Diane Ravitch's blog
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Diane Ravitch's blog
How Is a School Like Milk?
Jeb Bush spoke to the Republican National Convention on his favorite subject: how to save American education by privatizing it. Bush said that choosing a school should be like buying milk. This came from a newspaper report: “Everywhere in our lives, we get the chance to choose,” he said in aprepared version of his remarks [...]
Take Action Now to Save Public Education
A reader suggested I post this from my website: http://www.dianeravitch.com/action.html
A Message to Teachers
Mark Naison writes that teachers are the nation’s unsung heroes. He says: ….in spite of the forces arrayed against you, do not give up or give in, because you are all that stands between our children and dehumanization . There is no metric that can measure love, there is no metric that can measure compassion, [...]
Student Protest Video Disappears
Yesterday I posted a video of students protesting against StudentsFirst. The students carried signs and spoke on camera. They objected to that organization’s support for high-stakes testing and for charters invading their communities. In addition, they complained that StudentsFirst had honored a Georgia state senator as “education reformer of the year,” when he was known [...]
What Is Ouroboros?
In response to a post defining a failing school, Paul Thomas tweeted a definition of current school reform, as exemplified by the ruinous policies of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. It is called “ouroboros.” See here for further explanation.
Why Are “No Excuses” Schools Only for the Poor?
Jersey Jazzman heard Condoleeza Rice declare that “education is the civil rights issue of our time” and he wondered, why not say “civil rights is the civil rights issue of our time”? He is especially disturbed by the idea that so many reformers are promoting a kind of schooling for poor children that they would [...]
What Is a Failing School?
After a decade of No Child Left Behind and three years of Race to the Top, officials are getting much better at identifying “failing schools.” Now we know. A failing school is one with low test scores and low graduation rates. A failing school enrolls large numbers of students who are eligible for free or [...]
In New York, the Destruction Continues
New York state published a list of schools based on measures like test scores and graduation rates. At the top are “reward” schools. At the bottom are “priority” schools. This is the amazing discovery. The schools that enroll mostly white and Asian students in affluent neighborhoods are doing a great job; they get a reward. [...]
A Superintendent Added to the Honor Roll
Jere Hochman is superintendent of the Bedford School District in New York state. I am adding his name to the highly elite honor roll of superintendents. Hochman understands that a school functions best as a community. He has created an evaluation system for teachers that will take the pressure away from “teaching to the test.” [...]
The Hero Superintendent from Maryland
I am starting an honor roll for hero superintendents. As of now, there are four. If you know of others, nominate them with your reasons. They deserve our thanks and praise. Paul Perzanoski of Brunswick, Maine, stood up to a bullying governor. John Kuhn of Perrin-Whitt Independent School District is a national model of bravery [...]
Bring Back Childhood
My children went to a school where the kindergarten had a doll corner, a sandbox, a place to build a city with blocks and toys, and lots of other play stations. Their teachers believed that play is children’s work. I might add that they became skilled readers and writers and have productive lives. There is [...]
Paul Thomas Explains Why “No Excuses” Fails
Paul Thomas is an articulate and prolific critic of the status quo of free market reforms. In a new article, he analyzes the nature of “no excuses” schooling and why it fails. Thomas says that the debate about metrics is irrelevant. Getting higher test scores and graduation rates, he argues, doesn’t matter so much as [...]
Reformers Target Teacher Education
My friends at The Chalkface have thrown themselves into the fight to support public education, with a radio show, videos, and blogs. Now they let you know–in language you won’ t hear from me–about the latest reformer attack on teacher education. The reformers want Arne Duncan to ignore the objections of major institutions of higher [...]
About That Meeting at the White House
I posted the previous report about a meeting at the White House with Pennsylvania leaders because I thought you should read it. I felt frustrated reading it. I met at the White House in June 2010 with Roberto Rodriguez, Rahm Emanual and Melody Barnes, who was then the head of the Domestic Policy Council. I [...]
When Pennsylvanians Went to White House
Yinzercation YINZER NATION + EDUCATION = YINZERCATION The Elephant at the White House — AUGUST 31, 2012 So there we were at the White House. Forty “education leaders” from Pennsylvania invited to meet with President Obama’s senior policy advisors as well as top staff at the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The room contained district superintendents, school [...]
Another Online Teacher of Physical Education Speaks Up
Are online schools doing a good job? Some readers have written to defend them. The research is clear that students in online schools get lower test scores and have lower graduation rates. And see here. The virtual schools collect more tax dollars than it costs them for each student. Online instruction may be just right [...]
StudentsFirst Objects to Student Protest
Here is a video of students protesting against StudentsFirst because it supports: 1) charter schools (which in NYC do not accept a fair share of ELLs) 2) high-stakes testing 3) an anti-immigrant Georgia state legislator The response of StudentsFirst: It claimed the students are just pawns of the teachers’ union, obviously not intelligent enough to [...]
NCLB Waivers and Junk Science in New York
Bruce Baker has another brilliant analysis, this time gauging the validity of school ratings just released by the state of New York. A thumbnail sketch: New York is stiffing its neediest districts. Here are the takeaways: 1. The waiver process is illegal. It is not the prerogative of any federal official–not even a cabinet member–to [...]
Texas Parent Says: Count Me Out of State Testing
This letter is posted on Facebook. The parent sent it to me: Dear (school principal), This letter is to respectfully inform you of the decision my husband and I have made to opt our children out of the 3rd grade STAAR tests on Apr. 24 and 25 and the make-up tests on Apr. 26 and [...]
Oops! StudentsFirst Honors Anti-Immigrant Legislator
According to Laura Clawon of the Daily Kos, StudentsFirst selected a Georgia legislator as its “reformer of the year.” Unfortunately this gentleman is known as vehemently opposed to immigration, and StudentsFirst is now facing protests from immigrant groups. At some point, people will figure out that Michelle Rhee claims to be a Democrat, but she is [...]
A Sure Cure for Low Test Scores: More Testing
Jonathan Pelto reports that Paul Vallas, the interim superintendent of Bridgeport, CT, has ordered that students there take three rounds of tests in addition to the Connecticut state tests. This is indicative of a common fallacy among education reformers. They tend to think that the cure for low test scores is to take more tests. [...]
Which Other Universities Are Cooking the Data?
Diana Senechal says that Emory is not likely the only university that fudged the data to raise its rankings in U.S. News & World Report. I imagine Emory isn’t the only one that fabricated its data. There’s a lot of subtle fudging going on all over the place–and with subtle fudging comes not-so-subtle fudging. What [...]
High-Stakes Test for Higher Education
Most educators understand the negative effects of high-stakes testing. They know that the dangers associated with putting pressure on teachers and principals to get ever higher scores year after year or face terrible sanctions, including loss of their job, their reputation, and their school. They know that it leads to cheating, gaming the system, narrowing [...]
Our First Hero Superintendent
John Kuhn, superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt Independent School District in Texas, is a hero superintendent. He has been a voice of reason and at the same time an exemplar of passion and courage since he burst onto the national stage a year ago at the national Save Our Schools rally in Washington, D.C. That is [...]
I Became a Teacher Because…
A reader responds to an earlier post: I became a teacher because I love to learn. Leonard Bernstein said, “When I learn, I teach. When I teach, I learn.” This statement has always held true for me. Teaching is my third career. I worked with non-profits for 7 years, practiced law for 10 years, then [...]
Another Superintendent Takes a Stand
Here is another brave superintendent. Dr. Vickie Markavitch, the superintendent of the Oakland, Michigan, schools created a video to protest the state’s designation of so-called “focus” schools. She said this was part of a political agenda to mislabel and discourage successful schools. The state’s system is labeling higher achieving schools as under achieving to advance [...]
I Became a Teacher Because…
A reader responds to an earlier post: As Augustine said, an unexamined life is not worth living. My single attribute was the ability to defend others. After nearly 16 years in special forces I found myself shot up one time too many. I had too many broken bones to keep jumping out of aircraft. Too [...]
Cleveland Plan: Criticism and Response
A couple of weeks ago, I invited Stephen Dyer of Innovation Ohio to write a post explaining the Cleveland Plan. He did that here. I thought the post was fair, balanced, and informative. Terry Ryan of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, based jointly in Dayton and Washington, D.C., responded to Dyer and criticized me for [...]
A Website You Should Watch
Julian Vasquez Heilig is an education researcher at the University of Texas who keeps close watch on the reform issues of the day. Here is his website: cloakinginequity.com He wrote a withering critique of Teach for America in the New York Times, calling it “a glorified temp agency.” He has conducted important research on Teach [...]
In This World Ranking, We Are #24
The Economist magazine has published a major international survey of early childhood education. The survey establishes the importance of early childhood education, which is supported by extensive research. It says: “This Index assumes that all children, regardless of their background, legal status and ability to pay, have a right to affordable, quality preschool provision.” Then, [...]
Why Progressives Distrust KIPP and TFA
Michael Paul Goldenberg explains why progressives are suspicious of KIPP and TFA: There are a couple of key issues that seem to arise (or sit just below the surface) in nearly every conversation about educational policy these days. No one who is critical of the school deform movement (in which I squarely place KIPP and [...]
