Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Although Arne Duncan, Jeb Bush, the New York Times, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Exxon Mobil have done their best to create an air of inevitability about the Common Core (the train has left the station), parents and teachers continue to object to the imposition of these untested standards written mostly by non-educators. In this article, which appeared in the Journal News in the Lower Hudson
This letter came to my mailbox. It says quite a lot about how teaching–and the perception of teachers–has changed in the past decade. Dear Dr. Ravitch, Finally, I thought, someone has come forth to tell the truth about the state of education in the United States today. Reign of Error is such an important book. I have been urging everyone I know to read it now. As a retired New Haven, Connecticut h
Below is a letter from Leonie Haimson, who was previously added to the honor roll of this blog for fighting for students, parents, and public education. Leonie almost singlehandedly stopped the effort to mine student data, whose sponsors wanted confidential and identifiable information about every chid “for the children’s sake.” Leonie saw through that ruse and raised a national ruckus to fight f
Bruce Baker has written an important post about the inability of pundits (and journalists) to read NAEP data. Part of the misinterpretation is the fault of the National Assessment Governing Board, which supervises NAEP. It has a tight embargo on the scores, which are widely released to reporters. It holds a press conference, where board members and one or two carefully chosen outsiders characteri
Why a D.C. Charter School Teacher Resigned
Caleb Rossiter resigned as a math teacher at Friendship Public Charter School in D.C. He wrote an open letter to the Board of Trustees of the school explaining why. Here is a selection from his brutally frank letter. “I recently resigned from a position as a ninth grade Algebra 1 teacher at Technology Preparatory because of unremitting pressure from the administration to alter failing grades and
Why No Common Core at the School The Obamas Chose for Their Children?
This is a description of the philosophy of the lower school the Obamas chose for their children. Here is the academic program. No mention of the Common Core. Sounds like a wonderful school. Wouldn’t you want this for your child?
VAMBOOZLED: D.C. IMPACT Evaluation System Makes No Sense
A reader who teaches in the District of Columbia wrote to ask my advice. He couldn’t understand his evaluation based on the District’s complex IMPACT evaluation system. I sent it to a teacher evaluation expert, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley. She wrote a post trying to make sense of the evaluation report. Read it here.
YESTERDAY
New York Furor Over Common Core: Time to Hold the Regents Accountable
The New York Board of Regents has held hearings across the state. At all but one–in Brooklyn, which was dominated by StudentsFirst supporters, parents have spoken out against the botched implementation of Common Core and the testing. Parents assumed they were talking to a wall because they received the same non-responses at every meeting. And despite their outrage, Commissioner John King and Chair
Lee Fang: Obama Picks Prominent Privatizer for Key Role in Department of Education
Lee Fang is one of our most extraordinary investigative journalists. He is one of the few who has looked behind the rhetoric of the privatization movement that calls itself a “reform” movement. Unfortunately, the goal of “reform” is to dismantle the public sector and turn it over to entrepreneurs. In 2011, Fang wrote a blockbuster exposé about the online industry and its ties to politicians. In t
New York Legislators Call on State to Halt Invasions of Student Privacy
Leaders of the New York State legislature called on the State Education Department to put a halt to their plan to turn over confidential student information to inBloom, the controversial program funded by the Gates and Carnegie Foundation with technology supplied by Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generation. According to Gotham Schools: “Last week, Republican Senator John Flanagan introduced a bill t
EduShyster: 300 Million Ways to Support Excellence This Season
EduShyster has some fun with the crazy idea that Teach for America is a charity in need of your holiday gifts, your nickels and dimes and quarters.. She notes that TFA has an annual budget of $300 million plus; it also has a score of high-paid executives, and many hundreds of millions in assets. Let’s just say that this is not exactly like the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. Yet some of our natio
“Reign of Error” Honored by “The Nation”
The Nation magazine selected Reign of Error as the most valuable book of 2013, and named it to the magazine’s progressive honor roll for the year.
