Computers Grading Students’ Essays – Some Push-Back

Several people wrote letters to The New York Times in response to the article about computer grading of students’ essays (summarized in Marshall Memo 480). Here are excerpts from two of the letters:

• “Far from being grateful for ‘a break’ from grading papers, I am dismayed by the prospect of substituting the teacher-student interactions that are the heart of…

Further Thoughts on the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Study

In this interview with Michael Jonas in CommonWealth Magazine, Harvard professor and Measures of Effective Teaching project honcho Thomas Kane discusses MET findings. Four excerpts:

• “In math, a top-quartile teacher on the combined measure [test-score gains, classroom observations, and student survey data] generated 7.6 more months of learning in a typical…

Do you recall that image of the scarecrow pointing in two directions when Dorothy reaches a fork in the road in the movie The Wizard of Oz?  I find myself reminded of that scene when I think about where we are in education today.

On the one hand, we are asked to challenge students to dig deeper in their learning.  On the other hand, we are driven to engage children an inch deep and a mile wide with testing and tasks.  We are told to raise standards, but cut your budgets;…

Sliding Into Homelessness

By Zakkiaya Bowen

NY Times May 8, 2013

Youth CommunicationZakkiaya Bowen

I am 21 years old and a full-time student at LaGuardia Community College, working toward a degree in writing and literature. I am a writer for Represent magazine and I work as a research analyst for an international company.

I sound like I’ve got it all figured it out,…

May 07, 2013

The Plight of Teachers' Unions

In late March, Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, attacked Mayor Rahm Emanuel for undermining the city's schools with a plan to close more than 50 underutilized schools.…