21st Century Resources: Khan Academy

When we think about the options available to a 21st century school, the Khan Academy has to be considered. It may continue to grow or it may be replaced with something better in a few years; we don't know. We do know, as I've noted before, that it offers a model of education which has considerable research support; a model of education where we begin with supplemental and review  material and student-tracking tools for ordinary classes, but in which there is ultimately no requirement for any such thing as "class size", no requirement for any such thing as a "grade level". Many schools are making decisions such as "we can't offer class X, there aren't enough students who want it" (on the grounds suggested by the Javascript widget at the bottom of this page), and that kind of decision can become obsolete. One way or another (with Khan's vision or somebody else's improvement) it will become obsolete for those schools which want it to.

It isn't obsolete yet, but things are changing fast; on August 30th, the Academy announced that "We just launched the biggest change in the history of the Khan Academy. It’s a new learning experience that will figure out where you have gaps and help you fill them. Check it out:..." What they mean is that the software now tracks not only the specific lessons you've mastered but the relationships between lessons, so that it can say what lessons you definitely don't need (because you have the skills) and what lessons you're just ready for. A limited kind of academic counselling, but a useful one...and you don't have to get an appointment with a counsellor.

Every week or so I get emails mentioning new lessons, from Finding factors and multiples on to Late Classical: Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper), c. 330 B.C.E. (Roman copy) | Ancient Greece , on to Overview of Chinese History 1911 - 1949 and on to Fun with a Spider Bot. People thinking about educational options and costs and decisions, though, may prefer to look at teacher's perspective videos. Here are three:

First, from a fairly abstract perspective, about the tools that they make available: How I use Khan Academy data - An educator's perspective .

Teachers' views of kids, reported at Student ownership of learning in my classroom.

More concretely, here's a case study of a math classroom: Shelby Harris' classroom (Idaho, 2013) | Khan Academy in K-12 classrooms

Generalities are available at many places, e.g. Five Lessons from Salman Khan on the Future of Education | Psychology Today:

Salman Khan needs no introduction.  He was recently on the cover of FORBES and was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people.  And he just published a book—The One World Schoolhouse—which is already a bestseller.
I recently interviewed Sal to get his thoughts on the future of education.....

Still, if you have 12 minutes handy, you might prefer to watch  Sal Khan on Digital and Physical Learning | Our vision , explaining the current "supplemental" use of Academy videos, and the transitional "flipped classroom" model, and the on-beyond-classrooms self-paced instruction he expects beyond that. And if you have 16 minutes in addition, you might try his Year 2060: Education Predictions | Our vision where he begins with "In ten years, this [traditional lecture-based] classroom model is going to completely go away..." (update: and 11 minutes in, says "I think the role of the teacher is going to go up dramatically.")

  I'm not sure I believe that; it might be that replacement will be blocked by institutional resistance, which is always a strong factor. But it certainly can happen, and there's a good deal of evidence (anecdotal and data) suggesting that the replacement will be a good thing.

Stockbridge Valley (non)Merger Data

Ken Bausch points out a process conclusion I should have noted as it happened; the merger study for our neighbors that was completed in March Madison, Stockbridge Valley talking possible merger but voted down in May, with Stockbridge Valley and Madison school districts won't merge after SVCS votes against public straw vote

The Madison-Stockbridge Valley merger has come to an end without a straw vote after the Stockbridge Valley Board of Education voted against it 4-to-3.

Their data sets as prepared by SES, our own very competent consultants, are at Madison-stockbridge Valley Study Data Sets 2013. They might be useful in our discussions.

(Or then again, of course, maybe not.)

NYS Education Department Assessments, Grades 3-8

I just saw the Assessments for grades 3-8 for HCS and MECS, so I'll put them down with links:

MECS 3-8

at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2013/2013ELAandMathemaitcsDistrictandBuildingAggregatesMedia.pdf#497

Group	#Tested	%Level 1	%Level 2	%Level 3	%Level 4	Mean Scale
Grade 3 ELA	50	52	40	8	0	276
Grade 3 Math	51	56.9	25.5	15.7	2	274
Grade 4 ELA	60	36.7	45	16.7	1.7	290
Grade 4 Math	60	40	40	16.7	3.3	287
Grade 5 ELA	51	45.1	33.3	13.7	7.8	290
Grade 5 Math	51	54.9	27.5	17.6	0	287
Grade 6 ELA	54	29.6	48.1	11.1	11.1	296
Grade 6 Math	56	51.8	33.9	8.9	5.4	277
Grade 7 ELA	54	29.6	46.3	16.7	7.4	299
Grade 7 Math	54	44.4	38.9	16.7	0	289
Grade 8 ELA	53	34	30.2	28.3	7.5	298
Grade 8 Math	52	32.7	46.2	21.2	0	296

 The median scores would be 1,1,2,2,2,1,2,1,2,2,2,2.

