NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:
Who Decides What is Taught in Our Schools? | Anthony Cody – Living in Dialogue
Rhee: America Is Failing Its Kids: We Need Common Core | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Washington state judge draws key distinction between charter, traditional public schools | The Answer Sheet
NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education
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By Anthony Cody on December 13, 2013 1:35 PM The fundamental question that has been presented to all of us through the Common Core process is this one: Who decides what is taught in our schools? I first started thinking seriously about national education policy when No Child Left Behind became law, and my school was ...read moreThe post Who Decides What is Taught in Our Schools? | Anthony Cody – Living in Dialogue appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
Michelle Rhee argues that the PISA scores prove that America is failing its kids. She believes that the way to get higher test scores for all is higher standards, more tests, more rigor. She also promotes charters, vouchers, merit pay, and evaluation of teachers based on student test scores. Rhee has a close personal association ...read moreThe post Rhee: America Is Failing Its Kids: We Need Common Core | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 13 at 2:10 pm A Washington state judge just ruled that part of the state’s new charter school law is constitutional and part of it isn’t. The most interesting part of the decision isn’t which is which, but why there is a distinction in the first place. The case on which ...read moreThe post Washington state judge draws key distinction between charter, traditional public schools | The Answer Sheet appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
YESTERDAY
Charter schools propose big expansion | catalyst-chicago.org
Noble Street Charter School Network is asking Chicago Public Schools to give them the green light to open 11 campuses over the next five years and to allow their enrollment to grow to 18,000 students, eventually serving a fifth of all high school students in CPS. This is one of nine proposals—which, if all were ...read moreThe post Charter schools propose big expansion | catalyst-chicago.org appea
Keystone exams fail Pa. students | philly.com
By Andy Dinniman Though controversial, I believe the new Pennsylvania Core Standards (Common Core) are a positive step for education. However, in the false name of raising academic standards and accountability, the Corbett administration is attempting to assess these new standards through the Keystone Graduation Exams, which will result in higher property taxes, less classroom ...read moreThe post
Mike Huckabee walks back his support for Common Core | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 13 at 12:20 pm Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has now put himself on the list of potential Republican candidates for president in 2016, which explains, perhaps, why he is backing off his once outspoken support of the Common Core State Standards initiative — even while insisting that his original backing made ...read moreThe post Mike Huckabee walks back his sup
Superior Court judge says charter schools unconstitutional | www.kirotv.com
A King County Superior Court Judge has found that provisions of the state’s voter-approved charter school law violate the state Constitution. King County Judge Jean Rietschel found that a charter school can’t be defined as a “common school” because it’s not under the control of voters in a school district. Under the state Constitution, schools ...read moreThe post Superior Court judge says charter
Contract reflects ed-reform group’s rise to power in Philly | Philadelphia City Paper
When Mayor Michael Nutter appointed Sylvia Simms to the School Reform Commission (SRC) in January, he lauded her as a “community leader, parent, former School District employee and graduate” who “understands from a grass-roots level how important it is to educate our children.” What wasn’t disclosed was that the organization she founded, Parent Power, had ...read moreThe post Contract reflects ed-
Students opt out of taking end of course exam | Albuquerque News
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Less than 50 Albuquerque Public Schools students opted out of their end-of-course exams despite APS board member and parent Kathy Korte asking them to do so. Korte, who sent letters to parents in early December, said that end-of-course exams have no use for students but are only used to evaluate teachers. She didn’t ...read moreThe post Students opt out of taking end of course e
Even when test scores go up, some cognitive abilities don’t | MIT News Office
To evaluate school quality, states require students to take standardized tests; in many cases, passing those tests is necessary to receive a high-school diploma. These high-stakes tests have also been shown to predict students’ future educational attainment and adult employment and income. Such tests are designed to measure the knowledge and skills that students have ...read moreThe post Even when
Rightwing Group Attacks Unions in “New York Times” | Diane Ravitch’s blog
A few days ago, a little-known group called the Center for Union Facts published a full-page ad in the New York Times blaming Randi Weingarten, the AFT, and teachers’ unions en bloc for the mediocre performance of the United States on PISA. The “center” says that the unions oppose merit pay, and that’s why the ...read moreThe post Rightwing Group Attacks Unions in “New York Times” | Diane Ravitch’
Racial Disparities in NY State Aid Shorftalls | School Finance 101
Posted on December 13, 2013 0 Yesterday, Ed Law Prof Blog posted an update about the Office of Civil Rights complaint to be filed by Schenectady School District claiming that shortfalls in New York State aid fall disparately by student race. I’ve reported on numerous occasions on this blog the patterns of disparity in New ...read moreThe post Racial Disparities in NY State Aid Shorftalls | School
