Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Online Testing Broke Down in Several States
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 18 minutes ago
State testing was disrupted by major computer breakdowns in Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Minnesota. All 46 states and D.C. are supposed to administer Common Core assessments online by 2014-15. Maybe the corporations will solve the technological problems by then. Maybe states will come up with the money to pay for enough computers by then. Maybe [...]
Could This Be True?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
Beware, this might be a hoax. I hope it is true. If it is true, please share at once with your legislators. Send it to Arne Duncan. Share it with corporate leaders. A principal of an elementary school in Massachusetts fired the security guards and expanded the school’s arts programs. Everyone and everything got better. [...]
Mentor: How to Fix Teach for America
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
David Greene mentored many Teach for America teachers. He knows how poorly prepared most of them were for the job of teaching in New York City’s toughest schools. He tried to help them cope. Here he offers good advice to TFA.
Will Common Core Make Kids Smarter?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 17 hours ago
Arthur Goldstein teaches high school in Queens, New York. Many of his students are English language learners. He blogs at NYC Educator. His blog is one of the best in the nation. He wrote the following for readers of this blog: How Smart Will Common Core Make Our Kids? Judging from the editorials in the [...]
Rahm and the Madness of Mayoral Control
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 17 hours ago
Suppose you were mayor of Chicago and had complete control of the public schools. Suppose one of your high schools had an outstanding record by any measure. Suppose it had an excellent IB program. Would it occur to you to make the entire school an IB school? Would it occur to you to get rid [...]
“Education Drained of Its Humanity”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 18 hours ago
This thoughtful and provocative essay by Shawn Gude situates present-day corporate reform in its historical context. Gude shows the connections between early 20th century social efficiency and the present-day demand for testing, standardizing, and data-based decision-making. Here is an excerpt: “There’s a special resemblance between the struggles against scientific management, or Taylorism, and today’s teacher [...]
Good Riddance! Cyber School in Virginia May Close
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 hours ago
The K12 cyber charter in Virginia may close. The school enrolled 350 students. The county “hosting” the school decided it was too much of a bother, and only five students from the host county were enrolled. There have been persistent questions about the quality of virtual charter schools, but their profitability has never been in [...]
Spread the Word
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
The public has been sold a bill of goods about what is needed to improve our schools. We see misinformation on television. We hear it from our leaders in both parties. It is hard to explain the real issues in our schools when the media bombards the public with the corporate reform narrative. Once in [...]
Hey, Kids! Let’s Open a Charter School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
What do you do if you head the Connecticut chapter of Teach for America and you long for bigger worlds to conquer? Simple. You open a charter school! The state commissioner is a charter school guy, so he is no problem. You decide to open your new charter in Bridgeport, where the superintendent won his [...]
Jersey Jazzman: State Brings in Corporate Chain to Run NJ Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman has a sharp article about Commissioner Cerf’s decision to turn a local charter school over to a national chain. The chain is expanding thanks to a $9 million federal grant and extra help from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The chain has fewer students who are special education or English language learners, as compared to [...]
BREAKING NEWS: US to Milwaukee Voucher Schools: Stop Excluding Students with Disabilities
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
Responding to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Department of Justice warned voucher schools in Milwaukee to stop excluding, counseling out, or otherwise discriminating against students with disabilities. “The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that [...]
A Scary Future? The Teaching Machine and Big Data: LINK FIXED
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
This is a fascinating and rather frightening essay about the quest for a teaching machine. Philip McRae, the author, looks at the historical search for a machine that would standardize teaching, making it cost-efficient and providing a common curriculum. Then he describes the present-day efforts to aggregate Big Data, discover patterns, and create a platform [...]
NY Daily News Reveals Top-Secret State Test
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
Yesterday I received an email from a reporter from the New York Daily News asking for my reaction to a bootleg copy of the Pearson-made fifth-grade exam for English Language Arts. This is part of the first tests of the Common Core in the state, administered in recent weeks to students in 3rd through 8th [...]
Robert Shepherd: When Will We Ever Learn?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Robert Shepherd has long experience writing and editing textbooks and assessments. I appreciate his kind comments about my book, written in the 1990s, but also his recognition that “reforms” come and go with regularity. My comment: The current wave of phony reforms is the most destructive in the history of American education. He writes: “One [...]
