Big Education Ape: 11-9-13 Radical Scholarship

From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda

While Secretary of Education (2005-2009), Margaret Spellings announced that a jump of 7 points in NAEP reading scores from 1999-2005 was proof No Child Left Behind was working. The problem, however, was in the details: During President George W. Bush’s tenure, NCLB was a corner stone of his agenda, and when then-Secretary Spellings announced that test scores were proving NCLB a success, Gerald Bra

16 by plthomasedd / 21h

Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes ‘Accountability’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet

Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes ‘Accountability’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet.

by plthomasedd / 1d

NOV 07

remnant 38: “I still owe money to the money to the money I owe”

remnant 38: “I still owe money to the money to the money I owe”.

by plthomasedd / 1d

NAEP? Nope: Why (Almost) Everyone Will Misread (Again) Data on Gaps

Let the data orgy begin! NAEP data have been released and I anticipate almost as much time and money will be wasted on the data as has been wasted on administering the tests, scoring the tests, and creating the handy web link to all that data—notably the predictable link to gaps. [For the record, most of these data charts can be prepared without any child ever taking tests; just use the socioecono

24 by plthomasedd / 1d

CAUTION: Technology!

In the myriad debates surrounding implementation of Common Core and the concurrent tests, the sheer costs of this process tends to be ignored. Another issue related to both CC and the related costs is yet another series of commitments to technology as a part of the perpetual education reform process. Here is a reposting of a presentation [see Note below] I gave offering a stern caution about our r

1 by plthomasedd / 1d

Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand

Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand.

1 by plthomasedd / 2d

NOV 05

Are Common Core and Testing Debates “Two Different Matters”?

A comment posted on my blog about union support for Common Core (CC)—which parallels my blog post about Secretary Duncan and the Obama administration’s support for CC—represents a typical response coming from standards advocates in the CC debate: “You can’t combine the issue of high stakes testing with the common core [sic] they are two different matters.” Alfie Kohn in January 2010 argued against

100+ by plthomasedd / 4d

NOV 04

Rising Weight of Poverty on Public Schools

[This ran without hyperlinks at The Greenville News (November 1, 2013) and The Charleston Post & Courier (November 4, 2013)] According to 1860 census data, South Carolina had the highest percentage (57.2%) of its population as slaves in the U.S. Beaufort County (82.8%) and Georgetown County (85.7%) represented the significant impact of slave populations along the coast. The legacy of the scar

5 by plthomasedd / 4d

Zombies, “Scarcity,” and Understanding Poverty

Zombies, “Scarcity,” and Understanding Poverty.

4 by plthomasedd / 4d

Fight poverty to fix S.C. schools – The Post and Courier

Fight poverty to fix S.C. schools – The Post and Courier.

by plthomasedd / 4d

Evidence? Randi Weingarten Ignores the Evidence

Evidence? Randi Weingarten Ignores the Evidence via Evidence? Randi Weingarten Ignores the Evidence.

by plthomasedd / 4d

NOV 03

Zombies, “Scarcity,” and Understanding Poverty

The original comic book series The Walking Dead opens with “This is not good” in the panel depicting police officers pinned behind their patrol car by gun fire. The page ends with officer Rick Grimes being shot, followed by a full-page panel on the next page of Rick waking with a gasp in the hospital. Zombies are soon to follow. Preceding this first story is an introduction from creator Robert Kir

4 by plthomasedd / 6d