Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Did ACT Scores Go Up in Dallas Because of Data Manipulation?
A reader sent the following comment. I can’t vouch for its authenticity but urge reporters in Dallas to do so: A newly exposed DISD controversy involves claims that college readiness improved in 2012/13 under Mike Miles. This claim is on page 218 of the “Data Packet for 2013/14 Planning,” online at https://mydata.dallasisd.org/docs/CILT2014/DP1000.pdf . It shows the average ACT score as having
YESTERDAY
Needed: School Nurses
Earlier today, I posted Daniel Denvir’s article about the death of a 12-year-old who was having an asthma attack. The school in Philadelphia has a nurse only two days a week, and that day there was none. This reader comments: “I knew that this would happen. I taught in Phila for years and am now retired. Poor children seem to have high incidences of chronic ailments. Asthma is one. These children
Amy Prime Reviews “Reign of Error”
Amy Prime teaches second grade in Prime, Iowa. She also writes frequently for newspapers in Iowa. This review of Reign of Error appeared in the Des Moines Register. Prime says that if she had designed the jacket, “it would include an illustration of Diane Ravitch, sledgehammer in hand, smashing a brick wall with the words “Education Reform.” We would see bricks falling down with words on them such
How the NYC DOE Dumped Low-Performing Kids into Struggling Schools
The New York Annenberg Institute for School Reform compiled. Shocking report on the Bloomberg administration’s policy of dumping “over-the-counter” students into struggling schools or schools already set for closure. This as a terrible disservice to the students. For the already struggling schools, it was like throwing a concrete weight to a drowning man. Instead of support, the schools got the ne
Philadelphia Child Dies, No School Nurse Available
Governor Tom Corbett’s budget cuts may have claimed their first victim. Daniel Denvir writes: “Sixth-grader Laporshia Massey died from asthma complications, according to her father, who says he rushed her to the emergency room soon after she got home from school on the afternoon of Sept. 25. He says Laporshia had begun to feel ill earlier that day at Bryant Elementary School, where a nurse is on
Mark NAISON: Test-Related Stress for Students and Teachers
Professor Mark NAISON reports on the conclusions of a social worker who is getting large numbers of referrals of students who are sick with test-anxiety and teachers who,now find they work in a hostile environment due to the stress of high-stakes testing. Here is an excerpt: “In the fall of 2012, I started to receive an inordinate number of student referrals from several different school district
Great News from Toledo
A new grassroots group has formed, created by suburban parents in Ohio who recognize that Governor Kasich’s “reform” agenda is destroying their community schools. Here is a report from a regular reader: Great news from Toledo: http://www.ourtownsylvania.com/Education/2013/10/02/shrinking-school-budgets-reviewed.html “Toledo area school district treasurers Wednesday participated in a panel discu
The Public Educator Reviews “Reign of Error”
The Public Educator is a Néw York City public school teacher. In this review, this blogger expresses chagrin to hear another teacher echoing pseudo-reformer claims. The other teacher disapproved of candidate de Blasio’s plans to alleviate poverty. “Without success, I tried to change her mind by referring to Diane’s book and some of the information contained within it. She did not believe me when I
Gary Rubinstein Analyzes Rhee’s Teacher Town Hall Meeting
Few of us attended one of Michelle Rhee’s “teacher town hall” meetings in Los Angeles, Birmingham, and Philadelphia. Fortunately, the meeting in Los Angeles was videotaped and released. Gary Rubinstein, ex-TFA and current math teacher at Stuyvesant High School, watched the videotape closely and analyzed the exchanges. He shows how carefully stage-managed the event was, and his commentary is both s
Cynthia Liu Urges President Obama to Read “Reign of Error”
Cynthia Liu, the founder of the K-12 News Network and a public school parent in California, urges President Obama to read ”Reign of Error.“ Liu warns him that he won’t like it, but that is exactly why he must read it. He must listen to views other than the ones he gets from his staff and the Department of Education, which no doubt gives him a rosy picture of the great success of Race to the Top. L
Privatizers in Louisiana, Worried That They Are Failing
The blogger Louisiana Educator describes a meeting in Baton Rouge where leaders of the corporate reform movement worried about the progress of their plans to privatize education in the state. Time is running out. This is a chilling post. I hope that its author, experienced educator Mike Deshotels, won’t mind if I excerpt this long introduction. You should read it all. A small private meeting was h
OCT 10
Child Abuse in New York: Bubble Tests for Kindergarten
The mighty machine that Leaves No Child Untested has now arrived in kindergarten, as tots in New York City encounter their first standardized tests. Children are now learning what matters most in school and getting ready for the Common Core tests, which will place them on a sure path to college- and career-readiness. No more nonsense about sharing and caring. Our nation is falling behind other na
Why the Sacramento Bee Did Not Mention My Visit
When I spoke in Sacramento last week about today’s failed fads in education, the town’s leading newspaper ignored my appearance. They ignored it even though I was introduced by Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of education, and even though 1,000 people filled historic Memorial Hall. Now I know why. They published five stories about Shaq O’Neill! I have nothing against Shaq. He is great. W
The Unavoidable Topic? Can Schools End Poverty?