Wayne Gersen: What Obama Could Learn from Vermont
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Wayne Gersen has been working in several districts in Vermont. He is impressed by Vermont’s determination not to allow testing to be the be-all and end-all of education. The state is determined not to let NCLB wreck its schools and not to ask for a waiver that would allow Duncan to impose high-stakes testing. If [...]
Good Advice for Bill Gates about Curiosity
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This post by Ysette Guevara offers good advice to Bill Gates about curiosity–how it begins, how it grows, how it can be stifled, and why it matters. Bill recently said in an interview that few children are curious and self-motivated. This blogger was taken aback by Bill’s meager understanding of children and education. Given his [...]
The Witch Doctor Curriculum in Louisiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Crazy Crawfish explains why the Louisiana legislature decided not to repeal its “Science Education Act,” which permits the teaching of New Earth Creationism in public school science classes. It seems that a member of the legislature was healed by a witch doctor so he blocked efforts to repeal the law. As Crazy Crawfish points out, [...]
Sharp Decline in Number Entering Teaching in California
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The corporate reform movement has been bashing teachers and public education without let-up for the past several years. The bashing became super-charged after the introduction of Race to the Top in 2009, because it explicitly blames teachers for low test scores despite evidence to the contrary. The “reformers” claim they want “great teachers” in every [...]
The Cathie Black Emails
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
For the past two years plus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg fought legal battles to try to avoid releasing a series of emails written about the time that he named publisher Cathie Black as chancellor of the New York City public schools. The mayor finally lost in court, and the emails were released. They are surprisingly banal. [...]
This Is Where True Reform Begins
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Imagine this: An elected official who fought the parent trigger in Florida and worked with parents and civil rights groups to beat it. Governor Rick Scott has been an enemy of public education throughout his term. His poll numbers are now in the 30s. We need more public officials like Nan Rich in every state! [...]
The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Valerie Strauss does an excellent job of deconstructing the disaster of Obama’s education policy. Remember when candidate Obama in 2008 spoke of hope and change. That encouraged many educators to believe that No Child Left Behind would be ended, tossed into the dustbin of history, where it belongs. Sadly, President Obama built his Race to [...]
Testing Frenzy in Georgia Continues Unabated
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Despite the massive scandal in Atlanta, which many attribute to the hyper-pressure attached to testing and scores, the frenzy continues. I just received this story from Edward Johnson, a persistent critic of short-term thinking in Atlanta: “CRCT Pep Rally at Thomasville Heights Elementary_ (http://talkupaps.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/crct-pep-rally-at-thomasville-heights-elementary/) April 30, 2013 at 9:26 pm > (http://talkupaps.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/crct-pep-rally-at-thomasville-heights-elementary/#respond) On April 22, [...]
Education Entrepreneurs Excited by New K-12 Opportunitities
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Never doubt that the for-profit sector is ready to close a deal. Here is the scenario: The results of Common Core assessments set off a panic, as passing rates on tests fall. Entrepreneurs rush in, selling stuff to schools that have no money. Schools lay off teachers, social workers, librarians, and guidance counselors, increase class [...]
Texas: More Privatization on the Way
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
With vouchers stalled in the Texas legislature, the privatizers turned to another strategy to create new opportunities for entrepreneurs. They want a state district for schools with low test scores, where the state can hand the schools over to private organizations. There is not a shred of evidence that this improves education for the children [...]
Teacher: I Hate What Is Happening to Our Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This comment from a teacher who read the post “For Shame, Commissioner King.” That post described how the state commissioner in New York requires special education students to take examinations they can’t read. The teacher writes: “I am often asked to proctor extended time testing on our all-too-frequent assessment days (quarterly interims, ACTs, PSAEs, practice [...]
Cleveland Charter Officials Accused of Stealing $1.8 Million
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The scandals at charter schools keep happening, and no one seems to care. Here is the latest: officials at a Cleveland charter accused of stealing $1.8 million. It happens because charters are deregulated and unsupervised. Deregulation invites plunder and fraud. Isn’t that what we learned when Wall Street nearly collapsed the economy in 2008? Isn’t [...]
