LETTERS.Revisit Our Stance BY DANIEL DOMENECH Superintendent, Western Suffolk BOCES BOCES Board Of Cooperative Educational Services 3, Dix Hills, New York Located in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, Dix Hills is a hamlet (and census-designated place). The population was 26,024 at the 2000 census. Dix Hills is in the Town of Huntington, and mostly feeds into the Half Hollow Hills school district (#5). As somewhat of a test and measurement expert (my Ph.D. is in educational research and I spent earlier years as a psychometrician), I was delighted with the December issue's cover story about a balanced approach to student assessment. I wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed adj. Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole agree with Michael Kean of CTB/McGraw-Hill ("Multiples Measures"). Multiple-choice items and objective assessment will remain the backbone of any assessment program. Witness the backpedaling now being done by states like Kentucky, which realized the need for reliability and validity in their measurement instruments. I was surprised to read in the response by Monty Neill of FairTest that AASA AASA American Association of School Administrators AASA Asian American Student Association AASA Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia AASA Aging and Adult Services Administration AASA Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army had endorsed the statement that "multiple-choice items should not be more than a quarter of an accountability assessment." I realize that the statement was adopted in 1990 at the height of the authentic assessment Authentic assessment is an umbrella concept that refers to the measurement of "intellectual accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful,"[1] as compared to multiple choice standardized tests. movement. I believe, however, that AASA should reconsider that endorsement. Unlikely Resolution BY PERRY L. GLANZER Education Policy Analyst, Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city (after Denver) in the state of Colorado and the 48th most populous city in the United States.[4] The city is the county seat of El Paso County. I found the articles about building common ground in the November issue to contain a number of helpful suggestions. Certainly, civil discussion about what we can agree on will benefit all parents and their children. Interestingly, the same magazine carried a Federal Dateline and two guest columns that addressed topics on which there is much disagreement and little common ground (vouchers, AIDS/sex education, and education about sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. ). These articles provide evidence that while procedures for finding common ground will help civil discussion of controversial issues, it is doubtful they will resolve our deepest differences. If justice is truly to be done to the variety of moral, cultural, and educational philosophies that parents may desire for their children, more than ground rules for common ground will be needed. Deeper structural changes in the educational choices allowed to parents must take place. We suggest that a just system of education would allow parents from all socioeconomic backgrounds to choose the type of education that reflects their values and best meets the academic needs of their children. Thus, more choices will have to be offered to parents within a publicly funded system if justice is to be achieved (e.g., dual track sex-education, charter schools that allow more direct parental governance and control, or rules allowing flexible partnerships between home-schoolers and public schools). Sound Advice BY ANNE WHEELOCK Senior Program Associate, Center for Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Education Policy, Boston, Mass. I really appreciated the contributions on testing and assessment by Lynn Winters, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. in Long Beach, Calif., to the December issue. Her comments on the proposal for full disclosure of student test results and advice for developing a standards-based assessment A standards based test is one based on the outcome-based education or performance-based education philosophy. [1] Assessment is a key part of the standards reform movement. The first part is to set new, higher standards to be expected of every student. system were really focused and concrete. From my perspective, that means they might actually be used by administrators. I'm so glad she is putting her thoughts and experiences into the practicing mainstream. Fits the Bill BY ALAN GANSERT Principal, Collingswood Middle School, Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 14,326. Collingswood was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 22, 1888, from portions of Haddon Our school district is investigating block scheduling Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less time wasted due to class switching and preparation. for the middle school and high school so I found the articles on block scheduling in your September issue very informative. At the same time, we will be undertaking a complete review of the curriculum in light of New Jersey's new core curriculum standards. We have completely revised our discipline code and drug and alcohol policies, initiated site-based management for budget and staff development decisions, and begun the first year of a five-year technology plan. These are ambitious, exciting, and challenging tasks. Research and practical information is an important component in this process. The School Administrator seems to be the type of professional literature that fits the bill. As I have contact with other administrators online, I have recommended your magazine as a source of information for many of the issues and problems they raise for discussion. |
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