Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that he will unilaterally override the centerpiece requirement of the No Child Left Behind school accountability law, that 100 percent of students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.
Mr. Duncan told reporters that he was acting because Congress had failed to rewrite the Bush-era law, which he called a “slow-motion train wreck.” He is waiving the law’s proficiency requirements for states that have adopted their own testing and accountability programs and are making other strides toward better schools, he said.
The administration’s plan amounts to the most sweeping use of executive authority to rewrite federal education law since Washington expanded its involvement in education in
With efforts to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act languishing in Congress, President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. Department of Education to grant waivers to states that agree to adopt a prescribed set of education reforms.
Just what those reforms will be—and what freedoms states will gain in return—remain unclear. Those details will be made public in September, Obama administration officials said in a call to reporters.
"We want to deliver a very important message: Relief is on the way," said Melody Barnes, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. "Low expectations, uneven standards and shifting goals ... those days
With less than two weeks before Wisconsinites go to the polls and possibly vote six Republicans out of the State Senate, the billionaire Koch brothers and their well funded roster of right-wing front groups have poured millions in out of state money into attack ads and voter suppression campaigns. All the while, left-wing labor groups like We Are Wisconsin have
My students know that they can “get away” with turning assignments in late. Although I provide an ideal timeframe for when work should be completed, students know that assignments are due when students are ready to receive feedback.
When I mention this to fellow teachers, the first reaction I get tends to be, “Well how will you teach them to be responsible?”
I can rattle off a diatribe about how assessment is about learning rather than character, but I believe character matters. I believe in teaching the whole student. I want my students developing into responsible, self-directed
ATLANTA — After a summer of scandal, Michele Alford will welcome her new third-grade class on Monday the way she always has: with a test. After her students realize that the school year has begun and their grumbling subsides, she will ask the children, “Where did I go to college?” and “What are my interests?”
“I call it the Teacher Test,” Ms. Alford said last week as she readied Room 111 at Toomer Elementary School. “I do it so that they can ask me questions and
Slowly but surely lawmakers across the country are voting for teacher evaluation systems that consider how students perform on standardized tests. These new laws indicate an increasing trust in standardized tests and statistical models such as VAM to do the hard work of defining a teacher's quality.
On July 27 Jeff Henig, a professor of education and political science at Columbia University, published a guest post on Rick Hess's blog entitled "Policy by Algorithm." In it, Henig notes the utility of data and algorithms to help systems like public education make decisions, but he cautions,
"...the high promise of policy by algorithm mutates into cause for concern when data are thin, algorithms theory-bare and untested, and results tied to laws that enshrine automatic rewards and
Confession: I only just now watched Diane Ravitch's speech at the SOS March. I was already in a cab when she was talking--- wondering whether to head back to the hotel or to the ER for heatstroke.
What a magnificent speech it was! I saw Gary Stager's recording. Go watch the whole thing. I'll wait.
I hate to slice and dice it because it was so beautifully constructed, but I think this one particular fact needs to be pointed out a hundred times a day.
People who read this blog are already aware of the international achievement statistic, but I think the rest of the
Last week, I brought up my opinion that children of color shouldn’t be limited to certain occupations due to the perceived notions of observers. I especially pointed this out to [some] White so-called liberals, because it seems that too many of them believe that their pseudo-liberalism absolves from the critique of their racial bias. Even
A group of executives who represent around 300 of America’s largest corporations has labored in the shadows since the early 1970s to promote free market policies to state legislators.
The cabal met this week in New Orleans’ Mariott hotel and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was the luncheon speaker at the mid-week gathering.
The influence which the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has demonstrated includes virtual destruction of public employee collective bargaining rights, voter identification requirements that appear to be aimed at restrictive voting, and most
Remember this headline from a press release from TEA? Black-white achievement gap narrows on math NAEP (see http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=5011)
Well, the same researchers that examined the Black-White gap also looked at the Hispanic-White gap. And what did they find? Well, for 4th and 8th grade reading as well as 8th grade math, they pretty much found that nothing really changed. But, as I pointed out in this earlier post (http://fullerlook.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/tx-4th-grade-naep-score/), the Hispanic-white gap actually INCREASED for 4th grade math between 2007 and 2009. Texas was only one of TWO states that had a gap that widened.
This has NEVER happened before in Texas. This is the first time we have ever seen an achievement gap widen.
