NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:
NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education
Who’s Smarter Than Texans: Math and Science Test Scores Compared to the World and Nation | Cloaking Inequity
Are U.S. students really as horrible in math and science as the media would have us to believe? How do “reform” oriented states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana stack up against other nations across the world? Other U.S. states? While perfect apples to apples comparisons between U.S. states and international education data do not exist, ...read moreThe post Who’s Smarter Than Texans: Math and Sci
Creationism in Texas public schools: Undermining the charter movement | Slate
An investigation into charter schools’ dishonest and unconstitutional science, history, and “values” lessons. By Zack Kopplin When public-school students enrolled in Texas’ largest charter program open their biology workbooks, they will read that the fossil record is “sketchy.” That evolution is “dogma” and an “unproved theory” with no experimental basis. They will be told that ...read moreThe pos
Despite next week’s sham hearings, new CPS charters a done deal | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog
This morning I received this email from my former fellow Prosser coach, Jeff Bates. Mike, What do you think? I’m sure you are aware of the RFPs for Intrinsic and Noble Charter Schools being considered by CPS at the upcoming Board meeting on January 22nd. Jeff Bates pics On January 6th the demolition fences were ...read moreThe post Despite next week’s sham hearings, new CPS charters a done deal |
Will California Use Common Core Tests as a High School Exit Exam? – Living in Dialogue – Education Week Teacher
By Anthony Cody on January 17, 2014 12:03 PM Last week, California’s state superintendent of education Tom Torlakson casually mentioned something that could have huge implications for students and teachers. At a meeting Torlakson held with parents and teachers, the Sacramento Bee reports, “Torlakson said his department is interested in embedding the California High School ...read moreThe post Will
EduShyster: Broken Windows, No Excuses! | Diane Ravitch’s blog
EduShyster commends President Obama and Secretary Duncan for their new initiative to lower the practice of suspending students, especially minority students, from school. But she wonders about the double standard in which “no excuses” charter schools have sky-high suspension rates and win commendations from the Obama administration for having high expectations. In New Orleans, two ...read moreThe
The Policy Implications of Market-Driven Education Research in 2013 @ THE CHALK FACE
BY JOHN THOMPSON My previous posts regarding Matt DiCarlo’s commentary on 2013 research, “The Year in Research on Market-Based Education Reforms: 2013,” can be found here, here, and here. My entire tirade comes down to two arcane points. I would not bother with them if teachers, unions, and students were not being damaged by market-driven ...read moreThe post The Policy Implications of Market-Driv
TFA’s Mighty Ambitions | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Teach for America has created a spin-off called Leaders for Educational Excellence that quietly trains and supports the ambitions of former TFA and their ascent to positions of power. Teach for America, through LEE, hopes to take charge of the reins of power in many districts, states, and the halls of Congress. TFA, of course, ...read moreThe post TFA’s Mighty Ambitions | Diane Ravitch’s blog appe
Those aren’t guinea pigs; those are our children! | Wait What?
Alternatively known as we don’t need no stinkin learning… we need more standardized testing! As an increasing number of parents, teachers, school boards and citizens are learning, the message from Governor Malloy, Commissioner Stefan Pryor and their corporate education reform industry allies is clear and concise. Connecticut needs more standardized testing to ensure that our ...read moreThe post
Why it Will Be Mainstream Republicans – And Not the Tea Party – Who Will Sink Common Core | Scathing Purple Musings
It was easy for everyone to dismiss the early opposition to Common Core Standards as crack-pot tea party stuff when it came from Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck. To be sure, the references to communism were over-the-top, but the arguments based on concerns regarding federal control and data sharing still have merit. The early surge ...read moreThe post Why it Will Be Mainstream Republicans – And No
Maryland schools need $100 million for online Common Core tests, says report | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS January 17 at 9:33 am A new report from Maryland’s Education Department to the legislature says that the vast majority of schools in many of the state’s counties are not technologically prepared to give new online Common Core-aligned standardized tests and that at least $100 million will have to be spent by ...read moreThe post Maryland schools need $100 million for online Commo
