SHU17

The preschool program is counted as a bright spot in the troubled district, and an example of the working partnership between Kelvin R. Adams, 57, the district's superintendent since 2008, and Mary J. Armstrong, the president since 2003 of the St. Louis Teachers Union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. Born and raised in St. Louis, Ms. Armstrong, 60, has spent her entire career in the district. In February, Mr. Adams' contract was renewed for an additional two years, until 2016.

The Common Core State Standards and accompanying K-12 assessments have recently sparked a fierce national backlash against testing. Sound educational testing and assessment are integral to good teaching and learning in classrooms and necessary for evaluating school performance and assuring quality in education. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, I propose a more considered, "mend, not end" approach to testing, assessment, and accountability in America's schools, with validity at the forefront of the conversation.

Mending begins with understanding that most commercial standardized tests are designed to serve particular purposes well, for particular populations, and can support only particular decisions at best. To uphold validity principles in practice, it is worthwhile to ask: Are we using the test for the originally intended purpose, or for another purpose that taxes the tool beyond its technical limits? Multi-purposing a test indiscriminately is not a good idea from a validity standpoint, despite its efficiency.

On the educational value of coding, the piece quotes Adam Enbar, founder of New York's Flatiron School, which offers a number of pricey computer-programming courses, including a two-week session for high school students:   "I equate coding to reading and writing and basic literacy. Not everyone needs to be Shakespeare, just as not everyone needs to be an amazing developer," he says. "But ... we're entering a world where every job, if not already, will be technical."

You may be skeptical of edcamps, but you shouldn't be. They are much more engaging, and widely held than you may think. According to Kristen Swanson, Senior Educational Research Leader at BrightBytes, and co-founder of the Edcamp Movement, "Edcamps are more than just an idea or theory; they're an international movement. The model has been replicated in 41 states and dozens of countries worldwide. Over 25,000 educators have participated in a regional Edcamp event, and many more have participated in an Edcamp-style event at their school."   Considering how grassroots edcamps are, it's going to be interesting to what happens, when the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) holds their edcamp in June.

Project-based learning is the norm among these students, but they also have a lot of ideas about what makes a good project work.