How the Bloomberg DOE Kills Schools
The Bloomberg administration loves small schools. Conversely, it hates large schools, especially large high schools. The city used to have dozens of large high schools, some of which had a storied history. Now few remain. One that was slated to close last year was Long Island City High School, but it was saved by a court order.
So the Department of Education is killing it by the usual means, by diverting students to other schools. As
So the Department of Education is killing it by the usual means, by diverting students to other schools. As
EduShyster: Are You a Koppitalist?
As Teach for America expands into a global marketplace, EduShyster compares Koppitalism to Late Capitalism. What do they have in common? How hard is it to bring Excellence to everyone in the world?
Reader: How to Describe Corporate Reform in Plain English
A reader commented on an earlier discussion with these thoughts:
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“”Does anyone else feel like we are basically being ignored?” – 2old2tch
While I applaud the sentiment and aspirations of this letter I am saddened with the weak tea rhetoric and carefully qualified points in academic insider language. This is how academics exchange views at conferences. Arne Duncan is not an academic and he has yet to show any respect for or interest in anything academics have to say.
Offering a long list of research citations is great if your are publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. Otherwise they indicate a false belief in the authority of the research, which the reform movement has largely ignored and
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“”Does anyone else feel like we are basically being ignored?” – 2old2tch
While I applaud the sentiment and aspirations of this letter I am saddened with the weak tea rhetoric and carefully qualified points in academic insider language. This is how academics exchange views at conferences. Arne Duncan is not an academic and he has yet to show any respect for or interest in anything academics have to say.
Offering a long list of research citations is great if your are publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. Otherwise they indicate a false belief in the authority of the research, which the reform movement has largely ignored and
Choice, Competition, and Deprofessionalization in Chile
A reader sent the following observation about parallels between educational developments in Chile under the dictator Pinochet, an admirer of free-market reforms, and in the U.S. today. He writes:
“I have recently been studying the neoliberal privatization of public education in Chile since this is the path we are now on in the USA. Initiated by the dictator Pinochet and encouraged by the same world players who are advocating these changes here, it is frightening and sobering to see how the policies of choice and privatization have destroyed the system there and how, instead of democratizing the system, the system has become a cesspit.
After 30+ years the students and the people are finally taking to the streets in protest and the government is
“I have recently been studying the neoliberal privatization of public education in Chile since this is the path we are now on in the USA. Initiated by the dictator Pinochet and encouraged by the same world players who are advocating these changes here, it is frightening and sobering to see how the policies of choice and privatization have destroyed the system there and how, instead of democratizing the system, the system has become a cesspit.
After 30+ years the students and the people are finally taking to the streets in protest and the government is
Imposing Standardization on Other People’s Children
Robert D. Shepherd, one of our many brilliant readers, offered the following explanation of the impulse to standardize the education of children across the nation:
“It’s no secret that income inequality has skyrocketed in the United States in recent decades, that economic and social mobility have plummeted, that wealth has been increasingly concentrated at the top, and that increasingly, the affluent in this country are isolated in their own circles–living in their own separate neighborhoods; sending their kids to their own separate schools from preschool through college; keeping their money offshore; spending much of their time in homes outside the country; and so on.
“Isolation from ordinary people breeds contempt and prejudice. Lack of intimate, long-term interaction with
“It’s no secret that income inequality has skyrocketed in the United States in recent decades, that economic and social mobility have plummeted, that wealth has been increasingly concentrated at the top, and that increasingly, the affluent in this country are isolated in their own circles–living in their own separate neighborhoods; sending their kids to their own separate schools from preschool through college; keeping their money offshore; spending much of their time in homes outside the country; and so on.
“Isolation from ordinary people breeds contempt and prejudice. Lack of intimate, long-term interaction with
First Grade Teacher: How I Conquered the Testing Monster
In response to the question, “Can You Do the Wrong Thing in the Right Way?,” this teacher responded with a fascinating account of how she conquered the testing monster in her first-grade classroom.
