Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 5-15-13 AM Posts #edreform #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

Chicago parent on school closings: “I cry a lot…Nobody wants their school closed.” | Hechinger Report

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago

Chicago parent on school closings: “I cry a lot…Nobody wants their school closed.” | Hechinger Report: Chicago parent on school closings: “I cry a lot…Nobody wants their school closed.” by Sarah Garland The Chicago school system plans to shutter 54 schools next year to save money and improve academics. Among them is Lafayette Elementary in Humboldt Park on the West Side of the city, a school with a treasured school orchestra and a program for autistic children. Valerie Nelson, 43, is a home health care worker who sends her two daughters there. A frequent volunteer at the school an... more »

Modern School: In Response to Valerie Strauss’ Criticism of Stephen Hawking

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 52 minutes ago

Modern School: In Response to Valerie Strauss’ Criticism of Stephen Hawking: In Response to Valerie Strauss’ Criticism of Stephen Hawking by Michael Dunn Last week, Valerie Strauss wrote, “Why Stephen Hawking made a mistake backing Israel boycott,” in her Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post. Here is my extended response: Academic boycotts may be ineffective forms of protest and it is certainly difficult to maintain philosophical consistency—both legitimate reasons for not using this tactic. However, Strauss’ claim that “Academics is [sic] supposed to be about the pursuit of... more »

The thanks they get for voting Obama | SocialistWorker.org

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

The thanks they get for voting Obama | SocialistWorker.org: The thanks they get for voting Obama Barack Obama is giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "adding insult to injury." May 15, 2013 [image: President Obama on the campaign trail (Christopher Dilts)] NATIONAL TEACHERS Appreciation Week, traditionally the first full week of May, passed this year without even a token statement from Barack Obama. Instead, the White House issued a presidential proclamation honoring the same weeklong period as...National Charter Schools Week. Yep, you read that right. Barack Obama--who got the v... more »

Stemming the Flow of the School-to-Prison Pipeline | NEA Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Stemming the Flow of the School-to-Prison Pipeline | NEA Today: Stemming the Flow of the School-to-Prison Pipeline May 15, 2013 by twalker Filed under Featured News, Top Stories Leave a Comment [image: Email][image: Share] *By Cindy Long* There’s a disturbing trend taking place in our public schools, especially in high poverty neighborhoods – where hallways and grounds are patrolled by police and disciplinary problems are no longer handled by counseling and detention but by suspension and arrest. Known as the school-to-prison pipeline, the trend is turning our adolescent students i... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Watching the DESE Countdown Clock. Citizens Still Waiting for Answers to Questions from the May 2 Hearings.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Watching the DESE Countdown Clock. Citizens Still Waiting for Answers to Questions from the May 2 Hearings.: Watching the DESE Countdown Clock. Citizens Still Waiting for Answers to Questions from the May 2 Hearings. by stlgretchen Time elapsed since DESE Common Core May 2 meetings: We've installed a DESE clock to determine how long citizens have to wait for the answers to questions DESE promised to answer from its May 2 Common Core standards statewide meetings. Citizens were told questions/answers would be listed within a week on the DESE website.... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] How Grassroots Groups in Texas Are Beating the Testing Lobby by dianerav In my list of categories on this blog, the words “Texas” and “testing” are side-by-side. One of the biggest stories in the nation today is how ordinary folks–moms, dads, and students–in Texas are slaying the monster that ate their education. Over the past 20-30 years, Texas became drunk on testing. The lobbyists for Pearson–headed by Sandy Kress, the architect of NCLB–made sure that Pearson... more »

Brown commits $1 billion for Common Core, sticks with funding formula | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Brown commits $1 billion for Common Core, sticks with funding formula | EdSource Today: Brown commits $1 billion for Common Core, sticks with funding formula - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald [image: Gov. Brown explains how the Local Control Funding Formula would work during a press conference in Sacramento on the May revision of the state budget.] Gov. Brown explains how the Local Control Funding Formula would work during a press conference in Sacramento on the May revision of the state budget Gov. Jerry Brown proposed Tuesday to direct all ofthe extra $2.8 billion in rev... more »

