Explanation of Strange “Password Protected” Post
A few minutes ago, you received a post from me with no content. It said it was “password protected.” I was puzzled and wondered if someone had hacked into my blog. But then I remembered that I had asked a friend to post a blog for me that contains a lot of graphs. I don’t know how to import graphics (sorry). I asked him to date it November 1, leaving me time to write the introduction and review
Aaron Barlow on “Reign of Error” and Higher Education
Aaron Barlow considers the implications of Reign of Error for higher education. After a full decade of the testing mania of No Child Left Behind, professors are seeing students less well prepared for college courses that in the recent past. After a decade of guessing the right answer to every question, it is not surprising that students are ill-prepared to think about complex issues with more than
A Test Writer Comments on New York’s Common Core Tests
This comment was posted yesterday: I am a former, part time item writer for a private testing company; I wrote for many different state standards under NCLB. I must say that poorly constructed, confusing, or developmentally inappropriate items undermine the validity of standardized scores and subsequent use in teacher evaluation. When standardized tests are properly constructed, such items which m
#2 at U.S. Department of Education Loves”No-Excuses” Charter Schools, Not Public Schools
A reader has done research on the new Undersecretary of Education. The “no-excuses” charters are known for their emphasis on strict discipline, conformity, and obedience to all rules. They typically have high rates of suspension and attrition. http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/09/19/newschools-ceo-ted-mitchell-my-best-idea-for-k-12-education/2/ Public school parents should know who A
A Certified Teacher-Librarian Expresses Sympathy for Dr. John King
Melissa Heckler, a certified teacher and librarian, wrote the following letter to the New York State Board of Regents. She feels sorry for Dr. King. She wonders why the Regents selected as state commissioner someone with so little experience as a teacher or administrator. She doesn’t blame him for his present predicament. She blames the Regents, who selected someone so young and so inexperienced,
Jeff Bryant on “The Empty Harvest” of School Reform
Jeff Bryant of the Education Opportunity Network surveys the wreckage of “test-and-punish” methods of reform. Such methods lead not to “reform,” but to bullied teachers, who are demoralized by their situation. Some leave, some hang on, but the results have been unimpressive. Bryant sees a slow-motion collapse of the coercive “reform” movement, as its bold promises turn out to be empty. The reforme
NC Leaders Abandon Any Pretense of Common Sense
Legislators in the far-right legislature of the once forward-looking state of North Carolina waste no opportunity to demoralize teachers with their wacky punitive policies. They just don’t like teachers. They seem certain that only 25% of the state’s teachers are worthy, even though 96% were rated effective by the state evaluation system. So the teacher-bashers in the legislature will make sure t
Teacher: Why I am Leaving Teaching
I recall many discussions in the rightwing think tanks to which I once belonged about how the schools and the teaching profession would be elevated if we could only judge teachers by the performance of their students and fire the lowest performing teachers every year. I recall asking, “where will the new teachers come from?” My colleagues said there would never be a shortage because there are so m
Minnesota Teacher of the Year: We Are Democracy’s Defense Against Tyranny of the 1%!
Conservative bloggers and pundits are raging against Minnesota’s Teacher of the Year. Science teacher Megan Hall made an audacious statement. As we all surely know by now, only conservative bloggers and pundits are allowed to make audacious statements. Hall told the annual gathering of Minnesota teachers: “There is one other thing that I think about when I think about generosity. I think about
New York Regent Kathleen Cashin Releases Statement About Testing Fiasco
I received a copy of this statement by Regent Cashin, which was released to the media this morning. Unlike most members of New York’s Board of Regents, Dr. Cashin is an experienced educator, who was a teacher, principal, and supervisor over a long career: Dr. Cashin wrote: “Statement by Regent Cashin Monday, October 21, 2013 “I did not want this moment to pass us by without referring to what has
Cost of L.A. iPads Continues to Rise
School officials in Los Angeles are still trying to figure out the actual cost of the iPads for all students. The price goes higher unless the district buys 600,000 devices. The cost of keyboards was not favored in. Another problem arose in hearings on discovery that the Pearson content loaded into the iPads is licensed for only three years. Will it disappear or will upgrades cost more? District
Why Are Students and Parents Driven Mad by Data?
