Diane Ravitch's blog
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Jersey Jazzman Schools Frank Bruni
LI Superintendent Blasts Board of Regents for Creating “Educational Apartheid”
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Reader: Douglas County Wants Its Own Version of inBloom
This is very odd. The public schools of Douglas County, Colorado, are controlled by one of the most conservative school boards in the nation, which just retained its majority in a closer-than-expected election. Conservatives usually are zealous about privacy rights and protect traditional institutions. But there is a new strain of ideologue who wants the free market to rule, and the market demands
Resist Educational Apartheid Now or Get More of It
Superintendent Steve Cohen’s article, posted this morning, got a huge response and many tweets and retweets. Here he speaks directly to a reader of his post: “We’ve had at least 30 years of plutocratic leadership in the US, and that reality puts us way behind the curve. What other choice do we have but to gather up our political, moral, cultural resources and resist? These resources may prove to
When I spoke in Rhode Island in October, I said that test scores were at their highest point in the past 40 years. I also said that the rate of increase had slowed after the passage of NCLB and Race to the Top. The largest recent gains occurred from 2000-2003, before the implementation of NCLB. Whoever writes the PolitiFact column for the Providence Journal claimed that my statements were “mostly
Vicki Cobb is an accomplished writer of nonfiction books for children. Here she describes her own education, the high points and the low points. Her high point was her elementary school, a small private progressive school in New York City called The Little Red Schoolhouse. Actually, there used to be many public schools that worked like “Little Red,” as the school known, but the standardization mov
Parents, educators and other Chicagoans disgusted with authoritarian control of public education organized their own Board of Education, which held a public meeting one day before the mayor-controlled board held its meeting. The agenda was the same, but the tone and process were very different. For one thing, the “People’s Board” met from 6-8 pm, in contrast to the regular board’s “banker’s hours
mark as read
If you are a parent of public school children; if you care about your local public schools; if you are a teacher or administrator or school board member, you should think twice before shopping at Walmart. The Walton Family Foundation spends nearly $200 million every year to undermine public education. It gives to groups that open charters and promote vouchers. It throws a few thou to the Bentonville Public Schools, but the big money is available only to those who want to bust unions and privatize public education. Every member of the Walton family is a billionaire. Individual members donate g
Jersey Jazzman has words of wisdom for Néw York Times columnist Frank Bruni. Bruni recently wrote, in defense of the Common Core standards, claimed that American kids are “coddled.” Read his post in its entirety. He calls it “Dumb Things White People Say About Schools: Frank Bruni.” This is how he begins: “Let me start by apologizing to Tom Friedman. You see, for years I’ve thought that the Mustache of Understanding was the silliest, most wankeriffic pontificator within in the NY Times’s Op-Ed Page hierarchy of mandarins. But it’s clear to me now I was completely wrong. The proof? Frank Bruni
Steve Cohen, superintendent of the Shoreham-Wading River School District, published an editorial in the local newspaper blasting the New York Board of Regents. Many educators are afraid to speak out against what they know is wrong because they fear for their jobs. Teachers may be fired. Principals may be fired. Superintendents may be fired. When anyone expresses their professional judgment without fear and says what’s right for children, it takes courage. For teachers, it is best to do it en masse. The same for principals. Superintendents are leaders of their community and are in a position to
YESTERDAY
Cyber Charters: The Worst Schools in Pennsylvania, and More on the Way
Adam Schott and James Jack write here about the poor performance of cyber charters in Pennsylvania. You might even say the abysmal performance of cyber charters. Pennsylvania has 16, more of them than any state in the nation, and six more want to open. No wonder they want to open. It is a lucrative business. They write: If it was viewed as a single school district, Pennsylvania’s expansive cyber c
What Makes Us Human?
Agree or disagree? What makes us human? This article in the British New Statesman says that what makes us human is playfulness. Humans do silly, pointless things. I am not so sure. Animals don’t make machines. Animals don’t give each other standardized tests. Animals don’t have calendars and watches and anxiety attacks and drugs. Animals don’t have Black Fridays. Who says humans are smart
A Parent Reviews “Reign of Error”
Dienne Anum, a regular commenter on this blog, reviewed “Reign of Error.” She is a parent of two. As I have often said and written, parents are the sleeping giants. Once they become informed and energized, we are unstoppable in reclaiming our schools and improving education. Dienne writes: Reform or Deform? Diane Ravitch has done it again. Starting where DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SCHO
Who Should See Your Job Evaluation?
