Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
When Education Leaders Curse in Public
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 12 minutes ago
Rachel Levy asks whether it is appropriate for education leaders to curse or use sexual analogies in public. Apparently, David Coleman, the newly installed resident f the College Board, used a certain four-letter word at a recent Brookings conference on testing. This was not the first time this particular barnyard epithet has escaped Mr. Coleman’s [...]
$5 Million Grant Will Expand Two Charter Schools in Hartford
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 31 minutes ago
The Gates Foundation awarded $5 million to Hartford, Connecticut, schools, most of which will go to two charter school companies. One has never enrolled an English language learner. The other has small numbers of ELLs and students with disabilities; it was co-founded by the state’s Commissioner of Education. The governor, mayor and state commissioner appeared [...]
Why Is Pennsylvania Mad for Cybercharters?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 42 minutes ago
Pennsylvania is on its way to becoming the Wild West for Cybercharters, where anything goes, so long as it’s online. The state already has 16 Cybercharters. Now it is considering another 8 of them. The only states with more students enrolled in virtual charters are Ohio and Arizona. This likely expansion will occur despite repeated [...]
David Coleman, Please Speak Up!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
An article appeared in a British newspaper claiming that such books as “Catcher in the Rye” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be dropped from the curriculum because of the Common Core standards. Says the Daily Telegraph: “Suggested non-fiction texts include Recommended Levels of Insulation by the the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Invasive [...]
Setting Schools Up to Fail
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
A teacher in California writes: I am just about finished with your book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, and as a public high school teacher of 22 years, I would like to thank you for your eloquent defense of public education. My wife is also a public school teacher, and [...]
A Radical Right-Wing Idea: The A La Carte School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 17 hours ago
Stephanie Simon of Reuters continues to be the most industrious investigative education journalist in the nation. Here she reveals the outline of the free-market model of school, where students learn what they want, where they want, when they want, and pay for it with taxpayer dollars. She calls it “a la carte” schooling. It eliminates [...]
My Conversation with Tavis Smiley and Cornel West
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 18 hours ago
I had a great, great time talking to Tavis Smiley and Cornel West! It was like old home week. I think you will enjoy listening.
Michigan Senate and House Pass “Right to Work” Bill
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 hours ago
The right to work legislation was approved by the Michigan State Senate. Union protesters ringed the State Capitol building but were ignored (well, not exactly ignored, some got pepper sprayed). Governor Rick Snyder pledged to sign it and said that it would bring the state together. It surely clears the way for employers to hire hourly [...]
Brookings Institution to Host Governor Bobby Jindal
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
Readers of the blog may recall that I was asked to resign my non-paid affiliation with the Brookings Institution last June because I was “inactive.” When I read this morning that Brookings will be hosting an event where the keynote speaker will be Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, I realized the institution had changed very [...]
What the CREDO Study of NJ Charters Really Said
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
Julia Sass Rubin, a professor of public policy in New Jersey, took a close look at the CREDO study of charter schools and made a startling discovery: the press release misrepresents the findings of the study. It recognized the dramatic demographic differences between the students in public schools and in charter schools (“the traditional public [...]
Philadelphia Parents File Ethics Complaint Against Powerful Foundation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
People often ask what can be done to slow down the galloping pace of privatization, which has the enthusiastic support of so many Republican governors and legislatures (see Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana), the Obama administration (see Race to the Top), and wealthy foundations (see Gates, Walton, Broad). Philadelphia parents are not sitting [...]
State Board in Louisiana Approves Contracts Without Funding
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
The Louisiana state board of education approved contracts for 45 private vendors, many of them for-profit online companies that had made campaign contributions to some state board members. The board acted despite the court decision last week declaring that it was unconstitutional to take money dedicated specifically for public elementary and secondary schools and spend [...]
Charters in Mississippi? UPDATE! LINK FIXED!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A group of elected officials trekked to visit a KIPP Charter school in Arkansas and came home very impressed. They saw black children in an almost all-black school engaged in their studies, and they want to replicate what they saw in Arkansas. In the news article, however, they said repeatedly that no such schools were [...]
