfunctional with each passing year. I teach math, and when my students ask me why they have to do two-column proofs in Geometry, I tell them we settled that question in 1893. We do it because that's what we do.
You should read the whole article, but here's the money quote:
"There are, however, some things Congress and the administration could do. First, they could stop basing education policy on the opinions of business leaders, syndicated columnists, mayors, lawyers, and assorted other education "experts" who haven’t passed the 10,000-hour test-10,000 hours of face-to-face dialog with real students in real classrooms, all the while thinking analytically about what they’re doing, and why."
I recently participated in the NBCT Symposium where we were asked to prioritize how to allocate the money to implement the reform package encompassed in ESHB 2261. While I appreciated the opportunity to contribute, I could not help but reflect that there was no one on the Quality Education Council, that could pass the 10,000 hour test.
And I remembered a New Yorker article byJames Surowiecki about Toyota's success. He titled it The Open Secret to Success, which it is. Toyota has defined innovation as an incremental process, fueled by the suggestions of workers (teachers?) on the factory floor. He says Japanese companies get a hundred time more suggestions from their workers than U.S. companies do. So instead of trying to throw long touchdown passes, Toyota moves down the field by making short and steady gains.
We can do that in education too, if the real experts, the teachers who have passed the 10,000 hour test, are increasingly involved in the process of planning reform, not just implementing top-down decisions.
By Mark
He's a middle-of-the-bell-curve kind of kid, affable and hard working, but his strongest efforts tend to net him Cs at the very best.
He's not into sports, and is always telling me about his truck that he's working on at home. He's got a good mind for literature (my content area) and when he really puts effort into it is a better-than-average writer.
But, he's not the most organized. The only thing keeping him from a higher grade in his English class is that he's missing a few assignments here and there, bombed a few vocabulary quizzes for lack of studying, and didn't take well to the recent unit on poetry.
And he's probably not going to graduate from high school on time. He's a few credits short already, as a junior. He knows his problem: he can do the work, but when he leaves school, it just doesn't get done. Chores on his family's small farm and tinkering under the hood of his or any number of other local vehicles…the joys that make his face glow when he talks about them…take up all his precious homework time when he should be doing his geometry or poetry or history homework.
We've already had some lively discussion here about the importance of vocational ed and trade skills in our public schools, so that's not my angle here. This young man could conceivably graduate from high school with the required math, science, English and history. He's not averse to the requirements for PE and art and CTE. He's capable, and there are ways to make up those credits. In our building, in addition to all the named requirements, a student must also take a total of 6.0 credits of general electives in order to graduate. Many use these for foreign language, higher level math and science, extra arts and music, or other specialized courses that interest them. We do have two periods of woodshop and vehicle design, but that's about all we can fund and house.
With all due respect with my colleagues in arts, CTE and upper division maths and sciences, what this young man needs isn't more of those in his schedule.
He needs study hall.
by Luann
The results are in from the Policy Summit held a few weeks ago.
The top three priorities for most immediate funding, as reflected by the decisions made by teachers at the Symposium were:
(drum roll)…………………….
By Mark
It's a question I and my teammates get often: "Why don't they do this for all freshmen?"
About seven years ago, some administrators with a clear vision saw a need in our building: far too many tenth graders weren't actually tenth graders. By credits, they were still ninth graders. Far too many kids were not on track for on-time graduation…or even graduation at all. These administrators had an idea of what they thought would help solve this problem. So, they attended conferences and did some initial research.
Then, those administrators with a clear vision did something that I fear is unfortunately rare, but has made all the difference.
They identified the problem.
And then they trusted teachers to figure out how to best solve it.
By Guest Blogger Heather
Los huesos son importantes. Tienen cuatro funciones: 1. Estructura 2. Protección 3. Movimiento 4. Producir células sanguineas.
If the above sentences were as clear as mud to you, then you have experienced for a few seconds what English Language Learners (ELLs) experience for extended periods of time during each school day.
Take 10 seconds and reflect on your response to the sentences above before reading on.
Okay, now read the set of possible on the next page and see if any closely match your reaction.
By Senator Rosemary McAuliffe and Senator Eric Oemig
We started work this summer and fall
by traveling around the state and conducting listening tours — the sole purpose
being to listen to what teachers on the ground have to say and make sure our
objectives align with real needs. We realize every classroom and school has
unique needs
and that one size does not fit all. By speaking with multiple
teachers from across the state, we have gained insight into the types of reform
that will be meaningful for teachers in different classrooms.
We want to alert our readers that we'll soon feature a joint post by Senators Rosemary McAuliffe, 1st District; Chair of Early Learning and K-12 Committee and Senator Eric Oemig, 45th District; Vice Chair of Early Learning and K-12 Committee.
Senators McAuliffe and Oemig were both instrumental in the passage of House Bill 2261, which redefined and restructured education in Washington State. Both senators now sit on the oversight body 
for 2261 called the Quality Education Council.
Stay tuned and check back to read their post this week. We’ve seen it, and we’re confident that it’ll spark some lively debate.
By Tom
I love irony. I live for it. In fact, one of my favorite moments was during the end of the year assembly a few years ago, when the principal was giving out awards for Everything You Can Imagine, including perfect attendance. All the perfect attendees proudly strode to the stage, except one. He was absent.
So when these three stories came to my attention, all on the same day, I couldn't resist.
The first story is a report from the National Board showing the positive impact National Board Certified Teachers have had on student achievement in Chicago. And it's been huge.
The second story was about Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. Gregoire recently received an award from the National Board for her contributions to education. Specifically, she was able to increase support for National Board Certification even during tough economic times. For all intents and purposes, Gregoire's support for National Board Certification consists of merit pay for those teachers who demonstrate that they've reached the profession's highest standards. For more on the award, check out Mark's post.
The third story was about a series of grants given out by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grants don't go directly to schools. They're to be used to help states apply for the Race to the Top money. The money that Education Secretary Arne Duncan is giving to states that promote charter schools and merit pay based on student test scores. Gregoire has all but written off Washington's chances for claiming any of this money, since charter schools have been rejected three times by the voters and test-based merit pay is a non-starter with the WEA.
What a weird irony. A Washington governor gets an award for promoting National Board Certification, a process with proven results, recently and specifically in Chicago. That's where Arne Duncan's from. The guy who authored Race to the Top. But his idea of merit pay is based on the use of test scores. An idea that is strongly promoted by the Gate's Foundation, which is based in Washington State.
So Gregoire's state gets none of the money from the guy from Chicago, a place where her idea of merit pay has made a huge impact.
Hmm.