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The Biggest Loser in the Bennett Scandal?
This is a terrific commentary on the Bennett fiasco, written by Valerie Strauss. Who is the biggest loser? Could it be the man behind the curtain who decided that testing would make kids smarter? The one who turned choice into a battle cry? The guy who invited for-profit charters into Florida to make buckets of cash that could be used to hire lobbyists and clear the way for more profits? Florida h
Jason Stanford: Accountability for All But Pearson
Jason Stanford watches Texas politics closely and has become fascinated with the state’s devotion to high-stakes testing. As he shows in this post, there is plenty of accountability for kids, but none at all for Pearson. In 2010, Pearson won a $468 million contract to test Texas students. When the legislature decided to reduce mandated high school testing by 67% this year, Pearson cut its budget b
YESTERDAY
How Tony Bennett Raised the C to an A
Since Tony Bennett got caught fixing the grade of his favorite charter school, he has loudly defended his actions and described the claims against him as vicious and unfounded. In this post, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg of the University of Wisconsin explains how Bennett tried to protect his favorite school and how he distorted the truth afterwards. Ellenberg writes: “This was an act of aston
NC Governor: Phony Claims About Education
Governor Pat McCrory presented his budget and boasted it was the largest education budget ever. But it isn’t true. Adjusted for inflation, North Carolina is spending half a billion dollars less than in 2008. The fibs just kept on coming at a news conference. “Gov. McCrory also repeated a claim he made as he signed his tax reform package into law that teachers making between $40,000 and $45,000
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
AUG 01
Bob Sikes in Florida: Bennett Resigns, Angrily
At his resignation press conference, Tony Bennett said the stories in the media about his actions in Indiana were “malicious and unfounded.” He said that Governor Rick Scott and powerbroker Jeb Bush wanted him to stay, but he didn’t want anything to distract from educating the kids of Florida. Bob Sikes, who reported the story in his blog, wondered why Bennett was so quick to resign: “Bennett’s qu
E4E Gets $3 Million from Gates
A couple of years ago, I was on a panel discussion about school reform in NYC. To one side of me was a young man of maybe 23 or 24 who was remarkable. He knew everything. He had taught for 18 months and had learned everything there was to know about teaching and how to reform schools. I should have been impressed, but found his arrogance annoying. He was representing a group of other young teacher
Tony Bennett’s Wife Works for Charter Schools, USA
As state superintendent in Indiana, according to this news story, Tony Bennett sent a lot of business to Charter Schools USA. When Bennett moved to Florida, his wife got a job with Charter Schools, USA. Whether she was qualified is irrelevant. Public officials should not only avoid conflicts of interest but the appearance of a conflict of interest. If Florida has any ethical standards, this situat
Three Dubious Uses of Technology in Education
I was invited to contribute an article of 500 words to a special issue of Scientific American. I assumed that most of the other articles would be unalloyed cheerleading for the wonders of technology. So I decided to talk about both the promise and the perils of technology. I have seen teachers doing amazing things with the Internet. I have gone to conferences where thousands of teachers were learn
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
JUL 31
Why Will No Major National Paper Publish John Merrow’s Story About Rhee?
From the time Michelle Rhee started her run in DC, John Merrow was there to chronicle her progress on PBS. He posted a dozen episodes of her trials and triumphs. But last year, he began to have doubts. He began to wonder how widespread the cheating was and how much she knew. He hit a stonewall. An experienced journalist, he wrote an opinion piece reviewing his findings. But suddenly, no one cared
Walton Foundation Gives $20 Million to TFA
The 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 has a large number of nonunion charter schools. TFA aids the Walton ambition to privatize public schools and
Bennett’s A-F Grading System Essential to Privatization Movement
Columnist Dan Carpenter of the Indianapolis Star understands what Tony Bennett was doing with the A-F grading system imported from Jeb Bush in Florida. It was never about improving but about labeling so that here would always be a fresh crop set up for closure and privatization. He writes: “Educators, from those with traditional public schools to those operating charters to those teaching teacher
Arthur Camins: Question TFA Ideas, Not the Kids
Arthur Camins explains what is wrong with the TFA approach but cautions that the recruits should not be blamed or criticized. I agree. The recruits are idealistic and well-intentioned. They are akin to Peace Corps volunteers. No one suggests that Peace Corps volunteers are qualified to be Foreign Service officers or diplomats or ambassadors. Blame the organization for its hubris, not the kids. It
If CPS Has a Billion Dollar Deficit, Why Is It Funding These Programs?