HCS 3-8

at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2013/2013ELAandMathemaitcsDistrictandBuildingAggregatesMedia.pdf#499

Group	#Tested	%Level 1	%Level 2	%Level 3	%Level 4	Mean Scale
Grade 3 ELA	51	27.5	39.2	27.5	5.9	309
Grade 3 Math	51	25.5	29.4	35.3	9.8	308
Grade 4 ELA	46	23.9	41.3	28.3	6.5	302
Grade 4 Math	46	32.6	41.3	17.4	8.7	293
Grade 5 ELA	37	35.1	40.5	13.5	10.8	300
Grade 5 Math	37	29.7	37.8	21.6	10.8	303
Grade 6 ELA	40	15	47.5	12.5	25	311
Grade 6 Math	40	25	27.5	15	32.5	315
Grade 7 ELA	31	9.7	19.4	35.5	35.5	329
Grade 7 Math	31	16.1	29	38.7	16.1	320
Grade 8 ELA	41	26.8	26.8	24.4	22	311
Grade 8 Math	41	29.3	41.5	24.4	4.9	297

 The median scores would be 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,3,3,2,2.
(update: In other words, the median performance levels for MECS student groups are split between "does not meet" the standards and "partially meets". The median performance levels for HCS are split between "partially meets" and "meets".)

Update by Carolyn Hsu, 2013-11-01:

NY State Assessment Test Results, ELA/Math 2013

Tables:

ELA = English Language Arts		Level 1: Students performing at this level are well below proficient in standards for their grade.	Level 2: Students performing at this level are below proficient in standards for their grade.	Level 3: Students performing at this level are proficient in standards for their grade.	Level 4: Students performing at this level excel above the standards for their grade.		Level 3+4: Students who are performing at or above the standards for their grade
Morrisville-Eaton
Group	#Tested	%Level 1	%Level 2	%Level 3	%Level 4	Mean Scale Score	% Passed=L3+L4
Grade 3 ELA	50	52	40	8	0	276	8
Grade 3 Math	51	56.9	25.5	15.7	2	274	17.7
Grade 4 ELA	60	36.7	45	16.7	1.7	290	18.4
Grade 4 Math	60	40	40	16.7	3.3	287	20
Grade 5 ELA	51	45.1	33.3	13.7	7.8	290	21.5
Grade 5 Math	51	54.9	27.5	17.6	0	287	17.6
Grade 6 ELA	54	29.6	48.1	11.1	11.1	296	22.2
Grade 6 Math	56	51.8	33.9	8.9	5.4	277	14.3
Grade 7 ELA	54	29.6	46.3	16.7	7.4	299	24.1
Grade 7 Math	54	44.4	38.9	16.7	0	289	16.7
Grade 8 ELA	53	34	30.2	28.3	7.5	298	35.8
Grade 8 Math	52	32.7	46.2	21.2	0	296	21.2

Hamilton Central School
Group	#Tested	%Level 1	%Level 2	%Level 3	%Level 4	Mean Scale Score	% Passed=L3+L4
Grade 3 ELA	51	27.5	39.2	27.5	5.9	309	33.4
Grade 3 Math	51	25.5	29.4	35.3	9.8	308	45.1
Grade 4 ELA	46	23.9	41.3	28.3	6.5	302	34.8
Grade 4 Math	46	32.6	41.3	17.4	8.7	293	26.1
Grade 5 ELA	37	35.1	40.5	13.5	10.8	300	24.3
Grade 5 Math	37	29.7	37.8	21.6	10.8	303	32.4
Grade 6 ELA	40	15	47.5	12.5	25	311	37.5
Grade 6 Math	40	25	27.5	15	32.5	315	47.5
Grade 7 ELA	31	9.7	19.4	35.5	35.5	329	71
Grade 7 Math	31	16.1	29	38.7	16.1	320	54.8
Grade 8 ELA	41	26.8	26.8	24.4	22	311	46.4
Grade 8 Math	41	29.3	41.5	24.4	4.9	297	29.3

Data source: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2013/2013ELAandMathemaitcsDistrictandBuildingAggregatesMedia.pdf

NOTE: in 2013, the NYS Assessment test was revised to fit the Common Core standards. As a result, statewide scores dropped significantly compared to previous years. The statewide average for passing (Level 3=Level 4) was 31%.

