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Sunday, September 16, 2012

School Tech Connect: Not The NAEP's Best Effort

School Tech Connect: Not The NAEP's Best Effort:


Not The NAEP's Best Effort

The NAEP Writing Assessment is out.  It' a new NAEP test, and in my opinion, if you study it carefully, you begin to see that even the NAEP people can't construct a writing test that's actually worth taking.

The surprising thing to me is that the NAEP people evidently feel that 27% of students write at or above what they consider to be a proficient level. Having taught writing for two decades, I'd call this figure high. However, I'm sure it sounds alarmingly low to some people, and these people will argue that we need more and more assessment in writing.

Notice I didn't say instruction.

Look at what constitutes basic, adequate, competent, and effective responses on p. 26 of the report.  I guess I


It's Actually Easy To Explain

Generally speaking, when things are true, they are easy for people to explain and easy for people to comprehend. The problem is always a matter of getting past the noise machine that works for the other side.

This is how you explain the pension situation to people.  Go read it. Then back in your local, make it a reading assignment. Then hit the phones.

To steal from John Dillon: