Guest Post: Delaware’s Education Insight Project (Part 1: What Is It?)
The following is a guest post by Mike Oboryshko. Mike is a Red Clay parent and a friend of mine and of this blog.
Last Friday, a pair of RFPs were awarded to develop some major new technologies for Delaware schools, as part of Delaware’s Education Insight Project. This project was outlined in Delaware’s Race To The Top application, and with these RFPs, the design and implementation is under way.
The goal is to “transform Delaware’s schools from ‘data rich’ to ‘data driven’ and to implement a flagship Race to the Top program.” Like most new technologies, this new system will change the way educators, students, and parents do business, most likely for the better.
“This isn’t just another grant, but whole system reform”
– Dr. Lillian Lowery, DOE Secretary of Education
I confess I was not paying sufficient attention during the RTTT process, but the RFPs now have my full attention. My intent with this post is to walk through the RFPs and other public information, to highlight some important details, and to give a picture of what is going on with this new initiative. This is essentially an unauthorized biography with no inside information, so please feel free to correct me if you have data.
For this post I am not so much interested in who is awarded the RFP, or how much it costs (although Sungard seems to have a leg up). What interests me is the level of detail provided by these RFPs, providing some unusual transparency into the planning for the next-generation technology. This new system will largely determine how we all interact with the schools of Delaware’s future: students, parents, teachers, and administrators.
The new tools will open new possibilities, but will also impose new constraints, depending on how they are designed. And the design is beginning right now.
In Part 2, I will explain what is known about the design of the “Dashboards,” which are the actual applications that teachers and administrators will be using. We’ll discuss the underlying educational metrics, and the workshop that will be used to define them. Plus, I will answer the question: What does Texas have to do with all of this?
In Part 3, I will discuss the upcoming training sessions on the new technology for teachers and administrators (sooner than you think), and how any of this may or may not benefit parents, students, or teachers.
Like most parents, my involvement in the schools began with an interest in a particular issue that affected my family. In my case, the issue was parent-teacher communication. I began investigating the Home Access Center, which I felt could be used to better advantage for communication and parent involvement. There wasn’t much information available about it, so I began figuratively peering in windows and pulling at loose threads to figure out what modern communication capabilities were already available in the schools, and what was preventing the schools from using them to their best advantage. But that is a post for another day. In the end, my investigation led me to the Education Insight Project.
So on to the RFPs. DOE has posted the RFPs here at the time of this writing, but they may scroll off in the future. Not to worry, I have saved copies and will post them if necessary.
The Data Warehouse RFP
Education Insight Project, Longitudinal Data Warehouse, RFP # 2011-10
A data warehouse is simply a database that gathers data from multiple sources and makes it easy and fast for developers to build new programs to access it. The Data Warehouse RFP is for the design of a data warehouse for all Delaware school and student data. Most of Delaware student data is already kept in a common database (Sungard eSchoolMaster). Other data sources are also used, and are defined in the RFP.
The new data warehouse will keep the current databases in place, but will synch all the data and unify it in a single place where it can be accessed more easily, and is optimized for faster performance. This will allow developers flexibility to build new tools very quickly as needed (most likely web-based). Tools that were not practical to build before will suddenly become easy.
None of this data warehouse will be visible to most users. The way you will know it is there is when you start to see new web-based applications (“dashboards”) for using this data, in ways you probably never knew were possible. Teachers and administrators will be able to slice and dice data about individual students, or groups of students, or even their own accountability measurements.
The data warehouse will pull in school profile data, and licensure and other employment-related data for teachers, so the dashboards will potentially unify teacher and student data to provide very useful and detailed views of accountability data.
The Dashboard RFP
Education Insight Project, Insight Dashboard Analysis & Design, RFP # 2011-12
Dashboards are like the apps for your smartphone. They will be web sites that allow teachers, administrators, (and hopefully parents and students) to view and manipulate data in the warehouse. The first dashboard will be aimed at teachers, and training will begin this summer with a small group of teachers and administrators:
Over time, additional applications will be brought under the portal…
The first priority for the Portal will be the Teacher’s Insight Dashboard. The Teacher’s
Insight dashboard will filter out the noise inherent in the large volume of data available
about students in the classroom, allowing them to focus on things of greatest importance.Dashboard RFP, Section 2.2
The technology revolution is coming to Delaware. So if you are a teacher or principal who has been a little uncomfortable with using web-based tools, it seems pretty clear these new tools will quickly become the center of your information world. I’d suggest volunteering for the training and getting with the new system at the earliest opportunity.
