How to hide an elephant (pineapple) in the Board of Education meeting room.
3.0 Update on Curriculum 2.0 Implementation
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
How safe is your child's school?
From the Montgomery County Police Weekly Crime Summary of May 3, 2012 (courtesy of Connected Communities)
http://connectedcommunities.us/showthread.php?t=49710A robbery occurred at Northwood High School, Silver Spring on Wednesday, 4/18 at 10:30 a.m. A juvenile male was robbed by suspects from whom he arranged to purchase sneakers in a restroom. The victim said that he was grabbed by the suspects who snatched his cash. The victim, fearing for his safety, fled to the cafeteria where a teacher rendered assistance. Three fellow students were identified by the victim and arrested at the school.
Arrested: Male, age 15, from Silver Spring; Male, age 16, from Aspen Hill; Male, age 16, from Silver Spring.
An attempted robbery occurred in a restroom at Paint Branch High School, 14121 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville on Tuesday, 4/17 at 1:00 p.m. The victim advised that the suspects grabbed him, searched him and attempted to remove his property. A struggle ensued and one suspect removed a chain from the victim which the victim was able to retrieve. The suspects fled the restroom and one was arrested in a class room. A second suspect was identified; no probable cause for arrest based solely on this document.
Arrested: Male, age 18, from Burtonsville;
Suspect: B/M, 15.
From the Rockville City Police Reports, week ending April 23, 2012
http://connectedcommunities.us/showthread.php?t=49677
200 block of Richard Montgomery Drive, a male juvenile age 16, was arrested for possession of a deadly weapon (knife) on school property on 04/25/12 between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.
200 block of Richard Montgomery Drive, the complainant reported that an unknown subject(s) removed an Ipod, a pair of ear phones and U.S. currency from an unlocked locker in a locker room at a school on 04/26/12 between 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
From the Montgomery County Police Weekly Crime Summary of April 26, 2012
http://connectedcommunities.us/showthread.php?t=49601A robbery/assault occurred at the Highland Elementary School, 9010 Providence Avenue, Silver Spring on Tuesday, 4/17 at 6:03 p.m. The suspect assaulted the victim and obtained property.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
State to check erasures for standardized test cheating
Gazette: In wake of Baltimore scandals, technology will bring scrutiny to all schools
From now on, when Maryland students take the state’s standardized tests in the spring, it won’t be just their answers that are tallied — their eraser marks will be, too.
The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a $75,292 contract modification to have NCS Pearson, Inc., perform an annual in-depth analysis of pencil erasure marks on all third- through eighth-grade test booklets in the state to root out possible cheating by teachers, students or administrators.
Friday, May 4, 2012
This was done by somebody who was barely literate
The latest New Yorker Magazine has an interview with author Daniel Pinkwater regarding the furor over the Pearson test question that has been the subject of a few posts on this blog. The header quote comes directly from Mr. Pinkwater. Apparently the original tale did not include a pineapple at all, but instead had an eggplant as one of the main characters. According to Pinkwater, "If a pineapple were funnier, I would have written a pineapple in the first place.". Read the whole article here.
How Nashville and Houston responded to AJC investigation of test data
All of the public school systems profiled in the AJC series on testing knew that they were being profiled for this series. From the AJC story on how the articles were researched:
Nashville Metro Schools also issued a statement minutes before the AJC article on their school system was published.
On Saturday, April 28th at 12 PM the AJC article on MCPS was online.
MCPS, however, waited until April 30th to release this statement.
"Our analysis identified districts nationwide with clusters of suspicious score changes. So our team visited schools and parents in a half-dozen urban districts on that list, while we presented our findings by phone and email to officials in problematic districts for response."Houston ISD issued this statement before the AJC article on their school system was even published.
Nashville Metro Schools also issued a statement minutes before the AJC article on their school system was published.
On Saturday, April 28th at 12 PM the AJC article on MCPS was online.
MCPS, however, waited until April 30th to release this statement.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Testing schools’ test integrity
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which completed a study of 14,000 school districts. Their reports are in a series of articles available online here. How did they conduct the study? According to the AJC, "A team of three reporters and two database specialists spent five months collecting databases of standardized test scores in those grades for 69,000 schools, in 14,743 districts in 49 states. (The 50th, Nebraska, didn’t have usable data because it didn’t give a statewide standardized test until last year.)" To read the complete discussion of the methodology, and more, go here.
To read the full editorial by Mr. Riley, go here.
To read the full editorial by Mr. Riley, go here.
If you spend a little time this weekend with your Sunday newspaper, then you know The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has produced a remarkable investigation into the integrity of school-testing results from around the country.
School tests have been a big story for years now, as national policy has required tests measuring the learning of students in each state.
In Atlanta, the testing story was even bigger, as our reporters revealed questionable results in Atlanta Public Schools that prompted the country’s biggest cheating scandal.
Now we know Atlanta is the tip of the iceberg.
