Diane Ravitch's blog
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How Testing in Virginia Harms Students with Disabilities–And Their Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 minutes ago
In response to a post about the New York State tests, a teacher in Virginia sent this comment: As a VA public school teacher, let me assure you that the VA state tests are as bad as the NY State tests. I did my undergraduate degree in NY. It was very hard for my university [...]
Beware! Education Reformers Are Coming for Your School Board
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
Jonathan Pelto wrote this guest post. A former state legislator, he blogs about politics and education in Connecticut at “Wait, What?” –which can be found at jonathanpelto.com. I think the title of his blog refers to the fact that what is happening these days is often unbelievable. During the 2012 election cycle, we saw the [...]
Pennsylvania Rejects 8 New Cyber Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
The Pennsylvania Secretary of Education rejected eight applications for new cyber charters. The state already has 16 cyber charters, with 32,000 students, all drawing from the entire state. The 12 cyber charters that have been around long enough to be rated all failed to make adequate yearly progress. The eight that were rejected hoped to [...]
Why Schools Can’t Do It Alone
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 17 hours ago
Paul Thomas is one of our most eloquent critics of the idea that schools alone can overcome poverty. In this essay, he explains why. The money quote comes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “In addition to the absence of coordination and sufficiency, the programs [addressing poverty] of the past all have another common failing [...]
An Economist Explains the Problem with Choice
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
This post is offered in honor of school choice week. We are accustomed to hearing economists lecture on the virtues of markets and choice. Here is an economist who sees choice differently. Here is the money quote: “Today institutions of higher education, public and private, remain largely segregated by race, religion and economic condition. White [...]
Why You Should Support Steve Zimmer for LA School Board
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
The billionaire boys club wants to beat Steve Zimmer so they can proceed with dismantling public education in Los Angeles. Steve had the nerve to say there should be some oversight of charter schools, so the privatizers are out to get him. They raised over a million dollars from corporate types in just a few [...]
Did Jeb Bush Use His Foundation for Financial Gain?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
Lee Fang has published a blockbuster investigation of Jeb Bush’s foundation. Fang is an investigative writer for the Nation Institute. Last year he published a stunning exposé about the online industry in which Bush and his chief lobbyist were central players. That article followed the money. In this new article, he digs into the financial [...]
NYSUT: Slow Down on Common Core Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
The New York State United Teachers urged the state education department to slow down the rush to testing the Common Core because neither students nor teachers are ready. NYSUT says: Don’t test what hasn’t been taught. Sounds sensible. But this is the strange thing. Open the link. Look at the old math problem. Look at [...]
Jeb Bush Foundation Under Fire for Conflicts
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
Coach Bob Sikes reports here that Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Educational Excellence is under fire by groups who claim that it is promoting the for-profit interests of its corporate sponsors. The Bush foundation, which presumably has a tax exemption, claims that 90% of its funding comes from philanthropic donors, not corporations. This investigation in Maine [...]
Editorial Board Chastises John White
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Louisiana State Superintendent often expresses his contempt for the teachers he supervises. When news came out that the rate of teacher retirements spiked, and teachers said they were leaving because of White’s punitive assessment system, White claimed that those who were leaving were the worst teachers. Time after time, he makes clear his disdain for [...]
Amazing Release of Bush Foundation Emails
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is the release of emails in response to FOIL of “In the Public Interest.” Read to see interchange between Bush foundation and corporate interests.
Mercedes Schneider Reviews NCTQ Board: Part 3
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Mercedes Schneider, Louisiana teacher and Ph.D. In statistics, is writing a series of posts about the National Council on Teacher Quality. NCTQ rates education programs and presents itself as a neutral, nonpartisan judge of teacher quality. Here Schneider begins an analysis of the members of the NCTQ board. Schneider finds that it is committed to [...]
Highly Ineffective: Mayor Bloomberg and Mayoral Control
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Arthur Goldstein is a high school teacher in New York City. He blogs at New York City Educator. The New York State Legislature gave Mayor Bloomberg control of the New York City public schools in 2002. Here is Arthur Goldstein’s assessment of Mayor Bloomberg’s decade of near-total control: When Michael Bloomberg came into office, there [...]
If I Were Secretary of Education…(2)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
From a reader: 1, Dispose of Teach for America and alternative certification (except for vocational courses) or revise it completely as follows. Hire TFAs as paraprofessionals to work under experienced teachers for their first year. 2. Require a commitment of 5 years, not 2, so the schools get full benefit from them 3. Do not [...]