The Dashboard RFP is a little bit disorienting, because it doesn’t lay out traditional deliverables well specified in advance. Instead, the state basically knows where it wants to go, but is seeking a technical partner to help with the requirements and design work, and very likely remain with the project through development and implementation. Once the design is complete, the state reserves the right to do some or all of the development work itself. All in all, it seems like a smart use of an external vendor to supplement DDOE in-house capabilities:
This RFP is for the analysis and design of dashboards only…. When dashboard design is complete, the State will decide either to issue an RFP for dashboard development or to complete the development using DDOE staff.
… the Vendor will engage Delaware stakeholders in a collaborative analysis process to identify Delaware requirements…
Dashboard RFP, Section 1.1
I’ll have more on dashboards in Part 2.
Tags: Education, Race To The Top
Great post. I guess I’m a skeptic though. The data warehouse and web based dashboards are great tools, but I tend to doubt that instructive, surprising or unexpected variables (or relationships) will emerge from the data. In other words, we can all intuitively come up with a list of five elements that could predict student success or failure.
Though DSTP and NCLB have flaws the data generated is very valuable. DSTP originally started out as a “yardstick” to measure student achievement in order to adapt standards and curriculum to meet those needs. DSTP was rolled out 1998 long before NCLB 2001.
The Current DSTP data is amazing as is the school profile data and it does suggest school with a poverty level of 30 start to struggle, 50 start to fail and 70+ most likely to fail but all with exception to the rule. Poverty is not an excuse to fail or not teach but poverty does stagnate learning and teaching.
President Obama pretty much stated today that the 80%+ projected school failure maybe be misleading due to the flaws with in NCLB based on a single indicator aka DSTP in Delaware’s case. Also there are about 15 subgroups in the NCLB rating system meaning if one subgroup fails to meet the standard the school is penalized with a negative rating and unfair public perception,
Jason I would definitely include parental involvement and discipline the five elements. I think we all can agree if students come to school well rested, homework complete, respect for teachers and classmate and ready to learn 75% of the battle would be won.
We need all the data we can get and the Dashboard is a great thing. But it will takes more and more administration and consultants ins’t the answer.
NCLB’s replacement DCAS is a growth model test given at the beginning of the year , middle of the year and at the end of the year. The initial test data will reveal students in need and the question is what supplemental provisions are in place? It cannot be on the backs of the teachers to separate her/his class into three groups and expect to teach the curriculum designed for grade level and keep all on the same page. Data is great and is needed but the real question is what will be the response to data?
Back in 2002 the U of D Ed R&D folks published, Focusing on student outcomes” A longitudinal student of Delaware Student Accountability Plan and pretty much deemed DSTP flawed and raised concerns of unintended consequences such as teaching to the test and narrowing the scope of education. State legislators didn’t listen nor did the governor (Minner).
Each time we go to reform public education we expand administration and the number of consultants and have done nothing to address the needs of classroom teacher or class sizes.
I am all for enriched data but concerned about real tangible response to that data. $8.2 million dollars for data coaches to teach college educates people (teachers) to read testing data seems to be a waste whereas $8.2 million dollars could have been better served in parent coaches in order to education parents how to be a more effective engaged partner.
Race to The Top isn’t a federal mandate and is a federal competitive four-year grant. State education regulation were and are being adapted to align itself with RTTT. Once RTTT funding runs dry, funding will default on the state and most likely local taxpayers.
“This isn’t just another grant, but whole system reform”
Reforming education to be more data driven with a short-term grant when the likelihood complex longterm ongoing intervention will be needed is nothing more than a train-wreck waiting to happen.
The real questions are is funding sustainable and what is being done to ensure school finances are transparent? Were are those 6 Sigma people when you need them!
Jason I would definitely include parental involvement and discipline the five elements. I think we all can agree if students come to school well rested, homework complete, respect for teachers and classmate and ready to learn 75% of the battle would be won.
I think technology can go a long way toward helping the “homework” part of that list. Right now we are weak on using technology to communicate what the homework is. We are relying on students copying down their assignments, or bringing home slips of paper to be lost. Parents have no authoritative way of finding out what their kids’ homework actually is each night, and students have no place to look for a consolidated list of their assignments.
But we have the capability right now to use the Home Access Center to communicate assignments and upcoming tests in advance, all on one web page. HAC also has the ability to attach documents and instructions to each assignment (no more lost handouts!). The schools just aren’t using those features of HAC.