Paul Krugman Cuts Through the BS on Education Spending | Schools Matter
“What has been cut? It’s a complex picture, but the most obvious cuts have been in education, infrastructure, research, and conservation. While the Recovery Act (the Obama stimulus) was in effect, the federal government provided significant aid to state and local education. Then the aid went away, and local governments began letting go of hundreds of thousands ...read moreThe post Paul Krugman Cut
Schools Use Web Tools, and Data Is Seen at Risk | NYTimes.com
By NATASHA SINGER Published: December 12, 2013 Public schools around the country are adopting web-based services that collect and analyze personal details about students without adequately safeguarding the information from potential misuse by service providers, according to new research. A study, which is expected to be released on Friday, by the Center on Law and ...read moreThe post Schools Use
The most heartbreaking speech at last night’s Common Core forum by Lorri Gumanow | NYC Public School Parents
There were lots of great speeches last night at the Manhattan Regents forum with Chancellor Tisch and Commissioner King at the Spruce St. School. Wonderful and eloquent comments from teachers, principals, and parents, including Manhattan CEC leaders Shino Tanikawa, Noah Gotbaum, Tory Frye and Sonja Jones. But here is a magnificent speech that made many ...read moreThe post The most heartbreaking
Breaking News: Pearson Foundation Fined Millions for Violating Laws | Diane Ravitch’s blog
New York state’s attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman won an agreement from the Pearson Foundation to pay $7.7 million in fines for using its charitable activities to advance its corporation’s profit-making arm. According to the story by Javier Hernandez in the New York Times, “An inquiry by Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York State attorney ...read moreThe post Breaking News: Pearson Foundation F
How U.S. schools misteach history of racial segregation | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 13 at 6:00 am Here’s an important post by Richard Rothstein about how the United States fails to face up to its racial history — in and out of schools — an issue underscored by the late Nelson Mandela’s insistence that reconciliation in South Africa be underpinned by truth-telling about the ...read moreThe post How U.S. schools misteach history of racial segregation |
Reduce standardized testing, protect student data: NY Senate panel | NY Daily News
BY BEN CHAPMAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013, 1:57 AM Children demonstrate against excessive standardized state testing. A New York State Senate panel has suggested a ban on standardized tests for kids through second grade. New York should reduce the role of standardized testing, bolster protections of student data privacy and ...read moreThe post Reduce standardized testing, pro
Our Hero, Bruce Baker | Diane Ravitch’s blog
In the world of education research, few scholars have been as forthright and reliable as Bruce Baker of Rutgers. Whenever a study is published that makes miraculous claims, we can count on Bruce to put it under the microscope and see what was left out. Bruce has taught in high schools and understands that teaching ...read moreThe post Our Hero, Bruce Baker | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first on
DEC 12
Charter schools not a smart investment for S.C. | The State
BY PAUL THOMAS Guest Columnist December 12, 2013 COLUMBIA, SC — A new report calling for South Carolina to increase the state’s investment in charter schools comes as the state still is struggling to recover from the economic downturn and continues to invest heavily in education reform driven by new standards and high-stakes testing. Before ...read moreThe post Charter schools not a smart investme
Tom Loveless on Shanghai: The Scores Are Rigged, and OECD Doesn’t Care | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution calls on the OECD and PISA to stop permitting China to present data that does not represent the full population of students. For one thing, only Shanghai is tested–and Shanghai is not representative of China. Loveless writes that Shanghai’s #1 ranking on all subjects is misleading because it excludes the ...read moreThe post Tom Loveless on Shanghai: The S
Poll finds concern over sharing students’ data | Times Union
The vast majority of school board members oppose the state Education Department’s plan to turn over student data to a private third-party firm, according to survey results released Wednesday by the New York State School Boards Association. Seventy-five percent of those board members surveyed said they did not support sending student data to inBloom, the ...read moreThe post Poll finds concern over
Charter elementary school in New York will keep makeshift padded cell | NY Daily News
The tot cell stays. Officials at an uptown New York charter school on Wednesday refused to back down from their controversial use of a padded cell to confine problem students after a Daily News investigation exposed the practice Tuesday. Two young boys, 5 and 7, were repeatedly detained in the tiny, so-called “calm-down room” at ...read moreThe post Charter elementary school in New York will keep
Teach for America coming to Buffalo | The Buffalo News
By Sandra Tan | News Staff Reporter on December 11, 2013 – 11:43 PM, updated December 12, 2013 at 2:29 AM Teach for America is coming to the Buffalo School District after a two-year lobbying effort. The Buffalo School Board voted, 6-2, Wednesday night to approve the program, which will result in the hiring of ...read moreThe post Teach for America coming to Buffalo | The Buffalo News appeared firs
Connecticut school superintendents take unprecedented action against Commissioner Pryor | Wait What?