 


With thanks to Susan Marafino and Carolyn Hsu.

HCS/MECS Merger Study Meeting September 9

The Hamilton Central School site mentions a BOE Mtg & Merger Study

The September BOE meeting will be held in the Auditorium begin at 5:30pm starting with Executive Session then going to the public session afterwards. There will also be a merger study meeting that evening at 7pm in the Auditorium.

and the calendar puts that on September 9, HCS Calendar - September 2013 So we shall see.

Or then again...

Rethinking School Motivations

Radio Free Hamilton notes that Educator Speaks at HCS Thursday

Educator and author Dr. Yong Zhao, who wrote World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students, will speak in the HCS auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. ... ... He also talks about “Black Collar,” or REAL (rigorous, entrepreneurial, authentic, life-long) learning and the need to create the entrepreneurial spirit in our students, as the learners of the new millennium.

The "entrepreneurial" theme is also visible this morning in Salon.com; psychologist Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life, says that School is a prison — and damaging our kids - Salon.com

Schools as we know them today are a product of history, not of research into how children learn. The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. The early founders of schools were quite clear about this in their writings. The idea that schools might be places for nurturing critical thought, creativity, self-initiative or ability to learn on one’s own — the kinds of skills most needed for success in today’s economy — was the furthest thing from their minds. To them, willfulness was sinfulness, to be drilled or beaten out of children, not encouraged.
When schools were taken over by the state and made compulsory, and directed toward secular ends, the basic structure and methods of schooling remained unchanged. Subsequent attempts at reform have failed because, though they have tinkered some with the structure, they haven’t altered the basic blueprint. The top-down, teach-and-test method, in which learning is motivated by a system of rewards and punishments rather than by curiosity or by any real, felt desire to know, is well designed for indoctrination and obedience training but not much else. It’s no wonder that many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs and innovators either left school early (like Thomas Edison), or said they hated school and learned despite it, not because of it (like Albert Einstein)....
I have spent much of my research career studying how children learn. Children come into the world beautifully designed to direct their own education....
This amazing drive and capacity to learn does not turn itself off when children turn 5 or 6. We turn it off with our coercive system of schooling. The biggest, most enduring lesson of our system of schooling is that learning is work, to be avoided when possible.
The focus of my own research has been on learning in children who are of “school age,” but who aren’t sent to school, or not to school as conventionally understood. ... In these settings, children’s natural curiosity and zest for learning persist all the way through childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood.

What I'd like to focus on is the "Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose" motivational research suggesting that the top-down rewards we use are not just non-optimal, they are specifically known to be counter-productive in cognitive tasks. There's a cute RSA Animate summary by Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which I'll embed here: He's not talking about school, but about motivation for cognitive tasks generally. I think he's probably right. In fact I think all three of these are talking about the same thing.
Or then again, maybe not.
Update: Yong Zhao's blog, just last week, reported on Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » China Enters “Testing-free” Zone: The New Ten Commandments of Education Reform

No standardized tests, no written homework, no tracking. These are some of the new actions China is taking...

So we become China and China becomes us? Maybe as the NSA gets more intrusive, they'll turn libertarian? (Or then again, maybe not.)
Also this morning... Economics Nobelist Vernon Smith says Discovery gives learning that touch of magic | learning, know, learn - Life - The Orange County Register

What has endured from my early school years are memories of pleasure and excitement in learning, a search-and-discovery process that was intrinsically rewarding. But that process was increasingly compromised by the growth of performance testing in the schools. By the high school years, "learning" had become less important in proportion to scores on achievement tests. ... What I remember is how little of it was worth remembering.

It's all about motivation vs. control? Maybe.
Update 8/28 On the subject of Yong Zhao, I should probably have also mentioned HamiltonCentralOptions: The US is Not Really #1 Yet...Fortunately which links to earlier posts mentioning him.