Diane Ravitch's blog
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Diane Ravitch's blog
A True Story: How Parents and Teachers Saved Their School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 minutes ago
Will Hollywood make this movie? It is not “based on a true story.” It is a true story. It is a story of parents and teachers in Red Hook, Brooklyn, who joined together to fight off the invasion of a billionaire-owned charter school. It is an inspiring story. The powerless against the powerful. The people [...]
Who Owns the Public Schools?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
When the issue of the “parent trigger” first arose, my first question was why the parents of a school should be given the power to “seize control” and give the school to a private corporation? Should the tenants of a public housing project have the same power to privatize their building? How about the patrons [...]
A Romney Presidency?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
This reader spells out the price of electing Romney and Ryan: I completely agree with you and the author of the original post. It’s all well and good to promote ideological purity when it’s only your own neck on the line. When I was in law school, my torts professor challenged us to always consider [...]
Taking Testing too Far!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 hours ago
A press release describes a shocking new initiative: the New York City Department of Education will pilot Pearson’s new in-the-womb test for fetuses. The esteemed research entity and public relations firm Students Last was first to break the news. Lighten up.
A College Graduate and Among the Working Poor
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 11 hours ago
A reader comments: As the first woman in my family to graduate from college, I am still the working poor, with no health insurance (and several physical ailments) and no pension. It is extremely stressful and disconcerting to have multiple college degrees and still be in poverty. I’m in my 60s and I will never [...]
Teaching Philosophy in High School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 12 hours ago
Diana Senechal, the author of “Republic of Noise,” describes the resources and methods she used to teach philosophy to students in a New York City high school. Students read “The Book of Job,” Plato, Orwell, and other classics and discussed their meaning. It is very satisfying to think that teaching of this quality still survives [...]
A Student at John Dewey Speaks
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
I wrote a post about the NYC Department of Education’s determination to destroy once-esteemed John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. The post was called “The Ugly Face of Reform in New York City.” First, they turned it into a dump for the low-performing kids rejected by their small schools and charters. Then they began systematically [...]
To Be Poor in America
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
Yesterday, I posted an article about growing income inequality in New York City. This morning, I posted an editorial from Bloomberg News claiming that the Census Bureau was overstating the extent of poverty by not counting transfers like food stamps. A reader sent this story, which should remind us that it is no picnic to [...]
If You Happen to Be in NOLA
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
If you happen to be in New Orleans this Saturday September 22, you won’t want to miss this fascinating panel discussion about “The Education Experiment: Petri Dish Reform in New Orleans and Louisiana.” And even if you can’t get there for the panel discussion, open the link and see what they are talking about. New [...]
The Effects of “Reform”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Will Richardson has his own blog, where he writes about many topics, especially technology. I invited him to write for us, and he graciously consented. Will Richardson writes: Last week I had the opportunity to work with a group of teachers and administrators in a state that is supposedly leading the way in education “reform” [...]
Fox News’ Conflict of Interest?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Some of the tests that Chicago teachers complained about, the tests on which their evaluations would depend, the tests at the heart of the strike—are administered by a subsidiary of Fox News. Media Matters, a public-interest watchdog, pointed out that Fox News aired 89 segments about the strike in a one-week period without disclosing the [...]
A Parent Trigger in Nashville?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Parents in an affluent section of Nashville are exploring the possibility of using the state’s “parent trigger” law to leave the school district and form their own charter. The councilwoman for the area is leading discussions. This appears to signal the next phase of the charter movement. For years, as the charter movement grew, advocates [...]
Mayors Support Rahm
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Maybe it should not be a surprise, but the U.S. Conference of Mayors gave their strong support to Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his fight with the Chicago Teachers Union. The mayors’ statement was apparently coordinated by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, husband of Michelle Rhee. Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia signed the statement, but as this article [...]
The Good News About Poverty
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Remember the story in yesterday’s New York Times that described the increase in income inequality in New York City? That’s the one that said that the gap between the richest quintile and the poorest quintile has not only grown but is one of the largest in the world, putting us in the same league as [...]
The Errors of an Anti-Union Blogger
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
During the Chicago strike, there was a lot of hostile media coverage. One of the critics of the strike and the union was Dylan Matthews, who blogs at the Washington Post. This refreshing article shows how Matthews consistently misinterpreted research to reflect his own opinions. The author, Mike Paarlberg, is a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer [...]
A Hero of American Education: Richard Rothstein
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
When writing about Richard Rothstein, I scarcely know where to begin. He has written several major books. Anyone who wants to understand the challenge of poverty in our society must read Rothstein’s seminal work, Class and Schools. He was responsible for drafting the EPI paper that brought together nearly a dozen scholars to explain why [...]
Obama’s Dreadful Education Agenda
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The Washington Post has a good article about the aggressive way that the Obama administration has imposed its education agenda in the past three+ years. The article notes, almost in passing, that there is no evidence for the success of any part of this agenda. No one will know for many years whether the Obama [...]
Our National Obsession with Data
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Alfie Kohn on our obsession with metrics, in the current Education Week: Schooling Beyond Measure The reason that standardized-test results tend to be so uninformative and misleading is closely related to the reason that these tests are so popular in the first place. That, in turn, is connected to our attraction to—and the trouble with—grades, [...]
Reformers Buy $1 Million Ads to Spin the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Fred Klonsky reports that Education Reform Now, the Wall Street hedge fund managers’ front group, spent $1 million on TV ads to try to persuade the public that the Mayor won. ERN is part of Democrats for Education Reform, the Wall Street boys who want Democrats to adopt Republican policies. DFER has cannily used its [...]
The Fighting Profs at U. Of Texas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This parent supports the professors at the University of Texas, whose patient work is paying off. More than half the school boards in Texas have passed resolutions against high stakes testing, and the head of the state workforce commission just denounced it. Thanks for their scholarship and courage! The parent writes: I love my alma [...]
A Parent Activist Saw the Anti-Union Movie
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Leonie Haimson, public school parent and founder of Class Size Matters, saw the anti-union movie “Won’t Back Down.” She saw it so you don’t have to. Here she tells you the details of the movie and describes a panel discussion that follows. Leonie has been fighting for better public schools for years. She believes that [...]
My Trip to Chattanooga
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I had a great visit to Chattanooga and met many dedicated, civic-minded people. I was invited to visit by the Benwood Foundation, which has done an amazing job helping local public schools and supporting environmental improvement. Chattanooga is a beautiful city of about 170,000 people. It has a lovely, historic central city. Everything is within [...]
The Not-So-Hidden Crisis
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
While the billionaires and multi-millionaires wring their hands over the public schools and promise to end poverty by testing kids and their teachers, there is a back story. The back story is that income inequality is growing worse in America. And nowhere is it more blatant and more outrageous than in New York City, the [...]
A Postmortem on the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
We will see many discussions of what the strike accomplished, who won, who lost. This one takes a balanced view and sees the strike as a lesson about working with teachers and de-emphasizing test scores. As another reader pointed out, it is interesting that the anti-union forces usually keep hands off police and firefighters, the [...]
What the Strike Taught Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Kipp Dawson, a teacher in Pittsburgh, reflects on the lessons of the Chicago strike for teachers everywhere: This strike, and the democratic and solidarity-packed way the CTU led it, has transformed ALL teachers EVERYWHERE from powerless to having now a sense of how to become powerful. Eyes on what our children need, involvement in the [...]
This Is the Candidate We Want
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A reader sent this, commenting on post that asked whether the President would oppose Wisconsin’s Act 10: Submitted on 2012/09/18 at 1:02 pm “Don’t label a school as failing one day and then throw your hands up and walk away from it the next. Don’t tell us that the only way to teach a child [...]
A Future Teacher’s Review of That Movie
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Stephanie Rivera is a junior at Rutgers in New Jersey who plans to teach. She has tangled with Students For Education Reform about education issues, both on Twitter and her blog. Here is her review. I must say, the more I read about the movie, the less I want to see it. I can’t stand [...]
Parent Review of “Won’t Back Down”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A New York City parent went to a screening of the new movie “Won’t Back Down,” which promotes the parent trigger idea. Various privatization advocates are pushing parent trigger laws that enable parents to “seize control” of their public school and hand it over to private corporations. The parent stayed afterward for a panel discussion [...]
The Real Story Behind “Won’t Back Down”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Center for Media and Democracy keeps a careful watch on the activities of ALEC, the ultra-conservative organization of state legislators. One of ALEC’s model law is a “parent trigger” bill. The new film “Won’t Back Down” pulls together the threads of corporate backing for the privatization of public education. Read about it here.
Kevin Lee Is Still Worried
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
During the strike, I printed a letter from Kevin Lee, a teacher in Chicago, to explain why he was striking. The letter was read by thousands and reprinted widely. The editors of the Guardian, a publication in London, read Kevin’s post and asked for his email address. He wrote this wonderful article for them about [...]
A Personal Note from Karen Lewis
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Karen Lewis stood up to the national media. She stood up to the mayor. She could do it because she knew she had the support of 98% of the teachers in the Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU had a strategy to build parent and community support. And that support meant more than the screeching from [...]
A Great Story about the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Harold Meyerson wrote a great story about the strike in the Washington Post. Please read it. The mainstream media, the pundits and the editorial writers were so hostile to the strike that it is refreshing to read someone who really understands what happened in Chicago. Meyerson sees the strike not just as a job action, [...]
How Cyber Charters Make Big Profits
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
No surprise here. The biggest of the for-profit virtual school corporations, K12, has as many as 275 students to one teacher, according to this report in Florida. This is what is described by promoters of the “Ten Elements” of digital learning as personalized, customized learning for the 21st century. Others might call it a profitable [...]
No, You Are Not Paranoid
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A reader from Maine writes: I think you’re right to feel paranoid–Sometimes they really are out to get you! One thing that is starting to get some notice, but is still too far below the radar, is that while the state’s pile on more and more restrictive and demanding requirements for public schools, simultaneously they [...]
A Teacher Explains How to Fix the Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Bruce Adams, a veteran teacher and artist in Buffalo, explains how to fix the schools in nine not-so-easy steps. His recipe does not involve firing teachers or closing schools. It does not rely on standardized testing. It takes time. Wall Street hedge fund managers, Eli Broad, and the Gates Foundation won’t like his plan, because [...]
Some People Never Learn
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Here is an article written by a Texas businessman and former legislator complaining that young people in Texas are woefully underprepared for college or the workplace. The answer: more testing and accountability. He fails to note that Texas has been pushing that testing and accountability thing for at least 20 years. Remember Ross Perot? Remember [...]
Jeb Bush: There Should Be No Public Sector Unions
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Jonathan Pelto reports on Jeb Bush’s recent visit to Connecticut. While there, he saluted the “reforms” pushed through the legislature by Governor Dannell Malloy, especially his efforts to curb teachers’ tenure and seniority. And he boasted about Florida’s achievement (he didn’t mention the class size reduction initiative, which voters approved and he tried to roll [...]
Still No Miracle in New Orleans
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
We have felt the full court press of the faux reform movement for more than a decade. Chicago has been burdened with it for nearly 20 years, New York City for 11 years, Washington, D.C., for five years. The one city that reformers love to cite as their victory is New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, in [...]
Who Looks Down on Teachers?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This is an excellent piece reblogged by Valerie Strauss. The author Corey Robin asks the reasonable question, why do so many well-educated, seemingly liberal people look askance at teachers and unions.
New State Tests=”Total Garbage”=Opt Out
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This Ed school Professor, Tom Slekar, is not silent. He blogs, makes satirical videos, has a radio program (The Chalkface). He even ran for school board in his town in Pennsylvania. And he is leading the fight against high-stakes testing. Slekar has called on his colleagues to join him on the barricades. Read this post [...]
The Inside Story of Great Hearts Charter in Nashville
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
We have been following the unfolding saga of the Metro Nashville school board’s refusal to approve a charter for the Great Hearts charter school in Arizona. The school board voted four times to deny the charter. The state board and the education commissioner Kevin Huffman ordered the Metro Nashville school board to approve the charter [...]
How Chicago’s Children Were Educated by the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This reader commented about how the strike enhanced her grandchild’s education: The strike taught my grandchild and so many more children like her that people should stand up for what they believe in; to thoroughly read any document you sign; to join with people who have the same causes because many things can’t be done [...]
Salman Rushdie Said: Don’t Be Afraid
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The novelist Salman Rushdie lived under a death threat for many years after the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordered his death in 1989. He was interviewed by the New York Times. Something he said struck a chord: Q. What advice do you have for someone who might find himself under a similar threat? A. Two [...]
A Philadelphia Student Speaks Out
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This student opposes the planned closure and privatization of 40 Philadelphia public schools. He realizes that the closures are concentrated in minority communities and have a harmful effect on the students and the communities. He notes that Governor Corbett wants to spend more on prisons and less on schools. This is ominous. As I have [...]
Karen Lewis Explains How CTU Won
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interviews Karen Lewis and other CTU teachers about the strike. Lewis explains how the union patiently built alliances with parents and communities, fighting school closings and agreeing on the needs of children. Karen Lewis reminds us that the great victory of the union was that teachers stood together in solidarity [...]
Did the Strike Hurt the Kids?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Corey Robin evaluates whether the strike hurt the kids, as the critics of CTU allege.
Does Rahm Emanuel Really Believe in Accountability?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
When you watch Amy Goodman’s interview with Karen Lewis, you will hear Mayor Rahm Emanuel speak eloquently about the importance of accountability. He wants principals to be accountable. He wants teachers to be accountable. But does he really believe in accountability? As Lewis points out, the school board appointed by Emanuel is accountable to no [...]
What the CTU-CPS Contract Includes
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Fred Klonsky summarized what the union won in the contract negotiations. This is the contract approved by 98% of the delegates. It will be submitted to the membership for final approval. Frankly, the biggest threat that lies ahead for the teachers is that Rahm Emanuel will continue closing schools and opening non-union charters. Given that [...]
Why the CTU Waited Two Days
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Arthur Goldstein, teacher extraordinaire in Queens, New York City, read Rick Hess’s take on the Chicago strike and offered this comment: It is good to see the “reformers” up in arms about this [strike] and spouting preposterous nonsense all over the place. They are not used to being confronted with truth. In line with that, [...]
How Do You Measure What Ruby Learned?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This teacher had a terrible class. She had one student in particular who was impossible and who didn’t want to learn. But then the teacher started telling a story about Ben Franklin, and Ruby was hooked. What changed Ruby? What was the a-ha moment? Can the state measure what Ruby learned? Can they find a [...]
A KIPP Teacher On What Is Missing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A reader notes that all schools–whether charter or public–are driven in the wrong direction by the current obsession with test scores. High stakes testing distorts education and contorts it for data purposes. He/she comments: I teach at a KIPP high school and have been thoroughly disillusioned and am looking to get out as soon as [...]
Conservative Pundit: Rahm Got Rolled
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute bluntly declares that Mayor Emanuel was defeated by CTU. Hess clearly prefers the Scott Walker style of crush-the-unions and take no prisoners. His scorecard is interesting. It is a good counterweight to those who say that CTU did not win enough concessions. Remember this was a negotiation, not [...]
Edushyster Takes Down the New York Times
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Edushyster writes brilliant satirical pieces about those wacky reformers. In this essay, Edushyster asks whether why so many New York Times columnists have swallowed (or inhaled) the elixir of reformy ideas.
Did President Obama Embrace the GOP Agenda?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute has published a paper commending President Obama for standing up to teachers’ unions. The paper compares President Obama’s support for school choice and evaluation of teachers by test scores as a “Nixon-to-China” paradigm shift. In other words, the paper suggests, Obama’s education policy has done a full pivot, [...]
Nashville Charter Outrage Grows
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Commissioner Kevin Huffman ordered the Nasville school board to approve the Great Hearts charter school. Four times the board turned it down, so Huffman is cutting $3.4 million from the district’s budget. Even more ominous, he and Republican governor Haslam threaten to push legislation to create a state panel to authorize charters over the opposition [...]
A Hero of Public Education in Nashville
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Amy Frogge, public school parent, ran for school board in Nashville. She ran against a heavily funded candidate, who raised and spent $113,000, more than was ever spent for a school board race in Nashville. Frogge’s opponent was endorsed by “Mayor Karl Dean along with a host of special interest groups, ranging from the Nashville [...]
What Is Lean Production?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This teacher worked in a New York City public school that won high marks because of its use of teams. It was an exemplar of “lean production.” It did all the right things. Teachers were constantly conferring. Only problem: the kids weren’t learning. Read this article and learn about lean production. With the expanded use [...]
One of the Best Articles About the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This article was written by Dean Baker, a macroeconomist. It appeared in Al Jazeera. Baker is in no way influenced by the big-name pundits who disdain teachers. To give you a flavor of the wisdom here, this is how it starts: “We don’t know the final terms of the settlement yet, but it appears that [...]
What Is The Mind Trust?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
When I first read that The Mind Trust had proposed a sweeping reorganization of the Indianapolis public schools, I assumed it was another reform scheme to dismantle and privatize public education. But I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so I held my tongue. I decided to wait and see. Today I received an invitation [...]