Bad Ideas from NY StudentsFirst
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Matt Di Carlo of the Shanker Institute demonstrates what bad ideas StudentsFirst (NY) has when it comes to improving teacher quality. The organization discovered that most teachers with unsatisfactory ratings are in high poverty schools. SFNY has a strategy to solve the problem: punishments and rewards. Di Carlo points out that the organization seems woefully [...]
Arizona Plan to Increase Inequality
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Governor Jan Brewer has an idea. It is a bad idea. Someone please explain it to her. She wants all schools to start with the same base funding (perhaps lower than what they have now). Then to give bonuses to schools that get an A or B! As this blogger, David Safier, explains, the schools [...]
Michigan: How to Solve Problems that No One Has
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Eclectablog reports on a new Republican strategy: How to solve non-existent problems. Read here. “If you think the billionaires aren’t rich enough, women have too much control of their bodies and workers get paid too much, this GOP is for you. “The 112th Congress prepares to go down as the least productive in modern history, [...]
Walton Funds School Closing Hearing in Chicago
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is amazing. According to the Chicago education research journal Catalyst, the Chicago Public Schools received nearly half a million dollars from one of the nation’s most rightwing foundations to sponsor “community engagement” on school closings. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to close as many as 200 schools. He also wants to open more charters, [...]
Sample Resolution for Equitable Funding
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is the resolution adopted by the Perrin-Whitt school district in Texas, where John Kuhn is superintendent. John is a fighter for children and a member of our honor roll as a champion of public education. He earns his spurs very day as he continues to inspire us. WHEREAS, the State of Texas has established [...]
Take Two Kids
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
News from the Equity Center of Texas about the state’s unjust accountability system: The EC Xpress January 22, 2013 • An Equity Center Publication • Volume 4, Number 3 Take Two Kids… Take two children. Dress one in street clothes and work boots. Dress the other child in competition track gear with the finest track [...]
When Is Federal Intervention OK?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This reader says that federal intervention is appropriate on behalf of social justice: civil rights and gender equity. But it’s wrong when employed to close public schools and privatize them (charters and vouchers) or to impose curriculum (that orohibition is in federal law). WEIRD CIRCLE That is sort of unfair, to complain that only 2% [...]
Join Me at Huge Rally in Austin on February 23
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I will speak at the Save Texas Schools rally on February 23 in Austin. Help stop budget cuts and vouchers. Join me in Austin. Fight for the future of public education in Texas! SAVE TEXAS SCHOOLS RALLY February 23, 2013 Dear Save Texas Schools Supporter, As you know, our public schools are under attack now [...]
Mercedes Schneider on NCTQ and TFA: Part 2
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Mercedes Schneider, who teaches in Louisiana and holds a doctorate in statistics and research methods, continues her analysis of NCTQ, its letter grade reports, and its ties to the reform movement.
Bill Gates and the Cult of Measurement
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Anthony Cody has written a guest column for readers of the blog. As you may know, Anthony regularly blogs at “Living in Dialogue,” hosted by Education Week. He is one of the most thoughtful commentators on the education scene. He taught science in middle school in Oakland, California, for many years and is a National [...]
We Will Help the Garfield Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I was interviewed today by a Seattle radio reporter who said that the teachers who refused to give the MAP test may be fined 10 days pay. I told him they were acting in the finest tradition of American resistance to unjust authority. I mentioned Thoreau and King as Americans who blazed the trail of [...]
Is the Tide Turning?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Journey for Justice brought civil rights activists from across the nation to Washington, D.C., where they presented their demands to Secretary Duncan. This is an important development because until now the leaders of the corporate reform movement have called themselves leaders of the “civil rights issue of our times.” This phrase has been bandied [...]
Seattle Parents Support Test Boycott
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A Seattle parent explains why the Garfield teachers have the support of parents like herself. Hi everyone, For his first school-library experience in kindergarten, my five-year-old son was not allowed to check out a book. Instead he was placed in front of a computer with a set of headphones and told to take a test [...]
Your Favorite Bloggers in One Place
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Tim Slekar is launching a new front in the battle against high-stakes testing and privatization.Satire alert!!!! Tim’s website is temporarily down. Try again later. He writes: On Friday at 9:00 am EST please visit the new and substantially improved @ the chalk face media site (http://atthechalkface.com/). Along with columns by Chalkface and Tim Slekar a [...]