Our nationwide analysis shows that our country has an ugly problem undercutting educational policy:
● In 196 of the nation’s 3,125 largest school districts, the investigation reveals highly improbable swings in test scores, a finding that strongly points to tampering.
● For 33 of those districts, the odds of getting such results without intervention are less than one in a million.
● In at least one district, the results for entire grades of students jumped two, three or more times the amount expected in one year. The next year, when children moved to a new grade, their scores plummeted.
● Some of those questionable scores come from districts lauded as top places for reforms, as Atlanta had been.
And so now leaders in districts across the country must confront the numbers — as leaders in Atlanta, at first, struggled to do.
Based on history, the reactions in these places may not be what we’d hope: seeking the truth and placing the interests of children at the forefront.
Expect at least some hostility and denials, and possibly an attack of your newspaper. Blaming the media, of course, can be a first line of defense.
And:
And let’s hope the discussion quickly turns from one of hollow and bureaucratic defensiveness to a plan for how we can fix this for the thousands of kids who are the real victims.
Because that’s what we should be talking about.
State Officials Throw Out Another Pearson Test Question
New York Times School Book
For the fourth time within a month, state education officials have tossed out a question on the standardized tests after finding that errors by Pearson, the test maker, made the problem virtually impossible for students to solve... continues here.
Socially Acceptable Social Media
Interesting news on the social media front this week.
According to the New York Times, our friends in New York City recently issued a policy concerning the use of social media in the educational setting.
Of note in the article:
If you watched the Board of Education meeting earlier in the week, you saw several of the folks at the table twittering during the open public comment. Seems like that wouldn't be allowed in NYC, why do we tolerate that here?
You can read the entire policy here:
Doe Social Media Guidelines 20120430
According to the New York Times, our friends in New York City recently issued a policy concerning the use of social media in the educational setting.
Of note in the article:
The guidelines do not ban teachers from using social media and, in fact, recognize that it can offer tremendous educational benefits. Nor do they address cellphones and text messaging between teachers and students, which, according to a review by The New York Times of dozens of Education Department investigations in the past five years, have been more widespread and problematic.
Here is the part of the actual policy I'd really love to see implemented in Montgomery County:But the guidelines do reflect growing concerns nationwide about the instantaneous ease with which teachers can interact electronically with students, and the potential for misuse or abuse.
DOE employees should treat professional social media space and communication like a classroom and/or a professional workplace. The same standards expected in DOE professional settings are expected on professional social media sites. If a particular type of behavior is inappropriate in the classroom or a professional workplace, then that behavior is also inappropriate on the professional social media site;
If you watched the Board of Education meeting earlier in the week, you saw several of the folks at the table twittering during the open public comment. Seems like that wouldn't be allowed in NYC, why do we tolerate that here?
Perhaps we should rename our leadership the Bored of Public Education?
You can read the entire policy here:
Doe Social Media Guidelines 20120430
Job Opening: MCPS Director of Management, Budget and Planning
Director, Department of Management, Budget and Planning
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:
Under general direction of the chief operating officer provides leadership for MCPS management, budget and planning processes; monitors and supports the budget development process, including the publication of annual operating budget; monitors spending patterns to assure compliance with the budget; provides leadership in the development of short- and long-range planning processes, and monitors the implementation of plans; provides leadership for the analysis and improvement of various management functions; maintains liaison with state and county management, budget and planning officials; and assists the Board and superintendent in interpreting and developing support for annual operating budgets.
CERTIFICATE LICENSE:
None
Job Specific Information
: Please attach a resume, a letter of interest detailing how your education and experiences have prepared you for this postion, and three letters of reference.
MCPS Official Job Description
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:Under general direction of the chief operating officer provides leadership for MCPS management, budget and planning processes; monitors and supports the budget development process, including the publication of annual operating budget; monitors spending patterns to assure compliance with the budget; provides leadership in the development of short- and long-range planning processes, and monitors the implementation of plans; provides leadership for the analysis and improvement of various management functions; maintains liaison with state and county management, budget and planning officials; and assists the Board and superintendent in interpreting and developing support for annual operating budgets.
CERTIFICATE LICENSE:
None
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:
Considerable knowledge of good management, budget and planning practices and the ability to institute these in the Montgomery County Public Schools. Ability to interpret the significance of financial and other planning data; conceptualize and implement new processes; and promote teamwork among people and units within an organization. Excellent oral and written communication and human relations skills. Ability to present budget information concisely to elected officials,and community organizations and address queries with confidence. This position requires the knowledge and application of the six leadership standards that have been established for the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP) Administrative and Supervisory Professional Growth System (MCAAP/MCBOA PGS). EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE: Master's degree from an accredited college or university in business, public, or education administration. Experience in developing short and long-range fiscal, strategic, and operational plans for a large public institution; experience in organizational and management analysis; and experience in supervising and coordinating staff in budget development work; or other combinations of applicable education, training, and experience which provide the knowledge, abilities and skills necessary to perform effectively in the position may be considered. Job: AdministratorsJob Grade: QOrganization: Offices Dept Mngmnt, Budget, PlanningPrimary Location: RockvilleSchedule: Full-time | 1.000 (80 hours bi-weekly)Working Months: 12Shift: Day JobJob Posting: May 2, 2012, 12:00:00 AM - May 30, 2012, 11:59:59 PM |
Board of Ed. Funds Charter Pre-School $272,242
...Community Montessori Charter School: In FYI3, the Board of Education has budgeted $274,242 for a Community Montessori Charter School. It is expected the school will serve 70 three and four-year old children...
