Detroit: Crime of the Century?
By now, you may have heard that a federal judge ruled that Detroit’s pensions may be cut during bankruptcy proceedings, even though the Michigan state constitution expressly protects them. What you may not know is that the average pension is $19,000 a year. David Sirota is outraged. Michigan officials say there is no money to pay the $100 million pension gap yet the state can afford $6 billion
G.F. Brandenburg: Words of Wisdom About PISA
G.F. Brandenburg, as you would expect, has a pithy and wise commentary about the PISA scores. Here are his first three observations: “1. There is a lot of evidence that being a good test-taker does not necessarily overlap with other desirable properties, either on the individual level or on the local or national or international level. 2. A lot of silly things are read into comparing how many qu
Reader from China: Why Chinese Students’ Test Scores Are So High
This fascinating and informative comment was just posted in response to Tom Loveless’s earlier article about how Shanghai gets high scores by excluding the children of migrants from its schools and how OECD allows China to exclude the PISA scores from provinces with less than stellar results. As you will see, there is no coddling” in China. Instead, the pressure on students to study and compete fo
Lower Hudson Valley: The Disconnect Between the State and the Public
Most of the noise against the shoddy implementation of Common Core in New York has been heard in Long Island, but parents and educators are even angrier in the Lower Hudson Valley than in New York. Here is an excellent explanation by veteran journalist Gary Stern.. This is one of the best analyses I have read about why state officials and the public are on a collision course. Can the Regents conti
Daniel Wydo Disaggregates PISA Scores by Income
Daniel Wydo, a teacher in North Carolina, sent this analysis of 2012 PISA: Here’s what the mainstream media will NOT tell you about 2012 PISA. When comparing U.S. schools with less than 10% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, here’s how U.S. students (of which almost 25% are considered poor by OECD standards and of which nationally on average about 50% qualify for free/reduced lunch) ra
German-Style Apprenticeship Programs Grow in South Carolina
Like many other states, South Carolina has been wooing foreign corporations, hoping to create new jobs and stimulate the economy. When a German firm relocated to produce heavy engines, it was unable to find enough skilled workers. So the company leader “did what he would have done back home in Germany: He set out to train them himself. Working with five local high schools and a career center in
Anthony Cody: Standards Or Standardization?
Anthony Cody notes that the definition of education has become increasingly utilitarian, thus narrowing what is taught and learned only to the skills that make students college-and-career ready. Joy in learning, aesthetic delight in the arts, the intellectual pleasure of history and literature take a backseat to that which is marketable. Are we all meant to serve the needs of corporate America? H
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-4-13 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 to Commissioner Nicastro: Please Do Not Privatize Kansas City Public SchoolsThe following comment was posted on the blog: As a parent in the Kansas City Public Schools who has been fighting from the trenches the last 3 years, I’m thrilled to see Missouri on your blog. Dr Nicastro’s true stripes are starting to show. Below