Week's-end Remainders: Sneakered ponies and test preparation

  • A parent describes a problematic test-prep assignment about sneaker-wearing horses. (SchoolBook)
  • A new paper concludes that schools pick curriculum materials poorly. (Brookings via Core Knowledge)
  • In a series of posts, a teacher labeled a “pervert” by a newspaper responds. (Chaz’s School Daze 123)
  • A teacher says “hmmm” about networks’ future as several leaders become principals. (NYCDOENuts)
  • Leonie Haimson offers an annotated transcript of this week’s turnaround hearing. (NYC PS Parents)
  • A teacher who received an unsatisfactory rating and retired describes her life afterwards. (Norm’s Notes)
  • A retired upstate principal says the state is trying to fix a non-existent test security problem. (Times-Union)
  • A Long Island principal says the length of state tests is lamentable and not educational. (Answer Sheet)
  • The principal of Forest Hills High School says change happens in small increments. (SchoolBook)
  • New apps help parents track and analyze the data points, i.e. diapers, their babies produce. (Atlantic)
  • Gary Rubinstein lists eight ways that data misuse equates to outright cheating. (Schools of Thought)
  • A federal cash incentive program got districts to shift teachers to high-need schools. (Teacher Beat)
  • A study finds teachers and computers generate similar results when scoring tests. (Curriculum Matters)
  • A bill meant to preserve Hawaii’s Race to the Top funds died in the state’s legislature. (Politics K-12)
  • TFA’s Wendy Kopp: School reforms that micromanage teachers are doomed to fail. (Atlantic)
  • A study of Michigan charters finds they spend less on instruction. (Charters & Choice via SchoolBook)