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2012/120426/20120426_HHSED2.pdf
Community Montessori Charter School is a countywide Charter. Was a County-wide lottery held? Did parents apply? When did MCPS advertise the lottery for this Charter School so that all parents had access to this program that is already receiving Board of Education funding?
Football knee injuries likelier on turf than grass
(Reuters Health) - College football players suffer knee injuries about 40 percent more often when playing on an artificial surface compared to when they're playing on grass, according to a new study...http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/30/us-football-knee-injuries-likelier-on-tu-idUSBRE83T0NH20120430
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What Harvard Omitted from their Highland Elem. Case Study
9 months after Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring was awarded the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Blue Ribbon Award in December of 2008, the ink was dry on a Harvard Public Education Leadership Project Case Study on the school by Stacey Childress* and Andrew Goldin.
The Harvard Case Study was cited recently in the AJC article on Highland Elementary.
However, the Harvard Case Study neglected to include some important data and information in their Case Study of the school. One of the authors of the Harvard Case Study also neglected to mention her personal involvement with the reading evaluation products used at Highland Elementary School (mClass and DIBELS are products of a company called Wireless Generation).
Here's what should be added to the timeline in the Harvard Case Study: enrollment data and the relationship of one of the authors to the product used a Highland Elementary.
The Harvard Case Study was cited recently in the AJC article on Highland Elementary.
However, the Harvard Case Study neglected to include some important data and information in their Case Study of the school. One of the authors of the Harvard Case Study also neglected to mention her personal involvement with the reading evaluation products used at Highland Elementary School (mClass and DIBELS are products of a company called Wireless Generation).
Here's what should be added to the timeline in the Harvard Case Study: enrollment data and the relationship of one of the authors to the product used a Highland Elementary.
- August 2004: Highland Elementary School students in School Community Based (SCB) program are permanently moved to Glen Haven Elementary School (Source: FY2005 MCPS Master Plan, p. 4-32)
- August 2007: Highland Elementary School is redistricted and 153 students from the northern part of the Highland district are moved to the re-opened Arcola Elementary School
- September 10, 2009: Harvard PELP Case Study released (authors Childress and Goldin)
*Note Ms. Childress wrote a separate Case Study on the relationship between MCPS and Wireless Generation and the $500,000 investment in the company that MCPS made. That Case Study is no longer public on the Harvard PELP site and MCPS has not made that Case Study public.
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UPDATE from Bob Astrove: That only tells a small piece of the enrollment picture. The enrollment at the school dropped by over 300 students from 2002 (788 students) to 461 today (456 in 2009 when they won the award).
Enrollment dropped by 100 students from 2004 to 2006, and by another 150 or so from 2007 to 2008. Your comments only reference the second transfer out of students.
Overall enrollment was reduced by 40%.
Gee, you'd think that would be a big deal in the Harvard Case Study. But it wasn't. Too many people trying to pat themselves on the back and therefore overlooked the single number that moved the most - reducing the number of students.
In my mind that pretty much trashes the credibility of the entire case study. I guess sometimes even Harvard can screw up?...
Bob Astrove
Starr Scapegoats Special Education
In his press release discussing Highland Elementary and the Atlanta Journal Constitution article, Dr. Starr wasted no time in scapegoating special education students for Highland's recent failure to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
"The article suggests that the fact that Highland didn’t make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2011 is a further indication of questionable results in the past. Yet, the authors fail to mention that in 2011, Highland missed AYP by four students in just one subgroup—special education—in mathematics during a year that the Academic Measurable Objective increased. This data tells us nothing about Highland, but rather speaks to the absurdity of the AYP formula."Weast has been gone only 10 months, and already special education students are being blamed for a school's failure. Not a good sign, Dr. Starr. We had hoped we were in for a change.
"Clients will no longer be diagnosed as having “autism” versus “PDD-NOS” or “Asperger Syndrome” as all of these different classifications will officially go away."
...In a nutshell, effective with the release of DSM-5 in May 2013 we will change the way we describe autism-related disabilities to the singular “Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Clients will no longer be diagnosed as having “autism” versus “PDD-NOS” or “Asperger Syndrome” as all of these different classifications will officially go away. However, individuals with ASD will be referred to as having one of three severity levels (see chart at end).
Individuals whose “severity” falls outside the bandwidth of these three levels but who exhibit significant social communication challenges will then possibly be diagnosed as having “Social Communication Disorder.”... read full article at link below:
The Proposed DSM-5 Changes with Regard to ASD
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