More from Maine Showdown
A reader sends this update from Maine: Follow up: Superintendent Perzanoski apologized Tuesday for putting his comments in an official school letter, but he did not back away from his actual comments: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Brunswick-superintedent-apologizes-for-way-he-attacked-LePage.html Too bad our governor can’t figure out that he should not use his own taxpayer-funded official time and venue to bully his [...]
Will You Give Your Students to Pearson for an IPad?
Pearson has sent a solicitation to principals: If you allow us to use your students to field test items, we will give you an IPad or another electronic device of your choice. The principal who sent this to me put it somewhat more plainly: Should I turn my kids into guinea pigs in exchange for [...]
This Teacher Loved Working in NYC Consortium School
An earlier post described the excellent results obtained by the schools in the NYC Performance Standards Consortium, where standardized tests were replaced by performance assessments. This teacher taught in one of these schools: In fall 2008, I student taught at one of those schools, after a prior student teaching gig in one of the ‘small-school’, [...]
Putting Children First in NYC?
A reader in New York City has been studying the New York City Department of Education website. She keeps coming up with intriguing findings. Here are some of them: A recent post on Diane Ravitch’s blog and a recent article in the New York Times Magazine got me curious. I wondered: Do New York City’s education [...]
The Ohio Voucher Program Grows
One of the model laws circulated and advocated by the rightwing group ALEC is a voucher program for students with special needs. ALEC, you may know, represents many of our nation’s major corporations. It has about 2,000 conservative state legislators as members and a few hundred corporate sponsors. ALEC crafted the “Stand Your Ground” law [...]
Reformers’ Double Talk
A reader comments on the conflict between what reformers say and what they do: Ironically, sometimes, what corporate sponsored “reformers” say they want is the exact opposite of what they really want. For example, this week on Twitter, Arne Duncan was promoting student involvement in mock elections and said, “Watch the MyVoice National Mock Election [...]
Idiotic Pre-K Performance Assessments
A reader tells us what is expected of Pre-K teachers in New York CitY, where teachers must administer laborious tasks which are filed away and forgotten. too late..pre-k is already being assessed with performance tasks. In NYC we can choose one ELA and one Math bundle. that’s what the DOE calls units–bundles. I’m not quite [...]
Is Education the Civil Rights Issue of Our Day?
Condoleeza Rice asserted in her speech to the Republican National Convention that education is the civil rights issue of our day. And the solution–music to GOP ears–is school choice. This echoes the findings of a report issued by a task force she co-chaired with Joel Klein, which said that US public education is a very [...]
This May Sound Familiar
A reader in the U.K. sent this editorial about business leaders’ complaints about poorly educated workers. He thought it was interesting to note that the same laments are heard on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. I have noticed that such laments are often concurrent with a big push to outsource jobs to countries that [...]
Why Public Education?
Philosopher Walter Feinberg recently wrote to explain the “Idea of a Public Education” in Review of Research in Education. Feinberg gave me his permission to reproduce part of that essay here. In this section, I will examine the major justification for substituting private, parental choice for a larger public good and show why this justification [...]
Tony Danza Apologizes to Every Teacher
Tony Danza did something amazing. He put his Hollywood career on hold and taught English in a Philadelphia high school for a year. He learned what every teacher knows. It is really hard work. Some kids don’t show up. Some don’t try. Some parents aren’t involved. He discovered that everything he thought he knew was [...]
More CNN Deletions
This morning there were 66 comments following my interview with Randi Kaye. Now there are 24. More CNN hocus-pocus, now you see it, now you don’t. What gives?
Is This Ironic?
A reader comments on the fact that StudentsFirst–the Michelle Rhee organization that is raising $1 billion to attack teachers and public schools– is promoting the parent trigger film: I find it more than slightly ironic that Michelle Rhee, a woman who has openly joked about putting tape over the mouths of young children to keep [...]
Here Comes Common Core, Ready Or Not
A teacher in Florida wants to know how the Common Core standards are supposed to change her teaching, why she should drop literature for informational texts, which dominate other subjects, and what the PARCC assessments mean. Will states have the money they need to buy computers for the assessments? Will they have the funds to [...]
Talk about Double Standards!
When any educator dares to challenge the conventional wisdom and say that our schools are not failing, they can expect to be excoriated by reformers. A reformer these days is someone who believes that the “system” is obsolete and broken and must be handed over to private corporations. Reformers dismiss NAEP scores because they show [...]
What the Maine Press Said
Yesterday I posted a letter that Superintendent Paul Perzanoski wrote to his staff in Brunswick, Maine. He defended educators against the bullying of the governor and–since the governor had such disdain for the state’s students, teachers and public schools– suggested that the governor should take a standardized test and publish his scores. Since I have [...]