A reader sent these comments: “The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.” ― Voltaire. Schools can not end poverty by simply making sure all students are “career and college ready”. As long as the rich and powerful continue take most of the wealth for themselves, we will have poverty. Wealth is finite. Instead of looking to schools to solve the problem, “we are likely to
The Two Faces of John Arnold
A friend in a conservative think tank said it was time for me to write a post praising John Arnold for giving $10 million to keep Headstart alive during the federal government shutdown. Arnold was an Enron trader who left with $3 billion before the Enron scam collapsed, destroying the pensions of everyone who worked there. Other Enron executives went to jail, but Arnold got out before the collapse
EduShyster: Heartbreak and Splitsville in the Corporate Reform Movement
In case you missed the last week of the long-running drama and comedy series, called “Corporate America Wants to Love Public Education to Death,” EduShyster fills you in. You will laugh and cry as you watch leaders of the movement tear their hair out as they argue about whether the mighty scam perpetrated by the virtual charter schools are truly “reform” or are they, well, scams. You will snicker
Today: The Blog Has Had 7 Million Page Views!
I really don’t want to give indigestion to the corporate reformers so early in the day, but I have this one consolation: there are so few of them. Put them all together in one room, and they might fill the grand ballroom of the Hyatt-Regency. That is, if they each bring a friend. But I will tell the good news because it proves yet again that we are many, and they are few. This blog has now had m
A Philadephia Teacher Reviews “Reign of Error”
A blogger called ” Don’t Forget South Central” reviewed “Reign of Error” in relation to the children and schools of that much maligned and abused city. This is a cry from the bottom of the well, who knows that his or her dedication has been met with contempt by the powerful. A sample: “Reign of Error concludes that disparaging schools makes it easier for the public to accept their destruction and
High-Tech Trouble in Fort Bend, Texas, and Guilford County, North Carolina
The Fort Bend Independent School District in Texas bought iPads for students in grades 2-8. After nineteen months, the district put a stop to the 1:1 program and commissioned a report on the initiative, which was “scathing,” according to an article by Ben Herold in Education Week. Guilford County, North Carolina, bought Amplify tablets for all its students, using millions from Race to the Top mon
Pasi Sahlberg’s Lessons for the U.S.
