Time on task.  Let’s measure that in our nation’s classrooms, so says this wonderful op-ed piece.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01bausell.html?src=recg.  A great read. Yes, this approach makes sense to me. Let’s measure what takes place in the classroom. More time on task usually leads to more learning.

This seems to be a far more direct way to measure effectiveness, more than the indirect way of measuring student performance on tests designed to measure student performance–not teacher performance–and then extrapolating from those student test results.  A test should be used only for what it’s designed.  This convoluted approach does not seem valid.

Thus this op-ed piece is hopeful:  Let’s measure what goes on in the classroom.  That is direct. Not extrapolated. It seems like a winning approach to me.

About Miriam

Miriam Kurtzig Freedman, JD, MA—an expert in public education, focused on special education law— is a lawyer, author, speaker, consultant, and reformer. For more than 35 years, Miriam worked with educators, parents, policy makers, and citizens to translate complex legalese into plain English and focus on good practices for children. Now, she focuses her passion on reforming special education, with her new book, Special Education 2.0—Breaking Taboos to Build a NEW Education Law. Presentations include those at the AASA Conference, Orange County (CA), Boston College (MA), CADRE (OR), and the Fordham Institute (DC). Her writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, Education Next, Hoover Digest, The University of Chicago Law Review on line, DianeRavitch.net, and The Atlantic Monthly on line.

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