Category Archives: College prep

Overtesting or Overcounting?

Commenting on the Center for American Progress’s (CAP’s) report, Testing Overload in America’s Schools, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2014/10/16/99073/testing-overload-in-americas-schools/ …and the Education Writers’ Association coverage of it, http://www.ewa.org/blog-ed-beat/how-much-time-do-students-spend-taking-tests … Some testing opponents have always said there is overtesting, no matter how much there has … Continue reading

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Kamenetz, A. (2015). The Test: Why our schools are obsessed with standardized testing—but you don’t have to be. New York: Public Affairs. Book Review, by Richard P. Phelps

Perhaps it is because I avoid most tabloid journalism that I found journalist Anya Kamenetz’s loose cannon Introduction to The Test: Why our schools are obsessed with standardized testing—but you don’t have to be so jarring. In the space of … Continue reading

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Richard Innes’ Georgia testimony on Common Core

Testimony to Georgia House’s Federal Government’s Role in Education Study Committee Regarding: Common Core State Standards and Related Testing Issues Posted on August 21, 2014 by Richard Innes New in the Nonpartisan Education Review: “ Testimony to Georgia House’s Federal … Continue reading

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Press Release: Study Finds Common Core Math Standards Will Reduce Enrollment in High-Level High School Math Courses, Dumb Down College STEM Curriculum Lower standards, alignment of SAT to Common Core likely to hurt low-income students the most

http://pioneerinstitute.org/download/study-finds-common-core-math-standards-will-reduce-enrollment-in-high-level-high-school-math-courses-dumb-down-college-stem-curriculum/ BOSTON – Common Core math standards (CCMS) end after just a partial Algebra II course. This weak Algebra II course will result in fewer high school students able to study higher-level math and science courses and an increase in … Continue reading

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PEER PRESSURE: Academic Incentives & Rewards for Secondary Students

  PEER PRESSURE Academic Incentives & Rewards for Secondary Students Heartland Institute Will Fitzhugh The Concord Review 2 July 2014     In their new book, Rewards: How to use rewards to help children learn—and why teachers don’t use them … Continue reading

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Why do Americans stink at math?

New in the Nonpartisan Education Review: “Why do Americans stink at math. Some of the answer”, by Wayne Bishop. http://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Essays/v10n2.htm

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First episode in what will be sequel to Dewey/Finn

The first chapter of “Conversations on the Rifle Range” which will be the sequel to “Letters from John Dewey/Letters from Huck Finn” is now up at Out in Left Field.  

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Letters from John Dewey/Letters from Huck Finn: A Look at Math Education from the Inside

Being a sometimes useful and always irreverent compendium of letters that examine math education in our public schools, addressed to anyone with the requisite curiosity to read them. “Few refuges exist from the multicolored tomes posing as math textbooks. No one … Continue reading

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MEDIA BLACKOUT

Will Fitzhugh The Concord Review 8 February 2014     In the United States, our media are not allowed to report on or discuss exemplary student academic achievement at the high school level. For example, in the “Athens of America,” … Continue reading

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Brief sketch of the problem…

In the United States, we pay attention to and celebrate the work of HS athletes. We carefully ignore the exemplary academic work of diligent HS scholars–the results follow as you might expect—we get what we want. Will Fitzhugh ——————————— HIGH … Continue reading

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On Writing

“First, we stopped demanding that students read anything very challenging in school, and then we stopped holding our teachers or students accountable for the quality of student writing.” On Writing National Center on Education and the Economy By Marc Tucker … Continue reading

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Large-scale educational testing in Chile: Some thoughts

Recently in the auditorium of Universidad Finis Terrae, I argued that Chile’s Prueba de Selección Universitaria (PSU) cannot be “fixed” and should be scrapped. I do not, however, advocate the elimination of university entrance examinations but, rather, the creation of … Continue reading

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WHEELBARROW

“Wheelbarrow” 13 December 2013 There is an old story about a worker, at one of the South African diamond mines, who would leave work once a week or so pushing a wheelbarrow full of sand. The guard would stop him … Continue reading

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The College Puzzle

Stanford University The College Puzzle A College Success Blog by Dr. Michael E. Kirst Homework Insufficient In USA Secondary schools April 17th, 2013 Guest Blogger: Will Fitzhugh The most important variable in student academic achievement is, of course, student academic … Continue reading

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