Plunderbund: Most Ohio Legislators Are Not Affected by the Mandates They Impose on Public Schools
Plunderbund is a blogger in Ohio whose mission is to speak truth to power. In this instance, he points out that Governor Kasich and the majority of the members of House Education Committee either have no children or send their children to non-public schools. Thus, they are quite willing to tie the public schools up in knots because it does not affect their own children. “Currently, students in Ohi
Tweed Insider: Where the Bloomberg Administration Went Wrong on Education
The following was written by an insider at the New York City Department of Education, who requests anonymity, for obvious reasons. “Bring This City To A Place Where Our Children Really Are Put First:” Implementing Mayor-elect de Blasio’s Education Platform in New York City The above quote by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio captures his commitment to addressing the growing opportunity and income div
DEC 19
Bloomberg on Dasani: “That’s Just the Way God Works”
Readers around the world read the New York Times’ front-page series about a homeless girl named Dasani, who was called “Invisible Child.” They learned about the deplorable conditions in the shelter where she was living in a single room with her parents and seven siblings. They learned about the rats, roaches, and mold; about inspectors who wrote reports that led to no action; they learned about ch
“Look at That, Pittsburgh! We Did It!”
Pennsylvania blogger Yinzercation explains the stunning victory of the education justice movement in Pittsburgh. Parents, educators, and community members organized, mobilized, and elected new members to the school board. The new board canceled a contract with TFA and reversed the closing of an elementary school. Santa came early in Pittsburgh
Camika Royal: Would I Join TFA If I Knew Then What I Know Now?
Camika Royal is an alumna of TFA and a critical friend. She knows what is wrong with TFA, but she is not sorry she joined. TFA helped to shape who she is today, even as she questions its efficacy and its boasting. What she does know for sure is that TFA does not address the structural inequities of American education. She has read the flurry of articles saying “don’t join TFA,” but she doesn’t ag
“Center for Union Facts” Slams Me: Schneider Blasts Back
Mercedes Schneider is a Wonder Woman of data. She teaches high school English in Louisiana, holds a Ph.D. in research methods, and writes lengthy, carefully documented articles when she is not teaching. I can’t wait to see her book, which will be published in 2014. When the so-called “Center for Union Facts” purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times to attack Randi Weingarten and teachers’ un
L.A. Teacher Breaks with Corporate Reformers
Lisa Alva Wood, a teacher in the Los Angeles public schools, belonged to an array of corporate reform groups. She belonged to Educators for Excellence and other corporate-sponsored groups. She participated in an E4E video, along with other teachers, supporting a group that promotes high-stakes testing, evaluation of teachers by test scores, charter schools, etc., all in the name of “civil rights”
College Students Form Group to Oppose TFA Recruitment
A reader submitted this comment about a new group formed to push back against Teach for America. Join Resist TFA and spread the word to end this cult. Stephanie Rivera at Rutgers University started this program and she’ll send the materials on request. Spread the word. I print them and leave the flyers in the libraries & on student bulletin boards. My students spread the info via social netw
Apple Picks “Reign of Error” as One of Best Books of 2013!
Just learned this from Victoria Wilson, my great editor at Knopf. “Reign of Error” was selected by Apple as one of the year’s best books in the category “Politics and Current Events”: Apple announced its 2013 Editorial Picks of the Year this morning. ONE SUMMER has been named Best in nonfiction for year and TENTH OF DECEMBER Best of the Year in fiction. iTunes.com/iBooksBestof2013 Additional Picks
Charters vs. Public Schools on NAEP 2013
For more than two decades, we have heard that charter schools will “save” poor kids from “failing public schools.” Most comparisons show that charter schools and public schools get about the same test scores if they serve the same demographics. When charter schools exclude English learners and students with severe disabilities and push out students with low test scores, or exclude students with be
Common Core: A Bonanza for Vendors
Education Week reports that 68% of districts plan to buy new instructional resources to meet the demands of Common Core. That is, some 7,600 districts plan to buy new materials. Most are planning to buy online resources, presumably to prepare for online testing. I wish some researchers would estimate the shift of resources to pay for the new stuff. As districts purchase more Common Core aligned ma
DEC 18
New School Board in Pittsburgh Cancels Contract with TFA
A newly elected school board in Pittsburgh voted to cancel a contract with Teach for America, reversing the vote of the previous school board, which planned to hire 30 TFA recruits. The motion passed with six affirmative votes; two opposed and an abstention. The outgoing board previously approved the contract, 6-3. This was remarkable because it is one of the few times–maybe the first time–that a
The NAEP for Urban Districts Was Released Today
You can view here the results for the NAEP for urban districts, known as TUDA, or Trial Urban District Assessments. Five districts volunteered to take the NAEP in 2002. Since then, the number has grown to 21 districts. Test scores have generally risen, though not in all districts and not at the same rate. Demographics affects the scores, not surprisingly. Watch for changes over time in the proport
The New York Times Editorializes on Teachers and PISA, with Multiple Errors
Once again, we are treated to a New York Times editorial on education that is a mix of good and bad. Bottom line: The Times blames teachers for the U.S. scores on PISA. And once again, the Times assumes that the scores of 15-year-olds on a standardized test predict the future of our economy, for which there is no evidence at all. On the good side, the Times recognizes that entry standards into tea
Steve Nelson: Education Isn’t Broken, Our Country Is
Some months ago, I added Steve Nelson to the honor roll of this blog because everything I read by this remarkable man made so much sense. He is the headmaster of the Calhoun School, a fine New York City private school. Yet he isn’t looking out for the self-interest of the private schools and their pupils, but for the good of American children and our society. In this article, Nelson surveys the me
Are Charter Schools Public Schools? UNO Charter Withholds Financial Information
Ben Joravsky, one of Chicago’s best writers on politics and education, describes here the refusal of the UNO charter chain to release financial information to the public. He writes: Mayor Rahm Emanuel keeps telling us that Chicago’s school system is too broke to adequately fund the schools it already has, but that hasn’t stopped him from gearing up to open as many as 21 new charter schools in the
New Mexico Chief Pushes Invalid Teacher Evaluation Method
Hanna Skandera was appointed state commissioner in New Mexico three years ago by Republican Governor Susannah Martinez but has never been confirmed by Democratic legislators. She has never been a teacher, but has worked in policy positions for Governor Jeb Bush and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (I knew her slightly when she worked at the conservative Hoover Institution as a research assistant.)
Registration Closed for Westchester Event on January 16, But….
I earlier announced that I would be speaking on the evening of January 16 at Fox Lane School in Bedford, New York, but registration closed at 650 people. FYI, in my experience, there are always no-shows. I have been to several events that were theoretically “sold out,” yet there were empty seats. So, I would encourage you to come to the event and take your chances. The event begins at 7:30 pm a
Mercedes Schneider Studies Pearson’s Tax Returns
In addition to holding a Ph.D. in research methods and teaching high school English in Louisiana, Mercedes Schneider has become infatuated with tax returns. She has discovered that corporate tax returns tell interesting and important tales. When she learned that the Attorney General of New York had fined the Pearson Foundation $7.7 million for becoming involved in the activities of its for-profit
“Governing” Magazine Recognizes the Power of This Blog LINK ADDED!
