Jay Mathews discusses the prospects for national testing
Sunday’s column by Washington Post writer Jay Mathews focuses on renewed arguments for a national test that every student would take. The dramatic difference between the proportions of students in various states’ being labeled proficient based on the state test vs. the National Assessment of Educational Progress is the fulcrum of the argument. I think. […]
Losing our way
Shameless plug: Fellow Haverford grad Ken Bernstein has a new post up at The Wall of Education called I think we have lost our way. Provocative, thoughtful stuff, regardless of the extent to which you agree with his perspective. (Disclosure: I’m a fellow writer on this multiblog.)
Of liberal arts colleges, a core curriculum, and contingent faculty
One might suppose that the following is an object lesson about the type of overgeneralizing that Donald Kagan swims in for his Commentary magazine piece about imperious faculty. (Much better: head to University Diarist’s corresponding entry and the fascinating comment thread.) Are faculty blocking a core curriculum either through their pomo aspirations or laziness/caring more […]
Top 10 no-sympathy lines, and 10 top must-answer lines
Via a friend’s recommendation (thanks, Rob!), Wisconsin-Green Bay geologist Steve Dutch’s Top 10 No-Sympathy Lines that students shouldn’t try. To balance out the professor snark, let me add a few concerns of students that faculty should always be willing to address and should, ideally, be described in the syllabus or other documents available early in […]
Did I really say that? and other interactions with journalists
By Sherman Dorn on September 7, 2006
This morning, I was quoted in a local newspaper article on our school district calendar as saying, “There was much kind of grumbling on the committee about those options.” Much kind of?? Someone please remind me to write everything down before I respond to off-the-cuff questions of a journalist. Peter Jennings I’m obviously not. Marilyn […]
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