If I Were Secretary of Education…..(3)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A teacher in Indiana(A Huntington Teacher) has this proposal: “I would deconstruct my entire office until only I was left. Then, I’d fire myself.”
Philadelphians Fight School Closures
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia plans to close 37 schools to save money while opening charter schools. Parents, students, teachers, and others are fighting back. The city’s schools have been under state control for the past decade. The School Reform Commission was urged by management consultants–the Boston Consulting Gtoup–to privatize more schools, even though [...]
How Credible Are Those Voucher Evaluations?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
What am I missing here? Dr. Patrick Wolf has made his reputation evaluating voucher plans in Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, but now we see that he is speaking at a conservative think tank about the “success” of vouchers during a celebration of school choice. He wrote an opinion piece for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune warning that [...]
Providence (RI) Students’ Press Release Against Test Misuse
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
PRESS RELEASE January 30, 2013 | *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* CONTACT: Aaron Regunberg | Aaron@ProvidenceStudentUnion.org | 847-809-6039 (cell) STUDENTS CALL ON GOVERNOR TO STOP HIGH-STAKES TESTING POLICY Providence, Rhode Island – January 30, 2013 – Public high school students, teachers, and other community members staged a press conference today to protest Rhode Island’s new high-stakes testing [...]
Breaking News: Students in Providence Oppose High-Stakes Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Yesterday it was students in Portland, Oregon, today it’s students in Providence, Rhode Island. The students in Providence have called on Governor Lincoln Chafee to stop the new high-states tests. The students warn that huge numbers of students with disabilities, English language learners, and minority youth will not get a diploma. They blame these results [...]
Walton Foundation Awards $158 Million for Privatization
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Walton Family Foundation has many billions of dollars. Though not as big as the Gates Foundation, it is one of the biggest three donors to education today. (The third billionaire foundation is the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.) All three of these foundations support charter schools, testing, and choice. Of the three, the Walton [...]
If I Were Secretary of Education…..(1)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
In response to another post, asking what would you do if you were Secretary of Education: If I were the Secretary of Education, I would take all the money being spent on testing and use a good portion of it to hire aids, reading specialists, nurses, librarians, and all the other support staff needed to [...]
Mercedes Schneider Investigates NCTQ Letter Grades: Part 1
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Yet another national report from another reformer group, grading the states that meet their definition of what ought to be done. Here, Mercedes Schneider, a Louisiana teacher with a Ph.D. in statistics and research methods, dissects the NCTQ state report on teacher preparation. Dr. Schneider, a member of our honor roll, previously deconstructed the claim [...]
Reader: How I Scored the FCAT Tests
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A reader explains what happened when she was hired to score the FCAT: My first job out of college in 2001 was scoring 8th grade FCAT essays. We made $10/hour in a small office building in Arizona, and we churned out scored tests like Big Macs. Sometimes the bossmen would test our overall consistency [...]
Heilig to KIPP: Just Tell the Truth
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Julian Vasquez Heilg has started a series that follows the money. Previous entries looked at Sandy Kress, the advocate for high-stakes testing and lobbyist for Pearson, and Teach for America. In this entry, he takes KIPP to task for understating what it spends per pupil. He relies on public data. He calls on KIPP to [...]
Good News! Students in Portland, Oregon, Are Speaking Out
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
High school students in Portland, Oregon, are organizing to fight high-stakes testing. From their statement: “The PPS and Portland Student Unions will be teaming up in organizing an Opt-Out Campaign in which students are encouraged to opt-out of taking their standardized OAKS tests. The Student Unions want to send a strong message against to the [...]
Another Chance to Investigate D.C. Cheating
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
There have been two official investigations of allegations of cheating in the public schools of the District of Columbia during the tenure of Michelle Rhee. Neither of them found any evidence of widespread cheating, yet many questions remain, including questions about the depth and scope and basic competency of the two official investigations. USA Today [...]
Civil Rights Protestors to Duncan: Stop Closing Our Schools!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Protestors from across the nation journeyed to Washington, where they received 45 minutes of Arne Duncan’s time. They told Duncan and President Obama’s education advisor, Roberto Rodriguez, that the closings in minority communities were harming the students and the communities, but Duncan said he had no control over the school closings. Those are local matters. [...]