Teachers have a list of reasons why they can’t or won’t enter assignments in HAC in advance. Policy only requires them to enter grades after they are due, not when they are assigned. But some of them are already doing it very well.
Once the centralized list of homework and upcoming tests is visible online, parents can easily see what the homework is each night (“parental involvement!”) and what tests are coming up this week. Students can review their upcoming work themselves and see the overall status (“taking responsibility!”)
If we say we want students and parents to take responsibility, let’s give them better tools. HAC is already paid for and on every teacher’s desk, so let’s use it.
And if HAC has some shortcomings, let’s see if we can fix them during the Education Insight project. “Advance notice of tests and assignments” and “online document availability” ought to be major educational goals, if not metrics in themselves..
“We are relying on students copying down their assignments, or bringing home slips of paper to be lost.”
God forbid we actually try and teach kids to be responsible. this comes from someone who FREQUENTLY forgot to write down assignments and lost slips of paper. My grades reflected it and im much better about holding on to important documents now. Know what? your parents cant find out all your work assignments in college, they cant do it for you in real life. The biggest problem in our education system is lazy apathetic students. By coddling them, or having debates about how it is the fault of over paid teachers, or saying we are forcing them to use out dated technology only drives home the point that acting like a lazy turd is ok and they will be smarter as soon as everyone else stops messing things up for them.
Know what? your parents cant find out all your work assignments in college, they cant do it for you in real life.
I have heard the moral argument for the handwritten assignment books. It holds less and less water as time goes by, especially when we have the technology at hand.
I think the “character-building” argument is simply a way for the grownups to avoid the effort of learning or using the modern tools.
In college teachers distribute a syllabus at the beginning of the term with all assignments laid out in advance – we tend not to do that in K-12. College does not assign a flurry of small assignments.
If we want kids and parents to be responsible, let’s give them better tools.
The issue at hand is whether the Education Insight project will include parents and students and give them better tools. More on that in Part 2.
im not a grown-up. legally, yes…but by no means a “grown up”. I have a very recent perspective about in the classroom.
I was in school when dodge ball was banned because it made fat kids (like me) feel bad about themselves (it didnt) I remember talk about changing the grading system from A-F to ” does very well – chooses not to” CHOOSES NOT TO!
American school is already so ridiculously easy, high school age classes teach at the level of much younger age brackets in other developed countries…. and yet kids still do so badly, our own standardized tests dont even hit the top 10.
But it isnt like American kids are trying. You dont have a life long D student who you can transform over night if only he could log on to Blackboard and see his assignment. If someone cant remember to write down an assignment, they wont remember to close the Call of Duty cheat code website and look for their homework.
I dont disagree with you, mike, about the need to better use of existing technology in the classroom, but let’s not pretend that is the main problem. All that will do is help the small percentage of actual good students be better students…. which is something we should strive for. The scant few kids in america today who actually WANT to learn should be given the best resources on Earth.
I agree that HAC should be better utilized. My kids are pretty organized, but there have been times where we would have benefited from homework being posted online – especially the bigger projects.
In most of these cases the teacher has already typed up the instructions and handed them out to the class, surely transferring this info to HAC should be no big deal.
And while I understand the importance of students being responsible for writing down their assignments, if the goal is better education, classroom participation and parent involvement then posting the assignments online is a step in the right direction. I can’t back up a teacher if I don’t know what’s expected. The result… the child becomes the bridge between the teacher and the parent which doesn’t strike me as the best form of communication.
but let’s not pretend that is the main problem
Ben, I think that is an unfair insinuation. All I said was that it could help with the homework portion. I happen to think it could help a lot. Besides, anyone who wants to write down their assignments can always do so if they prefer. Your argument is to suppress use of technology for notification of assignments. I think that is a very bad idea.
If any grownups disagree, try clearing your iPhone or your Blackberry calendar and replace it with a spiral bound notebook, and see how you function.
To be fair, teachers have some legitimate reasons for why they can’t enter assignments in advance. K-12 is based on lesson plans, which require some flexibility. All this means though is that the data-entry needs to be made more efficient and usable, so teachers don’t cringe every time they need to update it. If the tool is made more usable for teachers, they will use it more readily.
The result… the child becomes the bridge between the teacher and the parent which doesn’t strike me as the best form of communication.
Exactly, Pandora. With the web technology, parents, teachers, and students can literally be all on the same page. I don’t see any downside. The time has come. Let’s see if we can influence the Education Insight Project to take this into account. I’d hate to spend all that money and not even end up with a basic page for homework.
