Tag: Wa State

Feb 10

Are Students Learning?

In our last round of training on our new WA State evaluation system, Teacher/Principal Evaluation Project (TPEP), many of our small group discussions came back to the question of student learning (as it should!). I became fixated on one particular core idea from the CEL 1 Foundational Ideas Applied to Instructional Frameworks that read: “If …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/02/10/are-students-learning/

Jun 30

Molting Roach!

Okay I’m not a big fan of cockroaches. I grew up in Miami, FL and we had those big, flying cockroaches with the antennae that looked like human hair. My mother always screamed when she saw one so early on I picked up that fear. To this day when I see a black blur out …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/06/30/molting-roach/

Jun 15

Another Close

Yesterday, Friday the 14th, was our last day of school. It was a half day of fun for us at the middle school. We did start the day by giving out awards to the top academic kids but those were the only awards (besides honor roll and attendance) that we gave out all year! After …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/06/15/another_close/

Feb 13

Poverty Does Affect Achievement

While I don’t agree that standardized test scores should be used to inform more than what they inform, I do use the test scores to see what trends have been happening with my students. See, I’m not entirely opposed to using standardized test scores, just NOT to determine whether my students should advance or graduate …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/02/13/poverty-does-affect-achievement/

Jan 29

Naturemapping Field Trip

We got an opportunity to go naturemapping so I volunteered our 8th graders since they’re all learning Life Science this year! An amazing AmeriCorps Volunteer, the one who taught my 8th graders last year about Rain Gardens, organized the whole trip for us! We were very fortunate indeed. We took over 70 kids on a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/01/29/naturemapping-field-trip/

Nov 12

Microscope Repair Anyone?

So I’ve been looking at what we can do to replace or repair our broken-down microscopes. We have about 20 Boreal Skopes compound microscopes about nine of which are still working well. Asking around about who can fix them I learned that there are no microscope repair people anywhere in the peninsula (the North Olympic …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/11/12/microscope-repair-anyone/

Oct 15

Letter to the President

Diane Ravitch writes, speaks and blogs about education reform. Not the kind of reform that jeopardizes education but the kind of reform that will make education a priority for all children (click on my education reform tab for more info). Ravitch is coordinating a Campaign for our Public Schools on her blog. She’s urging us …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/10/15/letter-to-the-president/

Jul 15

My Two Cents on Standards

Okay, so this is a rant. There, I’ve said it. I’ve just been so put off by all this common core (next generation in Science) standards stuff (I didn’t write what I was actually thinking), so I thought I’d put my thoughts here on my place to think things through and learn. What I hate …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/07/15/my-two-cents-on-standards/

Apr 29

Time Spent on Test Prep

Online testing can look like this.

Last year our middle school standardized tests went online. The test changed from being called the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) to the MSP (Measure of Student Progress). A huge change from the WASL to the MSP was cutting out the four point extended response questions. They were actually pretty good questions asking our …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/29/time-spent-on-test-prep/

Apr 16

Two Sides to Testing

It’s testing time. That one time each year that should not be a big deal. I mean, really, it’s just a test. Well, that’s the way it should be. It should just be a test. One more, little bit of data added to the data we collect all year to determine how our students are …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/16/two-sides-to-testing/

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