America’s Education Spring: A Growing Revolt Against ‘Reform’ Mandates

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

America’s Education Spring: A Growing Revolt Against ‘Reform’ Mandates: America’s Education Spring: A Growing Revolt Against ‘Reform’ Mandates by Jeff Bryant “It’s always hard to tell for sure exactly when a revolution starts,” wrote John Tierny in *The Atlantic* recently. “I’m not an expert on revolutions,” he continued, “but even I can see that a new one is taking shape in American K-12 public education.” Tierney pointed to a number of signs of the coming “revolution:” - Teachers refusing to give standardized tests, parents opting their kids out of tests, and students boyco... more »

Daily Kos: country with most Catholics effectively legalizes gay marriage

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Daily Kos: country with most Catholics effectively legalizes gay marriage: country with most Catholics effectively legalizes gay marriage by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) RIO DE JANEIRO — The council overseeing Brazil’s judiciary ruled on Tuesday that notary publics cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, a decision that opens the way for gay couples across Latin America’s largest country to marry. That is the lead paragraph in Brazilian Court Council Removes a Barrier to Same-Sex Marriage.A few things to note 1. the council is headed by the the Chief Justice of th... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Yesterday's Tweets

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Yesterday's Tweets: Yesterday's Tweets by Mike Klonsky Fred Klonsky toon.Tweet from Randi Weingarten ‏@rweingarten *The Illinois Senate pension proposal is a good and fair agreement: http://bit.ly/10FkSub #1u * Reply from Mike Klonsky ‏@mikeklonsky *It's that much harder to fight cuts to our pensions and health care when @rweingarten is calling them "good" & "fair".. But we will.* Tweet from SmallSchoolsWorkshop‏@Smallschools *@rweingarten How can you call SB 2404 which calls for major cuts in retired teachers' pensions and health care, a "fair solut... more »

Why we need a moratorium on the high stakes of testing

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Why we need a moratorium on the high stakes of testing: Why we need a moratorium on the high stakes of testing By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 15, 2013 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer 5 Comments More [image: test]The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, called late last month for a moratorium on the high stakes attached to new Common Core-aligned standardized tests. (You can read about that here.) Here’s a piece in support of that call, written by Jeff Bryant, an Associate Fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future and the owner of a marketing and com... more »

solidaridad: Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

solidaridad: Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board?: Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board? Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago Reason @lafund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board? #LAUSD #ArtsMatter #LA2050 twitter.com/rdsathene/stat… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) April 4, 2013 5th Grade Schoolteacher Monica Ratliff, a LAUSD candidate endorsed by both UTLA and AALA Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ... more »

Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten. | Fred Klonsky: Obama is spying on us? I thought the Patriot Act was just for Muslims. by Fred Klonsky [image: Patriot Act] Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten. by Fred Klonsky From by bro’s Small Talk blog Tweet from Randi Weingarten ‏@rweingartenThe Illinois Senate pension proposal is a good and fair agreement: http://bit.ly/10FkSub #1u Reply from Mike Klonsky ‏@mikeklonsky It’s that much harder to fight cuts to our pensions and health care when @rweingarten is calling them “good” & “fair”.. But we will. Tweet from SmallScho... more »

NYC Educator: AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

NYC Educator: AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution: AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution by NYC Educator * by special guest blogger Curious Teacher* Assistant Principal Ms. Sapenbottom was irked. She was in her office and tired, and trying to take her afternoon power nap. But teachers kept coming in to make copies. She sighed. She made faces. She angrily stomped out to the bathroom and came back and said pointedly, "Can you guys hurry up?" Finally the teachers were done with their xeroxing, and Ms. Sapenbottom was free to take her nap. Except this kept happening over and ... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 5-14-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

*Nite Cap UPDATE* *UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* ** *CORPORATE ED REFORM* North, South, East, West NPE News Briefs are the BEST ← from The Network for Public Education mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education: *NPE News Briefs* * * * * 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 103 Next » The pieces are all starting to come together. ..and the picture ain’t good | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog MAY 14 2013 by Crazy Crawfish – Thanks to Lefty, Dave Lefkowith, John White’s data scam is starting to take on a clearer shape. I just got another document from go... more »

Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren - The Hill's Congress Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren - The Hill's Congress Blog: *Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren* By Andrea Spencer - 05/13/13 02:30 PM ET The raft of school shootings across the country is dramatic evidence of the need to provide a better support system for children with mental illness. As schools have focused more and more narrowly on academic performance, early warning signs of mental and behavioral health disorders have been all too frequently overlooked. The Mental Health in Schools Act of 2013 (S. 195) has p... more »

IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections | The Nation

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections | The Nation: IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections Ari Berman on May 14, 2013 - 12:24 PM ET - The IRS is under siege for investigating conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status. But the real problem wasn’t that the IRS was too aggressive. It was that the agency focused on the wrong people—“none of those groups were big spenders on political advertising; most were local Tea Party organizations with shoestring budgets,” writes *The New York Times*—... more »

Six Reasons Why Race-and-IQ Scholarship is an Intellectual and Moral Dead End |

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Six Reasons Why Race-and-IQ Scholarship is an Intellectual and Moral Dead End |: Six Reasons Why Race-and-IQ Scholarship is an Intellectual and Moral Dead End by Angus Johnston In his post today on the Jason Richwine race-and-IQ controversy, Andrew Sullivan begins by acknowledging that Richwine’s recent study of ethnicity and immigration for the Heritage Foundation is worthless as a work of scholarship or public policy . He goes on to acknowledge that Richwine himself has a habit of consorting with white supremacists — his phrase, not mine. So far so good. But Sullivan goes on t... more »

Panel to discuss pushback on high-stakes testing | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Panel to discuss pushback on high-stakes testing | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Panel to discuss pushback on high-stakes testingby Helen Gym on May 14 2013 Posted in Commentary ="" style="color: rgb(76, 153, 72); cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">Share on email COMMENTS (0)PRINT A panel on high-stakes testing features prominent speakers Michelle Fine and Stan Karp. High-stakes testing and communities pushing back have been all over the news lately. Just this week, Senate Democratic leaders held a press conference opposing the implementation of Keystone exams,... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Good Day for Seattle Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Good Day for Seattle Education: A Good Day for Seattle Education by Melissa Westbrook I just got back from a news conference where it was announced that the City of Seattle will be investing $500,000 in arts education in Seattle Public Schools. This will advance the already established partnership between the City and SPS called The Creative Advantage. The goal is one hour of music and one hour of visual arts per week for every single student in SPS by 2020. The investment dollars came from something of a surprising source - admission tax reve... more »

More on Opting Out of SOL Exams in Virginia | PWC Education Reform Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

More on Opting Out of SOL Exams in Virginia | PWC Education Reform Blog: More on Opting Out of SOL Exams in Virginia by pwceducationreform Parents refusing to allow their children to be tested on state exams has been a hot topic of late across the nation. The Washington Post recently ran several stories about the issue focusing on the statutes in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. One article stated that Students in the DC area can’t opt out state standardized tests. The article quoted Charles Pyle, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, as stating, *“all stu... more »

Torlakson Reacts to May Revise - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Torlakson Reacts to May Revise - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Issues Statement on Governor's May Revision SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement after Governor Brown released his May Revision of the 2013-14 state budget: "As a teacher, it's heartening to finally see new resources directed to California's schools after so many years of painful cuts. Californians want our schools back on solid financial ground, and Governor Brown's proposal represents another important step in ... more »

The Real Truth About CPS School Closings- Substance News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

News from James Patrick - Substance News: The Real Truth About CPS School Closings James Patrick - May 14, 2013 Seventy-seven percent of African Americans in Chicago do not approve of CPS's plans to close schools and move children to other schools. CPS a few weeks ago announced 54 school closings, 11 school co-locations (with charter schools), and 6 turnarounds, estimating that approximately 30,000 students would be impacted by these actions. However, this is not true. These school actions will affect 133 schools and 47,500 students in these proposed school actions. There are three... more »

Retirement Heist: Illinois Style | Reclaim Reform

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Retirement Heist: Illinois Style | Reclaim Reform: Retirement Heist: Illinois Style Posted on May 14, 2013by kenpreviti Retirees and active teachers, along with many other public employees, are being scammed, pillage, ripped-off and betrayed. The script of this cruel Kabuki Theater of Absurd Greed has been performed, word-for-word, many times before. The 2011 nonfiction book by Ellen E. Schultz, Retirement Heist, has been plentifully awarded and updated. [image: Retirement_Heist] Jon Stewart has had Ellen Schultz on as a guest to discuss the book. The New York Times and the Wall Str... more »