Great thread. Very thought provoking. It occurred to me today that the United States is unique in that we view the educational process (schools, teachers, Admin, curriculum, etc)as a work in progress; Something that can be perfected, or made better over time.
Whereas there are large swaths of the globe that take the received wisdom of the past and assumes that all education questions have been asked an answered.
The paradox is that the people who are most affected and motivated (parents with school age children) are the people who have the least time and ability to participate in the improvement process. Participating in the committee meetings and tracking the activities of the school board and DOE is hard work and time-consuming. But it somehow has to be done.
I still have to disagree that students would even use this tool. Who are we talking about helping here? the college-bound will always be the college-bound. I shouldnt have reduced your argument to “put it online and all will be fixed” but I still think you’re giving kids and parents too much credit. We are still using the narrative that if a kids does poorly in school, it is the fault of the teachers, or the technology and not the fault of the parents or the students.
Pandora, you often mention what great students your kids are… im guessing that is more because of you and mr pandora than the school. The school can only provide the eduction, it is up to the student and their parents to use the resource and not try and come up with an explanation blaming the school/teacher why the kid isnt doing well.
The sad thing is, i have no idea what the answer is. I think this problem is cultural. We as a society raise up uneducated ignorant fools (Jersey Shore, Sarah Palin) and show our kids that as long as you aren’t just dumb but the dumbest, you can be rich and famous and marry a pop singer.
And just to mention it, i do use a spiral bound notebook to keep my work assignments and tasks in order. It cant crash or be erased by a magnet or run out of battery life.
this is a good thread. The jerk in me wants to just start screaming “ISRAEL ISRAEL ISRAEL” to bring back normal.
Ben, your argument reminds me of free-market conservatives who were born into supportive families and grow up to tell unemployed people “Just start your own business – it worked for me!”
The kids who remember to write everything down and present all their homework to their parents will do well with any system. Those are not the kids who are failing who need our support now. “Whole-system reform” needs to take these students into account.
We already agree there are too many parents who are not willing or able to provide sufficient support to their child’s education. I really don’t understand the resistance to giving these parents better tools to make their jobs easier.
Mike I hear you on the technology Re: Homework assignments and grades.
Much on the emphasis on education reform is addressing the achievement gap particularly among high poverty minorities. The internet is great but does require computers and the internet service. Many teachers will tell you many students come to school with out proper material such as pencils and papers. However, technology is great and going in the right direction. I am 100% on board.
“In college teachers distribute a syllabus at the beginning of the term with all assignments laid out in advance – we tend not to do that in K-12.”
Great idea! Perhaps teachers can give homework assignments on a monthly basis.
“Teachers have a list of reasons why they can’t or won’t enter assignments in HAC in advance. Policy only requires them to enter grades after they are due, not when they are assigned. But some of them are already doing it very well”
Its very hard for engaged parents to track their child’s progress when the data isn’t timely. But those parents who have been the most successful have do so long before the internet. Asian students are the most successful because Asian parents have high expectations!
Ben has a point and when a student hits middle school you certainly want the to become more accountable. College frown upon helicopter parents and certainly by high school students should take full responsibility. I wonder how many students miss homework assignments even when parents can go online to see them.
Data can only point the direction to improvement and there is enough data out there to act upon. The end result with 12 years of DSTP data us, 3rd graders a should signs of higher achievement and it starts to fade at the 5th grade level and nearly a complete breakdown at the 8th grade level, DEDOE tried to manipulate DSTP by revising the cut scores to show better achievement and the 8th grade cut scores were reduce the most. The current data clearly indicates middle school is were the so-called cracks are. Title 1 services are concentrated at the elementary level base on early intervention theories. However, intervention should be k-12 where needed. But many claim Title 1 is underfunded in regards to the provisions of NCLB. However, Title 1 is supplemental funding and has drifted to more supplant.
We honestly don’t need data coaches. Plugging in raw test data without apply data on class assignments, class participation, homework and a means to measure parental engagement only indicate achievement of lack off. I went to an early DCAS presentation before it was rolled out and asked, what interventions will be in place to provide supplemental education services for students who are more than one year off of grade level? No answer!
America’s schools went from one room school houses to a complex “industry” and its getting worst. If we were to take the billions of dollars spent on testing, consultants and wasteful administration fee and hire more teachers to effectively reduce class sizes, I think we would see better achievement. Poverty in education has become a profit center and privateers are moving in.