Mark Funkhouser, the director of the Governing Institute in Washington, D.C. and former mayor of Kansas City, wrote a terrific article recognizing how social media–specifically, this blog–is changing the national conversation about education. While Funkhouser focuses on the debate about Common Core, he acknowledges that the underlying issue goes to the heart of our democracy. Blogging and social m
Wisconsin: Republican Legislators Seek Dramatic Expansion of Charters
Wisconsin Republican legislators in the Assembly have introduced a proposal to open many more charters across the state, as well as to increase the number of authorizers of new charters. The new charters would take funding away from existing public schools and would be non-union. This legislation continues the radical assault on public education in Wisconsin and the extremist drive to privatize pu
DEC 17
Update from Indiana: Negotiations Underway
I posted a comment earlier from a reader in Indiana who said that the State Board of Education was set to strip State Commissioner of Education Glenda Ritz of the authority and powers of her office. Other readers from Indiana have contacted me to say that negotiations are underway between the board and State Commissioner Ritz to reach a reasonable settlement that does not destroy the powers of her
Indiana: Democracy on Trial This Week
Governor Mike Pence moves to strip the State Commissioner of Education Glenda Ritz of the powers of her office. She won more votes last year than Pence. From a reader: OUTRAGEOUS!!!! From the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education FB post: It looks as though the State Board is going to do the unthinkable this Friday. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE ALL WRITE LETTERS TO THEM NOW! The Indiana Sta
Yet Another Study Shows That Financial Incentives Don’t Work
This post reviews a study by Roland Fryer, Jr., in the peer-reviewed Journal of Labor Economics. Fryer analyzed the results of New York City’s merit pay program and found that it made no difference on several levels. “A randomized experiment, a gold standard in applied work of this kind, was implemented in more than 200 hundred NYC public schools. The schools decided on the specific incentive sch
New Book Demonstrates That Public Schools Outperform the Competition
Please read this article about an important new book by Christopher and Sarah Lubienski, scholars at the University of Illinois. Their book is The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools. The article contains an interview with Christopher Lubienski, in which he explains their “counterintuitive” findings. Here is a sampling: IDEAS: The thought of a “public school adva
HuffPost: How a For-Profit College Created Fake Jobs to Win Taxpayer $$$
Huffington Post has a startling expose of how a particular for-profit college paid employers to hire its graduates, but only temporarily. This was done to pad its job-placement numbers. This will please federal regulators and enable the college to say that its graduates are easily hired. What they don’t admit: They are soon laid off. Here is the story: Eric Parms enrolled at an Everest College cam
MIT Researchers: Higher Test Scores Do Not Translate into Higher Levels of Thinking
A new study by researchers at MIT, Harvard, and Brown cast doubt on the value of pursuing higher scores on standardized tests as an end in themselves. Since this has been the highest goal of federal policy since 2002, when No Child Left Behind was signed into law, the study raises questions about the billions spent on testing, test preparation, evaluating teachers and schools by test scores, firin
Please Join Me in Westchester County, New York, on January 16
Please join me at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York, on January 16 to discuss Common Core, testing, and other issues. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Wisconsin Researchers: Poverty Influences Brain Development in Children
A new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison concludes that poverty has an important negative effect on brain development among young children. “Poverty may have direct implications for important, early steps in the development of the brain, saddling children of low-income families with slower rates of growth in two key brain structures, according to researchers from the
European Scholars: PISA Rankings Are “Utterly Wrong” and “Meaningless”
Professor Svend Kreiner, a prominent statistician and psychometrician at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and Dr. Hugh Morrison of Queens University in Belfast have published studies blasting the reliability and validity of the PISA league tables. They describe PISA’s rankings as “useless,” “utterly wrong,” and “meaningless.” According to TES (London), “Professor Svend Kreiner, a statistic
DEC 16
Testing Expert Calls for Moratorium on Common Core Testing
Fred Smith, who worked for many years in the research department of the New York City Board of Education (back when it had a research department, not a public relations department), offered the following testimony at public hearings in New York City on the Common Core testing (he was limited to only two minutes to speak): My Two Minutes at the December 11, 2013 Forum in Manhattan – Spruce Street S
Wendy Lecker: CT Governor Dannell Malloy Can Tell It to the Judge
Wendy Lecker, a civil rights attorney in Connecticut, remembers when Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy was a champion for equitable funding. But no longer. He recently spoke at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and boasted about the success of his “reform” program. According to Lecker: At his AEI speech, Malloy shockingly dismissed the need to provide all childr
College Presidents Pan Obama Plan to Make College Affordable by Rating Them
A new Gallup poll shows that most college presidents don’t think much of President Obama’s plan to “make college more affordable” by rating them. The Obama plan relies on metrics to determine which colleges are best and most affordable and assumes that student consumers will use this information to make better choices. Somehow, this process is supposed to make college “more affordable,” although i
Missouri State Auditor May Investigate Commissioner of Education
A report from Missouri says the state auditor may launch an investigation of state Commissioner of Education Chris Nicasrto, who gave a contract to an Indianapolis firm that was not the low bidder. The firm is known for its love of privatization as a cure for big-city schools. Teachers unions, legislators, and the St. Louis branch of the NAACP have called for Nicastro’s resignation. The St. Louis
New York Regent Betty Rosa: State’s Program Designed to Create Failure
The New York Board of Regents is determined to pour unprecedented sums into more standards, more tests, and more tests and more standards. Two Regents have opposed this determined focus on standards and testing: Regent Betty Rosa of the Bronx and Regent Kathleen Cashin of Brooklyn. Interestingly, these are two of the few experienced educators on the state board. In this article, Regent Rosa blasts
Should New York Regents Privatize the State’s Research Function?
