What Can Teachers Learn From Kermit Washington?

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Bill Zoellick

The other day I picked up a month old (November 10) New Yorker while waiting for an appointment and started reading an article by James Surowiecki titled “Better All the Time.” I learned that in 1976 Kermit Washington, a former college basketball star with great natural athletic ability and size (six feet eight inches), found himself sitting on the bench with the L.A. Lakers. He had the size.  He had the natural ability.  But he didn’t have the skills.  Continue reading →

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Smarter Balanced Cut Points – What’s With That?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Bill Zoellick

The lead article in the December 3 Education Week announces that the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) — the organization that will provide high stakes assessments for English / language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in Maine and 21 other states — has set the “cut points” for proficiency at a level that is likely to ensure that most students will be judged as “not proficient.” Specifically, they expect that only 41% of 11th graders will be judged as proficient in ELA; for mathematics only a third of 11th graders are likely to be proficient.

Huh? Why would they do that?  Continue reading →

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