Posts tagged Standardized Testing
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Morning bell: Schools keep an eye on the budget
Middle schools are among DCPS budget priorities: At the annual budget hearing, Chancellor Kaya Henderson also said she wants to improve the district’s 40 lowest-performing schools and ensure student satisfaction. The school system is starting the budget process earlier than usual, and offering an online survey, to get more community input. (Post) More classes… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: What do parents want?
Test results every year?: With ongoing debate over whether new curriculum standards should justify a “testing holiday,” Jay Mathews asks parents to weigh in on whether they would be willing to go for a year without getting test results. (Post) No change in school boundaries?: Jonetta Rose Barras acknowledges anxiety among parents about the re-examination of… Keep reading…
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Group critiques Catania education proposals
A coalition of education activists from across the District has released a critique of legislation now before the DC Council. This guest post by two of those activists highlights the group’s goals and examines whether the proposed legislation supports them. Debate about education in the District is almost as old as the District itself. Now, spurred in part by a package… Keep reading…
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Allegations on test scores miss the whole story
DC Council Education Committee Chair David Catania has alleged that testing officials inflated the percentage of students reported as “proficient” on standardized tests given earlier this year. Officials say they were just trying to ensure this year’s scores could be compared with those from previous years. But according to multiple sources, the real… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: DC CAS scores are questioned, but SAT is up
Test scoring method creates controversy: The Post revealed that DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education quietly chose a scoring method for last year’s standardized tests that resulted in a higher overall proficiency rate. Councilmember David Catania claims OSSE’s decision amounts to “cheating.” But OSSE defends its scoring choice… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: What happens in National Harbor ...
MGM coming to National Harbor?; National Harbor Metro pledge; Mayor Gray makes a stand; Purple Line foe drops opposition; Guesses for SSTC completion; Too much for DC DMV; Hong Kong’s model in the US?; DC is a generous city; Virginia students ace SAT; And …. Keep reading…
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Morning Bell: Kids learn to garden, adults to use computers
School gardens grow more than food: Almost half of all schools in DC have school gardens, which encourage healthier eating habits and provide a chance to learn new skills. DC also gives schools incentives to use ingredients from local farms in school lunches. (Elevation DC) Will technology help adults learn?: Community College Preparatory Academy, which serves adult learners,… Keep reading…
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New superintendent of education is not new to DC
Last week the Mayor appointed Jesús Aguirre, the current director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to the position of state superintendent of education. Aguirre does have a background in education, but will it be enough to positively affect education policy in the district? Aguirre has worked as a science teacher in Los Angeles, a charter school operator in Arizona,… Keep reading…
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Plan to rank charter preschools is a good first step
The Public Charter School Board has proposed a new system for evaluating charter preschools, and some parents are up in arms. The system may not be perfect, but when the Board takes up the proposal on Monday it should vote to approve it. Last month the Public Charter School Board (PCSB) unveiled a plan to rank charter schools serving young children according to a formula that includes… Keep reading…
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Did DCPS cut recess to make room for testing?
When DCPS students kicked off the 2013-14 school year last week, many parents were upset to discover that in some schools recess had been reduced to only 15 minutes. They might also be upset to find out that students end up spending almost the same amount of time taking standardized tests. In a little-noticed budget document issued last spring, the minimum time for recess for children… Keep reading…