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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform


Schools Matter: Against National Standards and National Tests

Schools Matter: Against National Standards and National Tests:Against National Standards and National Testsby skrashenAgainst National Standards and National TestsStephen Krashento appear on: TOPed.org, Thoughts on Public Education in CaliforniaDecember, 2011The movement for national standards and tests is based on these claims: (1) Our educational system is broken, as revealed by US students' scores on international tests; (2) We must improve education to improve the economy; (3) The way to improve education is to have national standards and national tests that ... more »

How the FCAT Cut Score Debate Isolates Jeb Bush, Pearson, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Gerard Robinson | Scathing Purple Musings

How the FCAT Cut Score Debate Isolates Jeb Bush, Pearson, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Gerard Robinson | Scathing Purple Musings:How the FCAT Cut Score Debate Isolates Jeb Bush, Pearson, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Gerard Robinsonby Bob SikesFrom Kaitlyn Ross, writing for First Coast News:The FCAT is getting national attention after a school board member in Orange County failed the standardized test.“That should tell you a lot. Something’s wrong with the test, or something’s wrong with him. Which one ... more »

Video: How Motivation is Driven by Purpose – and Not Monetary Incentives | Seattle Education

Video: How Motivation is Driven by Purpose – and Not Monetary Incentives | Seattle Education:Video: How Motivation is Driven by Purpose – and Not Monetary Incentivesby seattleducation2011Someone reminded me of a video that we posted a while back on motivation and merit pay.It seems like a good time to post it again.Dora

AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND A LOVE OF LEARNING « Teachers Fight Back

AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND A LOVE OF LEARNING « Teachers Fight Back:AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND A LOVE OF LEARNINGby alkleenI am not a racist. I feel the need to state that before writing this post. I’ve worked all my life for equality and civil rights for all.There is something very important that needs to change in the impoverished African-American community in this city. The majority of African-American students in this school system are far below the average of national test scores. There ... more »

Gov Scott says the public is worried about us teachers ? Really ??? LOL Check your ratings, sir… not too refreshing, eh? Pink Slip Rick « Continuing Change

Gov Scott says the public is worried about us teachers ? Really ??? LOL Check your ratings, sir… not too refreshing, eh? Pink Slip Rick « Continuing Change:Gov Scott says the public is worried about us teachers ? Really ??? LOL Check your ratings, sir… not too refreshing, eh? Pink Slip Rickby gatorbonbcLet’s see… Florida teachers are ranked in the TOP five for teacher effectiveness …“Florida’s schools have sharply improved in the past several years and are now ranked fifth ... more »

For-Profit College Rules Scaled Back After Lobbying - NYTimes.com

For-Profit College Rules Scaled Back After Lobbying - NYTimes.com:With Lobbying Blitz, For-Profit Colleges Diluted New RulesBy ERIC LICHTBLAUPublished: December 9, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTSINGLE PAGEREPRINTSSHAREWASHINGTON — Last year, the Obama administration vowed to stop for-profit collegesfrom luring students with false promises. In an opening volley that shook the $30 billion industry, officials proposed new restrictions to cut off the huge flow of federal aid to unfit programs.Enlarge This ImageAssociated Press PhotoCass R. Sunstein, the White House official who... more »

Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010 - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010 - Letters (CA Dept of Education):December 9, 2011Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, School Business Officials, and Nutrition Service Directors:CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION 2010: INDIRECT COST GUIDANCEThe California Department of Education (CDE) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recognize the complexity that local educational agencies (LEAs) face in allocating costs amongst various federal and non-federal programs. As part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the USDA recently ... more »

Van Roekel Announces Plan to Strengthen Teaching Profession : NEA Today

Van Roekel Announces Plan to Strengthen Teaching Profession : NEA Today:Van Roekel Announces Plan to Strengthen Teaching ProfessionDecember 8, 2011 by twalker Filed under Featured News, Teacher Quality, Top Stories4 CommentsBy Tim WalkerNational Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel today laid out a new action agenda for the nation’s largest organization of educators that will help transform the teaching profession and accelerate student learning.Speaking at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., Van Roekel detailed three major strategies that will ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts #ows #edreform

Sitting Among Giants | ED.gov BlogBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 hour agoSitting Among Giants | ED.gov Blog:Sitting Among GiantsPosted on December 9, 2011 by Guest BloggerThis week I got to rub shoulders with some impressive education leaders.At a White House event celebrating the 6,266 teachers who achieved their National Board Certification (NBCT) in 2011, I heard from National Board leaders, politicians, and policy makers—even the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.But it was later, at a series of ... more »