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter In Deep Trouble
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is the largest in the state. More than 11,000 students bringing in more than $10,000 each. Do the math. More than $110 million rolling in annually for a corporation that provides a computer and materials but no custodians or crossing guards or librarians or social workers or…you get the picture. [...]
A Leader of CTU Thanks Us
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Adam Heenan, a delegate for his school in the Chicago Teachers Union, thanks the readers of this blog for their many messages of support and solidarity. I urge you to read the link he provides to his blog: Thank you all so much for the weeks of support messages sent our way via social and [...]
When (Almost) Everyone Agrees to Bad Ideas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Valerie Strauss wrote a terrific piece about teacher evaluation in the Washington Post that whacked Rahm Emanuel and the New York Times sharply across their knuckles. Mayor Emanuel wanted to impose the highest possible weight on test scores to evaluate teachers. The New York Times thinks it is a wonderful idea. Strauss wrote: “The Times [...]
Rev. Jesse Jackson Gets It Right
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Who is hurting the kids? Reverend Jesse Jackson knows. A lot of pious preaching came from reformers who opposed the Chicago teachers’ strike. They said, “You are hurting the children by keeping them out of school.” We never hear them say that the Mayor and the school board are hurting the children by denying them [...]
Chicago Teacher Strike Ends
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
You have heard the news by now that the strike is over. I was lecturing in Chattanooga and meeting with leaders of the community from 2 pm until now. My brother tweeted to ask why I was behind the curve. Oops, offline. Pundits and commentators will be poring over the Deep Meaning of all this [...]
Can You Suggest Readings That Helped You?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A reader asked for suggestions. I said I would ask for your ideas: My sister is an experienced teacher struggling to keep her chin up in an impoverished district serving children whose parents are non-English speaking or meth addicts. She and her staff want to form a book study group this year – looking for [...]
One Million Page Views!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Good news! This blog began on April 24, 2012. Today, September 18, it passed the one million page view mark. That’s a lot of people across America and in other countries joining our discussion of better education for all. I don’t want merit pay or a bonus. I am grateful that readers here and on [...]
Huffman Punishes Nashville for Defying His Order
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman is withholding $3.4 million from the Nashville public schools as punishment for the defiance of the school board. The board voted four times to deny a charter to an Arizona company called Great Hearts, even though Huffman ordered the board to approve the application. Clearly, Huffman does not believe [...]
These Ed School Professors Spoke Up
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This reader is grateful to the 88 education scholars who protested the misuse of test scores in Chopicago. They told Mayor Rahm Emanuel he was wrong. That takes guts. And it matters. It’s important for teachers to know they are not alone. And they are not wrong. The reader writes: Let’s not forget the CReATE [...]
The Foundation of Current Reforms Is Weak and Beyond Repair
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
An earlier post predicted that the faux reforms of the day will collapse like a house of cards when the public realizes the damage done to children and the quality of education. This reader says that the tests that are the foundation for all of the current education reforms–like merit pay and evaluation by scores–are [...]
Where Are the Ed School Professors?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader responds to a post about decimating the education profession: So where are the voices of legions of education professors who are willing to support the profession of teaching? I see some here on this blog but never see anything written by them in my local paper…..and these folks know the ropes. Colleges of [...]
Spread the word: Stop School Closings!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A note from a friend: Attached you will see our media advisory that we are just about to get out. We are part of a national alliance of youth, parent and community groups who have joined to fight against school closures. We believe they have displaced our communities, in some places like Chicago increased the [...]
This Video Shows Up Bunk VAM
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Researchers at Arizona State University produced a 14-minute video to demonstrate how value-added-assessment actually works and how inaccurate it is. It is easy to watch and presents a clear explanation of this flawed measurement system that reduces teachers and students to data.
Are We Decimating the Teaching Profession?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
An earlier post described research showing that experienced teachers are leaving the profession in droves. In 1988, the modal number of years of teacher experience was 15 (meaning there were more teachers with 15 years experience than any other cohort). By 2008, the modal years of teacher experience was ONE. There were more first-year teachers [...]
Texas Workforce Commissioner Says NCLB Fails: UPDATE,
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Sorry, once again, I forgot to add the link to the article. It’s here now. Please read it. Tom Pauken is not only the Texas Workforce Commissioner, he is a prominent member of the Texas Republican party. Read what he says about NCLB. He says that labeling schools by test scores based on formulas written [...]