Victory in Seattle as Teachers Win Battle in Standardized Test Boycott | Common Dreams

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Victory in Seattle as Teachers Win Battle in Standardized Test Boycott | Common Dreams: Victory in Seattle as Teachers Win Battle in Standardized Test Boycott Controversial test will not be given in high schools next year, but teachers vow to continue until test is removed at all grade levels - Jon Queally, staff writer Seattle teachers who took a strong and public stance by refusing to administer a "flawed" but mandatory standardized test earlier this school year are celebrating a victory after an announcement by the school district saying the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) te... more »

The most important problem facing American children today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

The most important problem facing American children today: The most important problem facing American children today By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 14, 2013 at 2:19 pmE-mail the writer [image: poverty chart]What is the most important problem facing American children today? According to the Academic Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is the effects of poverty on the health and well being of young people. But, they concede, there is no sustained focus on childhood poverty, or a unified pediatric voice speaking on the problem, or a comprehensive appr... more »

Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color | Education Trust

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color | Education Trust: Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color [image: Printer-friendly version]Printer-friendly version[image: Share this] While gaps between student groups have narrowed over time at the below basic level of performance, gaps at the advanced level have widened. And among higher income groups, gap-widening between white students and students of color is more pronounced. Educators seeking to close gaps must raise the bar for *all* st... more »

Ed Notes Online: NATIONAL TEACHER PETITION: Tell Teachers College to take a stand for REAL teaching and learning! No award for Merryl Tisch!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: NATIONAL TEACHER PETITION: Tell Teachers College to take a stand for REAL teaching and learning! No award for Merryl Tisch!: NATIONAL TEACHER PETITION: Tell Teachers College to take a stand for REAL teaching and learning! No award for Merryl Tisch! by ed notes online In the field of slime that is corporate deform, I put Merryl Tisch pretty high up on the list. That bastion of so-called progressive education, Teachers College, is giving Tisch an award at their graduation ceremony this month. And TC President Susan Fuhrman is quickly closing in. Many people are not h... more »

It’s About the Kids | EduShyster

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

It’s About the Kids | EduShyster: It’s About the Kids by edushyster2012 When a major Wall Street investor and the CEO of a fast growing chain of charter schools get together for a chat, what do you suppose they talk about? Well that’s obvious. They talk about the kids of course, and their shared dream of *crushing* the achievement gap in order to put those kids on a path leading straight to 21st century skills and success. In fact, when an executive from Prudential Financial and the CEO of the UNO Charter Schools in Chicago conversated this spring, the kids were topic #1. Let’s li... more »

Unified Backlash to Education Mandates Grows, Spreads

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Unified Backlash to Education Mandates Grows, Spreads: Unified Backlash to Education Mandates Grows, Spreads ** “It’s always hard to tell for sure exactly when a revolution starts,” wrote John Tierny in *The Atlantic* recently. “I’m not an expert on revolutions,” he continued, “but even I can see that a new one is taking shape in American K-12 public education.” Tierney pointed to a number of signs of the coming “revolution:” - Teachers refusing to give standardized tests, parents opting their kids out of tests, and students boycotting tests. - Legislators reconsidering ... more »

Governor to add $1 billion for schools to adopt common core standards | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Governor to add $1 billion for schools to adopt common core standards | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Governor to add $1 billion for schools to adopt common core standards by Julie Small Governor Jerry Brown's revised budget plan being released Tuesday morning will add an extra $1 billion for K-12 schools to fund districts’ adoption of new common core standards — about $170 per student. The Governor will also propose an extra $240 million for base district funding as part of his funding overhaul. Administration officials revealed the details to the Associated Press on the eve of the b... more »

UPDATE: MAY REVISE Governor Brown Boosts Investment in Schools California State Budget

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

California State Budget: Governor Brown Boosts Investment in Schools, Continues Call for Fiscal Restraint in Revised State Budget 5-14-2013 SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. released a revised and balanced state budget today that strengthens California’s fiscal integrity by investing in California's schools, chipping away billions from the "Wall of Debt" and maintaining a prudent reserve. "This budget builds a solid foundation for California's future by investing in our schools, continuing to pay down our debts and establishing a prudent reserve," said Governor Brown. "Bu... more »