Pasi Sahlberg–the great scholar and expert on Finnish education– has been named a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, starting in January 2014. This is great news for Harvard but even greater news for the U.S. because it means more people will have a chance to hear him and learn from him. I heard Pasi speak at the National Superintendents Roundtable in Washington, D.C.,
Crazy Crawfish Reviews “Reign of Error”
Louisiana blogger Jason France blogs as Crazy Crawfish. He worked in the assessment and accountability of the state department of education, so he has the inside scoop on data manipulation for political posturing and glory. In this post, he worries about being too late, but I would say he is just in time. “Reign of Error” gave him the political and historical context he needed. He writes: “Just
Mercedes Schneider On Gates and CCSS
Mercedes Schneider has undertaken an immense task. She decided to spend her free time–when she is not teaching–trying to figure out how much the Gates Foundation paid various organizations to write, develop, implement, promote, and advocate for the Common Core standards. This is a herculean job because the foundation has been so free-handed with its money. To its credit, the Gates Foundation has a
Andrea Gabor: inBloom, Student Data: Follow the Money
In this brilliant and frightening post, Andrea Gabor connects the dots that lead from your child’s personal, confidential information to a data cloud where marketers can hack into everything they want to know about your child. Whose money is behind it? One guess. Who is making money and providing the service? One guess. This is not a trick question, nor is it multiple-choice. This is the future, f
Petrilli: Schools Are Best Way to End Poverty
Before I had my own blog, I shared a blog called “Bridging Differences” with Deborah Meier, hosted by Education Week. We had a great run of five years, and then I started this blog. Since then, Deborah has had exchanges with various conservative thinkers. Currently, she is trying to “bridge differences” with Michael Petrilli of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute. In this post, Mike argue
OCT 09
Charter Schools Insist: We Are Private, Not Public
Last spring, the founders of a high-scoring charter school in California were convicted of misappropriating over $200,000 in public monies. According to the charges filed, the couple spent, for example, “more than $34,000 on meals, entertainment and gifts that they classified as business expenses or gestures of appreciation for teachers.” Also, “Some charges centered on the lease for the main camp
Jesse Hagopian Rocks Education Nation!
Jesse Hagopian was one of the leaders of the teacher boycott of MAP testing at Garfield High School in Seattle last spring. Watch him knock the socks off a question about testing at Education Nation. Well done, Jesse!
A Parent Writes New York Commissioner John King
This just arrived as a comment on the blog: Not only have I opted out my child, but I sent back her scores with the following letter to John King: October 1, 2013 Dr. John King Commissioner of Education 89 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12234 Dear Dr. King, Enclosed please find my daughter’s recent ELA and Math NYS scores. I am returning them to you because they are invalid. The scores on these test
de Blasio Frightens NYC Charters
For the past dozen years, charter schools have been the golden children of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He gives them free space in public schools; he trumpets their superiority; he attends their functions; he constantly reminds the public that charters are far, far better than the public schools that he is directly in charge of. A paradox, is it not? In one night, the Robin Hood Foundation raises $80
Last Night, at CBE in Brooklyn….
CBE is Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn. I spoke to about 700 people who turned out for a book talk. The moderator was David Denby. David inspired me to write “Reign of Error” because he told me–while interviewing people for an article about me for The New Yorker–that my critics said I had no solutions. I said, “but you just heard me speak. You heard my solutions.” And he said, “write a book,”
Another Scary (and Wrong) Report about the Skills Gap
President Obama has often said that American workers are the most productive in the world. In his 2011 State of the Union address, he said: “Remember -– for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. (Applause.) No workers — no workers are more productive than ours. No country
When Testing Becomes “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”
A principal in New York told me the following story. He is reliable. This is a true story. He wrote to tell me that the state is requiring a student with Down syndrome to take the state’s new Common Core test. It is an “alternative” test but just as “hard” as the regular test. She is almost certain to fail. Only 5% of students with disabilities passed the Common Core tests. Then he told me an ev
iPads in Lewisville, Texas, and LAUSD: How Did LAUSD Go Wrong?
This Los Angeles blogger contrasts the successful implementation of the 1:1 iPad policy in Lewisville, Texas, and the mess in Los Angeles. It seems that the educators in Lewisville thought through what they planned to do, how they planned to use the iPads, what might go wrong. And the educators in Los Angeles just bought them. Consider the differences when you look at the graph.
