Category Archives: Assessment

Reshaping National Assessment Policy

October 19, 2011 – 11:26 am

Harold Berlak, an experienced educator writes: “Dozens of professional educational associations corporate lobbies, think tanks, have offered proposals for reauthorizing ESEA/ NCLB. I summarize and offer commentary on key proposals of three prominent organizations….”  They are The Forum on Educational Accountability, Broader Bolder Approach to Education (an offshoot of Economic Policy Institute), Forum for Education [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Policy, Reports, Research | Comments (0)

Social and Emotional Learning Impact

September 12, 2011 – 9:52 am

CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning has promoted a thorough study, “The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions,” on the impact on social and emotional learning. Encompassing 213 studies involving 270,000 students, the authors find significant impacts from practices not only on academic learning but [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Articles, Personalized Educ, Policy, Reform, Reports, Research, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Charter School Funding: Bugaboo Factor

September 26, 2010 – 8:37 pm

100s of charter school studies have assessed the viability of the movement particularly on student achievement as measured by standardized tests. One study shows charter schools students do better than comparison groups, another shows they are about the same, another shows charter school students do poorer than comparison groups. Two major criticisms of these studies [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Charter schools, Policy, Reform, Reports, Research | Comments (0)

Multiple Assessments: Hope Survey

August 9, 2010 – 5:41 pm

What effect is the current standards movement and teaching to the test having on our students? What do you know about how students at your school view the school environment? Now your school can find out by seeing the school from the eyes of your students based on their responses on the Hope Survey. This [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in High schools, Part 21st Cent Skills, Personalized Educ, Policy, Reform, Research, Students, Survey, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Alternative Education: Standards, Descriptions, Action

March 8, 2009 – 6:18 pm

Several helpful documents are available for describing, implementing and evaluating alternative education programs. The first three refer to alternative education broadly, that is, providing a choice of programs for all students. The last one is more attuned to at-risk students. Ray Morley and the Iowa Association of Alternative Education prepared a thoughtful document, Alternative Learning [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Choices, Ed Alt for Everyone, Loflin, John, Nat. Alt Ed Assoc., Reports | Comments (0)

A Second Side to the Story

March 26, 2008 – 10:06 am
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, At risk programs, High schools, Iowa Assoc. Alt Ed, Morley, Ray, Personalized Educ, Policy, Reform, Reports, Research, Students | Comments (0)

What Doesn’t Get Measured Doesn’t Get Done

March 13, 2008 – 7:50 pm
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Mental health, Policy, Reform, Reports, Research, Students | Comments (0)

Students Describe a Better Approach to Learning

June 2, 2007 – 11:14 am
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Education Evolving, Reform, Students | Comments (0)

8 Year Study: New Books

April 7, 2007 – 11:51 am
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Eight Year Study, High schools, Reform, Reports, Research, Students | Comments (0)

Charter Schools: State by State

February 8, 2007 – 10:46 pm
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Center for Ed. Reform, Charter schools, Choices, Research, Survey | Comments (0)

Amazing Learning Alternative

November 22, 2005 – 8:23 pm
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Education Revolution, Reform | Comments (0)

No Child Left Behind

November 16, 2005 – 10:15 am
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in U.S. Dept. of Educ. | Comments (0)

Measuring Student Autonomy and Motivation

May 3, 2005 – 9:54 am
By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in EdVisions Cooperative, Survey | Comments Off

Comprehensive School Reform Report

March 7, 2005 – 8:09 pm

Congress gave $145 million for school reform in 1998 and more in subsequent years. The Longitudinal Assessment of Comprehensive School Reform Program Implementation and Outcomes reports on year one of the grants. Schools which received funding exercised more staff decision making authority, adopted national reform models and followed a written plan more than other schools [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Reform, Reports | Comments Off

Charter Schools: Good or Bad Alternative?

January 28, 2005 – 2:22 am

Numerous studies have tried to assess the charter school movement. This is like trying to say public schools in general are successful or are unsuccessful. Charter schools vary enormously from highly experimental to ultra traditional, from serving affluent suburban students to rescuing high-need students, and from tiny to huge. Judgments about charter schools usually focus [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Articles, Charter schools, Reports | Comments Off