Stephanie Zimmerman
Stephanie Zimmerman's Latest Posts
Mastery-based Education – A New, Olde Idea
Mastery-based = competency-based = outcome-based education. None of this is new. Four decades ago, outcome-based education was implemented and failed, so education reformers simply brought it back with a shiny new name. Maine calls it Proficiency-based; Utah, Competency-based; and Idaho, Mastery-based. This document from 1984 shows the correlation. 1984FederallySponsoredOBEProjectHL I agree that the idea of […]
Trusting Institutions
Trusting Institutions By Bill Zimmerman While discussing the new Comprehensive Sex Education standards (CSE) and a new bill that was making its way through the Idaho legislative process last month with my wife, Stephanie, I made a comment that apparently struck a chord with her and Mila Wood. Because I opened my big mouth and […]
Testing is Upon Us
Spring is a wonderful time of year, except for the allegries and standardized tests that come along with it. Recently Truth in American Education ran a post about opting out of the tests. We thought we’d share it here. Five Tips for Refusing the Test February 8, 2018 By Shane Vander Hart and J.R. Wilson […]
AdvancEd Survey Violates Idaho Statute.
Several weeks ago we received a letter from a group of concerned citizens regarding the Panorama survey the State had chosen to give our student population. As we were preparing to post the letter we were made aware that the state, who had also received the information from this group of concerned citizens, had decided […]
House Bill 579: Relating to Sex Education
House Bill 579: Relating to Sex Education By Stephanie Gifford and Julianne Young The sex education bill has been rewritten and is now House Bill 579 (H579). The new version replaces the previous draft (HB 414) and includes language that confirms some of our strongest objections. Parents who wish to maintain their legal rights and […]
Science Standards- Action Needed Now!
This needs to happen today. The Senate Education Committee meets Wednesday, February 14th at 3:00 p.m. Fellow Idahoans. We need your help today! The adoption or rejection of Idaho’s proposed science standards has been highly politicized and this hurts children and teachers. Know that there is an organized movement that wants to legislate content. […]
The “Science” of Fear Mongering
By Mila Wood Idahoans For Local Education would like to thank the NCSE for joining the “fear mongers for bad policy” campaign. This entity sent this article out to shame our elected ed committee into capitulating to a bad policy request by our unelected bureaucracy. The people have spoken, we do not want the state legislating “CONTENT.“ I’m not exactly sure how on […]
Last Year’s Dodged Bullet Back Again, Science Standards
Last year our Senate and House Education Committees decided against adopting the Next Generation Science Standards. But like all bad ideas, they’re back again this year with new life. Thursday, February 1 and Friday, February 2 the House Education Committee will hear from the State Department of Education regarding these national science standards. A […]
House Bill 414: Relating to Sex Education, The Deleting of Family
House Bill 414: Relating to Sex Education By Stephanie Gifford A new bill has been introduced relating to sex education. It is HB 414 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2018/legislation/H0414.pdf ) and will be heard soon in the House Education Committee, possibly even this coming week. This bill takes four sections of Idaho Code and reduces them to one section. […]
Blue Lines Matter
Mila Wood “The Common Core thus paves the way for education that is ever more test driven, that begins with tests and ends with tests, where teaching to the test is the only option left because the textbooks and and the tests were written and vetted by the same company.” Ana Kamenetz These […]