Mark Naison Reviews “Reign of Error” LINK added
Mark Naison is the tireless advocate who co-founded the BATs (otherwise known as the Bad Ass Teachers). Wherever I go, I find BATs. He has created a genuine force, an outlet for teachers who want to act and feel helpless. As BATs, they are ready to act and they do. Here he reviews Reign of Error. He says that if reformers were serious about choice, they would open more “portfolio” schools, that is
Mark Naison Reviews “Reign of Error”
Mark Naison is the tireless advocate who co-founded the BATs (otherwise known as the Bad Ass Teachers). Wherever I go, I find BATs. He has created a genuine force, an outlet for teachers who want to act and feel helpless. As BATs, they are ready to act and they do. Here he reviews Reign of Error. He says that if reformers were serious about choice, they would open more “portfolio” schools, that is
Mother: My Son Is Not a Test Score
I received an anguished letter from a mother of a child with autism. She here describes–very movingly–her efforts to help him and the efforts of his teachers to help him. And when she reaches the point where he is assessed by New York’s new Common Core tests, she is in a rage. The New York State Education Department says he is a failure. She knows he is not. She knows how hard he has worked to ach
OCT 08
Business Leaders Push More Privatization in Milwaukee
Some critics of my book “Reign of Error” say that “reformers” are not privatizers. Who, me, they say, in all innocence? I invite them to read this post by veteran reporter Bobby Tanzilo in Milwaukee. Here is a city with a thriving voucher program, a thriving charter sector, and a shrinking public school system (that contains disproportionate numbers of students with disabilities and English learne
Chile: The World’s Most Free-Market School System: The Results
Professor Mario Waissbluth of Chile wrote three blog posts previously about Chile’s choice-based free-market schools (see here and here and here). Here he adds a fourth, summarizing the results of recent studies: Previously, I wrote in this blog a 3-part sequence describing the Chilean educational system, its consequences, proposing some ways to run away from this malignant design. Recently, Unive
Parents in San Jose Ask for Your Help in Stopping Rocketship Charter Chain
The Rocketship charter chain is known for replacing teachers with computers, relying on Teach for America to cut costs, and eliminating the arts to have more time for test prep. The chain is backed by the rich and powerful California corporate charter industry, and it is opening more test prep charters across the country. But it is heavily colonizing San Jose, California. The rich entrepreneurs of
Texas Tribune: Consultants Ripping Off Taxpayers $$$
The Texas Tribune is beginning a series of reports about how consultants and tutoring companies are ripping off millions of dollars in Texas, thanks to NCLB. Race to the Top will empower many more scams and legitimate frauds, as companies proliferate that claim to know how to “turnaround” schools, how to train teachers, how to train leaders, how to do everything that schools should know how to do
Parent Groups: Moskowitz March Proves That Charters Are Not Public Schools
Today, Eva Moskowitz closed her Sucess Academy charter schools for the morning to lead a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio’s intention to declare a moratorium on charter co-location and to charge charters rent for the use of public space, as the law stipulates. The very fact that Moskowitz has closed her schools to take the children, staff, and parents
Joe Bower Reviews “Reign of Error” LINK ADDED
Reposting because I forgot the link. Joe Bower teaches in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He blogs and tweets about education with a singular passion for students and learning. In this post, he makes some strong statements about “Reign of Error.” He calls it “The best book on education you can read today.” He writes: “This book was written to challenge those who believe in the corporate reform movemen
Joe Bower Reviews “Reign of Error”
Joe Bower teaches in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He blogs and tweets about education with a singular passion for students and learning. In this post, he makes some strong statements about “Reign of Error.” He calls it “The best book on education you can read today.” He writes: “This book was written to challenge those who believe in the corporate reform movement. This book was written for those who
Idaho Virtual Charter Outsourced Essay Scoring to India
The Idaho Virtual Charter Academy outsourced the scoring of student essays to India, according to local reports. The company involved, K12, has been criticized for its business practices and its poor academic results; its bottom line is cost-cutting, not academic quality. Its virtual schools typically have high student turnover, low test scores, and low graduation rates, yet the corporation is pro
Geaux Teacher Reviews “Reign of Error”
