The Notebook

Stories tagged: testing

Forum takes on standardized testing

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 11:21 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Two icons of the progressive education movement spoke in Philadelphia on Wednesday night to decry standardized testing and urge that a “justice-oriented framework” drive school reform instead.

“Test score gaps are used to label schools as failures without providing resources or strategies to eliminate the gap,” said Stan Karp of Rethinking Schools, an education journal and publisher.

Going beyond the multiple-choice test

by Connie Langland Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

While high-stakes testing continues unabated, educators skeptical of the annual assessments are not just experimenting, but making headway in finding better ways to evaluate – and improve – student learning and whole-school performance.

Investigations at 53 schools continue without resolution

by Dale Mezzacappa Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

Pennsylvania’s investigation of possible cheating on state tests in Philadelphia is entering its second year with no results announced and with little information about its scope and depth.

So far, no area educators or school officials have been publicly charged with wrongdoing. Both the School District of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE) have vowed to take disciplinary action, but those actions can take place behind closed doors.

Acciones prohibidas durante el examen

Posted in Diciembre 2012 Edition | Permalink

Esta es una lista del Departamento de Educación de Pensilvania de lo que los maestros, administradores del examen y funcionarios escolares no pueden hacer.

1) Ayudar a los estudiantes más allá de alentarlos y darles instrucciones generales. A los estudiantes de educación especial se le puede dar cierta ayuda adicional de conformidad con su IEP.

2) Dejar a un estudiante solo en cualquier momento durante el examen.

Seguridad en los exámenes: las medidas más estrictas para Filadelfia

por Paul Jablow Posted in Diciembre 2012 Edition | Permalink

Una vez más se esperan medidas de seguridad estrictas en todo el Distrito

Escolar cuando se administren los exámenes estandarizados la próxima primavera. Lo más probable es que no haya cambios al menos hasta se cierren que las investigaciones actuales de trampa, según dijo Tim Eller, portavoz del Departamento de Educación de Pensilvania (PDE).

Cheating: Time for answers

Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

For nine years in a row, up through 2011, every summer brought cheery news that test scores went up in Philadelphia schools. Sure, performance wasn’t where it should be, but things were on the right track. More and more students scored proficient and many schools met their adequate yearly progress targets.

A distorted reality

by Benjamin Herold for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

In July 2010, when Saliyah Cruz was named principal of Communications Technology High, state test scores said the small citywide admission school in Southwest Philadelphia was one of the best in the city.

Everything else said something different.

A snapshot: Cheating scandal in two cities

Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

(Click to enlarge)

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Info is scarce on cheating probes at 4 area charters

by Bill Hangley, Jr. and Dale Mezzacappa Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

Update: Pennsylvania Department of Education officials now say that “the department did not close its investigation related to Walter Palmer.” See below for details.

Walter Palmer knows it sounds odd to ask a school suspected of cheating to investigate itself. And he knows it might raise eyebrows when the state closes that investigation even though the school can’t come up with any answers.