Contributing to an informed citizenry, inside and outside the classroom.
When many students show growth, it should be celebrated. If all students show growth, they should have an opportunity to be acknowledged as growing. So why does North Carolina use a contracted formula originally used in agriculture to plow public school student performance with misleading data? The system is not designed to label all students... Continue Reading →
For part 2 of this Bursting the Bubble Sheet series, I’m going to zoom out to ensure I’m clearly communicating the forest of this project before diving into each tree: There’s an unfortunate fact pattern where deceptively portrayed K-12 data is being used to undermine communities’ faith in their local public schools as a marketing... Continue Reading →
Preface: Over a decade ago Rhett Carlson, a high school science teacher, reverse-engineered EVAAS - a K-12 test data translation tool created by NC-based analytics company SAS and used by the NC Department of Public Instruction. This program is modeled after one that was used in agriculture to increase plant growth and cull dairy herds... Continue Reading →
A draft teacher licensure proposal soon to be considered by the North Carolina State Board of Education has been labeled “Pathways to Excellence.” It begs two questions: Where do the pathways lead? And for whom are they excellent? Where do the pathways lead? Credit: Dan4th Nicholas https://www.flickr.com/photos/43264265@N00 As the draft proposal is currently written, it... Continue Reading →
https://videopress.com/v/ZvZX62Eq?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true EVAAS is a flawed, norm-referenced tool that has been rejected by other states, and was eliminated for official use in teacher evaluations by North Carolina in 2016. NC also drastically scaled back its standardized test regimen after pushback from parents and educators. So why does a teacher licensure pitch headed soon to the North... Continue Reading →
Completing college application materials is a stressful time in the lives of my 12th grade students. It's a mix of excitement and anxiety. They need us to write recommendations, offer feedback on their applications, and give pep talks to encourage them to have faith in the work they've done. I couldn't let the piece of... Continue Reading →
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