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We prefer success to be measured in more ways than standardized testing, but we do think that student performance on tests will improve as organizational capacity develops. So, let’s look: In 2009, Pensarus helped HHS experienced a 7 percentage point gain in Reading. Pensarus was contracted in late October 2008 to review data and implement a literacy program. When Pensarus came in, students were scoring at 19% proficiency levels on benchmark assessments. Pensarus worked to increase that benchmark proficiency rate to 37% within 5 months, this is after teachers and students had gotten off on the wrong foot and despite winter breaks interrupting programming. Math performance declined that year, as this was not an area that Pensarus consultants supported. We do not believe that there was cheating during this time, as we were in the building on testing day, and we have not been notified

So, lunch with Dad last Friday kicked off an exciting week. I later got to share perspectives with the CityBridge book club – which is a great discussion forum for education supporters, by the way. The fall book is the Brill book, and the team at CityBridge is very inviting. I found them welcoming of different perspectives in the discussion. One thing that I notice is that the CityBridge tends to limit discussion and exposure to the academically high-performing charter schools in the district. And similiarly, the DC Public Charter School Board released the results of their Performance Management Framework (PMF) last week, ranking charter schools based largely on academics. These are largely based upon test scores and metrics like college acceptances. Yet, it was interesting to visit a Tier 2/3 school, IDEA PCS, last week. At IDEA, I was met with room after room of computer and manu

I watched the movie, Invictus, and as I watched, excitedly, I missed the transition to when it was announced that South Africa had actually made it into the world cup championship. So I continued to watch the game, but when the last game was played and they brought out the giant, gold trophy, I felt a bit let down, because I had been expecting the movie to continue! I thought that they had only made it to the finals, at that point. I was sorely disappointed that I’d missed the opportunity to build up my excitement to the fullest potential. I thought about this, as I read a few bios about some great figures with humble beginnings and thought about my students. Part of the reason why urban education is so exciting is because it’s that great build up and challenge. Everyone expected me to attend college, and getting into Harvard wasn’t even that big of a deal in my family (my older sister h

A colleague once said to me that it’s hard to teach one’s own kids to behave properly and treat peers with kindness and respect because we’ve evolved into a bullying society. This piqued my interest. I have been hearing and reading so much about cyber bullying in the Washington education arena. It’s amazing how simple this can be – for example, the insecure teenager who is sent an anonymous message, “I hate you. Everybody else hates you too.” The popular movie Bully just came out on March 30th and represents the “thirteen million kids [who] will be bullied in the US each year,” with devastating results. More importantly, one review highlights the positive message that “Bully encourages kids to stand up to bullies, not stand by, and reinforces the fact that everyone can make a difference when it comes to this essential issue.” This is so important to ingrain in kids. I recently enjoyed th

… breathtaking example of what standardized testing is *supposed* to do—inform, calibrate, and motivate teachers to improve their instruction. But how can we undo that damage that has been done to educator accountability measures? Perhaps if we quieted the value-add discussion for just 365 days… perhaps if we highlighted a few teachers who were supported in finding their success within the classroom… perhaps if we feature more examples such as this one; and, perhaps if we get more comfortable with failure… The truth is: failure is a good thing. It’s how you rise after you fall that makes the difference in this world. At Tom Krause said: “There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.” So, now that we as a country seem to have failed at appropriately implementing accountability measures, lets go ahead and react appropriately. It’s not too late