The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), a one hundred and six-year-old association made up of the key local school administrators from across Connecticut, is taking the unprecedented step of issuing a formal letter of concern or complaint to Stefan Pryor, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education. The letter was initially developed by the CAPSS ...read moreThe post
Charter Founder in Ohio Makes Large Political Contributions, Gets Rich | Diane Ravitch’s blog
The blogger Plunderbund here documents the conditions in which certain major charter operators in Ohio become financially very successful. In this instance, he tells the story of William Lager, founder of ECOT (the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow), who has generously donated $1.3 million to the Ohio Republican Party in the last decade. His generosity has ...read moreThe post Charter Founder in Oh
When Common Core Is Viewed as “Just War”- The NY State Ed Dept’s Politics of Cynicism | With A Brooklyn Accent
After seeing NY State Regents Chair Merryl Tisch in action at the Bronx Common Core Forum without Commissioner King present, I am convinced the Regents are approaching the transition to Common Core as a “just war” in which they are willing to accept a very high number of casualties. The only way to stop them, ...read moreThe post When Common Core Is Viewed as “Just War”- The NY State Ed Dept’s Po
Brookings Researcher Exposes Human Rights Violation Under Shanghai PISA Scores | janresseger
Posted on December 12, 2013 by janresseger For two weeks now when the conversation lags at dinner, my husband has been asking, “Has anyone shown yet why the sponsors of the PISA test let China report the scores of particular schools and children in Shanghai as though they represent all the schools and children of ...read moreThe post Brookings Researcher Exposes Human Rights Violation Under Shangh
KIPP’s child abuse for other people’s children | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog
Since their start in Houston in 1994, KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter schools have been the most celebrated of the No Excuses schools. But reports that a KIPP charter school in N.Y. is locking children in a padded cell in order to “calm them down” are just the latest example of the charter chain’s ...read moreThe post KIPP’s child abuse for other people’s children | Mike Klonsky’s SmallT
ACLU Sues Michigan Over Poor Educational Outcomes | Alternet
December 12, 2013 | The research is irrefutable: Children who don’t learn to read proficiently by the third grade face nearly insurmountable challenges not only in their next decade of schooling but also into their adult lives. The mounting evidence clearly linking the ability to read well in the early grades to future success has, ...read moreThe post ACLU Sues Michigan Over Poor Educational Out
A Standard Curriculum Won’t Erase Gaps | Bridging Differences – Education Week
By Deborah Meier on December 12, 2013 11:01 AM Deborah Meier’s conversation with Robert Pondiscio continues today. Dear Robert, Democracy is not easy or maybe even possible to mandate—as the story of many a so-called democracy should remind us. So, too, for schools that prepare us for democracy. Re. Ravitch and Meier. Diane’s call for ...read moreThe post A Standard Curriculum Won’t Erase Gaps |
Are MOOCs already over? | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 12 at 11:08 am Are MOOCs already over? It may seem like an odd question given that the Massive Open Online Courses have been touted as the future of higher education, and that it seems like just yesterday that the country’s major universities were rushing to create courses to grab their ...read moreThe post Are MOOCs already over? | The Answer Sheet appeared first on NP
Anti-union, Nonprofit Shill Attacks AFT | deutsch29
December 12, 2013 On December 10, 2013, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) (don’t believe the name) sponsored a full-page ad in the New York Times attributing the “high school slip in global rankings” to a single issue: The failure of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten to promote merit pay for teachers. The ad reads, ...read moreThe post Anti-union, Nonprofit Shill Attacks AF
DEC 11
Common Core forums last night in the Bronx and Brooklyn: what a difference! | NYC Public School Parents
Last night in the Bronx, only about 50-75 people showed up at the Regents Forum at Evander Childs HS. The borough president, Ruben Diaz Jr., who started off the evening, was clearly furious at the poor attendance and blamed it on the fact that NYSED officials had given only one week’s notice. It was a ...read moreThe post Common Core forums last night in the Bronx and Brooklyn: what a difference!