She writes:
I’ve been thinking about testing too. A lot. I teach first grade. My students arrive at the tender age of 5 or 6 and exit at 6 or 7. I give my students 6 benchmark tests a year, 3 in literacy and 3 in math. This past year, 4 more tests were added to the roster – this time on computer. That adds up to 10 – yes 10 -multiple choice tests every
She writes:
I’ve been thinking about testing too. A lot. I teach first grade. My students arrive at the tender age of 5 or 6 and exit at 6 or 7. I give my students 6 benchmark tests a year, 3 in literacy and 3 in math. This past year, 4 more tests were added to the roster – this time on computer. That adds up to 10 – yes 10 -multiple choice tests every
Teacher: Do What’s Right No Matter What They Tell You
A teacher offers this advice to other teachers:
“Okay, the reality of the situation is a once slow suffocation. The people in power want public education to wither and limp along on life support. This will help further marginalize minorities and low-income families, so the power base has little to no competition politically, economically, or socially. Public education in the USA enabled a post-WWII country to prosper and reach heights that were unimaginable just a decade earlier. If one follows the money trail in public education he or she will find that faltering school systems are locked into contracts with educational corporations that force them to adhere to and use antiquated educational programming that lobbying
“Okay, the reality of the situation is a once slow suffocation. The people in power want public education to wither and limp along on life support. This will help further marginalize minorities and low-income families, so the power base has little to no competition politically, economically, or socially. Public education in the USA enabled a post-WWII country to prosper and reach heights that were unimaginable just a decade earlier. If one follows the money trail in public education he or she will find that faltering school systems are locked into contracts with educational corporations that force them to adhere to and use antiquated educational programming that lobbying
Ohio Teachers Subjected to Junk Science Ratings
Now it is teachers in Ohio that have been rated by a secret value-added formula.
Teachers in affluent schools were twice as likely to score well as those in low-income schools.
Here is the key language:
“The details of how the scores are calculated aren’t public. The Ohio Department of Education will pay a North Carolina-based company, SAS Institute Inc., $2.3 million this year to do value-added calculations for teachers and schools. The company has released some information on its value-added model but declined to release key
Teachers in affluent schools were twice as likely to score well as those in low-income schools.
Here is the key language:
“The details of how the scores are calculated aren’t public. The Ohio Department of Education will pay a North Carolina-based company, SAS Institute Inc., $2.3 million this year to do value-added calculations for teachers and schools. The company has released some information on its value-added model but declined to release key
PBS Blog: Common Core Has Fatal Flaw
On the PBS blog, economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University expresses skepticism about the one-size-fits-all academic nature of the Common Core.
Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs.
Lerman is skeptical of Common Core for two reasons: One is that it lacks any evidence. In other words, as I have written repeatedly, Common Core has never been field-tested and we have no idea how it works in real classrooms, and how it will affect the students who are currently struggling.
The other is the dubious assumption that college and career skills are the same.
As he writes:
“…Two issues concern me about the debate. One is the lack of solid evidence about the effects of the
Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs.
Lerman is skeptical of Common Core for two reasons: One is that it lacks any evidence. In other words, as I have written repeatedly, Common Core has never been field-tested and we have no idea how it works in real classrooms, and how it will affect the students who are currently struggling.
The other is the dubious assumption that college and career skills are the same.
As he writes:
“…Two issues concern me about the debate. One is the lack of solid evidence about the effects of the
Diane in the Evening 6-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Monica Ratliff Responds to Critics by dianerav Since she upset the heavily-funded favorite in the recent Los Angeles school board runoff, many eyes are on Monica Ratliff. Some of her supporters were concerned when she appeared at an event where the Gates-funded Educators forExcellence presented a report on teacher evaluation. The event was attended by Superintendent John Deasy and NYC Teacher Ratings Will Flunk More Teachers by dianerav The politicians won’t rest until they can fire more teachers. John King is th... more »