Ed Reformer Leads Campaign Against Chuck Hagel
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Just when you thought politics could not get weirder, we learn that a public relations guy is running a campaign against President Obama’s pick for Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel. Turns out the campaign is run by Bradley Tusk, who has the following connections: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst, and [...]
The Ongoing Charter School Fiasco in New Jersey
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
How could it happen that New Jersey officials cut the ribbon at the opening of a new charter school facility in September, but the school just lost its nonprofit status? Jersey Jazzman here reviews the nonstop administrative incompetence of the New Jersey Department of Education in relation to its failure to provide adequate oversight. He [...]
More on National School Boards’ Blast at Duncan
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
You earlier read the press release from the National School Boards Association here, reasserting the importance of federalism, a concept unknown to the U.S. Department of Education these days. Here is a great summary and a link to the NSBA’s proposed legislation, which tells the federal government to abide by its federal role–not as the boss [...]
Australian Educators Thank Garfield Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Our compatriots in Australia are watching the growing rebellion against high-stakes testing with interest and hope. They are impressed by the courage and unity of teachers at Garfield High School. They are also encouraged by the Republican opposition to testing in Texas. They are watching events here closely. They know what happens here, for good [...]
Florida’s Nutty Accountability System
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Between the two Bush brothers–George W. and Jeb–the nation’s education system is locked into a regime of endless testing, grading, evaluating, marking, measuring, etc. It doesn’t seem to get us very far. After all, Texas has been in this business for as long as anyone can remember–was it the mid-80s?–and folks there are still complaining [...]
Endless Saga of Charter School Scandals
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Jersey Jazzman has stitched together an amazing story of chicanery, some of it legal, some of it not. The “not legal” part is the easiest to explain: the chief financial officer of the Brighter Choice Foundation in Albany was arrested on charges of embezzling some $200,000. Curiously, he was hired even though he was previously [...]
Common Core Is Horrible for K-3
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
There is growing evidence that the Common Core standards are absurd in the early grades. They require a level of academic learning that is developmentally inappropriate. Little children need time to play. Play is their work. In play, they learn to share and to count, to communicate, to use language appropriately, and to figure things [...]
Citizens or Consumers or Taxpayers?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
In response to an earlier post about how we have been changed from citizens to consumers: Reading this post, i was reminded of these remarks by the Nobel laureate Toni Morrison at fundraiser for my congressman, Rush Holt. These are courtesy of Andrew Tobias’s blog: “When I was young we used to be called citizens—American [...]
NJ Parents and Educators on School Choice Week
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
New Jersey Save Our Schools reminds us that “school choice” was closely associated with resistance to court-ordered school desegregation in the South. Not only vouchers but segregation academies (“schools of choice”) were havens for whites fleeing contact with blacks. Save Our Schools NJ Statement on School Choice Week This week, there will be a concerted [...]
Local School Boards to Duncan: Back Off!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The U.S. Department of Education is not supposed to control U.S. education. It was created to serve schools, protect the rights of the neediest children, and coordinate funding programs, not to tell schools what to do. One prong of the corporate reform movement seeks to strip local school boards of their responsibility, because they don’t [...]
Special Education Teacher on Common Core
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This NYC teacher of children with autism is having trouble teaching her students the Common Core. Readers, do you have any advice for her? “I just started teaching full-time in NYC as a special educator for children with autism. Upon arriving my new job, I have not received any support and help from my administration. [...]
The Biggest Testing Scandal of All
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Pearson has a contract with the state of Texas for five years that is worth close to $500 million. That ought to bring gold-plated service and products to the children of Texas, right? Wrong. Pearson is advertising for test graders in Texas on craigslist! The graders need only a bachelor’s degree, and they will be [...]
The Rationale for the Reform Movement
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader from Wisconsin points out that Governor Walker’s reforms are not intended to improve the schools, but to turn schooling into a free-market activity: Thank you Diane for highlighting yet another unproven attempt to inject free market ideology into Wisconsin public schools. The recent recall attempt exposed the forces supporting Gov. Walker and how [...]
Bobby Jindal and Social Justice, part 2
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader in Louisiana shows how the budget cuts affect the neediest persons in the state: Louisiana is in the top 5 for cancer deaths, infant death, and AIDS. Baton Rouge, the capital is #1 in America for new AIDS infections. And the busline (such as it is) ends well before it reaches the [...]