Cloudy with a Chance of Swedish Meatballs | EduShyster
Pack your bags, reader, and prepare to stow your winebox in the overhead compartment. We’re headed on an adventure of the international variety. Our destination: Sweden—the nation that brought us free love, ready-to-assemble furniture and aquavit—is also home to a 30-year-experiment with skola privatisering, or as we call it, excellence enhancement through the magic of the market. ...read moreThe
NY Daily News: KIPP in NYC Has “Padded Room” for Disobedient Students | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Rachel Monahan and Ben Chapman of the New York Daily News (whose editorial board strongly supports charter schools) report that the KIPP Star School in Washington Heights (upper Manhattan) has a tiny padded room where students are sent to “calm down.” According to the story: A tiny padded room at KIPP Star Washington Heights Elementary ...read moreThe post NY Daily News: KIPP in NYC Has “Padded Ro
Too Few Answers | Yinzercation
Right now in the debate over whether Pittsburgh ought to sign a contract with Teach for America, “TFA” stands for Too Few Answers. Two weeks ago I posted six questions that our school board ought to be asking before it agrees to any deal with the organization. [See “Six Questions for Teach for America”] That ...read moreThe post Too Few Answers | Yinzercation appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
Florida Charter school, get your kid FCAT tutoring or we will kick them out!
From the Cornerstone Charter Academy in Orlando Florida. So much for being public schools. via Chris Guerrieri’s Education Matters: Florida Charter school, get your kid FCAT tutoring or we will kick them out!.The post Florida Charter school, get your kid FCAT tutoring or we will kick them out! appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
Intimidation & Harassment From Montclair’s Reformy BOE | Jersey Jazzman
UPDATE: OK, I was over the top on that first graph; the Stasi were obviously much worse than the Montclair BOE. Changing… If you are interested in repressing the free expression rights of your fellow citizens, may I suggest sending your resume to the Montclair, NJ Board of Education? Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union ...read moreThe post Intimidation & Harassment From Montclair’s
A ‘Day of Action’ to protest school closings | MSNBC
By Trymaine Lee CHICAGO— A couple hundred parents, students, and teachers braved the frigid night air on Monday to deliver their holiday wish list to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Pat Quinn: stop school closings, end the privatization of neighborhood public schools, and eliminate mayoral control of the school board. The protesters marched from City ...read moreThe post A ‘Day of Action’ to prote
Ohioans Join National Day of Action for Public Schools | Public News Service
December 10, 2013 COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dozens braved the freezing temperatures Monday outside the Statehouse to urge lawmakers to do more to support public schools. Becky Higgins, president of the Ohio Education Association, says educators, parents, labor and faith leaders joined together to highlight the ways they say Gov. John Kasich has failed to fund ...read moreThe post Ohioans Join National Day
Hundreds blast Christie and Superintendent Anderson during rally for Newark schools | NJ.com
By Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger NEWARK — Carrying signs declaring “Cami Must Go” and chanting “Stand up, fight back,” Newark students, teachers, union officials and community members took to the streets yesterday to make their case for local control and increased funding for the state’s largest school district. Some 200 advocates marched to the Newark Public ...read moreThe post Hundreds blast Ch
Advocates rally in support of public education | WRVO Public Media
By Ellen Abbott Advocates for public education are calling for changes in education that will give every child in New York state access to high-quality public education. The message was made clear during a national Day of Action organized by unions, community groups and schools across the nation and New York yesterday. Supporters of public ...read moreThe post Advocates rally in support of public
Demonstrators seek more education funds from state | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh teachers, parents and community members were among demonstrators in one of 60 rallies nationwide for what the American Federation of Teachers called a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. More than 100 people listened to speakers, chanted slogans such as “Tom Corbett’s got ...read moreThe post Demonstrators seek mo
Day Of Action Reveals Widespread Anger With Current Education Policies | Jeff Bryant
“We have to fight for our children’s education.” Those words, from Philadelphia parent Kia Hinton, crystalized a national sentiment expressed during a Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education held on December 9 in over 100 sites across the country. The multiple events – held from Maine to San Francisco, New Orleans ...read moreThe post Day Of Action Reveals Widespread Anger With Cu
