Absenteeism Study

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

Ok, I try not to post raw research.  I know for most people, reading research is like watching paint dry.  However this time there were just too many good nuggets to make my own post out of.  Instead, I’m posting the PowerPoint that goes through point by point.  A lot of it proves what we already assume.

Economically disadvantaged? Probably more frequently absent.

Absent in Kindergarten? Absent at least through 5th grade.

Absent in 5th grade? Absent in 10th grade.

One item I found interesting for our purposes.  The researchers found that chronic absenteeism is higher in rural areas. In urban areas, absenteeism is higher in the upper grades.

Check it out here.

Posted in Uncategorized

Common Core Reading

Posted on February 7, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

Here’s a nice short post on some Common Core changes coming to reading instruction.

Before you think this doesn’t apply to you, keep in mind that not only will ELA and Reading teachers be teaching literacy/reading, so will Social Studies, Science, and the technical subjects.

Take a look.

Posted in Common Core

News from New York

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

Governor Cuomo released his 2012-13 budget recently. He had some interesting things to say about the new APPR/Teacher Eval plan. First, a couple of background items. Remember, the new APPR is part of New York’s Race to the Top application. Implementation of it is linked to the state receiving the money is won (~700 million). Also, lest you think they are not serious about pulling funding, take a look at what happened in the Capital Region schools that didn’t follow through with their promises in the SIG grant- SED said, “Sorry, no millions for you.”

Now the governor has waded into the fray. In his budget speech, he drew clear lines in the sand.  He told SED and the state teacher unions to sort out their on-going lawsuit (over the APPR) within one month.  If it is not sorted in one month, he will include his own APPR in the budget amendments.  There is some question about how much the governor can change or rewrite law; that is generally the legislature’s job.

He went on to set out two dates.  If districts have the new eval system in place by September of this year, they would be eligible for bonus points in another competitive grant ($). If districts do not have the new eval system in place by January of 2013, no state aid whatsoever. “The equation is simple at the end of the day—no evaluation, no money.”

I can’t tell you how much of any of this will happen.  NYSUT and SED could settle tomorrow, who knows.  But you should be aware of the conversation.

Here’s a nice summary from EdWeek.

Posted in APPR, News, NYS, Race to the Top, State Aid

Just for Fun: Take a 100-Year-Old Test for 8th Graders

Posted on January 17, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

This was making the rounds over the weekend. Perhaps you’ve already seen it.  It’s a test for 8th graders from Bullitt County in Kentucky...from 1912. It’s really worth a look. How well could you do?

Check it out here.

To me, the spelling list looks difficult for today’s 8th grade. The arithmetic section looks like mostly real-world problems. Most of the rest- grammar, geography, physiology, civil government, and history- seem pretty low-level knowledge questions. “Name,” “Define,” List” questions abound. I only spot one “Why” question.

So, while the amount of “stuff” to know is great, it’s all Google-able. And really, if it’s Google-able, how much thinking are the  students doing?

Posted in Just for Fun

Common Core Exemplars

Posted on January 10, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

I know I’ve spoken repeatedly about Engageny.org already. Well, add another to the list.  The site is starting to popluate with Common Core Exemplars.  They can be found here. I’ll also add the link to the blogroll.

Currently you can find three ELA examples ( one elementary, one middle, and one high) and four Math examples (1st, 2nd, middle, and high).

I know for some levels, CC is still another year away.  But resources are arriving. Check them out.

Posted in classroom tools, Common Core, NYS, Race to the Top

What We’re Doing: Poetry Out Loud

Posted on January 10, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

I had the privilege, along with Mrs. Eichorst, Mrs. Green, and Mr. Carpenter, to judge 9th graders doing Poetry Out Loud.

Poetry Out Loud is a national competition that has students memorizing a poem of their choice and reciting it with expression, articulation, accuracy, and understanding. It’s a great program and our students did great.

Thanks Mrs. Waterhouse for organizing this every year and having me in.

Posted in What We're Doing

The Effect of Good Teachers

Posted on January 6, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

How about this: the effects of a good or excellent teacher include lower teen pregnancy rates, greater college matriculation, and greater lifetime earnings as an adult.

Those facts come from a study that tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years. I don’t think we can really argue with the sample size.  The study was done by economists from Harvard and Columbia. They find that if an excellent teacher replaces an average teacher anywhere between 4th and 8th grade, the student will earn $4600 more in his or her life and be slightly more likely to attend college.

Modest right? But in a class of 25 students that is $115,000 more in the economy. Multiply that by a 30 year career and you’ve added $3.4 million. And the numbers work from worst to average as well- the same things happen when a poor teacher is removed and an average teacher added. Certainly significant, makes me want to digress to talking about rural teacher recruitment and retention.

So here’s the part that may start debate.  The researchers used “value-added” ratings to separate excellent, average, and poor teachers.  A value-added rating “measures an individual teacher’s impact on student test scores.” Yep, what they are saying is that better teachers lead to higher standardized test scores, which lead to college and earnings. The opposition would tell you that VA scores are unreliable, invalid, and unfair. That it is too difficult to measure the effect of one teacher on a class’s test scores with all the variables needed to be taken into account (poverty, ELL, SwD, maybe even prior teachers, etc.).

But VA scores are coming to NY, they are a part of the new teacher evaluation system. NYC already uses it. Check out the formula:

value-added-nyc

 

Crazy, right? So, what are the takeaways? I don’t think any of us doubt a good or excellent teacher has a lasting effect. I wonder if having a string of excellent teachers continues to add to the effects (earnings, college attendance, etc.). I wonder about the emphasis on standardized tests as well, especially in NY. What do you think?

Read more at The New York Times.

Posted in APPR, News, NYS

Let the Kids Play

Posted on January 4, 2012 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

From the “News You Knew” file: Time magazine had a short article on the benefits of letting kids get in an hour of physical activity each day. It’s worth a look: it’s brief, research-based, and it makes sense…

Just a few quotes:

“…the studies showed that the more physical activity the children had, the higher their scores in school, particularly in the basic subjects of math, English and reading.”

“Being more active, says Singh, may improve blood flow to the brain, which provides more oxygen to cells involved in learning and attention. Exercise also boosts levels of certain hormones that can improve mood and fight stress, both of which can also provide a better learning environment for children.”

“Shorter periods of activity that break up the hours-long school day may be just as effective as a single session, and may make it easier to work in physical education into school curricula.”

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/03/let-the-kids-play-theyll-do-better-in-school/#ixzz1iUmTX3If

Posted in News

Around the District

Posted on December 22, 2011 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

Our War Eagles hosted Granville today in a day time match.  The entire high school comes out, along with Mrs. Crombach’s band and included an appearance by Santa Claus.

Posted in What We're Doing

SATs

Posted on December 22, 2011 by admsrvcs| Leave a comment

Morning,

I just wanted to draw your attention to a short article in this week’s Time magazine. Andy Rotherham discusses the SAT and the recent cheating scandal.

Here’s the link.

Have a great break everyone.

-Mike

Posted in Common Core, News, SAT, Testing