Why Are We Hoodwinked by Metrics?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader explains why policymakers and the public are hoodwinked by numbers. Follow the links: Diane- I got to this article in the WSJ through the Naked Capitalism blog I read daily: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323374504578219873933502726.html?mod=WSJ_hp_editorsPicks_4 The Naked Capitalism blog also included a link to this article from 2006 on the same topic: http://www.auroraadvisors.com/articles/Webber-Metrics.pdf I forward these because [...]
Bobby Jindal Backs Down–For Now
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Acting in response to a loud outcry and planned protests, Bobby Jindal has decided not to eliminate funding for hospice care for elderly patients on Medicare. The program has gotten a reprieve until June 30. But the administration is still looking for ways to cut the costs, such as by cutting reimbursements to providers, encouraging [...]
Julian Vasquez Heilig Is on a Roll
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Julian Vasquez Heilig is a professor at the University of Texas who has a rare combination of gifts: He is smart, he has a strong command of research skills, and he has a wicked sense of humor. In these two posts, which seem to be the beginning of a series, he follows the money to [...]
Mike Petrilli: Shame on the Garfield Teachers!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I think the Garfield High teachers are a model for teachers across the nation. They show that collective action works. If one person speaks up, he or she gets fired. When an entire faculty resists, together their voice is heard around the world. Not everyone agrees, of course. Mike Petrilli of the conservative Thomas B. [...]
Bobby Jindal’s Idea of Social Justice
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader brought this column by Eric Zorn to my attention. It appeared in the Chicago Tribune. The state of Louisiana is “reforming” hospice care for patients on Medicare. It will stop offering hospice care for many elderly people. As part of his reforms, Jindal has started closing or privatizing the state’s public hospitals. See [...]
Chicago Teachers Union Supports Garfield Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
StephanieGadlin@ctulocal1.com Chicago Teachers Union Launches Campaign Against ‘High-Stakes’ Standardized Testing, Supports Seattle Teachers Boycott CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU has launched a campaign in support of local and nationwide efforts to eliminate standardized non-state mandated tests—also known as “high-stakes [...]
Michigan Activist Joins the Honor Roll
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Former state legislator Mary Valentine has spoken out against the privatization of public education in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. The district had a budget deficit, so the governor installed an emergency manager who turned the children and schools over to a for-profit charter corporation. Mary Valentine joins the honor roll as a champion of public education, [...]
Today is Student Data Day, Read This
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
If you can help with answers to the questions below, please chime in. How do parents “opt out” of sharing personal information about their children that is collected by the state and shared for purposes of marketing? Diane, I am not sure where to post this but this is a request for you. This impacts [...]
Do You Know Who Is Using Your Child’s Data?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This is a letter from Leonie Haimson, who leads the NYC advocacy group “Class Size Matters.” She suggests that you find out what is happening to the data collected about your child. This is what is happening in New York state. Dear Parents: today is Data Privacy Day. Here are some questions you can ask [...]
The Real Civil Rights Movement Is Speaking Out
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
In recent years, we have heard all sorts of surprising people claim that they are engaged in “the civil rights issue of our day.” On behalf of their vision, they promote privatization of public schools, closing public schools, destabilizing communities, busting teachers’ unions, laying off teachers, high-stakes testing, for-profit charters, vouchers, replacing teachers with computers, [...]
More on the Famous American Indian Charter School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Is deregulation a good idea? I would say that it is. There are far too many rules, laws, regulations, mandates, etc. intended to circumscribe the actions of every educator. But there is a bright line between giving professionals the autonomy to do their job and complete abdication of public oversight and accountability for public money. [...]
Rise and Fall of California’s Most Celebrated Charter School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Sharon R. Higgins is an Oakland parent activist who runs several blogs and does great research. One of her blogs is The Perimeter Primate. Another is Charter School Scandals. She also follows the Gulen charter chain. P.S. Sharon does not mention it but David Whitman, who praised Chavis’s school, is Arne Duncan’s chief speechwriter. Whitman’s [...]
What Hath Reform Wrought?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Veteran teacher Marc Epstein surveys the wreckage of “school reform” and wonders who will come along to put our nation’s education system back together again. He writes: “Today’s education reform rests on the premise that the civil rights movement that overturned Plessy and desegregated the South has failed because there are elements of the black [...]
Chicago Charter Fines Mom $3,000 for Her Son’s Misbehavior
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
No excuses! The Noble Network of charter schools in Chicago is proud of its high test scores. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says Noble has some “secret sauce” that produces great success. Could this be it? A Noble charter has fined the mother of a student $3,000 for his rule-breaking. The mother is unemployed. She can’t pay. [...]
