High Stakes Testing Gone Wild?
I sense a growing unease about the use of “big data,” assessment, and the standardization of public education. A piece in Information Week breaks down the discomfort of Justin Reich, who worries about the “batch processing of kids.” To get more specific, an article from the AP details some of the absurdities that occur when high stakes testing goes wild—students not permitted to go to the bathroom, or eat lunch, and in tears as computers froze. Really?
Google Play
Seems like I picked a good day to have lunch at Googleplex East. Just as I was digging into the fantastic free spread, the company was broadcasting the news from its Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco: a new effort called “Google Play for Education,” designed for making devices and software affordable for educators. Money blog Venture Beat speculates that the initiatives could be a potential iPad killer in the classroom.
Common Core: Does anybody really like this stuff?
Here’s a nice, dreary topic for a Monday morning: Common Core, PARCC, and the future of student assessment. Our newsfeed this morning doesn’t help much: Cincinati.com reports on Ohio’s growing Common Core hate; Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post today lays the issue at the feet of the Obama administration; and the Washington Times details some renewed resistance in Indiana. I’d like to say this is a fun story to cover. But it’s not. Looking for any and all solutions!
