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Recent Posts
- Comments on Hung-Hsi Wu’s “What is school mathematics?” 12/04/2026
- On Common Core and Educational Testing 24/11/2025
- Equitable Grading 04/09/2025
- Comparing states by only looking at overall NAEP average scores can provide incomplete analysis of performance 07/08/2025
- What does NAEP say about the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project? 07/08/2025
- Reading performance in the US is a serious problem 07/08/2025
- Grade 4 Reading – Is NAEP’s standard for proficiency set too high? 07/08/2025
Comments
- Noah on Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”
- David D. Baskerville on Breaking the Spell of Math Reformists
- Albert B. Franklin on About Us / Comments
- Bryan on Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”
Authors
Category Archives: College prep
Robert T. Oliphant, 1924-2014
Robert T. Oliphant 1924-2014 Bob Oliphant passed away in June, 2014. He was one of the most optimistic and generous people I’ve ever met, and one of my best friends. That despite the fact that we never met face-to-face—a typical … Continue reading
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, https://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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment
Tagged Center for, overtesting, standardized, testing
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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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment
Tagged assessment, EWA, NPR, overtesting, schools, standardized testing
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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
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
https://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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Mathematics
Tagged common core, mathematics, Pioneer Institute
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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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Will Fitzhugh
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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. https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Essays/v10n2.htm
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Mathematics
Tagged Elizabeth Green, fuzzy math, international, math education, mathematics
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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.
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Mathematics, Uncategorized
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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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Mathematics, Uncategorized
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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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, K-12, Will Fitzhugh
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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
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
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
Posted in College prep, Education policy, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment
Tagged Agencia de Calidad de la Educacion, assessment, Chile, fairness in testing, MIDE UC, OECD, predictive validity, Prueba de Selección Universitaria, PSU, SIMCE, standardized testing, Universidad Finis Terrae, university admission, World Bank
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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
Posted in College prep, K-12, Reading & Writing, Will Fitzhugh
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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
Posted in College prep, K-12, Will Fitzhugh
Tagged academic rigor, college success, homework, Korean students
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