Research Archive

  • A provocative new article in the American Journal of Education argues that many teachers in the age of rigid curricula, high-stakes testing, and reduced classroom autonomy are finding it difficult to access the “moral rewards” of their profession. This demoralization of teaching threatens to drive away even the most passionate and dedicated of teachers. “The moral rewards of teaching are activated when educators feel that they are doing what is right in terms of one’s students, the teaching profession, and themselves,” writes Doris Santoro, a professor of education at Bowdoin College. But, she argues, current policy reforms often take away a teacher’s ability to be responsive to students’ needs, and blunt the sense that a teacher is doing what is right for students. This in turn leads to feelings of frustration and hopelessness that are too often misdiagnosed as “teacher...

    Policy reforms ‘demoralizing’ teaching profession, scholar argues

    Posted on November 16, 2011 | No Comments
    A provocative new article in the American Journal of Education argues that many teachers in the age of rigid curricula, high-stakes testing, and reduced classroom autonomy are finding it difficult to access the “moral rewards” of their profession. This demoralization of teaching threatens to drive away even the most passionate and dedicated of teachers. “The moral rewards of teaching are activated when educators feel that they are doing what is right in terms of one’s students, the teaching profession, and themselves,” writes Doris Santoro, a professor of education at Bowdoin College. But, she argues, current policy reforms often take away a teacher’s ability to be responsive to students’ needs, and blunt the sense that a teacher is doing what is right for students. This in turn leads to feelings of frustration and hopelessness that are too often misdiagnosed as “teacher...

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  • Introduction Recent advancements in brain research, cognitive psychology and other cognitive sciences have created a new climate for understanding intelligence and learning. Theories of cognitive modifiability, multiple intelligences, and constructivism emphasize the uniqueness of each brain and its ability to grow connections throughout one’s lifetime. The people who support the model currently in vogue, standards-based learning, are oblivious to this momentous research and base their programs on a prescribed set of outcomes that all students are expected to master, in sequence, by a particular time. Of course schools have historically been designed to teach specific learning thought to be of value to society. These included information, skills and processes that became both more specific and abstract as the students grew older. Interest, aptitude and parent prodding were among the forces that moved individual students along particular paths as they advanced...

    Ideas for Real Reform

    Posted on January 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
    Introduction Recent advancements in brain research, cognitive psychology and other cognitive sciences have created a new climate for understanding intelligence and learning. Theories of cognitive modifiability, multiple intelligences, and constructivism emphasize the uniqueness of each brain and its ability to grow connections throughout one’s lifetime. The people who support the model currently in vogue, standards-based learning, are oblivious to this momentous research and base their programs on a prescribed set of outcomes that all students are expected to master, in sequence, by a particular time. Of course schools have historically been designed to teach specific learning thought to be of value to society. These included information, skills and processes that became both more specific and abstract as the students grew older. Interest, aptitude and parent prodding were among the forces that moved individual students along particular paths as they advanced...

    Continue Reading...

  • The evidence continues to mount regarding the atrocities that have been foisted on the children of America in the name of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  Researchers at Boston College studied trends in student achievement for ten states during the period 2000-2007, the period following introduction of NCLB and reported their results in “The Black-White Achievement Gap Revisited.”  Our leaders continue to ignore the findings of studies such as this one and push our schools to narrow the curriculum in a mindless race to nowhere. Read the abstract of the study here.

    The Black-White Achievement Gap Revisited

    Posted on September 17, 2010 | 3 Comments
    The evidence continues to mount regarding the atrocities that have been foisted on the children of America in the name of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  Researchers at Boston College studied trends in student achievement for ten states during the period 2000-2007, the period following introduction of NCLB and reported their results in “The Black-White Achievement Gap Revisited.”  Our leaders continue to ignore the findings of studies such as this one and push our schools to narrow the curriculum in a mindless race to nowhere. Read the abstract of the study here.

    Continue Reading...

  • Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch are two of our favorite education writers and activists so we were pleased to receive the following from Monty Neill: Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch share the invaluable blog, Bridging Differences (see Diane’s most recent post supporting the valuable report from 10 national civil rights groups calling on Obama-Duncan to change course in their education efforts: Click here to see Bridging Differences . Deb also has her own blog: Click here. The Sept column traces back test score misuse, inflation and political gamesmanship going back to 1981. She reminds us that the state test scores in NYC are now what they were when Bloomberg took office – the conformatory evidence of which only came out (natch) after he won re-election, tho many knowledgeable observers already knew this. As NAEP tells us, like the nation as...

    Deborah Meier and Dianne Ravitch Blogs

    Posted on September 14, 2010 | 2 Comments
    Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch are two of our favorite education writers and activists so we were pleased to receive the following from Monty Neill: Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch share the invaluable blog, Bridging Differences (see Diane’s most recent post supporting the valuable report from 10 national civil rights groups calling on Obama-Duncan to change course in their education efforts: Click here to see Bridging Differences . Deb also has her own blog: Click here. The Sept column traces back test score misuse, inflation and political gamesmanship going back to 1981. She reminds us that the state test scores in NYC are now what they were when Bloomberg took office – the conformatory evidence of which only came out (natch) after he won re-election, tho many knowledgeable observers already knew this. As NAEP tells us, like the nation as...

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  • Do you know what is happening to recess  and physical education (PE) in Kennewick elementary schools?  Do all children get recess?  Do any of them get recess and PE?  Do only “selected” children get recess and/or PE?  Can you fill us in about what is happening at your school?  Just click on “comment” and let us know.

    What is Happening to Recess and PE in Kennewick?

    Posted on September 3, 2010 | 2 Comments
    Do you know what is happening to recess  and physical education (PE) in Kennewick elementary schools?  Do all children get recess?  Do any of them get recess and PE?  Do only “selected” children get recess and/or PE?  Can you fill us in about what is happening at your school?  Just click on “comment” and let us know.

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  • Follow the links to one of the most important education policy briefs you will read this year.

    Problems with the use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers

    Posted on August 29, 2010 | 4 Comments
    Follow the links to one of the most important education policy briefs you will read this year.

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  • We participate in a group dedicated to detecting and reporting education disinformation (EDDRA2) and link to FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.  Each of these sources provide us with links to current information on national education policy.  Here is the latest on what citizens actually believe about the public schools, not the spin that we usually read in the media where we are led to the conclusion that the schools stink and must be “reformed” to save them. The 2010 installment of the annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup survey of Americans shows widespread and growing public opposition to the primary tenets of the Administration’s education agenda. Barely one in five respondents said that “No Child Left Behind” is helping schools in their communities. In addition, a majority opposes closing or restructuring schools with low test scores, instead favoring...

    Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Survey of Americans

    Posted on August 25, 2010 | 1 Comment
    We participate in a group dedicated to detecting and reporting education disinformation (EDDRA2) and link to FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.  Each of these sources provide us with links to current information on national education policy.  Here is the latest on what citizens actually believe about the public schools, not the spin that we usually read in the media where we are led to the conclusion that the schools stink and must be “reformed” to save them. The 2010 installment of the annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup survey of Americans shows widespread and growing public opposition to the primary tenets of the Administration’s education agenda. Barely one in five respondents said that “No Child Left Behind” is helping schools in their communities. In addition, a majority opposes closing or restructuring schools with low test scores, instead favoring...

    Continue Reading...