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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Philly Teacher: May 100% of Your Students Score Proficient by 2014!
This was written by Raniel Guzman, who is a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia and an adjunct professor at Esperanza College of Eastern University: May 100 % of your students score proficient or above on standardized tests by 2014. An attributed Chinese proverb is often wished upon one’s enemies by asserting, may you live in interesting times… This understated “curse” levi
YESTERDAY
A Real Educator Will Run for State Superintendent in Oklahoma
This is exciting! Folks, the tide is turning! An experienced superintendent announced that he will run for state superintendent against Janet Barresi, the current superintendent who is a member of Jeb Bush’s shrinking Chiefs for Change. Barresi worked as a speech pathologist, then became a dentist. She opened charter schools. She is part of the Jeb (“test ‘em until they cry, then give everyone a
Alice Mercer Reviews “Reign of Error” and EdTech
Alice Mercer’s review of “Reign of Error” addresses the question raised by some EdTech reviewers about where I stand on the use of technology in the classroom. She quotes from the book to demonstrate that I strongly believe in the value of technology as a tool to transform and enliven teaching. Why read a few sentences in a dull textbook about John F. Kennedy’s electrifying Inaugural Address when
Rhee Vs. Ravitch in Philadelphia
As it happened, Michelle Rhee and I nearly crossed paths in Philadelphia. This article describes our contrasting visions for the public schools of Philadelphia. She spoke on September 16, in a panel that included George Parker, the former head of the Washington Teachers Union, who now works for Rhee, and Steve Perry, ex-CNN commentator. Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion from the schools in 2011,
Why Teachers Should Write the Tests, not Corporations
While I was traveling to Denver, I received a request from The New Republic to respond to an article by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the provost of the University of Pennsylvania, who asserted that we need more tests, because studying for tests makes kids smarter. I wrote this article, responding to Dr. Ezekiel that what matters most about tests is who writes them, how quickly results are reported, and wh
Gary Rubinstein: Jared Polis’ Charters Show Low Growth
Since I am not allied with the corporate reformers, I don’t put much credence in test scores. But the reformers love Big Data and seem to believe that everyone and everything can be measured. They use phrases like “you measure what you treasure” and “you can control only what can be measured.” I happen to think such thoughts are anti-humanistic and technocratic to an extreme, but then I am not in
How Common Core Killed the Dinosaurs
Amy Prime, a second grade teacher in Iowa, used to teach about dinosaurs as a unit that taught science, social studies, language, literacy, math, and the arts. Now the dinosaurs are gone. Killed again. This time by Common Core. Amy writes: “So I grieve for the lost dinosaurs. I grieve for the challenge and energy I got as a teacher from striving to get to know my kids and create lessons for the
The Question of Vallas and Pryor in Connecticut
This is an article that appears in the newsletter of the Connecticut Association of School Administrators. I can’t give a link because it is part of a pdf. I am working on learning how to insert a pdf into the blog but have not mastered it yet. Give me time. The article was written by attorney John M. Gesmonde. Gesmonde, a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Connecticut Law Sch
Noel Hammatt: What If “Failing Schools” Aren’t?
Since I had the wrong link in the original, I am reporting. Noel Hammatt is an independent researcher and former board member of the Baton Rouge public school board. He is one of the best-informed and most courageous researchers in a state where truth is to be found not in official statements, which are political, but in the work of bloggers and independent researchers like Hammatt. This is a grea
Maybe My Best Interview Ever: NPR Morning Edition
I was interviewed by Steve Inskeep of NPR Morning Edition. It airs today. It may be the best 5-minute summary of “Reign of Error.” A note to my friends who teach and use educational technology. Contrary to the introduction, I do not oppose technology. I support technology as a tool for teachers, not a replacement for teachers. I know, from direct personal experience, that there are people in boar
Leonie Haimson Reviews “Reign of Error”
I wrote this post while waiting to board my flight from Denver to Seattle. I forgot the link! No excuses! I also forgot to add that Leonie Haimson is a hero of public education, a woman who has repeatedly, courageously stood up to the rich and powerful on behalf of children. She was long ago added to the honor roll of this blog. She has advocated, litigated, testified, organized, written, research
Leonie Haimson Reviews “Reign of Error”
I have known Leonie HAimson for nearly 10 years. She is the most articulate, best informed, most relentless champion of children, families, and public schools that I know. If the Gates-Murdoch data mining operation should fail nationally, Leonie did it. She has fought unceasingly for reduced class size, parent involvement, the reduction of high-stakes testing, and evidence-based policy. She does a
Noel Hammatt: What If “Failing Schools” Aren’t?