A First-Person Account of Chinese Schools
This is a phenomenal article that explains why the writer decided to leave China, which he loved. This was one important reason: Apart from what I hope is a justifiable human desire to be part of a community and no longer be treated as an outsider, to run my own business in a regulated environment [...]
Why Did You Become a Teacher?
This reader explains why she became a teacher. She didn’t do it because she loves the children but because she loves to teach. What do you think? Would you please address this statement which I heard last night in Chris Christie’s speech. It is about the idea that people become and stay as teachers because [...]
Jersey Jazzman Reviews Joel Klein
Jersey Jazzman parses the latest article by Joel Klein, who frankly admits that the real goal of reform is to open up the education system to entrepreneurs and investors. As more start-ups produce new products and innovations, schools are sure to benefit, he predicts. Klein also thinks that the R&D cycle for schools is much [...]
Does New York State Welcome Performance Assessments?
Jennifer Borgioli, whom I met via Twitter and know as DataDiva, has sent me a post about performance assessments in New York. She is responding to an earlier post about the New York Performance Standards Consortium, which has thus far not gotten permission form the state to add 19 schools to its group. The Consortium [...]
A Teacher Reviews Frank Bruni’s Article about the Parent Trigger
This retired teacher hasn’t seen the controversial movie about the parent trigger. But he read Frank Bruni’s article and found it insulting to teachers. He criticizes Bruni for accepting the “reformers” claims that unions and tenures are the bane of U.S. education. And he points out that students in affluent suburbs get high test scores [...]
Look at This Great Poster
This morning I posted about Neil Armstrong and the letter he wrote to one of his teachers when she retired, thanking her for what she had done for him. She was his math teacher in elementary school. A reader asked if she could turn what I had written into a poster, and I said “of [...]
An Angry Teacher in Louisiana Replies
A reader said he was shocked, shocked by a post that linked to an article that spoke disparagingly of Governor Bobby Jindal and State Commissioner of Education John White. He thought it was “uncivil” to refer to them in disrespectful language. This teacher from Louisiana disagrees. Since there aren’t many places in Louisiana where his [...]
Secret of Successful Boston Charter Schools?
This just in from a teacher in Boston, in response to this post about teachers at “no excuses” schools: Check out the number of special education students and limited English speakers in Boston Public Schools compared to these charter schools where genius teachers from fancy universities are such a great success. BPS has 18.3% special [...]
What Are the Bounds of Civil Discussion?
Earlier today I published a biting critique of John White and Bobby Jindal, who are doing their best to privatize public education in Louisiana. I happen to think the pair have turned the state of Louisiana into an international laughing stock and put the future of a generation of children at risk. The writer, who [...]
What Can Be Done to Stop the “Vandals at the Gate”?
This is one of the sharpest commentaries I have read about the depredations of the Jindal-White gang in Louisiana, who are intent on destroying public education in the state as well as the teaching profession. Everyone can pick their favorite line; there are many. What I appreciate is the writer’s slashing criticism of the silent [...]
Reformer Squabble in Connecticut
A progressive website published a “leaked document” that allegedly shows bad blood between Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst and Connecticut’s Parent Union. Both are supposed to be working together to promote the parent trigger in Connecticut but it seems they got into a slugfest over money. Read it for yourself.
Who Teaches in NYC Charters?
Bruce Baker just released a fascinating summary of research on NYC charter schools. The teachers are younger than district teachers, but not right out of college. They typically have six years of experience, less than district teachers. Their salaries are comparable to those of public school teachers. They mostly have smaller classes than those in [...]
Did He Miss Class That Day?
I posted earlier about Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, who said he could not see the difference between public, private and religious schools. A teacher asks: I wonder where these politicians are getting their education from. Did they miss class on the days when the Constitution and First Amendment were discussed?
Good Grief! Look at #2 in Texas Education Agency
While there was a fair amount of attention paid to Governor Rick Perry’s choice to be Commission of the Texas Education Agency, almost unnoticed was his selection of the second in command. She is Lizzette Gonzalez-Reynolds. She worked as a legislative associate for then-Governor George W. Bush and after he became President, she was rewarded [...]
Jersey Jazzman Enters the KIPP Fray Once More
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Jersey Jazzman has a few choice words for the KIPP shock troops, who appear unable to tolerate a question, let alone a discussion or a debate without sliming those who dare to question their carefully honed image. Jersey Jazzman corrects some overstatements and errors. In case [...]
