David Bloomfield on Data-Driven Education Reforms – NRC and NCEE Reports!!

Dear Commons Community,

Our colleague, David Bloomfield from Brooklyn College, had the featured posting in the Huffington Post Blog yesterday on education. Referring to two national reports by the National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC) and the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), David summarizes their conclusions as follows.

National Academies NRC
“Test-based incentive programs, as designed and implemented in the programs that have been carefully studied, have not increased student achievement enough to bring the United States close to the levels of the highest achieving countries and
The evidence we have reviewed suggests that high school exit exam programs, as currently implemented in the United States, decrease the rate of high school graduation without increasing achievement.”

NCEE
“much of the current reform agenda in this country is irrelevant, a detour from the route we must follow if we are to match the performance of the best [countries]”

David concludes that:

“No one would argue from these reports that all standardized testing is bad or that school personnel and students shouldn’t be held accountable for their work. Nor would it be possible or even wise to undo the array of choices students have in terms of public, private, magnet, and other school options. But the centrality of testing, test-based decision-making, and charters/vouchers to the current reform agenda is squarely challenged by these compelling, diligent undertakings.”

Important data but I am not sure if the key policy makers are listening.

Tony

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