Why Outsourcing to For-Profit Enterprises is Bad Public Policy | Diane Ravitch’s blog
An organization called “In the Public Interest” keeps tabs on the scams that private entrepreneurs foist on the public sector, often in collusion with public officials who contract out important public services. This report documents the coast-to-coast failure of handing public sector activities over to for-profit enterprises. Outsourcing promises savings that never materialize. Instead, “too ...r
Landlords for 2 proposed Chicago charter schools have ties to Emanuel | Chicago Sun-Times
Two people with ties to Mayor Rahm Emanuel could be among those to benefit from new, publicly financed charter schools up for approval next week by Chicago Public Schools officials. A South Side minister allied with the mayor and a real estate broker who is an Emanuel friend could end up as landlords for new ...read moreThe post Landlords for 2 proposed Chicago charter schools have ties to Emanuel
Teacher Effect v. Measurable Teacher “Value”: Some Clarifications | @ THE CHALK FACE
PLTHOMASEDD At Peter DeWitt’s Finding Common Ground blog, Angel L. Cintron Jr. offers a guest post, Poverty & Education: Meaningful Discussions or Misguided Diatribes?, confronting the often contentious debate about teacher effect, poverty, and student learning. Cintron offers two points, which he then examines: The proponents of the “poverty is not an excuse” motto are correct in stating ...r
Do You Know What ‘The Procedure’ Is? | Alternet
By Marion Brady In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, high-profile education reformer Lou Gerstner, Jr., wrote, “We must start with the recognition that, despite decade after decade of reform efforts, our public K- 12 schools have not improved.” In a speech to the American Federation of Teachers, multi-billionaire Bill Gates agreed, saying the United States ...read moreThe post Do You Know What ‘The Pro
Steve Nelson Predicts What 2014 Holds for Education Reformers | Diane Ravitch’s blog
EduShyster, move over! Here comes someone writing in the same vein, though to be accurate, nobody tops EduShyster. Here is Steve Nelson with a hilarious account of the events that are in store for corporate reform. No one is spared! It is a month-by-month account. Here is his prediction for July: “In an otherwise slow ...read moreThe post Steve Nelson Predicts What 2014 Holds for Education Reforme
NC: Here Come the Corporate Charter Carpetbaggers! | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Jessica B. Swencki of the Brunswick County schools in North Carolina knows a scam when she sees one. With the near total deregulation of charter schools in that state, the corporate charter chains are moving in to where it’s easy to run a school and skim huge profits. Here’s the deal. A big for-profit operation ...read moreThe post NC: Here Come the Corporate Charter Carpetbaggers! | Diane Ravitch
Bad news for teachers comes in an automated phone call
BY VALERIE STRAUSS January 17 at 4:00 am Despite decades of failure, merit-pay schemes for teachers continue to be pushed in states and school districts around the country. In this post, Chris Gilbert, who teaches English at a high school and community college in North Carolina, explains a new scheme in North Carolina that involves merit ...read moreThe post Bad news for teachers comes in an auto
Twelve Embarrassing Years of NCLB and RTTT: Time for Arne to Blame USDOE | deutsch29
Ever notice that the “problem” with American education appears to be everywhere except with the US Department of Education (USDOE)? I find this rather remarkable given that American education has been subjected to twelve years of a combination of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT). Seems like it is time ...read moreThe post Twelve Embarrassing Years of NCLB and RTTT: Time for A
JAN 16
For right, Common Core fight prelude to bigger agenda | Stephanie Simon – POLITICO.com
By STEPHANIE SIMON | 1/7/14 5:05 AM EST National advocacy groups powered by the Koch brothers and other conservative megadonors have found a new cause ripe with political promise: the fight to bring down the Common Core academic standards. The groups are stoking populist anger over the standards — then working to channel that energy ...read moreThe post For right, Common Core fight prelude to bigg
Paul Thomas: Time for AFT to Take Another Look at Common Core | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Paul Thomas believes that the Common Core standards do not answer any of the most pressing problems in American education, most of which are economic and social, not pedagogical. In this post, he commends Randi Weingarten for turning against VAM but worries that states will push ahead with it anyway. He expresses the hope that ...read moreThe post Paul Thomas: Time for AFT to Take Another Look at