The point is… the kids are already on line. Improving HAC is merely going where the kids and their parents already are. Try this little experiment next Friday evening – Count the number of times your kids open their book bag over the weekend. Now, count the number of times they open their technology.
HAC isn’t innovative. It’s merely playing catch up.
More food for thought… barring a major event, when was the last time you turned on the weather channel to get your forecast, or MTV to get your music?
My kids and their friends turn to Buzz to confirm their homework assignment. The support community is already out there. It would be nice if parents and teachers were a part of it.
Delaware teachers are very resourceful. Many of them recognize the value of online communication, and maintain their own websites using a variety of free hosting services, where they distribute lists of upcoming homework, instructions for assignments, class events and notifications, and documents.
HAC isn’t innovative. It’s merely playing catch up.
Agreed. There are fully interactive web systems where you can not only receive your assignments online, but also turn them in. I haven’t even dreamed about asking for that.
“Agreed. There are fully interactive web systems where you can not only receive your assignments online, but also turn them in. I haven’t even dreamed about asking for that.”
Surely a day will come when homework assignments will be web-based in template form. Sign in and do it online.
The push for global competitiveness via Race to The Top will reveal the same old pattern. Parent who are engage will see successful students and those who don’t will not. BUT with advancements in technology and online learning even student without engaged parents will better succeed. To Obama credit he does make effort to motivate students and his existence as a minority being president might inspire!
I wonder what the data is on how many students in Delaware have home access to the internet and the breakdown in social class?
I wonder what the data is on how many students in Delaware have home access to the internet and the breakdown in social class?
I think Red Clay has a parent survey out now asking parents if they have accessed HAC. I’d like to see the results of that when it comes in.
Entering assignments into an online system does not preclude teachers from printing it out and handing it to students. HAC is not really optimized for that, but we are building a new system after all, so perhaps nice print views can become a requirement of a Parent Dashboard.
What’s needed is a Student Dashboard or a Class Assignment Dashboard. Parents and students need access to this new improved data as much as teachers and administrators.
In any case, it would be cheaper to give needy families Internet access than to let them fail.
thats pretty funny. I completely disagree with the free market approach to employment and basic needs. If my approach to education is conservative that is the only conservative viewpoint i hold… that and i hate the poor (copy-write daniel tosh)
Like i said, new technology is always a good thing. I am simply offering my perspective, as someone who was in American public school during what most people see as a steep downturn in our nation’s education. When i mention kids who dont do well because they just dont try, often it was the kids from well-to-do homes with supportive parents, who’s brand of support was to yell at the teacher when the student got bad grades. I think there is more of that than you think, and while it is a little “lbertariany”, THOSE are the kids and families we need to stop lowering our standards for.
I was allowed to fail a class or 2 in high school. my parents saw my grades were a reflection of my work ethic, not my intelligence or my teacher’s ability, made me deal with it. Im thankful for that because when i got to college…. after a couple years in J-college, a result of less than stellar grades, I saw kids who’s parents fought (harassed) for that C instead of a D. They were the same ones who expected someone to argue their grade up and ended up delivering pizza in the college town because no one ever taught them they are responsible for their own education.
Being a little more “liberal” with sending kids to a vocational/technical high school is one thing we can consider. We need to call a spade a spade and stop pushing this fairy tale that every child can grow up to be a doctor or banker. Not to change the subject of the discussion…. and not to preach to the preachers convention, but if things like unemployment insurance and access to health care and rights as a worker were all guarantees for everyone, making only 40k a year in the trades wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It would allow us to better educate those who want more and to offer a realistic path to those who dont.
They were the same ones who expected someone to argue their grade up
If your argument is correct, what is the problem with that? Why should a student accept being cheated out of a grade? That is a horrible lesson.
I teach my children that in America powerful people have rules too, but sometimes they need a reminder to follow them.
Sometimes you need to sit down and shut up, and other times you need to speak truth to power. You need to pick your battles carefully. If you choose to fight, you had better be right, and sometimes you lose anyway.
It’s funny that the school district has to do a survey about how many parents use HAC. It would be easy to simply do an analysis of how many logins there were from each parent. Perhaps that is a statistic that could be made available to teachers, “How many times has Johnnies Mom or Dad logged in to check on his assignments?”
This might give teachers a handle on which parents might need to be engaged in a different way (by phone or conference) to keep parents engaged in their students education.
However, I do admit that there is a big-brother aspect to this line of thought which would need to be hashed out before it were implemented.