In a recent article about the decision by the Los Angeles Board of Education to extend John Deasy’s contract, there was an interesting section: “Until Tuesday, the district had withheld the Oct. 29 vote total, refusing to release it in response to public-records requests. Officials changed their position, apparently in response to a letter from a lawyer representing The Los Angeles Times. The dema
About Those Long Waiting Lists at Charter Schools
A much ballyhooed California-based charter chain school called Citizens of the World opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in New York City despite community opposition. It hoped to attract white and middle-clsss families in the gentrified neighborhood. It was supposed to open with 107 kindergarten and first grade students. The Wall Street Journal reported that only 56 appeared. The school may be clos
Nearly Half of Louisiana’s Voucher Students Attend D or F-Rated Schools
According to a local report, almost half the students enrolled in Louisiana’s voucher program are attending failing schools. Most voucher schools, however, did not release accountability data. This runs contrary to Governor Bobby Jindal’s claims that vouchers would allow students to escape failing public schools and choose better schools. The story says, “At least 45 percent of students in Louis
Our Dystopian Future? A Hyper-Meritocracy of Winners?
R.J. Eskow describes the views of one Tyler Cowen, seeing him as the aspirant to Thomas Friedman’s role as the chronicler of the new age to come, an age when globalization and technology will produce a “hyper-meritocracy,” leaving the rest of us far, far behind. I was not familiar with the thinking of Cowen, but apparently he is big as a futurologist. Eskow summarizes Cowen’s philosophy thus: “Mar
Derek Bok: A Reform Agenda for Higher Education
Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University, has some concrete suggestions to improve higher education. His most prominent suggestion is that Ph.D. Candidates should be trained to teach, not just to compete their dissertation. But the most interesting comment occurs near the end of the article when he writes: “A more plausible reason for the sluggish pace of reform is the scanty preparatio
Report: Charters in Columbus, Ohio, in Trouble
The Columbus Dispatch reported new charter school troubles. Ohio is known for its lack of oversight for charter schools, especially if they are owned or managed by donors to Republican campaigns. The state department of education asked authorizers to provide better oversight, so certain charters are at risk of losing their charter (none belong to the two men who have made millions from their chart
NOV 28
EduShyster’s Holiday Meal: Reform Turducken
EduShyster has a great idea for a splendid holiday meal; she calls it “reform turducken.” What, you may ask, is that? Here is her definition: “Oe reformy idea stuffed into another and into another, all clad in an innocuously glistening exterior.” In this case, the meal starts with the acknowledgement that great teachers matter; that teachers are underpaid; and that great teachers should be paid m
Reader: How About VAM for Public Officials?
Now that public officials demand that teachers produce higher test scores or get fired, this reader named Dienne has a great idea. She was inspired by the efforts in Missouri to revise the state Constitution to require that teachers be evaluated by the standardized test scores of their students. She writes: “I think value added evaluations should be put in the U.S. Constitution. “For elected offic
Rothstein, Carnoy, and Tucker on International Test Scores
Last January, Richard Rothstein and Martin Carnoy released a report on international test scores, arguing that American students perform better than is generally believes. Since many people are deeply invested in the conventional claim that American students lag the world on international tests, their report led to a flurry of controversy. This post by Rothstein and Carnoy responds to Tucker’s cri
Chicago Drops inBloom, Protects Student Privacy
Leonie Haimson reports that Chicago has pulled out of inBloom, the massive data collection project funded by the aGates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. Leonie has been the key figure nationally in alerting parents, educators, officials, and the media to the plans of inBloom to collect hundreds of points of data about children, using software developed by Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generat
When Albert Shanker Turned Against Charters
In 1993 and 1994, Albert Shanker turned against his own idea: charter schools. Once an avid proponent, he became convinced that they would become a vehicle for privatization. Here is one of his columns reflecting his disillusionment with what had been his own creation: Where We Stand by Albert Shanker President, American Federation of Teachers NEW YORK TIMES – July 3, 1994 Noah Webster Academy $4
Let Us Be Thankful
Let us be thankful for life and health. Let us be thankful that we live in a free and democratic society. Let us be thankful for the parents who love and cherish their children. Let us be thankful for the children, filled with dreams and hopes and the joy of childhood, and let us pledge to protect them. Let us be thankful for the educators who help children and young people grow, develop, learn,
Paul Karrer: My Students Are Not Coddled
Paul Karrer teaches fifth grade in a low-income community in California. He writes: Frank Bruni’s New York Times piece “Are Kids Too Coddled?” basically states tougher education standards like the Common Core may require a tough love that some parents and educators don’t like. So some parents are opting their kids out of testing. Mr. Bruni is a journalist not an educator and it shows. He’s done
Rocketship Charter Fails to Meet Enrollment Target in Milwaukee
Milwaukee is a city with three competitive sectors: charters, voucher schools, and a shrinking public school system. It is also one of the lowest performing cities on the NAEP, a demonstration of the inability of competition among schools to improve test scores. So what do Wisconsin officials do in response to these dismal facts? They are expanding the charter sector. One of the beneficiaries of t
Do We Have Enough College Graduates–Or Too Few Jobs for Them?
