Bruce Baker on Charter Parasites in Newark
Bruce Baker added these thoughts to his earlier post about charter schools in Newark: “So then, imagine if you will, an entire district of North Stars? Or an entire district of those who strive to achieve the same public accolades of North Star? That would sure work well from a public policy standpoint. They’d be in constant bitter battle over who could get by with the fewest of the lowest income
Paul Thomas: Why Education Does Not Trump Poverty
Paul Thomas here explores this question: is it better to be born rich or to get a college degree? Can a “no excuses” school overcome poverty? Can 1,000 such schools change South Carolina?
Outrage! Pontiac Teachers Lose Health Insurance
Teachers in Michigan are getting hit from all sides. Teachers in Pontiac will lose their health insurance because the district used the money paid by the teachers for the general fund to balance the books and didn’t pay the premiums. The insurance company is canceling the policy, and the teachers are suing the district.
Study: High-Stakes Testing Increases Incarceration Rate
A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research says that high-stakes testing leads to an increase in the incarceration rate. Olesya Baker and Kevin Lang conclude that the use of high-stakes tests as a graduation requirement leads to a lower graduation rate and a higher incarceration rate. Anthony Cody has an excellent column about this study here. As he puts it, “exit exams boos
Edison Charter in KC Goes Broke, Stiffs Teachers
One of the few remaining Edison charter schools went broke, leaving teachers without a pay check. No one knows if the teachers will ever be paid. Most of Edison’s business now is online, not direct management of schools. Derrick Thomas Academy charter school in Kansas City, which opened in 2002 with great promise, lost its charter and left behind a massive financial mess, with Edison demanding pay
Review of CREDO Charter Study: Charters No Better Than Public Schools
The National Education Policy Center commissioned a review of the 2013 CREDO charter study, the one that allegedly discovered big gains for charters. In its 2009 study, CREDO found that only 17% of charters outperformed public schools. Now, reviewers concluded that the differences between charter schools and public schools are “significantly insignificant.” The reviewers were Andrew Maul and Abby
Indianapolis Plan for Privatization
Indianapolis have developed a plan that they call “neighborhoods of educational opportunity.” Every child in the future will go to a high-quality school, which is sure to be a charter school that destabilizes the neighborhood and excludes students who are not likely to get high scores. It is the usual Reformy con job. Promise the moon, shutter public schools, hand the money off to private operato
Bruce Baker: Newark Charters Succeed at Skimming
Bruce Baker has studied Newark charters repeatedly. As he shows in this post, their greatest success is their ability to skim the students who are most likely to succeed. Some if his findings about their academic growth–or lack thereof-may surprise you. Charters are parasites, he concludes, that harm their host. Making the entire district charter does not change that: “But sadly, those who most
Steve Rhodes: CPS Cuts Central Office Again and Again and…
Steve Rhodes tries to understand how the Chicago Public Schools claims $600 million in cuts to “central office.” Rhodes says the claims defy both mathematics and physics. In fact, the cuts are not cuts, and “central office” does not mean central office. He writes: “But this is CPS make-believe land, which is a quasi-quantum place where the rules of earthbound mathematics do not apply. “[T]he en
Sarah Karp: CPS Claims Amazing Budget Cuts
In a brilliant piece of investigative journalism, Sarah Karp tries to understand the claim by the Chicago Public Schools that it cut $600 million from central office when the entire budget for central office is $233 million. Furthermore, the budget for central went up, not down. By now, there must be no one still employed at central offices of CPS.
Diane in the Evening 7-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Tom Torlakson Shows What Leadership IsThis comment just arrived in response to the post about California having the nerve to defy all-wise, all-powerful Arne Duncan: “State Superintendent Tom Torlakson is a former teacher. When he gathered a group of educators to hammer out the blueprint for the future of CA schools, he wisely sele