The DC Credit Recovery Scam
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Erich Martel, a social studies teacher in the D.C. public schools, reacted to the article in the Wall Street Journal about credit recovery: Thanks to Caleb Rossiter for bringing up the issue of credit recovery in the DC Public Schools. This crime against students and teachers (students tell teachers, “I don’t have to attend your [...]
Is Privatization the Purpose of “Great Schools Compact?”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Should Philadelphia close more district schools and open more charters? Can the district schools learn from charters? Can the charters learn from district schools? Are low scores caused by the schools? Are scores the best measure of school quality? Read about the heated debate in Philadelphia surrounding the Gates-funded “Great Schools Compact.” And be sure [...]
A Voice of Sanity in Arizona
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Edward Berger lives in Arizona. He is observing the piece-by-piece destruction of America’s free public education system. He has a strong, clear and forceful voice. Read more at edwardfberger.com. He gave me permission to print one of his most recent posts: Part I: The Dismantling Of Comprehensive Education: A Case Study. by EDWARDBERGER on NOVEMBER [...]
Joel Klein’s Plan to Spin Education into Gold for Murdoch
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Earlier this year, Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice chaired a task force at the Council on Foreign Relations, which issued a scathing indictment of public education, calling our public schools “a very grave threat to national security.” Klein works for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, where he is in charge of selling technology. The latest report [...]
What to Give for Christmas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Larry Lee of Montgomery, Alabama, has some good ideas for your Christmas giving this year and next: Larry Lee writes: No doubt there are some folks who really look forward to Christmas shopping. Going from store to store, picking up this, picking up that, getting in line at the checkout, rounding up wrapping paper, etc. [...]
Legal Dictators in Michigan ?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is a thought-provoking article in the conservative National Review about Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s campaign to install “legal dictators” in bankrupt cities. The larger issue, which the author does not address, is what happens to cities when their jobs are outsourced, when manufacturing leaves, when the economy has collapsed. Does the state then suspend [...]
Michigan Now Talking about Right-to-Work Legislation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Michigan was once one of the nation’ s strongest union states. But with the decimation of the automobile industry and the recent takeover of state government by extremely conservative politicians, the union movement is on the defensive. Unions in Michigan tried and failed to pass a constitutional amendment supporting their right to bargain collectively. Now, [...]
Michelle Rhee Advising Governor Kasich in Ohio about Funding
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This Ohio blogger reports that Michelle Rhee is now advising the anti-public school administration of Governor John Kasich and the Republican legislature about how to fund education. Given the predisposition of the leadership in Ohio, the outcome is predictable and it won’t be good for public education. Ohio has a flourishing landscape of charters and [...]
How Eva’s Success Academy Thrives
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A high school for at-risk students in Manhattan, now located in a beautiful state-of-the-art facility, will be relocated to make room for Eva Moskowitz’s charter empire to grow. The students at Innovation Diploma Plus high school will be relocated to a 90-year-old school with no science labs or gym. Success Academy recently raised its management [...]
Charlie Crist Renounces His Support for Vouchers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, switched from Republican to independent to Democrat. It is rumored that he may run for governor as a Democrat. In an interview recently, he said he was wrong for supporting vouchers. Angry conservatives don’t like his change of mind. I don’t question his motives. I applaud anyone who is [...]
Indiana: “One Last Stab at Teachers”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Karen Francisco is an outstanding writer for the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette in Indiana. For her fearless coverage of the right-wing attack on public education, she joins our honor roll. Unlike so many journalists who report what is in the press release, she digs deeper and informs the public In her most recent column, she explains [...]
NY Superintendent to President Obama: “Stop the Madness”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Jere Hochman, superintendent of the Bedford schools, has written an eloquent plea to President Obama. He supported President Obama. Now, he says, its time to put the brakes on the testing frenzy that is enveloping students, teachers, and schools. He begins: I do not doubt that your intentions and those of Mr. Duncan and others [...]