Arne Duncan often says that our education system must compete with other those of other nations, and President Obama says that we must raise our college graduation rate to first in the world by 2020. But this reader (Reteach for America) disagrees. He or she might have added this recent article about unemployment among college graduates in Europe. It’s not a matter of educating Arne. It’s been a
Common Core on Teaching the Gettysburg Address: What a Travesty!
The Common Core emphasizes the importance of “close reading,” that is, understanding the meaning of a text without reference to context or background knowledge, which presumably might privilege some students over others. In this post, Valerie Strauss explains how the writers of the Common Core conceptualize the teaching of the Gettysburg Address. It was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on No
NOV 27
Politico: Arne Duncan’s Ambitious Agenda Hits Speed Bumps
Stephanie Simon describes the political minefields that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has run into as he seeks to remake American education. She does not mention that Duncan’s program dovetails with No Child Left Behind, which is now widely acknowledged to be a failed approach. Nor does she mention that Duncan’s tenure in Chicago, where he honed his present ideas about reform, was unsuccessfu
Network for Public Education Will Hold Its First National Conference on March 1 & 2 in Austin, Texas
The Network for Public Education will holds its first annual conference at The University of Texas at Austin on March 1 & 2, 2014 - the weekend before the world famous South By Southwest EDU Festival. Diane Ravitch will deliver the keynote address and NPE Board members Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimson, Julian Vasquez Heilig and others will take part in the discussions. All are welcome! As we are
Florida Will Release Teacher Ratings to the Media
In her invaluable blog called VAMboozled, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley discusses Florida’s decision to release teacher data evaluations to the public. While she does not question the decision to make the ratings public, she explains that the ratings are fundamentally flawed. My view: the ratings are so flawed and so misleading that they should not be made public. They are not only inaccurate, but the
Jury Trial in Philadelphia Hears Fraud Charges Against Charter Founder
Charter school founder June Brown is on trial in Philadelphia for collecting multiple salaries from the charter schools and management firms she opened. Brown is accused of defrauding the four charter schools she founded of $6.7 million and then conspiring with two former administrators to obstruct justice by orchestrating a cover-up. Meanwhile, business leaders in Philadelphia hope to open more c
EduShyster: When Public Pensions Are “Reformed,” Pensioners Get Shafted
Mazinger G, a member of the unaccredited EduShyster Academy, here explains what happened in Rhode Island when a “reformer” took control of the state’s pension funds. What happened when the state treasurer Gina Raimondo adopted a new strategy of investing the state’s pension funds into “alternative” investments? “There has been much hullabaloo about Gina’s investing Rhode Island’s $7 billion state
State Board in Texas Rejects Great Hearts Charter for Dallas
The state board of education in Texas turned down an application from Great Hearts Academy to open a charter school in Dallas. Great Hearts had already been approved by the state commissioner. The Arizona-based chain already has approval to open a charter in San Antonio. The state board expressed concern about the chain’s commitment and ability to serve low-income students. The article in the Texa
New York: Speakers at Public Forum Again Blast Commissioner King, Regents, Common Core, Testing
Another public forum in the suburbs of New York City, and another nearly unanimous display of outrage towards the policymakers in New York state. Commissioner John King has made clear again and again that nothing said at these public forums will change his course of action. He will stick to the Common Core and the testing no matter what parents and teachers say. And so will the Board of Regents. O
New Study Proves High Value of Experienced Teachers
Mathematica Policy Research released a study that proves that experience matters. Some readers thought the study was about merit pay, but it was not. Merit pay has never worked. Merit pay studies usually compare one group of teachers matched to a similar group. One group is offered a bonus if they can raise test scores, the other is not. The bonus is supposed to incentivize the teachers to push th
The Meaning of “Personalized” Learning
All too often these days, we hear certain buzz words: “personalized learning,” “individualized learning,” “customized learning.” Usually they are used all together, as in “personalized, individualized, customized learning.” Buyer beware! What these words usually signify is that some corporation is selling a computerized learning program with pre-set questions and answers. The students will click t
Don’t Be VAMboozled! Review Finds DC Impact Study Is Full of Holes
Some weeks back, the media reported that the District of Columbia’s infamous teacher evaluation program–known as IMPACT–was successful, based on a paper by researchers Thomas Dee and James Wyckoff. The takeaway allegedly was that VAM (value-added measurement) works and that DC is right to judge teacher quality by student test scores. But Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, one of the pre-eminent national exp
Anyone Know What “Second Order Change” Is?
A letter from a teacher. “Second Order Change” sounds eerily like “creative destruction.” Wipe out everything that is and start over. See what happens. Then do it again: Things are heating up again in Baltimore County. The teachers association just filed a grievance against the school district. Here is the link to the article in the paper here. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/educatio
Help This Video Go Viral!
I am reposting this because when I first posted it, the link didn’t work. It is a 3-minute video made by public school parents in Néw York City. My son Michael, the father of a second grader in a Brooklyn public school, is one of them. He is not in the video but he is very active in ParentVoicesNY. Do you want to know what parents really think? Do you want to know what students really think? Don’t
ALEC’s Next Meeting: DC, December 6
ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) is the corporate-controlled organization that is pulling the strings on behalf of the privatization movement. Its next meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., on December 6 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on H Street. Here is the agenda. If any reader of this blog attends, please send a report about the model laws that are adopted to destroy public educa
NOV 26
A Texan Responds to Frank Bruni About “Coddling” and the Common Core
This comment came from a reader: Diane, In response to the Frank Bruni article in the NYT I wanted to share with you what I shared with my colleagues at the Schlechty Center. I am a Senior Associate with the Center, a former school superintendent in Texas and was heavily involved in the effort of the Texas Association of School Administrators in developing the document, “Creating A New Vision for
A Very Bad Joke
A reader commented, with reference to Arne Duncan’s infamous remark, followed by Frank Bruni’s column on “coddling” our kids: Really, it’s like a very bad joke: a food critic and a basketball player walk into a bar and insult white suburban mothers and their kids, twice. Wish I could find the humor in it.
