NC Gov Gives $$$$ to Young Aides, $0 for Teachers
It pays to be on the governor’s campaign staff in North Carolina. Governor McCrory gave jobs paying more than $80,000 to two of his 20-something helpers, barely out of college. Each of the kids got a raise of $22,000-23,000 after a few months in state government. Teachers must work 15 years to make $40,000. Teachers in North Carolina are among the worst paid in the nation. Teachers got no raises.
NEPC Urges Caution on CREDO Study of NOLA Charters
The National Education Policy Center urges caution when reading the CREDO study of charter schools in New Orleans. Governor Bobby Jindal has already taken CREDO as evidence for the success of privatization. NEPC says not so fast. In addition to technical issues in the study, the critics make the following observations: “Even setting aside these concerns, the effect sizes reported for New Orleans—
Gary Rubinstein: No Excuses for Democracy Prep
Gary Rubinstein here analyzes the unimpressive showing by Democracy Prep on the recent disastrous Common Core tests in New York State. He takes apart the effort by Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute to rationalize the poor performance of the much-ballyhooed charter chain. Gary writes, “The hardest thing about trying to have an intellectual debate with ‘reformers’ is every time they
A Hero Superintendent in Long Island Says: “To Hell with These Scores. They Do Not Matter”
William Johnson is the superintendent of public schools in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. He is an experienced educator. He can tell the difference between education and miseducation. For his willingness to speak truth to power, to defend the children and staff in his care, he is a hero of American public education. When he saw the scores generated by New York’s Common Core tests, he ble
Are You As Smart As a First-Grader?
This is only a portion of the English language arts curriculum for first grade in New York State, aligned to the Common Core standards. Many children in first grade have not yet learned to read, but they will be expected to understand and explain facts and concepts that belong in sixth or seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth or eleventh or twelfth grades. Six-year-olds may have trouble pronouncing
Diane in the Evening 8-22-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Obama Proposes NCLB for Higher EducationPresident Obama proposed a plan to rate colleges much as schools are rated now. Their federal assistance would be based on performance indicators. This is supposed to save money but 75% of college instructors are already adjuncts, working for peanuts. More likely, the President loves Big Data