Another Great Public School Targeted for Closure in NYC
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Bloomberg administration continues its path of closing schools rather than helping them. Read more here on the New York City parent blog. Only 13 years ago, DeWitt Clinton High School was rated one of the best in the nation. It was once an honored school, home to great teachers and students. But now, going [...]
Florida Botches New Teacher Evaluation Reports
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Florida’s Department of Education rolled out its much-anticipated teacher evaluation reports, and only hours later, withdrew them. Most teachers were rated effective or highly effective, but the reports had numerous errors. At some point, after hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted trying to standardize a process that requires human judgement, after thousands of [...]
Baker: New York Educator Evaluation Is Fundamentally Flawed
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Bruce Baker of Rutgers says that New York state’s educator evaluation system is biased, inaccurate and unfair. Even the consultants who created the system, he writes, acknowledged the high rate of error. But the state says “full speed ahead.” Baker urges educators to “just say no.”
A Petition to the President
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A group of educators asked me to post this petition. You may recall that Linda Darling-Hammond was President Obama’s education spokesman when he ran for office in 2008. Dear Concerned Educators, The Coalition for Justice in Education (CJE) has started the petition “President Barack Obama: Replace Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, with Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond” [...]
Half of Michigan’s African Americans Lose Self-Government
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Eclectablog daily digest UPDATED: Are over half of Mich African Americans about to be under the control of an Emergency Financial Mgr UPDATED: Are over half of Mich African Americans about to be under the control of an Emergency Financial Mgr? Posted: 05 Dec 2012 11:23 AM PST Look out, Detroit! It’s coming right for [...]
What Do U.S. Schools Spend on Testing?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Brookings researcher Matthew Chingos estimates the annual cost of testing as $1.7 billion, but Anthony Cody says that is a very low estimate. Since Texas alone pays $100 million every year to Pearson, it does sound like an underestimate, since the cost of the tests doesn’t really cover all the costs of assessment (and accountability). [...]
When Is Incompetence a Virtue?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Jersey Jazzman hits it out of the park again. You must watch the video. It is priceless. The spokesman for the New Jersey hedge fund managers says it is time to get the experts out of the way and let people who know nothing whatever about education take charge. This is what as known today [...]
Rhee’s Husband Fined for Ethics Violation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A California watchdog agency fined Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento $37,500 for failing to report donations of $3.5 million to two of his initiatives, one for education, the other for education. Anyone can make a mistake, so we should be prepared to forgive his honest errors in not reporting these gifts on 25 occasions. One [...]
The NYC Parent Blog on the Common Core Standards
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters reviews the controversies surrounding the Common Core Standards.
Do Not Read This Book. Ever.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Julian Vasquez Heilig has been doing research about charter schools. He is interested is an Arizona charter chain called Great Hearts, because it just won authorization to open new charters in San Antonio. Somehow he came into possession of a book written by a dissident employee, but Great Hearts went to court to demand that [...]
Reasons for Hope: The Pushback
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
We are all aware of the destructive policies that are being pushed into the schools, despite any evidence for their value and considerable evidence that they do harm. The good news is that parents and educators are pushing back, in city after city and state after state. The resistance to overtesting, to attacks on educators, [...]
Do You Prefer Cucumbers or Grapes?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This is a hilarious and graphic demonstration of how monkeys respond to unequal rewards. It is a morality tale about merit pay. Please watch the video. Corporate reformers treat adults who teach like Capuchin monkeys, experimenting with the incentives and sanctions that will cause them to respond differently, to work harder, to produce quantifiable results. [...]
Philadelphia Parents Take a Stand for Public Control of Public Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Contact: Helen Gym, Parents United for Public Education: 215-808-1400 Jerry Mondesire, Philadelphia Branch NAACP: 215-848-7864 Michael Churchill, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia: 267-546-1318 Press Conference: Private dollars vs. Public Interest Parents/NAACP to file Ethics Board complaint on Foundation and Boston Consulting Group Wed., Dec. 5, 2012 1:30 p.m. 1515 Arch Street 18th floor Parents United [...]