Sue Peters: A Hero of American Education
Sue Peters is a parent activist who had the courage to run for election to the Seattle school board. The big money bet against her. They were wrong. Sue won, and she won decisively. I am happy to say that she was endorsed by the Network for Public Education, and I hope that our endorsement got her a few extra votes. Sue wrote a letter to thank the board of the NPE and to describe the tough campai
Gary Rubinstein: My Daughter’s Common Core Workbook in Kindergarten
If you really want to know what the New York City public schools are doing to make sure that five-year-olds are on track for college and/or careers, read Gary Rubinstein’s description about his daughter’s Common Core workbook for kindergarten. State officials claim they don’t want to test children in k-2, but that is not what the workbook says. Gary notes: Each page of the book features in large l
An Inside Look at the Opt-Out Movement
Robert Kolker has written an excellent analysis of the anti-testing movement. The central figures are not “white suburban moms,” but a family from the Dominican Republic. Young Oscar, who loved school, loses interest when his favorite subjects and activities are replaced by test prep. The larger the test looms, the less Oscar cares about school. Into this vivid story, Kolker weaves an overview of
Missouri: Corporate Reformers Want to Put Standardized Testing for Teacher Evaluation into State Constitution
I wrote an earlier post about how the State Commissioner of Education in Missouri, Chris Nicastro, is working closely with a libertarian, free market group–funded by a billionaire hedge fund manager– to draft language for legislation to strip teachers of tenure. As a reader pointed out, it is actually worse than I wrote. The goal is to put an initiative on the ballot to revise the state Constituti
Jason Stanford: What Texas Moms Can Teach Arne Duncan
Jason Stanford explains why it won’t be easy for Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to “walk back” his insulting remarks about “white suburban moms.” When defenders of the testing industry in Texas tried the same tactic, they succeeded in strengthening the backlash against high-stakes testing. It was not just “white suburban moms” who objected to the overemphasis on testing, but moms and dads of a
Anthony Cody: Common Core and RoboGrading
Anthony Cody wonders in this post whether the Common Core standards are designed to facilitate computer grading of student essays. Cody includes a commentary by Alice Mercer, who describes a writing task on the Common Core test. She reaches the startling conclusion that the standards were written to accommodate computer testing, which explains the limitation on background knowledge. She writes:
Confessions of a Good Test-Taker
The thought has often occurred to me that current federal and state policy was created by people who got high scores on standardized test takers. Maybe they hope to create a pure meritocracy, in which only those who get high test scores rule everyone else. The problem with my theory is that the real consequences of this approach are too dumb to have been created by the smartest people. Maybe they
Shadow Group Develops Policy for New York Regents, Backed by Wealthy Donors
The New York State Education Department is governed by the New York Board of Regents, which oversees education and professional certification in every field. The Regents have recently come to rely on a small group called the Regents Research Fellows to develop policy and curriculum. This group is privately funded. Reporter James M. Odato at the Albany Times-Union described this shadow operation: O
NYC Parents to Mayor-Elect de Blasio: Please Watch This Great Video
Do you want to know what parents really think? Do you want to know what students really think? Don’t ask a group funded by billionaires. Ask parents and students. Watch this video, made by parents in New York City. If that doesn’t work, try here on YouTube. It is addressed to Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio but it could just as well be addressed to every governor, state legislator, Congressman, and may
