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The Obama administration introduced this week that it was pursuing a rewrite of No Youngster Left Behind,
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Many current and former educators and others commented on the article, including one teacher who called N.C.L.B. a “disaster.”
In a Tuesday Op-Ed, Susan Engel of Williams College noted,
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It’s great that the administration is trying to undertake reforms, but if we want to make sure all children learn,
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Engel argues for developmentally appropriate curriculum, activities and testing, and a move away from models that involve students spending “tedious hours learning isolated mathematical formulas” and other rote desk work.
If you’re a public school teacher, chances are you confront the questions inherent in this reform effort daily. How has N.C.L.B. testing driven or changed your practice? Do you agree or disagree with Susan Engel that the research on development and learning should drive curriculum and pedagogy? What changes would you like to see made to N.C.L.B.-related testing? Join the conversation, below.
And if you’re interested in reading more on the questions of what tests measure and how they affect curriculum, the Room for Debate blog asked eight experts to weigh in earlier this year.
See previous Teacher Qs and responses here.