Chicago school officials and the mayor have a mantra: CPS is broke. CPS has a deficit of $1 billion dollars. With that rationale, CPS lays off thousands of teachers and closes dozens of schools. But at the same time that officials plead poverty, they still find the money to do what they want to do. Here is this Chicago blogger’s top ten. It includes the bizarre expenditure of $1.6 million for Teac
Maddow Show on Tony Bennett Scandal
Melissa Harris-Perry did this review of the Tony Bennett grade-fixing scandal in Indiana. This is the kind of mainstream media attention that is helping to unravel the corporate reform narrative.
Arne Gets Angry at Georgia
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jul/30/state-school-chief-responds-us-doe-plans-withhold-/ A few days ago, Georgia announced that it was dropping out of PARCC, the Common Core testing consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Education. State officials said the state could not afford the technology or the cost. The U.S. Department of Education was swift to respond. It wrote Georgia
Reform Fairy Tales
Crazy Crawfish worked in the a Louisiana Department of Education. He has an aversion to lying. This is why he is angry, and this is why he is dangerous. He knows too much. And he knows how politicians and their mouthpieces twist the facts any way that serves them. In this post, Crazy Crawfish (aka Jason France) describes a valiant effort by the poorest parish in the state to get out from under st
Bruce Baker: Why He Won’t Use the Term “Corporate Reform”
Bruce Baker brilliantly explains here why he won’t use the term “corporate reform.” The strategies now being imposed on the schools have failed when applied in corporate settings, he writes. He looks at the use of two now-popular “reform” ideas in education: the portfolio model and evaluation by results. The portfolio model is based on the belief that schools should compete, and that those in char
How Is This Charter School Like Franco’s Spain?
EduShyster has found a dissident hedge fund manager who writes pseudonymous posts for her blog. He or she writes here about the eerie similarity between schooling in Franco’s Spain and a high-scoring charter school chain called Democracy Prep. What do they have in common? Read the link.
Tony Bennett’s Grade-Rigging Lifted All Charter Schools
The emails unearthed by Tom LoBianco of the Associated Press show that Tony Bennett was desperately trying to rig the system to raise the grade of one charter school from a C to an A. That charter happened to be the charter held by a major donor to GOP campaigns, including Bennett’s, which received $130,000 from her. As a side benefit of the new formula, the grades of all charters were raised. As
Poverty in America: Why It Matters
For the past decade, corporate reformers have repeatedly said that poverty is an excuse used by and for bad teachers. If all teachers were “great” teachers, all children would have high test scores, there would be no achievement gap, and our problems would be solved. Forgive me if the logic doesn’t work, but I don’t entirely understand the train of thought. The bottom line is the reformy belief th
JUL 30
Is Tony Bennett in Trouble in Florida?
After the release of emails showing that Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett manipulated the grading system to favor a charter school belonging to a big GOP donor, a furor erupted about his ethics. He is now State Superintendent in Florida following his election loss in Indiana last fall, a transition arranged by Bennett’s mentor Jeb Bush. Bennett was head of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change. Fl
Mitch McConnell Explains Why Privatization Is Good for You
I received the following email today from Senator Mitch McConnell. He really needs to get some people on his staff who can read and understand education research. It is not that hard. So should Rand Paul, Lamar Alexander, and the other senators who are pushing vouchers. He would learn, for example, that students in voucher schools have not outperformed students in public schools anywhere. He doesn
To Rand Paul: Why Should Kentucky Copy Tennessee’s Unsuccessful Corporate Reforms?
