» Dora Taylor

New book includes chapter by PAA’s Dora Taylor

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

Our Seattle PAA founding member, Dora Taylor, has a chapter in new book, “Left Behind in the Race to the Top: Realities of School Reform,” edited by Julie Gorlewski, State University of New York-New Paltz and Brad Porfilio, Lewis University. Dora’s chapter is called “High Stakes Testing: A Parent’s Perspective.” From the publicity flyer: Public education is suffering attacks that are well funded and extraordinarily complex and multifaceted. These conditions make it difficult for educators and citizens to gather the … →

The Weekly Update: Charter schools: Public or private? Brian Jones in Portland, teachers rally in Illinois and a petition to Obama: Stop privatizing our schools!

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Dora Taylor

The Weekly Update: For the news and views you might have missed First up, more Facebook pages are popping up on the subject of education: Our Village Our Schools Public Education Crusaders Long Island Chapter Save Our Schools March 350 This one is related to the climate crisis and I post it on this blog because it does affect our children. Next up, a petition to be sent to President Obama. Maybe one of these days he’ll start to listen … →

Over $1B and counting for TFA, Inc., de facto discrimination in charter schools, the failed Microsoft model hoisted onto our educational system and Maryland superintendent says “Stop the insanity”

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Dora Taylor

The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed. “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.” Frederick Douglass I keep wondering when folks in this country are going to say enough is enough. Until then the Wendy Kopp’s, Michelle Rhee’s, the Waltons and the Gates will continue to plow on and plow  us under. Today, we’ll begin … →

Introducing the Edu$hyters of the week and they all hail from the great state of Michigan

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Dora Taylor

The Edu$hyster ring in Michigan Utica Community Schools, as the second largest district in Michigan, has always been a leader in education.  Students have always had a high rate of success.  In comparison to districts across the nation, Utica has always been financially healthy.  Utica has been a wealth of potential for multiple facets of education, art and culture and many of those programs have been decimated to cater to the special interest of profiteers and politicians.   Carol Klenow, … →

Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more.

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Dora Taylor

  The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed Helen Barkin writes a thorough review of what happened state by state on November 6, 2012 in this article. What Happened to Public Education on Election Night? An excerpt: Barack Obama’s K-12 “reform” policies have brought misery to public schools across the country: more standardized testing, faulty evaluations for teachers based on student test scores, more public schools shut down rather than improved, more privately managed and … →

Part 4: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out : The Consequences

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Dora Taylor

The Consequences As long as policy and funding are determined by test results, we will be dealing with the consequences. There is the narrowing of focus to math and reading and less focus on history, social studies, the arts, foreign languages, writing, physical education, or developing research and critical thinking skills. The emphasis on test scores precludes looking more carefully at the cause of low test scores which include poverty, health and family issues as well as the effect of … →

Part 3: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out: The Variables

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Dora Taylor

The Variables High stakes testing has ramifications including ending careers and affecting communities by closing schools. Hence, we need to look carefully at the variables that might affect a student’s performance on a test. Teachers and principals do not work in a vacuum. They have students with lives outside school. Students live in a real world. The real world affects how they behave and their ability to focus in class. These factors include: English being a second language The physical … →

The Weekly Update: Milken is ready to milk us in WA State, Louisiana wants to test the toddlers, some awesome school teachers and much, much more

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Dora Taylor

The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed. Bill Gates and the Waltons have had their way with Washington State. With ads running continuously on TV channels for the last three weeks up to November 6th, Bill Gates and the Waltons finally got their way with us….unless there is a legal challenge regarding the state’s constitutional demand for oversight by OSPI. Stay tuned. The passage of I 1240 due to the financial backing of Stand for … →

Part 2: High Stakes Testing: The Types of Tests

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Dora Taylor

High Stakes Testing and Opting Out: The Types of Tests  – Dora Taylor There are different types of tests that students typically take in a school year. One test the teacher creates and bases it on the information that has been provided in the classroom within a particular span of time. It provides information to the teacher, the parent and the student describing how much of a grasp the student has on the material. Another test is a standardized test. … →

Part 1 : High Stakes Testing and Opting Out: A Short History

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Dora Taylor

  High Stakes Testing: A Short History “…I discovered then, in my early teaching career, that learning is best driven by ideas, challenges, experiences, and activities that engage students. My experience over the past 45 years has confirmed this. We have come far from that time in the ’60s. Now the mantra is high expectations and high standards. Yet, with all that zeal to produce measurable learning outcomes we have lost sight of the essential motivations to learn that moved … →