Noel Hammatt is an independent researcher and former board member of the Baton Rouge public school board. He is one of the best-informed and most courageous researchers in a state where truth is to be found not in official statements, which are political, but in the work of bloggers and independent researchers like Hammatt. This is a great analysis he made of the state’s grading system, in which h
Marc Tucker: No Other Country Tests Every Student Every Year
Marc Tucker posted a fascinating dialogue with two testing experts, Howard Everson and Robert Linn. Here are some of the salient points. MT: Is this country getting ready to make a profound mistake? We use grade-by-grade testing in grades 3-8 but no other country is doing it this way for accountability; instead they test 2 or 3 times in a students’ career. If the United States did it that way, w
Jonathan Kozol Reviews”Reign of Error” in Sunday New York Times
I was thrilled to receive this wonderful review by Jonathan Kozol in the Sunday New York Times.
SEP 26
Aaron Churchill Challenges Negative Assessment of Ohio Charter Schools
Aaron Churchill of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, takes issue with Bill Phillis’s negative view of Ohio charter schools. He says that critics like Phillis compare charter schools to districts instead of to schools. Fordham is a charter authorizer in a ohio. Churchill writes: “Charter school naysayers are quick with their “what’s wrong with” quips, and the criticism is at times deserved. Many o
Duncan, Daniels, Engler: Is the Reform Movement in Crisis?
David Leonhardt of the Néw York Times interviews Arne Duncan, Mitch Daniels, and John Engler on the state of the “reform” movement. How fitting that Duncan would be paired with two of the very conservative Republican ex-governors, and the three sound alike. What is interesting to me is that I hear a subtle shift in tone. They are admitting that scores are up and graduation rates are up, but that
Jersey Jazzman: Capitulate or Resist?
Jersey Jazzman reports on the annual meeting between State Commissioner Chris Cerf and the New Jersey superintendents. Unlike previous meetings, there were few questions, few signs of life. Have they given up, JJ wondered. He unites a news story, which says: “Compared with previous convocations at which tensions were high and questions were plentiful, the more than 300 school leaders gathered ye
She Quit TFA
This is an interesting first-person account by a young person who felt lucky to be accepted into the super-elite Teach for America and reports on her year in the Atlanta Public Schools. Two observations. The five week training program drilled into her that children fell behind because of their bad teachers. She was constantly reminded that she would close the achievement gap because she was better
Reformers Target Affluent Douglas County, Colorado, for All-Choice Plan
Douglas County, Colorado, has a school board that is enthralled with choice and apparently disdains public education. Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett spoke in Douglas County on September 25. According to the local media, he was well compensated. Rick Hess has also been busy consulting and promoting the school board’s plan to bust free of the cage of government schools. Unless the publ
Andrew Delbanco Reviews Rhee and Ravitch
Andrew Delbanco of Columbia University contrasts the recent books by Michelle Rhee and me in the New York Review of Books. Read it and let me know what you think.
Peter DeWitt Reviews “Reign of Error”
Reporting because I forgot the link! Peter DeWitt is an outstanding elementary school principal in upstate New York. He has established a reputation as a dedicated and kind person who cares about the social and emotional health of his students, as much as (perhaps even more than) their test scores. He also happens to be a man of great integrity and courage. In this post, he reviews Reign of Error.