A blogger in Tennessee notes that Rand Paul of Kentucky is excited about what is happening in Tennessee. He wants Kentucky to follow Tennessee’s lead. But this is very odd because by almost every measure, Kentucky is more successful in education than Tennessee. Unlike Tennessee, Kentucky has no charter schools. It does not aspire to enact vouchers. It is doing none of what the corporate reformers
NC Teacher: These “Reforms” Are Insane
A reader from North Carolina explains how the legislatures so-called reforms will affect her: “I have been teaching in NC for 13 years now. To be honest, having to sign a new contract each year or not getting a raise yet again doesn’t concern me as much as having 25+ 7 year olds with no assistant. I’ve had to share an assistant with 3 other teachers for the past few years, and that is better than
House of Cards: The Michelle Rhee Story
The Badass Teachers Association has produced a series of videos to explain the intricacies and deceptions of corporate reform. The first laid out the corporate reform strategy. The second examined the Broad superintendents. The third looks closely at the legacy of Michelle Rhee. The thesis that ties them together is that “reform” is a house of cards built on lies that will inevitably fall down, as
George Schmidt: How to Become an Excellent Teacher
George Schmidt taught for many years in Chicago until he was fired by Paul Vallas, then the CEO, for revealing test questions (to show how idiotic they were). He now offers advice on how to succeed as a teacher: Thanks for making me laugh this otherwise unfunny Chicago morning. Around here, the best way to become one of the “best” teachers is to get as far as possible away from the hard core seg
Greg Michie: What Is Really Happening in Chicago
Greg Michie is a teacher in Chicago and a published author. Michie is fed up with the hypocritical incantations of “students first,” when the reality is that the “reformers” put students last. In this post, he explains what is really happening. “I see our school’s only computer lab — which should be a student resource — closed for weeks at a time (a total of nine this past year) so it can be used
Bruce Baker: Three Smokescreens to Avoid Talking about Resources
In another great post, Bruce Baker explains the smokescreens that reformers use to divert attention from resource inequality. One smokescreen is choice. The idea is that liberty should replace equality. But says Baker, choice is highly inequitable. “But these arguments are merely a diversion, sidestepping whether, when applied in practice, adequate alternatives are equitably distributed. “One prob
Link Added to EduShyster Post This Morning
Sorry, readers, I did it again! I forgot the link to the EduShyster article about TFA’s insidious mission. I added it to the original post. Here it is: http://wp.me/p2odLa-5o0
Public Education in New York City: The Bloomberg Legacy
Marc Epstein has been teaching in the public schools for almost two decades.His articles on school violence, curriculum, and testing have appeared in most of the New York papers, the Washington Post, Education Next, and City Journal. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Public Education And The Next Mayor —Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclina
A BAT Writes a Letter to Bill Gates
Here is good advice for the Gates Foundation: Mr. Gates, I have been working on this letter for days now. I just can’t seem to get my thoughts down before my anger gets the best of me. Then it turns into a letter of rant which helps no one, least of all my students. I am a 10 year veteran teacher. I have earned my BA and my MAT. I also have received National Board Certification. I am sick over th
Nancy Flanagan Dissects the Latest Harebrained Reform Idea
Nancy Flanagan taught music in Michigan for many years. She now blogs at Edweek. In this post, she dissects a new reformy idea called “the opportunity culture.” The bottom line is that if you are in the top 25% of teachers, determined by test scores, then you should teach larger classes and get paid more. This is Bill Gates’ and Michael Bloomberg’s dream. Nancy is at her best in this column. You
EduShyster: The Insidious Mission of TFA: LINK Added!
In an unusual turn, EduShyster writes a serious article about the increasingly insidious role played by Teach for America today. The organization began with the laudable goal of supplying teachers to schools where there were chronic shortages. However, it has become a mainstay of the privatization movement, staffing charters that open as public schools close. She warns: “By fueling charter expansi
JUL 29
A Parent Listens to a Conversation Between Ben Austin and George Miller
I posted a link to this article yesterday. It is hilarious. It is a conference call in which Ben Austin, the leader of Parent Revolution, talks to Congressman George Miller, the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives. P-Rev is funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Broad Foundation. Miller is beloved by the charter lobby and has received generous campaign co
Tony Bennett Critics: Dancing in the Streets
A friend in Indiana had this to say about the Tony Bennett grade-fixing scandal: “For those of you who are not from Florida or Indiana, you have no idea how this feels for us who are. This is early birthday, Christmas in July, karmic, happy dancing joy for those of us who have lived with the disastrous policies that the Bennett (Daniels/Jeb Bush) juggernaut has foisted on us.” Karen Francisco, th
The Investigative Reporter Who Broke the Tony Bennett Grade-Fixing Story…
Give credit where it is due. The AP reporter who broke the Tony Bennett grade-fixing scandal was Tom LoBianco. We need more investigative reporters covering education. This scandal is the tip of the iceberg. When so much money is riding on test scores and grades, follow the money and keep digging. When so many political careers are invested in achieving certain results, keep your eyes open. Educat
Jersey Jazzman on Tony Bennett Grade-Fixing Scandal
Should we call it GradeGate? Here is Jersey Jazzman’s inimitable take on Tony Bennett’s latest imbroglio. Check out that graphic!