Lee Barrios in a national board certified teacher in Louisiana who blogs as Geaux Teacher. She writes an open letter to the state legislators, recommending the book as the necessary antidote to the fluff they are certain to hear from Bobby Jindal. She begins; “Dear Louisiana Senators/Representatives: “I just finished reading Reign of Error:The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to
What One Texan Says to Another Texan About the SchoolsToday
I was interviewed by Jake Silverstein of the Texas Monthly and we talked about testing, accountability, poverty, and what’s happening today. It is a very good interview, I think. He asked interesting questions. Funny side note: my birth name was Silverstein but my parents changed it to Silvers by the time I was in kindergarten. I don’t think Jake and I are related because Silverstein was not my
OCT 07
“We Are Building a Plane in Mid-Air”
I have heard this expression hundreds of times. Sometimes at staff development, they show cartoon figures building a plane in mid-air. Note that the engineers are wearing parachutes. Note that the passengers–students and teachers–have no parachutes. Bear in mind that the idea of building a plane as it is in mid-air is insane. The next time you hear this expression, do one of these things: Get
A Comment from Western New York: Yes, the Tide Is Turning
Protests are gathering steam against high-stakes testing. Parents, students, and educators are organizing to fight the data-driven mechanistic view of schooling that is ruining education. Politicians follow, they don’t lead. Most have no idea of the damage done by NCLB and Race to the Top. They think that “reform” is positive. They don’t know that the language has been distorted to hide the barrag
Exiting Teacher on Why Professionalism Matters
A comment on the blog: I have been recently forced out of Education after 30 years – perhaps there’s a truth that I am tired, a bit worn out and old school – I cared as much about the child as their progress. But I still have a child in the midst of it (although not in the US) and am appalled at what is happening. Good teaching is paramount and that means good training and an understanding of ed
George Schmidt Reviews “Reign of Error”
George Schmidt is a veteran Chicago teacher and writer. I recall that when my 2010 book came out, wherein I renounced my long-held views on testing, accountability, and choice, Schmidt was unimpressed. He gave me a tongue-lashing for being a latecomer to the issues he knew so well. To put it mildly, he was angry at me and suspicious of my sincerity. In his review of “Reign of Error,” he accepts th
My Speaking Schedule for the Next Few Weeks
Here are the events that I have scheduled to talk about Reign of Error, the misguided policies that afflict education today, and what we should be doing instead of the status quo of the past generation. Tuesday, October 8: BROOKLYN, NY 7:30 pm Brooklyn By the Book, Congregation Beth Elohim and Community Bookstore 274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215. (Diane will be in conversation with David Den
Reader: Governor Corbett Should Be Prosecuted
This letter comes in response to a post by TeacherBiz, aka Ani McHugh. Dr. Ravitch, I worked for 29 years for NJEA and six for PSEA. I worked with local teacher associations in some of the poorest cities in both those states (NJ and PA), including Chester-Upland. What is happening in CU is nothing short of a criminal assault on the poorest of the poor, led by politicians who have allowed the sta
Common Core Tests in NY Spur Opt Out Movement
The most amazing thing is happening. The Common Core tests were made so “rigorous” that most students were expected to fail, and they did. Less than a third across the state “passed” the tests because the passing mark was set very high and the content of the test was so challenging that many students couldn’t finish the test. But parents didn’t get angry at their children’s school or their childre
Joanne Barkan: How Big Philanthropy Undermines Democracy
Joanne Barkan has an excellent essay in Dissent magazine that explains how foundations founded by plutocrats use their wealth and political power to damage democracy. She uses the example of public education to demonstrate how a small number of large foundations have captured control of public policy, taking it out of the hands of voters and parents to impose their will and get what they want. S
OCT 06
A New Perspective in Los Angeles
Up until now, Eli Broad and his minions have dominated education discussion in Los Angeles. But something pretty terrific happened over the last few days. New voices are being heard. The public is getting the word that “corporate reform” is not working and will not improve their children’s education. As educators, our job is to educate the public. We don’t have access to the mainstream media, but
Students Are Amazing at “Education Nation”
Even though the main events of Education Nation over the next two days will be packed with CEOs and anti-public education governors, I give NBC credit for an outstanding student town hall today. Melissa Harris-Perry interviewed four students who were selected for their activism: one from Philadelphia, who spoke out against Governor Corbett’s $1 billion budget cuts and explained how it stripped the
Are Teachers Superheroes?