NEA - Leading the Profession

NEA - Leading the Profession:Leading the Profession: An NEA Agenda for ActionNEA President Dennis Van Roekel lays out a new action agenda to transform teaching. Photo by Gary Dwight Miller. National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel has announced a new action agenda that will help advance the Association’s goals of transforming the teaching profession and accelerating student learning.Incorporating proven best practices from thousands of leading teachers from around the country, and input from an independent Commission on Effective Teachers ... more »

After panel on school choice, critique of city’s system of schools | GothamSchools

After panel on school choice, critique of city’s system of schools | GothamSchools:After panel on school choice, critique of city’s system of schoolsby Rachel CromidasChancellor Dennis Walcott is interviewed by WNYC's Brian Lehrer at a forum on public school options.Many of the parents and teachers attending a forum last night about school choice said it was their first time hearing Chancellor Dennis Walcott talk about the Bloomberg administration’s school policies.Walcott defended the school choice model that has developed during Bloomberg’s ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Jounamalism

Jersey Jazzman: Jounamalism:Jounamalismby DukeTo paraphrase Atrios: quick, someone put together an education bloggers ethics panel!On Tuesday, one lucky group of New York City journalists were treated to an evening of drinks, pizza squares, and funny gift exchanges at Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s annual Holiday Party for local press.In attendance this year were reporters from the New York Times, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, CBS, Fox, and other outlets. The journalists, no doubt straining to retain their “objectivity” ... more »

IDEA Academy vs East Austin Schools on Achievement and Student Characteristics « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

IDEA Academy vs East Austin Schools on Achievement and Student Characteristics « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues:IDEA Academy vs East Austin Schools on Achievement and Student Characteristicsby Dr. Ed FullerWhile Austin ISD and IDEA Charter Schools continue to use percent passing as the metric poor whether schools are doing well, the far more accurate manner to measure the effectiveness of a school is to use student growth. Moreover, to use student growth over a three-year time span in order ... more »

A decade and a hundred schools closed. From Duncan to Brizard. « Fred Klonsky

A decade and a hundred schools closed. From Duncan to Brizard. « Fred Klonsky:A decade and a hundred schools closed. From Duncan to Brizard.by Fred KlonskyWBEZ public radio and Catalyst document ten years of Chicago school closings and turnarounds, from present Secretary of Education Arne Duncan when he was CPS boss to the current CEO, J.C. Brizard. It is a sorry record of failure after failure, decimating neighborhood schools, dislocations of students with resulting violence and no consistent record of ... more »

School Tech Connect: Chime In Any Time Now...

School Tech Connect: Chime In Any Time Now...:Chime In Any Time Now...by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Shorter Magill:I was a young teacher. I wanted merit pay but couldn't get it, so I became an administrator to make more money. Now, late in life, I admit that I might not have done well with merit pay. sourceI've enjoyed reading the honest essays posted by this highly regarded educator, even when he's full of

Minor Omission: Teacher in that ad stands with Scott Walker AND National Right to Work Legal Foundation |

Minor Omission: Teacher in that ad stands with Scott Walker AND National Right to Work Legal Foundation |:Minor Omission: Teacher in that ad stands with Scott Walker AND National Right to Work Legal FoundationDecember 9, 2011By bluecheddarChannel3000 did a nice clarification on the anti-recall add by Kristi LaCroix in their “Reality Check” feature and that got me looking at the whole thing again.The gist of the original ad is that those of us who are recalling don’t really have grounds ... more »

Higher wealth school districts challenge funding law in court | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

Higher wealth school districts challenge funding law in court | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com:Higher wealth school districts challenge funding law in courtby Terrence Stutz/ReporterTexas was hit with another lawsuit challenging the state's school funding system on Friday as 60 higher wealth school districts - now contributing more than $1 billion a year in "Robin Hood" payments - argued that the Legislature has failed to adequately fund public education. Three Dallas-area districts - Frisco, Lewisville and Richardson - are ... more »

Sitting Among Giants | ED.gov Blog

Sitting Among Giants | ED.gov Blog:Sitting Among GiantsPosted on December 9, 2011 by Guest BloggerThis week I got to rub shoulders with some impressive education leaders.At a White House event celebrating the 6,266 teachers who achieved their National Board Certification (NBCT) in 2011, I heard from National Board leaders, politicians, and policy makers—even the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.But it was later, at a series of teacher-led discussions at the U.S. Department of Education, where I sat among the ... more