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Teacher Watch--Formative Assessment Agenda
Recent public outrage over scoring errors in the SAT and California High School Exit Exam (HSEE) has again inflamed national, if temporary, questions about high-stakes benchmark testing--and the...
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Teacher Watch--ETS Hydra Adds Another Arm
It's more difficult by the minute to track who owns what, who's bought or partnered with whom in the test and curriculum industry. It's practically migraine-inducing even to try.Here at "HorseSense" we...
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Exit Exam Debate Heats Up, Again--ETS Contract in the Background
On July 25, the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco heard arguments about the fairness of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in the continuing case of Valenzuela v. O'Connell. The...
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Teacher Watch--ETS Pathwise Conference, or: Who's the Potato Head?
In June, I attended Educational Testing Service's annual Pathwise Teaching & Leadership Conference. The 9th annual gathering, held just outside the main thoroughfare of Orlando's bustling...
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High School Exit Exam Upheld--And Chickens Come to Roost in Higher Ed
Here's the news you didn't hear: Yesterday, the California Court of Appeals upheld the requirement that every student in the Golden State must indeed pass the High School Exit Exam to earn a diploma....
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Teacher Watch: LAUSD--How Much Money to Protect Bullies?
Reports about school bullying usually emphasize how adults need to witness on behalf of the victimized. The implication, certainly true in some cases, is that teachers see and simply ignore or dismiss...
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Violence, Schools and the Limits of Standardization
In the wake of this week's shocking massacre at Virginia Tech, we hear pundits on cable and network news repeating theories about "warning signs" and how teachers, educational institutions, and social...
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The Trouble with Teacher Testimony
A highly-publicized study released last month by Cal State Sacramento's Center for Teacher Quality emphasizes that working conditions, not money, are the most crucial determinants for teachers who...
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EdWeek: Are You Kidding?
I laughed out loud when my EdWeek NCLB alert this morning included a link to this article: "To Know NCLB Is to Like It, ETS Poll Finds."Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse.The poll generating...
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Teacher Watch: LAUSD--Stand Up Now Against Harassment?
In 2005, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) settled a lawsuit brought by brave students at Washington Preparatory High School. The case alleged that school administrators, teachers,...
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School Peformance Anxiety--No More Gimmicks!
Okay, maybe it was cute to see the occasional principal pledge to shave his head if student test scores improved at his school for the year. But some of the stunts to rah-rah rally kids at scantron...
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Not for Teacher
When a teacher named Janis Adams approached her site administration for--um, help?--when she discovered a kid masturbating during class when her back was turned, the dude in charge of discipline gave...
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Novels a No-No
Southern California's Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), which at the beginning of the 2002-03 academic year instituted a "no novels" policy for lower level English classes grades 7-12, has now...
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Novels a No-No: Update--The Disinformation Doctrine
I remember vividly five years ago: as then-English department chair at Riverside Poly High School, I emailed the downtown district office to express department frustrations with the opaque and...
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War, Inc. and A Nation at Risk: The Martial Overtones of Ed Reform
John Cusack's new film, War, Inc., appeared in limited release on screens this past week in Toronto and will show April 28-May 4 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The movie dramatizes the outrageous...
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Teacher Watch: Susan Ohanian's When Childhood Collides with NCLB
In his introduction to Susan Ohanian's latest, powerful book, Sid. S. Glassner writes, "The No Child Left Behind Act created an environment in our schools so counter to democracy's constructive spirit"...
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Teacher Watch: War, Inc. in Limited Release
Overshadowed heavily by the release of the Indiana Jones grand finale, John Cusack's War, Inc.opens today in Los Angeles at the Landmark Theater on Pico and Westwood.Why not make it a double...
View ArticleLAUSD: Not Yet Settling for Teacher Civil Rights
Monday, June 9, in Department 64 of Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles Unified lost its latest "Hail Mary" to dismiss 8-years' worth of trial and appeal in the sexual harassment complaint of...
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Teacher Watch: School Safety and Teacher Civil Rights
Do teachers have the same right to a safe workplace as other professionals? Not if they’re threatened, defamed, or harassed by students.At least that’s what Los Angeles Unified has spent seven years...
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Update: Another Delay in Student-on-Teacher Harassment Case
Originally slated for a July 9 retrial, Adams v. Los Angeles Unified School District will now head to court again September 3, at the earliest. Reasons for the delay are private. However, this report...
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HorseSense Under Construction
Readers will note some changes in our template and content in the forthcoming weeks. Please stay tuned for updates about our HorseSense revamp and reorganization.More coming soon!A foolish consistency...
View ArticleHis Terminating Days Are Gone
What a difference a year makes! Last January he was unbeatable. He could walk on water. He was an intimidating figure. Yes, the terminator governor had it all--except common sense and good advisers....
View ArticlePower Corrupts
As an American, I am saddened by the culture of corruption in Washington, and it's disgusting that any politician is capable of abusing his office. I'm sure no one gets elected so he can be corrupt;...
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One Tough Stand for Better Schools: Interview with Don Perl
Think that "opting out" of standardized assessment is too controversial? too tall an order for any reasonable person? Think again.In this interview with Jo Scott-Coe, Don Perl talks about how a...
View ArticleSAT Errors: An Invisible Partner? or, Testing in Fantasia
You may have seen TV or newspaper coverage this past week regarding errors on October's SAT test for 4,000 high school students. Reportedly, the discrepancies ranged from 10 to 200 points on the now...
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