Progressive Voices, New Media: A Louisiana Social Media and Blogging Summit | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog
Greetings my Crawfishalonians! Are any of you feeling despondent over not being able to meet me in person or hear me speak in front of real people instead of from behind a keyboard???? I know I am! Now may be your opportunity to change all that. . . Louisiana Progress decided to create an event ...read moreThe post Progressive Voices, New Media: A Louisiana Social Media and Blogging Summit | Crazy
Forbes’ 30 Under 30: A Showcase of Corporate Ed Reformers, not Education Stars | Critical Classrooms, Critical Kids
n its third annual 30 Under 30 special report (1/20/14), which celebrates the professional achievements of a diverse group of 20-something game changers, Forbes Magazine refers to the young, ambitious entrepreneurs in the education field as “stars.” This is a misnomer. They are not education stars for not a single one is a working classroom teacher. As ...read moreThe post Forbes’ 30 Under 30: A
Appeals court says teachers were improperly fired | WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A state appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling that thousands of New Orleans teachers fired after Hurricane Katrina were denied the constitutional right of due process. A panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal also adjusted the lower court’s damage award, ordering the New Orleans school board to ...read moreThe post Appeals court says teachers were improperly fired |
Candidate Rauner in Illinois Supports Charters & Lower Minimum Wage | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Bruce Rauner is a fabulously wealthy equity investor who is running for Governor of Illinois. He is also one of the most important financial backers of charter schools in Chicago. He even has a charter school named for him, part of the Noble network of charters. In his gubernatorial campaign, he recently made headlines when ...read moreThe post Candidate Rauner in Illinois Supports Charters &
A Whale of a Tale – Are Massachusetts Officials Out to Harpoon New Bedford High School?| EduShyster
Ahoy, matey! That great looming specter in the distance is not a mighty white whale but New Bedford High School being turned upside down and shaken till 50% of its teachers fall out. School turnaround time has come to this scenic, hard-scrabble seaport and our trusty state education captains have launched a full sail operation ...read moreThe post A Whale of a Tale – Are Massachusetts Officials Ou
Walking and Talking with Secretary Duncan | Schools Matter
By P.L. Thomas While too little focus is aimed at the substance of education reform claims and the criticisms of the reform movement, critics of misguided education reform are often discredited for their tone. Beneath the political civility of political appointees, such as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, however, are equally offensive implications, which compound ...read moreThe post Walking a
Tim Farley: AFT Is Wrong about the Common Core | Diane Ravitch’s blog
The latest issue of the AFT American Educator publication contains an article that presents “Myths of the Common Core” and responds to each one with “facts.” Tim Farley, principal of the Ichabod Crane Elementary/Middle School in Valatie, New York, did not agree with the publication’s definition of the facts. Here is his rebuttal: via Tim ...read moreThe post Tim Farley: AFT Is Wrong about the Comm
How Did the NEA Grade Members of Congress? | Politics K-12 – Education Week
Want to know what the National Education Association thinks of your congressman or senator? The NEA is happy to tell you—every year the nation’s largest teachers’ union gives an A-through-F grade to every member of Congress, taking into account how they vote on key issues. In 2013, that included immigration overhaul, higher education policy, state ...read moreThe post How Did the NEA Grade Members
Paul Horton: History Matters: The C3 Social Studies Standards are Fool’s Gold | Anthony Cody – Living in Dialogue
Guest post by Paul Horton. I could not but help get a little hot around the collar the first time I read the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) C3 “Framework for Social Studies Standards”: Social Studies for the Next Generation. Like most of us with history degrees who teach high school history and ...read moreThe post Paul Horton: History Matters: The C3 Social Studies Standards are F
NY officials’ excuse for link to vulgar test prep questioned | The Answer Sheet
What did New York state education officials do when they were questioned about why a Common Core website they operated was sending students to other sites with vulgar material? Not what you’d hope. Award-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in Nassau County wrote in this post about the website, and in the ...read moreThe post NY officials’ excuse for link to vulgar test prep qu
JAN 15
