My View: Why Parents Are Rejecting Common Core
This is an article I wrote for CNN.com, explaining why there is strong parent resistance to Common Core testing. The pushback is not so much against the standards as against the decision to make the tests so “hard” and set the passing mark so unrealistically high, that most students failed. In a democracy, public officials have to remember that they were not hired to impose their dogmas on every
Carol Burris: Follow the Money for Common Core Implementation
Carol Burris puzzled over a strange phenomenon. Why is the state spending so much money on Common Core-aligned curriculum? In the past, New York state set standards, and local districts developed their own curriculum, usually at a cost of about $1,000 per grade. Now, teachers are expected to use state-purchased curricula, developed at a cost of millions. Burris digs deeper, and, of course, discove
Edward F. Berger: Who Owns America? The People or the Oligarchs?
Edward F. Berger has published an excellent post about the hostile takeover of American democracy by a small number of people with a great deal of wealth. Read it all. He begins: “A majority of those who hold the power and wealth of our nation run their coercive top-down empires as personal wealth and power generators. They see themselves as decision makers who should shape the world (i.e., simi
Indiana Governor Pence’s War Against Democracy
Governor Mike Pence just can’t get over the fact that challenger Glenda Ritz beat State Superintendent Tony Bennett, even though Bennett had a 10-1 spending advantage. Pence may be miffed because Ritz got more votes than he did. But her worst crime is that she does not share the governor’s nihilistic ideology of destroying public education. And for those reasons, the governor is determined to stri
Who Are Our Highest-Paid Government Employees?
The Center for Media and Democracy has compiled a list of America’s highest-paid government employees. They are not teachers or nurses or social workers. “Time and again we’re told that librarians, nurses and teachers are to blame for state and local budget problems,” said Lisa Graves, Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy. “In reality, taxpayers are being duped by corporate CEO
Paul Thomas: Grit and “No Excuses” Not Enough
Paul Thomas of Furman University has emerged as one of the most eloquent voices on behalf of children in poverty. In this essay, linked by Maureen Downey in the Atlanta Journal-Consitution, Paul explains why “grit” and “no excuses” are not enough to overcome the burdens of poverty. Paul says that the reformers’ narrative is not only wrong but misguided because it distracts public attention from t
EduShyster: Microsoft Drops Stack Ranking, Why Not Schools?
Sue Altman of the new and unaccredited EduShyster Academy notes the irony that Microsoft has finally abandoned its stack ranking system but the schools are stuck with it, thanks to the Gates Foundation and its best buddy Arne Duncan. What is stack ranking? “Now, after hiring a new HR person, Microsoft is getting rid of the stack rankings—and good riddance. But thanks in no small part to Microsof
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Lecker: Toxic Stress Hurts ChildrenWhen I visited Finland, which is widely recognized as one of the top performing nations in the world, every educator spoke of their goals. They want their students to be happy, healthy, and enthusiastic learners. They did not care about test scores. The years from the beginning of school (at age 7