Comments for The Hechinger Report

Comment on PROOF POINTS: Asian American students lose more points in an AI essay grading study — but researchers don’t know why by KELLY LOGAN

KELLY LOGAN — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 03:50:12 +0000

Looking at the data I noticed that Hispanic and Black student were still marked more harshly by AI than others. Their AI marks were only 73 percent of the human-graded marks, while Asian and Indigenous recieved 75 percent and mixed race and white students 77 percent. In other words, the difference for Asian students looked greater because their scores were larger to begin with. Nonetheless, there is obviously still racial bias in AI but it simply reinforces the human bias already present.

Comment on Do we need a ‘Common Core’ for data science education? by Cathy Kessel

Cathy Kessel — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:57:56 +0000

“[Data science] classes vary widely in content and approach, in part because there’s little agreement around what exactly data science education should look like.” Research has found considerable variability in mathematics classes, despite the existence of standards. It may be that there’s LESS variability in data science classes because there aren’t as many choices for course materials and professional development.

The Hechinger Report has noted these sources of variability in mathematics classes:

Anxious teachers may spend less time on math: “Math specialists say [math anxiety] is a pervasive issue in elementary classrooms, where educators are typically expected to teach every subject, and it often leads to teachers spending less classroom time on math content.” https://hechingerreport.org/teachers-conquering-their-math-anxiety/

DIY instructional materials: “teacher-made materials may sacrifice the thoughtful sequencing of topics planned by curriculum designers.” https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-many-high-school-math-teachers-cobble-together-their-own-instructional-materials-from-the-internet-and-elsewhere-a-survey-finds/

I’ve discussed other reasons for variability here: https://mathvoices.ams.org/teachingandlearning/is-data-science-the-new-discrete-mathematics/.

Comment on PROOF POINTS: Asian American students lose more points in an AI essay grading study — but researchers don’t know why by TK Amman

TK Amman — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:14:38 +0000

I don’t think that teachers should use AI for grading essays. Perhaps I am a relic too, but I think the AI grader does not catch subtlety or ironic humor in writing. That said, I am a Ph.D. who tutors Asian American students and their writing may well be superior. These kids not only work hard in school, but take tutorials beyond the classroom, most often in writing. Even when I was in college at U.Va. Asian-American students were often harder working and earned better grades. And for catching plagiarism, I think a teacher needs to know their students’ writing at all levels of progress. I have caught several plagiarists and cheaters (there is a difference) by assessing both raw writing and a portfolio of student writing in different areas. Teachers that allow an AI to grade are lazy and it makes sense considering the low pay and lack of respect teachers receive. If you want to improve your education system, stop denying tenure and pay academics what they are worth. There are also tenured teachers at high schools. The way we are approaching education will prove a detriment to student progress and the education and intelligence of American students. It is a shame!

Comment on Why schools are teaching math word problems all wrong by Sandra L. Manigault

Sandra L. Manigault — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:45:13 +0000

I am a retired math teacher (high school, community college) and a book author, The Book for Math Empowerment (1997). I have a question: Why are “word” problems being taught to 2nd graders? They should be taught to read/spell well and they should be taught to memorize their number facts in second grade. Also – are they being taught math by teachers who themselves are math-phobic? What am I missing in this scenario?

Comment on Why schools are teaching math word problems all wrong by Jeanette Swygard

Jeanette Swygard — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 18:19:29 +0000

Do they have a list of the schemas for older grades? I like the ideas but as we head into 8th grade and Algebra 1 become more difficult. Would love to hear more.

Comment on PROOF POINTS: Asian American students lose more points in an AI essay grading study — but researchers don’t know why by DuWayne Krause

DuWayne Krause — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 11:58:10 +0000

Call me a relic, from the past, but AI scoring seems too impersonal. As a math teacher, I love my subject. I like correcting papers. It gives me a “feel” for my students’ performance. I can see their approaches. I can see their understanding, or lack of understanding. If a machine is doing your grading, you get none of that. The teacher becomes a faceless clerk, in a store.