Peter DeWitt Reviews “Reign of Error”
Peter DeWitt is an outstanding elementary school principal in upstate New York. He has established a reputation as a dedicated and kind person who cares about the social and emotional health of his students, as much as (perhaps even more than) their test scores. He also happens to be a man of great integrity and courage. In this post, he reviews Reign of Error. He writes: In Reign of Error, Diane
Mercedes Schneider: The Shell Game in New Orleans
Mercedes Schneider, that brilliant teacher in Louisiana with a Ph.D. in research methods, takes a skeptical look at the way the state is playing statistical tricks in New Orleans and the Recovery School District. After you read her post, you will never believe anything that you read or hear from Louisiana officials or the media about the “miracle” of the Recovery School District. One thing we shou
The Best Article Ever About New Orleans’ Charter Schools
We all have heard or read or seen the stories in the mass media about the “miracle” in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, which Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called the best thing that ever happened to education in that city, wiped out public education and the teachers’ union. Now New Orleans is the only city where more than 75 % of students are in charter schools with minimal government regulat
How Standardized Tests Harm Students and How to Stop This Harm
Heather Vogell, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has spent a year studying the testing industry. The series she is writing about testing for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution should receive a Pulitzer Prize. See here and here. What she has uncovered is that the tests are flawed, that errors are common, and that students are denied a high school diploma because of errors made by the
Read the Comments in Response to John Merrow’s Blog
As readers know, John Merrow decided yesterday to post a blog in which he gratuitously insulted me by comparing me to a politician on the far right and implied we represented extremes and neither of us was a hero. This came out of the blue. I used to think of John as a friend, but friends don’t insult friends. He also insulted readers of my blog, suggesting that like Senator Ted Cruz’s followers,
SEP 25
“Reign of Error” Reaches Times’ Bestseller List!
“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.
A Letter to John Merrow
Since I started this blog, I have periodically named people as heroes of American education because they have been courageous in standing up for the rights of children, for good education, and against powerful and misguided policies that do harm to children and public education. Some have risked their careers and liivelihoods. They deserve recognition. Now along comes John Merrow, whose work I hav
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
SEP 24
Students in Los Angeles, Indiana Outwit iPads
Students in Los Angeles and Indiana wasted no time in cracking the security codes on their iPads and going to sites that were supposedly off-limits, like games, Facebook, and other social media. Who says our students are not smart?
Teacher Rebellion in Montclair
At a meeting of the Montclair, New Jersey, school board, the union president was speaking and was cut off. The teachers in the audience were outraged. So were sympathetic members of the public. Watch the video.
Correction: US DOE Closes Down “Doing What Works” Not “What Works Clearinghouse”
A reader writes and offers this clarification. It still remains the case that nothing mandated by the test-obsessed DOE is based on research or evidence: It’s not the What Works Clearinghouse that has been taken down. It’s still up and running: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ WWC does the evaluations–that’s what has been controversial because of the very, very narrow focus of their evaluation efforts.
What Albert Einstein Said About Standardizing
Thanks to Robert Shepherd for sharing this great quote: “I believe in standardizing automobiles. I do not believe in standardizing human beings. Standardization is a great peril which threatens American culture.” —— Albert Einstein, Saturday Evening Post interview, 10/26/1929″
A Young Teacher-in-Training, Making Sense
The author of this email requested anonymity, for obvious reasons. I started reading your blog recently and it has been a lifesaver. I was a participant in the (as I learned) corporate-reform-driven Teaching Fellows program in XXXXX, and I was cut at the end of the their pre-service training. This was, as it turned out, a good thing, since I wasn’t ready to teach (nor was anyone in the progra
US DOE Suspends Research Website on “What Works”
This is truly astonishing news. Valerie Strauss reports today that the U.S. Department of Education sent out an email announcing the suspension of the “What Works Clearinghouse,” a site where the Department publishes reports about research and shows “what works.” Valerie Strauss notes: “I won’t mention the irony in the fact that department spends millions on school reform that has no proven record
DC Insiders See Bleak Future for CCSS
