Writing for the Common Core Tests
Vicki Cobb, an award-winning author of more than 90 children’s books about science, recently received a requestfrom a test publisher to write for the new Common Core assessments. However, when she saw the guidelines, she wondered if she could do it. Will her voice disappear? Will she be compelled to write the same pap that deadens textbooks? Stay tuned.
Pennsylvania: Now We Know the Truth About Cyber Charters
Rhonda Brownstein, the executive director of Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center, says that it is time to stop trusting the claims of cyber charter promoters. For years, they have promised that students would get “innovative” education and that wondrous things would happen when virtual charters became reality, butPennsylvania now knows that none of that turned out to be true.
Pennsylvania has allowed unchecked growth of cyber charters. They have drained funding away from public schools while providing a low-quality of education.
She writes:
“Attorneys at ELC have heard from the families of many students attending cyber charter schools. Here’s what those families have reported: Students spending countless hours behind computer screens without any required
Pennsylvania has allowed unchecked growth of cyber charters. They have drained funding away from public schools while providing a low-quality of education.
She writes:
“Attorneys at ELC have heard from the families of many students attending cyber charter schools. Here’s what those families have reported: Students spending countless hours behind computer screens without any required
Charter School Rejects Student with Special Needs
Again and again, we hear the same story: charters excluding children with special needs. This is contrary to federal law. How do they get away with it? Where are the lawyers?
A mother writes:
My daughter is a mainstream student and has been attending Minnesota School of Science since they opened. For 2 years in a row I have been trying to enroll my son who is a special needs student but have been told by the school both years not to enroll him because the special education program is lacking and that my son’s needs
A mother writes:
My daughter is a mainstream student and has been attending Minnesota School of Science since they opened. For 2 years in a row I have been trying to enroll my son who is a special needs student but have been told by the school both years not to enroll him because the special education program is lacking and that my son’s needs
When Professional Judgment Conflicts with Common Core
This reader explains the conflict between Common Core expectations and her professional judgment. How did she resolve it? She did what she believed was in the best interests of children. It’s not easy.
She writes:
“As a literacy consultant and Title 1 coordinator at my K-6 rural NH school, I sympathize. At my school, we use Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System as our universal screening tool for literacy. When F&P came out with their revised reading level expectations (obviously inspired by the CCSS, although they refuse to admit this), my colleagues and I came to consensus about the fact that we will not adhere to them, as we feel
She writes:
“As a literacy consultant and Title 1 coordinator at my K-6 rural NH school, I sympathize. At my school, we use Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System as our universal screening tool for literacy. When F&P came out with their revised reading level expectations (obviously inspired by the CCSS, although they refuse to admit this), my colleagues and I came to consensus about the fact that we will not adhere to them, as we feel
The Negative Consequences of Pressuring Students to Take AP Courses
A reader commented on an ongoing discussion of Advanced Placement courses and the rating of high schools according to how many students, ready or not, take them.
She writes:
“The highly publicized rankings based on AP tests taken did a lot of harm in my sons’ high school. AP courses used to attract the students who were genuinely ready for college-level work, but about seven years ago, the school system instituted a policy that required every student who took an AP course to take the AP exam, and also began to push students into AP who did not really need to be there. There were parent meetings about AP
She writes:
“The highly publicized rankings based on AP tests taken did a lot of harm in my sons’ high school. AP courses used to attract the students who were genuinely ready for college-level work, but about seven years ago, the school system instituted a policy that required every student who took an AP course to take the AP exam, and also began to push students into AP who did not really need to be there. There were parent meetings about AP
Helen Gym: Report from Philadelphia Parents on the Front Lines of Destruction
Philadelphia has had a disastrous year of school closings, budget cuts, and a report recommending privatization of large numbers of public schools. Now, as parent activist Helen Gym reports, the situation is even more dire after massive layoffs. The state of Pennsylvania and the mayor of Philadelphia seem content to let private corporations take over public education in the city. This is an ominous sign, not only for Pennsylvania, but for other urban districts. This is purposeful abandonment of a basic public function.
Gym writes:
For those watching Philadelphia’s tragic schools situation from afar, hope you might consider a few pieces from Parents United for Public Education.
Topping off a dreadful year that saw 24 school closings, and the stripping away of all educational supports from
Bruce Baker: Another Look at the Much Hyped Chetty-Rockoff-Freidman Study
Perhaps you recall the hoopla that surrounded the release in late 2011 of a study by economists Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff, in which they claimed that a great teacher would produce a huge increase in lifetime earnings, fewer pregnancies, and other wonderful life outcomes. It was reported on the front page of the New York Times, where one of the authors said that the lesson of the study was that it was best to fire teachers who couldn’t produce big gains sooner rather than later. The study was discussed reverentially on the Newshour and President Obama referenced its conclusion in his 2012 State of the Union address.
The central claim was that the great teacher produced a lifetime gain of $266,000 for a typical classroom.
First out of the box to challenge the study was Bruce Baker of Rutgers. He pointed out that if a class had 26
The central claim was that the great teacher produced a lifetime gain of $266,000 for a typical classroom.
First out of the box to challenge the study was Bruce Baker of Rutgers. He pointed out that if a class had 26
Diane 6-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Faces of the Layoff: Who Got Pink Slips in Philadelphia by dianerav Numbers don’t begin to tell the story. Nearly 4,000 employees of the Philadelphia public school district learned that their jobs had been terminated. The Teacher Action Group of Philadelphia is gathering photos to put a human face on an inhumane decision. Each one has a story. They are real people, not numbers. *LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all* mike simpson at Big Education Ap... more »