A Model for the National Assessment of Higher Orde Richard Paul with Gerald M. Nosich Abstract This paper, co-authored by Richard Paul and Gerald Nosich, was commissioned by the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the National Center for Education Statistics. It provides exactly what its title implies: a model for the national assessment of higher order thinking. The paper consists of a preface and five main sections. The preface delineates the problem of lower order learning, summarizes the state of research into critical thinking and educational reform, and explains the five-part structure of the paper. Section One: Objectives What Should be the Main Objectives of a Process to Assess Higher Order Thinking? It should assess students’ skills and abilities in analyzing, synthesizing, applying, and evaluating information. Section Two: Critical Thinking and Criteria for Assessment What Is Included in a Rich, Substantive Concept of Critical Thinking?
How children’s ‘play’ is being sneakily redefined - The Answer Sheet This was written by Alfie Kohn, the author of 12 books about education and human behavior, including “The Schools Our Children Deserve,” “The Homework Myth,” and the newly published“Feel-Bad Education . . . And Other Contrarian Essays on Children & Schooling.” He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.com. This essay is adapted from remarks delivered at the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum in Providence, RI, on Nov. 12, 2011. By Alfie Kohn * Children should have plenty of opportunities to play. * Even young children have too few such opportunities these days, particularly in school settings. These two propositions — both of them indisputable and important — have been offered many times.[1] The second one in particular reflects the “cult of rigor” at the center of corporate-style school reform. As with anything that needs to be said — and isn’t being heard by the people in power — there’s a temptation to keep saying it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Oregon | Cannon gets the connection between reading and crime right We’ve haven’t seen much of former Rep. Ben Cannon down in Salem since he accepted a position as Gov. John Kitzhaber’s main education adviser. So when his name popped up in a recent Portland Monthly article, we paid special attention. In the article, he helps talk up the state’s new approach to K-12 education, which focuses, in part, on specific benchmarks in a child’s education that research shows are reliable predictors of future success. "If we raise the number of third-graders who read at a third-grade level, we affect everything, from graduation rates to incarceration rates," Cannon told the magazine. Somewhere in the back of our heads, we’d remembered hearing a claim not unlike this one -- we also remembered hearing it wasn’t true. We started with a basic Google search and came across the claim we’d kept hearing: Prison officials use third grade reading scores to predict the number of beds they’ll need. Even so, he said, the third-grade benchmark is an important one.
Inquiry-Based Tasks in Social Studies Many schools, both nationally and internationally, are adopting the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. Some states, districts, and schools adopt the full framework and standards, and others adopt the general framework, but modify or create their own grade-level standards. An important element of the framework either way is something called the Inquiry Arc. The Inquiry Arc comprises four dimensions: “one focused on questioning and inquiry; another on disciplinary knowledge and concepts relating to civics, economics, geography, and history; another on evaluating and using evidence; and a final one on communicating and taking action.” The basic idea is that students ask or are given compelling questions and then investigate those questions, evaluate and find evidence to answer them, and communicate their answers. For example, middle school students might be given the question “Can disease change the world?” The Inquiry Design Model for Tasks
Testing, Early Learning, and the Pace of Reform: Talking with Teachers Our work at the US Department of Education aims to make sure that students throughout this country have the education that they deserve – an education that will give every student a genuine opportunity to join a thriving middle class. A crucial part of that work is supporting, elevating and strengthening the teaching profession. As often as I can, I spend time talking with teachers about their experience of their work, and of change efforts to improve student outcomes. Recently, I visited Rogers Heights Elementary School in Bladensburg, Maryland, near Washington, DC. I was really struck by how smart, committed and passionate the teachers were. I invited teachers to take on any topic they wanted to, and they took on some important and even difficult ones: the pace of reform, the need for arts education, the impact of early learning, and testing. Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player. Arne Duncan is the U.S.
12 Most Compelling Reasons to Homeschool Your Children I’ve been a public school educator and administrator for more than a decade, so you may be surprised that when parents ask for my advice about education, I often suggest they allow their children to leave school. Education reform is happening today, but it’s slow and often ineffective. Parents need to do what is in the best interest of their children, right now. For some this means working hard with a school to adapt to meet a child’s needs. But many schools are rigid and don’t believe students are entitled to a customized learning experience. Here are the twelve most compelling reasons for leaving school behind if your child is not finding success and happiness there. 1. • In school learning is standardized to what someone else says is best. • At home learning is customized to what the child and parent feel is best. 2. • In school students are grouped by date of manufacture. • At home children can choose to be with those whose company they enjoy. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Cascadia Now! The Cardigan Papers – American history and news literacy meet in the school library, The Test Score Racket WASHINGTON -- It is time to acknowledge that the fashionable theory of school reform -- requiring that pay and job security for teachers, principals and administrators depend on their students' standardized test scores -- is at best a well-intentioned mistake, and at worst nothing but a racket. I mean that literally. Beverly Hall, the former superintendent of the Atlanta public schools, was indicted on racketeering charges Friday for an alleged cheating scheme that won her more than $500,000 in performance bonuses. Hall, who retired two years ago, is also accused of theft, conspiracy and making false statements. She has denied any wrongdoing. Also facing criminal charges are 34 teachers and principals who allegedly participated in the cheating, which involved simply erasing students' wrong answers on test papers and filling in the correct answers. For educators who worked for Hall, bonuses and promotions were based on test scores. State education officials became suspicious.
Teens Reap What Their Parents Sow | Living Joyfully Teenagers. What’s the first thing that pops to mind? Something reminiscent of the MCR song? “Teenagers scare the living shit out of me.” A quick web search reveals that the conventional wisdom surrounding the teenage years is mainly focused on helping parents survive this inevitably challenging stage. But what if it’s the conventional wisdom surrounding raising children that is specifically setting teens up for this additional turmoil beyond the physical and emotional changes that adolescence brings? Unschooling families are giving it a shot. Teens Growing Independence In more conventional families, where teens are less supported and more controlled, many teens are compelled to pursue their growing independence out from under the watchful and judgmental eyes of parents. How does this look different in unschooling families? Joining Adult Society The conventional educational paradigm says that children go to school to learn what they need to know so they can graduate into adult society.