I’m on the Red Clay parent committee looking into that. We just got started.
“If your argument is correct, what is the problem with that? Why should a student accept being cheated out of a grade? That is a horrible lesson.”
im not talking about someone who was cheated out of a grade. im talking about someone… and i can attest so seeing this many times…. who didnt earn the grade, but still argues for it because they feel entitled to a good grade. hand-to-God i heard a student use the argument that because they had NEAR perfect attendance, they should be allowed to pass the class… despite not doing the term project and failing all the tests. Access to technology will not fix that problem. I think it is also a ibgger issue than people want to admit. I think that because it might cause some parents to admit that their child isnt as smart or organized or on-point as they always thought. Not anyone here of course… all your children will grow up to be well respected senators and statesmen/women with perfect academic records…
I want to see a solution to this nation’s eduction problem that gives every opportunity and offers a level playing field to everyone, but doesn’t short change the people who work harder by giving unfair 7th 8th an 9th chances to families who simply wont try.
I would also point out that is isnt the teacher’s job to entertain or bargain with students into learning. Yes, they need to find innovative ways to make the knowledge stick, but they arent a baby sitter. they are a resource provided to working parents to help educate children. It is the job of the parents, and only the parents (until 18) to make sure little timmy is doing HIS job…. which is to be a student.
It is the job of the parents, and only the parents (until 18) to make sure little timmy is doing HIS job…. which is to be a student.
An what information does a parent have at their disposal to ensure that Timmie is doing his job? Isn’t that what we are talking about?
I know exactly what ben is talking about. It’s the my kid is an honor student bumper sticker mindset. I, too, have seen these parents in action – it’s like their child’s report card is their report card – and, in a lot of cases, their kids fall behind due to parental denial and browbeating teachers to gift their kids a grade.
Pandora, do we want parents involved or not? If a teacher is violating some policy that results in a lower grade, the parent and student have every right to point it out. Yes it does happen. It has happened to me.
If there is no violation of policy, then the arguing parent doesn’t have a leg to stand on and should be told to pound sand.
The key is to have policies in place, and have the grade and assignment data available, without ambiguity.
The biggest lie coming out of public education? We want parent involvement.
(And the odds of a bad grade resulting from a teacher violating some policy are pretty low. Not saying that it doesn’t happen, but it’s not a major concern. In this house we tell our children that they had better learn to handle asses because life’s full of them. Now that’s a life lesson every child should be taught.)
Mike,
the problem is, all to often the decision comes down against the teacher. The base assumption is that the teacher messed up and the grade should be corrected. This has even more consequences in the disrespectful way I see students treat teachers. they know that if anything they dont like happens, their parents will raise hell and a teacher who works 80+ hours a week (school + grading + lesson plans) for a piss poor salary will just give the grade and be done with it. Who can blame them? I understand you have seen first hand the flip side where a bad grade was unfairly given so have I… and that shouldn’t happen at all.
“If there is no violation of policy, then the arguing parent doesn’t have a leg to stand on and should be told to pound sand.” Just understand that this happens a lot, and it never just works out that way. The parents almost always win. I’ll also say this… people with no education in education should at the very least yield to those who have spent tens of thousands of dollars and many years learning how to educate. Ive seen first hand parents destroy school programs (in my experience, marching band) because they think they know better than they teachers. they didnt/dont and just because you know your kid, doesnt mean you know how to educated everyone’s kid.
That said, the best thing to do is be constantly aware of your child’s education and not leave it up to someone else. any program that promotes that philosophy will work. The issue is dealing with the “my kid is an honor student” crowd who wont accept that their child wont be president. (more than you’d like to know)
“they had better learn to handle asses because life’s full of them.”
exactly. if you teach kids that mommy and daddy will always be there to get you out of an unpleasant situation, you end up with George W Bush
I don’t agree that we’re not failing the top students as well as the bottom. I think we just don’t measure them in the same way.
As for the dashboard. Hum. Maybe. My son had a dashboard at DTCC. The number of times he could NOT sign into that (with new computers and internet access at home) outnumbered the times he could. End result was that he just went in extra to complete dashboard assignments. I doubt the schools are prepared to permit THAT.
But Ben, completely disagree about the importance of “studying education” to judge schools, or school programs. People who are doing something else in their lives are in a better position to evaluate how educational programs work for other things than people who are so comfortable in a school environment that they’ve spent their lives in it. The disproportionate number of certain personality types in teaching, alone, should be part of our analysis of why schools don’t work.