Tennessee Governor Plans a Statewide Voucher Program
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Governor Haslam of Tennessee has been studying the voucher issue and intends to bring forward a proposal. He doesn’t want to limit vouchers to any particular jurisdiction but to make them available statewide. He is working closely with his state Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, TFA alum, to craft his voucher plan. Vouchers will be [...]
Will Public Schools in Michigan Survive?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The ideologues who have always wanted to privatize public education are now running the state of Michigan. In the past, we called them right-wing extremists; now they are called “reformers.” They plan to dissolve all district boundaries and to push through funding changes to disestablish public schools. Governor Rick Snyder has a catchy phrase for [...]
Michigan Superintendent Demands Halt to Privatization
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Superintendent Rob Glass, who oversees the affluent district of Bloomfield Hills in Michigan, has written a powerful letter, denouncing the rapid privatization that is being foisted on the state’s public schools. Please read his letter for a description of what the Republican governor and legislature have planned in a lame duck session. If the legislation [...]
Jersey Jazzman and a Generation of Mendacity
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Jersey Jazzman has his plate full just trying to keep up with the nonsense and prevarication now tumbling from the mouths of reformers. . In this post, he corrects a self-proclaimed member of “the new majority,” who wrote in the Washington Post that young teachers are just itching to be judged by the test scores [...]
What Is the True Cost of RTTT Teacher Evaluation Plans?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Newsday on Long Island ran an article about the exorbitant cost of new teacher evaluation programs mandated by the state to comply with its Race to theTop grant. The editorial board of the newspaper opined in favor of the unproven, heavy-handed plans to judge teachers and principals by student scores. The superintendent of the Southold, [...]
A Problem with the Longer School Day
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Earlier I posted about the Ford Foundation’s plan to extend the school day for thousands of students. This seems to be modeled on charter schools staffed by young college graduates who are unmarried and can work nine-hour days, then do their class preparation in the evening. They burn out after two or three years and [...]
Is There a Severe Shortage of Math and Science Teachers in Massachusetts?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
EduShyster is at it again. She continues to ask questions that elude the Boston Globe and other media in Massachusetts. Like, why do certain charters in the nation’s highest performing state get visas to import all their teachers from other nations, such as Turkey? Are there really no teachers of math, science or even English [...]
Gates Assists Jindal “Reforms”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The Jindal reforms of 2012 are among the most hostile to teachers of any legislation passed in recent years. Under the terms of the law, every teacher’s job hinges on student test scores, which count for 50% of the teacher’s evaluation. As readers of this blog know, the Jindal reforms are hostile not only to [...]
Longer School Day For 20,000 Students
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Larry Ferlazzo comments on the big new idea of the Ford Foundation: longer school days to get higher test scores. The research isn’t strong on this, and teachers don’t like the idea (according to the Gates-Scholastic survey of 2012 and the recent TeachPlus survey called “Great Expectations”), but anything goes. At least, there are no [...]
Reader Calls Out NY Daily News for Charter Spin: UPDATE
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
One regular reader gets very annoyed when he sees the local media telling fibs. He is a truth squad all by himself. One of the favorite fibs is that charters get better results with exactly the same kinds of students. That is what the NY Daily News wrote today. Here is what constant reader wrote [...]
Reader Calls Out NY Daily News for Charter Spin
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
One regular reader gets very annoyed when he sees the local media telling fibs. He is a truth squad all by himself. One of the favorite fibs is tat charters get better results with exactly the same kinds of students. Here is what constant reader wrote in response: It has finally happened! Education reformers have [...]
Mrs. Cook: Teacher of the Year, “Unsatisfactory”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I published a post with a photo of a teacher who was named Teacher of the Year by her colleagues but found “unsatisfactory” or “ineffective” by the value-added methods of her state. I knew her name–Mrs. Cook–but nothing more. Here is the story. She teaches first grade in Florida. Her school got a low grade, [...]