Paul Thomas: The Politics of White Outrage–and My Dissent
In this post, I will explain why I disagree with the prolific, brilliant Paul Thomas. Thomas is offended that the mainstream media jumped all over Secretary Duncan’s insulting comment about “white suburban moms,” but has consistently ignored Secretary Duncan’s policies that disproportionately harm black and Hispanic children, their families and their communities. Thomas elsewhere wrote: If white o
A Great Game Called CharterLand!
The National Opportunity to Learn campaign, working with Kevin Welner of the National Education Policy Center, adapted the well-known children’s game “CandyLand” into an infographic called “CharterLand.” It is a very vivid illustrations of the strategies that many charters now use to weed out students they don’t want, the ones likely to get low test scores or to defy their “no-excuses” policies. O
NOV 25
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
NOV 24
Frank Bruni Wonders Whether American Kids Are Too Coddled
For many years, Frank Bruni was a wonderful restaurant reviewer for the New York Times. But now he is a regular opinion writer for the New York Times, and when he writes about education, he is way over his head. He was one of the few to write sympathetically about the corporate reform turkey “Won’t Back Down,” which opened in 2,500 theaters to bad reviews and disappeared a month later. His latest
Missouri Commissioner Works with Outside Group to Destroy Teacher Tenure
The Kansas City Star reports that State Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro collaborated with anti-public education forces to draft legislation to eliminate teacher tenure. Emails obtained through the state’s Sunshine Law revealed the commissioner’s relationship with the group. The group is associated with Rex Singuefeld, a local hedge fund manager who co-founded a firm that manages more than $3
Architects of Bloomberg’s Accountability Plan Back Off
A little late in the day, with only six weeks left in the Bloomberg administration, the two key figures in designing New York City’s school accountability measures have declared that it is time for a change. Now they have decided that they leaned too much on test scores. Now they tell us! Please read the comments that follow the article. They remind us how many schools were closed based on the app
E.L. Doctorow on Technology in Our Lives
Every once in a while, I read something that sticks with me and reverberates in my mind. That was my reaction when I read E.L. Doctorow’s remarks at the National Book Awards. These are words to savor, chew on, and ponder. “Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus of The Nation magazine, introduced E. L. Doctorow, the recipient of the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Mr. Navasky
LA Times Plans to Post Teacher VAM Ratings Again
In her blog, VAMboozled, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley reports that the LA Times plans again to publish teachers’ value-added ratings. When they did it in 2011, a teacher committed suicide. Researchers discredited the results. Since then, researchers have demonstrated that these ratings are unstable and inaccurate. They bounce around from year to year. The Times doesn’t care whose career or reputation t
Schneider: CCSS Backlash in 17 States
Mercedes Schneider has identified 17 states where protests against Common Core standards are heating up, in some cases leading to a slowdown or cancellation of implementation. She writes: “Over one-third of the states whose governors and state superintendents signed the CCSS Memorandum of Understanding as part of US Department of Education Race to the Top (RTTT) funding are now percolating with
Lecker: Toxic Stress Hurts Children
When 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) to high school graduation are considered a “standardized-testing-free zone,” as Pasi Sahlberg put it
More Charters for Idaho?
