High-stakes testing forced schools to narrow the curriculum, focus on remediation and test prep, and commit to basic skills instruction that verges on educational malpractice. Worse, states must start using primitive bubble-in tests for teacher evaluations. Teachers are also supposed to turn on a dime and teach the opposite types of tests, known as Common […]
testing
Posted inNews
Exhausted exams
Repeated server outages from online testing vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill resulted in disruptions of exams administered April 29-30. High school students had been taking high-stakes, taking end-of-instruction (EOI) exams required to earn a high school diploma. Tests taken by the middle schoolers are factored into the state Department of Education’s A-F grading of schools. In the wake […]
Posted inNews
Faulty testing
Sen. Fred Jordan points to external conditions and states that “[many people] … are not test takers…” Norman schools Superintendent Joe Siano points to the new Common Core standards about to be implemented, implying that they might result in lower passing rates. However, these same tests will be used as over one-third of the evaluation […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In the Red
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Red Tie Night, hosted by the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund (OACF) and founded by Jackie and Barbara Cooper in 1991. Today, Red Tie Night is Oklahoma’s biggest single-evening fundraiser. At this year’s event, Gov. Mary Fallin will present the Coopers and other founding members with a commendation honoring […]