Gary Rubinstein: Watch Kevin Huffman Debate a Straw Man
Gary Rubinstein came across an article in which Tennessee State Commissioner Kevin Huffman boasted about the merit pay scheme he was proposing and derided the leader of the Memphis teachers’ union for expressing caution about the program. Gary decided to take a closer look at the merit pay program and concluded that the union leader’s concern was well placed. Teachers would receive $2,000 to sign up and would receive another $5,000 only if they got the required gains.
I am constantly amazed that policymakers pay no attention at all to the evidence on merit pay. It has failed again and again. The most spectacular failure was in Nashville, where teachers were offered a bonus of $15,000 to produce higher test scores. There was a control group and an experimental group. After three years, there was no significant difference in the test scores of the two groups. Merit pay also failed in New York City and in Chicago.
Merit pay is faith-based policy.
I am constantly amazed that policymakers pay no attention at all to the evidence on merit pay. It has failed again and again. The most spectacular failure was in Nashville, where teachers were offered a bonus of $15,000 to produce higher test scores. There was a control group and an experimental group. After three years, there was no significant difference in the test scores of the two groups. Merit pay also failed in New York City and in Chicago.
Merit pay is faith-based policy.
Why High-Stakes Testing Is Useless For This Student
A teacher explains how useless high-stakes testing is for some students, and for this one student in particular:
He writes:
In response to a state standardized test question about analyzing the author’s use of hyperbole, a student of mine recently responded with one brief sentence: “I don’t know what analyze means.” This student (who receives special education services) sat with his head down for most of the testing session. I was struck by the fact that he felt compelled to finally lift his pencil and scribble this when he could have easily just turned in a blank test booklet. It tells me that, even at a school that does not emphasize the importance of these tests (like ours), they are stressful and demoralizing to students. Students’ self-esteem is damaged and they feel the need to explain why they can’t produce a satisfactory answer. Mainly, it reminds me that these tests are a huge waste of time
He writes:
In response to a state standardized test question about analyzing the author’s use of hyperbole, a student of mine recently responded with one brief sentence: “I don’t know what analyze means.” This student (who receives special education services) sat with his head down for most of the testing session. I was struck by the fact that he felt compelled to finally lift his pencil and scribble this when he could have easily just turned in a blank test booklet. It tells me that, even at a school that does not emphasize the importance of these tests (like ours), they are stressful and demoralizing to students. Students’ self-esteem is damaged and they feel the need to explain why they can’t produce a satisfactory answer. Mainly, it reminds me that these tests are a huge waste of time
High-Stakes Testing: The Albatross of American Education
Teacher Aaron Pribble wrote a critique of high-stakes testing for “Edutopia.”
He explains how high-stakes testing warps teaching and distorts the educational process.
When teachers get rewards and punishments tied to test scores it ruins education.
He has a simple idea: Raise the standard for entry into teaching. Then give teachers th freedom to teach. Treat them as the experts they are.
He explains how high-stakes testing warps teaching and distorts the educational process.
When teachers get rewards and punishments tied to test scores it ruins education.
He has a simple idea: Raise the standard for entry into teaching. Then give teachers th freedom to teach. Treat them as the experts they are.
Monica Ratliff: A Challenge to the Status Quo
Imagine this: a candidate for the school board who was constantly thinking of students, not hoping for a political stepping stone.
Imagine this: a candidate who thinks of students–not in the abstract–but as real children with names and faces, children she knows.
Imagine this: a candidate who doesn’t make absurd campaign promises because she understands the problems
Imagine this: a candidate who thinks of students–not in the abstract–but as real children with names and faces, children she knows.
Imagine this: a candidate who doesn’t make absurd campaign promises because she understands the problems
Who Are the Public School Haters?
It is clear by now that there is a very small number of very wealthy people who just don’t like public education. They don’t like teachers who work in public schools and want to strip them of any and every right, privilege, and status. They want to treat them like fast-food workers or salesmen who work on commission.
Given the chance, they would take the public’s money and give it to voucher schools, religious schools, entrepreneurs, to anyone who wants to start a school or an online business, regardless of their experience or qualifications. No one can take seriously their claim that they want to improve education or that they are “doing it
Given the chance, they would take the public’s money and give it to voucher schools, religious schools, entrepreneurs, to anyone who wants to start a school or an online business, regardless of their experience or qualifications. No one can take seriously their claim that they want to improve education or that they are “doing it
The Risks of Data-Driven Decision-Making
Our policymakers claim that their decisions are based on data.
