[Ohiogift] Real Examples for Real People

Mon Aug 26 07:57:15 EDT 2013

Hello All,

I am a Gifted Education Coordinator over five districts and am very confused on how the rating for the gifted subgroup under value-added is calculated. I printed out my district's report cards and the ratings do not make sense. Some buildings are not rated within  the districts and some are averaged incorrectly. What are the underlying determining factors of progress in gifted? Is it simply how those gifted identified students are scoring on tests? Is there any advice I can give districts to help them improve their rating?

Thanks
Erin

From: ohiogift-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu [mailto:ohiogift-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu] On Behalf Of Will Fitzhugh
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 7:47 AM
To: ohiogift at lists.service.ohio-state.edu
Subject: [Ohiogift] Real Examples for Real People

Begin forwarded message:

From: Will Fitzhugh <fitzhugh at tcr.org<mailto:fitzhugh at tcr.org>>
Date: August 26, 2013 7:43:39 AM EDT
To: sboyd at achieve.org<mailto:sboyd at achieve.org>
Subject: Real Examples for Real People

Education Week
August 21, 2013, p. 9
Assessment Governing Board Crafts
Definition of 'Prepared for College' (excerpt)

Writing Questioned

The governing board plans to conduct more linking studies between NAEP and the SAT and the ACT, longitudinal studies in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Texas; and a linking study with the ACT's Explore, an assessment for 8th graders, in Kentucky and Tennessee.

However, Achieve, a Washington-based college-readiness advocacy group, wrote in a July 30 letter to NAGB that the NAGB's college-preparedness marks don't gauge how well students are prepared for college-level writing and questions in that subject released by NAGB "do not come close to assessing the skill set" involved in writing based on multiple sources.

..."The one thing I've been concerned about, from the very beginning of this reseach is its applicability to real life," said board member W. James Popham, a professor emeritus of education and information studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Real examples for real people would be useful."

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[GREAT IDEA!]

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Kaitlin Marie Bergan: "When I first came across The Concord Review, I was extremely impressed by the quality of writing and the breadth of historical topics covered by the essays in it. While most of the writing I have completed for my high school history classes has been formulaic and limited to specified topics, The Concord Review motivated me to undertake independent research in the development of the American Economy. The chance to delve further into a historical topic was an incredible experience for me and the honor of being published is by far the greatest I have ever received. This coming autumn, I will be starting at Oxford University, where I will be concentrating in Modern History."

Albert Shanker was one of a tiny handful of unusual individuals [20 years ago] who understood right away that The Concord Review was not meant to benefit only, or even mainly, those whose work was published, but rather was "equally important" for those students who could be inspired, by reading the diligent work of their peers in this journal, to make more of an effort with their own academic work in high school....

HS Author Inspiration [samples from letters]

[Albert Shanker understood: (1993)

[1] "Publication in The Concord Review is a kind of prize-a recognition of excellence and a validation of intellectual achievement-that could be for young historians what the Westinghouse [Intel] Science Competition is for young scientists.

[2] Equally important, the published essays can let youngsters see what other students their own age are capable of and what they themselves can aspire to."]

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Jesse Esch: "Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank you, on behalf of all students who have been called upon to attempt the seemingly insurmountable task of writing an in-depth history paper, for providing us with plentiful examples of good writing and good history."

Candace Choi: "I attend a public high school with teachers who rarely, if ever, assign any paper that exceeds two thousand words, much less a research paper. Therefore, I am writing my paper as independent research...I thank you for this great opportunity you are providing for high schoolers all around the globe. It is indeed rare to have a publication that showcases works of secondary students."

Emma Curran Donnelly Hulse: "As I began to research the Ladies' Land League, I looked to The Concord Review for guidance on how to approach my task. At first, I did check out every relevant book from the library, running up some impressive fines in the process, but I learned to skim bibliographies and academic databases to find more interesting texts. I read about women's history, agrarian activism and Irish nationalism, considering the ideas of feminist and radical historians alongside contemporary accounts...Writing about the Ladies' Land League, I finally understood and appreciated the beautiful complexity of history...In short, I would like to thank you not only for publishing my essay, but for motivating me to develop a deeper understanding of history. I hope that The Concord Review will continue to fascinate, challenge and inspire young historians for years to come."

Shounan Ho: "Although history has always been my favorite subject, I had never written a paper with this extensive research before. After reading the high quality of essays in The Concord Review, I was very inspired to try to write one myself. I thought it was a significant opportunity to challenge and expand my academic horizons. Thus during the summer before my Senior year, I began doing the research for my own paper..."

Samuel Brudner: "No one from my school had ever been published in the Review, and I'll admit I was unfamiliar with it at first. A little research, however, alerted me to its outstanding quality, and I revisited my paper with my teacher's suggestions and a sense of the journal's high standards in mind. After several months of further research and revisions, I completed something I thought would be worth submitting. The process of revision was as transformative for me as it was for my paper, not only better informing me about an important controversy, but also leading me to think very deeply about certain ideas at play in the world. Studying a subject as closely as The Concord Review requires was a valuable experience for me, as I am sure it has been for many students. I cannot thank you enough for motivating me to achieve, and for recognizing the hard work I put into my paper. I am honored to see my paper among the fine examples of terrific historical research published in your journal."

Daniel Winik: "As many others have no doubt told you, your publication of The Concord Review is a noble enterprise with tremendous value for young historians....The Concord Review not only recognizes such work but also encourages it. Your publication of my paper has inspired several of my classmates to consider submitting theirs. I can only hope that with your jubilee [50th] issue, you will begin to receive the accolades you deserve. Once more, I thank you for honoring me and for recognizing the work of young historians everywhere."

Colin Rhys Hill: "Also, for your information, most of the "get into college" publications I read referred to The Concord Review as the "Intel Science Competition" of the humanities and the only serious way to get academic work noticed..."

Antoine Cadot-Wood: "The paper I wrote three years ago for The Concord Review was an undertaking beyond what I had attempted up to that point, and I have continued to write papers on history frequently ever since. The [Emerson] prize will be put to good use, as I embark this week on a six-month trip to China. I will be attending a program to continue to improve my Mandarin, with the goal of being able to use it for research as my college career continues. Thank you for providing me with such  a great opportunity during my last year of high school, and I hope that The Concord Review continues to publish for many years more."

Jessica Leight: "At CRLHS, a much-beloved history teacher suggested to me that I consider writing for The Concord Review, a publication that I had previously heard of, but knew little about. He proposed, and I agreed, that it would be an opportunity for me to pursue more independent work, something that I longed for, and hone my writing and research skills in a project of considerably broader scope than anything I had undertaken up to that point...I likewise hope that the range of academic opportunities and challenges I discovered beyond my school, that contributed to make my experience in secondary school so rewarding and paved the way for a happy and successful career as an undergraduate [summa cum laude at Yale] and (I hope) as a graduate student [Rhodes Scholar], will still be available for them [her children]. Among those opportunities, of course, is The Concord Review. Twenty or twenty-five years from now, I will be looking for it."

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"Teach by Example"
Will Fitzhugh [founder]
The Concord Review [1987]
Ralph Waldo Emerson Prizes [1995]
National Writing Board [1998]
TCR Institute [2002]
730 Boston Post Road, Suite 24
Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776-3371 USA
978-443-0022; 800-331-5007
www.tcr.org<http://www.tcr.org/>; fitzhugh at tcr.org<mailto:fitzhugh at tcr.org>
Varsity Academics(r)
www.tcr.org/blog<http://www.tcr.org/blog>

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