Will President Obama Speak Out Against Act 10?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Four years ago, candidate Obama promised to break out his walking shoes and join the picket line if anyone threatened the collective bargaining rights of workers. He forgot that promise when Governor Scott Walker stripped most public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights two years ago. He did not join the people who protested [...]
Carol Burris and I Dissect A Bizarre New York Times Editorial
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The New York Times’ editorial today about teacher evaluation was unusually odd. It sounded as though the writer knows there is no evidence to support using student test scores, but is trying to find a rationale for doing it anyway. There is literally not a single district one can point to and say, “It’s working [...]
Visiting Chattanooga
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I just arrived in Chattanooga. I will be lecturing tomorrow night, thanks to the sponsorship of the Benwood Foundation, a very civic-minded local philanthropy. Michelle Rhee was the last speaker here on education. Her ex-husband is state commissioner of education. Needless to say, teacher evaluation and charter schools are big topics in the state. I [...]
More About Bill Cosby
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
If I had read this article, I would not have been surprised to learn that Bill Cosby joined the board of StudentsFirst. I wonder if anyone told him that when Michelle Rhee left DC, it had the biggest black-white achievement gap of any urban district tested by NAEP. Like double the gap in other districts. [...]
Worst News of the Day
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A friend just informed me that Bill Cosby has joined the board of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst. This is a coup for her in her efforts to demean our nation’s teachers and promote the privatization of American public education. He is clearly uninformed about what she is doing. If you know how to contact him, do [...]
TFA Leading Corporate Reforms in Indiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Read this glowing report about how TFA alums have taken over leadership roles across Indiana, with 11 working in the State Education Department. This is a state where the Republican Governor and Legislature have passed voucher legislation, encouraged the proliferation of charter schools, and welcomed for-profit schooling. It is the full rightwing agenda, exceeded perhaps [...]
Teaching Is More Complex Than Engineering
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader writes in response to the question of whether teaching is harder than rocket science: I am not quite a rocket scientist, but I do have degrees in nuclear engineering. And now I am National Board Certified Teacher and have been full time in the classroom for almost 20 years. I started out exactly [...]
Race to the Top or Crawl to the Bottom?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This reader sees ominous signs as his school complies with the demands of Race to the Top: Race to the Top is diverting teacher know-how, skill, talent, passion, etc to numbers crunching and reporting. taking valuable time away from figuring out how to teach well. We are heading rapidly to where the only people who [...]
Why Do “Reformers’” Ignore Mass Incarceration?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Sharon Higgins, parent activist in Oakland, writes: sharonrhiggins@yahoo.com http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/ Comment Mass incarceration is the huge elephant in the room that arrived AFTER Lyndon Johnson was trying to address the harmful effects of poverty in 1965. Its effects must be added to the mix of what public school teachers have to deal with. Back in 1972, [...]
The Ugly Face of Reform in New York City
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
The New York City Department of Education decided to kill John Dewey High School in Brooklyn a few years ago. John Dewey (ironic name, no?) had long been considered one of the city’s best non-selective high schools. When the city began creating small schools and closing large schools, it had to find a place to [...]
A Startling Thought
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This teacher read Alex Kotlowitz’s article in the New York Times about how teachers can’t solve poverty all by themselves and this was her reaction: Alex Kotlowitz says about solving poverty, “teachers can’t do it alone.” I say, we can’t do it all, and I’m sick of being even imagined to be able to do [...]
A Chicago Student Speaks Up
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
When students begin to understand and talk about the conditions in which they live and work, the national conversation will change. Here is a column written by a Chicago student and published in Anthony Cody’s great blog, Living in Dialogue. She asks a simple question: Why are certain schools given preferential treatment and others (like [...]
Chicago: Education Apartheid?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This post was sent by a reader in Chicago. For the graphics, open the original posting. Education Apartheid: The Racism Behind Chicago’s School “Reform” by OCTRIB_ADMIN • SEP 12, 2012 • PRINT-FRIENDLY Teachers, parents, students and other allies rally downtown in Chicago on September 10, Day 1 of the Chicago Teachers Union Strike. (Photo by [...]
Correction: Chicago Teacher Salary Average Is NOT $74,000
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
It became commonplace in he media to say over and over that the average salary for Chicago teachers is $71,000-$76,000. I heard this and didn’t question it. I didn’t think it was inappropriate or extravagant as compensation for a professional. But it seems the number is hugely inflated. According to this post, the actual average [...]
