Twitter Book Club: @alfiekohn (2004) What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? - Two:5

Two: Standards and Testing
5. Beware of the Standards, Not Just the Tests

"the standards are said to be neutral with respect to pedagogy. But this is nonsense." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"As Linda McNeil of Rice University has observed, 'Measurable outcomes may be the least significant results of lear... http://tl.gd/9oa11iless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"As Linda McNeil of Rice University has observed, 'Measurable outcomes may be the least significant results of learning.' (That sentence ought to be printed out in 36-point Helvetica, framed, and hung on the wall of every school administrator's office in the country.)"

Measurable outcomes may be the least significant results of learning.

I'll post a picture here of the framed quote once I can convince a school administrator to hang it in their office.

@anderscj check out Deming's 14 principles and 7 deadly diseases of management " Running a company on visibl… (cont) http://deck.ly/~IEO4nless than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet Replypammoran
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"Clearly, it is much easier to quantify the number of times a semicolon has been used correctly in an essay than it... http://tl.gd/9oa2rmless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"'Alignment' isn't about improvement; it's about conformity." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"Not only politicians but also some assessment experts sometimes forget that doing something well is not the same a... http://tl.gd/9oa75qless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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Twitter Book Club: @alfiekohn (2004) What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? - Two:4

Two: Standards and Testing
4. confusing Harder with Better

"Never underestimate the power of a catchy slogan and a false dichotomy." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"These days almost anything can be done to students and to schools, no matter how I'll-considered, as long as it is... http://tl.gd/9o972vless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"high scores are often a sign of lowered standards—a paradox rarely appreciated by those who make, or report on, education policy." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"One reason a back-to-basics curriculum fits perfectly with the philosophy of prizing hard work is that it creates... http://tl.gd/9o9g41less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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Twitter Book Club: @alfiekohn (2004) What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? - One:3

One: The Purposes of Schooling

3. The Costs of Overemphasizing Achievement

"What we really should be asking is why we are assessing students in the first place." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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Why do people look at me like I am stupid whenever I ask this question?

"Some of this pressure originates from state capitals, of course. However, school district administrators often com... http://tl.gd/9nld3iless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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I think this statement sums it up pretty nicely the message I was trying to get across with my last weekly tech tip on infographics:

"Some of this pressure originates from state capitals, of course. However, school district administrators often compound the harm by adding tests, sometimes those that are least informative (by virtue of being norm-referenced) and most destructive (by virtue of how teachers end up creating a dumbed-down, test-driven curriculum). All of this is done, of course, in the name of tougher standards and accountability, but, as any good teacher could tell you, the practical result is that the intellectual life is squeezed out of classrooms." Kohn

"when we get carried away with results, we wind up, paradoxically, with results that are less than ideal." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
anderscj

Does anyone remember these 3d posters that were real popular in the early 1990's? I think improving scores on tests are a bit like trying to see the 3d image in these stereograms. If you focus on the object, the subject disappears.

"genuine interest in it or excitement about the whole idea of learning often begins to evaporate as soon as achieve... http://tl.gd/9nlg48less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"When the point isn't to figure things out but to prove how good you are, it's often hard to cope with being less than good." Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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"to reassure such a student that 'a 92 is still very good' or that we're sure he'll 'do better next time' doesn't j... http://tl.gd/9nlkqsless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Replyanderscj
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