New York established a privately funded “Research Fellow” group to implement the Race to the Top agenda of Common Core implementation and testing. This group was funded by the Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the chair of the Regents, Merryl Tisch. “Two of the charities bankrolling a controversial $18 million education fellowship program also gave millions to a data company to which
Dasani: The New York Times Should Win a Pulitzer Prize for This Powerful Series
The New York Times just concluded a five-part series of articles about a beautiful 11-year-old girl named Dasani. It is called “Invisible Child.” The series was written by investigative journalist Andrea Elliott. She deserves a Pulitzer Prize for illuminating the life of this child and her family. Here is part 1. Dasani is homeless. She is one of eight children, who lives with her parents in a hom
EduShyster on KIPP, Padded Cells, and the Great Test Score Game
EduShyster notes the convergence of three happenings: 1. The New York Daily News breaks the story of KIPP’s “padded cell” for disruptive children. KIPP officials declare they will continue using the padded cell–actually, a closet with a window–as a “calming” space. 2. Simultaneously, the New York Times writes an editorial praising KIPP for its successful methods in educating black and Hispanic ch
North Carolina: Home Schools May Qualify for Vouchers
Lindsay Wagner of NC Policy Watch reports that North Carolina law may permit home schools to qualify for public funding. Nonpublic schools in North Carolina will have little or no supervision over their standards or academic performance. Wagner writes: “The school voucher program is intended for use at private schools only. But thanks to weak laws and a lack of capacity to ensure compliance, any
DEC 15
Advice from Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Lincoln: “If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.” Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education.” My thought: Do we have the courage, the intelligence, the integrity, and the fortitude to change our vision for educa
What Happens to Kids Who Don’t Graduate?
In Kentucky and New York, the Common Core tests caused test scores to tumble by 30 points or more. State officials assume–with no evidence–that the scores will go up every year. What if they don’t? What if they go up only by a small increment? What if 50-60% of students don’t pass? In New York, the “passing” rate on the Common Core tests was 30% statewide. Only 3% of English learners passed, and
Guess Who Worked at McDonald’s?
Remember the D.C. Whistleblower? Adell Cothorne was the new principal at a highly-touted elementary school where test scores had gone up and off, off the charts. She said she walked in on a grade-erasure session, where staff members were changing student answers from wrong to right. When she blew the whistle on what she learned, she became a pariah and nearly lost her career. For a time, she ran a
What Happens When Educators Make Their Own Documentary?
In 2011, Rocky Killion, the superintendent of schools in West Lafayette, Indiana, had an idea: What if we made our own documentary about the schools? What if we became our own production crew? What if we traveled the country and interviewed experts with our questions? They did it, and the film premiered in Lafayette to an enthusiastic audience of 1,000 people. The tile of the film is “Rise Above t
A Reader: Our Plight and the Fight Ahead
Reader Sharon Sanders posted this comment: The intentional destruction of our economy and educational system has been perpetrated by libertarians, right-wing and religious extremists, as well as corporatists, who want every last penny for themselves and their doctrines through private prisons, charter schools, private armies, a biased corporate media– everything, while they ship our factories an
I Love This Review of “Reign of Error”!