I received this beautiful statement to honor teachers on World Teachers Day. That was October 5. Funny, the day passed unnoticed in the U.S. It was sent to me on Twitter by Pedro De Bruyckere. Read this, stand tall, and understand how lucky you are to be a teacher. It starts like this: “Teachers are no superheroes They won’t save the world. But they will save their children in case of emergency.
Peter Goodman Reviews “Reign of Error”
Peter Goodman is a former New York City high school teacher who blogs insightfully about state and local politics and education. In this post, he analyzes “Reign of Error,” noting that I am neither left or right, as those words are ordinarily used. He concludes: “I finished the book on an intellectual high – how could anyone not read the “Reign of Error” and be convinced of the idiocy of the cu
Crazy Crawfish on Arne Duncan
Crazy Crawfish blogs from Louisiana. His friends know him as Jason France. He worked in the assessment division of the Louisiana Department of Education until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He wrote a comment for this blog in which he critiques Arne Duncan’s critique of critics who live in “an alternate universe.” Crazy Crawfish writes: I may not know the secret to fixing every school, but I kno
My Trip to the West Coast…and Back
I have just returned from a multi-city trip to talk about my book and had a wonderful (though exhausting) time. On the flight from New York City to Denver, I wrote an opinion piece that appeared in the Los Angeles Times on October 2, the date of my first lecture there. I started in Denver, where I spoke at North High School to about 600 people, mostly teachers. I also met the brave insurgent candi
Your Gift for Today: Time to Laugh
This is one you should not miss: http://stockholdersfirst.org/ Very funny, with a catchy song too.
High-Performing District in Louisiana Votes to Abandon Common Core
The board of St. Tammany Parish, one of the high-performing districts in Louisiana, voted overwhelmingly to abandon both the Common Core standards and the tests. The board was responding to comments by educators and parents: “The committee’s adoption of the resolution – 13 of the board’s 15 members attended the meeting — comes after a series of public meetings during which board members got an ear
Make Them Stop, Make Them Go Away, Leave the Children Alone!
A teacher-blogger in New York City sent me this post. I have a grandson who just started second grade. I look at this techno-trash and pray that his teachers are not required to pay attention to it. If this is the kind of “work” that comes out of Tweed (the headquarters of New York City’s “Department of Education”), I have advice for the next Mayor: Clean out the whole bunch of people who make up
And Now, About My Critics
I have been more than thrilled by the response to my new book. Today it is #10 on the New York Times best seller list, next week it will be #15. My guess is that as more educators and parents read it, they will recommend it to others. I hope they will form study groups to discuss the issues it raises. My hope was to provide indisputable facts about where we are, and research-based evidence about w
What Happens When “Disruption” Fails?