This poll of DC insiders shows a deep pessimism about the prospects for Common Core and reauthorization of NCLB. Most interesting observations: • “Any bandwidth Congress has seems to be devoted to re‐litigating the health care act.” • “There’s no sense of compromise and no incentive on either side to try to compromise.” • “Arne Duncan has so mangled federal education at this point that it’s going
Florida Will Drop Common Core Tests
The architects of the Common Core standards wanted to rush them into implementation, and Arne Duncan used the federal government’s billions to coerce states to “voluntarily” adopt the standards, if necessary, sight unseen. Now they are paying the price of their haste. There is very little buy-in. The Tea Party on one side, and critics of standardization and scripted curricula on the other, are att
Major Corporations Fighting Common Core Backlash
I am not happy with the way that Common Core was developed. Very few people were involved in this effort to develop national standards. Once a document was in hand, the Obama administration made adoption of the standards a condition of eligibility for participation in its $4.35 billion Race to the Top. Since then, adoption of the CCSS has become a condition to receive waivers from Arne Duncan from
Here is a Good Turnaround Story
Murkland Elementary School in Lowell, Massachusetts, has seen a remarkable improvement in its test scores. The local newspaper reported the story. Nothing was said about firing the principal, firing the teachers, firing the entire staff. Nothing was said about turning the school over to the state or giving it to private entrepreneurs. Something else happened. Teamwork, collaboration. What a fresh
Perdido Street Reviews “Reign of Error”
Blogger Perdido Street School reviewed “Reign of Error” and said that he would be giving it to his friends and family who got their views from Oprah and the Today Show. He might have added NBC’s “Education Nation” and many other outlets in the mainstream media that spread misinformation about our nation’s public schools. He writes: Those are the people we want to read this book and to become fam
The Failure of Charter Schools in Ohio, $7 Billion Later
This is an important summary of the failure of the charter school movement in Ohio, from the Ohio Coalition for Education and Adequacy: A “noble” experiment to force the improvement of the public common school: Fifteen years and $7 billion dollars later the charter school gamble has not made the grade. 9/24/2013 The Department of Education’s ranking of schools and districts reveals that 83 out of
Latest Census Shows Poverty Remains at High Point of Past Half Century
So many reformers tell us that charter schools will end poverty, or that we should “fix” the schools before we even attempt to “fix” poverty. We have a lot of fixing to do, even without thousands more of those miracle charter schools staffed by TFA ingenues. The latest figures from the U.S. Census show that poverty remains stuck at 15%, about 46.5 million Americans. In the past half-century, the p
Why Does the Chicago Tribune Want Vouchers?
Paul Horton, a history teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School, is a strong supporter of public education. Surprisingly, the Lab School is private but has a teachers’ union. That is the school where the children of Barack Obama and Arne Duncan were enrolled, as are the children of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Horton here tries to figure out why the Chicago Tribune is so eager to promote vouchers in
Does “College-and-Career Readiness” Begin in Pre-K?
When should children get on track for college and careers? Is third grade too late? How about kindergarten? Or pre-kindergarten? Or in the womb? It is never too soon, according to those with products you must buy now. This teacher describes the latest sales pitch: “The other day I received an email from Pearson promoting their PreK curriculum: OWL: Opening the World of Learning (2011). While the
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, my favorite section was an eight page chapter, chapter 24, called ‘The Essentials of a Good Education.’
Bruce Baker Demolishes Hanushek’s Latest Crisis
Bruce Baker is really ticked about Erik Hanushek’s new video promoting the “education crisis” and asserting that money is definitely not the answer. Hanushek holds up Florida as a model and points to Wyoming and New York to make his point that money doesn’t matter. Baker doesn’t agree, and he assembles data to make the following points: *States with weaker unions (higher number in ranking, meaning
SEP 23
Why Celebrities Should Not Tell Teachers How to Fix Schools
Earlier today, I posted EduShyster on this very same video. The point that the creator of the video makes with humor, I decided, is so important that it deserves a post of its own. David Coffey, who created the video, is a teacher of teachers. He is a professor in the mathematics department at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. His wife is a first grade teacher. He made the video linked
OK, So Education Nation Just Called
Very likely in response to your emails, a producer just called from Education Nation to invite me to serve on a panel to discuss testing with Paul Pastorek (Louisiana), John Deasy (Los Angeles), and Joshua Starr (Montgomery County). I said no. I want to talk about the theme of the conference, not about testing. I want to talk about the massive misinformation about the condition of U.S. education.
Who Is Jared Polis? Jersey Jazzman Does His Homework.
