As it is almost a routine, the New York State department of education changed regulations on how it evaluates schools and teachers. For the next 4 years, the results of state standardized assessments administered in grades 3 through 8 will not count toward HEDI, the supposed “measurement of teacher effectiveness.”
Continue reading →At the school board meeting in May, the Malverne school district Common Core department summarized the initiatives management and educators conducted during the school year 2015-2016. Ms. Rachel Gross, the cheerperson for Common Core K-6, compiled the initiatives in a 9-slide presentation. “She brought things down to them [students]. It is now wonderful and the elementary schools have just flourished for it,” introduced the presenter and the initiatives Mrs. Ricca, the assistant superintendent for … Continue reading →
The series of three sessions dedicated to Malverne SD budget came to the end on March 18. The first session was dedicated to “instructional” expenses (codes 2010-2855), followed by a session on “operational” expenses (codes 1620-1981 and 5000s), and the last session paid attention to “administrative” expenses (codes 1010-1480 and 9000s). In addition to the public sessions, Mr. Caputo, district business administrator, kindly met with me for two extra sessions. It allowed me to … Continue reading →
The state Board of Regents, under pressure from teachers unions, parents, and a state legislature that’s threatening to override part of their authority, agreed to delay until 2022 the full implementation of tests aligned with the new Common Core learning standards, and to change the evaluation systems so it would be almost impossible to fire a teacher whose students turned in poor test scores on standardized tests. Beside the summary Regents released on Monday, … Continue reading →
The parent academy or workshops, as they are also called, take place in the New York State and across the Race to The Top country. They are prescribed to each school district. Districts download the workshop modules located at engageny.org, NYSED website. The parent academies promote the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) which are part of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Continue reading →Currently, the education system is going through drastic changes. In 2010, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) agreed to proceed (and accept funds) with a federal plan entitled Common Core State Standards Initiative. Yet the implementation of the plan hasn’t been smooth. The interpretation of requirements (mandate) differs from one district to another. The administrators and members of school boards, who rely only on official memos issued by the education department are far … Continue reading →
inBloom Testimony Hearing The NYS legislators, education committee, held a hearing on November 20, 2013. The topic was inBloom, data mining, disclosing personally identifiable information (PII) to third parties, and the security of collected data. The testimony hearing took place in Albany. It was lengthy (5:45 h.) and exhaustive, but well moderated and informative. (Video recording embedded below). It is a must listen to, eventually watch, for any board of education member and curriculum … Continue reading →
The Common Core has been on the agenda of schools and parents across the country for quite some time. And it’s still picking up more interest each day, as new facts are being revealed. Parents of several school districts (E. Rockaway, Lynbrook, Malverne, Valley Stream) teamed up and are very excited to be able to invite all residents to an informative meeting about the Common Core Initiative. The meeting takes place at HERJC in … Continue reading →
This post was updated on 6/25 by the following information: Secretary Arne Duncan announced that he will allow states to request additional time before using the outcome of new assessments based on the new Common Core State Standards. Although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were in development for a long time, the NYS adopted them in 2010 and has been implementing them ever since. State assessment testing — also called high-stakes testing — … Continue reading →
The Field Tests In April, high stakes testing took place and selected classrooms will undergo yet another round of testing— field tests —at the beginning of June. These experimental tests have no implications for the students and schools, but are designed to try out new test questions, Tom Dunn, communications director of the Education Department, told HuffPost. The resources at the end of this post list articles describing the nature of the field testing … Continue reading →