The most scathing questions from Michelle Rhee’s doomed Twitter Q&A | Salon.com
The controversial education reformer held a Twitter town hall, but not all of the questions were friendly ELIAS ISQUITH Apparently having learned nothing from last year’s #AskJPM and #AskRKelly debacles, controversial education reformer Michelle Rhee announced on Wednesday that she’d be answering questions from folks on Twitter using a hashtag of her own: #AskMichelle. via The most ...read moreThe
Aldermen, activists raise anti-charter voices | catalyst-chicago.org
Just minutes before the City Council went into session today, the Progressive Caucus of aldermen announced that they planned to introduce a resolution aimed at stopping charter expansion this year. “I have been bombarded with calls against charter schools,” said Ald. Nick Sposato (36th Ward). “We need to solidify our community schools before we consider ...read moreThe post Aldermen, activists rai
A case study in misconceived urban school reform | the Answer Sheet
School reformers are looking at a plan being considered in Kansas City, Missouri, to dismantle the school system as the wave of the future for urban districts. This plan calls for the creation of a collection of schools that will each by run by non-profit organizations under a new central authority, all conceived under the ...read moreThe post A case study in misconceived urban school reform | th
High School Students in Portland Protest on Behalf of Their Teachers | Alternet
igh school students from Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon are joining their teachers in the fight against a reduction in benefits and worse working (and learning) conditions. The campaign began with a walkout of about 200 students from the high school on last Friday, January 10th, and continued with a forced interruption of a ...read moreThe post High School Students in Portland Protest o
Bad Charters, Bad Charters, “Whatcha gonna do when they come for you” | Cloaking Inequity
Texas Senator Dan Patrick will be holding a fact finding hearing about the connections between Harmony Public Schools, The Pelican Educational Foundation and Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bravo to Senator Patrick for Harmony Public Schools accountable and seeking to understand whether they are entangled with organizations that have gotten in ...read moreThe p
Incredible: Louisiana Renews Gulen Charter Despite Ongoing FBI Investigation | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Governor Bobby Jindal and John White are determined to keep protecting and expanding charter schools, as they press for the transfer of public funds to private entities.. That may explain why the state board of education renewed the charter of a Gulen-associated school that was under FBI investigation. “The state Department of Education showed little ...read moreThe post Incredible: Louisiana Rene
Regent Cashin proposes New York withdraw from inBloom | NYC Public School Parents
This happened at the Board of Regents meeting this morning in Albany. Unfortunately, Merryl Tisch changed the subject and ignored Cashin’s proposal to be responsive to the pleas of parents, school board members, educators and elected officials to protect the privacy and safety of the state’s children and pull out of inBloom Inc. See video. ...read moreThe post Regent Cashin proposes New York with
Marc Epstein: The Disaster of Bloomberg’s Control of the Schools | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Marc Epstein, a teacher for many years at Jamaica High School (targeted for closure) here describes the Bloomberg years in anew York City public schools and how difficult it will be to unravel the changes he imposed: Bloomberg’s School Disaster When Mayor-elect de Blasio announced Carmen Farina as his choice for schools chancellor and pointedly ...read moreThe post Marc Epstein: The Disaster of Bl
Bruce Baker: Kansas City Is About to Be Ripped-Off | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Bruce Baker of Rutgers University is well known for his candor and scholarly acumen. Here he dissects the new plan to destroy public education in Kansas City and shows what an outright farce it is. He writes: This past week, the good citizens of Kansas City and Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were ...read moreThe post Bruce Baker: Kansas City Is About to Be Ripped-Off | D
Will Indiana Drop Common-Core Standards for Good? | Politics K-12 – Education Week
In his State of the State speech last night, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence offered perhaps his strongest indication yet that he wants the state to drop entirely out of the common core. Right now, Indiana is just on a break from the common standards. Pence, a Republican, said: “Hoosiers have high expectations when it comes ...read moreThe post Will Indiana Drop Common-Core Standards for Good? | Politics
Michele Rhee’s StudentsFirst “education reform” group gives Louisiana a B-, Connecticut a D+ | Wait What?
