NC: Teachers Get No Pay Raises for Masters
North Carolina legislators, ever on the hunt for ways to demoralize teachers, decided there would be no extra pay for masters’ degrees. This is their way of showing their contempt for education. They don’t see the return on investment for a masters’ degree in history or science or special education. Teachers with existing masters are grandfathered in, and those enrolled in masters programs now m
A Really Cool Reformy Event
Here they are, folks, the “classics” of the reform movement, devoted to the privatization of American public education. The lead event is when Tony Bennett, the ex-Commissioner of Education in Florida, presents an award for education reform to William J. Bennett, the Secretary of Education during the Reagan administration. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 1, 2013 Contact: James A. Boyle 571-213-3979
Brian Page: How We Failed the Class of 2013
Teacher Brian Page is passionate about financial literacy. In this post, he explains how we failed to teach the Class of 2013 about the hard financial realities of life. They graduate knowing little about income inequality or wealth inequality or the financial consequences of the decisions they make. “So while they have attended school through a time when our public education system has had it’s
Test Defenders Feeling the Heat from Test Critics
The Washington Post has an opinion piece today by Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, defending the regime of standardized testing and high stakes that has created a vigorous opt-out movement among parents, teachers, and school board members. This is actually a victory for the critics of high-stakes testing because it shows that those in power now find it necessary to defend their ha
Why Did CPS Award a $20 Million No-Bid Contract?
How many times have we heard that the a Chicago Public Schools are broke? Isn’t that why CPS laid off thousands of teachers and closed 50 elementary schools? But wait: this week, CPS gave a $20 million no-bid contract to a for-profit corporation called Supes Academy to train principals. CPS Superintendent Barbara Byrd-Bennett worked for Supes Academy until April 2012. “The size and the circumst
Is the A-F Grading System Fatally Flawed?
Politico.com has a valuable new education blog in the morning, written by experienced education journalists. This morning’s report by Nirvi Shah ponders whether the departure of Tony Bennett will show that his (and Jeb Bush’s) beloved A-F grading system is damaged goods. The discovery that Bennett toyed with the system to protect a school owned (and named for) a major GOP donor is reason enough t
Pasi Sahlberg: Testing and Choice Don’t Work
Pasi Sahlberg, Finland’s education ambassador to the world, recently warned the British government that high-stakes testing would not improve student achievement and that choice would undermine equity. Pasi’s excellent book “Finnish Lessons” has been translated into 15 languages. Finnish education is the reverse of everything we do, yet their students excel on international tests. When asked wh
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: 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 K