Latest Blogs by The Collaborateurs

Test reform would create school reform

May 18, 2013 at 1:25 pm

Jose - Here in Virginia we have had standards of learning for a long time. Our standards are revised every seven years by content area. English one year, then math, etc.

Meet the Collaborateurs

May 8, 2013 at 4:43 pm

Unless teachers… [ #IKnowaTeacher ]

May 5, 2013 at 11:13 am

I know a teacher named Ms. Katz. She is my son’s teacher. A passionate professional who has helped my son to love learning the way I had always hoped he would.

It is time to change course with measurement

April 28, 2013 at 6:45 pm

For Some Kids, Testing Has Unequal Consequences Too

April 22, 2013 at 10:13 pm

Hey John,

The Problem Isn't Assessment; It's The High Stakes

April 10, 2013 at 10:27 pm

Hello John, Recently, I had a brief discussion with a new high ranking official about assessment. He told his followers that teachers seem to have the idea of assessment all wrong. He gets that we need to address "teaching to the test," but that teaching to the test isn't the problem. According to the test, we should look at assessment for "what it is": a tool to find out how teachers can improve their teaching and increase achievement. I giggled to myself, and I rarely do so.

Only if all the right conditions are there [On Bill Gates' teacher evaluation]

March 27, 2013 at 12:00 am

Hey John, In the first of this two-part series (OK, a longer essay that I wanted to split up in two), I wondered why Bill Gates would go to great lengths to establish why students should get assessed and, from that, formulate an argument for why teachers should, too. I obviously had serious contentions about [...]

Measurement at what cost?

March 24, 2013 at 12:00 am

Jose- There was one key point that Bill Gates made in the clip you provided that I wanted to explore. The Measuring Effective Teaching (MET) study Bill Gates funded and cited has, according to some, “figured out what makes a good teacher”. We have a number of colleagues who participated in this study including my [...]

The argument against using student achievement as a model for teacher assessment

March 18, 2013 at 12:00 am

Hey John, Watch this until 3:15 first. Yes, it’s Bill Gates, doing an interview with the Washington Post. Obviously, he has a lot to say, but he makes a few arguments that made me go “Hmmph” loudly. While I’ve voiced my displeasure with his position in education more often than not, I also want to [...]

The smell of celebrity

March 15, 2013 at 12:00 am

Jose- One of the reasons I enjoy working with you on this blog is that you are always pushing my thinking in novel directions. Your last post left a taste in mouth I was having trouble enjoying. It seemed like an acquired taste. When you said,