Neil Armstrong Thanked His Teacher
As he was preparing for his historic journey into outer space, Neil Armstrong took the time to write a letter to his favorite teacher. He wrote to her on the occasion of her retirement to thank her for the part she played in his life. She taught him math in elementary school. He never forgot [...]
Randi Weingarten Responds to Parent Trigger Film
TO: Interested Parties From: AFT President Randi Weingarten Date: August 28, 2012 RE: “Won’t Back Down” __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One can’t help but be moved by the characters and story portrayed in Walden Media’s film “Won’t Back Down.” The film is successful in driving home the sense of urgency parents and educators feel to do everything they [...]
Why Not Evaluate Everyone?
A teacher asks a reasonable question: Why are teachers the only ones to be evaluated? Evaluate everyone!
The Importance of Humor
In tough times, it is important to laugh. Laughter is good for you. Some people say it extends your life. If you see any great videos or websites that help educators laugh at the absurdities now piled on their heads, please send them to me and I’ll share them. Here is a terrific website created [...]
Are Charters Hurting Private Schools?
The libertarian CATO Institute, which supports vouchers and school choice, today published a study of the way that charters are affecting private schools. Briefly, charters are drawing many students from private schools. In urban districts, about 1/3 of charter elementary students come from private schools (mostly Catholic), causing these schools to be in deep financial [...]
The Silent Crisis in Higher Education
This is a shocking article. It describes the new world of academia, where adjuncts may be paid $10,000 a year to teach five courses. They get no benefits. It was written by a woman who just received her Ph.D. in anthropology and is wondering if she will get a job and wondering how an academic [...]
Philly Mayor: No Difference Among Public, Private, Religious Schools?
The mayor of Philadelphia says there is no difference among different kinds of schools, be they public, private, religious, charter, whatever. He sees no special responsibility to support public education. In a sense it is understandable since the people of Philadelphia lost control of their schools to the state years ago. And the state imposed [...]
Whose Side Are You On?
We know about the people who are using “reform” as their stepping stone to fame and fortune. We know about those who demand more testing, more standardization, more dehumanization. We know about the policymakers and pundits who think that test scores are the object of education. Nothing else matters to them. What do we know [...]
How to Win the War of Ideas
I am often asked what teachers and parents can do to get across how absurd the “reform” ideas are. Most important is to reach the public, to enable the public to understand what is happening, and how little evidence there is for any of the reformers’ claims or their strategies. But here is another tack. [...]
About the KIPP Debate: Be Nice
Defenders of KIPP sent two comments in response to a post I wrote calling on KIPP to take over an entire small district. Both comments, one from Jonathan Schorr and another from Dr. Daniel Musher, questioned my integrity as a researcher and scholar (and implicitly, as a person, since the insults suggested that I lie, [...]
Brave Maine Superintendent Rebukes Governor
Maine Governor Paul LePage has made a name for himself insulting Maine educators and proposing vouchers, charters, and evaluating teachers by student test scores. One superintendent, Paul Perzanoski of Brunswick, decided he had had enough. In his back to school letter to school staff (not parents or children), he proposed that the governor take the [...]
Alfred North Whitehead Speaks to Us Today
A colleague in Korea wrote to exchange ideas about civic education. In the course of our exchange, my friend offered these astonishingly relevant quotes from the esteemed philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. Let me be frank and say that I did not resonate to his ideas when I first read them half a century ago. I [...]
Rick Perry Appoints New Texas Commissioner of Education
Governor Rick Perry has appointed Michael Williams to be the new state Commissioner of Education in Texas. Mr. Williams is a former general counsel to the Republican Party. Most recently he served on the commission that regulates the oil and gas industry. He was born in Midland, Texas, the same town as George W. Bush. [...]
Read These Comments Before CNN Deletes Them
As readers of this blog know, CNN posted Randi Kaye’s August 18 interview with me a week after it aired. I heard there were about 35 comments, and they were suddenly deleted. People started posting comments again, possibly 20 or so, and then they too were deleted. People went back for a third round and [...]
How Not to Build a Teaching Profession in Detroit
Detroit is in turmoil, as reform arrives. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of teachers don’t know if they have a job. The reform plan closed a bunch of schools and opened another bunch of schools. That’s reform. Open some, close some, see if it works, start over. Sort of like an old game called 52 Pick-up, where [...]
CNN Deleted All Comments on My Interview–Again!
A reader informed me that CNN deleted all comments on Randi Kaye’s interview with me for the second time. Here is the link if you are inclined to try for a third time to leave a comment: http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/randi-kaye-speaks-to-former-assistant-secretary-of-education-diane-ravitch-on-the-state-of-our-schools/
Who Might Be Romney’s Education Secretary?
