tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574469779496191524.post3639776562480462149..comments2023-11-11T22:23:28.499-07:00Comments on KARE Givers: Competition doesn't have to be a four letter word...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898902767993372053noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574469779496191524.post-31506355761621788332011-10-08T06:49:43.595-06:002011-10-08T06:49:43.595-06:00"In as SBL environment, every student is judg..."In as SBL environment, every student is judged against a set of learning standards that are consistent and measurable." Ideally, you are right. This is how NCLB was "sold" to get all children at grade level by 2014. Standards are much more easily manipulated than children. Standards-based reporting and measurement have also taken this power out of the hands of teachers/students and placed it into the hands of powerful corporations. While I used to be an advocate of standards, I now see them in a very different light. <br /><br />http://whathappenedtomygradebook.blogspot.com/2011/10/audacity-of-learning-in-edreform-fixing.htmlDella Remack, Ed.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17694101487587635173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574469779496191524.post-82133705997576776502011-01-15T19:43:26.357-07:002011-01-15T19:43:26.357-07:00Joan, Remi... thanks for commenting. I find that w...Joan, Remi... thanks for commenting. I find that we confuse "competition" with Bell Curve analysis of test scores in education. As a result we've vilified the concept of competition by associating it with something obviously bad to most of us (high stakes testing with norm-referenced assessments.)<br /><br />Competition can be a very healthy element of growth and learning; it's all about the context within which we define it.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />SeanSeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17898902767993372053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574469779496191524.post-26734967186543831162011-01-15T19:21:13.373-07:002011-01-15T19:21:13.373-07:00I completely agree with SBL. It gives every stude...I completely agree with SBL. It gives every student a learning goal and a direction for their learning. It gives parents a greater sense of how they can help their child and allows them to be a more active part of their child's education.<br /><br />Letter grades, as they are currently used, are a distraction to learning. The changing of letter grades to ensure that there are enough or because there are not enough, makes the assessment seriously flawed. <br /><br />SBL also informs the educator about the needs of the individual and the class as a whole. If you are bell curving, it either says something about the assessment or the learning that has occured.Remihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627852226185370848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574469779496191524.post-47365182980382712002011-01-15T17:07:28.721-07:002011-01-15T17:07:28.721-07:00I agree with you on many levels. Often it's no...I agree with you on many levels. Often it's not just what we do but how we help students gain meaning from what we do and what they in turn do. <br />For example, if we want kids to believe that they have unique strengths, then we must help them find that evidence so that they can believe it for themselves. I have been in environments where test scores were posted on cafeteria walls; certainly not the best "growth mindset" place for kids to be. They were labeled by peers and adults by scores on their last "benchmark" tests in language arts and math. I wrote about this practice here: http://speakingupforthekids.blogspot.com/2010/01/when-goals-and-practices-collide-part.html<br />Anyway, thanks for sharing your viewpoint. My head is spinning on this topic so forgive the ramble.Joan Young (aka Mancini)https://www.blogger.com/profile/06862764260067132727noreply@blogger.com