UPDATE: May waiver calendar at SBE includes relief from Open Enrollment SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: * * Revised May budget sweetens base grant, adds flexible $1b for common core Signaling a likely transition to student testing based on the common core standards by spring 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Tuesday a plan to earmark $1 billion of the spring revenue windfall to help schools buy new textbooks, make technology improvements and provide teacher training to implement the new curriculum standards. Brown’s revised May budget – buoyed by close to $4.5 billion in tax collections above estimates made in January –also moves to tamp down pol... more »

North, South, East, West NPE News Briefs are the BEST ← from The Network for Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education: *NPE News Briefs* * * * * 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 103 Next » The pieces are all starting to come together. ..and the picture ain’t good | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog MAY 14 2013 by Crazy Crawfish – Thanks to Lefty, Dave Lefkowith, John White’s data scam is starting to take on a clearer shape. I just got another document from good ole Lefty from another new vendor called Cambium Education and Sopris Learning. It appears John White is planning to provide all of our student data to yet another inBloom-like vendor ... read more → **Broad Foun... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Senate Bill 210 Voted Unanimously Out of House Education Committee

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Senate Bill 210 Voted Unanimously Out of House Education Committee: Senate Bill 210 Voted Unanimously Out of House Education Committee by Anngie May 13, 2013 The House Education Committee held their hearing on senate bill 210 (Lamping-R). Representative Kurt Bahr led the bill in front of the committee and addressed questions for almost 20 minutes. Bill supporters were given approximately 25 minutes to testify including testimony from Anne Gassel, Gretchen Logue and Jerry Briehan. When called, there was no official opposition to the bill. However, Com... more »

UPDATE: Missouri Common Core Transparency Bill Passes Out of Committee | Truth in American Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Missouri Common Core Transparency Bill Passes Out of Committee | Truth in American Education: Pennsylvania Senate Democrats Urge Slowdown of Common Core by Shane Vander Hart [image: Pennsylvania State Capitol]Via FYI by PLS – this is a subscription based website so I’m sharing quotes given by the Pennsylvania Senate Minority Leader, State Senator Jay Costa (D-Allegheny): Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said implementation of the Common Core Standards is another example of the Corbett Administration’s “quiet changes” that “lack legislative input.” He compared the roll out of the Commo... more »

FBI wants Lakewood school board's contracts, bills | The Asbury Park Press NJ | app.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

FBI wants Lakewood school board's contracts, bills | The Asbury Park Press NJ | app.com: FBI wants Lakewood school board's contracts, billsSubpoena issued for records back to '08 with special-ed provider http://www.app.com/videonetwork/2379705053001/Fury-at-Lakewood-BOE-meeting *LAKEWOOD* — The FBI has issued a subpoena to the Board of Education for contracts, bills and invoices dating back to 2008 with Catapult Learning, Catapult services and Ocean Health Initiatives, the board attorney announced during Monday night’s meeting. Steve Edelstein, attorney for the school board, said ... more »

Next step in closing achievement gap: Moving more students... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Next step in closing achievement gap: Moving more students... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: Next step in closing achievement gap: Moving more students beyond basic [image: Overcoming achievement gap] By Maureen Downey *In a new report on narrowing the achievement gap*, Education Trust concludes, "If we are going to close America’s long-standing gaps in achievement, we need not only to bring up our low-performing low income students and students of color, but also to accelerate our middle and higher performers to even higher levels of achievement." Writing in the fo... more »

Monty Neill: Authentic Assessment as Part of a Testing Reform Campaign - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Monty Neill: Authentic Assessment as Part of a Testing Reform Campaign - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Monty Neill: Authentic Assessment as Part of a Testing Reform Campaign by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Monty Neill.* Part two of a three post series. The U.S. stands alone among economically developed nations in its excessive use of high-stakes standardized testing. While the U.S. mandates testing in grades 3-8 and once in high school, with some states or districts requiring more, other nations range from almost no testing (e.g., Finland and Wales) to testing in abou... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, May 14, 2013

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Fensterwald: School funding will be focus, source of contention, of Brown’s revised budget* Education Headlines *Tuesday, May 14, 2013* Fensterwald: School funding will be focus, source of contention, of Brown’s revised budgetDemocrats in the Legislature may find themselves at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on two issues that will factor large when Brown reveals his revised state budget Tuesday: how to spend billions in unanticipated revenue and how to reshape Brown’s sweeping plan for funding K-12 education. Nine San Fernando Valley... more »

