Exploring the Core

New on the blog: “The ‘Reference Student’: What Standardized Tests Actually Measure (and What They Don’t)” — a clear look at how tests are built around a hypothetical ‘average’ student and why that matters for fairness, design, and interpretation. Read the full piece and rethink what test scores really tell us: https://wix.to/QQbN2B1

The “Reference Student”: What Standardized Tests Actually Measure (and What They Don’t) In many fields, researchers have identified a design problem known as the “reference man.”For decades, systems in medicine, engineering, and public policy were often built around a statistical model of an average adult male body—sometimes defined as a 70-kilogram “reference man.” Drug dosa...

I find myself returning today to this episode of my podcast, re: behavior change in education. Search YouTube "exploring the core podcast" for this episode!

https://youtu.be/Yh5NP1ernjY?si=KhAU2PMBYISkfaPX

Schools face real questions about safety, accountability, and fairness—especially when behavior challenges arise. This article explores how restorative practices across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports can protect students, set firm boundaries, and teach accountability without sacrificing dignity. It’s not about being permissive. It’s about being intentional. Read more: https://wix.to/yJrB4yu

Restorative Justice Across Tiers: Protecting Safety While Teaching Accountability Many of the concerns I've heard from staff and families (throughout my decade+ of teaching) come from an underlying belief that consequences must involve some degree of suffering in order to achieve a level of regret that can be taken seriously. (This is a very real understanding of justice that I e...