Education Week has an article by the always well-informed Alyson Klein that speculates about Romney’s possible choice for Secretary of Education. The possibilities include: Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, who shaped the Romney agenda for privatization of the nation’s schools; Tom Luna, the state superintendent in Idaho who is known for his allegiance to online corporations [...]
Do We Really Want “the Best and the Brightest”?
A reader remembers that when David Halberstam used the phrase “the best and the brightest,” it was not praise. It was an ironic reference to the seemingly brilliant Harvard graduates at the State Department, the National Security Council, and the think tanks who got us into the war in Vietnam. You often hear education reformers, [...]
Will Bridgeport Elect a Voucher Advocate?
Residents of Bridgeport, CT, will soon vote in an election for members of their school board. For reasons to complicated to get into here, the previous unelected school board was declared illegal by the state’s highest court, which ordered a new election. If you read Jonathan Pelto’s blog, you will get the full story of [...]
Vouchers in Florida: No Difference
The latest evaluation of the Florida voucher program showed that students in voucher schools made academic gains similar to their peers in public schools. I am old enough to remember the old rhetoric: Vouchers were going to “save” poor children from “failing” public schools. Vouchers were going to “close the achievement gap.” Vouchers were a [...]
The Good, Bad and Ugly in the Cleveland Plan
Stephen Dyer has prepared this analysis of the Cleveland Plan for the blog at my invitation. The plan has been endorsed by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Dyer is in a good position to review the proposal because he is the Education Policy Fellow at Innovation Ohio, progressive think-tank, and was [...]
Charters Hope to Open in Florida’s Top County
Three charter schools want to open in St. John’s County in Florida, which is the state’s highest ranking county. Some of the state legislators, including one of the state senate’s most avid supporters of charters, are surprised. They thought that charters were supposed to rescue students in failing schools, but St. John’s County is known [...]
A Sad Report from Detroit
I asked for news about Detroit. Detroit is one of the trying grounds for corporate reform. It is a petri dish for reformers to try out their theories. The district has an intense concentration of racial segregation and poverty and low test scores. For reformers, this toxic combination suggests that what is needed is school [...]
Who Are the “No-Excuses” Teachers?
This study of the “scalability” of no-excuses charter schools was written by Steven Wilson, who is a supporter of this approach. The no-excuses teachers agree that test scores are the most important outcome of schooling and the best preparation for college readiness. He examined the education backgrounds of the teachers in several very successful charter [...]
Was Jersey Jazzman Pulling a Fast One re KIPP?
Recently I issued the KIPP Challenge. I proposed that KIPP put an end to suspicion that they were skimming students and excluding low-performing students by taking over an entire district. A district with ELLs, special ed, the whole gamut of students. If they did that, they could show their stuff to the world and silence [...]
Florida Teacher Offers Good Advice
This teacher has advice for Governor Rick Scott about the importance of quality time with his family: I am a 27 year veteran teacher from Miami Dade County, Florida, and I can finally say that Florida has done something right by invalidating a ridiculously arbitrary evaluation system that came without a valid rationale or explanation. [...]
What Is Happening in Detroit?
I received the following comment with links from a reader. Does anyone reading this blog have knowledge of what is happening in Detroit and what is happening now that the “emergency manager” law is under court review? The following two links show what is happening in Detroit right now. I find it interesting that the [...]
Could This Happen in the U.S. Today?
This post shows that our society is placing an unfair buden on children and their teachers. When was the last time you heard of a kindergarten with 43 students? Could this be the United States in 2012? A teacher comments: I had a class of 43 kindergarten students last week. What do you really think [...]
This Made My Day!
A reader commented: There have been many times in history when the evidence and discoveries by researchers and scientists (such as Galileo and Darwin) was suppressed by those in power. This is one of those times. The peer-reviewed unbiased research in biology, neuroscience, education, and social science corroborates a humanistic, child-centered, constructive approach to [...]
Elect This Woman to the Assembly in New Jersey
Marie Corfield is a teacher in New Jersey who is running for a seat in the state Assembly. I have met her and I can tell you she understands education and cares passionately about kids. She deserves your support. New Jersey is a state now controlled by a governor who insults teachers and their unions. [...]
Hey, KIPP, Here’s An Offer You Can’t Refuse
Jersey Jazzman has a district to give to KIPP for the challenge: Camden, New Jersey. The stars are aligned. Chris Christie wants to take away any control from the citizens of Camden anyway. The Democratic boss is an ally of Christie and won’t put up any resistance. Chris Cerf, the acting commissioner of education, is [...]
