A Brief Conversation with John Thompson
John Thompson wonders if I overstate my concern about the current direction of the education reform movement.
He is not convinced that the end game is privatization.
Perhaps I sat through too many closed-door meetings of conservative think tanks to think otherwise.
As I read and listen to the leading lights of the movement (Jeb Bush; Tony Bennett; ALEC; DFER; Stand for Children; Michelle Rhee), I hear no liking for the public schools. I hear promises of the golden age to come when public schools have been replaced by charters and vouchers and virtual schools, when teachers have no unions or tenure or job protections whatever, when teachers need no more than a few weeks of training to be considered “highly qualified,” when schools are regularly closed if their test scores don’t improve, and teachers fired if their
He is not convinced that the end game is privatization.
Perhaps I sat through too many closed-door meetings of conservative think tanks to think otherwise.
As I read and listen to the leading lights of the movement (Jeb Bush; Tony Bennett; ALEC; DFER; Stand for Children; Michelle Rhee), I hear no liking for the public schools. I hear promises of the golden age to come when public schools have been replaced by charters and vouchers and virtual schools, when teachers have no unions or tenure or job protections whatever, when teachers need no more than a few weeks of training to be considered “highly qualified,” when schools are regularly closed if their test scores don’t improve, and teachers fired if their
Dawn Hochsprung: A Hero of Public Education
Dawn Hochsprung was beloved by her family, her staff and her students.
Now she is beloved by the nation and beyond.
Here is an interview with her husband and five of her six daughters.
She gave her life to save others.
She loved teaching and learning and wanted her students to love learning.
She kept abreast of current national issues.
We know that from her Twitter feed.
She retweeted articles about Joshua Starr, the Montgomery County (Md.) superintendent who opposed high-
Now she is beloved by the nation and beyond.
Here is an interview with her husband and five of her six daughters.
She gave her life to save others.
She loved teaching and learning and wanted her students to love learning.
She kept abreast of current national issues.
We know that from her Twitter feed.
She retweeted articles about Joshua Starr, the Montgomery County (Md.) superintendent who opposed high-
Does the Average TFA Teacher Stay for 8 Years?
Wendy Kopp stated in a recent interview that the average TFA corps member remains in the classroom for eight years.
This caused quite a blowback because most independent surveys say that the 85% of TFA are gone at the end of three years.
Gary Rubinstein was a member of the first corps of TFA who decided to become a career teacher. He teaches
This caused quite a blowback because most independent surveys say that the 85% of TFA are gone at the end of three years.
Gary Rubinstein was a member of the first corps of TFA who decided to become a career teacher. He teaches
Common Core Tests Likely to Cause Passing Rates to Plummet
New York officials are warning parents and the public to be prepared for a big drop in the proportion of students who are proficient on new tests aligned with the Common Core.
The English language arts tests contain vocabulary that most children are not likely to know and the math tests contain concepts that may not have been taught.
Members of the Board of Regents express concern that neither students nor teachers are prepared for the tests or the standards. Some worry that the tests will have a devastating effect in schools that enroll poor and minority students.
The linked article gives examples of test questions.
When Common Core Test results were recently released in Kentucky, passing rates fell and the gaps widened.
IDEA Charters Make Claims That Are “Demonstrably False”
Tonight the Austin school board will deliberate the future of the IDEA charter school chain.
The chain claims to offer a “rigorous” college preparatory program. It claims that 100% of its graduates enter four-year colleges and universities and that 92% are either still in college or have graduated.
As researcher Ed Fuller shows, none of these claims is true.
71.4% of the IDEA graduates–not 100%–enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education.
Nearly half of them–43%–are failing in college. They were not well prepared.
Each year, the failure rate has gotten larger.
Despite these unimpressive statistics, the U.S. Department o
The chain claims to offer a “rigorous” college preparatory program. It claims that 100% of its graduates enter four-year colleges and universities and that 92% are either still in college or have graduated.
As researcher Ed Fuller shows, none of these claims is true.
71.4% of the IDEA graduates–not 100%–enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education.
Nearly half of them–43%–are failing in college. They were not well prepared.
Each year, the failure rate has gotten larger.
Despite these unimpressive statistics, the U.S. Department o
More Good News from Latest International Tests
GF Brandenburg, retired math teacher, analyzed the latest international reading test, and it is chock full of good news.
Good news that it is for American children, parents, teachers, principals, administrators and school board members.
Not so good news for all the prophets of gloom and doom who have been prophesying the imminent collapse of the American economic and national security, while offering to sell snake oil to make it all better.
Good news that it is for American children, parents, teachers, principals, administrators and school board members.
Not so good news for all the prophets of gloom and doom who have been prophesying the imminent collapse of the American economic and national security, while offering to sell snake oil to make it all better.
Diane in the Evening 12-16-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane in the Afternoon 12-16-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: Reflections from Readers, 40 by dianerav Aside from an overly permissive gun culture and underfunded mental healthcare system, I can’t help but wonder if this climate of teacher-bashing and public school bashing in which many of our political leaders partake regularly, is to some degree a variable in the aggression, hatred and violence that have been directed at our schools’ students and staff. Can we get a moratorium from our politicians to stop bashing public schools and teachers? (Amen to that! Diane) Reflections from Readers, 39 by dianerav Diane, I d... more »
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-16-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Heroic Educator at Sandy Hook by dianerav According to the Facebook entry at the end of this post, 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto hid her students in closets and cabinets; she told the killer the children were in the gym. Her first thought was to protect her children. He killed her. The Wall Street Journal said this about her on a blog: *First-grade teacher Vicki Leigh Soto, 27 years old, died trying to protect the children she loved, her cousin Jim Wiltsie said.* *When the gunfire started on Friday ... more »