As Reforms Fail, Will Duncan Make Mid-course Correction?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Norm Scott, retired New York City teacher and inveterate blogger, notes the mid-course corrections of some of the corporate reform cheerleaders. He is especially impressed by John Merrow’s change of views about Rhee. He wonders whether Duncan too will change course, though he doubts that he can do so. Scott, by the way, refers to [...]
Help the Providence Student Union Organize Other Youth Activists
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I am a huge fan of the Providence Student Union. I just donated to them to help them continue their movement and to encourage students in other cities and states to organize against high-stakes testing. Please consider going to their web page and supporting them. I love their energy, their idealism, their wit, and their [...]
We Cannot “Measure What We Treasure”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
On several occasions, I have heard high-level education officials defend standardized testing with the phrase “we measure what we treasure.” I heard it first from an Assistant Secretary of Education who worked for Arne Duncan. Just recently, Texas State Commissioner of Education Michael Williams said it. Williams, it should be noted, is not an educator; [...]
Top 10 Reasons to Rally for Public Education in Albany, New York, on June 8
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Testing in New York has turned into the Monster that Ate the Children. Teachers plan to rally at the state capitol in Albany on June 8 to support public education and protest the deluge of high-stakes testing. This was written by the leader of the teachers’ union in the Averill Park school district in upstate [...]
Di Carlo: Assessing Ourselves to Death
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This is Matt Di Carlo’s best post ever. Matt is a brilliant and careful social scientist who has more faith in quantification than I do. But I read what he writes because I almost always learn something. In this post, he explains that tests are not a cause of success in life, they are a [...]
Why Invest in Early Childhood Education?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Here is a stunning infographic that demonstrates the value of early childhood education. It appears on Julian Vasquez Heilig’s website called “Cloaking Inequity.” We know how busy our elected officials are. They don’t have time to read research papers. Just show them this simple yet profound illustration of the benefits of early childhood education.
Teachers, Staff in UNO Charters Vote to Unionize
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
From an AFT press release: CHICAGO—Teachers and staff in the one of city’s largest charter school networks overwhelmingly have chosen the Chicago Alliance of Charter School Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS), an affiliate of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, as their bargaining agent. The decision involves more [...]
Principal: “I Quit”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Bush-Obama education policies have led to a destructive overemphasis on testing. The very nature of schooling is changed for the worse when higher scores become the goal of education. As we lose sight of the true purpose of education, we lose many fine educators who will not abandon their principals. Here is one whom [...]
Trigger-Happy Florida Senators
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Just hours after the defeat of parent trigger legislation, some of its advocates moved key portions into another bill. In this case, this provision was salvaged: “A bill focused on charter schools (HB 7009) was amended Tuesday afternoon. It now requires that children in classes taught by teachers with an “unsatisfactory” or “needs improvement” ratings [...]
Jindal “Reforms” Faltering
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The legislature in Louisiana is turning a cold shoulder to Governor Bobby Jindal’s plans to demoralize teachers and dismantle public education. The bills that sailed through last year, when Jindal was riding high, are in trouble now. Only Stand for Children, once thought of as a civil rights group, insists on firing teachers faster and [...]
Why Should Students Care About High Stakes Tests That Don’t Count?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Another one of those zany testing stories. In California, the staff gets the kids all excited about doing well on the state tests. They ave pep rallies, pizza parties, motivational assemblies, prizes, and anything else that might encourage the students to do their best. But here is the odd part. The tests have no stakes [...]
Peter DeWitt Calls Out Rhee for Endorsing Anti-Gay Legislator
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Peter DeWitt writes a regular blog for Education Week. He is the principal of an elementary school in upstate New York. In this column, he says that Michelle Rhee’s organization does not put all students first. DeWitt describes the Tennessee legislator who was named “Reformer of the Year” by StudentsFirst. This legislator is known for his [...]
Why She Left Teaching
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
From a teacher who gave up: After 13+ years as a successful special education teacher in Los Angeles and then Virginia, I resigned last year. I just felt like I could no longer teach one more year in the current atmosphere that the teaching profession has become. I decided to take at least a year [...]
