Massachusetts 4th and 8th grade students placed first in the nation in math and reading, but that doesn’t change the fact that our scores have been sliding for years.
NAEP
Posted inEducation
Mass. schools must recommit to knowledge-based curriculum
LONG BEFORE OTHER states, Massachusetts understood that a democratic republic can’t endure without a good public education system. Its constitution, written by John Adams in 1780, requires that it “cherish” education. The Bay State’s native son Horace Mann pioneered the common school movement, and it was also the first state to have compulsory education for all […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Common Core’s slashing of fiction drains life out of schools
“LIVE, THEN, AND be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget,” reads The Count of Monte Cristo by French novelist Alexandre Dumas, “that… all human wisdom is contained in these two words, – ‘Wait and hope.’” Today marks the birthday of Monsieur Dumas, the genius of 19th-century romantic historical fiction, whose other masterworks […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Massachusetts gets demographic boost, but still scores at top
Amidst all the debate about which annual standardized test to use in Massachusetts — and whether we are testing too much or attaching too many consequences to its outcomes — new results are out from the one test that allows for direct comparisons among all states. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is […]