How to Speak Out Against Race to the Top
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Parents and teachers have organized a telephone campaign to register their objections to the Race to the Top program, which has led to more testing and more school closings and more disruptions for students and teachers. Here is the campaign message: Contact the White House weekly at 202-456-1111 Message: Give all students the same education your [...]
Rick Hess: Why Does Tom Friedman Have a Crush on Arne Duncan?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
In another smart column, Rick Hess dissects Thomas Friedman’s fawning praise for Arne Duncan. What puzzles me is why so many knowledgeable commentators continue to speak of Duncan’s great success in Chicago. I get confused about whether it was Paul Vallas or Arne who “saved” Chicago. Despite a string of saviors, Chicago remains un-saved. In [...]
Will the Common Core Standards Reduce Time for Literature?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
According to a story by Lyndsey Layton in the Washington Post, English teachers across the nation are cutting back on fiction, because they have been told that the Common Core standards say they must. The standards say that reading must be 50% fiction/50% nonfiction, and increase in high school to 70% nonfiction. Teachers are dropping [...]
Competition Requires Competitors
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
As this story in the Wall Street Journal shows, over 1,000 public schools closed last year, involving some 280,000 students. This is supposedly the result of competition. But it seems clear that in some districts, like DC, Chicago, and NYC, the leaders of the public schools are supporting the other team. How can you have [...]
Beware the Boston Consulting Group
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Wherever the Boston Consulting Group goes, certain outcomes are predictable: 1. It will recommend closing public schools. 2. It will recommend opening privately managed charter schools. 3. Most of the schools closed will be in African-American neighborhoods. 4. Most of the teachers laid off will be African American. 5. The Boston Consulting Group will get [...]
Pedro Noguera Explains the Demise of Newark’s Global Village
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Pedro Noguera, an urban sociologist at New York University, took the lead in crafting a comprehensive plan for education reform in a group of public schools in Newark’s central ward. Modeled on the Harlem Children’s Zone, the Global Village Zone was heralded as thoughtful and bold when it was introduced in 2010. But things went [...]
Teacher of the Year Rated Unsatisfactory
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
A tweet from Arthur Goldstein, NYC teacher: Meet Ms. Cook, 2012 teacher of the year, rated unsatisfactory due to VAM scores. Tweet by Arthur Goldstein @TeacherArthurG http://on.fb.me/Uk2xkc
Teacher Sabrina Crashes ALEC Meeting
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Sabrina Stevens somehow got herself into a closed-door meeting of the ALEC education task force, and she told the task force how disturbed she was by what she saw. They told her that she does not “understand the process,” and it is clear in the video that they were shocked to find a real live [...]
Contact the White House
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Please read this Facebook post and act now to stop the Race to the Test.
“A Systematic Assault on Public Education in Michigan”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Below is a message that Sen. Rebekah Warren (MI-18) asked us to pass along in response to the petition “Stop the Takeover of Public Education in Michigan” (http://signon.org/sign/stop-the-takeover-of-1). ——————————————– Dear Friend, Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to legislation that would transfer control from some of our public school districts to the [...]
Crybaby in Indiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
At Jeb Bush’s bipartisan conference on the privatization movement, outgoing Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels complained that teachers used illegal tactics to defeat State Superintendent Tony Bennett. He claimed, with no evidence, that teachers campaigned for Glenda Ritz using school emails and facilities. Bennett, of course, was the hero of the privatization movement. Jeb Bush made [...]
A Sad Story of “Reform Churn” in Newark
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Did the Global Village School Zone in Newark have a chance? Did it get enough time? Did it spend enough money? Does Superintendent Cami Anderson have better ideas? Doesn’t reform take time? Stay tuned.
A Student Calls for Help
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
After reading about Stephanie Rivera and her new national student organization (Students United for Public Education), Blake Ward got in touch with Stephanie, and he posted this comment on the blog: “I am from Sumter, South Carolina and our newly-merged school district is facing the issues of a “Broadian” for a superintendant (as I term [...]