Patrick Walsh teaches in a public school in Harlem. He reviewed “Reign of Error” here. I love this review! He writes: “As I write, historian Diane Ravitch is simultaneously the most feared and revered figure in American education. To the corporate education reformers, a group Ravitch has come to identify as privatizers of our public schools, she is a colossal and authoritative thorn in the side.
DEC 14
New York Times on Gifted Students
The New York Times has a predictable editorial about gifted students, referring to PISA scores as evidence of failure and complaining that educators are not nurturing the talents of the best and brightest students. What is notable about the editorial is what is missing: 1. Little to nothing about budget cuts that have devastated most state and district education budgets in recent years. 2. Little
My Interview on CNN with Christine Romans
This is a wide-ranging interview with Christine Romans on CNN. Romans has two school-age children, and I think she gets it. It only takes about 3 minutes, and we cover a lot of ground. I say things that are obvious and common sense but seldom heard on mainstream television.
Why Is Exxon Mobil So Aggressive in Promoting Common Core?
It has become clear that the nation’s biggest corporations are avid supporters of the Common Core State Standards. None has been more aggressive in supporting Common Core than Exxon Mobil. Although normally you would expect to see ads from this company promoting the virtue of their products, they have invested large sums in promoting Common Core on television, YouTube, and news print. In this disc
Indiana: Public Schools Show Stronger Performance than Charter Schools or Voucher Schools
At some point the PR bubble will burst, and the public will realize that school choice solves no problems and that charters and vouchers perform no better and often worse than regular public schools. Blogger Steve Hinnefeld analyzed Indiana’s growth scores and found that public schools usually showed greater gains than charters or religious schools. Hinnefeld writes: “You can download 2012-13 g
USA Today: U.S. Has a Poverty Crisis, Not a Schools Crisis
Believe it or not, USA Today published a powerful article by Oliver Thomas, a member of its Board of Contributors, acknowledging that the latest PISA rankings reflect the crisis of poverty in the United States. Our Students in low-poverty schools are doing fine; some analyses place them at the very top. But the more poverty, the lower the test scores. He writes: “As researchers Michael Rebell an
EduShyster: What Happened to Free-Market Schooling in Sweden
EduShyster has written a hilarious and accurate description of Sweden’s love affair with privatization. School choice advocates swooned over the Swedish model. But something very bad happened on the Road to Utopia. Read her post and learn from it.
Crushing Labor Unions and the Middle Class: Is This the American Way?
A recent article by business columnist Eduardo Porter in the “New York Times” was titled “Americanized Labor Policy Is Spreading in Europe.” This is what the “Americanization of labor policy” means: “In 2008, 1.9 million Portuguese workers in the private sector were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Last year, the number was down to 300,000. “Spain has eased restrictions on collective l
Paul Horton Writes a Letter to the Chicago Tribune
Paul Horton, a history teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School, wrote this letter to the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune: Dear Tribune Editorial Board, You will have us all (teachers) drinking Hemlock very soon with the absurd editorials on Education that you publish. You should interview Nobel Laureate Gary Becker. He spoke for our students yesterday, and he fully supports all of y
Cody: Is the Common Core the Rosetta Stone of Corporate Reform?
Anthony Cody, in a brilliant column, asks whether Common Core will be the Rosetta Stone of Corporate reform. The Rosetta Stone, he explains, made it possible to decipher ancient languages: ” In the year 1799, a French soldier discovered an ancient stone in Egypt that had been inscribed with a royal proclamation in the year 196 BC, in three languages; Ancient Greek, Demotic, and Ancient Egyptian
Mother Jones: Where Does the Gates Foundation Invest Its Billions?
Alex Park and Jaeah Lee wrote an article in “Mother Jones” detailing what they call the Gates Foundation’s “hypocritical investments.” While professing concern for children’s health, they are heavily invested in companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. It also has a major investment in Walmart, as well as smaller sums in privately managed prisons. While professing concern about climate change, G