Breaking News: AP Says Tony Bennett Rigged Indiana Grades to Favor a Charter School
According to the latest reports from Indiana, the Associated Press obtained emails showing that State Superintendent Tony Bennett (then of Indiana, now Florida) changed the grading system to make sure a particular charter school got an A. The school belongs to a major GOP donor, who has contributed more than $2.8 million to Republicans since 1998, including a contribution of $130,000 to Tony Benne
Charter Teacher: Why Charters Need Supervision and Oversight
This comment is a response to an earlier post about an unscrupulous charter operator who continues to get new charters, despite his history of failure. This teacher writes: “I’ve lived this nightmare. I was a teacher at Techworld Public Charter School in DC back in the early 2000s. We had an incredibly dedicated staff of mostly young teachers, an innovative plan to integrate technology into a rig
The Big Lie on Which “Reform”Is Built
Mark Naison, one of the founders of the Badass Teachers Association, here explains that the foundational idea of the privatization movement is a lie. Naison writes: “Public School Failure- “The Big Lie” on Which Current Education Policy Rests “As someone who has worked in the Bronx for the last 45 years, it drives me crazy to hear business leaders denounce public schools as the one failed institut
Mitch Daniels: Proof of the Need for Teacher Tenure
Can you imagine that the governor of your state would tell teachers which books they are allowed to assign or use in class? Can you imagine that the governor of your state would tell college professors which books they are allowed to assign or use in class? Can you imagine that the governor of your state would use his power to try to audit and close down a program at a university because its direc
House of Cards: The Broad Superintendents
This video, made by the Badass Teachers Association, is part of a series that will dissect the corporate reform effort to privatize American public education. This one describes the work of the Broad-trained superintendents. They are like educational kudzu; once one is installed, they soon surround themselves with other Broadies, as they are known. Some states, like New Jersey and Louisiana, swarm
Advice for the “Charitable-Industrial Complex”
Peter Buffett, son of billionaire Warren Buffett, is not happy with the philanthropic giants that have decided to save the world. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Peter Buffett writes what he has learned about Philanthropic Colonialism: “People (including me) who had very little knowledge of a particular place would think that they could solve a local problem. Whether it involved farmin
Frank Breslin: Chris Cerf Is Destroying Public Education in New Jersey
Frank Breslin is a retired teacher. He taught English, German, Latin, and social studies for forty years. In this article, he writes that Chris Cerf ”is driving a stake through the heart of public education by his maniacal insistence on perpetual testing.” Breslin writes: “Welcome to New Jersey, Land of Standardized Testing and Education’s Brave New World. Without relentless testing of the basic s
JUL 28
Connecticut Policy Institute Responds to Critical Comment
In one of the comments on the blog, a reader posted critical comments about the Connecticut Policy Institute. The executive director of the institute, Ben Zimmer, asked me for the opportunity to respond. I agreed. I checked the webpage of the CPI, and note that it is in favor of charter schools in poor districts, using test scores (“effectiveness”) to evaluate teachers, using an A-F grading system
BAT Teacher: I Am Not My Test Score!
Amanda Shaw writes here about what happened when students were allowed to write without the threat of a test hanging over them. She is a full-time elementary school teacher of music, who also helps students learn to write. In this post, she describes an experience that reminded her why she loves teaching. Imagine giving students the freedom to be creative!
Thanks for Your Good Wishes, Kathy Irwin
I received this comment after writing that Moses had to take his people into the desert for 40 years because a new generation had to be born who would think as free men, not slaves. Kathy wrote this: Dear Diane: Learning how to think like free people/educators and not slaves really is the central message. I am hoping you have a slew of press appearances when the September book debuts. I know that
What Happened When Tim Slekar Told His College President About NCTQ
Tim Slekar is a teacher educator and a fearless firebrand, known for his work @the chalkface and for some very pointed videos. He recently became dean of teacher education at a college in the Midwest. His college president asked for his opinion of the recent report of the National Council on Teacher Quality, which lacerated teacher education in America by reviewing course catalogues and reading li
Children or Lab Mice?
A teacher in Broward County writes: “I am tired of hearing about data. We teach CHILDREN, every time I hear about the data, I feel like they think we are training lab mice,”
How “Reformers” Are Lowering Standards for Educators
A reader sent the following commentary on reformers’ efforts to lower standards for educators and to welcome people without professional preparation and credentials to teach in and administer the nation’s public schools and charter schools. His response was prompted by a post about teachers in Arizona with online degrees. He writes: “Arizona teacher: “I have seen staffs comprised of high school gr
Anthony Cody: How “Reform” Gives the Illusion of Progress
Anthony Cody describes his debate with a reader who thinks Public education should be wiped out and started over from scratch. The reader remembers seeing a few stories about some schools that succeeded with every single child. Cody gently explains why some schools produce miraculous results by excluding the children likely to get low scores and by losing a significant number of students before gr