CNN Interview: Curious and Curiouser
On August 18, I was interviewed by Randi Kaye on CNN as a follow up to her sympathetic interview with Michelle Rhee. She was prosecutorial and asked question after question as if she were channeling Rhee. The interview was not posted online until a week or eight days later, long after the other interviews in [...]
A Memphis High School Teacher Dissents
The Memphis public schools are about to merge with the Shelby County schools into a single district. The guiding document was written by a 21-member Transition Planning Commission. The director of the TPC happens to work for the reform group Stand for Children, now best known among educators for its efforts to crush the Chicago [...]
Gerald Coles Responds to Jonathan Schorr about KIPP
In my initial post about KIPP, I described a critique of the KIPP charter school network by Gerald Coles, an educational psychologist. Coles raised questions about the reliability of the research on KIPP and about the selection of students. I suggested a challenge to KIPP, that it should take an entire impoverished district to test [...]
The Greatest Education Error of All Time?
Justin Snider has written an interesting article in the Hechinger Report. What if we find out years from now that whatever we are doing is simply wrong? Why are we doing so many things now in education that have no evidence to support them? If this were medicine instead of education, would anyone tolerate the [...]
Does Connecticut Law Permit Opting Out?
A parent objects to Connecticut’s plan to test children in kindergarten, first and second grades and asks for your help: Does anyone have any info on “opt out” procedures in CT? My daughter will not be subjected to this destructive nonsense during these crucial, early years.
Is This Institutionalized Child Abuse?
In response to a post about a new “reform” law in Connecticut that mandates standardized testing for kindergarten, first and second grades, a reader comments: I have seen my students in first and second grade put their heads down on their tests and sob uncontrollably while taking district-wide assessments. I can only imagine what standardized [...]
A Teacher Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
This comment came from a retired and discouraged music teacher in response to a post about the damage done by data-driven instruction, in which focus is on raising those who score at 2 up to a 3, while ignoring the 1s (too low) and the 3s and 4s (they cross the barrier): Yes, Diane, the [...]
A Shocking Story of Power Misused
Teacher Katie Osgood (Ms. Katie) sent this story: There is a high school in Chicago called Social Justice High School. It was created after parents held a 19-day hunger strike under the reign of Paul Vallas. The teachers there create rich, relevant curriculum to engage their students. Unfortunately, Chicago Public Schools want the SoJo building–it [...]
Paul Thomas on KIPP Challenge
Paul Thomas of Furman University in South Carolina is so prolific and so well-informed (he taught high school for 18 years before he became a professor at Furman) that he has emerged as one of the most articulate voices in the education reform debates today. This morning he posted an informative analysis of the ongoing [...]
Connecticut Adds New Tests for Kindergarten, 1 and 2 Grades
Education reform is definitely found a home in Connecticut! There, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy wants to prove he is the biggest and baddest of education reformers. Through his efforts, the Legislature passed a “reform” bill that mandates new standardized tests for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. No child in Connecticut will be left untested! [...]
What Options Besides College?
Before you read this comment by a reader, let me say what I believe: Everyone should pursue as much education as they want and as they need. I believe that education is a human right and should be free through higher education, an investment by society in its future. Not everyone wants to go to [...]
A Teacher Writes the President about Merit Pay
A teacher in Boynton Beach sent me a letter he wrote to President Obama in 2010, trying to explain why merit pay doesn’t work. Obviously, no one at the White House or the U.S. Department of Education agrees with him. Since 2010, matters have gotten even worse, especially in Florida, where the Legislature mandated merit [...]
What Parents Need to Know about “Reform”
Carol Burris has written an article addressed to parents, explaining what tests are good for and how they are being misused. Send this to your friends, especially if they are public school parents. She identifies three “reforms” that parents should be concerned about, involving the misuse of testing. This is the “reform” that you should [...]
An Art Teacher Explains Why Class Size Matters
A retired teacher sent this post: Larger Classes— Less Education By Anita Getzler Listening to the public discourse on classroom size, it’s been suggested that the number of students in a classroom does not affect a student’s ability to learn. However, when I tell people that this can mean 45, 50, even 70 students in [...]
What Caroline Grannan Learned About KIPP
Caroline Grannan demonstrates what a parent activist can accomplish by diligence. Here she writes about her research on KIPP: I did the first known research on KIPP attrition in 2007 as an unpaid amateur blogger. I looked at attrition in all the then-nine California KIPP schools based on California Department of Education data. KIPP’s [...]
Paul Ryan and the Free Market
This reader makes an important observation about this post and Ryan’s celebration of the free market: What I find most interesting is that in his own life, Paul Ryan has never made much attempt to succeed in the free market. He’s worked for the government for most of his adult life, and his family money is [...]
