Grading a school or a teacher based on a “blind test” is the same as evaluating a football coach who cannot scout his opponents. When the Hoosier state finally (finally) released this year’s ISTEP results, Indiana House Representative Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) wasted no time in politicizing it: “Less than half of our children can meet …
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n July 12, the Indianapolis Business Journal ran an Associated Press piece reporting concerns over a looming teacher shortage in Indiana. According to the story, Indiana DOE data shows an alarming drop in teaching licenses issued—934 for the 2013-2104 school year. A mere six years earlier, that number was nearly 7500 (https://www.ibj.com/articles/53976-indiana-facing-chronic-teacher-shortage). That is a …
The last five years of educational infighting in Indiana have created two opposing sides. Lost in that fight was a chance to actually FIX some of the problems which really did exist. And none of those problems were the same from one town to the next.
I have been a teacher for 40 years. I have long decried the over-emphasis on testing which began back in the 1980s. Like most teachers, I am not against common standards; there should be some commonalities in what we teach throughout the nation. I am not against testing; we need to assess what our students …
This Is Just a Test: Our Lawmakers Should Take the New 3rd Grade Tests Read More »
