** “I think that ‘good teaching’ probably has many different dimensions. The coverage of standards-aligned content. The ability to improve other non-cognitive outcomes … These things may or may not be highly correlated. So I think that what VAMS [value-added measures] are measuring is one narrow slice of what it means to be an effective teacher.” ~ Morgan Polikoff, University of Southern California
** “Full confession: A month ago, I went online to do the practice questions for both major common-core assessment consortia–Smarter Balance and PARCC (the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers)–for her [daughter’s] grade. Many of the questions were difficult but wonderful. Others were in need of a good editor. A few, however, were flat-out wrong … Hey, everyone makes mistakes, even a multi-million-dollar testing juggernaut. But what disturbed me was that these were questions that the test companies had chosen to share with the public. It they are making mistakes like this in public, what are they doing in the privacy of my daughter’s test?” ~ Carol Lloyd, executive editor, Great Schools
** “The larger conversations about how we should redesign learning processes in light of modern technology and circumstances, and how families and communities can become an equal partner in this process, aren’t as interesting as iPads, unfortunately. When we do become as interested in learning and citizenship as we do in technology, the technology will become more effective.” ~ John Bensom
** “Teacher tenure in the U.S. is a ‘broken status quo’ in need of overhaul to balance the needs of disadvantaged students with the rights of educators.” ~ Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education