A reader sends this comment: “Dr. Ravitch refers to a “push to introduce charters to Idaho.” Idaho has had charter schools since 1991, though the initial legislation authorizing them has been so often revised by the Legislature that Idaho’s Office of Performance Evaluation recently reported that there is little difference between Idaho charter schools and traditional public schools, and that Idah
Jason Stanford on John Kuhn: How Texas Hoaxed the Nation
The next President should select John Kuhn, superintendent of schools in the little Perrin-Whitt District in Texas as Secretary of Education. Why? Because John Kuhn has the heart, the vision, the love of children, the courage, the honesty, and the integrity that the position requires. The Department is the kind of bureaucracy that runs itself, no matter who is the Secretary. Like any big organizat
NOV 23
The L.A. iPad Fiasco Gets Worse
Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times pointed out the endlessly escalating costs of Superintendent John Deasy’s decision to buy an iPad, loaded with Pearson content, for every child. The initial cost estimate was $1 billion for hardware, software, and content. The money was mostly taken from a 25-year school,construction bond issue. So, instead of repairing schools, students will have iPads fo
Bob Braun: Should You Work in Newark Schools if You Think the Students Are Potential Criminals?
Bob Braun reported on politics and education in New Jersey for 50 years. Now he has his own blog. Watch for the wisdom of a seasoned journalist. In this post, he notes that Cami Anderson, superintendent of schools in Newark, sent out a letter to families announcing that she was closing the schools for two days on November 7 and 8 because many teachers were attending the NJEA state convention. And
NYC Art Teacher: How Reform Destroyed My School and My Career
As philanthropists and civic leaders hail Mayor Bloomberg’s role in “reforming” the New York City public schools, here is the story of a teacher who describes the past dozen years from a different perspective. When the mayor closed schools, experienced teachers lost their jobs and joined the ATR [absent teacher reserve] pool, a large number of floating substitutes without permanent assignments. Th
Most Surprising Conclusion of the Week
During his three terms as mayor –12 years–Mayor Bloomberg developed a data-driven strategy for school reform that relied heavily on high-stakes testing to close schools and replace them with small schools or charter schools. He eliminated neighborhood high schools and even neighborhood middle schools. “Choice” and test-based accountability were the central themes of his reforms. The school closin
High School Students in New Orleans Walk Out in Protest
I received this letter from a teacher who taught in Louisiana until recently. I am posting anonymously for her sake: Dear friends, I am not writing you from New Orleans, and I do not know these students, but I taught in this area for 9 years, and after 3 schools that I worked in were taken over by charters with no relationship to the community, I left my state and moved to Atlanta to go to grad
Firedoglake: Arne Doubles Down on “White Suburban Moms” Gaffe
Blogger Firedoglake deconstructs Arne Duncan’s flawed effort to explain why he castigated “white suburban moms.” Duncan, he says, does not understand basic economics. Nor does he know that grading teachers has nothing whatever to do with improving schools. How many nations in the world are grading teachers by the test scores of their students? None that I know of. Instead, they have built a strong