Is the Common Core in Trouble?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
AFT President Randi Weingarten called for a moratorium in the rush to impose the Common Core. Several states are considering proposals to withdraw from the Common Core. The Republican National Committee lambasted it as federal intrusion. Progressives like Stephen Krashen and Susan Ohanian object to standardization. Defenders try to paint critics as far-right extremists. Is [...]
Her Daughter Opted Out
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
From a reader: Libbie, my daughter with Rett Syndrome, could not talk or use her hands functionally to communicate, yet she was forced to go through the state testing every year. Her IEP “accommodations” forced her teacher to work with her 1 on 1, and ask each question so Libbie could eye-gaze at her chosen [...]
Good News! Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Opposes Voucher Expansion
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has been friendly to school choice experiments, but now has turned cool. Why? In this editorial, the newspaper says the evidence DOES NOT SUPPORT SCHOOL CHOICE. Governor Scott Walker wants to lift the income limits on the voucher program and expand it beyond Milwaukee, but the newspaper disagrees. It reviews the research [...]
Massive Giveaway of Public Property! Call the Police! The FBI!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The North Carolina legislature is about to approve a massive giveaway of public property to private charter operators. The charter corporation will be able to get public property for $1, then open a “school” staffed by uncertified teachers. No criminal background check required. Call the cops!
New York’s Evaluation System: Junk Science at Work!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Arthur Goldstein is a teacher-blogger who terrifies corporate reformers like State Commissioner John King. That is because Goldstein is a career teacher who knows what he is talking about; also, he writes lucidly and has a dry sense of humor. King, on the other hand, taught for two years in a “no excuses” charter school [...]
LA Daily News Endorses Monica Ratliff
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Los Angeles Daily News just endorsed Monica Ratliff for the open seat on the school board. The newspaper said that it was not right to let very wealthy people buy a school board seat for their inexperienced and uninformed candidate. Monica now has the support of the Los Angeles Times and the LA Daily [...]
Me on Sirius-XM
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
I mentioned a few days ago that I will have a regular Monday conversation with Pete Dominick on Sirius-XM at 7:35 am EST or thereabouts. At the time I did not know which channel the show is on. It is 104. Last week we talked about testing. Pete takes callers, so call in.
Mike Deshotels: The Facts About the Recovery School District
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Mike Deshotels is an experienced Louisiana educator and currently a blogger about education in his state. His blog is called Louisiana Educator. He read a blog by Andy Smarick on the Education Next website and found it superficial and inaccurate. Smarick has worked for various Republican administrations and conservative think tanks and once served on [...]
Gary Rubinstein: TFA’s Three Biggest Lies
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
In one of his most brilliant posts, Gary Rubinstein calls Teach for America on the carpet for continual lying. Gary, who is one of TFA’s most illustrious alumni, thinks TFA has many achievements in which it should take pride but he can’t tolerate these big lies. 1. the training for TFA teachers is adequate. 2. [...]
Walton Foundation Gives $8 Million to Rhee’s StudentsFirst
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Indifferent to John Merrow’s investigative reports on the cheating scandal during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as DC Chancellor, the Walton Family Foundation gave her organization $8 million to continue pushing its radical agenda of attacking teachers and promoting privatization of the nation’s public schools. StudentsFirst advocates that test scores should count for 50% of teacher evaluation, [...]
Don’t You Love the Providence Student Union?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The Providence Student Union delivered the First Annual State of the Student Address today, right before State Commissioner Denorah Gist gave her annual State of Education Address. ********************** Hello. Attached please find the materials from the Providence Student Union’s First Annual State of the Student Address, including a press release, a list of PSU’s policy [...]
Teachers: Deasy Killing Off Crenshaw High School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Teachers at Crenshaw High School are trying to stop the executioners’ axe from falling on their school, as it has fallen on so many others. Is it too late? They write: “The last few days have been hard to bear—especially for those of us who want UTLA to become an organizing union, which puts forth [...]
Sickest Testing Story of All Time
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Fourth-grader Joey Furlong was in the hospital in New York, hooked up to intravenous tubes and preparing for brain surgery, when a stranger arrived in his room. It was a teacher with a test. She said it was time for him to take the test. It turns out that the hospital has five full-time teachers [...]
