Posts tagged Standardized Testing
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Morning bell: Report on school discipline prompts legislation and yields some surprises
Ease up on preschoolers: Reacting to a recent report on school discipline from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, DC Councilmember David Grosso introduced a bill that would prohibit DCPS and charter schools from expelling or suspending pre-kindergarteners. (Post) Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Progress and delay on the special education front
Special ed legislation advances: The DC Council’s Education Committee unanimously approved legislation that would speed the delivery of services to children with disabilities. The full council will vote on it in the fall. (Post) Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Do DC’s test results paint too rosy a picture?
No real progress?: Critics charge that the apparent rise in DC’s standardized test scores is the result of manipulation of the data, and that the improvement reflects an influx of wealthier students. DC officials disagree. (Post) Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Vacancies on DC’s State Board of Education
Open positions: The Washington Post has endorsed Phil Pannell for the recently vacated Ward 8 seat on the DC State Board of Education, in a race that will be decided by a July 15 special election. And the Ward 6 representative, who has called for giving the board more responsibility, won’t run for re-election in November. (Post) Teachers’ union blocking extended… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: DCPS responds to competition from charters
Knocking on students’ doors: DCPS is sending principals door-to-door to boost enrollment, with training provided by political campaign experts. (Post) Not enough coordination?: A new science-oriented charter school will open this fall across the street from a DCPS school with the same focus, leading DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson to call for joint planning between… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: High school modernizations, and a shooting nearby one
If you build it, will they come?: Almost two-thirds of DCPS schools have been modernized, some in dazzling ways. Many are high schools that are being designed for populations larger than those they currently serve.(Washington Business Journal) Shootings near Ballou: Three people were wounded, two of them 17-year-olds believed to be students at the high school, located in… Keep reading…
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DC students may find themselves stumped by Common Core tests next year
Next year DC public school students will take a new standardized test that’s supposed to test their critical thinking skills. But a number of questions on a publicly available practice test are confusing, unrealistically difficult, or just plain wrong. A recent post on Greater Greater Education criticized the design of the Common Core-aligned test that DC will begin… Keep reading…
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DC’s planned Common Core tests aren’t yet ready for prime time
Next year DC will begin giving tests based on the new Common Core state standards. Judging from a practice test available online, these assessments will need major revisions before they’ll come close to being able to measure students’ actual capabilities. This spring, the two consortia that are developing assessments based on the Common Core have been conducting… Keep reading…
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A year in the lives of two DC schools: a Q&A with the author of a new book
A new book takes an in-depth look at two DC schools: a DCPS school in a gentrifying neighborhood that is struggling to improve, and a charter school navigating its first year. Sam Chaltain, an education activist and blogger, has written Our School: Searching for Community in the Era of Choice, scheduled for release later this month. It focuses on a year in the lives of Bancroft Elementary… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Big changes on the horizon?
Changes in boundaries and feeder patterns: The committee that has been reviewing DC’s student assignment policies released three potential plans and a proposal for redrawing elementary school boundaries. To see details, click here. (Post) Henderson’s future: Neither Democratic mayoral nominee Muriel Bowser nor her rival David Catania will commit to keeping… Keep reading…