This is an enjoyable read. Edutopia identified what it calls the ten most significant education studies of 2020.
Probably none of these studies made it into the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse.
Here are the first three:
1. TO TEACH VOCABULARY, LET KIDS BE THESPIANS
When students are learning a new language, ask them to act out vocabulary words. It’s fun to unleash a child’s inner thespian, of course, but a 2020 study concluded that it also nearly doubles their ability to remember the words months later.
Researchers asked 8-year-old students to listen to words in another language and then use their hands and bodies to mimic the words—spreading their arms and pretending to fly, for example, when learning the German word flugzeug, which means “airplane.” After two months, these young actors were a remarkable 73 percent more likely to remember the new words than students who had listened without accompanying gestures. Researchers discovered similar, if slightly less dramatic, results when students looked at pictures while listening to the corresponding vocabulary.
It’s a simple reminder that if you want students to remember something, encourage them to learn it in a variety of ways—by drawing it, acting it out, or pairing it with relevant images, for example.
2. NEUROSCIENTISTS DEFEND THE VALUE OF TEACHING HANDWRITING—AGAIN
For most kids, typing just doesn’t cut it. In 2012, brain scans of preliterate children revealed crucial reading circuitry flickering to life when kids hand-printed letters and then tried to read them. The effect largely disappeared when the letters were typed or traced.
More recently, in 2020, a team of researchers studied older children—seventh graders—while they handwrote, drew, and typed words, and concluded that handwriting and drawing produced telltale neural tracings indicative of deeper learning.
“Whenever self-generated movements are included as a learning strategy, more of the brain gets stimulated,” the researchers explain, before echoing the 2012 study: “It also appears that the movements related to keyboard typing do not activate these networks the same way that drawing and handwriting do.”
It would be a mistake to replace typing with handwriting, though. All kids need to develop digital skills, and there’s evidence that technology helps children with dyslexia to overcome obstacles like note taking or illegible handwriting, ultimately freeing them to “use their time for all the things in which they are gifted,” says the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
3. THE ACT TEST JUST GOT A NEGATIVE SCORE (FACE PALM)
A 2020 study found that ACT test scores, which are often a key factor in college admissions, showed a weak—or even negative—relationship when it came to predicting how successful students would be in college. “There is little evidence that students will have more college success if they work to improve their ACT score,” the researchers explain, and students with very high ACT scores—but indifferent high school grades—often flamed out in college, overmatched by the rigors of a university’s academic schedule.
Just last year, the SAT—cousin to the ACT—had a similarly dubious public showing. In a major 2019 study of nearly 50,000 students led by researcher Brian Galla, and including Angela Duckworth, researchers found that high school grades were stronger predictors of four-year-college graduation than SAT scores.
The reason? Four-year high school grades, the researchers asserted, are a better indicator of crucial skills like perseverance, time management, and the ability to avoid distractions. It’s most likely those skills, in the end, that keep kids in college.
The ACT and SAT studies are interesting.
My youngest is applying to colleges and we were told the ACT and SAT scores are less important than they have been in the past and admissions people are taking a broader view- putting more weight on grades and the difficulty of the high school classes they take.
I think this change can be credited to the people who questioned the validity of standardized tests and they should be proud they changed some of the “conventional wisdom” around these tests and forced colleges to do a more thorough analysis. Good job!
The giant college testing industry and all the associated tutoring and test prep companies must not be happy though 🙂
My son goes to private HS. We had a Zoom mtg about the college process. One of our graduates who went to and currently works for JHU in it’s admissions department was the “guest speaker” for the Zoom mtg. He basically said that over the past 5-6 yrs, most colleges haven’t been looking at the test scores from SAT and ACT. Most colleges have adopted a “holistic” selection process based on HS grades, classes, clubs and interests, athletics, and the essay. They want lots of diversity on campuses. He admitted that some colleges still look at the scores and to reference Fairtest.org. His suggestion is to take one of the tests (SAT or ACT) and be done with it. The school counselors also offered tutoring sites for those parents wanting to “torture” (my words!!!) their children.
My daughter graduated out of our public school system last year. In her Jr year, the guidance department stressed the importance of taking numerous AP classes/tests, SAT, ACT. They emphasized taking the tests multiple times and stressed that spending money and time for the expensive test prep classes (torture) would be good for students. No mention of Fairtest.org. Not a single college asked for her test scores or acknowledged her AP classes/scores and she applied to 8-9 schools including NYU and got accepted into all. The public school system is still pushing the testing nonsense because it is a data-centric business model and test scores around here drive real estate value.
I would LOVE to see College Board and its test prep partners go up in flames. I would love to hear of news that David Coleman is having to job shop for his next gig like the rest of us. Sorry….call me snarky and mean, but this Momma Bear has had enough of this whole expensive and demoralizing (for the children) college scheme.
It might be more accurate to say the the goal of most standardized tests is profit and sorting kids to distribute artificially scarce resources, as they lack predictive or diagnostic value.