Randi Calls for a Moratorium on High Stakes for Common Core Tests
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This morning I went to hear Randi Weingarten speak to a major group of business and civic leaders in New York City. Present also were the state’s education leaders, including Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch as well as College Board President (and Common Core architect) David Coleman. Randi praised the Common Core as the most important [...]
Breaking News! Florida Parents Beat Trigger Again!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Florida parents–especially the Determined Moms–beat the Parent Trigger again. The Senate voted 19-19. The tie vote was a repeat of last year’s vote. Enough Florida Republicans voted Nay to block the bill. Parent power beat corporate power! Florida parent groups–the PTAs, Testing Is not Teaching, Fund Education Now, 50th No More, and others–stood firm against [...]
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Standardized Testing in Texas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This is a long and fact-filled story about the rise and possible fall of the testing industry in Texas. I am quoted near the end, and there is one statement that I need to correct. I explained to the journalist that schools had changed a lot since I was a student in Houston public schools. [...]
McGill on Testing: Preparing Kids for the 1950s
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Michael McGill is superintendent of schools in Scarsdale, Ne York, one of the nation’s most affluent districts. It has an excellent school system. Its students go to fine colleges. Yet even Scarsdale must submit to the half-brained testing and evaluation strategies dreamed up by non-educators and educators with minimal experience. McGill is an articulate and [...]
Boston Teacher: Why I Quit, Why I Fight
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This comment was posted by a teacher in Boston who couldn’t tolerate what was happening to her school, her students, her profession. She writes: “Dear Dr. Ravitch, I am a newly-resigned, 15-year veteran in the Boston Public Schools. I had to get out; I spent years obsessing over the internet trying to make sense of [...]
Louisiana, Awash in Lies, Stonewalling, and Lawsuits
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Since Bobby Jindal and his loyal henchman John White started their war against Louisiana’s public schools and their teachers, the judicial system has proved to be the best line of defense for defenders of the public interest. Jindal’s two major pieces of legislation were declared unconstitutional by the courts. One ruled that it was illegal [...]
The Moms That Stopped the Testing Beast in Texas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Anytime you are tempted to think that informed citizens can’t stop the corporate reform machine, think of TAMSA. Their organization, persistence, and intelligence has brought down the testing movement in Texas. They are the Angry Moms of Texas. TAMSA stands for Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment. But many in the media think of them [...]
The NY Times Editorial Endorsing Common Core
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Several readers asked me to comment on the New York Times editorial endorsing the Common Core. I held off because there didn’t seem to be anything to say other than that the Times’ editorial board is repeating what they were told by promoters of the Common Core. The Common Core has serious problems, and there [...]
Indiana Testing Halted by Computer Glitch
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Teachers’ salaries in Indiana will be based on state test scores, but the administration of the computer-based tests came to a stop today because the computer servers stopped serving. There was a time long ago when teachers were trusted to write their own tests and grade them. But that was when states assumed that teachers [...]
Stop Blaming Schools for Inequality!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
In a terrific opinion piece that was prominently featured in the Sunday New York Times, Sean Reardon of Stanford University wrote that the gap between the children of the rich and the children of the poor has grown by 40% in the past 30 years. Reardon puts to rest virtually every reformer myth: schools don’t [...]
Dilbert Explains VAM for You
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Ever tried to understand value-added modeling but found the jargon incomprehensible? You are not alone. Most people have had that experience. Here is the clearest explanation I have seen. It makes perfect sense.
DFER, EdTrust, et al Insist on High-Stakes Testing for California
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I don’t understand this story. It says that “civil rights groups” demand that Arne Duncan turn down a request for a waiver from a group of districts in California. Since high-stakes testing invariably ends up with poor and minority kids at the bottom of the bell curve, it is hard for me to understand why [...]
Advice to Those Considering Teach for America
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
John Merrow recently offered advice to those considering joining Teach for America, and retired teacher and active blogger G.F. Brandenburg decided to offer his own advice. Brandenburg links to Merrow’s post. Brandenburg’s advice can be summarized in a word: Don’t.
Florida Charters Score $91 Million from Public School Construction Funds
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Remember when charter advocates said they could do a better job of educating kids with less money? You probably don’t remember, it was years ago. The charters have forgotten it too. In Florida, the charter lobby just got $91 million from the Legislature. This is money taken from the public schools’ facilities fund. Now, instead [...]
