We are in the midst of a strong movement to create precollege Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Language Arts, Math, and Science. Two of the arguments that support this movement are:

1. Students in different parts of the country should have equal opportunities to get a good education and should be expected to meet similar academic standards.
2. High standards help to drive educational improvement.

The Fordham Institute has recently published its “grades” of the current science standards in the various states. The following report discusses the general idea of science standards and includes the 2005 and 2012 grades for each state.

Fordham Institute (1/31/2012). The State of Science Standards 2012. Retrieved 2/5/2012 from  http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-science-standards-2012.html.

I have long been interested in how long and how well students retain the knowledge and skills they gain through schooling. Recently, my friend Dexter Fletcher sent me a PDF of the following report:

Wisher, Robert A., Sabol, Mark A., and Ellis, John A. (July 1999). Staying sharp: Retention of military knowledge and skills. U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Retrieved 1/1/2011 from http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA366825.

This report is a 1999 summary of the research on military training. Remember, there is a difference between training and education. In the case of the US military, training focuses on preparing military personnel to deal effectively with a reasonably well-defined set of problems and tasks. Trainees can be assessed via hands-on tests. Field strip this rifle. Repair this instrument. Service this jet engine. Fly this helicopter. Of course, such activities are done in a context of goal-oriented, thinking-based knowledge and understanding. So, they include education components.

Here is a very important new report about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM).

Stanford University is going to make its regular Introduction to AI course available free on the Web this fall. The course regularly enrolls nearly 200 students. Students taking the free online version of the course can turn in lessons that will be graded and take the tests. They can receive a certificate indicating their level of performance in the course relative to the regularly enrolled students.

I was born and raised in Oregon. I think it is a great place to live and a great state. However, I found he following news item very disappointing.

Click here to learn about Dave Moursund's free book on science and technology education for teaches and parents of K-8 children.

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I often think about what roles students should play in determining the their own education.

Click here to learn about Dave Moursund's free book on science and technology education for teaches and parents of K-8 children.

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I suspect I am much like others who know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot. In my areas of specialization I feel that people should know more than they actually know. This keeps me occupied in “spreading the word.”

Click here to learn about Dave Moursund's free book on science and technology education for teaches and parents of K-8 children.

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One measure of the quality of a school district is the percentage of its high school graduates who are “college ready.” Of course, this still leaves us with the task of defining and then measuring “college ready.”

Information Age Education is now publishing some books for the Kindle and Kindle-format readers that are available for computers, iPad, and other machines. See http://iae-pedia.org/IAE_Kindle_Books.

The most recent of these books is:

Moursund, David (2011). Introduction to Problem Solving in the Information Age.