In Defense Of (Gulp) Packets. Worksheets, Too. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

In Defense Of (Gulp) Packets. Worksheets, Too. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: In Defense Of (Gulp) Packets. Worksheets, Too. by Nancy Flanagan When my son was in high school, his band teacher used "theory packets" as fill-in work for days when he was absent from the classroom or had something other than whole-group instruction on his personal agenda. These packets were the absolute worst kind of make-work: poor copies reproduced (without permission) from an old college-level music theory workbook, disconnected from the learning goals of regular class lesson... more »

GOP to Malloy: No Worries, we don’t want to win… - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

GOP to Malloy: No Worries, we don’t want to win… - Wait, What?: GOP to Malloy: No Worries, we don’t want to win… by jonpelto File this one under the headline; *Connecticut Republicans reiterate dedication to snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory…* Faced with the reality that Governor Malloy has spent the last two years alienating just about everyone and every group that was part of the coalition that put him into the governor’s office, the Republicans could be facing an unprecedented opportunity to beat an incumbent governor. It would take a history buff to recall when that la... more »

Why the kids of the 1% are still better than your kids – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Why the kids of the 1% are still better than your kids – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Why the kids of the 1% are still better than your kids by Chalk Face, PhD Because they can afford to hire “disabled” tour guides to help them jump ahead in lines at Disney. BOOM! From the New York Post. Can We Agree to a New Approach to School Improvement? by John Thompson PBS’s first education TED talk began with the promise that it would not play the blame game. The great presentations that followed raise the question of what could be accomplished if they obeyed that policy, stopped... more »

UPDATE: SB2404. The red coats are coming +The power of no + The in box. “What would stop the state | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

The in box. “What would stop the state from revisiting this in the future?” | Fred Klonsky: SB2404. The red coats are coming. The red coats are coming. by Fred Klonsky [image: prevere_3__magnum] *Graphic: Chicago Reader. From the article: Blogger Fred Klonsky’s Crusade Against Education Reform.* Back in 2011 the Chicago Reader’s Ben Joravsky dubbed me the Paul Revere of the school blogging world. With all due modesty, it was true. As Illinois’ Senate Bill 7 was making its way through the Illinois General Assembly, with the support of both of the state teacher unions’ leadership, I ... more »

Community College Spotlight | California’s rocky path to prosperity

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Community College Spotlight | California’s rocky path to prosperity: California’s rocky path to prosperity by Joanne Jacobs Unless California helps low-income parents learn basic skills, train for jobs and pursue higher education, the state's prosperity is at risk, concludes Working Hard, Left Behind. The Campaign for College Opportunity, the Women’s Foundation of California and Working Poor Families project collaborated on the report. California leads the nation in low-income working adults and in poorly educated adults. More than 1 out of 10 adults over 24 years of age have less... more »

UPDATE: Free School System of the United States + George Washington and the Federal Role In Education | Federal Education Policy History

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

George Washington and the Federal Role In Education | Federal Education Policy History: Francis Adams, The Free School System of the United States (London, 1875) by Kevin R. Kosar [image: Francis Adams The Free School System of the United States 1875 Frontispage]This book carries information on a broad range of aspects of America schools in the mid- and late-19th century. Chapters covers the structure of schooling systems, their cost and revenues therefore, attendance, religion and morals, teachers and their training, and curricula. The author, who served as secretary of the UK’sN... more »

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: *NPE News Briefs* Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. Surprise! Florida High-Stakes Accountability Promotes Gaming the System Best of the Ed Blogs Diane Ravitch May 14, 2013 Canada’s Legend-ary TED Ta... more »

Sol Stern and Joel Klein: Conservatives and the Common Core - WSJ.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Sol Stern and Joel Klein: Conservatives and the Common Core - WSJ.com: Conservatives and the Common CoreThe curriculum standards adopted by 45 states require students to read America's Founding texts. Although the two of us have disagreed about several school-reform issues, we strongly believe that the Common Core State Standards, voluntarily adopted by 45 states, is one of the most promising education initiatives of the past half century. If implemented properly, they can better prepare students for college-level work and to gain the civic knowledge that is essential for democr... more »

2nd Banana 5-11-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

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