Over the last three years Rhee and StudentsFirst (called GNEPSA here in Connecticut) have been one of Governor Malloy’s strongest supporters, helping to fund the most expensive lobbying campaign in Connecticut history. To date, Rhee and her fellow corporate education reform industry advocates have spent over $6 million to push Malloy’s “education reform” initiatives. This ...read moreThe post Mic
GOP’s Enron-esque Higher Ed Plan: Fire Tenured Faculty to Fund Student Dorms | Alternet
The tenure system in American higher education is a limitless source of debate: Critics say it leaves younger scholars to publish or perish, or decaying professors to cash in on mediocrity; advocates note its importance in protecting academic freedom, risk-taking and, insofar as professors are workers, job security. In Pennsylvania, it’s all moot. Now, under ...read moreThe post GOP’s Enron-esque
2014: The Year All Children Shall Officially Be Above Average | janresseger
George Wood, superintendent of schools in rural Federal Hocking, Ohio, executive director of the Forum for Education and Democracy and board chair of the Coalition of Essential Schools has written a short, inspiring essay for the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. One of the foundations of the War on ...read moreThe post 2014: The Year All Children Shall
Are Stew’s Standards All About Keeping Florida’s Race to the Top Cash? | Scathing Purple Musings
Fifteen percent. That’s the number of changes allowed in Common Core Standards ambiguous loosely defined copyright and the estimated amount of largely cosmetic changes Florida education commissioner Pam Stewart made to Common Core Standards to make them “truly ours.” The other number is $375 million. It’s how much Florida has left of the Race to ...read moreThe post Are Stew’s Standards All About
Richard Berman’s Declared Union-bashing Strategy | deutsch29
On January 13, 2014, I published a post about Richard Berman’s Center for Union Facts (CUF) attack on the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) via its five-story billboard in Times Square (and its similar, full-page New York Times ad in December 2013). I believe that this barrage of CUF ads is the direct result of recently-elected ...read moreThe post Richard Berman’s Declared Union-bashing Strat
A creepy letter school sent to parents | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS January 15 at 5:00 am This is an actual letter sent to parents from a school in Georgia. The parent who provided it asked to remain anonymous, along with the school — but administrators know who they are. via A creepy letter school sent to parents.The post A creepy letter school sent to parents | The Answer Sheet appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
Bruce Springsteen on Chris Christie’s Traffic Jam | Diane Ravitch’s blog
New Jersey’s embattled Governor Chris Christie has always made a deal of his love for Bruce Springsteen, hero troubadour of regular folk and the Garden State. But apparently it is not a mutual admiration society. Here is Bruce Springsteen singing about “Governor Christie’s Traffic Jam.” This may become the most infamous traffic jam in American ...read moreThe post Bruce Springsteen on Chris Christ
JAN 14
What Christie failed to mention in State of State speech about his education record | The Answer Sheet
BY VALERIE STRAUSS January 14 at 6:06 pm A big part of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s State of the State speech Tuesday was devoted to his record on school reform and his plans for moving forward — and it is worth noting the big difference between what Christie (R) says about his record on ...read moreThe post What Christie failed to mention in State of State speech about his education record |
Chicago Parents Rally Against More Charters | Diane Ravitch’s blog
MEDIA ALERT: TUESDAY FORUM PARENTS DEMAND HALT TO CHARTER EXPANSION- Community Organizations across Chicago Urge CPS to Vote Against Proposed Charter Expansion and Refocus on Protection/Funding of Neighborhood Schools What: Following the closure of 50 neighborhood schools due to budget and a so-called “underutilization crisis,” parents and community members are furious at the proposal for ...read
For the Record: Turnaround principal turnover | catalyst-chicago.org
CPS has relied heavily on turnarounds to improve failing schools, but a Catalyst Chicago analysis shows that turnarounds face challenges in one area: Keeping top leaders in place. Among 42 principals at the 18 schools that have been turnarounds for at least three years, about a quarter — 10 — have left either within a ...read moreThe post For the Record: Turnaround principal turnover | catalyst-ch
My appearance on MSNBC and Daily News oped: Why de Blasio is right to charge rent to co-located charters | NYC Public School Parents
A shortened version of the oped below is published in today’s Daily News; along with the StudentsFirst opposing view. Also below is my brief appearance Saturday on Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC. –Leonie Haimson During his campaign for mayor, Bill de Blasio promised to focus the city’s energy and resources on improving our public schools ...read moreThe post My appearance on MSNBC and Daily
