UPDATE: Students walking out + Details on #sequestration and #edreform… blah, blah, blah – @ the chalk face

Details on #sequestration and #edreform… blah, blah, blah – @ the chalk face:

Large Monopoly board planned for #occupy2.0 in DC, #optout

by Chalk Face, PhD

This is just a blank diagram of the giant education reform Monopoly board I’m going to paint on canvas. I plan on rolling it out for people to play during the event. Working out all of the spaces, suggestions in the comments would be helpful.

Students walking out of #TCAP in Colorado, #stuvoice

by Chalk Face, PhD

Student power, need we say more. Students are doing what students can do, stepping aside during a state-mandated test that means nothing. If you’re in Colorado, consider supporting them.

Details on #sequestration and #edreform… blah, blah, blah

by Chalk Face, PhD

Both poles of the political spectrum have been trying to game the impacts of the sequester. I wanted to take a closer look at its effects in education, particularly in the state where I reside, Maryland.
Fortunately for us plebes, documents are available detailing the impact of the sequester in each state. Here’s Maryland’s, for instance. Here’s perhaps the most specific information on education from the document:
So, MD public schools could take a roughly $14 million hit, in case you can’t see it, which translates to 12,000 students and 30 schools. I have no real arguments either

Pittsburgh deputy superintendent said …. And #edweek followed up by…?

by Timothy D. Slekar

I know at some point I’m going to drive readers away with my constant picking at EdWeek.  So let me just say this.  When someone makes a claim about research that is either contextless or just outright wrong I believe that the journalist, should at a minimum, point out the complexities associated with such statements.
For example:

“We know that teachers have the biggest impact on outcomes for children—and right behind that is the principal,” said Jeannine French, the deputy superintendent of the 25,000-student Pittsburgh district, which is also revamping its evaluation system to include student growth. “It’s not just an evaluation tool. … It’s about making sure principals have the information they need about practice so they can very specifically improve so we get better results for our children.”

This quote appeared in Edweek today in an article about tying principal evaluations to student test scores.  Of course there was no mention that using test scores to evaluate teachers lacks supporting research.  But I guess that just doesn’t matter any more.