On A Quiet And Peaceful Day

As I sit here on December 21st, it's amazing how quiet and peaceful this big building can be. We have a few contractors here finishing up a couple of projects, but for the most part there are few distractions with little noise.

The solitude even gives me the chance to listen to some Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller music to kick off the holidays.

I can only hope that each of you have a peaceful and enjoyable Holiday Season. Best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year!

The More I Learn, The More I Learn I Have To Learn

As some of you may know, I serve on the Board of Directors for the state principals' organization. We just completed two days of meetings in Lansing, and my head is swimming with some of the new information I have gleaned. And as I've mentioned in this space before, the level of accountability seems to have increased tenfold over the past 5-10 years.

At a meeting with the Assessment (Testing) Director for the Michigan Department of Education yesterday, we were apprised of new testing that will be here before we know it. While it sounds far off to say it won't take full effect until 2014, I can remember when Y2K sounded a long way off.

Recently, the state department "rolled out" new curriculum standards and benchmarks, primarily in the areas of English, Math and Science. The essence of these changes are that new requirements have been added to the curriculum and the curriculum is being pushed down to the lower grades. In other words, students will have to demonstrate that they know more than before, and they will have to know it earlier.

It won't be long before the MEAP that has been used at the elementary and middle school levels will be replaced by more rigorous tests. The testing style will also be dramatically different. Right now there are strict testing windows, by that I mean that everyone in the state is required to give the same test on the same day. The reason is that these tests are "computer-based", meaning everyone faces an identical set of questions so test security is of utmost importance.

In the future, the testing window will be the final 12 weeks of the school year. The reason for the flexibility is that the tests will be taken online and will be "computer-adaptive", meaning that the test questions will change based upon the ability of the student. The more able the student is, the more difficult the questions will be. The end result is that the tests will likely be shorter but the score will be much more reliable and a better gauge or true academic achievement.

In summary, much is changing. And as I stated earlier I have much to learn to stay on top of all of the changes. This much I know, the job of teachers and educators in general is far more difficult than ever before.