Rich Néw Yorkers Offended by de Blasio Plan to Fund Pre-K Education
Bloomberg News reports that the city’s corporate leaders and super-wealthy are offended by mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio’s plan to raise taxes on those earning over $500,000 a year to fund universal pre-K and after school programs for middle school kids. The head of the business leaders’ group was astonished by de Blasio’s indifference to the needs of corporate executives. ““It shows lack of s
Crazy Crawfish Says CREDO New Orleans Study Is Not Credible
Jason France, aka Crazy Crawfish, used to work for the Louisiana Department of Education.,he worked in research and statistics. He helped to assemble the data on New Orleans charter schools before he left. He has concluded that CREDO is not credible. First, he realized that CREDONis a pro-charter organization. Then, he looked at the methodology, and was disturbed to see that the NOLA charters were
Charter Advocates Try to Buy Bridgeport Election
Jonathan Pelto reports that charter advocates have dumped at least $50,000 into the Bridgeport school board elections in hopes of maintaining a board that will create more charters and defend Paul Vallas. Expenditures of this magnitude are still fairly rare in school board elections, except in cases where the privatization movement has decided that they want control, like the Louisiana, Indiana, I
Schneider vs. Hirsch: Is Core Knowledge Free…or Not?
Mercedes Schneider, who teaches in a public high school in Louisiana and holds a Ph.D. in research methods, wrote a post about the transaction in which Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify bought the rights to Core Knowledge ELA for 20 years. She wrote: A quick summary: A 2012 American Educator article notes that CK materials are free for teachers both in New York and across the nation to download. The CK web
A Brave Superintendent in Long Island
Steven Cohen is superintendent of the Shoreham-Wading River Central School district on Long Island in Néw York. At a time when others quietly acquiesce, Superintendent Cohen spoke out in “Newsday.” He wrote that the schools are being swamped by a tsunami of untested “reforms,” at the same time that their budgets are restricted by Governor Cuomo’s 2% tax cap, which voters may override only by winn
Cody: Will Education Nation Allow Dissenting Voices?
Anthony Cody writes another brilliant column, this time questioning NBC’s Education Nation about whether it truly intends to sponsor a dialogue about education issues or just another Gates-funded celebration of “reformers” who don’t like public schools. Since Anthony asked, I told him I was invited to be a part of Education Nation—as a member of the audience. Unless I am invited to speak, I won’t
FairTest Fact Sheet About Common Core Tests
FairTest released the following fact sheet about the Common Core tests: Common Core Assessment Myths and Realities: Moratorium Needed From More Tests, Costs, Stress Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), each state set its own learning standards and developed tests to measure them. But NCLB’s failure to spur overall test score gains or close racial gaps led “reformers” to push for national,
FairTest: Common Core Tests Are Same Old Standardized Tests
FairTest says that the new Common Core tests do not live up to the claims by proponents about a new era of tests that measure higher-order thinking and really show what students know and can do. FairTest National Center for Fair & Open Testing for further information: Dr. Monty Neill (617) 477-9792 Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 DISSECTING COMMON CORE ASSESSMENT MYTHS AND REALITIES; DESPITE HYP
Duncan: “Not Familiar” with Voucher Lawsuit
When questioned about the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Louisiana’s voucher program, Secretary of Education Duncan said he was “not familiar” with it. DOJ is suing to block vouchers in districts that are under desegregation orders. DOJ recognizes that vouchers will exacerbate racial segregation. This was reported on politico.com’s morning education edition, a valuable resource for
Indiana Governor Determined to Make Elected State Superintendent Powerless
Governor Mike Pence was elected last fall with fewer votes than State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. Ritz, you may recall, beat Tony Bennett, despite his 10-1 advantage in money. Bennett was the author of the state’s A-F grading system, which fell into disrepute when it was revealed by the Associated Press that Bennett rigged the grades to favor a politically connected charter s
Diane in the Evening 9-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Daily Howler: Another Take on the Massachusetts MiracleBob Somerby, who writes The Daily Howler, covers the media. He is especially good on education. When the TIMSS results came out, showing that the US made a strong showing, he was quick to call out the major media for the usual doom-and-gloom headlines. Today, he critiques t