Elect This Man in Washington State
We who are concerned about the galloping trend towards privatization of public education often complain about the lack of public officials who pay attention or care about what happens to one of our essential public institutions. I just found one. He is running for office in Washington State. He is campaigning against the billionaire-funded charter [...]
Video of Mr. and Mrs. Rhee Lecture on “Ethics in Education”
A reader sends the video of the event at the University of Hawaii in which Michelle Rhee and her husband Kevin Johnson lecture on “Ethics in Education.” We were fortunate enough to have a description of that lecture soon after it was delivered, and it was posted here. http://vimeo.com/47902533
CNN Posts Interview with Me
A reader sent a link to the CNN interview, in which Randi Kaye pretends for a few minutes to be Michelle Rhee: in case this has not yet been posted. CNN News Room posted the Randi Kaye interview with Diane Ravitch. There is a comments section which I’m sure we’ll use responsibly. http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/randi-kaye-speaks-to-former-assistant-secretary-of-education-diane-ravitch-on-the-state-of-our-schools/
Institutionalized Child Abuse: A Lost Voice
Earlier this year a book was published titled Childism by the eminent psychoanalyst Elisabeth Young-Bruehl. The subtitle is “Confronting Prejudice Against Young Children.” Young-Bruehl argues that just as there is prejudice against other groups of people, there is prejudice against children, and she calls it “childism.” Young-Bruehl describes the many ways in which young children [...]
Ms. Katie Explains What KIPP Does Wrong
Katie Osgood blogs as Ms. Katie. Check out her blog. It’s terrific. She is fearless and articulate. In one of my earliest posts, I reprinted a great piece she wrote. Open it up here and read it. She wrote this comment in response to Jonathan Schorr’s defense of KIPP: I am sick of hearing the [...]
The KIPP Boast
I challenged KIPP to take over an impoverished district and to show how their methods could work for all children–the ELLs, the special ed, all kids–not just those whose parents entered a lottery. Jonathan Schorr responded by saying that would be abandoning their original mission. His snarky (and insulting) response appears as a comment on [...]
Will KIPP Take the Challenge?
A comment by Jonathan Schorr (son of the famous Dan Schorr, who was a fearless man of the left, opposed to plutocrats and billionaires and privatizers and their schemes in foreign nations) suggests that KIPP will NOT take the challenge. Jon says that KIPP would abandon their original purpose if they accepted responsibility for an [...]
The Film That Should Be Screened at Dem Convention
When the Democrats hold their national convention, this is the film that should be shown: During the Democratic Convention, I’d like to be invited to a viewing of the documentary, The Inconvenient Truth About Waiting for Superman. I’d like to see a similar panel of Democrats speaking afterward against privatization of our public schools and [...]
You Can See “WBD” at Dem Convention Too, but NOT Sponsored by DNC
StudentsFirst, Parent Revolution, and Democrats for Education Reform are hosting a screening of the film “Won’t Back Down” at the Democratic National Convention. It is not on the official program, so I hear. UPDATE: This screening is not sponsored by the DNC. It is being shown independently by the sponsors mentioned above. This is the [...]
Why Data Count More Than Any Other Measure
When the purveyors of evaluation systems are hawking their latest program, they confidently assert that the test scores are only one of multiple measures. Don’t worry, they say, the test scores are only 20%, or 30%, or 40%, or 50%. We will put them into context with lots of soft measures derived from classroom observations [...]
I Will Be Interviewed Sunday at 6 PM EST
I will be interviewed Sunday night on that great site supporting schools and teachers called “The Chalkface.” You can listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chalkface/2012/08/26/at-the-chalk-face-progressive-edreform-talk-1 The call in # is (805) 727-7111 The show starts at 6 pm EST and ends at 6:30. The hosts are Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson.
The Damage Done by Data-Driven Evaluation
I often hear from teachers who tell me how the professional conversations within their schools have changed. They no longer discuss instructional improvements in their staff meetings; they no longer review opportunities for professional development related to classroom practice. They talk data. They hear from data experts. They strategize about how to get the numbers [...]
This Teacher Says: Support Teachers and Get Out of the Way
In response to an earlier post that asked whether schools improve by attacking teachers, this reader offers advice based on her experience in Nevada: Schools don’t improve if you attack teachers, or threaten them, or harass them, or fire them, or just hound them out of the profession! Schools only improve with appropriate professional development [...]
At the Bottom of the Chain, Where the Kids Are
The discussion of the relationship between the Common Core standards and early childhood education (K and pre-K) continues with this comment, responding to Karen Nemeth’s earlier post: “The federal government has in no way established requirements for what must be taught in preschool. Standards do not equate to a curriculum. As I often tell my [...]