StudentsFirst Issues Another Ludicrous State Report Card | Diane Ravitch’s blog
StudentsFirst, the organization created by Michelle Rhee to promote her ideas about fixing schools by high-stakes testing and choice, has issued its second state-by-state report card. The highest scoring states are not those whose students have the highest achievement on NAEP; that would be Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. No, the highest scoring states are ...read moreThe post Students
Teacher of teachers reaches out to Governor McCrory for help | NC Policy Watch
Governor McCrory, I need your help. I am a teacher educator at UNC-Greensboro, and this semester I have 24 student teachers who are preparing to teach social studies to middle and high schoolers. One of the things that I tell my pre-service teachers is that if a student asks them a really tough question, they ...read moreThe post Teacher of teachers reaches out to Governor McCrory for help | NC Po
The influence of Michelle Rhee and Chris Christie: Education reformers’ revolving door | Salon.com
A new progressive education group, formed to fight business-backed bipartisan education reform consensus, announced Tuesday it was filing Freedom of Information Act requests regarding for-profit groups’ influence in federal policy. The new group, Integrity in Education, says it’s seeking communications between officials with “known connections to for-profit education corporations,” and “any ethic
Student Data Not a ‘Product’ To Be ‘Sold to the Highest Bidder’ | THE Journal
By David Nagel01/14/14 A United States senator is questioning FERPA guidelines that he said could put student privacy at risk. Today Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) said he’ll introduce legislation in the coming weeks to protect students’ sensitive information from commercial exploitation and from potential mishandling. At issue are changes to the U.S. Department of Education’s ...read moreThe post Stud
The Beginning Of An End To Sanction-Driven Education? Education Opportunity Network
Last week, the Obama administration took an important step for the well being of the nation’s youth – especially those who are of racial minorities – by issuing new guidelines that many hope will shut down what has come to be known as “the school-to-prison pipeline.” This action – welcome, for sure – constitutes a ...read moreThe post The Beginning Of An End To Sanction-Driven Education? Education
And now, the Bunkum Awards (you wouldn’t want to win) | The Answer Sheet
We just watched the Golden Globe Awards, and now we have the Bunkum Awards. The Bunkum Awards? Presented by the National Education Policy Center, which brings together interdisciplinary scholars at the University of Colorado, Boulder, these awards are given for what the presenters say is “shoddy” educational research, “work based on weak data, questionable analysis ...read moreThe post And now, th
Why Philadelphia Can’t Afford to Pay for Public Education | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Did you hear about the budget crisis that stripped Philadelphia’s public schools of teachers, nurses, librarians, supplies, and many other things? Did you read that the school district has a budget deficit of $300 million and that Governor Corbett wants teachers to take salary cuts and layoffs to save over $100 million? Did you read ...read moreThe post Why Philadelphia Can’t Afford to Pay for Pub
Gov hopeful Bruce Rauner gave Payton $250K after pulling strings to get daughter into elite | Chicago Sun-Times
After pulling strings to get his daughter into Walter Payton College Prep, Bruce Rauner, a Republican candidate for governor, became one of the elite Chicago public high school’s biggest benefactors. The Rauner Family Foundation gave $250,000 to the Payton Prep Initiative for Education on Dec. 14, 2009 — about a year and a half after ...read moreThe post Gov hopeful Bruce Rauner gave Payton $250K
Planet Ponzi: Rocketship Education’s plan for intergalactic domination hits a rough patch| EduShyster
Once upon a time there was a boldly disruptive innovator who had a boldly disruptive idea. Why not turn old school schools into rocketships by fitting them with thrusters and boosters, then send them soaring into outer space where, thanks to zero gravity that keeps expectations buoyant, there is no achievement gap? Strap yourself in ...read moreThe post Planet Ponzi: Rocketship Education’s plan fo
Julian Vasquez Heilig: Time to Look at Evidence About Teach for America | Diane Ravitch’s blog
A new report by Julian Vasquez Heilig and Su Jin Jez reviews the evidence about the effectiveness of Teach for America. Their study, published by the National Education Policy Center, “challenges the simplistic but widespread belief that TFA is a clear-cut success story. In fact, Heilig and Jez find that the best evidence shows TFA ...read moreThe post Julian Vasquez Heilig: Time to Look at Eviden
Jersey Jazzman: @GovChristie’s Bridgegate Distraction: Shafting Students and Teachers