Me on Sirius-XM Every Monday Morning
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Pete Dominick has a regular show on Sirius-XM called “Stand Up! with Pete Dominick.” He invited me to discuss the state of education every Monday morning at 7:35 am EST. This was our first conversation, this morning. Pete has children in public school and is very concerned about over-testing. He is right.
NYC Mayoral Education Debate, May 2 in Brooklyn
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Want to know where the Democratic primary candidates stand on education? Ask! View this email in your browser A forum on the future of public educationin NYCwith Democratic primary mayoralcandidatesModerated by Diane Ravitch Thursday May 2nd 5:30-7:00 pm PS 29 (425 Henry Street, Brooklyn) What do 800,000+ New Yorkers have in common? We are NYC [...]
Jason Stanford: What We Can Learn from the Rise and Fall of Rhee
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Jason Stanford, a first-rate journalist in a texas, looks for the lessons in the meteoric rise and astonishing descent of Michelle Rhee. The major lesson, he says, is not so much about her as about the deep flaws in the test-and-punish philosophy she embodied. Putting the squeeze on subordinates to raise test scores leads to [...]
Monica Ratliff for Los Angeles School Board
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
There is a big race in Los Angeles on May 21. It is a run-off that will determine who controls the board. There are two candidates. One–Monica Ratliff–is a working classroom teacher, the other worked on the staff of corporate-friendly Mayor Villaraigosa and has no education experience. The teachers’ union supported both candidates, hedging their [...]
Seattle Teachers Expand Testing Boycott
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Seattlegeachers will hold a press conference today to announce their plans to extend and expand their test boycott. MEDIA ADVISORY Seattle Teachers Respond to Spring MAP Test: Boycott Grows Bigger New Message: Don’t Renew MAP Contract Press Conference Called for Monday, April 29th, at 4:30 pm at the Garfield Community Center (Corner of 23rd and [...]
Providence Student Union Will Counter Gist Speech
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
The Providence Student Union will give its first “State of the Student” address on April 30, shortly before Rhode Island State Commissioner Deborah Gist gives her annual State of Education Address to a joint session of the Legislature. The students will present their “positive vision” on what education should be, as opposed to the state’s [...]
Jeff Bryant: Why There Is No Middle Ground
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Earlier today there was a good exchange on the idea of finding common ground. Robert Shepherd explained why it should happen, and Ira Shor said it would not happen in light of the unreasonable attacks on teachers and public schools. As it happens, Jeff Bryant addressed the same issues two years ago.. He commented today: [...]
Dayne Sherman: Jindal’s War Against the People of Louisiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Dayne Sherman is going to a rally at the state capitol in Baton Rouge on April 30. The people of Louisiana are waking up to Jindal’s war against the common weal. Now, says Sherman, even the Legislature is turning against Jindal. Four big issues stir public antipathy: First, we have to repeal the tax give-aways [...]
Ira Shor: Why Common Ground Is Not Possible
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
In response to an earlier post by Robert Shepherd, asking whether it might be possible to find common ground on contentious issues, Ira Shor, a professor at the City University of New York, answers: “Dr. Shepherd sounds like a person of good will who is extremely uncomfortable with the rash, untested, arrogant impositions of high-stakes [...]
NYC Parent Meeting on inBloom and Student Privacy Tomorrow
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
This notice just in: “Parents, do you know your child’s confidential, personal school records are going to be shared with a corporation called inBloom Inc? This highly sensitive information will be stored on a data cloud and disclosed to for-profit corporations to help them develop and market their “learning products” The data will include your [...]
What Happens When Skunks Bust Out of a Cage?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Nancy Flanagan, retired NBCT, has written a brilliant post about Governor Rick Snyder’s secret project called the Skunk Works. The goal of the project was to invent a brand-new cheap-cheap-cheap school called a “Value School.” Sort of like a discount store where you get a product that looks like the real thing, but it is [...]
What Did Albert Shanker Say and What Would He Say Now?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
There is a new parlor game among the cognoscenti called “Albert Shanker Said This 20 or 30 Years Ago So It Must Be Right.” Last fall, I had a tiff with New Jersey Commissioner Chris Cerf, who invoked Shanker’s name to support the Christie administration’s push for charters. I patiently explained that Al Shanker was [...]