I wrote this post in January 2011, but I believe it fits for the new school year as well! I think I will post them in my room near my desk as a reminder. Sometimes after a day with some of these kids, you forget your resolutions! Have a wonderful 2011-2012!
I resolve to:
treat all students fairly, regardless of race, gender, age, behavior, parent’s nasty attitude, desire to be educated, or lack of interest in learning
believe that all children can learn, even if I have t
gawker.com - Mike Bloomberg—not only our selfless, dollar-a-year salary mayor, but a massive philanthropist, too. What's not to like? Well, how about the fact that his charitable foundation doesn't want to pay ...
dailykos.com - The Meritocracy Myth, Science, and the Rise of New Gods The history of power, who sits at the top and why, is one of creating leverage for the few at the expense of the many. To achieve that, often...
dailykos.com - As a basic point of logic, any organized entity—a society, a business, a school—has characteristics that are either created or tolerated by those in power controlling that organization. All entitie...
nydailynews.com - Martin Shields/Getty The city dropped a system to flag suspicious standardized test marks in 2002. The city has dropped key controls for detecting cheating on the state's high-stakes standardized t...
ednewscolorado.org - State test results released today show little change in the proficiency of Colorado students on annual exams in reading and science and only slight increases in math and writing. The number of pupi...
washingtonpost.com - --This was written by Lisa Guisbond, a policy analyst for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, or FairTest, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve standardized testing practices and ...
blogs.denverpost.com - Re: “A neighborhood choice,” July 31 Perspective article. Michael Kiley II is asking the right questions, such as, “[W]hy hasn’t neighborhood school reform received as much attention as charter and...
crainsnewyork.com - August 7, 2011 5:59 a.m. For much of his tenure as mayor, Michael Bloomberg put public school student test scores at the top of his r
mediaite.com - Video With bad economic news surrounding President Obama, Chris Matthews warns that if unemployment stays above 9% Obama will not be able to get re-elected. Dan Rather joined Matthews’ Sunday show ...
nyceducator.com - The Independent reports today that Rupert Murdoch is going ahead with his plans to create a News International-sponsored academy school near his newspaper headquarters in east London despite the ha...
my.firedoglake.com - CNN’s State of the Union featured California’s Democratic Governor, Jerry Brown, the man who was my governor when I entered state service in 1976. He’s no longer Governor Moonbeam. He’s now a mains...
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 9:00 am, August 7, 2011 Photo Credits: Rat Poison Fed to Students in Brazil Brazilian authorities are investigating the claims of a school cook who confessed to mixing rat poison with ...
sacbee.com - Catherine Moulton, a former project manager for Walt Disney Imagineering, has volunteered her services to help shape a new science learning center designed to serve Northern California.She joins Mi...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Male teachers wary of hugging students - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento BeeMale teachers wary of hugging studentsShare By Melody Gutierrezmgutierrez@sacbee.comPub...
jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com - Yes, he really said it:Last year, News Corp purchased Wireless Generation, a company which makes teaching assistance software, and hired former New York schools Chancellor Joel Klein to head it up....
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons”The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons”by Larry FerlazzoIn my classroom, and...
preaprez.wordpress.com - Photo credit: hetrickm My sister-in-law writes the Mayor to remind him that there are folks in the city that have no addresses. Cutting services to them is one hell of a way to save money. The Mayo...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Jersey Jazzman: Murdoch: Replace Teachers With ComputersMurdoch: Replace Teachers With Computersby DukeYes, he really said it:Last year, News Corp purchased Wireless Generation, a company which mak...
firedoglake.com - Indicative Rating Levels from the Combination of (1) the Political and Economic Profile with (2) the Flexibility and Performance Profile (click to embiggen) Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the US cr...
rosemont.patch.com - Most families have several appliances at home, such as a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. While these are somewhat indispensable to many people, there are several appliances t...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Newark school had been flagged before for possible cheating on standardized tests | NJ.comNewark school had been flagged before for possible cheating on standardized testsPublished: Sunday, August ...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons”The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons”by Larry FerlazzoIn my classroom, and...
washingtonpost.com - The figures, made public last week, show that despite some signs of overall progress, students in schools east of the Anacostia River — who represent nearly a third of the city’s traditional public...
I wrote this post in January 2011, but I believe it fits for the new school year as well! I think I will post them in my room near my desk as a reminder. Sometimes after a day with some of these kids, you forget your resolutions! 
Have a wonderful 2011-2012!
DianeRavitch
leoniehaimson
fklonsky