Exploring the Origins of the Common Core
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Jim Martinez decided to research the sources of the Common Core State Standards. Given their importance as a redesign of the nation’s highly decentralized education system, we can expect to see many more such efforts to understand the origins of this important document. “Engaging the nonsense – a brief investigation of the Common Core” A [...]
What If YOU Were Secretary of Education?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Brian Jones, elementary teacher and doctoral student in New York City, here presents what he would do if he were Secretary of Education. Please read it. After you do, if you are so inclined, please explain what you would do if you were asked by President Obama to take the job.
Has School Become a Treadmill?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
There was a time in my life when I would have been opposed on principle to the sentiments expressed in this article. The author talks about how schooling has become a way of destroying childhood. I used to scoff at articles like this. But no more. I see my grandson come home with the results [...]
Milwaukee Civic Leaders: Save Our Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This opinion piece appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It was titled “Defend Public Schools, Our Children, Our Democracy” This op-ed was submitted by 11 leaders of community and education organizations in Milwaukee. We need communitywide discussion and action to protect the future of the Milwaukee Public Schools. We welcome input from all who believe in [...]
A Pretty Wonderful Public School in Colorado
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Responding to a post about a test question for second-grade students, which assumed they knew the words “commission” and “Mozart,” this parent replied: My second-grader defined “commission” without needing the multiple choice prompts this morning, but her school has a really strong music program. She credited her music teacher for having taught her the term–which [...]
Turning Us into Consumers, Not Citizens
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This comment from a Puget Sound parent hits the nail on the head about both the strategy and goal of corporate reform. First, create dissatisfaction, then turn us into shoppers, choosing a school while destroying our attachment to our community schools. In time, we discover that it is the school that chooses, not the shopper. [...]
Resegregation by Charters in North Carolina?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A new study of racial segregation in North Carolina shows that 30% of regular public schools are racially imbalanced, but 60% of charter schools are. These findings echo the work of the UCLA Civil Rights Project, which has found that charter schools are frequently even more segregated than their surrounding district. In Georgia, there are [...]
Charter Hype and Double Standards in Connecticut
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Wendy Lecker here describes how public schools and charters are judged by different standards in Connecticut. Part of the hype and spin comes from Connecticut’s State Commissioner of Education, who founded a charter school that is now a “failing” school. (New York State also has a state commissioner who was a co-founder of a “no [...]
Rocketship: Whatever Happened to Humility?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Valerie Strauss notes that Rocketship’s central feature–its Learning Labs, where children are plugged into computers for an hour a day–are not working as planned. Back to the drawing boards. Nothing wrong with trying new ways to reach goals, nothing wrong with innovation and making mistakes. Nothing wrong with mid-course corrections. What is wrong is the [...]
Pensions and Retirements: Another Perspective
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
John Thompson examined the studies comparing the relative cost and benefits of older and younger teachers, and he reads the findings differently from the Education Week reporter. Here are my thoughts on your question. These studies had different purposes so, if used properly, they would have different effects on policy discussions. For instance, the North [...]
Bill Gates: Data Will Solve the World’s Biggest Problems
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Bill Gates shared his wisdom about how to solve the world’s biggest problems with readers of the Wall Street Journal. It is likely to encourage the worst instincts of the business world, which needs constantly to be reminded that human needs are more important than profit, and not everything that counts can be measured. How [...]
If Kaya, Dennis, and Rahm Played Basketball
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A loyal reader thought about the way that school leaders like Kaya Henderson, Dennis Walcott, and Rahm Emanuel cheer for the side they are NOT in charge of. And he tried to imagine school reform as a basketball game. Here goes: The charterites/privatizers love sports analogies. Here’s one for you: you are the owner of [...]
Making Failure Pay
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A reader, Jill Koyama, calls attention to an important topic: I actually conducted a 3-year study of private tutoring companies in NYC. Here is the link to my book, Making Failure Pay: For-Profit Tutoring, High-Stakes Testing, and Public Schools, published in 2010 by the University of Chicago Press: http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo8917055.html
Kaya Henderson and the Cycle of Privatization in D.C.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson is determined to close more public schools, which will create larger enrollments for charter schools. As more public schools close, more charter schools open. As more D.C. public schools lose enrollment, the chancellor has more reason to close them. Henderson claims she will save money by closing underutilized schools, but somehow [...]
