State leaders see low education assessment scores as a starting point for the state to close the achievement gap.
tests
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New OKCPS superintendent Aurora Lora sits down with Oklahoma Gazette for a Q&A
Oklahoma City Public Schools hired Aurora Lora as superintendent in July.
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We’re no. 10!
Oklahoma is No. 10, rounding out the top offender list with a high school graduation rate of 73.9 percent, shows a study from 247WallSt.com. Per-student expenditure is the eighth lowest in the nation at $9,075. Our overall score was a 64.2, a D. The silver lining here is that somehow, we also scored an A […]
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LETTERS
I have always been “pro-teacher” and have been firmly on the side of funding education above special interests. However, this week, I did not understand the rage you must feel at the lack of control you have over educating your own students. I am sorry that we gauge a child’s value and your worth based […]
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Common controversy
If things go as planned, Common Core could reorganize curriculum, change old-school teaching styles, add more weight to literacy and redefine standardized testing. In one year, it’s supposed to be fully implemented in all Oklahoma schools, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) just started looking for new tests. It has been a loaded […]
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Taking tests to task
Just like workplace drug testing, if it really affects work performance, do you really need a drug test? Won’t you see its effect? Those who do cocaine, meth, etc. and time it right, you’ll never catch those people — do it Friday and Saturday, and it’s out of your system by Monday. And a $20 […]
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Avoiding a fiasco in education
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 […]
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Exhaustive exams
In the wake of glitches with online standardized testing, some school districts and state lawmakers question the validity of the exams. BY PHIL BACHARACH Nothing gets people testy like test-taking, especially when accessing the test becomes a sort of test in itself. That was the case for 9,100 Oklahoma students in sixth through 12th grade […]
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Common sense about Common Core
Now they must also implement policies that may or may not make sense, such as creating high school academies, retaining third-graders who don’t pass reading tests, remediating seniors who have not passed four graduation examinations and avoiding state takeover of schools that fail according to the state’s report card. Even more time and money must […]