Tag: Test Scores

Do Not Tie Test Scores to Teacher Evaluation

Here’s a copy of a letter I just wrote and emailed to my legislators regarding their upcoming vote on ESSB 5748, which would tie our student’s standardized test scores to our teacher evaluation. We can hold students accountable and track and report their learning without standardized testing. We can graduate students from high school without …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2015/03/26/do-not-tie-test-scores-to-teacher-evaluation/

Poverty Does Affect Achievement

While I don’t agree that standardized test scores should be used to inform more than what they inform, I do use the test scores to see what trends have been happening with my students. See, I’m not entirely opposed to using standardized test scores, just NOT to determine whether my students should advance or graduate …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/02/13/poverty-does-affect-achievement/

Alternative to Testing

I’ve read and heard how schools need to be held accountable. The politicians want some kind of proof that schools and teachers are educating children. Politicians try to convince the public that schools need to be held accountable to show that kids are achieving high standards of education. My goodness look at what newspapers publish! …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/11/18/alternative-to-testing/

Why Collaborate?

Why collaborate? That is the question. Let me focus in a bit on a more specific question. If you, in a middle and a high school, were given the opportunity to meet regularly with your peers why would you want to? What could all the Science teachers in grades 6 through 12 meet about if …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/03/06/why-collaborate/

In My Humble Opinion

Face to face conversations with my next door teaching neighbor about going gradeless and helping students learn without worrying about covering enough curriculum to pass a standardized test has been helpful for me. I get to think deeply about my beliefs about how I think students learn best and about accountability and if I’m doing …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/08/02/in_my_humble_opinion/