Who Are the Members of Florida’s Board of Education?UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This blogger wondered who was appointed to the Florida state board. This is a powerful board that selects the state commissioner of education and sets policy for the children, teachers, and schools of the state. The board has given the green light to charters, vouchers, online schools, for-profit schools, any alternative that anyone can dream [...]
What Pedro Noguera Got Wrong about Chicago Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Michael Klonsky in Chicago disagrees with Pedro Noguera’s views in the Nation about the Chicago teachers’ strike. Here Klonsky sets the record straight: Pedro Noguera claims that the CTU, “has not been willing to acknowledge that more learning time and a clear and fair basis for judging teacher effectiveness are legitimate issues that must be [...]
Can Great Teaching Overcome Poverty?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Alex Kotlowitz asks this important question in the New York Times on Sunday. The question is important for several reasons. First, because the self-proclaimed reformers assert that great teachers can and do overcome poverty. You might say that this slogan is their anti-poverty program. Wendy Kopp, Bill Gates, and Arne Duncan have all said on [...]
What’s Missing in Chicago Debate
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Pedro Noguera knows that closing public schools and shifting kids to charter schools is not a remedy to the huge economic and social problems of Chicago. What else is needed?
A NYC Parent Replies to Mike Petrilli
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Jan Carr is a NYC public school parent and a children’s book author. I have met her at parent events in NYC. Last week she posted about the harm done by standardized testing and other of the “reforms” of our time, and especially about the inability of teachers to focus on critical thinking. At my [...]
How Are Teachers in Finland Evaluated?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Amanda Ripley, who usually writes pro-corporate reform articles in TIME, has an article in the Wall Street Journal about how teachers in other nations embrace “reform.” Her first example is Finland. That is a curious example for a devotee of today’s carrot-and-stick reforms because Finland would never permit a teacher with five weeks of training [...]
Excellent Article about the Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Joanne Barkan just published an insightful article about Chicago, in which she asks “Who Is Really Victimizing the Kids?” One of the most startling facts that she reports is that the proportion of African-American teachers was 45% in 1995, when Mayor Richard Daley took control of the schools. Today it is 19%. Can any of [...]
Five Things You Should Know About Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Just received in the email an interesting commentary: If you’ve been trying to talk politics with teachers lately, you know that many seemingly neutral statements have become political land mines. In spite of a few divisive issues, however, teachers still share a lot of common ground that can lead to productive discussions. Below you will [...]
This House of Cards
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
In a recent interview, I predicted that what is now called (self-proclaimed) as “reform” would come tumbling down like a house of cards as the public realized the damage to children and to the quality of education. This reader in Illinois picks up that theme, saying that the foundation of VAM (value-added assessment) rests on [...]
Gary Rubinstein Skewers VAM
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Gary Rubinstein is an extraordinary math teacher who has a terrific blog. His analysis of New York City’s teacher data reports shows that they are inaccurate, unreliable, and meaningless. Any district or state official who is considering VAM should read Gary’s six posts. If you do, you will discover there is no there there. Please [...]
The Untold Story of Charters in Chicago
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasts about the “success” of charters in Chicago. He plans to close more neighborhood schools to open another 60 charter schools. But there is another side to the story. Karen Lewis tells the other side here.
Should Schools Be Run Like Businesses?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Listen to a good panel discussion, featuring Joanne Barkan of Dissent. She wrote the great article “Got Dough? How Billionaires Rule Our Schools.”
Why She Quit Teaching
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
I hate to see anyone give up when they love their work. When you read this essay, however, you will undertand why the pressure got to be too much for this teacher. Do you think we could persuade Bill Gates and Eli Broad and Arne Duncan to read it too? Maybe they could help figure [...]
What Is the Point of Democracy in Education?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This post is very provocative. It may or may not have relevance to the readers of this blog, because so much of it refers to a British context and pertains to higher education. But what is relevant is the discussion of the conflict between democracy and free market efficiency. As I read it, I thought [...]
More “Liberal” Pundits Who Disdain Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A reader writes to add to an earlier list of “five liberal pundits” Add NY Times columnist Tom Friedman and former Tribune editor/current Daily Beast contributor James Warren to the list. Friedman has been wrong about almost everything he has every written about – from the wonders of global free trade to the wonders of [...]