Edtroductions
On test results released a few days ago, black and hispanic 7th graders in California were performing at the same level as white 3rd graders.
In Florida, passing the high school exit exam in reading is equal to getting a 410 verbal on the SAT; 46% of Florida 10th graders failed the exam on their first try.
18 states currently lack unique student identification numbers with which to track individual students as they move through the grades.
Nationally, the high school graduation rate hovers somewhere around 70%, 50% for minorities.
On average, 36% more student pass their state assessments as pass the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
If you are born into a low-income family, you have less than a 10% chance of ending up with a bachelor's degree.
Hi, I'm Elliot H. You may remember me from such blog posts as "How to not build a better high school," highlighted on the excellent blog Eduwonk. I'm a fourth year at the University of Virginia (hence the moniker; for those who don't know, we Cavaliers are nicknamed Wahoos -- it's a fish that can drink its weight in water. I will neither confirm nor deny the stereotype), and I just finished an illuminating ten-week internship with the quality folks over at the Education Trust. At U.Va., I serve as the executive editor of the university newspaper, the Cavalier Daily.
I think it's worthwhile to justify the existence of this blog; after all, I can't blame you for being skeptical about the musings of a 21-year-old college kid who has never set foot inside a classroom as an educator. I've noticed a gulf in the edublogosphere where most journals tend to fall into one of two categories: Compiling the news, or analyzing it. The missing feature is blogs critiquing the news.
Education journalists are understandably hard-pressed to delve deeply into key issues. When you have to produce three articles a week on topics ranging from school board meetings to test scores to school violence, it's not hard to see why. But as a result, the picture of American education that emerges is only a shadow of the truth.
That's one of the purposes of this blog: To draw connections among the tremendously diverse media coverage of education, and to burrow down another level on the important articles. You aren't going to find the data I reeled off above in any one newspaper or report; it's drawn from scholarly research, think tanks, advocacy groups, state and federal departments of education and, yes, the media. There's so much out there, one Wahoo can't hope to synthesize it all. But I can at least help put it in context.
Which segues into the other purpose of this blog, which is more ideological: To ask the question, "Are our kids truly learning?" By this I mean going past the marquee of test scores and statistics to get at the pedagogy behind the numbers. What does passing proficient on a state assessment mean a child can actually do? How deep and broad is his or her knowledge? Is there critical thinking occurring? Are we giving our kids an equality of opportunity, the tools with which to achieve their fullest potential -- as defined by them?
I make a pledge to the reader, here and now. Whenever reasonable, I will back up what I say with facts and figures and I will provide their sources. I am not looking to hoodwink or mislead or manipulate. I have my beliefs and my biases, but years of writing opinion columns and lead editorials has taught me that convincing someone is immeasurably more rewarding than persuading them. Moreover, I am forever in a process of learning in this dazzling, boundless arena. I welcome and encourage comments, free debate, and healthy criticism. If you want to contact me directly, shoot me an email at edwahoo@gmail.com.
A final disclaimer: My work and words are my own, and in no way represent the institutional opinion of The Cavalier Daily, its managing board, or any other organization I am currently or have been previously affiliated with.
Wahoowa.
In Florida, passing the high school exit exam in reading is equal to getting a 410 verbal on the SAT; 46% of Florida 10th graders failed the exam on their first try.
18 states currently lack unique student identification numbers with which to track individual students as they move through the grades.
Nationally, the high school graduation rate hovers somewhere around 70%, 50% for minorities.
On average, 36% more student pass their state assessments as pass the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
If you are born into a low-income family, you have less than a 10% chance of ending up with a bachelor's degree.
Hi, I'm Elliot H. You may remember me from such blog posts as "How to not build a better high school," highlighted on the excellent blog Eduwonk. I'm a fourth year at the University of Virginia (hence the moniker; for those who don't know, we Cavaliers are nicknamed Wahoos -- it's a fish that can drink its weight in water. I will neither confirm nor deny the stereotype), and I just finished an illuminating ten-week internship with the quality folks over at the Education Trust. At U.Va., I serve as the executive editor of the university newspaper, the Cavalier Daily.
I think it's worthwhile to justify the existence of this blog; after all, I can't blame you for being skeptical about the musings of a 21-year-old college kid who has never set foot inside a classroom as an educator. I've noticed a gulf in the edublogosphere where most journals tend to fall into one of two categories: Compiling the news, or analyzing it. The missing feature is blogs critiquing the news.
Education journalists are understandably hard-pressed to delve deeply into key issues. When you have to produce three articles a week on topics ranging from school board meetings to test scores to school violence, it's not hard to see why. But as a result, the picture of American education that emerges is only a shadow of the truth.
That's one of the purposes of this blog: To draw connections among the tremendously diverse media coverage of education, and to burrow down another level on the important articles. You aren't going to find the data I reeled off above in any one newspaper or report; it's drawn from scholarly research, think tanks, advocacy groups, state and federal departments of education and, yes, the media. There's so much out there, one Wahoo can't hope to synthesize it all. But I can at least help put it in context.
Which segues into the other purpose of this blog, which is more ideological: To ask the question, "Are our kids truly learning?" By this I mean going past the marquee of test scores and statistics to get at the pedagogy behind the numbers. What does passing proficient on a state assessment mean a child can actually do? How deep and broad is his or her knowledge? Is there critical thinking occurring? Are we giving our kids an equality of opportunity, the tools with which to achieve their fullest potential -- as defined by them?
I make a pledge to the reader, here and now. Whenever reasonable, I will back up what I say with facts and figures and I will provide their sources. I am not looking to hoodwink or mislead or manipulate. I have my beliefs and my biases, but years of writing opinion columns and lead editorials has taught me that convincing someone is immeasurably more rewarding than persuading them. Moreover, I am forever in a process of learning in this dazzling, boundless arena. I welcome and encourage comments, free debate, and healthy criticism. If you want to contact me directly, shoot me an email at edwahoo@gmail.com.
A final disclaimer: My work and words are my own, and in no way represent the institutional opinion of The Cavalier Daily, its managing board, or any other organization I am currently or have been previously affiliated with.
Wahoowa.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, August 20, 2005 at 9:10 PM.
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