Diane, my son remarked, “Diane Ravitch knows, I’m sure” re what % of public school students are white. What % of white students go to public schools. What % of X population by age is white. What % of that go to public schools? Is there a known point at which whites abandon public education? Qs re expensive private schools. re religious ones. Is all this in one of your books? Is the data kept up? Love, Peggy. PS keep on keeping on. attn: Diane’s gate keeper. I’m Peggy Powell Dobbins, her oldest best friend. Pass my note to her.
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https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cge.asp
44% of public school students are white and the proportion is expected to decline.
69% of private school students are white.
44% of public school students are white. Is that maybe because there are more “minority” students than in the past and not so much because white students are going to private schools? I’m guessing that more white families can afford private schools, but I wonder if that percentage has gone up or down with the advent of charters and vouchers.
It’s always amazing to me that all ed reform “innovations” for traditional public schools are 1. test based and 2. negative and punishing.
The State of Ohio has not accomplished ONE positive, productive improvement for public schools in the last ten years. The ed reform suggestion to address that? Test and punish them more!
https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/commentary/ohio-senate-education-committee-missteps-state-assessments-distress-commissions
90% of the kids in this state attend public schools and the dominant policy and ideological frame in state government is 100% negative towards their schools. 90% of students and families have no positive or productive representation at all in Columbus. They are treated as a problem to be solved.
You would think at least ONE ed reformer would break ranks and offer something positive to or for or about a public school, but it never happens. They must just be really confident they don’t need the support of 90% of families in this state and don’t have to speak to us at all. Amazing.
Number 7 “Did study just end the reading wars” is misleading. Balanced literacy still makes more sense than an one dimensional reading strategy. It takes many strategies to reach more students. Number 10 shows why just phonics doesn’t work.
Diane I have received the regular online EDUTOPIA newsletter for years, and find the articles more on-target and refreshing than anything else I’ve read in education. CBK
The ability to code computers does not correlate to higher level math skills. Instead, it correlates to ease with which people learn a second language. I guess Duane, myself and few other linguaphiles were born too early for the big coding craze, which I probably wouldn’t have cared for anyway. The joy of learning a second language, however, is being able to communicate with other people, not machines.
They called it programming when I was in college. The classmate who did the programming for our senior thesis was a math whiz. No one expected us to be able to do it, but we did enter data. Looking back on it, I think she just made an elaborate spread sheet. I wonder if they started calling it coding to make it sound cool. Our paper was still done on a typewriter(electric, thank goodness) with three carbon copies.
In Tennessee High Schools are evaluated based in part on the student performance on the ACT.
In an unrelated story, we are now #1 in the world in Covid cases.
Sorry to hear about your #1 status. My daughter attends Belmont and we are watching the numbers closely and the school has hinted that they may start the spring semester all virtual. She was amazed (in her few trips into Nashville) at the LACK of social distancing and mask wearing. She was appalled by the amount of people hanging out in bars and restaurants and going about life like “normal”. We live in MD and “most” people abide by the rules while trying to go about our restricted lives.
It’s time to call for a truce in the reading wars We acknowledge that students need both an understanding the sound-symbol connection as well as an ability to comprehend what is read. We acknowledge that content reading is an important element of reading. In addition to reading to learn civics or history, there are a great many historical fiction novels that teach students about the human condition, politics and history. Writers like Emile Zola, Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy all present works of fiction that are interlaced with history and politics. There are many excellent examples of historical fiction in contemporary literature as well. Students learn a great deal more from these novels than simply “finding the main idea.” https://prowritingaid.com/art/577/The-Best-Historical-Fiction-Books-of-All-Time.aspx
THE most important education study of the last 50 years is ignored by almost all. Sad, but true that almost every single administrator and teacher to whom I’ve given the article doesn’t even bother to read it. Since the beginning of this blog, I’ve mentioned it, cajoled readers to read it, even summarized it (and a lacking one at that) for the readers here. I wonder how many actually have read and understood it. I’d bet no more than a dozen in all these years. Sad, indeed, very sad! These latest, hottest reads are nothing in comparison to reading and understanding Wilson’s 1997 never refuted nor rebutted “Educational Standards and the Problem of Error” found at: https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/viewFile/577/700
Read and learn, I dare ya! Make that a double dare! Or how about, in keeping with the season, I triple dog dare ya!
I have read it.
Big heart emoji!
None of this is a surprise. I experienced a eureka moment of sorts about a year ago when I heard, on NPR I believe, a report on brain science claim that all of the neurons in the brain exist throughout the body. Our hands are an extension of our brain and their engagement is critical in the development of critical thinking. As an undergraduate studio art major and Art teacher of 17 years, it became obvious both through my own experience and observation of my students, that when we work with our hands we think more deeply and solve problems efficiently. We desperately need to get young children into activities that use their hands as a means for more profound thinking and learning.
Love hearing evidence of the benefits of handwriting.