“Reign of Error,” released September 17, debuts at #10 on New York Times’ bestseller list! Thanks to all the fabulous education bloggers who spread the word.
My Daughter’s First Test: In Kindergarten
A reader writes: In my daughter’s Kindergarten class here in Palm Beach County, Florida, she just had her first test–in Kindergarten!!! Each student was separated by a cardboard wall of blinders around them and they were given a five page test on numbers one through five. They had to write the number, the word for the number and draw how many dots represented the number. At a local union meeting
FBI Documents Charges Against Cyber Charter Founder
A reader sent the following comment, which includes a very disturbing document. The founder of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in Midland, Pennsylvania, was indicted and accused of siphoning some $8 million from the school’s accounts. The school has (still has) over 10,000 students and an annual income of $100 million. Bear in mind that virtual charters do not have the expenses of brick-and-
Forbes: All Aboard the Charter School Gravy Train!
Yes, there are charter schools that serve all kids. Yes, there are good charter schools that are not trying to drive the public schools out of existence. But then there are the profiteers, who have spotted the charter industry as a chance to make money. Surprise of surprises, this critical review of the profiteers appears in Forbes magazine. Fat City, indeed! Regular readers of this blog know som
$1Billion for iPads in Los Angeles: A Colossal Joke
Howard Blume reports that students in many districts quickly cracked the security code on their shiny new iPads. Now they are using them for Facebook, music, gaming, whatever. Thanks, citizens of Los Angeles! Too bad the district can’t afford to repair its buildings or reduce class size or hire arts teachers. Have fun, kids. Just make sure you don’t lose your new toy.
John Thompson: Why Did Race to the Top Ignore Social Science?
John Thompson has an excellent post on Anthony Cody’s blog, trying to figure out why the architects of Race to the Top ignored a wealth of social science evidence by demanding more test-based accountability than even No Child Left Behind. He notes that both Elaine Weiss of the Bolder Broader Approach and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) take a dim view of RTTT. Elaine Weiss reviewed
A Parent at Success Academy Says “No, We Won’t March”
As previously reported on this blog by an anonymous teacher at Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain, parents, teachers, students, and staff have been directed to participate in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge on October 8 to protest any slowdown in allocation of public space to charter schools or any effort to charge the charters rent for public space. Some readers doubted the authent
Evidence: The Tide Is Turning!
Chiara sends this good news from Michigan, where more than 80% of charters operate for profit and entire districts have been given to for-profit chains. We will awaken the public, we will organize, the politicians will follow, and we will win. Chair a writes: “Challenger in Michigan governor’s race calls for transparency and accountability in charter schools: http://www.freep.com/article/20130905
Wendy Lecker: The Real STEM Crisis
Wendy Lecker is an attorney for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity project at the Education Law Center. In this article, she argues that the STEM crisis is overblown because there are more STEM graduates than there are jobs for STEM graduates. She does not argue against teaching math, science, and engineering. She worries that our undue emphasis on standardized testing is crushing the spirit of inquir
What Works Clearinghouse: Merit Pay in NYC Failed
Yesterday I mistakenly reported that the US Department of Education had closed down the “What Works Clearinghouse,” which reviews research and reports on the results. I corrected my error as soon as I learned about it. In fact, it was a different website that was closed down, the “Doing What Works” site, where educators might find practical advice. The What Works Clearinghouse is still open, and
Ken Previti Reviews “Reign of Error”
Ken Previti, retired teacher, warns readers not to underline sentences in “Reign of Error.” He says it makes the book too messy and you will run out of highlighter anyway! He says, agreeing with me, that the corporate reform project has used deceptive language to “brand” the junk food it is selling. This is a quote he selects from the book: “‘Reform’ is really a misnomer, because the advocates for
Julian Vasquez Heilig Decimates Latest TFA Study
Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas has the most brilliantly illustrated blog of any that I read. He creatively weaves in photographs, graphs, and other eye-catching stuff to make his text vivid. And vivid it is. In this post, he analyzes with his typical humor and dry wit the latest Mathematica study of Teach for America. The study made headlines across the nation. It said that the s
Gary Rubinstein Deconstructs the Latest TFA Study
Wow! Just think, if you have a TFA teacher, you gain 2.6 extra months in a year of instruction in math! Or so concluded a recent study by Mathematica Policy Research. But what does this mean? Gary Rubinstein, himself an alumus of Teach for America, now a math teacher at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, took a closer look at the study and says it does not mean what it claims. He writes: The
My Western Tour Begins Today
At the moment, I am looking out at the Brooklyn skyline, but tonight I will be speaking in Denver. Tomorrow night I speak at the University of Washington in Seattle. The next night I speak in Sacramento. Then Berkeley. Sunday is a day of rest in San Francisco. September 30 I speak at Stanford University in Palo Alto. October 1, I speak at Occidental College in Los Angeles. October 2, I speak at Ca
Enrollments in Teacher Preparation Program Plummets
According to a new report by Edsource in California, enrollment in teacher preparation programs in that state continues to plummet. Teacher layoffs and budget cuts combine to make teaching a bad bet as a career. The attacks on teachers by prominent reformers no doubt add to the diminishing prestige of teaching as a profession. The reformers’ insistence that a “great” teacher needs only five weeks
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Gary Rubinstein Reviews “Reign of Error”Gary Rubinstein has written a wonderful, thoughtful review of “Reign of Error.” There are many highly quotable observations in his review, I liked this one best, because it goes to the heart of why we educate. If you get that wrong, then you can’t get anything else right. He writes: “For me,