Public Policy and Technical Reports Release – Today

PUBLIC RELEASE OF THE REPORTS OF THE GORDON COMMISSION @ George Washington University

Date: March 11, 2013
Venue: George Washington University

SESSION I: Hosted by ETS
Release of the Technical and Public Policy Reports
Opening Remarks: Kurt M. Landgraf, Educational Testing Service (ETS)

Presenters: Edmund W. Gordon, Teachers College, Columbia University and Yale University
James W. Pellegrino, University of Illinois at Chicago

Moderator: Roberto Rodríguez, White House Domestic Policy Council

Discussants: Eva L. Baker, University of California, Los Angeles
Robert J. Mislevy, ETS
Elena Silva, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Closing Remarks: Gov. Robert Wise, Alliance for Excellent Education
SESSION 2: Hosted by the National Academy of Education and George Washington University

Symposium: Critique and Discussion with Critical Friends
Moderator: Susan H. Fuhrman, Teachers College, Columbia University

Discussants: Robert M. Hauser, National Research Council and National Academies of Science

Robert L. Linn, University of Colorado at Boulder

Closing Remarks: Michael J. Feuer, George Washington University

The Learning Virtues, Op-ed by David Brooks

Comments from Professor Gordon:

I usually disagree with Brooks’ perspective on things since he has a much more conservative view of the world than I do. I find myself monitoring his writing because he is so very bright. He thinks about important aspects of problems. In this opinion piece, which appeared in the New York Times in February 2013, he is writing about the problem that Jim Greeno and I struggle with in our efforts at combining intellective character and intellective competence. Clearly there are strong elements of cognition involved, however in understanding the quality of one’s performance, factors concerning human agency and disposition must also be considered. Jim and I are trying to establish the relationships between character and competence in human intellective performance, since we feel that the product is the result of the interaction of the two. In reference to assessment in education, the problem concerns capturing both, and even more important is to capture and understand the interactions between the two in the contexts of their expression in human adaptation and problem solving.

What Our Brains Can Teach Us

We have the world’s best model for futuristic technology inside our heads.

David Eagleman’s article, published in The Opinion Pages of The NYTimes.

Race, Poverty and SAT Scores

A study on the factors that influence standardized test scores, published in The Teachers College Record: Race, Poverty and SAT Scores: Modeling the Influences of Family Income on Black and White High School Students’ SAT Performance by Ezekiel J. Dixon-Roman, Howard T. Everson and John J. McArdle.  

Discussion on Education Policies in BBA e-newsletter, January 14, 2013

A message to Supporters of a Broader, Bolder Approach to Education – http://eepurl.com/t0WW9

The Struggle for Resources in Poor Schools

“Poor Schools Struggling to Meet State Standards, Years After Critical Ruling,” by Vivian Yee, published on NYTimes.com

Access to Educational Toys

“The Great Divide, Now in the Toy Aisle,”  by Ginia Bellafante, published on NYTimes.com

Augmenting the Non-impaired

“How Science Can Build a Better You,” by David Ewing Duncan. Published November 3, 2012 in The New York Times Sunday Review.

Who does this benefit?

Manny Fernandez’ article from the NYTimes, “El Paso Schools Confront Scandal of Students Who ‘Disappeared’ at Test Time.“

The Anti-Testing Movement

Soni Sangha’s article, “Dear Teacher, Johnny Is Skipping the Test,” from The NYTimes.