LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
How has standardized testing affected the performance of local public schools?
QUOTES FROM LAST WEEK
The increase in standardized testing has clearly hurt public education. The test results carry too much weight when it comes to judging achievement levels of both the students and their schools. State Legislatures use low test scores as a reason to promote private schools and charter schools, thereby diverting funds from public schools [and] making the job of public’s even more difficult.
-Keith from Goldsboro, NC
Standardized testing is as ineffective as data collection. There are too many uncontrollable variables for the scores to be meaningful. Scores can vary wildly over something as random as the temperature in the testing room or whether a student had breakfast. The cultural differences, different reading levels, not to mention the random lucky or unlucky guesses impact scores to a degree we can only estimate.
-Marie from Garner, NC
THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
The topic of mental health has been trending recently. We want to hear your thoughts. What do you think is the biggest barrier to seeking mental health care?
OUR PICKS
How Iceland Became the World Cup’s Ultimate Underdog | TIME 6/7/2018
“Iceland’s sports-for-all philosophy has paid off beyond its run to the World Cup. Research has shown that organized-sports participation, which has doubled among adolescents in Iceland since the early 1990s, is linked to improved academic performance and self-esteem, and reductions in childhood smoking and alcohol abuse.”
What Can be Done to Prevent Suicide? | ShareCare
We’ve seen this page shared a lot recently, and we thought we’d share it too.
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NATION’S NOTES
This article from NPR caught my eye because it raised a provocative point: century-old decisions are still impacting our children. To put it simply, buildings are expensive to build and our schools are not exactly flush with extra money for construction, so they tend to stick around. It is a point we hear when we travel to community colleges who tend to greet visitors with dated buildings closest to the road even as they strive to boost their perception within their community. And it is a point we hear in school safety debates, discussions around sea level rise, and even energy costs as we crisscross the state. But this article, and the accompanying book, raise up the possibilities of school design impacting even how students learn.
I’d love to hear your experiences with school design. Are your local schools using the same buildings you used as a kid? Have you seen interesting new construction or design in schools lately? How about in your own workplace? Email me back or text NATION to 73224.
All the best,
Nation
P.S. One of our Reach NC Voices members has a birthday coming up on June 19th! Happy birthday Leslie Lowery!
We want to hear from you.
Got a question? Have feedback for us? Want us to explore an issue in your community? Email and tell us about it.
