Common core and computer adaptive testing.

The common core update happened today at our school, with the kindly old lady telling us how much the scores are going to rise when we raise the reading level and the difficulty level of all the questions. (Yeah, I know, but let's play along.)

She described the computer adaptive questions and how the program would be able to deliver a different next question based on whether the student got the previous one right.  I'm good with that concept, actually.  With a suitable scoring system (like the one for Olympic divers), it should work out quite well. 

Then we got to the "performance tasks" which were much more extensive, taking 2 hours each for high school students to complete. The students will be responding with text, handwritten (onto a tablet - the goal is for 25% of tests to be taken on tablet), voice over documents, video, and anything else the test creators could dream up.

Here's the kicker.

None of this is past alpha development stage. The iPad apps are still in development. The Android apps, laptop programs, desktop programs, Mac, PC, ... all were still in development. Everything is computer-based but they can't figure out how to block the student from getting on Google. They don't know how the schools will supply themselves with all the tech ... "When I was Commissioner in Maine, I just put it in the budget. We're talking to your state about it."

The math framework and examples will be ready ... in a few months.  The digital clearinghouse ... maybe by June 2013. The funding for technology ... "we're working on that".  The assessment engine ... that'll be ready soon.  The suitable scoring system I mentioned earlier ... "I'm not sure exactly how that'll work".

I point out that the questions they're displaying are problematic, but her response was to remind me that the exemplars had been posted for some time and teachers had been able to make comments. Oh, my bad.

Not inspiring confidence, here.

She put up a reading example about a science topic that was similarly flawed - if you knew the science already, you'd have a huge advantage and your "reading score" would be much higher. Fair enough, you might say, but the elementary teachers in the auditorium didn't know most of the words either.  "Turbidity", for example.

8th grade - they'll guess and check.
I'm not sure how that's supposed to
measure algebra, though.

Scoring will be a pain, too.  Questions like this one will be scored by ... someone. This will be a source for error right there.  Portfolios had this problem, too.  You'd think it would be easy to get all the scorers to come up with a consistent grade since they all had a page-long rubric to follow.  You might think that, but you'd be wrong.

I love education.

Let's stop calling it "College Prep"

Not for everyone.

All around this country, we call classes "Honors", "College Prep", regular, or whatever.  It seems to me that this is a bad way to divide the students. I've found (and you have, too) that most students fall into categories width-wise instead of vertically.

Maryanne was definitely going to college. She was great in English class, loved history, was an artist in the 1% bracket and hated math.  She never thought she was good at it. She made it through algebra II in junior year and considered herself finished and had no intentions of signing up for a math class senior year. .

Why was she in college-prep algebra II with the pre-engineer kids who ate up math, but hated English? Because they were all going to college and the course was college-prep. Why do we think that the mechanics-to-be and the farmers can't do high-level geometry and algebra II? What if they enjoy math but are most interested in building cars -- don't they need math, too? Can't the Future Farmers enjoy math even if they have no intention of going to college?

This is awesome. I want it.

Why can't we accept that kids aren't going to be superior in every subject?  Certainly none of the adults I know are that way. If a kid is going to beauty-school ( "college" ), is she really needing algebra II with the kids who love it and do really well in math every year?

Let's instead have "Hate math algebra II" and "Love math algebra II".

Separate the kids by interest and enjoyment of subject, not by future plans that may or may not have anything to do with ability in the subject.

Learning styles don't exist ... except for the textbook author.

By now, you've all read about the still struggling fad of Learning Styles, perhaps you've watched Dan Willingham's video on the subject:
Learning Styles Don't Exist


What disturbs me is that the textbook authors are buying into this dreck as well.

Larson Algebra 1, 2012 Common Core Edition.

Jetski across the Pacific

It's almost overdone but it still cracks me up. Google Maps from Japan to China and you get this map.  Part of the instructions include "jetski across the Pacific". Actually, it's the East China Sea, but you get the idea.

So how fast is that JetSki anyway?

Forget the driverless car ...

"Project Sartre (Safe Road Trains for the Environment), Europe's experiment with 'vehicle platooning,' which has successfully completed a 125 mile road test on a busy Spain motorway. Three Volvos drove themselves by automatically following a truck in the presence of other, normal road users. The Register reports that on-board cameras, radar and laser tracking allow each vehicle to monitor the one in front, and wirelessly streamed data from the lead vehicle tells each car when to accelerate, break and turn." - slashdot

It's not the driverless car that stands to make some money.  It's the driverless truck.  The most expensive part of the truck is the driver and his paycheck, breaks, insurnace, training, and Teamster affiliations; the most restrictive part is the 10 hours of driving time per day, and the limitations of total time behind the wheel.

Now imagine getting rid of that driver in four out of five trucks (so far, the lead truck needs a driver and the rest follow).

Suddenly, you have a vehicle that can drive 24/7 if the lead driver changes or trades off with a partner. It doesn't get tired and it stops only to refuel. You don't have to pay for a person.  Trucking companies will cut expenses by 40%.

Let the scare-mongering begin !

Research in Education - Dan Willingham

I really like the way he thinks.

Never forget.

Katherine Cathey and Major James Beck when 2nd Lt. James Cathey's casket arrived home.

Never  forget.

A bunch of AnyQs

Images for the 101qs.com website ....

Found the juxtaposition of the rating and the sign rather amusing.

Kind of a neat idea, too.

Interesting how they built along the cliff.

Facebook timeline background - fit your smiling face in perfectly.

