How Much Do You Think You Know About Education?

Would You Like to Test Your Knowledge?

Do you think you understand what’s wrong with our educational system? Do you think you know how to fix the problems? And lastly, do you think you could win a debate against someone with less experience than you?

Well let’s find out the truth.

This article is going to test your knowledge about education, teaching and how to fix our schools. And the reason I’m writing this article is simply because I’ve been posting on social media for the last three years and too many people assume they have all the answers.

Well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.

Section One : Teaching

In this section, we are going to test how much you know about teaching. Are you ready? Here we go!

1. Why is lesson planning important for student achievement?
2. How do you properly scope and sequence a curriculum map?
3. What is differentiated instruction and why is it important?
4. Is there a limit to number of class rules you can have?
5. Is it legal or illegal to kick a student out of class for the entire day?
6. List 3 formative assessment strategies
7. What does a multiple choice exam tell you about student learning?
8. If a student scores a 400 on the standardized test, what does that tell you about the student’s knowledge?
9. Do grades track progress?
10. How do you reduce student inappropriate behaviors?

Section Two: Supervision

Schools are legally run by principals, so here’s your chance to prove you know more than your principal.

1. What’s the purpose of a walk-through?
2. What should principals be looking for when they observe a teacher?
3. How does a principal know if students are learning in class?
4. How does a principal know if a teacher is a good teacher or not?
5. What should a principal do if they have a teacher who is struggling in class?
6. How should principals use Professional Development to help teachers become better teachers?
7. How can a principal support a teacher, when one or more students “act-out” in class?
8. How can principals build positive and supportive teams within the school?
9. What data should a principal collect from teachers on a weekly/monthly basis?
10. What can a principals do to help boost student achievement?

Section Three: Student Achievement

There are thousands of articles written every year about student achievement, the Achievement Gap and the inequality of instructional quality. So here’s your chance to prove you know how to boost student achievement.

1. Does the school system need standardized testing?
2. Why does the Achievement Gap exist?
3. How would you fix the inequality of instruction from district to district?
4. What’s the purpose of the common core standards?
5. If schools should follow the academic research when it comes to curriculum design, what does that research say? And if not, what philosophy should schools follow?
6. What does it mean to be “well-educated?”
7. Do you think 21st century skills exist? And if so, what are they?
8. Should modern schools teach 21st century skills? And if so, how do you propose teaching them?
9. What’s the best way to determine if a student is on or above grade level?
10. What should you do when you identify a student who is struggling academically?

Section Four: Operations

Education in the United States is run through a system. That system includes laws and regulations, State Department of Educations, local school boards and district by district administrators and teachers. This system was put in place back in the late 1870s and there has been no change to that system since. It’s time to test how well you understand how the system actually works.

1. Is it against the law to deny a student a Free and Public School Education?
2. What are the teaching standards across the United States that teachers must uphold?
3. What are principals legally obligated to do when a teacher makes a student referral?
4. Who creates the curriculum? And who has the power to change it?
5. How can school districts protect the rights of all students against forms of discrimination based on race, gender and other factors?
6. How can a school district create a positive culture among its teaching staff and students?
7. If a school district underperforms in terms of student achievement, what should the district do to fix the situation?
8. What’s the role of a superintendent? A principal? And a teacher?
9. What should school districts do to ensure that every teacher is progressing toward becoming a Master Teacher?
10. How should districts identify personnel who are actively working against the goals of the district?

I know this test was hard, but that’s the point.

I’ve spent 20 years inside the K12 system. I was a teacher in the classroom, I was a principal and I also was a superintendent. One of the biggest challenges that I faced was that “experience” alone isn’t enough to run a district or fix problems.

If it weren’t for the academic research that I did over that 20-year time frame, I would not have made the type of impact I did on my students.

If you can’t answer any of these questions, I hope you will leave a comment or question so we can talk about it.

After all, the best way to learn is to ask questions.

About the Author

“The School Doc” is a recognized expert in education by the NJ Department of Education, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Public Schools and the “Teachers for Good Trouble” movement.

He hosts a weekly LIVE podcast on Instagram called “Tuesdays’ with Schwartz” in addition to producing videos for the Leaf Academy YouTube channel.

If you want to learn more about fixing the K12 system, you can read his book, “Disrupting Education: The Path to 21st Century Schools” and if you’re a teacher who needs help beating the system against teacher isolation, burnout and lack of support, you can follow the link in the bio.