High Test Scores, but China Education Flawed

Obviously, all articles should be taken with a grain of salt and we should understand that each student, regardless of country of origin, is capable of breaking away from the norm. However, it is interesting to read an article that talks about the drawbacks of being one of the best testing nations.

High Test Scores, but China Education Flawed

There are many videos cycling through this that are interesting to watch. Most poignant is watching 3rd graders learn how to massage pressure points to relieve stress!

Ten Myths About American Education

Ten Myths about American Education

I have linked you to a page from the Center on International Benchmarking. These are ten commonly held beliefs of the American school system where there is clearly articulated information surrounding these myths. It is a quick and worthwhile read that you can use to educate parents, the public, and even other educational professionals!

Update to the Narrative

I have updated "The Narrative: The Controversy and the Conversation" page which will now hold the majority of my introduction which includes my questions as well as my issue in more detail.

Please feel free to provide feedback, I welcome constructive criticism!

A Quick Guide to International Student Assessments

The following summary is quoted from a very informative article titled "The International PISA Test" by Mark Schneider. These tests are very often confused and the results are interchanged and misinterpreted in the media. This results in misconceptions of various countries' educational systems and of student achievement.

The three main programs are known widely by their acronyms:

• PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is an assessment of 4th-grade reading administered every five years under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Fifty-five countries are expected to participate in 2011. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pirls/

• TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is IEA’s assessment of student achievement in 4th- and 8th-grade science and math and is conducted every four years. Some 67 countries administer TIMSS. http://nces.ed.gov/timss/

• PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an evaluation of reading, math, and science “literacy” among 15-year-olds. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducts PISA every three years, emphasizing one of the subjects on a revolving basis. The emphasis in 2006 was science; in 2009 it will be reading. Participation in PISA has grown from 43 countries in 2000 to an expected 65 countries in 2009. http://nces.ed.gov/Surveys/PISA/

The results of the three assessments are often compared to those of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which in the United States currently dwarfs the international assessments in scope. In 2007, the NAEP 8th-grade math exams involved more than 150,000 students in approximately 7,000 schools. The 8th-grade 2007 TIMSS assessed some 7,400 U.S. students in fewer than 250 schools. PISA in 2006 involved only 5,600 15-year-olds in around 170 schools.

Curriculum Resources

I have once again updated my Curriculum Resources. I have written a brief introduction that explains my current selection of resources:

"One of the most important aspects of curriculum that we as educators need to acknowledge is the fact that the world is much more interconnected than in previous generations. We need to teach our students to become independent learners and to use all resources they have available to create connections with peers in other countries. Teachers must take the time to educate themselves on global issues and bring that knowledge to the classroom."

I have found some truly amazing sources that I cannot wait to use and I know there is something there for everyone!

World Affairs Council in Seattle, WA

I am posting a link to the World Affairs Council in Seattle, WA, specifically to their teacher resources page.

Each link on this page will take you to a page describing what will be a multi-page pdf filled with resources for a specific topic such as: "Special Focus on Libya: Understanding the Arab Spring from the Inside", a Club Activities link, and "Online Exchanges and Global Collaborations for Every Classroom."

There are many very traditionally touchy topics listed here but information is presented in manageable chunks that allows the teacher to gain a solid knowledge base in order to lead students through these difficult topics that may or may not be discussed otherwise.

I have also used this information to update my Curriculum Resources page. I hope you are able to use some of the information here!

International Education Week

I have updated the "Curriculum Resources" area, here is a taste of what I have written about International Education Week:

International Education Week is a "joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education" and "is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States."

"The United States has always been a global leader in higher education, but to remain the leader in this ever-changing world we have to push ourselves not just to think globally, but to get out there and study globally as well." - H. Clinton