Notice the number of pints:

What is the fraction representation?

Playing with Fire

Legends of the SCA

Self-Immolation by EduTroll

I didn't alter anything, I swear ...

Unbelieveable...if you people really think that this is the successful way to the future, then your as stupid as the students that cant spell the word 'future'. Students have no social skills what-so-ever being raised in a computer generated world. They have no English skills as a result of comp slg...oh what you dont know what computer slang short-cutting is. The have no spelling skills as a result of spell check.

Correlations in education

Scott Macleod said on Twitter: From my doc student's dissertation: Student w/ 2 years of high school 1:1 said "I know way more #edtech than my college profs!" #true #sad

Does that say more about the profs, the education or the power of correlation?

An excellent response to the Facebook Kerfluffle

Well, this is interesting. Since some colleges are requiring student athletes to give up their Facebook passwords, I have begun counseling students to create a second Facebook page now, in high school. It should be all clean and pretty and contain nothing but links to foodnetwork.com, friends with Grandmother, and nothing controversial. Then, turn on all privacy settings on the other, real page, change the displayed name, alter the phone and address, delete and information that true friends already know and replace it with information from Game of Thrones. It's the 21st Century version of your Mother saying "This is not a Locker Room, young man. Keep your rough-housing and vulgar language for outside this house." There's a time and a place for that sort of thing ... it's the OTHER Facebook account.

There are other tactics, of course, and I hadn't thought of these but it is very true that this openness can cut both ways. Many companies have implemented policies requiring HR managers to shoulder-surf as prospective employees read through their Facebook accounts, or worse, require that those prospects give their passwords to the HR manager. Who is then bound by various laws on confidentiality and, more importantly, non-discrimination ...

Here's one Director's response ... he quit. The reason why is what's fascinating:

I hereby resign

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you very much for honoring me with the position of Director of Software Development. I value your trust and have enjoyed my first two months on the job immensely. You have a world-class team and are executing on a daring vision. It pains me to tell you this, however I am forced to resign my position as Director and from here on, I must cheer your team from a distance.

The situation is simple. As you doubtless recall, the new COO has issued a new set of employment contracts. The legalities of arm-twisting employees into signing a new employment contract when they already had a contract with the firm is her responsibility, I’ll just have to trust her when she says we can fire anyone without notice if they refuse to agree.

One of the new terms is that every prospective new hire allow their manager to “shoulder surf” as they browse their Facebook or better still, to voluntarily log their manager into their Facebook account. If I recall correctly, she claims that we have the obligation to do a “background check” on prospective hires. I’m extremely vague on the correlation between faux-promiscuous sex or drinking and employee performance, but as she is a seasoned veteran, I have to trust her when she says that things like this overrule my judgment as to who is and who isn’t fit to be a programmer in our employ.

I was willing to go along with things and see how they panned out. But today something went seriously wrong. I have been interviewing senior hires for the crucial tech lead position on the Fizz Buzz team, and while several walked out in a huff when I asked them to let me look at their Facebook, one young lady smiled and said I could help myself. She logged into her Facebook as I requested, and as I followed the COO’s instructions to scan her timeline and friends list looking for evidence of moral turpitude, I became aware she was writing something on her iPad.

“Taking notes?” I asked politely.

“No,” she smiled, “Emailing a human rights lawyer I know.” To say that the tension in the room could be cut with a knife would be understatement of the highest order. “Oh?” I asked. I waited, and as I am an expert in out-waiting people, she eventually cracked and explained herself.

“If you are surfing my Facebook, you could reasonably be expected to discover that I am a Lesbian. Since discrimination against me on this basis is illegal in Ontario, I am just preparing myself for the possibility that you might refuse to hire me and instead hire someone who is a heterosexual but less qualified in any way. Likewise, if you do hire me, I might need to have your employment contracts disclosed to ensure you aren’t paying me less than any male and/or heterosexual colleagues with equivalent responsibilities and experience.”

I got her out of the room as quickly as possible. The next few interviews were a blur, I was shaken. And then it happened again. This time, I found myself talking to a young man fresh out of University about a development position. After allowing me to surf his Facebook, he asked me how I felt about parenting. As a parent, it was easy to say I liked the idea. Then he dropped the bombshell.

His partner was expecting, and shortly after being hired he would be taking six months of parental leave as required by Ontario law. I told him that he should not have discussed this matter with me. “Oh normally I wouldn’t, but since you’re looking through my Facebook, you know that already. Now of course, you would never refuse to hire someone because they plan to exercise their legal right to parental leave, would you?”

What could I say? I guess we have another hire whether he’s qualified or not. Here’s the bottom line: My ability to select the best candidates for our positions has been irreparably compromised by looking into their private lives. I’ve been “tainted” by knowledge of their sexual orientation, illnesses, religion, political affiliations, and other factors that expose us to anti-discrimination legislation. We can't even claim that the employee improperly disclosed these matters to us, as we are the ones initiating the investigation of their private doings.

Worse, I cannot manage these people once they're hired. I would be diffident about censuring them or passing them over for advancement for fear of incurring a lawsuit that would be a distraction to our business and damaging to our reputation as fair employers.

Therefore, please consider this my formal resignation. The COO does not tell me how to write software, so I will not tell her how to set HR standards, but I would ask that you review this policy and ask whether it is truly in the company’s interest to indiscriminately dig through a candidates’ private lives. Either that, or we should move to a jurisdiction where we have zero exposure to legal consequences for discrimination.

Yours very truly,
Reginald Scott Braithwaite