EverbodyLuvsRaymondsEdBlog

Why do standardized test scores matter in the classroom? People would like for you to think standardized test scores do not matter. Are they right, or are they wrong? I'll let you decide. Test scores allow us to determine educational gaps. Sometimes these disparities can be directly associated with race. Any opportunity to bring attention to discriminatory educational policy should be an opportunity that we should discuss frequently. Exposing system failures keep us honest, in my opinion. A failure to provide and monitor education safeguards can be a downright failure to protect those at risk. I'm not making this argument because I believe it is accurate or because I am trying to convince anyone of anything. I will make this argument because of the opportunity to debate and educate others about what we know is necessary to end discriminatory educational practices. The American Association of Colleges of Education (AACE) recently released its 2018 Annual Survey of Postsecondary

Academics are essential. At the end of 13 years, I want my kids to be literate and to be able to compute. Specific levers are out in place to ensure learning occurs. The two that come to mind are informal and formal assessments. At our school, we do what we call progress monitoring. There are a host of different systems that measure progress. We’ve found a particular liking to I-Ready. However, I distinctly remember fond experiences with NWEA/Map testing. Moreover, I know the backlash from focusing on standardized testing data alone. No school leader should ever use one data set to measure student progress. Data should be comprised in many ways, as no one snapshot can capture the culmination of how students learn and how teachers deliver instruction. But in a world where two things can be true, I’ll offer this conjecture. Many of these education systems are not capable of supporting the historically marginalized. One way to hold the system accountable is by opting into standardized tes

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. The idea of grade inflation permeates K-12, and it’s dangerous. Imagine a well-behaved kid getting to 12th grade but barely being able to read and compute. The thought of this is horrifying, yet every year districts graduate students that fit into this category I described. At RCS, we have to be different. We have to be better. One of the ways we can ensure that there are very few grade-to-ability discrepancies is by being hyper-focused on the quality of the assignments we give to students. Is it standards aligned? Does the writing assignments come with a rubric? Is the feedback meaningful? Do students understand the feedback? How have they implemented the input? These are all thoughtful questions that I’d like to consider as we think about grades in Q2. Lastly, and most importantly, interim assessments measure the standards that you teach every day. They should guide some of your curriculum decisions regarding what should be prepared & retaught

Every day for a Black educator is tough. In a world of parallel truths, you have to determine what's essential and what is fodder. In many of the articles that I read, I immediately categorize them as fodder. However, on occasion, I read something, and it either triggers me or intrigues me. The most recent article by Rick Hess, Resisting' Anti-Racist' Education Is Neither Racist nor Unreasonable, is a tad bit intriguing. Hess states, "The failure to appreciate what's fueling the resistance is unfortunate, destructive, and obscuring opportunities for constructive engagement." 

I recently read an article penned by Frederick M. Hess and J. Grant Addison . Like most articles I read, I went into it with the best of intentions. Quite frankly, both authors have put out substantial bodies of work. Hess and Addison remain highly respected in their respective fields. I went in optimistically. Hess and Addison immediately rail against anti-racist approaches to teaching. The article compares "anti-racism" to being "anti-crime" or "anti-medicine." I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm certainly not anti-crime or anti-police. But approaches to how law enforcement police minoritized communities have long been a question presented by raced people. 

Again, with great reluctance, I've decided to respond to an opinion piece that I've identified as anti-anti-racism and borders on the lines of anti-LGBTQ+, especially when we unpack the portrayal of gender ideology. The writer of this article published this opinion piece through Newsweek but occasionally writes for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute . It is essential to mention this affiliation, as the release of the thought-provoking work by Robert Pondiscio titled: " I believe “antiracism” is misguided. Can I still teach Black children",  came out of this camp as well.