LA Times: Charter Schools Should Not Hurt Public Schools
The Los Angeles Times has generally been very supportive of privately managed charter schools, but in an editorial today it dares to suggest that charter schools should not expand at the expense of public schools. In areferendum passed in 2000, intended to make it easier to pass bonds to support public schools, charter advocates slipped in a little noticed proviso that required public schools to
A Sad Measure of Dr. King’s Dream
Fred Smith, a testing expert who worked for years at the New York City Board of Education, now advises Change the Stakes, an anti-testing group. In this article, he analyzes the progress of nine schools in New York state that bear the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The schools are located in different cities and communities but they bear two common features: they are racially segregated, and
California Parent: Common Core Tests Are Not Good
This parent says her daughter is a top student but found the Common Core tests confusing. She doesn’t have keyboarding skills. How will the district pay for the necessary technology? By increasing class size? She writes: “My children are enrolled in school in CA and my daughter’s 6th grade class was “chosen” to take the Common Core test. She is a GATE identified high achiever, with almost perfect
Alfie Kohn Critiques the New York Times Book Review
Alfie Kohn here chastises the New York Times Book Review for adding its heft to the conventional wisdom: that our schools are “mediocre” and need to find some other nation to emulate; that test scores define success in school and in life; that test scores determine a nation’s economic prospects; that children must be treated like “hamsters in a cage” so they cram in enough facts to get those all-i
Aaron Pallas on New York’s Common Core Test Fiasco
Aaron Pallas is one of the wisest education scholars in New York, and therefore (as we New Yorkers all believe) in the world. He consistently brings a fresh perspective to the unfolding drama and spectacle that is now U.S. education. And he is one of the few academics willing to enter the arena and engage with current events. That is one of the clear benefits of tenure. In this post, Pallas says t
Dallas: Mike Miles’ Asst. Runs for School Board
Broad-trained Dallas Superintendent Mike Miles is in big trouble. He is under investigation for interfering with bidding for contracts and with internal audits; several of his top staff have quit; DISD teachers are quitting in large numbers; Miles’ family moved away from Dallas. But he has good news: Miles’ special assistant is running for a seat on the school board. Miguel Solis is not only runni
The March on Washington, August 28, 1963: My View
Fifty years ago today, I took the train to Washington, D.C., with my then-husband Richard to participate in the most important protest of our era. We were not part of a group, though we knew many groups that were involved. We went on our own, as citizens, who wanted to add our voices to others to demand a society free of the racial barriers that denied equal rights to Americans whose skin color wa
How the Gates Foundation Bought and Paid for Common Core
In this astonishing post, Mercedes Schneider documents how the gates Foundation paid for every aspect of the Common Core standards. Gates paid to develop them; to evaluate them; to promote them. There seems to be no part of the Common Core that was not bought and paid for by Gates. Does it matter if one very rich man decides to create national standards and call them “state-led”? Schneider rais
Why I Decided to Endorse Bill de Blasio for Mayor of New York City | Diane Ravitch
Why I Decided to Endorse Bill de Blasio for Mayor of New York City | Diane Ravitch: Why I Decided to Endorse Bill de Blasio for Mayor of New York CityPosted: 08/27/2013 9:00 amAfter much deliberation, I have decided to support Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York City.I thought long and hard, because I know and respect some of the other candidates.I issued the following statement to the de Blasio
Diane in the Evening 8-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: BAT Version of Wizard of OzHere is the latest creative product of the BATs. It is their version of the Wizard of Oz. Can you guess: Who is innocent Dorothy? Who is the Wicked Witch? Who is the Good Witch? Who is the Tin Man, who lacks a heart? Who is the Scarecrow, who lacks a brain? Who is the Cowardly Lion? Who controls the Flyin