British Schools Face Deep Cuts Due to Overspending by Academies
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The conservative British government is hurrying to convert its state schools to academies with private sponsors, akin to our charter schools. In the mad rush to expand the academies, so much was spent on them that there will be deep cuts in the budget of state schools. This works to the advantage of the academies [...]
Cheating Students in D.C. with Phony Credentials
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324352004578131361948093492.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion CROSS COUNTRY November 30, 2012, 6:35 p.m. ET How Washington, D.C., Schools Cheat Their Students Twice Kids who fail their courses go to phony Credit Recovery classes. No wonder so many high-school graduates are at or near a fifth-grade level. By CALEB ROSSITER Washington I recently bumped into a former student of mine outside the [...]
Who Are the Bullies?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Katie Osgood asks, who are the bullies? We have mayors and governors who think they should look tough. So they bully people. They pick on people who look weak instead of helping them. We have faux education leaders who show how tough they are by beating up on teachers, cutting their pension and their healthcare, [...]
Nikhil Goyal Flunks Obama’s Education Policies
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Nikhil Goyal is a high school student who has sharply defined views about how to reform education. He is a child of No Child Left Behind and the Race to the Top. He thinks it is time for a change, but he sees four more years of the same-old same-old ahead. He thinks American kids [...]
TIME Columnist Mocks Common Core Standards
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Uh-Oh. The decision by the authors of the Common Core standards to insist on an equal split between nonfiction and literature opens them up to ridicule. Why are they telling English teachers what to teach? Bad move. Educated people love literature. Who are these guys who don’t? Here is a column in the new issue [...]
The Odd and Shifting Logic of School Choice
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
In the just concluded trial about vouchers in Louisiana, a state education department official said that a student with a voucher is a public school student, no matter what school she attends. The judge could not follow the logic. He ruled that the state could not take funds away from public schools to pay for [...]
Who Spends the Most to Advertise on Google?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This may surprise you. Or if you read this blog regularly, it won’t. It is a big for-profit corporation that sells education. Read it.
More Detail on Louisiana Voucher Ruling
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The decision to declare illegal the funding of the voucher program is very important. Vouchers were to be funded by taking money that was dedicated to public elementary and secondary schools. The decision was about the funding mechanism. If the politicians want a voucher program, they can’t take money out of the minimum foundation funding [...]
If Arne Becomes Secretary of State, Then…
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Thomas Friedman of the New York Times thinks that Arne Duncan should be the next Secretary of State. He would like to see Race to the Top applied to our international relations. Readers have reacted. Leonie Haimson in New York City suggested that Arne could close embassies that can’t end wars and conflicts. Here is [...]
Carrots and Sticks Are for Them, Not Us
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Jersey Jazzman describes Race to the Top as “segregation gone wild.” Strangely enough, the districts that applied for RTTT cash and mandates are mostly poor and minority. Wonder if they know that none of the federal “remedies” has ever worked? Wonder if they know their district is likely to spend more on implementing the mandates [...]
Parent Power in Philadelphia
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Earlier this year, the William Penn Foundation commissioned a report from the Boston Consulting Group on the future of the Philadelphia public schools. BCG, as is customary, recommended closing dozens of public schools and opening dozens of privately managed charters. Parents and community leaders were outraged. One group, Parents United for Public Education, complained that [...]
NYC’s Meaningless High School Report Cards
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Gary Rubinstein has produced a stunning analysis of New York City’s high school report cards, its so-called progress reports. He asks: “Why does the ‘worst’ NYC high school have higher SAT scores than the ‘best’ one?” This is what Gary found: the SAT scores of the city’s highest-rated high school are lower than those of [...]
Louisiana Judge Rules Voucher Program Unconstitutional
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
A Louisiana judge ruled against the state’s new voucher program, agreeing with the plaintiffs that it violated the state constitution by diverting public funds to private schools. The state will appeal. The attorney for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers explains here why the teachers are suing to block Governor Jindal’s Act 2. It’s not because [...]