Posted on

Intelligence in America: Time to Test Something New

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Multiple-intelligence.jpg

Measuring the progress of any endeavor requires a definition of success. Education, by its very nature, is difficult to ascribe a single definition of success; “making people smarter” is far too broad and subjective, while “increasing the IQs of students” is perhaps too esoteric and subject to debate over the role of genetics and other uncontrollable factors. Measuring progress is similarly fraught in the academic sector. Grades have been a target of considerable suspicion for some time now, and rightly so: everything from grade inflation to instructor subjectivity makes grades an altogether blunt and misleading metric. There again, what do …

Continue reading “Intelligence in America: Time to Test Something New”

Posted on

Effort affects everything

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** A guest post by Suzy Brooks Tomorrow morning both my @FourthGraders and my 16 year old son will take the state Common Core assessment.  Like the swallows to Capistrano, these tests come around faithfully each spring.  Though the swallows are welcomed with fiestas and cheering crowds, our requisite tests are not met with the same level …

Continue reading “Effort affects everything”

Posted on

Standardized Testing for Colleges: A Necessary Evil?

Standardized testing in K-12 education is a perennial hot button issue. Proponents feel that measuring knowledge in these rigid ways helps lift the entire educational system. Critics say the measurements do nothing but encourage “teach to the test” methods and narrow the scope of what instructors are able to teach if they want to have acceptable test results. These arguments are nothing new, but they are now seeing a new audience. What if the same principles of K-12 standardized testing were applied to colleges and universities? Americans spend over $460 billion on higher educational pursuits every year, yet there is …

Continue reading “Standardized Testing for Colleges: A Necessary Evil?”

Posted on

3 Entities That Rebelled Against Standardized Testing in the US

Standardized testing in K-12 education is a perennial hot button issue. Proponents feel that measuring knowledge in these rigid ways helps lift the entire educational system. But critics say the measurements do nothing but encourage “teach to the test” methods and narrow the scope of what instructors are able to teach if they want to have acceptable test results. This article will look at three groups of people who have urged us to reconsider standardized testing in our country. Here they are: Maya Angelou and other authors. Along with 120 other children’s book authors, beloved poet and activist Maya Angelou …

Continue reading “3 Entities That Rebelled Against Standardized Testing in the US”

Posted on

Rethinking the Emphasis on Standardized Testing

Note: Today’s guest blog is from Robert Sun, chairman, president and CEO of Suntex International Inc. and inventor of First In Math, an online program designed for deep practice in mathematics. He is a nationally recognized expert in the use of technology to enhance mathematics education; for more information, visit www.firstinmath.com. Many who are concerned with education reform in the U.S. look to Asian education systems as the model to follow. Whether for cultural, economic or political reasons, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and other Asian nations are widely considered to be societies that get public education right. Children in …

Continue reading “Rethinking the Emphasis on Standardized Testing”