A conversation with my mentor has always stuck in my mind: Teaching is not about me, directly, it’s about serving my students. Teaching is about providing each of my students what they need to learn the material and to grow academically and as an individual. Teaching is about student learning.
In May, the New York Times published an article “The Little Known Statistician Who Taught Us to Measure Teachers” which profiled the life of Dr. Bill Sanders. The author reflected on Dr. Sanders’ life and work improving education for all students. For those of us in education, Dr. Sanders’ work
Teacher preparation programs have received some pretty harsh criticism in recent years. For example… “If there was any piece of legislation that I could pass it would be to blow up colleges of education.” –Reid Lyon, National Institute of Health “By almost any standard, many if not most of the
Recently, the American Statistical Association (ASA) released a statement about value-added modeling. This statement was widely covered in the national press, some of which positioned the statement as a significant blow to value-added modeling. However, the ASA statement did not “slam” value-added modeling; rather, the statement’s authors advocated statistical rigor,
A recent Charlotte Observer article provided a thoughtful investigation of growth and achievement in North Carolina’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools). The article juxtaposed two very different, yet highly effective, schools. The first, Ranson Middle School, is a low-achieving school with 84% poverty that demonstrated the highest academic growth of any similar
As teachers head into the madness of student course registration, the madness of college basketball reinforces a critical point: Data is crucial to making the picks that lead to a winning bracket, and student growth. Value-added assessment has proven reliable in determining which students are ready for their "one shining moment". This
