Vouchers Do Not Reduce Educational Inequity
Vouchers were once thought to be a dead issue in US education. Voters have turned them down again and again. The public dislikes them so much that even Republicans are afraid to use the V word. Instead, voucher programs–always enacted by legislation, not by voter referendum–are always called, euphemistically, “opportunity scholarships.”
When GOP governors like Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Bobby Jindal in Louisiana promote vouchers (er, excuse
When GOP governors like Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Bobby Jindal in Louisiana promote vouchers (er, excuse
What’s Great About Our Public Schools
Jersey Jazzman reports a true story about students in New Jersey.
It is about character, not test scores.
He writes: “I’ll say it until the day I die: I am proud to be an American public school teacher. I am proud of the great kids of this country. I am proud to be a part of a system that produces such fine young men and women.”
It is about character, not test scores.
He writes: “I’ll say it until the day I die: I am proud to be an American public school teacher. I am proud of the great kids of this country. I am proud to be a part of a system that produces such fine young men and women.”
Test Scores at DC School at Epicenter of Cheating Scandal
The D.C. Inspector General is satisfied that there was no systemwide cheating. The office investigated Noyes campus and found that maybe there was a teacher or two who might have cheated.
The U.S. Department of Education seconded the nearly clean bill of health offered up by the DC IG.
But here are the actual scores of the Noyes school, compiled by retired DC teacher Erich Martel and posted on
The U.S. Department of Education seconded the nearly clean bill of health offered up by the DC IG.
But here are the actual scores of the Noyes school, compiled by retired DC teacher Erich Martel and posted on
Weep for Detroit
Detroit is the saddest school district in the United States.
It is a petri dish for every failed corporate reform idea.
The schools are at the bottom on federal tests.
The city has suffered de-industrialization, unemployment and extreme poverty.
And the state’s answer?
Privatization and budget cuts, merit pay and testing.
It is a petri dish for every failed corporate reform idea.
The schools are at the bottom on federal tests.
The city has suffered de-industrialization, unemployment and extreme poverty.
And the state’s answer?
Privatization and budget cuts, merit pay and testing.
A Youth Activist in New Orleans Speaks Out for Public Schools
Not everyone in New Orleans is pleased with the loss of public education. Youth groups are speaking out and organizing.
In this article, Jacob Cohen shows how the state board, operating with “God-like” power, closes and opens schools as if they were chain stores, not community institutions in which people’s lives are invested.
The Times-Picayune must have taken some powerful flak for publishing Jacob’s article, because a few days later the paper published an editorial strongly defending the charter schools of New Orleans. How amazing that a young man like Jacob Cohen could so alarm the charter citadel and cause them to wheel out their big guns.
Here is a sample of what Jacob wrote:
“The instability and chaos being wrought on eastern New Orleans doesn’t embarrass the state’s most ideological
In this article, Jacob Cohen shows how the state board, operating with “God-like” power, closes and opens schools as if they were chain stores, not community institutions in which people’s lives are invested.
The Times-Picayune must have taken some powerful flak for publishing Jacob’s article, because a few days later the paper published an editorial strongly defending the charter schools of New Orleans. How amazing that a young man like Jacob Cohen could so alarm the charter citadel and cause them to wheel out their big guns.
Here is a sample of what Jacob wrote:
“The instability and chaos being wrought on eastern New Orleans doesn’t embarrass the state’s most ideological
Maine’s Tea Party Governor Has Hissy Fit
Maine’s Governor Paul LePage is really upset. The state’s charter school commission turned down four out of five applications. Two that were rejected were online schools. LePage has benefited in the past from campaign contributions from this sector.
If you really want to know why the governor was upset, read this expose published last year about ties between the LePage administration and the online charter school industry.
But the state commission did due diligence and reached its decision based on what they saw as the best
If you really want to know why the governor was upset, read this expose published last year about ties between the LePage administration and the online charter school industry.
But the state commission did due diligence and reached its decision based on what they saw as the best
A Charter Teacher Asks for Advice About TerraNova
A comment came in last night from a KIPP teacher in DC. She provides interesting insight about how charter schools can manufacture high test scores. She asks for advice about the TerraNova tests. Can you help her?
I teach Kindergarten at a “no-excuses” charter school in Washington, D.C. The accounts of cheating on which you report are certainly appalling and unsurprising, but – as you’ve mentioned – they are only the tip of the iceberg. Even if scores were left unaltered, and even if these tests measured knowledge that we as a society deem important, we mustn’t forget that these assessments are so poorly designed that they lack validity or reliability. One telling example: my school has adopted the TerraNova as our indicator of choice. Our status as a DC charter, our funding, our esteem in the reform community and our enrollment all hinge on the TerraNova
I teach Kindergarten at a “no-excuses” charter school in Washington, D.C. The accounts of cheating on which you report are certainly appalling and unsurprising, but – as you’ve mentioned – they are only the tip of the iceberg. Even if scores were left unaltered, and even if these tests measured knowledge that we as a society deem important, we mustn’t forget that these assessments are so poorly designed that they lack validity or reliability. One telling example: my school has adopted the TerraNova as our indicator of choice. Our status as a DC charter, our funding, our esteem in the reform community and our enrollment all hinge on the TerraNova
Diane in the Evening 1-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: A Teacher Has a Question for Hari Sevugan by dianerav Hari Sevugan, the ex-Obama spokesman and ex-StudentsFirst spokesman, has twice commented on this blog in defense of charters and high-stakes testing. In his comments yesterday, he pointed to Florida as a model of excellence, while putting down Massachusetts as not all that it claims to be. In my response, I compared Florida’s NAEP scores to those of Massachusetts. Massachusetts is consistently #1, while Florida ranks about average among the 50 states. I assume that Hari was promoting Glorida because Mi... more »