After following Jared Polis’s personal attacks on me on Twitter, Jersey Jazzman decided to examine what Polis has done in Congress. He is good on some issues, like gun control and the environment. But when it comes to fiscal issues, he favors tax breaks for corporations and the rich. He praises Colorado’s SB 191, which bases 50% of teachers’ evaluations on test scores, which most researchers say
My Conversation with Salon: What Works and Why Corporate Reform is Failing
You might find it interesting to read a conversation I had with Sara Scribner, a teacher who writes for Salon.
A Recent Exchange with Congressman Polis
A reader asked me to post Congressman Jared Polis’ comment as a separate post. I agreed to do so, along with my response. I also recommend that you read his exchange with Jason Stanford, which I posted earlier. Stanford suggested that it was over the top to characterize someone as “evil” because you disagree with them. Stanford says there truly is evil in the world (think terrorism, think mass mur
Tim Clifford in WNYC Schoolbook on “Reign of Error”
Tim Clifford is a teacher in New York. In this article, published on WNYC’s blog ”Schoolbook,” he reviews my book Reign of Error. Tim focuses on the book’s solutions, which he describes as “womb to dorm.” Tim recounts the research-based proposals that I offer, and concludes: I don’t know about you, but I long for a public school system like this. Imagine a system in which students are healthy and
Florida Governor Appoints TFA Leader, 32, to State Board
Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Rebecca Fishman Lipsey to the Florida State Board of Education. Lipsey describes herself as “a lifelong educator,” based on her long service to TFA. Meanwhile, TFA leaders continue to pop up in service to the nation’s most reactionary governors, including Jindal in Louisiana, Haslam in Tennessee, and McCrory in North Carolina. All these governors are bent on
Jared Polis Responds to Texas Columnist. Texas Columnist Responds to Polis.
Jared Polis, the multi-millionaire (or billionaire) Colorado congressman, went after me again last night on Twitter with rude, insulting comments. I guess he doesn’t like me. I was beginning to feel sorry for him. To see a public figure acting in such an embarrassing way on Twitter is, well, embarrassing. I wish I knew how to help him. Not only did he, in his rage, post a comment on this blog, b
Can Anyone from Chicago Explain Mayor Emanuel’s Spending Spree?
How many times have we read stories that Chicago faces a huge deficit? I can’t recall it was $600 million, or some other figure. But the huge deficit, plus “underutilization,” gave Mayor Rahm Emanuel the change to make history: He closed the largest number of public schools in history, at one fell swoop (50). But now he is going on a spending spree, building new schools and pledging to spend at le
Outrage: How Extremists Brought Vouchers to North Carolina
The extremists in the North Carolina legislature and in the governor’s mansion have decided that the state’s public education system must be subject to market pressures. That means they want public money put into private hands, as much as possible. North Carolina was once the most progressive of southern states. It is now among the most regressive, competing with Louisiana in a race to the bottom.
Who Is Jared Polis and Why Does He Call Me “Evil,” Part 2
Jonathan Pelto is trying to find out who this Jared Polis is. He took to Twitter to call me an “evil woman” and compare me to the Koch brothers as someone doing great harm to public education. It was puzzling to me. I have met him twice. The last time I saw him was three years ago. We know he is a member of Congress from Colorado, we know he sold his family’s greeting card company for $780 milli
Bloomberg Will Eliminate Guarantee of Seat in Neighborhood High Schools
Another parting shot from the lame-duck Bloomberg administration. Students will no longer be guaranteed a seat in their zoned neighborhood high school. Bloomberg has wanted an all-choice system for years, and this is his parting shot. Students list their choices, but the high school or the computer makes the decision. Most students now travel from 45 minutes to an hour to get to their assigned “ch
Who Owns the Public Schools of New York State?
