Abby Thomas

don't get fancy.

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@abbeyallen Abbbeyyyyy! Noooo! Bless! We are hiding quietly in separate rooms tonight.

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@abbeyallen YESSS!! My brother and I were JUST talking about our Drivers Ed trips!! Subway was the top tier stop!

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

Classroom management is focused on control. But we don’t control people, we lead them. So focus less on control of behavior & focus more on leadership. Building essential R's (respect, relationships, responsibility, & relevance). We want students committed not just compliant.

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

“My love for data is precisely why I am so opposed to nearly every policy that uses standardized tests to measure learning.”

[Dr. John Spencer @spencerideas]

In baseball, there's an entirely useless statistic called Runs Batted In (RBI). When I was a kid, we would often hear about the RBI leaders and I immediately noticed two trends in RBI leaders.

1. They nearly all played for teams with a really good offense.
2. They nearly all hit at the 4th or 5th spot in the line-up.

I was a nerdy little kid who didn't know anything but I knew this was a bogus statistic.

See, RBI measures how many runners a batter knocks in. Sounds important, right? Definitely something worth measuring. But it turns out that it's highly skewed. Not every batter is in the position to knock in a run. If you are the lead-off hitter (batting #1 in the line-up) you often bat with no runners on. Also, if you're on a crappy team, you run into the same challenge.

So it turns out that RBI count doesn't really tell you how well someone hits for power. For that, you need a stat called slugging percentage. If you want to see how consistent a batter is, go with on-base percentage. If you're looking for balance, go with OPS (on-based plus slugging percentage).

In pitching the equivalent is a win-loss record or an ERA compared to WHIP. Total wins is a metric based on a team's overall performance.

But the things is, our world is full of seriously flawed statistics. BMI is useless compared to measuring one's actual vitals. Plus, BMI has a really negative history connected to eugenics. Go look it up. It's disgusting. And even today, it's often weaponized against perfectly healthy people when they don't fit the stereotype of "average" that doesn't actually exist. I run 5 days a week. I eat healthy food. My body fat percentage is low to moderate but based on BMI I'm obese.

I share all of this because the same thing exists in education. When we use standardized test scores to measure a student's learning (or worse, still, a teacher's effectiveness) we're often running into the same trap as the RBI. We're measuring privilege and positionality while ignoring the data that actually matters. We're running into the BMI trap and failing to embrace neurodiversity. And, like BMI, there's a dark side of psychometric history rooted in eugenics.

I'm not opposed to data. I love data. But my love for data is precisely why I hate bad data. My love for data is precisely why I am so opposed to nearly every policy that uses standardized tests to measure learning.

[Gary Thomas Jr @GaryThomasMMA]

My long time friend @seth_thatcher81 has a big career opportunity. Send up good vibes @CoachStokes53 @abbyadamsthomas

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

🗣️“Do not talk about test scores until we can address A.C.E. scores.” 👏🏻👏🏻

[Mark J. Westpfahl @MarkJWestpfahl]

🧵 There are a LOT of people upset that the #mnleg just passed free breakfast/lunch for all Minnesota students. It'll cost taxpayers $60 extra per year.

To put that into perspective, I paid $58.58 (+ tip) at Buffalo Wild Wings for 3 people yesterday.
https://t.co/bDh15fXzVH

[Tyler Rablin @Mr_Rablin]

🧵 I'm doing an experiment this trimester.

Last trimester I heard lots of lamenting from teachers about student work completion, and many teachers were resorting to a more compliance-focused approach to grading.

As such, I wanted to see if there was anything to that.

1/

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@PratherLiz Preach! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Folks who teach writing rather than assign writing! #everyonecanchill ❤️

[Raising Unmasked Autistic Kids @EleniTWehner]

We need autistic acceptance and education through autistic voices in books, TV & movies. Without strong, autistic voices of all kinds in mainstream media, I am unable to tell my kids who they are. When our books get #published, it'll bring autistics a step forward. 5/end

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

Thread by @lisasharper on Thread Reader App https://t.co/uNMEogtsk2

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@asj122010 YES!!

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@rcshsmrsjohnson 💚🤍💚🤍 I love this!

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@KySportsRadio They are amazing kids - I am so proud they got to share their talents with the nation! 💙❤️ They are future world changers!

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@GaryThomasMMA Keep it up.

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

It’s like my people want me to record an episode of Snapped: A Mother’s Day Special.

#iloveyall #butlordmercy #mothersdaybliss

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@abbeyallen Yes yes yes!!

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@Brandon12Thomas I sure did! 😂 Loved every minute too! Miss ya!

[Abby Thomas @abbyadamsthomas]

@WillieETCarver Give me all the wild ones!