Jersey Jazzman Has Read “Reign of Error”: His First Thoughts
I can’t wait to read Jersey Jazzman’s review of “Reign of Error.” Here is an excerpt from the book. It appears next week. Can’t wait!
Jon Pelto: the Power of a Student’s Voice
While the adults struggle over the future of education in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the students are tested and tested and their voices are seldom heard. This student’s voice will be heard, thanks to Jonathan Pelto. The student feels buried in a deep hole while adults keep shoveling dirt on him. Today is Election Day for the school board in Bridgeport. Time to elect those who extend a helping han
Liz Rosenberg: We Refuse The Test Scores
Liz Rosenberg, New York City public school parent, has a new idea about her daughter’s test scores: she ignores them. This is what she wrote: Refusing our Daughter’s Test Scores Earlier this month, New York state made headlines when it revealed how poorly schools and districts had fared on the state’s new Common Core-aligned standardized tests. Beginning August 26, families of the roughly 400,000
An Encouraging Word from Los Angeles
What do you think about Los Angeles spending $billion on iPads, money taken from school construction bonds approved by voters for……school construction. The iPads will be obsolete in 3-4 years. The bonds won’t be paid off for 25 years. Really disturbing, but here is a hopeful comment, suggesting that there is some oversight: “●●smf responds: I am a member of that selfsame bond oversight committee a
What Are Class Sizes in LAUSD?
Are there large classes in Los Angeles Unified School District? Some commenters say yes, some say no. The average for the district does not answer the question, because students with special needs may be in a class of 5 or have a teacher assigned only to her because of the severity of her disability. The LAUSD board recently passed a resolution directing Superintendent John Deasy to reduce class
Bruce Baker: Hold Cuomo Accountable for School Failure
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the “death penalty” for failing schools recently, setting off a war of words between those who believe in closing struggling schools and those who want to kill them and fire the staff. Bruce Baker takes a different view. Here he demonstrates that Néw York has a funding system that is unfair to the schools with the neediest students. Instead of vilifying
What You Need to Know about Virtual Charter Schools
I often receive questions, on and off the blog, about virtual charter schools. This post will summarize the key things that you need to know to be an informed consumer. Begin with the politics and money promoting virtual charter schools. Colin Woodard won the prestigious George Polk award last year for this expose of the effort to bring virtual charter schools to Maine. It is a stunning piece of i
The Original Purpose of Teacher Evaluation Was….
Dr. Stephen Mucher is an assistant professor of history and education at Bard College. In this public radio interview, he explains the original (and still valid!) purpose of teacher evaluation. Professors visited classrooms not to grade teachers, but to learn about instruction and how to improve it. It was a mutual endeavor, intended to help, not to destroy and punish and fire. History has much t
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: This Is Why We Will Win: We Have the Best HumoristsWe will win for many reasons: First, because everything the “reformers” have tried is failing, and they keep doing it again and again, and failing again and again. Second, because the public really likes their local public schools and hates all that excessive standardized testing (
