Benjamin Doxtdator

You know that factoid about 65% of kids working in jobs not yet invented? Here's the sixty year history. longviewoneducation.org/field-guide-jo…

"There is no magical, best way to teach reading and readers. The effective teaching of reading relies upon expert teachers making in-the-moment decisions to meet the needs of their students. " Thanks, @trustingreaders! ccira.blog/2025/03/18/rea…

@dylanwiliam @NateJoseph19 @MargiottaGina What’s your sense of where things have been going well with literacy? My (contested) bet is Ontario over the last 15 to 20 years.

@doxtdatorb @NateJoseph19 @MargiottaGina The age of the students when they are tested is a crucial variable that is often ignored. Early rounds of TIMSS assessed students in eighth grade classrooms, and only when PISA controlled for grade retention did Germans find out they did not have a very good education system.

Why are SOR laws not working? teachingbyscience.com/sor-laws

Happy to share this open access article about readers theater, co-authored with the fabulous @TimRasinski1, Joel Levin and Jerry D'Agostino and published in the Journal of Research in Reading doi.org/10.1111/1467-9…

@plthomasEdD It seems to be a move to undercut the idea that Ontario has produced good results with Balanced Literacy rather than the opening point into seeing how we can be more equitable or help all kids.

@doxtdatorb The first version of NCLB in US did that ... fortunately then scholars and teachers of students with special needs rallied and had that changed ... utter nonsense and cruel

Anyone else seeing a trend of dyslexia associations suggesting that accommodations on testing are somehow getting in the way of measuring what kids can really do? The Ontario IDA, for example, suggests that we only have good reading scores because of accommodations,

@NateJoseph19 @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario A question: when you’ve presented your NAEP analysis before to people you consider to be experts, did they bring up 3rd grade retention?

@doxtdatorb @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario Considering virtually all scientific data shows that systematic phonics is more effective than whole language, it seems strange to assume that whole language would be effective in Canada.

@NateJoseph19 @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario I think a few independent sources would help with more context about this number given the weight being put on it.

@doxtdatorb @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario Im not slipping it. I don’t remember the answer. I interviewed Alicia smith on my podcast, who convened the report. I believe she said that it was the same issue with PISA scores.

@NateJoseph19 @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario All mention of it online seems to go back to that paper and nowhere else that I can find. You keep slipping the PISA question, too.

@doxtdatorb @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario You’d have to check the references of the IDA paper. But I tend to trust the IDA as a reputable organization.

@NateJoseph19 @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario Is there anywhere besides the IDA that confirms the number is 18% or provides some more context? Is that also what’s happening with PISA and where’s the evidence there?

@doxtdatorb @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario How is a test meant to assess reading levels of a province valid, if it removes all struggling readers?

as if they think the true picture would be revealed if we take them away from kids. I can’t see how that fits with how we would usually see disability and accommodations outside of reading / school. I’m trying to wrap my head around this.

@NateJoseph19 @warmMagnet @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario Chewing this over. How does this sit w broader disability studies? Can’t think of many cases where an employer or school denying some kind of accommodation would be seen as getting down to the true level of ability.

@warmMagnet @doxtdatorb @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario idaontario.com/wp-content/upl…

@NateJoseph19 @MargiottaGina @IDA_Ontario On PISA?

@doxtdatorb @MargiottaGina Ontario scores are not valid. We excluded the bottom 20%, there is an IDA report on that. @IDA_Ontario

@NateJoseph19 @MargiottaGina I feel like there’s this gap in background knowledge about this and what NAEP“proficient” means that misleads the SOR conversation. FWIW, I don’t think any of the SOR states are even close to how well Ontario did under Balanced Literacy.

@doxtdatorb @MargiottaGina I didn’t consider it, sorry.

@Educhatter @MLInstitute “Their education must consist not merely of training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, art and customs of civilized life.” -Egerton Ryerson

“Their education must consist not merely of training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, art and customs of civilized life.” -Egerton Ryerson #OntEd

@NateJoseph19 @MargiottaGina Third grade retention has a huge impact on creating mirages of SOR progress. Why leave it out ?

@MargiottaGina Sorry, I did not analyze this.

I haven’t written much in a long time. Here’s my take on the study that found astonishing effect sizes for UFLI. It’s not a criticism of UFLI, but a critique of the research paper. I think research in education owes something to teachers. longviewoneducation.org/what-research-…

Tonight at 7 PM ET! Teacher Panel: The Impact of SoR Mandates Join this open panel discussion webinar with four teachers addressing the impact that SoR mandates have had on their teaching and students’ learning. Register: minnstate.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

@LauraElliott77 Are they a good reader in your literacy activities? It’s possible they just don’t fit the DIBELS profile.

Teacher friends using Acadience...had a gr. 2 student score 78 WCPM with 96% accuracy but really struggled with NWF- 32 CLS and only 2 WWR! (a new student so did NWF to get more info). Also did really poorly on spelling inventory. Thoughts? And where to start for instruction?