A Tennessee Teacher Writes a Letter to President Obama
It is hard to believe that President Obama understands the damage that his education policies are doing to children, teachers, principals, and schools. Ultimately, the massive demoralization that his policies cause will hurt our society. This teacher in Tennessee wrote a letter to President Obama. Would you write the same letter? What would you say to him if you thought he was listening? If you h
Young Zhao on Finland’s “Decline” on PISA and East Asian “Success”
Yong Zhao is a brilliant, articulate scholar who was educated in China but is now a professor at the University of Oregon. He has written two books that I highly recommend: “Catching Up or Leading the Way” and “World-Class Learners.” In this post, he reveals some inside information about PISA: Finland has slipped out of the top tier. He says this is not because the quality of education declined in
Alan Singer: New York’s Secret Education Policymakers
In this article at Huffington Post, Alan Singer has investigated the secret, privately funded apparatus that designs education policy in New York State. The group is known as the Regents Research Fellows, but they are not subject to any public oversight. They are appointed by the state commissioner, funded by big foundations, and seem to have more authority than the duly appointed Board of Regent
Los Angeles: Teachers, Administrators Divided About $1 Billion for iPads
Teachers and administrators in Los Angeles responded to an anonymous survey about the district’s commitment to spend $1 billion to give iPads to all students and staff. 36% of teachers were enthusiastic, compared to 90% of administrators. Howard Zblume of the Los Angeles Times contrasts their reactions: “It would seem Robert J. Moreau, a computer animation teacher who struggled for grants to se
Yes, There Are Some Grown-Ups in Los Angeles
I just can’t figure out how it makes sense for Los Angeles to spend $1 billion on iPads when it has so many other pressing needs. I can’t figure out how the district expects to buy another generation of iPads in 3-4 years. I can’t understand how the district justifies taking this money from a school construction bond fund approved by the voters for repairs and construction, not iPads. How is this
A Member of the Denver School Board Says Goodbye
Jeannie Kaplan’s term as a member of the Denver Public School board ended, and she retired from the board. During the time she was on the board, she fought for the students and the public schools, and she fought against the data-driven, testing-obsessed mindset of the corporate reformers who dominate the board. In the last election, a heavily funded slate of corporate reformers expanded their majo
Julian Vasquez Heilig: Why School Choice Is NOT the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time
Proponents of the market-based approach to schooling often say that school choice is “the civil rights issue of our time.” We have heard this refrain from sources as diverse as Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal, and Arne Duncan. But scholar Julian Vasquez Heilig refutes this idea. Read the entire article, which as always from Heilig, is brilliant. We know what works, he writes, based on research and exper
Tom Loveless: Why Shanghai Leads the World on International Tests Like PISA
Tom Loveless, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, has spent many years analyzing testing data. He is active in the study of international testing. He has deciphered the secrets of Shanghai’s remarkably high test scores. For one thing, China as a whole does not take the PISA test. Shanghai is a city, not the nation. It is a huge city, to be sure, but it is not typical of the nation. Other provi
“PISA Day”: Don’t Believe Arne Duncan’s Orchestrated Hype and Spin
On Tuesday, the results of the international test called PISA will be released. Years ago, no one paid much attention to the release of international test scores, but now they have become an occasion for official moaning, groaning, and hyperventilating. It is time to remember the story about “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” Will we hear more declarations that the latest results are “our Sputnik moment”?
New York Times: Readers Respond to Frank Bruni
Frank Bruni argued a week ago in his column in the New York Times that American students are too “coddled” and need the Common Core and rigorous testing to toughen them up. He also suggested that some parts of schooling ought to be “relatively mirthless.” Today the newspaper printed letters to the editor, in response. Tony Wagner of Harvard University wrote: To the Editor: Re “Are Kids Too Coddl
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Parent: Free Our Children from the Dead Hand of TestingJeff Nichols and his wife Anne Stone are outspoken critics of standardized testing. They have two children in public school. Here is Jeff’s testimony to the Néw York City Council, in which he eloquently explains why the tide is turning against standardized testing. He speaks on