Joanne Jacobs
Why test scores matter
Standardized test scores matter, writes Ryan Williams-Virden, dean of students at Minneapolis’ Hiawatha Collegiate High School, on...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 7, 2017
- 2 min
If at first you fail the test …
When students are allowed to retake tests for a better grade, what do they learn? Julie Scagell, a Minnesota mother, wonders if her...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 21, 2017
- 2 min
What’s proficient? Illinois sets high bar
To be considered “proficient,” Illinois juniors will have to “earn a higher score on the SAT than the one that’s correlated with college...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 25, 2017
- 2 min
Farewell to the exit exam
As states try to boost high school graduation rates, exit exams are losing favor. “In 2013-14, some 24 states had an exit exam or...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 27, 2017
- 1 min
SAT: 46% are ready for college
Scores are up on the redesigned SAT, reports Education Week‘s Catherine Gewertz. That doesn’t mean students are better prepared:...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 5, 2017
- 2 min
‘Freshman year for free’ is here
Free college is a reality — not just a campaign promise — writes Steve Klinsky, founder and CEO of the Modern States Education Alliance,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 29, 2017
- 1 min
What if everyone gets extra time on SAT?
Many more students are getting extra time to complete the SAT, primarily due to learning disability diagnoses. Is the SAT still valid?,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 28, 2017
- 2 min
Enough with Wobegon: Racial gaps are huge
Every year, Minnesotans laud the excellent test scores for white students and ignore or excuse the dreadful scores for non-whites, writes...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 23, 2017
- 1 min
Cal State set to drop placement tests
California State University, which recruits from the top third of California graduates, plans to stop using placement tests to decide...
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 17, 2017
- 2 min
Is your 6th grader on track for college?
Parents need to know whether their middle schoolers are on track for college success, writes Fordham’s Mike Petrilli. If students might...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 31, 2017
- 1 min
Is there a future for test-based accountability?
Is Test-Based Accountability Dead? asks Education Next. Since No Child Left Behind passed in 2001, holding schools accountable for their...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 13, 2017
- 1 min
Indiana’s new teachers can’t pass exam
As Indiana schools face a teacher shortage, many would-be teachers are failing state exams required for their teaching license, reports...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 12, 2017
- 2 min
NY plans to drop literacy test for teachers
Teachers won’t have to pass a test of reading and writing skills to teach in New York, reports AP. The state Board of Regents is expected...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 27, 2017
- 1 min
Stress tested
Tested a documentary about New York City eighth graders trying to qualify for elite public schools, will come out on DVD next month....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 23, 2017
- 1 min
Work, study, dream — and stay poor
Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Photo: Linda Lutton/WBEZ “School is what makes the American Dream possible,” writes WBEZ reporter...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 11, 2017
- 1 min
‘I can’t answer test questions on my poems’
I Can’t Answer These Texas Standardized Test Questions About My Own Poems, writes Sara Holbrook in the Huffington Post. Old STAAR...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 23, 2016
- 1 min
Principal: ‘Bah, humbug’ to ‘Christmas Carol’
Fifth-graders didn’t put on A Christmas Carol this year at Centerville Elementary in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Why ditch a...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 21, 2016
- 2 min
A ‘bad year’ for Core-linked SAT
After helping to write Common Core standards, David Coleman moved to College Board, where he pushed a plan to align the SAT and PSAT...
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