Florida: Phony Video, Phony Names on Petition for Parent Trigger”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Investigative journalists in Florida are all over the last-minute effort mounted by Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee to find parents who support the so-called “parent trigger.” First they circulated a video allegedly made by a group called the “Sunshine Parents,” supporting the trigger. Unfortunately, no one ever heard of this group and it has no [...]
Robert D. Shepherd: Can We Find Common Ground on Common Core?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Robert Shepherd, experienced designer of textbooks and assessments, wrote the following: “I believe in my heart of hearts that there are good, well-meaning people on both sides of the accountability debate. I also believe that there are certainly roles to be played by standards and evaluation systems and testing. “I fervently hope that we shall [...]
Hello, NY Daily News: Hold Bloomberg Accountable
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
The Néw York Daily News has been jumping for joy at the prospect that the Common Core tests will show just how hopelessly dumb the students of NYC are. Its latest editorial practically gloats about what is surely (the editors think) bad news. The writer also seems to believe that the harder the tests, the [...]
Parents File Class Action Lawsuit Against State Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Parents in Rochester, New York, filed a federal class action lawsuit against the state and their son’s school, which punished him for refusing to take the tests in accordance with his parents’ wishes. The school not only punished the boy, but sent the sheriff’s office to the ballfield to make sure he was not allowed [...]
Michigan “Skunk Works” Goes Public
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Members of Governor Rick Snyder’s administration have been meeting in secret since December with like-minded allies from far-right think tanks, hoping to develop a quasi-voucher in a state where the Constitution bans vouchers. Thanks to publicity about the project, its future meetings will be held in public or at least have some public oversight. Their [...]
Parent: I Am Fighting Against the Testing Mania
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
I received an email from a parent in Long Island who has decided to join the campaign against high-stakes testing. She blames Common Core for her children’s unhappiness with school, but Common Core is just the latest manifestation of the testing obsession embedded in No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. She blogs, [...]
This Teacher Sets the Record Straight
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This teacher wrote a math problem into a Tweet. He got a negative response from someone he did not know. The next day, he was pulled out of his class and suspended on suspicion that he had leaked a Common Core test question on Twitter. This is a frightening story. His reputation was nearly destroyed [...]
Rhode Island: Why Do “Reformers” Hate Democracy?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Having followed the corporate reform movement closely, I have noticed that the adherents of this strange movement think they have all the answers. They make grandiose promises, set impossible targets, and make impossible claims. And they are never held accountable. They like to arrange things so they don’t have to listen to anyone who disagrees [...]
Bruce Baker: the Misuse of the Gates’ MET Study
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Bruce Baker chides state policymakers for claiming that they are relying on MET, the Gates’ teacher evaluation program. In his previous post, Baker delves into the ways that state officials are misusing value-added measurement and student growth percentiles. I asked Bruce if he would clarify the difference and he responded as follows (go to the [...]
John Thompson: What Did the Billionaires Know and When Did They Know It?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
John Thompson understands that the big money has been betting heavily on testing and accountability. When did the billionaires realize that test score gains were the result of cheating? Did they care? Will they learn? Or will they continue to promote the same failed policies? Why? What do they hope to accomplish?
Rhee’s StudentsFirst Honored Anti-Gay Legislator in Tennessee
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
As Laura Clawson writes at The Daily Kos, Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst honored an anti-gay legislator in Tennessee as its “legislator of the year.” Last year, the organization picked a Georgia legislator known for his strident anti-immigrant views. Rhee supported 105 candidates in 2012. 90 were Republicans. Her organization spent nearly $1 million in Tennessee legislative [...]
When a Religious Sect Took Over the Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
There is good reason for separation of church and state. America was founded by religious dissidents. Our Founding Fathers wrote into the First Amendment that Congress was not permitted to establish a religion. They wanted all people of all faiths–or none–to live in peace. Some states had an established religion for a time, but religious [...]
John Merrow: “Someone is Lying”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
John Merrow digs deeper into the D.C. cheating scandal. A series of shoddy investigations have left many unanswered questions. What did Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson know? What did they do about the evidence of cheating? Will the facts ever come out?
