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When test scores go up, we should worry, because of how poor a measure they are of what matters, and what you typically sacrifice in a desperate effort to raise scores.

Alfie Kohn

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Alfie Kohn
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: October 15
Author
Teacher
Writer
Miami Beach
Florida
Tests
Scores
Matters
Typically
Sacrifice
Score
Worry
Desperate
Effort
Raise
Poor
Test
School
Measure
Matter
Raises

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How we feel about our kids isn't as important as how they experience those feelings and how they regard the way we treat them.
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Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students.
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Students should not only be trained to live in a democracy when they grow up they should have the chance to live in one today.
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Don't let anyone tell you that standardized tests are not accurate measures. The truth of the matter is they offer a remarkably precise method for gauging the size of the houses near the school where the test was administered.
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If rewards do not work, what does? I recommend that employers pay workers well and fairly and then do everything possible to help them forget about money. A preoccupation with money distracts everyone - employers and employees - from the issues that really matter.
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Assessments should compare the performance of students to a set of expectations, never to the performance of other students.
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We can't value only what is easy to measure measurable outcomes may be the least important results of learning.
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A preoccupation with achievement is not only different from, but often detrimental to, a focus on learning. Thoughts and emotions while performing an action are more important in determining subsequent engagement than the actual outcome of that action.
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Very few things are as dangerous as a bunch of incentive-driven individuals trying to play it safe.
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If unconditional love and genuine enthusiasm are present, praise isn't necessary. If they're absent, praise won't help.
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When we do things that are controlling, whether intentional or not, we are not going to get those long-term outcomes.
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Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question never looked carefully at a standardized test.
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There are different kinds of motivation, and the kind matters more than the amount.
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Punishments erode relationships and moral growth.
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Contrary to what you think, your company will be a lot more productive if you refuse to tolerate competition among your employees.
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Educational success should be measured by how strong your desire is to keep learning.
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You have to give them unconditional love. They need to know that even if they screw up, you love them. You don't want them to grow up and resent you or, even worse, parent the way you parented them.
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People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to his own devices
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