Why Will Massachusetts Lift the Cap?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
State Senator Barry Finegold has thrown in his lot with the powerful charter school industry. Some charters get high test scores; some get low test scores. Some skim off the best students in the poorest communities. Some have few or no disabled students, and few or no ELLs. What is Senator Finegold doing to support [...]
What Was Better About Schools in the Past?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Anyone who attended public schools knows there was plenty that was wrong with them. I grew up in Texas and attended segregated schools. That was wrong then, and it is wrong now, even though it is no longer mandated by law. I had some great teachers and some awful teachers. Over the years, in my [...]
Why Vermont Is the Best of All States for Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The U.S. Department of Education recently released data on the high school graduation rate. The most conservative way to estimate the rate is to count only those students who get a diploma in four years, and to exclude those who graduate in August or take a fifth year or get a GED. By the most [...]
Inside Story of the NYC Teaching Fellows Program
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Social media is opening up a whole new world for those who lack access to the mass media. In the mass media, we hear of great miracles. Via social media, we learn the inside scoop. This blog has a stunning story to tell about the experience of those who enter the New York City Teaching [...]
Teachers, Please Read This and React
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
An article in Education Week reports on studies by economists claiming hat when teachers take early retirement, student test scores go up. Behind this is the assumption that new teachers are more successful than experienced teachers. This sounds counter-intuitive to me, but I would like to know what teachers think. A quote: “Boosting early retirement [...]
Will Contempt for Unions Mar Bloomberg’s Legacy?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Well, that’s the question raised by Michael Powell, a political reporter for the New York Times. There are bigger problems than this that will mar the mayor’s legacy. He has closed dozens of schools, opened hundreds of schools, destabilized communities, handed out hundreds of millions in no-bid contracts, had a huge technology scandal (Citytime, which [...]
Support Thomas Mertz for Madison, WI, School Board
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Thomas Mertz trained as a historian of education. We have that in common. Though I have never met Thomas, I endorse his principles and I am happy to see that he is running for election to the school board in Madison, Wisconsin. The need has never been greater to elect allies and strong supporters of [...]
Who Will Speak Up for the Nation’s School Boards?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
In the last few years, there has been an all-out attack on local control. Most of the attack comes from the privatization movement, which thinks that school boards debate too much, listen too much, move too slowly. The privatizers prefer mayoral control in cities to get fast action. And they push laws and constitutional amendments [...]
Getting Ready for the Common Core Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
A friend of a friend of a friend passed this along, hoping I might be able to answer the question about the appropriateness of this test question in second grade. What do you think? “Please read a question on a quiz that my 7 year old son in the 2nd grade got wrong and tell [...]
Nevada Set to Replace Career Teachers with TFA
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
This is a disturbing interview with Nevada’s State Superintendent of Instruction James Guthrie. Nevada is 18th in the nation in teachers’ salaries but Guthrie seems to think they are overpaid. He is certain there are large numbers of bad teachers in the state. He has the governor’s ear. In his State of the State address, [...]
Nearly 200 Chicago Schools May Close
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
The Chicago Board of Education and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls the board, have a plan. They want to close down many public schools and open many charter schools. As many as 193 elementary schools may close. One advantage of the plan from the mayor’s perspective, is that the closing schools are unionized but the [...]
Jersey Jazzman to NY Taxpayers: Thank You!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Jersey Jazzman wrote to thank the taxpayers of New York, whose dollars subsidize his blog via advertising by Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy network (formerly known as Harlem Success Academy). JJ notes that this charter chain spends millions of dollars each year on recruitment, advertising, public relations, and marketing. This is a necessary business expense to [...]
When Students Awaken, Everything Will Change
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
It is beginning. Teachers, superintendents, local school boards, parent groups, and now students: all are saying the same things. Stop destroying education with high-stakes testing. Stop the chaos and disruption of school closings. Support and encourage, don’t humiliate and destroy. Are you listening, Secretary Duncan? Here is a new student group in New Orleans demanding [...]
Eli Broad Will Introduce Rhee in L.A.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
A friend in Los Angeles sent the following notice of Michelle Rhee’s coming appearance before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. I hope someone will ask her about the cheating scandal that was described on PBS’ Frontline recently. Ask if she thinks a 30-point jump in proficiency rates in a single year is suspicious. Ask [...]
