Contact: Dan Dempsey at dempsey_dan@yahoo.com .......
The Math Underground is part of a national coalition, originated by NYC HOLD. .. a coalition of groups of citizens NOT vested in continually reinventing the wheel in order to justify our own existence, jobs or expertise. ........ Check the Blog list for Seattle Math Group.
For a good chuckle - PDK stands for Phi Delta Kappan. PRISM is the MSP running Beaverton's adoption.
And who's pulling strings in Oregon's public schools these days - The Dana Center and Achieve Inc. (Educratic hacks and Cretans!) Washington has heard from them in months.
Phi Delta Kappan has always been a big supporter of reform math -Parrot Math, etc. Even Marc Tucker, self-proclaimed constructivist (would he care to elaborate) I wonder why?
This is an article from PDK that is critical of social research, especially in education.
What are the politics of standards and how does that influence research?
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/ktan9801.htm
Many researchers choose the instrument and set the conditions in an effort to prove their premises, or they set the stage for measuring the easily measured.
Here's one poignant example, since we read alot about illiteracy in the US
Adult Literacy in America claimed that it was based on a nationally representative sample of 13,000 adults (16 years of age or older) who submitted to a written test, coupled with interviews and tests conducted in 27,000 households in the U.S. In making a few simple calculations of my own, I find that the proportion of immigrants in the national sample far exceeded the proportional representation of immigrants in the national population. What's more, most of these immigrants had never attended U.S. schools. Also grossly overrepresented were disadvantaged minorities whose years of schooling, test scores, and economic conditions are below those of the national population. Furthermore, almost one in 10 males in the study were inmates of federal and state penitentiaries -- hardly in a position "to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge potential." The proportion of males incarcerated in federal and state prisons is actually less than 0.8%. Penitentiary inmates were overrepresented in this "scientific" sampling by almost 1,200%. The proportion of female inmates was also grossly overrepresented in the sample.
As expected, the test scores were positively and strongly correlated with years of schooling in the U.S. Of the 25% of residents in the 27,000 households who tested at the lowest level, almost one in five suffered from visual difficulties that impaired their reading of ordinary print materials under ordinary lighting conditions, let alone under the conditions of taking a timed test under the supervision of a stranger -- the stranger being an ETS examiner in their home. In other words, they met the legal definition for being blind. More than one in four had physical, mental, or health difficulties that prevented them from participating in regular work, school attendance, housework, or other activities.
For a good chuckle - PDK stands for Phi Delta Kappan. PRISM is the MSP running Beaverton's adoption.
ReplyDeleteAnd who's pulling strings in Oregon's public schools these days - The Dana Center and Achieve Inc. (Educratic hacks and Cretans!) Washington has heard from them in months.
Phi Delta Kappan has always been a big supporter of reform math -Parrot Math, etc. Even Marc Tucker, self-proclaimed constructivist (would he care to elaborate) I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteThis is an article from PDK that is critical of social research, especially in education.
What are the politics of standards and how does that influence research?
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/ktan9801.htm
Many researchers choose the instrument and set the conditions in an effort to prove their premises, or they set the stage for measuring the easily measured.
Here's one poignant example, since we read alot about illiteracy in the US
Adult Literacy in America claimed that it was based on a nationally representative sample of 13,000 adults (16 years of age or older) who submitted to a written test, coupled with interviews and tests conducted in 27,000 households in the U.S. In making a few simple calculations of my own, I find that the proportion of immigrants in the national sample far exceeded the proportional representation of immigrants in the national population. What's more, most of these immigrants had never attended U.S. schools. Also grossly overrepresented were disadvantaged minorities whose years of schooling, test scores, and economic conditions are below those of the national population. Furthermore, almost one in 10 males in the study were inmates of federal and state penitentiaries -- hardly in a position "to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge potential." The proportion of males incarcerated in federal and state prisons is actually less than 0.8%. Penitentiary inmates were overrepresented in this "scientific" sampling by almost 1,200%. The proportion of female inmates was also grossly overrepresented in the sample.
As expected, the test scores were positively and strongly correlated with years of schooling in the U.S. Of the 25% of residents in the 27,000 households who tested at the lowest level, almost one in five suffered from visual difficulties that impaired their reading of ordinary print materials under ordinary lighting conditions, let alone under the conditions of taking a timed test under the supervision of a stranger -- the stranger being an ETS examiner in their home. In other words, they met the legal definition for being blind. More than one in four had physical, mental, or health difficulties that prevented them from participating in regular work, school attendance, housework, or other activities.
This sounds so familiar.