Tom Sgouros
Do you care about the show or about results?
There was apparently quite a party in Cranston yesterday, with several hundred teachers coming together to, well, you wouldn’t say they were there to praise the state Education Commissioner, Deborah Gist. In a poll out a couple of weeks ago, 85% of teachers say they don’t approve of the commissioner or the current policies of [...]
Our schools and the truth about policy
The commissioner of education has an op-ed in the Providence Journal this morning. Entitled “Our Schools and the Truth about Testing” it painted a rosy picture of what high performance in schools means: “Every high-performing school I have ever visited has been a vibrant, rich educational environment where learning is fun and well-rounded, and where [...]
More illogic from RIDE
In a reply to my post about sneaky changes in the NECAP documentation, the RI Department of Education spokesman wrote this: “The NECAP assessment is designed to measure whether students have attained the knowledge and skills expected at each grade level, that is, whether students have met grade-level standards.” This, of course, is the heart [...]
Sneaky changes in NECAP documentation
The NECAP-as-graduation-test has occupied a lot of my attention recently. As I have written before, the NECAP test is a fundamentally different kind of test than one you would use as a graduation test. The questions you’d put on a graduation test are exactly the ones that the test designers consider a waste of time [...]
What RI should know about hedge funds, part 2
The truly remarkable thing about the hedge fund industry is that once you strip away the confusion about how shares are valued and what exactly the returns are, you find returns that are far from extraordinary. In fact, the average returns over the past 20 years for the industry — the returns actually experienced by [...]
What Rhode Island should know about hedge funds, part 1
What’s the purpose of investing in a hedge fund? Because “hedge fund manager” is almost synonymous with “fabulously wealthy” in the popular press, lots of people think hedge funds are all about high risk and high returns. Originally, though, hedge funds were thought to provide high returns simply by being consistent, if dull. The idea [...]
Power concedes nothing — not even time
Ever since I wrote my letter to Eva Mancuso, the Board of Education chair, a month ago, I have hoped to have some other forum than this one in which to find a hearing for these concerns. (Since it seems clear I’m never going to get an actual reply.) I had a minute or two [...]
How RIDE Undermines Their Own NECAP Test
If I had to pick one thing to complain about with the high-stakes NECAP testing regime it wouldn’t be the pressure on the students, the deformation of the curriculum, or any of that. If it was just one thing, it wouldn’t even be the misguided policy to use NECAP as a graduation test. It would [...]
URI Psychometrician Agrees With Tom Sgouros
I promised last time to write about the other psychometrician I encountered last week. His name is Peter Merenda, and he’s something of a psychometrician’s psychometrician. He’s written a textbook about testing, along with another book on statistical analysis and about 250 articles in various journals. He’s won prizes, fellowships, awards. He founded the URI [...]
Psychometrics R Us
A few days ago, I wrote about the NECAP test, and the statistical goals of its designers. Since then, I’ve been called “not a psychometrician” on the radio, among other things. I hear that Monday I was insulted on John DePetro’s show, too. So I thought I’d provide accounts of what a couple of psychometricians [...]
Gist Offers Logical Fallacies On NECAP Value
I was on the radio ever so briefly this afternoon, on Buddy Cianci’s show with Deborah Gist. Unfortunately, the show’s producer hadn’t actually invited me so I had no idea until it had been underway for an hour. I gather they had a lively conversation that involved belittling the concerns about the NECAP test that [...]
Open Letter About NECAP To Eva Mancuso
Eva Marie Mancuso, Chair, Rhode Island Board of Education, Rhode Island Department of Education, 225 Westminster Street, Providence RI 02903 Dear Ms. Mancuso: I read with interest in this morning’s news about the Providence School Board’s suggestion to the Board that you not rely on the NECAP test as a graduation requirement. I would like [...]
Arguing With The Tax Policy Switcheroo
I was or will be on Channel 10′s News Conference Sunday show this week, depending on when you’re reading this. John Simmons, of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, was a guest with me. An exchange we had reminds me of many I’ve had recently, including this comment from Dan DaPonte, the Senate Finance Committee [...]
State of State Analysis: Optimist-in-Chief
Governor Chafee was a man confident of what our government can achieve in the annual State of the State speech. He’s optimistic about what Rhode Islanders can achieve with steady hard work, and willing to boast about it. In that pride and his faith in government, I would call it progressive in its essentials. But [...]
ALEC: Bad for the Economy
Last year, there was a lot of talk here about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. This corporate-backed “research” group produces model legislation for the states and recruits and promotes legislators who are likely to introduce it. It’s a pretty slick outfit, well-funded, with lots of opportunities for travel, and lots of opportunities to make [...]
Judges, Judicial Pensions and Judicial Impartiality
Can someone with a pension be an objective judge of whether it’s ok to cut someone else’s pension? The state is making an argument that Judge Sarah Taft-Carter is compromised and can’t consider issues concerning the 2011 state pension overhaul because her son and mother receive checks from the state system. Seems worth reviewing the [...]
Want an Efficient Historic Tax Credit? Raise Taxes
As the maneuvering in advance of the next legislative session gets into gear, we keep hearing that the state’s historic structures tax credit is to be revived. To recap: for several years, Rhode Island had a tax credit available for developers who restored historic buildings. It was essentially a subsidy for 30% of the cost [...]
Help the RI Food Bank, and Laugh While Doing So
This Saturday, two of Rhode Island’s best musicians are getting together to raise money for the RI Food Bank. Bill Harley and Keith Munslow are playing together and celebrating the release of a new CD single: ”It’s Not Fair to Me.” I’ve known Bill and Keith for a long time, and thought they were pretty cool [...]
Who I’m Supporting
It is, my editor tells me, the time of year for political endorsements. And my email inbox is quickly filling up with the same (thanks David Segal). Actually, it’s past time, since the election is upon us. But I’m told that it’s better late than never, so here goes. First, these are the State House [...]
38 Studios Shoe Drops
This afternoon, Governor Chafee announced the state would be pursuing legal action against not only the officers of 38 Studios, but also the financial advisors and the EDC staff who put the deal together. I highly recommend reading the actual complaint, but here is the part that stands out for me: The undisclosed risks included [...]
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