In New York and other states, parents, teachers, and principals often feel as if they are on a runaway train. Someone controls their public schools, and it is not the local community. The state has a super-heavy hand, and decisions are handed down with no consultation. Hearings are held, but no one hears or listens to what the public says. Who took the public out of public education? How did this
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Tests Are Loaded with Errors
Heather Vogell, a stellar reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has done in-depth investigative reporting on the standardized tests that now are used to determine the fate of students, teachers, principals, and schools. She has found a surprising number of errors, though not surprising to those familiar with the testing industry. Read this article. How should a student respond to question
EduShyster: Teachers Advise Hollywood on How to Fix Failing Films
EduShyster discovered a witty teacher who decided that educators know best. That’s why they are educators. This is how it started: “When a teacher came across a recent interview on MSNBC with Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan about his new book, I Got Schooled: 5 Keys to Unlocking Quality Education, he was struck by a thunderbolt of an idea. If Shyamalan, whose last film was a box office bomb
SEP 22
What a Texan Says About Congressman Jared Polis’s Strange Tweets
Jason Stanford is a political columnist in Austin, Texas. He has become very interested in education issues, in part because he has children, but also because the politics and money swirling around education in Texas is complex and endlessly fascinating (this is the state where the obsession with standardized testing started; this is the state that awarded Pearson a five-year contract for $500 mil
Dora Taylor Reviews “Reign of Error”
Dora Taylor is a prominent education activist in in Seattle. In her review of “Reign of Error,” Taylor says the book is an excellent guide to what is happening in school districts across America. She writes: “Dr. Ravitch shatters one corporate reform myth after another with clarity providing excellent background information in the Notes and Appendix of this book. “Because of her courageousness an
North Carolina County School Board Bans Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man”
The Randolph County Board of Education voted 5-2 to ban “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison from the shelves of Randolph County Schools libraries. All copies of the book will be removed from school libraries. This action followed the complaint of a parent. Committees at both the school and district levels recommended it not be removed. The book, originally published in 1952, addresses many of the so
Charter Teacher: Blame Society, Blame Outsourcing, Blame the Culture
This comment came in today: I taught at charter schools which, supposedly, have a great new way of reaching and teaching kids. What I discovered, sadly, was it was the same nonsense of “blame the teacher” for everything. I saw children so undisciplined from day one in my classroom who simply hated school and had parents (or parent) who had zero interest in what their child did or did not do in c
New Book: VAM Is Invalid
Do you want to know why it is wrong to evaluate teachers based on test scores of students? A new book by scholars explains it here. They also show better, research-based methods of evaluation, intended to support, not fire, teachers. There are books soon to be published by other eminent scholars that show why VAM is flawed and demoralizes teachers without helping kids.
Dora Taylor Reviews “Reign of Error”
Dora Taylor is a prominent education activist in in Seattle. In her review of “Reign of Error,” Taylor says the book is an excellent guide to what is happening in school districts across America. She writes: “Dr. Ravitch shatters one corporate reform myth after another with clarity providing excellent background information in the Notes and Appendix of this book. “Because of her courageousness an
Baltimore Parent Arrested for Speaking Up at School Board Meeting
This comment came from a reader: “Dear Diane, Please see http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-co-common-core-arrest-20130920,0,7127220.story My partner attended this Common Core parent forum on 9.19.13 in Baltimore County, MD, where we live, and she witnessed this parent being removed from the meeting by a security guard for standing up and voicing his concerns about Com
Teacher: The Forced March of Success Academy Parents, Staff, Students
This is a comment signed Concerned Charter Teacher: “Ms. Ravitch, I work at Success Academy and thought you might be interested in the following. Just heard that we are planning a pro-charter parent march on October 8th. Our schools are being closed for the morning. Teachers, parents, students, and central office staff are being required to join the march. Other charter schools are joining as wel
What Is the Real Meaning of the “Achievement Gap”?
It is one of the curiosities of our age that certain far-right organizations and political leaders prattle on about the “achievement gap” as if they cared more than anyone in the world about the children and families who are not succeeding in schools and society. We often hear governors and legislators invoke their concern for “poor children trapped in failing schools” as their rationale for putti
Why DC Scores Increased
Emma Brown of the Washington Post explains that DC test scores in math reached a historic high point because of a decision by DC officials. But the math gains officials reported were the result of a quiet decision to score the tests in a way that yielded higher scores even though D.C. students got far fewer math questions correct than in the year before. The decision was made after D.C. teachers
Who Is Jared Polis and Why Does He Call Me “Evil”?
