Weekend To-Do List

6/23-6/26

and

Jun 23, 2023

1. Resist the Cult of Innovation

READ/LISTEN: Rick Hess took to the pages of Education Week with a plea for educators to prioritize problem-solving over novelty, using the example of a district that transitioned to digital textbooks without the capacity to properly implement the change as a lesson that “innovative” initiatives can end up slowing down educational improvements:

In other words, what matters is what these things do. Whether they’re “innovative” is irrelevant. That’s why innovation is a bad word. It’s a distraction. It pulls us away from asking whether this change is good for students, educators, or learning, and toward whether it sounds cool or is novel.
The allure of “innovation” has created a “fire, ready, aim” problem in education. Fueled by the promise of overhyped innovations and the expectation that every new superintendent will show up with fresh solutions, education cycles through scads of reforms at a rapid pace. This makes it tough to be sure that the proposed fix is a good match for the problem—or even that we know exactly what the problem is.

Read more here. I also interviewed Hess for The Branch’s Regressives podcast this spring, where we discussed the so-called end of education reform and what needs to happen in order to advance our education system. Listen to our conversation here.

2. In Search of Visionary Pragmatics

READ: James A. Peyser did a deep dive into the past three decades within the education reform movement in Education Next and shared his own lessons learned from serving Massachusetts as the secretary of education from 2015-2022. Peyser argues that ed reform’s focus on a righteous vision rather than pragmatic solutions has contributed to an erosion of trust in our education system and deepened partisan rifts, both challenges that only accelerated during the pandemic:

To motivate people and mobilize resources to take on a big challenge, you need to tell a compelling story—about both the problem you’re trying to solve and your vision for the future. In the terminology of the day, you need a “burning platform” and a “theory of change.” For at least two decades, the messaging used by reformers worked to power a genuine national movement for education reform.
The rub is that creating excitement about dramatic change can eventually lead to overpromising and under-delivering—and when the results don’t keep pace with expectations, disappointment and disillusionment ensue. What’s more, the narrative of “transformation,” uplifting to many, can have a demoralizing effect on the people and organizations that are doing their best to get results within the existing “dysfunctional” system.

3. The Nation Fails, Again

READ: Kevin Mahnken at The 74 reported on this week’s report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed plummeting scores in math and reading among 13-year-olds. The average 13-year-old’s grasp of math is the lowest we’ve seen since the 90s, and they scored lower in reading than test-takers did in the 70s.

While many will rightfully point to the pandemic as a key lever for this learning loss, Mahnken’s piece highlights 2012 as an inflection point for slipping test scores. Psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt had one theory as to why:

Read more here. Rikki and I also discussed the latest results on yesterday’s Lost Debate episode. Listen here.

4. About That Learning Loss…

READ: Alec MacGillis wrote in The New Yorker about Richmond, Virginia’s quest to address COVID learning loss by piloting a year-round calendar for elementary students. What MacGillis uncovered was an astounding lack of urgency exacerbated by long-held racial divides and incessant school board strife. After two years of back and forth, 1,000 of Richmond’s 22,000 students will participate in a truncated pilot this July.

So what’s behind the lack of urgency? MacGillis highlighted a lack of comprehension as one possibility:

Dan Goldhaber, the director of the Center for Education Data & Research at the University of Washington, told me that one challenge to building support for added instructional time is that parents and other community members are not always aware of just how steep the drop-off has been, in part because many schools have been grading more leniently in recognition of the pandemic’s challenges. “There’s a real urgency gap,” he said. “It’s asymmetry between what we can see empirically about where kids are and what parents think, based on opinion surveys. There’s the belief that kids are doing O.K., and the desire to snap back to normal. And that’s problematic, because normal seems to have gotten us back to the pre-pandemic pace of test-score growth, but the pre-pandemic pace does not make up for the pandemic, and we need to be on a much higher trajectory.”

5. PLACE asserts its place on NYC’s parent councils

READ: 40% of New York City’s Community Education Council members were endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE), according to reporting from Amy Zimmer and Reema Amin at Chalkbeat. PLACE advocates for, among other issues, preserving the SHSAT for specialized high schools, expanding NYC’s gifted and talented programs, and keeping New York State’s Regents exams as a requirement for graduation. The news comes amid renewed criticism of PLACE:

Some education advocates have grown concerned about PLACE’s influence, pointing to the views of some of their members, including comparing critical race theory, an academic framework about systemic racism, to Nazi ideology, as reported by THE CITY. Several candidates endorsed by the group backed away from that support during the election season.

PLACE’s website says it recognizes that its members “may be passionate advocates on issues outside PLACE’s mission,” and it respects the diversity of thought within the group. Read more from Zimmer and Amin here.

6. To Learn How To Read, One Must Learn How To Teach

READ/LISTEN: Aleksandra Appleton at Chalkbeat wrote about Indiana’s new requirements for teaching reading. The state’s teacher preparation programs will risk their accreditation if curriculums aren’t based in reading science by next year, and new teachers will be required to demonstrate their proficiency in the subject by 2025. Appleton reported that eight of Indiana’s 18 programs currently receive an F in reading science. Some of the failing programs pushed back on the evaluation:

Representatives of Ball State’s Teachers College said the report relied on incomplete course materials obtained through public records requests, a complaint that echoes critiques of previous NCTQ reports. The council countered that it provided an opportunity for colleges to provide additional material in January.

Read more here. Chris also interviewed Sold a Story host Emily Hanford on this week’s episode of the Citizen Stewart Show. Listen here.

7. Brooklyn School Offers New Model for Inclusion

READ: Alex Zimmerman profiled a Brooklyn school that hosts a program for students with significant behavioral, communication, and/or social delays. P.S. 958 is the first elementary school in New York City to host such a program outside of District 75 schools, offering more opportunities for meaningful inclusion, including grouping students of different ability levels for recess, music, and lunch:

“What you really want is [P.S.] 958’s everywhere,” said Jenn Choi, an advocate who helps families navigate the city’s special education system, noting that meaningful inclusion is rare.
“Inclusive doesn’t mean ‘I let you in here.’ Inclusive means ‘I’m going to help you when you’re here,’” she said. “I don’t hear that message very often.”