Flubbing the FCAT reality check
Only months after Governor Jeb Bush left office, the facade of accurate test scores has fallen away from Florida’s high-stakes accountability system. After a drop in third-grade scores from 2006 to 2007, questions were raised about the rise in 2006 FCAT scores in third grade. With some pressure, the Florida Department of Education acknowledged in the […]
Teacher attrition
This week’s article by Bess Keller on teacher attrition statistics raises some interesting questions about the various estimates of teacher attrition, including the oft-cited “50% in 5 years” rule of thumb (sometimes attributed to Richard Ingersoll). Keller’s argument is that the 50% figure is an exaggeration and that other professions have attrition patterns similar to […]
Margaret Spellings Walks into a Bar
Okay, Alexander Russo: I’ll bite on Susan Ohanian‘s request for a punch line. Margaret Spellings walked into a bar. Barkeep sighed with relief. “At least she’s not going to give another speech about ‘razing the bar.’”
YackPack
Practical question to my 2.71828183… readers: has anyone used YackPack for classwork? I’m realizing that for the first time in 5 years, I’ll be teaching a course distance-learning without live chats, or at least without having to wrench each week upside down for students or me in doing so. Our LMS (Blackboard) doesn’t even have […]
Off to Arizona
By Sherman Dorn on June 15, 2007
My son is going with his grandmother for an Elderhostel trip along the Colorado River next week, so I’m chaperoning him to Phoenix today, spending the weekend with family, and then flying back. I have an article to finish preparing, some other stuff, and who knows what else. I’m exhausted from trying to combine a […]
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