Comment on How did students pitch themselves to colleges after last year’s affirmative action ruling? by John Trasvina

John Trasvina — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 04:29:42 +0000

It is disappointing, but telling, that you write about how students present themselves in college application essays and feature 8 students from very diverse backgrounds while completely omitting Chinese American students. If the Harvard Supreme Court case was about anything, it was about the feelings and realities of exclusion and marginalization of the mainly Chinese American litigants and that their unique qualities, challenges, contributions and histories were ignored by college admissions officials. In some cases, they were treated worse than white students and, as a result, some hide their identity on college applications. Whatever one’s view of the merits of their case, an analysis of its impact without including these students lacks the depth that this important subject deserves.

Comment on A ‘shockingly broken system’: More than a dozen states are failing to meet child care safety regulations by Attallah Brightwell

Attallah Brightwell — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 01:32:59 +0000

NJ DCF and Office of LICENSING are agencies that jeopardize the overall safety of children enrolled in licensed centers and those enrolled in centers that they do not require to be licensed, monitored, or inspected, through the use of unlawful inspection practices.

Comment on Data science under fire: What math do high schoolers really need? by DuWayne Krause

DuWayne Krause — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 12:03:41 +0000

If a student is going into a STEM field and you need Algebra 2 to succeed in STEM then that student should be taking Algebra 2. However, Algebra 2 has no relevance to the overwhelming majority of students. Those students should be learning math that they can use in their chosen fields/direction. Why would you force those students into the Algebra 2, pre-Calc, Calc track? It is a total waste of time, for them and in all likelihood most of those students will hate those classes. As a math teacher, it seems to me that what is covered in Algebra 2 is pointless, to most nonSTEM/related field students. The Algebra 2 requirement, in fields where it is not relevant results in a huge number of students having to abandon their professional dreams, when they can’t pass the class.

Comment on Colleges are now closing at a pace of one a week. What happens to the students? by Barrington McLean

Barrington McLean — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 15:32:03 +0000

I retired two years ago, after 30 years working on a college campus in the mid west. It is sad to see so many campuses closing, but it is important to note that their demise never, ever happened overnight. Every last one of them that I have read about, saw it, or should have seen it coming years before it happened. As I have observed, the hard decisions to save them were almost never made until their backs were up against the wall. At that point it was almost always too late. Some minor decisions (MINOR DECISIONS) that could have started years ago and started saving monies include some of these VP positions. Unless it is a large institution, did they really need a VP of Enrollment Management and VP of DEI? Could these not be coordinator positions that report to a VP? Did a college with less than 2,000 students need a VP, Assistant VP, or could if have been a VP then a Director ? The administrative staff keeps growing, but…. Could they have slowly dropped a major here and there that was not too popular and expand those majors that are popular -like, say nursing? Could they have launched a capital campaign years earlier including finding a way to increase alumni giving? Could they have dropped one or two of their athletic programs earlier? Here is the winner. Everyone states that the number of college age students is dwindling. Yes, this is true of the traditional age students, but not the non-traditional student population that they are not aggressively going after. In case no one noticed, there is a growing Latino population, and many of them are middle class, or their parents earn middle class salaries. This group is being overlooked -or they are doling out more monies than is necessary to attract them. I might also add that there is a growing Black middle class that is being overlooked. I am going to suggest that it is time for the faculty to accept that while they are in a system of shared governance, they do NOT run the institution. I have always respected their input in matters on campus( and their input really helps), but never understood why when a hard decision is, and had to be made for the best interest of the institution, they are up in arms and voting no confidence in the president. I was dumbfounded when this happened on my campus because, in order to close the budget gap, they eliminated the Physics department that had only 4 majors as well as the Physical Therapy department that was not attracting enough students, and those that came in were not graduating. It had more to do with changing demographics, and not for a lack of trying to recruit. Which was better -the survival of the school or keeping your colleagues employed (people with advanced degrees who could reasonably find employment elsewhere)? It is my observation that most (not all) these institutions that are now closing had to have seen it coming years ago, and might have slowly addressed the problem however the saw fit, without causing alarm, rumors and bad PR. It is also sadly an observation that some of these institutions in rural areas stood no chance.