Whenever Chris Christie needs a distraction, he goes to his fallback position: screwing teachers, students, and schools: Republican Gov. Chris Christie, dealing with a political payback scandal that threatens to damage his second term, intends to unveil a plan to increase the amount of time children spend in public school in his State of the ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: @GovChristie’s Brid
Columbus, Ohio: 17 More Charters Close | Diane Ravitch’s blog
If schools were like shoe stores, they would open wherever there was a good location and close if they didn’t make a profit. Public schools, on the other hand, are community institutions, like parks and beaches. They should not be closed if they have low scores; they should get help. In Columbus, Ohio, charter schools ...read moreThe post Columbus, Ohio: 17 More Charters Close | Diane Ravitch’s bl
It’s silly to pretend Common Core is not a curriculum | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog
Well, Arne Duncan got it half-right. It’s certainly not radical. I half expect Duncan himself to slam me (call me “silly,” a “suburban mom” or a “fringe group”?) for writing this, but here goes. Disinformation about the Common Core, coming straight from the D.O.E. and spread across a compliant media, includes the myths that standards ...read moreThe post It’s silly to pretend Common Core is not a
Outrage in Ohio: Charter Founder Paid Millions Without Any Invoices | Diane Ravitch’s blog
How gullible are taxpayers in Ohio? How long will they remain willing to pay millions of dollars to a charter founder who is best known for campaign contributions? Why does Ohio’s ignore this outrage? Plunderbund documents the empire created by William Lager, founder of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) was paid $1 million in ...read moreThe post Outrage in Ohio: Charter Founder Paid Mil
Once a priority, ‘parent trigger’ idea no longer figures in group’s education agenda | Tampa Bay Times
A national advocacy group that in recent years has pressured Florida lawmakers to adopt the controversial “parent trigger” school takeover plan will not push that initiative again in 2014. Instead, StudentsFirst will spend its political capital urging the Legislature to improve the state’s financial reporting so that families can see clearly how spending is tied ...read moreThe post Once a priorit
That Anti-union Billboard in Times Square: Consider the Timing | deutsch29
This is not CUF’s first swipe at Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In December 2013, CUF launched a similar ad– a full-page ad in the New York Times– attempting the same discrediting of Weingarten and, by extension, AFT. In response to CUF’s December attack, I wrote a post in which I include CUF’s history as one ...read moreThe post That Anti-union Billboard in Times Square
JAN 13
Principal of Troubled School is a Graduate of “Leadership Academy” | Diane Ravitch’s blog
The principal of PS 106 in Far Rockaway, now in the news for its lack of curriculum or books, is a graduate of New York City’s vaunted Leadership Academy. When Joel Klein took charge of the New York City schools in 2002, one of his earliest “reforms” was the creation of the Leadership Academy, a ...read moreThe post Principal of Troubled School is a Graduate of “Leadership Academy” | Diane Ravitch
Desegregation Pact Gets Judge’s Approval In Arkansas | NPR
A long-running school desegregation fight in Arkansas is over, after a federal judge accepted a settlement reached by the state, lawyers for black students, and three school districts in and around Little Rock. Under the deal, the state will no longer have to send payments — around $70 million this year — to aid desegregation. ...read moreThe post Desegregation Pact Gets Judge’s Approval In Arkans
Missouri: Draft Report Calls for Dismantling of Kansas City Public School District | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Reporter Garrett Haake of KSHB In Kansas City reported that State Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro and the State Board commissioned a report that calls for a radical restructuring of the Kansas City school district. “It calls for replacing the top-down district structure with a much smaller, near purely administrative entity called a Community Schools Office ...read moreThe post Missouri: Dra
Is teacher education a disaster? | The Answer Sheet
One of the biggest debates in public education today is over how to best educate student teachers for the rigors of the classroom. This is the third and final part of a series on the subject by scholar Mike Rose, who is on the faculty of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies ...read moreThe post Is teacher education a disaster? | The Answer Sheet appeared first on NPE News
New CPS Network Chief was at the center of Kansas testing scandal | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog
The word is that BBB has appointed Randy Josserand as District 3 Network chief. The news left lots of teachers I know, shaking their heads. Who is Josserand, you ask? Most recently he’s worked as a deputy chief of 25 high schools and 24 elementary schools on the West Side, as director of the Office ...read moreThe post New CPS Network Chief was at the center of Kansas testing scandal | Mike Klonsk
Hey Steve Perry – Tell us about Capital Prep’s “Table of Shame” | Wait What?
