tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post576997690441931012..comments2024-03-29T00:25:24.008-04:00Comments on the daily howler: DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It happened in Massachusetts—and in Texas too!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85210244212526445632013-09-04T23:30:32.405-04:002013-09-04T23:30:32.405-04:00Great to see Kenneth Chang participating in this t...Great to see Kenneth Chang participating in this thread. For what it's worth, having faithfully read the <i>Daily Howler</i> for over ten years now, I'd describe Bob Somerby's post as what, around here, passes for a glowing review of a newspaper report.CMikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481861530761114492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-8993836702480724662013-09-04T23:22:36.728-04:002013-09-04T23:22:36.728-04:00Thanks to both you and Chang for edifying stories....Thanks to both you and Chang for edifying stories. During an era of quick-fixes, the Massachusett's "miracle" reminds us just how much can be achieved with leadership, consistency and a commitment to improvement. That's also true at Brockton High--the largest and, at one time, one of the poorest performing schools in the state. Then, a real miracle! A decade-plus of consistent leadership with an obsessive commitment to improving literacy. To read more, please see: http://andreagabor.com/2011/09/30/a-school%E2%80%99s-decade-long-literacy-obsession-and-how-it-transformed-brockton-high/ <br /><br />The only question is: Why has Massachusett's jettisoned its winning curriculum in lieu of the untested common core...And how will that impact Massachusett's kids in the coming years? Andrea Gaborhttp://www.andreagabor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-40480300604066940962013-09-04T22:55:54.558-04:002013-09-04T22:55:54.558-04:00Kids mature at different rates, but one year can m...Kids mature at different rates, but one year can make a difference. Teachers know that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-68193925897398058992013-09-04T21:10:44.617-04:002013-09-04T21:10:44.617-04:00It appears that the material they moved one year f...It appears that the material they moved one year further away from the test was still retained.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13324712121797196493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-42850376851444094172013-09-04T20:56:02.917-04:002013-09-04T20:56:02.917-04:00The error is mine; I mistook the words to be the s...The error is mine; I mistook the words to be the science director's, and I misunderstood what you (I now realize, having gone back to read for comprehension) meant by "concrete."<br /><br />Sure, quantum chemistry is abstract, but simplified styrofoam models of chemical compounds are as concrete as anything in geology, biology, and astronomy. I take from your comment that you meant "concrete" to refer to familiar and discernible objects such as mountains, frogs, and the moon.<br /><br />Does the extra year's mental maturity really improve the grasp of covalent bonding? Or is it just that the subject matter is one year closer to the test?<br /> deadratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-59941690792933002672013-09-04T20:19:51.254-04:002013-09-04T20:19:51.254-04:00What the science director meant:
Chemistry is hig...What the science director meant:<br /><br />Chemistry is highly abstract. You can't see the rearranging of atoms in chemical reactions. You can't see the hydrogen bonds in water. You can't see the valence electrons. So, the sixth graders weren't ready for that, and they didn't remember it when they were tested on the eighth grade science MCAS. So the science teachers moved the chemistry to 7th grade and covered in 6th grade the more easily visualized and grasped -- what I meant by "concrete" -- science topics like geology, biology and astronomy, I believe.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13324712121797196493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-60586706336273239582013-09-04T19:27:26.066-04:002013-09-04T19:27:26.066-04:00(Full disclosure: we have no idea what “concrete s...<i>(Full disclosure: we have no idea what “concrete science concepts” are.)</i><br /><br />No, full disclosure would be to admit that you have no idea about any "science concepts."<br /><br />Science concepts are generalizations about the objects we find in the universe and how they interact. And like all of their kind, such concepts are abstractions. "Concrete abstractions" is an oxymoron, so it's likely the science director meant "concrete illustrations of science concepts."<br /><br />For instance the equivalence of work and energy and the conservation of energy are "science concepts." Three children, a seesaw, and a tape measure provide a simple, concrete illustration of these concepts.deadratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-44738164390580547222013-09-04T17:26:47.175-04:002013-09-04T17:26:47.175-04:00Whoops, mistyped the numbers for 1998. Should be:
...Whoops, mistyped the numbers for 1998. Should be:<br />Advanced: 2%<br />Proficient: 8%<br />Needs Improvement: 23%<br />Failing: 67%<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13324712121797196493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-1997971143048368922013-09-04T14:45:56.228-04:002013-09-04T14:45:56.228-04:00Nice to see you're reading the story so carefu...Nice to see you're reading the story so carefully.<br /><br />Clarifying the Chelsea numbers on the 10th grade math MCAS:<br /><br />1998:<br />Advanced: 4%<br />Proficient: 8%<br />Needs Improvement: 57%<br />Failing: 67%<br /><br />2012:<br />Advanced: 25%<br />Proficient: 29%<br />Needs Improvement: 28%<br />Failing: 18%<br /><br />So, in 14 years, Chelsea cut the failing rate by more than two-thirds, and increased the percentage of proficient and advanced students by a factor 5.4.<br /><br />Similar gains in Boston.<br />Proficient+Advanced increased from 13% to 65%.<br />Failing fell from 75% to 14%<br /><br />The reason I wrote about Massachusetts was because of the TIMSS scores.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13324712121797196493noreply@blogger.com