The Myth of Charter Waiting Lists
One of the arguments advanced to expand charter schools is that they have long waiting lists.
Or so they say.
But no one knows how many are on those lists.
This reporter in Chicago started digging and discovered that the list is not real. The Chicago charters say there
Or so they say.
But no one knows how many are on those lists.
This reporter in Chicago started digging and discovered that the list is not real. The Chicago charters say there
Best Comment of the Day (So Far)
The comment below draws attention to a debate that followed Dr. Mercedes Schneider’s methodological dissection of Patrick Wolf’s Milwaukee study. Wolf holds an endowed chair in school choice in the “department of education reform” at the University of Arkansas. The Wolf study initially reported a staggering attrition rate of 75% from the voucher schools, which was later altered to a merely astonishing rate of 56%.
Dr. Schneider then was peppered with criticisms from someone who signed only as JB, preferring anonymity
Dr. Schneider then was peppered with criticisms from someone who signed only as JB, preferring anonymity
Is This Even Possible?
A reader writes:
“Yes, a lawyer is the acting interim Superintendent, Joe. His name is Dorsey Hopson. Before coming to Memphis, he was general counsel for the Atlanta Public School system (during the same time as the cheating scandal).”
Yes, it is true
Will he be called to testify about the organized cheating and the inflated s ores and the unwarranted bonuses that occurred when he was general counsel to the Atlanta Public Schools.
Accountability begins at the top, as it should.
“Yes, a lawyer is the acting interim Superintendent, Joe. His name is Dorsey Hopson. Before coming to Memphis, he was general counsel for the Atlanta Public School system (during the same time as the cheating scandal).”
Yes, it is true
Will he be called to testify about the organized cheating and the inflated s ores and the unwarranted bonuses that occurred when he was general counsel to the Atlanta Public Schools.
Accountability begins at the top, as it should.
FairTest: An All-New, Improved SAT, “With Tail Fins?”
FairTest has been a watchdog for the testing industry for many years.
The latest news is that the SAT will be overhauled (again), this time to align it with the Common Core standards.
No big surprise, since the head of the College Board, David Coleman, was the lead player in developing the
The latest news is that the SAT will be overhauled (again), this time to align it with the Common Core standards.
No big surprise, since the head of the College Board, David Coleman, was the lead player in developing the
Why I Apologized for Something I Did Not Say
A number of readers have written to ask why I wrote an apology to Michelle Rhee when I had not been the one to speak the offending words (“Asian bitch”). I wasn’t even present when the words were spoken.
Frankly, the story focused on the negative, rather than the reasons that the rally was happening. The story presented a false, demeaning, and hostile portrait of the rally. It was akin to the stories about Occupy Wall Street that presented a peaceful assemblage of citizens exercising their First Amendment right to assemble as if they were a dangerous mob. Perhaps we should ask the reporter Michele McNeil of Education Week to apologize for her misrepresentation of the parents and teachers who assembled peaceably to protest school closings, high-stakes testing, privatization, and other abuses, while ignoring our positive message about the importance of providing every school with the resources it needs to succeed–with small classes, librarians, guidance counselors, social workers, the arts, physical education, a full curriculum, and professional working
Frankly, the story focused on the negative, rather than the reasons that the rally was happening. The story presented a false, demeaning, and hostile portrait of the rally. It was akin to the stories about Occupy Wall Street that presented a peaceful assemblage of citizens exercising their First Amendment right to assemble as if they were a dangerous mob. Perhaps we should ask the reporter Michele McNeil of Education Week to apologize for her misrepresentation of the parents and teachers who assembled peaceably to protest school closings, high-stakes testing, privatization, and other abuses, while ignoring our positive message about the importance of providing every school with the resources it needs to succeed–with small classes, librarians, guidance counselors, social workers, the arts, physical education, a full curriculum, and professional working
Cody: Time to Hold Bill Gates Accountable
For the past several years, three billionaires have foisted untested, unreliable, metrics-driven, in humane teacher evaluation policies onto our nation’s teachers.
In this misguided effort to find a yardstick to reduce teacher quality to a number, no one has been more energetic than Bill Gates.
As the anti-high-stakes testing movement grows, and as the wreckage piles up (see Atlanta, El Paso, and DC, for example), the metrics movement looks more ineffectual and more harmful.
Anthony Cody says it is time to hold the authors of this debacle accountable.
In this misguided effort to find a yardstick to reduce teacher quality to a number, no one has been more energetic than Bill Gates.
As the anti-high-stakes testing movement grows, and as the wreckage piles up (see Atlanta, El Paso, and DC, for example), the metrics movement looks more ineffectual and more harmful.
Anthony Cody says it is time to hold the authors of this debacle accountable.
Methodological Flaws in Milwaukee Voucher Study?
School choice advocates now stand on shaky ground. Their own funded evaluations show that students in voucher schools do not get higher test scores than their peers in public schools.
So they fall back to the next line of defense, which is to say that the voucher students have a higher graduation rate.
In the case of Milwaukee, the graduation rate is muddied by a very high attrition rate, either 75% or 56%,
Keeping an Eye on Reform Leader ALEC
So they fall back to the next line of defense, which is to say that the voucher students have a higher graduation rate.
In the case of Milwaukee, the graduation rate is muddied by a very high attrition rate, either 75% or 56%,
Keeping an Eye on Reform Leader ALEC
ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is the key organization today in education reform.
Forget party labels. ALEC–funded by big corporations and enrolling some 2,000 state legislators–is calling the shots on charter schools, vouchers, right-to-work legislation, online charter schools, and many other topics that are at the forefront of “reform” in such far-right states as Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, and many others.
ALEC had a p.r. problem a year ago when a black teenager, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed in Florida by a man who used the ALEC legislation “stand your ground” as his defense. The publicity was so intense and negative that many corporations dropped their sponsorship. But most did not.
If you want to peek inside their closed doors, read this comment from an informed observer:
Forget party labels. ALEC–funded by big corporations and enrolling some 2,000 state legislators–is calling the shots on charter schools, vouchers, right-to-work legislation, online charter schools, and many other topics that are at the forefront of “reform” in such far-right states as Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, and many others.
ALEC had a p.r. problem a year ago when a black teenager, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed in Florida by a man who used the ALEC legislation “stand your ground” as his defense. The publicity was so intense and negative that many corporations dropped their sponsorship. But most did not.
If you want to peek inside their closed doors, read this comment from an informed observer:
ALEC has finally named a private chair to their Education Task Force, Jonathan Butcher from the Goldwater
California Father | @califather Califather all spiffed up and ready to stream Occupy the DoE! #edchat #soschat #uoodc13
California Father | Educating Sullivan: [image: California Father] califather on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free - ON DEMAND - ABOUT OCCUPY THE DEPT OF ED - HOW TO CHA
Diane in the Evening 4-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: An Apology to Michelle Rhee by dianerav Yesterday I participated in the first day of Occupy the DOE, where parents and teachers spoke out against DOE policies that demand high-stakes testing and school closings. In my own presentation, I urged the DOE to stop its punitive policies and instead to follow the positive agenda of the Network for Public Education. According to an account I read later, an earlier speaker used offensive language, calling Michelle Rhee an “Asian bitch.” I was not there to hear it, but ... more »