Located in the cafeteria of the Capital Preparatory Magnet School at 1304 Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut is the “Table of Shame.” At part of Capital Prep Principal Steve Perry’s “zero-tolerance” policies even the slightest “violations,” such as wearing the wrong colored belt, will result in punishments designed to humiliate and demean students. For example, ...read moreThe post Hey Steve Per
Skepticism in the Florida Senate on Common Core Roll-Out | Scathing Purple Musings
Pam Stewart will be back at the legislature to deliver Florida’s own set of Common Core Standards, but it’s quite clear that senators on both sides of the aisle are skeptical of her being able to deliver on the entire package. Writes Kathleen McGrory: TALLAHASSEE — When Pam Stewart became state education commissioner in September, ...read moreThe post Skepticism in the Florida Senate on Common Cor
Eric Cantor Rips de Blasio Over Charters, de Blasio Scoffs | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor denounced Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announced plan to charge rent to charter schools using public space, if they can afford it. De Blasio responded sharply to Cantor’s criticism. “Our committees in the House will remain vigilant in their efforts to ensure no one from the government stands in the ...read moreThe post Eric Cantor Rips de Blasio Over Charters
Rep. George Miller, Major Education-Reform Advocate in Congress, to Retire | Politics K-12 – Education Week
U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House education committee, a key author of the No Child Left Behind Act and a powerhouse on K-12 policy for decades, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election to Congress after this term. It’s hard to overstate the impact that the retirement of Miller, ...read moreThe post Rep. George Miller, Major Education-Reform Advocate in Con
Charter school hearings: Calling all edushysters | Seattle Education
The Washington State Charter School Commission is holding hearings in Seattle today, January 13th. The commission is to review applicants and decide on charter schools that will be established in our state unless the lawsuit that appears to be proceeding through the courts is successful. The hearing will begin at 5:00 PM at South Seattle ...read moreThe post Charter school hearings: Calling all ed
The Untold Story of the Emails That Brought Down Indiana’s Tony Bennett | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Adam Wren at Indianapolis Monthly writes a compelling account of the search for the emails that embarrassed star “reformer” Tony Bennett and caused him to resign as Commissioner of Education in Florida. As you may recall, Bennett was upset by Democratic educator Glenda Ritz in the fall elections in 2012, although he spent ten times ...read moreThe post The Untold Story of the Emails That Brought D
Malloy administration action raises more ethics questions… | Wait What?
Pryor and his operatives at the State Department of Education are now engaged in activities that raise even more potential ethics violations. As reported yesterday in a post entitled, “Pryor schedules Corporate Education Reform Industry Lobby Group for Alliance District Meeting,” Commissioner Pryor has added the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), a corporate funded ...read moreThe po
More VAM Opposition from Weingarten | VAMboozled
In a recent post, I wrote that Randi Weingarten, the current president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has (finally) expressed her full opposition against the use of value-added models (VAMs) to evaluate and measure teacher effectiveness. She has elaborated on her reasons why in a recent article, also about the Common Core and ...read moreThe post More VAM Opposition from Weingarten
New Rochester Mayor Pledges More Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Upstate New York has had its share of failed charter schools. Some years back, Edison Schools had a charter school in Rochester, which was a disaster and later shuttered by its state authorizer. Not far away another charter (acquired by Imagine Schools) in Syracuse was shut down due to poor academic performance, and county bond ...read moreThe post New Rochester Mayor Pledges More Charter School
Is the Education Department Nitpicking States Over NCLB Waivers? | Politics K-12 – Education Week
There are some alarming revelations in the new No Child Left Behind Act waiver reports issued earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Education. At least three states—Idaho, Mississippi, and New York—aren’t faithfully implementing the turnaround principles in their lowest-performing priority schools, for example. And Delaware isn’t ensuring that its focus schools actually implement interventio
Invitation: First National Conference of Network for Public Education | Diane Ravitch’s blog
The Network for Public Education, formed earlier this year, will hold its first annual conference in Austin, Texas, on March 1 and 2. Please register now! NPE was created to give voice to those opposing privatization, school closings, and high-stakes testing. It demands a positive agenda for change based on love of learning, respect for ...read moreThe post Invitation: First National Conference of
Tennessee Student Ethan Young: “We Need Change, But Not Common Core” | By Anthony Cody – Living in Dialogue
Videos of teenagers occasionally “go viral,” racking up thousands of views on YouTube. But rarely do they feature discussions of education policy. This video of Ethan Young, a senior at Farragut High School, in Knox County, Tennessee, is an exception. More than two million people have watched this over the past two months, and still ...read moreThe post Tennessee Student Ethan Young: “We Need Chan