It seems like only yesterday the New York Times magazine published a lengthy article about the powerful and transformative tablets that Joel Klein’s company Amplify had sold to the Guilford County, North Carolina, schools. The writer, Carlo Rotella, was appropriately cautious in assessing what it meant when students had most of their lessons on a tablet, but nonetheless there was a tone (encourage
Meridian, Mississippi: Yes, The Tide Is Turning
No wonder the corporate reformers are nervous. The American people are wising up. The slanders against our public schools are being exposed. One by one, the Reformy House of Cards is coming down. Imagine this scenario: the editorial board of the Meridian Star toured Meridian High School. The students are 89% African American, and 80% free/reduced price lunch (the federal measure of poverty). Wh
My Conversation with Valerie Strauss
Valerie Strauss has been a beacon of light and hope for the nation’s educators during these years in which teachers and principals have been blamed for the social ills of the nation and treated with disrespect. That never happens on Valerie’s blog “The Answer Sheet” at the Washington Post. Not only has she been a trenchant critic of high-stakes testing and other misguided policies, but she has ope
OCT 05
This Parent at Jenks Middle School Supports Rob Miller
A comment by a parent at Jenks Middle School, where the principal, Rob Miller, is being investigated for encouraging parents to opt out of a field test. (I mistakenly referred to him as the superintendent, he is the principal). As you will read here, the parents are fed up with the endless testing: “As a JMS opt-out parent, I can attest that this was a parent-led move. Of course Principal Miller
Principal Rob Miller: A Profile in Courage
Earlier today, I posted a story about a brave principal in Oklahoma, Rob Miller, who is under investigation by the State Education Department for encouraging parents to opt out of a field test. The parents said they did it on their own. Principal Miller said he obeyed the law. It was clear that he would not let the State Superintendent Janet Barresi, a member of Jeb Bush’s dwindling Chiefs for Ch
Ogden, Utah, Decides to Let Non-Educators Try Their Hand
Two years ago, after the resignation of their superintendent, the Ogden, Utah, school board chose one of its own members to take over as the leader of the schools. Brad Smith, a lawyer, may be the only superintendent in the state who has never been a teacher and has no credentials. This is innovative, for sure. Nations like Finland and Korea would never allow a non-professional to take over a lea
Julian Vasquez Heilig: Who Is Living in an “Alternate Universe”?
The ever-dazzling Julian Vasquez Heilig here addresses the burning issue of the day: whose opinion matters? Or stated another way: who lives in an “alternate universe”?
When Are Reformers Accountable?
This reader wants to know: “I think at some point they have to be able to point to some tangible benefit of “reform” to the majority of people. It’s been more than a decade. Every year it’s just more mandates and less funding. The funding that does come isn’t towards anything that we find “valuable”. I didn’t ask for an elaborate school grading system that changes every year and I think testing ki
Is Free Speech Dead in Oklahoma?
I just learned that Rob Miller, principal of the Jenks Middle School in Oklahoma, is under investigation for possibly encouraging parents to opt out of a field test. According to the Tulsa World: Jenks Public Schools participated in and encouraged a movement to opt students out of field tests last April, an Oklahoma State Department of Education investigation found. In a July 7 report provided to
Fred Klonsky Reviews “Reign of Error”
Fred Klonsky came to hear me lecture at Elmhurst College, near Chicago, and writes about how my last book helped him argue against some of the harmful policies mandated from the state and federal government. He goes on to write that teachers are more than recipients of policy, bad or good, and I agree with him. But as I say in the book, it is important to stop doing the wrong things so that it is
What de Blasio Told NYC’s Power Elite
This is what Democratic nominee Bill de Blasio told the Association for a Better New York. This is an organization of powerful people, many in the real estate industry. They have been cool to him in the past. This speech won a standing ovation, according to this morning’s New York Times. How many elected officials in your city or state would say what de Blasio said here: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: O
Arne Duncan’s Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day
Are the supporters of corporate reform coming unglued? Mike Klonsky thinks so. Of a sudden, Secretary Arne Duncan says his critics are “inhabitants of this alternative universe.” What has happened to make him angry? Why would he mischaracterize critics as people who insist that we can’t fix the schools until we fix poverty. I don’t know anyone who makes that claim. Duncan, au contraire, seems to t
Mark Naison: Why Corporate Reform Is Doomed to Fail
Mark Naison, one of the founders of the Badass Teachers Association, explains in a few words the harsh truth that will not be discussed at NBC’s Education Nation by its lineup of CEOs and rightwing governors: The more teachers are scripted and rendered voiceless, the less likely it is that talented people will want to be teachers or remain in the classroom. Why can’t they understand that they are
OCT 04
NC: We Don’t Want No Teachers No-how
Before you write to tell me that the headline has a triple negative and to correct my grammar, please be aware that it was written knowingly and with a sense of outrage. In this article, Lindsey Wagner of NC Policy Watch describes the massive demoralization of teachers and the prospect that some teachers will leave North Carolina to find a state where teachers are not treated with contempt, as th
Connecticut Principal: What Is School Reform?