What our policymakers seldom admit is that numbers by themselves are not reality. They are representations of reality. To draw conclusions from numbers, you must be awfully sure that you are measuring what matters and that your measurements are accurate.
In this post, the Red Queen in Los Angeles warns us that some of our leaders are guilty of making a “common, insidious mistake of believing that just because some concept is quantified it holds inherent meaning.”
Not so.
“Without knowing what a number represents – what it measures, how and why – without that backward tie to reality, any mathematical modeling has no practical interpretation, no meaning.”
What our policymakers seldom admit is that numbers by themselves are not reality. They are representations of reality. To draw conclusions from numbers, you must be awfully sure that you are measuring what matters and that your measurements are accurate.
In this post, the Red Queen in Los Angeles warns us that some of our leaders are guilty of making a “common, insidious mistake of believing that just because some concept is quantified it holds inherent meaning.”
Not so.
“Without knowing what a number represents – what it measures, how and why – without that backward tie to reality, any mathematical modeling has no practical interpretation, no meaning.”
Showdown in Chicago
The Chicago Public School board has made its decision, but the struggle is not over.
Parents are suing the school district.
The media sees the injustice of the massive shutdown of public schools and the shifting rationales for the draconian decision.
Articles in the Chicago press lambaste the Mayor’s indifference to the well-being of children.
Here is a video that summarizes the showdown. Parents and teachers will have their day in court, and eventually, at the ballot box.
Parents are suing the school district.
The media sees the injustice of the massive shutdown of public schools and the shifting rationales for the draconian decision.
Articles in the Chicago press lambaste the Mayor’s indifference to the well-being of children.
Here is a video that summarizes the showdown. Parents and teachers will have their day in court, and eventually, at the ballot box.
Jason Stanford: The Cheating Will Continue Until….
Jason Stanford says that so long as there are high stakes attached to testing, there will be cheating.
Arne Duncan says districts need more test security.
A new report by the federal GAO documents instances of cheating in 33 states.
When Duncan was asked about a moratorium on high stakes, he couldn’t give a
Arne Duncan says districts need more test security.
A new report by the federal GAO documents instances of cheating in 33 states.
When Duncan was asked about a moratorium on high stakes, he couldn’t give a
Tampio: Bill Gates Should Not Control Our Schools
Nicholas Tampio, who teaches at Fordham University, doesn’t understand why Bill Gates has been allowed to use his billions to gain control of American public education.
Tampio says that innovation comes not from standardization but from diversity, from differing ideas and perspectives.
He recalls when Gates used the power of his technology to replace WordPerfect with Microsoft’s Word. I remember that well, because I thought WordPerfect was far superior to Word and was disappointed when the
Tampio says that innovation comes not from standardization but from diversity, from differing ideas and perspectives.
He recalls when Gates used the power of his technology to replace WordPerfect with Microsoft’s Word. I remember that well, because I thought WordPerfect was far superior to Word and was disappointed when the
Minneapolis: A Profile in Courage
I received this email from a teacher who decided the only way to save public education was to run for mayor. He deserves our support.
“I am a Minneapolis teacher running for Mayor of Minneapolis. I am bright but politically inexperienced. I wouldn’t have dared enter the race except that Minneapolis has Ranked Choice Voting and 7 (at least) other candidates vying for the office, and none are incumbent. Still, I entered the race reluctantly, and only because at that time no one else who was running was much interested in what’s happening with public education.
Before I entered the race I attended a school board meeting where the board decided to sell a vacant Minneapolis school building to a charter school. Our class sizes in public schools in that part of the city are in
“I am a Minneapolis teacher running for Mayor of Minneapolis. I am bright but politically inexperienced. I wouldn’t have dared enter the race except that Minneapolis has Ranked Choice Voting and 7 (at least) other candidates vying for the office, and none are incumbent. Still, I entered the race reluctantly, and only because at that time no one else who was running was much interested in what’s happening with public education.
Before I entered the race I attended a school board meeting where the board decided to sell a vacant Minneapolis school building to a charter school. Our class sizes in public schools in that part of the city are in
Diane in the Evening 5-28-13Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Florida: Once Again, Test Results Are Over-hyped by dianerav Matthew Di Carlo takes a close look at the latest test scores released in Florida. His bottom line: don’t believe the press release. For one thing, the test specifications have changed, and the scores are not really comparable to prior years. Di Carlo points out: “Accordingly, the technical documentation for the FCAT notes (in bold-faced type) that “caution should be used North Carolina Passes Voucher Bill by dianerav On a vote of 27-21, the North Carolina... more »