Minneapolis: Steve Perry Ridicules Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Steve Perry, who was once a commentator for CNN, recently spoke in Minneapolis and used the occasion to ridicule teachers and unions and boast of his own miraculous powers. He runs a school in Hartford where he performs miracles daily, unlike the millions of teachers who are not lucky enough to work in his school. [...]
How to Stay Sane in Bad Times
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
This teacher decided to leave a job she loves. She is trying to figure out what is happening, why so much teacher-bashing, why so little support. Luckily she has her “bucket fillers,” the colleagues and friends she can trust. What is sad about this strangely moving essay is that she does not realize that her [...]
Time to Laugh Out Loud with EduShyster on Spring Break
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
On spring break, EduShyster went to Florida, the state with the most choice in the nation, and she had a grand time. Among other things, she giggled over Tom Friedman’s latest effort to display his vast knowledge of education. She traveled with her sister, a teacher, who regaled her with stories of the latest Common [...]
Tampa Bay Times: Parent Revolution Produced Mystery Video
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
The Tampa Bay Times reports that California-based Parent Revolution produced the slick video endorsing the parent trigger bill. The bill will be voted on Monday by the Florida Senate. This is a sleazy trick. Typical deceptive tactic by a group that fronts for the most reactionary elements in our society. Parent Revolution is funded primarily [...]
Miami Herald: “Parent Trigger” Supporters Create Fake Video, Fake Petition
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
The so-called parent trigger bill will likely come to a vote in the Florida Senate on Monday. It has already passed the House. The bill would allow parents to turn their community school over to a charter operator. Florida has more than 500 charter schools, many run by for-profit chains that contribute to legislators’ campaign [...]
DFER Defended by Head of the Discovery Institute
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
This is indeed an odd turn of events. Bruce Chapman, the head of the Discovery Institute, a Reagan Republican, warns Democrats that they should take care not to offend Democrats for Education Reform because they might become Republicans. The reason for his warning was that the California Democratic Party recently passed a resolution denouncing corporate [...]
Alan Singer: Pearson Fails the Test Again and Again
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
From Alan Singer: Pearson is reading the columns. Please spread the word to your lists and encourage people to reply online. Keep the pressure on! Enough is Enough — Pearson Education Fails the Test Again and Again http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/enough-is-enough-pearson-_b_3146434.html Attention: Charles Goldsmith, Head of Corporate Communications at Pearson Plc Emailed Sunday, April 21, 2013, noon, New [...]
The “Bloomberg Legacy” Article Is No Longer Behind Paywall
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Leonie Haimson and I wrote an article for The Nation reviewing the Bloomberg legacy in education. It is no longer behind a paywall. It is online and free.
Pearson Makes Massive Errors and Big Profits
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Valerie Strauss catalogued the long history of Pearson’s testing errors. These are only the errors that were discovered and went public. What about the errors that went undiscovered? What about the students who never graduated because Pearson made a mistake? What about those who failed because Pearson was wrong? What about Pearson winning a contract [...]
The Legacy of Michael Bloomberg
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Leonie Haimson and I have written an article in the current issue of The Nation about Mayor Bloomberg’s 12-year control of the public schools. The article unfortunately is behind a pay wall. If you can find a copy at your newsstand or library, I hope you read it. You will find a perspective quite different [...]
Louisiana and Reverse Parent Trigger
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Louisiana educators have joined in unison to endorse a bill to permit parents in failing charter schools to return their school to public control. Two-thirds or more of the Recovery School District charters are graded D or F. This is a bold recognition that charter schools are not a silver bullet. They are most successful [...]
Why We Will Win This Battle for Our Future
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
A reader comments: We shall win this. Of that I am certain. And we shall do so because the failures of this insanely misguided test-and-evaluate mania become clearer and clearer with each passing day. This terrible idea is self-defeating. The question is, how long will it take? How much damage will be done before [...]
NC: Vouchers Are Opportunity for Fraud, Not Better Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Legislators in North Carolina are on track to create a voucher program that would divert $90 million from the state’s underfunded public schools. NC Policy Watch says beware. Deregulation in other voucher programs has left at trail of fraud, corruption, and abuse of taxpayer dollars, with no benefit to the students. Despite the claims of [...]