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Should teacher tests receive a failing grade?
Brian Stack EducationAs our nation continues to look for ways to hold our schools accountable for student learning through student tests such as PARCC and SBAC, we have also turned to raising the bar for teacher tests. Elizabeth Harris, a writer for The New York Times, examined the issue in a story last month entitled, "Tough Tests for Teachers, With Question of Bias."
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What do school leaders need to know about English learners? The basics
Erick Herrmann EducationEach new school year, countless new administrators move into school leadership positions. There are many, many topics, skills and procedures that need to be learned, relearned or determined as the new school year starts. At times, leaders follow similar policies and procedures put into place previously. Others change policies and procedures to meet their own unique vision.
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How the BRRRRR strategy can help you chill out at IEP meetings
Howard Margolis EducationIf your child will soon have a new Individualized Education Program (IEP), you have to ensure it meets all his (or her) educational needs. Ideally, to develop a high quality IEP, you’ll work cooperatively with the school's IEP team members. But what if you disagree with them? What if you believe they're just trying to save money and don't care about your child?
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Does class size matter in education?
Bambi Majumdar EducationTexas school districts were in the spotlight again as recent reports revealed thousands of elementary classes exceeding their set 22-pupil maximum size limit. The number of classrooms that exceeded this limit in 2014 was up to 5,883, meaning 130,000 K-4 students were crammed in together.
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Using a second language to land the job
Stefano Tromba EducationAs the economy continues to slowly improve and unemployment levels drop, more and more job seekers are finding the task of getting hired less daunting. The unemployment rate in the United States was down to 5.5 percent in May — nearly half of what it was five years ago at 9.6 percent in May of 2010. This trend signals a slow, yet steadily growing confidence in the economy and a positive future outlook from many companies.
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Quest for quiet: Considering noise control as an accommodation
Pamela Hill EducationWhen educators plan Individual Educational Programs for students with learning disabilities, they use several key considerations for possible instructional and test accommodations to help students improve their individualized learning.
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To test or not to test? That is the growing question
Brian Stack EducationEarlier this month, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan took a bold step in the debate over whether students can opt out of standardized testing. She vetoed a bill that would have allowed students to do so.
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The customer is not always right: A case for teacher autonomy in the classroom
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationAccording to both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and English Language Program requirements, students are supposed to be "active learners." In reality, many come and go at will. There may be all sorts of reasons behind their behavior: Perhaps, because their countries or parents are sponsoring them, the "students" have no vested interest in their education. Perhaps, as is the case where I worked until recently, it is because administrators equate students with customers who are to be served, and as businessman Harry Selfridge asserted, "the customer is always right."
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A look at summer MOOCs for K-12 students
Bambi Majumdar EducationThere was once a time when K-12 students had a huge list of summer homework handed over to them on the last day of school. Today, parents get an exhaustive list of websites for their children to visit over summer to continue learning from. The concepts of flipped classrooms and digitized lessons have brought Massive Online Open Courses into the mainstream. MOOCs are increasingly replacing summer school and bridge programs through platforms that students can easily manage and parents can monitor simultaneously.
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Engage all learners: Make students think visually
Savanna Flakes EducationOne way to increase student engagement and facilitate deeper learning is to frequently check for student understanding throughout a lesson. Practitioners find many benefits in using frequent assessment techniques to simultaneously check all students' level of understanding. My three favorite technology tools increase student engagement and quickly get students thinking visually so teachers can adjust and differentiate instruction on the spot. All three technology tools are free, teacher-friendly, and the student data can be saved and graphed to facilitate data charts.
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