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Monday, March 21, 2011

Jersey Jazzman: St. Michelle's Miracles

Jersey Jazzman: St. Michelle's Miracles

St. Michelle's Miracles

The World's Greatest Woman is so wonderful she can increase student learning just through her magical aura!
Consider, for example, that roughly 70 percent of the DC-CAS “gains” in math and reading proficiency during Rhee’s three-year tenure occurred in the first year. Assuming for a moment that these increases reflect actual progress among DCPS students, we all know that her primary policy reforms – the IMPACT evaluation system and the newWashington Teachers Union contract – went into effect in 2010, her third year.
Can somebody please explain to me how Michelle Rhee (or anyone else) could possibly have

The Planets Align...

Interesting how that happens sometimes:
Last week the New York Times ran a stunning piece about the investments made by the Libyan dictatorship's sovereign wealth fund. According to the article, the fund owns a 3.27 percent stake (valued at $453 million) in Pearson, publishers of the Economist, the Financial Times, and Penguin Books, making it the company's third largest shareholder.

What the Times does not mention is that Pearson is also one of the biggest standardized testing companies in the U.S., touting themselves on their website as "the largest commercial processor of student assessments." They score statewide tests for 30 states, as well as the SATs and ACTs. In fact, Pearson's North American education division is responsible for almost half the