Mercedes Schneider: Programs Driven by Ideology and Profits, Not Evidence
Mercedes Schneider argues that corporate reform is driven by ideology and greed, not evidence or the pursuit of better education. She looks at the recent NCTQ report, which had no evidence for its large claims, and at vouchers and course choice in Louisiana. Vouchers have failed, but their champions won’t admit it. Course choice is ll about dollars, nothing more. Without big money on offer, she w
The Insanity of Florida’s School Grades
A reader posted this comment: “In Gainesville a school called Einstein Montessori received an “F.” It is a charter school specifically created for children with reading disabilities. They gave the children with reading disabilities and their teachers an F because they didn’t do well enough on a reading test!!! It is insanity and dispicable! Parents must be the ones to make this stop!!!”
Tony Bennett Resigns
Despite the excuses for his actions, despite the efforts by his friends to defend him, despite the fact that the Fordham Institute named him “the reformiest reformer” in 2011 for his full-throated support of testing and privatization, Tony Bennett resigned today as Florida superintendent of education. He resigned because of the email trail showing he manipulated Indiana’s opaque A-F grading syste
Stotsky: Why I Oppose Common Core
Sandra Stotsky was in charge of developing the outstanding academic curriculum frameworks in Massachusetts in the 1990s. She served on one of the committees that participated in the shaping of he Common Core. She certainly believes in standards and testing. She is now one of the most outspoken critics of Common Core. In this article, she explains why. She believes that the insistence on one-size-f
InBloom Loses Another Site
Politico’ Morning Education Blog reports a setback for inBloom. Notice the come-on: free now, not later: INBLOOM OFF THE ROSE? — Another state has pulled out of using the Gates Foundation’s $100 million technology service project, inBloom. The withdrawal further shrinks the project after other states pulled out in part because of concern about protecting students’ privacy. Guilford County, N.C. to
Jan Resseger: The Debate About NCLB
Jan Resseger, one of our most articulate and passionate advocates for public education, has started her own blog. She lives in Ohio, which is one of the states where the privatization movement is moving fast to take money from public schools and transfer it into private hands. Please consider following her blog. Here are her reflections on the the Republican proposal to reauthorize No Child Left B
Tennessee Parents Create Facebook Page “Remove Kevin Huffman”
A group of Tennessee moms created a brilliant Facebook page calling for the removal of Kevin Huffman, the state education commissioner. The site is vivid, graphic, and highly charged with the fury of really angry moms. One entry points out that Huffman likes to say that Kentucky does better than Tennessee, even though both have the same level of poverty. So the moms produced a comparison graph sho
My Friend, Karen Lewis
I never heard of Karen Lewis until she was elected president of the Chicago Teachers Union as an upstart in September 2010, overturning the established leadership. I was intrigued and decided that I wanted to meet this woman. As it happened, I had a speaking engagement in Detroit in late September and was supposed to fly from Detroit to Los Angeles. When i visited Chicago in the spring of 2010 to
Diane in the Evening 7-31-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Walton Foundation Gives $20 Million to TFAThe most reactionary and anti-union of the major foundations–the billionaire Walton Family Foundation–has awarded $20 million to Teach for America to send bright, ill-prepared new college graduates into the nation’s classrooms. The largest contingent –700–will go to Los Angeles. That city h