NPE News Briefs Podcast: Mark Miller Discusses the Importance of Local School Boards
Mark Miller, a member of the Centennial School Board in eastern Pennsylvania is on the Board of Directors of the Network for Public Education. Mark came to the NPE Board of Directors in August and brings to the organization experience as an elected official who knows firsthand the responsibility of a local school board. Mark ...read moreThe post NPE News Briefs Podcast: Mark Miller Discusses the I
Kansas Withdraws from Smarter Balanced | Truth in American Education
The Kansas State Board of Education voted 8-2 to withdraw from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium opting to commission the University of Kansas to develop a new test instead. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: Kansas withdrew Tuesday from a federally funded, state-led initiative to develop tests aligned to the controversial Common Core mathematics and English standards, ...read moreThe po
A Parent Reports on John King’s Stacked Forum in Brooklyn | Diane Ravitch’s blog
New York Commissioner John King held his first meeting in New York City on the rushed implementation of the Common Core and the tests whose cut score was set so high that only 31% of students across the state passed. Among English learners, only 3% passed. Among students with disabilities, only 5% passed. The pass ...read moreThe post A Parent Reports on John King’s Stacked Forum in Brooklyn | Dia
Indiana Governor Pence puts new emphasis on charter schools in education agenda | The Courier-Journal
Written by Lesley Weidenbener Gov. Mike Pence shakes hands with a student after a speech in Corydon about his education agenda for 2014. Photo by Jesse Wilson, TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — Republican Gov. Mike Pence proposed a renewed emphasis on charter schools Tuesday, saying the state should supplement salaries for their teachers and make unused buildings available ...read moreThe post
Practice meets Policy : Let’s Build a Waiver Loophole | Stories from School
By Tom Twelve years ago, George Bush signed “No Child Left Behind” into law. Among other things, the law requires that by the end of this school year every student in America has to meet standard. That level of success will never happen, of course, not even in Finland, but no one has bothered to ...read moreThe post Practice meets Policy : Let’s Build a Waiver Loophole | Stories from School appear
N.C. Christian School Rejects Vouchers After Discrimination Fight | Americans United
Dec 11, 2013 by Sarah Jones A North Carolina private school will refuse voucher money after a public outcry over its anti-gay policies. Myrtle Grove Christian School had been approved to receive funds through the state’s new “Opportunity Scholarship” program, but under its ‘Biblical morality policy,’ it refuses admission to LGBT students and even the ...read moreThe post N.C. Christian School Reje
Pasi Sahlberg Explains Finnish Philosophy of Education to Rhode Island Policymakers | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Rhode Island won a Race to the Top grant, so of course the state is obsessed with competition, accountability, and high-stakes evaluations of students, teachers, principals, and schools. Fortunately, the great Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg was invited by the University of Rhode Island to describe an alternate universe where entering teachers meet the highest standards, ...read moreThe post Pasi S
Thanks to StudentsFirst, John King Gets a Friendly Forum in New York | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Commissioner John King finally got a friendly forum about Common Core. At the only hearing in Brooklyn, a borough in New York City with four million residents, every speaker but one praised Common Core and many accused its critics of racism. Reports from those on the scene (directly to me) as well as in the ...read moreThe post Thanks to StudentsFirst, John King Gets a Friendly Forum in New York |
Testifying at John King’s Common Core Forum in Brooklyn 12/10/13 | Critical Classrooms, Critical Kids
NYSED Commissioner John King and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch brought their Common Core “listening” tour to New York City last night. Tisch was stationed in the Bronx while John King attended the Brooklyn forum at Medgar Evers College. Tonight (12/11/13) the two will appear together at Spruce Street School/P.S. 397 (12 Spruce Street) ...read moreThe post Testifying at John King’s Comm
The 10 school districts with the most charter school students | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 11 at 4:00 am A new report on charter schools says that charter school enrollment around the country has grown 80 percent over the past five years — but represents only 5 percent of total public school enrollment (a statistic that may seem surprising given all of the attention that school reformers ...read moreThe post The 10 school districts with the most charter scho