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The Test Must Go On: Where Did Annual Standardized Tests Come From?

In a highly variable year, the limits and uses of annual standardized tests are once again under the microscope. Some claim mandated tests give policymakers and schools useful, unbiased information - without them, inequities would be swept under the rug and resources misdirected. Others question the loss of instructional time and point out how the … Continue reading The Test Must Go On: Where Did Annual Standardized Tests Come From?

The Meritocracy Trap [Book Notes]

The Meritocracy Trap | by Daniel Markovits Summary In 1958, British sociologist Michael Young created the term meritocracy to describe a fictional world where people would be sorted into schools, universities, and jobs solely based on their merit and industriousness, as determined by increasingly accurate tests for intelligence. What started as satire has now become … Continue reading The Meritocracy Trap [Book Notes]

Fear Is The Mind Killer [Book Notes]

Fear Is The Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work | by James Mannion , Kate McAllister Summary Can we teach students to become proactive, independent, and fearless learners? While schools generally orient themselves around teaching and assessing a set of pre-ordained stuff, the Learning Skills … Continue reading Fear Is The Mind Killer [Book Notes]

Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To [Book Notes]

Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have To | by David Andrew Sinclair and Matthew LaPlante Summary In Lifespan, David Sinclair argues aging can be slowed down to postpone disease and death. Whereas average human lifespans were once 30-40 years in the 1800s, they have been extended to more than 75 years … Continue reading Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To [Book Notes]

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries [Book Notes]

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries | by Safi Bahcall Summary Why do some breakthrough ideas spread far and wide while others collect dust? And how do good teams full of experts with great intentions kill useful ideas? In Loonshots, Bahcall draws on physics and the … Continue reading Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries [Book Notes]

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise [Book Notes]

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise | by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool Summary  No matter the domain, to improve one must practice. Yet it's not as simple as putting in 10,000 hours. This practice should be purposeful and deliberate, meaning there are well-defined goals and great attention paid to catching and fixing … Continue reading Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise [Book Notes]