Yesterday, the Blog Readership Broke a Record
Yesterday, the blog recorded 69,817 page views. This was a record for the blog. The single most-read blog was the breaking news from Indiana, alerting readers that Governor Pence was trying again to strip the powers of Glenda Ritz. Over 30,000 people read that entry. Information is power. Stay informed.
Burris: Néw York’s Old Standards Better than Common Core
Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Rockville Center, NY, has read the Common Core standards. The 2005 Néw York standards, she concluded, were superior. Parents and educators are outraged. Does State Commussioner John King care? Burris writes: “”Hit the delay button.” That was the message New York’s senators sent to state Education Commissioner John King during last week’s heari
Matt Di Carlo: New Data Show High Teacher Attrition in DC
Matthew Di Carlo of the Shanker Institute reports a new study of teacher attrition in the District of Columbia. The numbers of teachers leaving the district are startling. Whether it is working conditions or policy, the District is not a good place to work. DCPS has an attrition rate of 25%, far above the national average. But it is far higher in the highest-poverty schools, as much as 40%. Di
Teacher: Indiana Punishes Struggling Schools Instead of Helping Them
If you saw a person drowning, would you throw him a life preserver or would you tell him to swim harder? Or perhaps withdraw the lifeline that he was clinging to? If you saw a visually impaired person trying to cross a busy street, would you help her or would you tell her she is on her own? Or, to make things worse, take away her cane? This Indiana teacher responded to another reader to explain ho
Debate about Cost of Pre-K Grows in NY
Elected officials in NY are debating the cost of universal pre-K. It was a central plank in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign. He won in a landslide. He wants to pay for it by a tiny tax increase on incomes over $500,000. This would add about $1,000 a year in new taxes, less than dinner for 2 at Per Se or other high-end restaurants of 1%. Yet the pushback and debate about cost continues. See here.
New Study: Cami Anderson’s “One Newark” Will Not Create One Newark
Cami Anderson, appointed by the Christie administration as superintendent of Newark, New Jersey, has a plan called “One Newark.” Newark has been under state control since 1995. Oddly enough, Anderson’s plan is not about “One Newark.” “One Newark” would be a plan to unify the schools, the students, the families, and the community into a single purpose: educating the young. But “One Newark” is about
Welner Writes a Message to the President: Are We Serious About Reducing Inequality?
Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, wrote the following: Poverty and the Education Opportunity Gap: Will the SOTU Step Up? Tuesday’s State of the Union address will apparently focus on issues of wealth inequality in the United States. The impact of poverty is extremely important for issues such as housing, nutrition, health a
Jason Stanford: Why Is Duncan Asking Pearson for Advice?
Jason Stanford, a Texas journalist, is appalled that President Obama and Arne Duncan met with Pearson to get advice about how to prepare low-income students for college. The White House refers to Pearson as “the world’s leading learning company,” instead of the world’s largest testing company. What advice do you think Pearson offered? Stanford bets: more testing, better testing. He notes that Texa
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-26-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Defending the Early Years Against Adult DemandsAre you concerned about current efforts to force academic standards onto little children? Are you concerned about the movement to stamp out play? Do you think that little children should experience childhood before they are subjected to the academic treadmill? Do you think that school