A few days ago, Colorado Congressman Jared Polis called me “evil” on Twitter. He said I was doing more harm to American public education than anyone and likened me to the billionaire Koch brothers. I didn’t respond other than to say that in our first meeting, with other Democratic Congressmen, he threw my book across the table in my direction, called it trash, and demanded his money back. I later
SEP 21
Bloomberg to the World: Send Us Your Billionaires
Mayor Bloomberg responded to the latest reports about rising poverty in New York City with a plea for more billionaires to move to the city. Presumably that would create new jobs for chauffeurs, maids, gardeners, personal chefs, butlers, and others to serve the needs of the powerful and wealthy. They might even endow some more of the charter schools that are on the drawing boards in the waning day
A Candid Interview With the Pittsburgh City Paper
Chris Potter of the Pittsburgh City Paper interviewed me when I was in town. I liked him, and we got along very well. He got me talking, the sign of a good reporter.
The Indignant Teacher Reviews “Reign of Error”
The Indignant Teacher is passionate about education. She lives in Boston. She wants better schools, not more tests and punishments. Here she reviews Reign of Error. She writes that the crucial sentence in the book is this one: The “nation’s children are on a train that is headed for a cliff“. She is indignant because she thinks our nation’s children need so much more than tests, and our teachers n
Who Benefits from All That Testing?
Pearson has good lobbyists in Texas. Really really good lobbyists. A reader sent this comment: “See page 19 TAMSA presentation: $1,178,723,689.00 funneled to Pearson in Texas for high-stakes testing nonsense since 2000. Source: Center for Education, Rice University http://www.tamsatx.org/uploads/3/1/6/2/3162377/2013-01-13-tamsa_overview.pdf http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130
Connecticut Teacher: Standards Should Be Written by Excellent Teachers
Ann Policelli Cronin, an experienced teacher in Connecticut, says that the Common Core should be considered a first draft. Here are her comments: The Common Core State Standards: A First Draft Much of what is written about the Common Care State Standards is based on a faulty premise about their quality. For example, on August 18, 2013 in The New York Times, Bill Keller wrote that the Common Core S
United Opt Out Leads Virtual Book Discussion of “Reign of Error”
Do you want to join with fellow educators and parents in a virtual book study group? United Opt Out is sponsoring an online book club, and the focus of its current discussion is “Reign of Error.” In the past few years, I have become a strong supporter of the opt out movement. Standardized testing is out of control. Children are losing valuable time that should be spent on instruction, on the art
Will You Help This Film Maker Tell the Story about What Is Happening to Our Kids?
Please do some crowd sourcing or crowd fundraising to help a young documentarian finish her film about the current assault on public education via standardization and misuse of testing. Her name is Shannon Puckett. She interviewed me in San Diego when I spoke to NSBA. When she was done, she gave me a T-shirt that read: “The revolution will not be standardized.”
Deconstructing the “Reform” Narrative: Part 3
This is the third in the series of comments on the “reform” narrative by a reader who calls himself or herself “Democracy.” Here Democracy explains the “reform that reformers don’t want.” Part 3: Hanushek, and people who cite him, say that American economic competitiveness is dependent on school “reform.” Hanushek cites economist Robert Lucas to bolster his contention. Lucas is the prototypical fr
Deconstructing the “Reform” Narrative: Part 2
A reader who calls himself or herself “Democracy” sent in a three-part commentary, posted a couple weeks back in the Comments. This is part 2. “Democracy” writes: There’s no nuance, or explanation, in Lawrence’s piece. None whatsoever. She says nothing about the pernicious effects of poverty, which affect (primarily) minority students ins the U.S. She states simply that “These shortcomings take th
Norm Scott Reviews “Reign of Error”
Norm Scott is the quintessential education activist. He is a retired teacher with many years of classroom experience in tough schools. He brooks no nonsense. In this review of Reign of Error, he asks the question: What is wrong with preaching to the choir? He is right. When everyone else–the media, the pundits, the big foundations, the politicians–are agreed that the choir stinks, even though the
Democracy: Deconstructing the “Reformer” Narrative
A reader who calls himself or herself “Democracy” has written an interesting series of comments on the current attacks on public education and their sources. Here is Part 1: Robert Samuelson’s column is a prime example of poor-quality economics reporting. I wrote previously on this blog about about the sorry state of education reporting in the U.S. See: http://dianeravitch.net/2013/08/31/david-col