In this post, Jonathan Pelto combines two excellent articles by a retired principal in Connecticut. The veil is lifting over the misappropriation of the honorable word “reform.” Across the nation, it has become a synonym for more testing, more privatization, and dependence on inexperienced “teachers” who will almost all be gone within three or four years. This principal has the wisdom of experienc
NYC Community Takes a Stand Against Charter “Co-Locations”
The Community Education Council in District 3 on the upper west side in Manhattan passed the following resolution last night, unanimously. Be it noted that the CECs reflect parent opinion but under mayoral control are powerless: Public hearing is Oct. 10, 6 pm, at MS 149/207, 34 W 118th St. COMMUNITY DISTRICT EDUCATION COUNCIL 3 District 3 Community Superintendent CEC3 Resolution Vol. 13 (P) No. 8
Meet Anthony Cody at Connecticut College on October 24!
This will be a wonderful event. You will love hearing Anthony Cody and other leading advocates for Real Reform. WHAT: “School Reform(?)” A Talk By Anthony Cody on the multiple and often contradictory messages and meanings of school reform. WHEN: Thursday, October 24th 7:30PM WHERE: Connecticut College, Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center, 270 Mohegan Avenue New London, CT 06371 SPONSOR:
EdWeek Takes Note of NBC’s “Education MisinforNation”
I am reposting this because I immediately discovered I left off the link. No excuses! I have said in the past that I am dismayed that Education Week takes money from the foundations it covers, like Gates and Walton. I have said that I am dismayed at its shameless advocacy for the edtech shlock and profiteering now inundating the schools. But Education Week has great reporters, who tell it like i
EdWeek Takes Note of NBC’s “Education MisinforNation”
I have said in the past that I am dismayed that Education Week takes money from the foundations it covers, like Gates and Walton. I have said that I am dismayed at its shameless advocacy for the edtech shlock and profiteering now inundating the schools. But Education Week has great reporters, who tell it like it is. In this blog, Mark Walsh reports on the controversy over NBC’s biased selection of
TeacherBiz Reviews “Reign of Error”
Ani McHugh, who blogs as TeacherBiz, wrote about the book after she heard me speak in Philadelphia on September 16. She was impressed that despite my age, I still spoke with “the energy and passion of a much younger woman.” She doesn’t realize that 75 is the new 55. She brings to her review the unique perspective of Philadelphia, a city under siege, trying to maintain a semblance of education desp
Moi Naturale: My Bad Experience with KIPP
Moi Naturale is a new blogger. She is Evan Seymour, who worked for KIPP in New Orleans until she learned that had a disability and was unceremoniously abandoned, including losing her health insurance. This is her report on her disenchantment with charter schools. I will be perfectly frank here. I have seldom criticized KIPP. In part, it is because I like Mike Feinberg, one of the founders. I was v
Researchers: Literary Fiction Is Excellent Preparation for Real World
There have been many debates since the promulgation of the Common Core standards about the appropriate balance between literature and “informational text.” The writers of the Common Core think that American children spend too much time reading fiction, not enough time reading “informational text.” But the New York Times reports a new study, published in the journal Science: “It found that after re
Mole in Success Academy Speaks
I received an email from an anonymous teacher in Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain called Success Academy (formerly known as Harlem Success Academy until Eva decided to move into other neighborhoods in New York City). When everyone else in the state bombed on the Common Core tests, Eva’s schools had high scores. I asked the teacher about what happens inside these hallowed halls. The teacher said the t
A Good Discussion at Stanford
I spoke at Stanford on September 30, and afterwards there was a panel discussion with Stanford’s Linda Darling-Hammond and Hoover Institution economist Eric Hanushek, moderated by veteran journalist Peter Shrag. There was a commentary afterward by doctoral student Channa Mae Cook, who had been a charter principal in New Orleans. I have known all of the panelists except for Channa Mae Cook for many