New York principal Carol Burris here explains that Commissioner John King is obsessed by test scores and that he has no clue about the meaning or purpose of education. Districts across the state are expected to purchase a book that will indoctrinate them into King’s particular obsession. He truly can’t understand why parents and educators do not share his love of test scores. Of course, he draws t
The Testing Madness in Rhode Island
Carole Marshall is a retired teacher in Rhode Island who explains how State Commissioner Deborah Gist’s insistence on standardized testing has discouraged educators and students across the state. The most pernicious effect of this policy, Marshall shows, has hurt poor and minority youngsters the most. In an article in the Providence Journal, Marshall writes: The Oct. 15 Commentary piece (“R.I.’s d
An Answer to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Part 2
The reader who calls himself or herself “democracy” has written a two-part response to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which continues to market the tired cliche–how 30 years old–that our schools are failing and our nation is at risk. The critics like to cherry-pick international test data to buttress their call for “reform.” I suppose if –– like the Roundtable and the Chamber – you’re willing gam
An Answer to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Part 1
A regular reader who signs his (or her) posts “democracy” has a two-part response to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which dumbly continues to repeat the discredited claim about the crisis in American education, a crisis they have helped to perpetrate by crying wolf for thirty years. Here is Part 1: Education in a democratic republic has a special place and purpose. At least it’s supposed to, an
Authors Tell President Obama: Too Much Standardized Testing Kills Imagination
FAIRtest released the following statement, endorsed by some of the nation’s leading writers; Public Letter about Standardized Testing by 120+ Children’s Authors & Illustrators Submitted by fairtest on October 21, 2013 - Dr. Monty Neill (617) 477-9792 Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 for immediate release — Tuesday, October 22, 2013 120+ CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS TELL PRES. OBAMA, “
#2 Job at US DOE Goes to Charter Promoter
According to Politico.com, the crucial #2 job at the U. S. Department of Education will go to Ted Mitchell, CEO of the NewSchools Venture Fund, the nation’s leading promoter of charter schools. NewSchools strongly supports private sector control of public schools with dollars. It is heavily funded by Gates, Broad, Walton, and technology entrepreneurs committed to “disrupting” public education. A
Global Scandal: If You Can’t Teach Them, Test Them
A reader who works for an international agency sent me this essay about a pressing problem. For obvious reasons, he will remain anonymous, but his sources are cited. Learning Metrics Taskforce: If you can’t teach the students of poor countries, just test them! Much has been written about testing problems and corporate interests in the US. Could similar forces be operating outside the US? Here is
Jason Stanford: What Alternative to Standardized Testing?
Jason Stanford, who lives in Austin, reports here on the efforts to 23 school districts to develop a sensible alternatives to the standardized testing that everyone hates, except for the testing industry and their lobbyists. He writes: Despite the difficulty in chasing two tails, Dawson Orr, Consortium co-chair and superintendent of Highland Park ISD, pledges to press on to find an accountability
David Greene: The Sound of Silence
David Greene, experienced teacher and mentor, was out of the country for afew weeks. When he returned, he was excited to hear echoes of our struggle against high-stakes testing, privatization, the theft of public schools, and data piracy in the mainstream news. Is the silence over? Are we on the cusp of the change we have all been hoping for? An informed public will not permit a corporate takeover
Another Broad-trained Superintendent Sowing Discord
Over recent years, I have received complaints from parents about superintendents “trained” by the uncertified, unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy. Eli Broad is a multi-billionaire who freely admits that he knows nothing about education but everything about management. He firmly believes that when school systems have good managers, tests scores rise and the system gets better. He also puts
Note to John King: What Teachers Really Care About
When State Commissioner John King released the teacher ratings, he said that teachers should be relieved because only 1% were found to be “ineffective.” The implication: You have nothing to worry about; you won’t lose your job based on my untested evaluation system. Some reacted by wondering why the state had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to determine that only 1% of teachers were ineffect
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-22-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Wendy Lecker: Common Core Uses Our Children As Guinea PigsWendy Lecker, who is a civil rights lawyer, writes here that the Common Core standards have been rolled out without any forethought. Children are being tested on materials they have never been taught. States do not have a curriculum that aligns with the Common Core standards
