Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, December 6, 2013

12-6-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:




Knoxville Teachers Call for Jim McIntyre's Ouster
Many thanks to Mike Donila from Screams from the Porch for this fact sheet on McIntyre and TN superintendents (that's McIntryre below with his gold-stamped Broad Center plaque just behind him--ah, symbolism):Superintendent Jim McIntyreFACT: McIntyre is in charge of the county’s more than $400 million educational budget, its 89 schools and a 7,500-person workforce that includes 4,800 teachers.FACT:

The Philadelphia Story, or The Revolution that Tom Corbett Made
Our Schools Are Not For Sale from Media Mobilizing Project TV on Vimeo.

Thieving charter charlatan-scoundrel Juan Rangel steps down from UNO! He was a darling of the AEI
Thieving charter charlatan-scoundrel @JuanRangel steps down from #UNO! He was a darling of @AEIeducation http://t.co/svdm81drB5— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) December 6, 2013 Via Professor Diane Ravitch: Powerful Chicago Charter Leader Resigns in Wake of Financial Scandal My commentary: Thieving charter charlatan-scoundrel Juan Rangel was a darling of the fringe-right American Enterprise Institu

Memphis Politicians Wring Hands About Reading Scores as They Create More Corporate Charter Schools Without Libraries
Having handed over 29 public schools to charter reform schools without libraries or librarians, and with 8 more on the way by 2015, Superintendent Dorsey Hopson and the Shelby County School Board all of sudden have noticed that these children are far behind in reading.  Since poor children get their books more often from libraries, and since the research has demonstrated over the past 25 years tha

Grasping at Straws and the Impending Value-Added Trainwreck
We are just beginning to implement value-added evaluations, but it is already becoming clear that a trainwreck is coming. Already, we are reading stories about good teachers being fired for failing to meet their test score growth targets. We are also reading about surrealistic cases, such as the New York Teacher of the Year who earned 60 of 60 points on the observation component of her evaluation,

12-5-13 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Do we need a new test for teacher-candidates?Sent to Education Week, Dec 4, 2013Developing and requiring a new test for teacher-candidates is based on the belief that something is wrong with teacher preparation ("Performance-Based Test for Teachers Rolls Out," Dec. 4).The evidence suggests the opposite is the case. When we control for the effects of poverty, American stud