A Meditation on Choice
When I read Paul Thomas’s reflections on “choice,” it reminded me of an exchange I had in conversation with John Merrow recently in Manhattan at the JCC. Thinking about choice, Paul wrote: “Just as workers in the impoverished South have been manipulated into voting for and embracing ideologies against their own self-interests—where “right to work” resonates even though the law allows employers t
Rhode Island Battling over NECAP
The Providence Student Union said it first: it is wrong to use a standardized test for graduation. They fought the state superintendent Deborah Gist all year. Then the Providence superintendent said she agreed withthe students. The tests will hurt the most disadvantaged students, who will never get a diploma. Now the battle rages because the state board if education won’t back down. They don’t
A Note about Success Academy’s Data
An earlier post this morning offered advice about how to read reports about charter school data. A commenter complained that the data in the post specifically referring to Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy was incomplete and therefore misleading.I asked the author of the post, who works at the headquarters of the Néw York City Department of Education, to respond. Here is the response: “Success Aca
Louisiana Auditor Criticized for Finding Fault with Voucher Schools
Auditors are supposed to audit, but when the auditor for the voucher schools said they had some serious problems, the voucher advocates said he had overstepped his bounds. They don’t want no stinking audits. They just want to keep diverting public money to unaccountable schools. Once again, the Louisiana legislative auditor’s December report on the state’s school voucher program has come in for cr
Indiana: Parents and Educators Stand Together for Better Public Schools
Education activists from both political parties are trying to save public education in Indiana. They created a Facebook page called “Parents & Educators against the Daniels and Bennett Education Reforms.” It presently has 6,000 followers but expects that number to grow as more people learn about it. Remember that it was a bipartisan group of voters who turned out corporate reform leader Tony
Peter Greene: Ouch! Dennis Walks Back Last Week’s CC Critique
Peter Greene reports on a debate where Michelle Rhee and Dennis Van Roekel, among others, team up to defend the Common Core standards. They are, he notes, the sharpest minds of our generation. Oh dear. The best criticism emanates from some of the CC defenders, as when Charles Barone of “Democrats for Education Reform” (the hedge fund managers’ advocacy group for charters and high stakes testing of
Watch How CPS Turns Adults into Chanting Children
A reader in Chicago passed only a YouTube video of what might laughingly be called “professional development” in Chicago, sponsored by the Chicago Public Schools. Grown men and women chant in unison the very words of the “staff developer.” I can’t believe the school system pays for such foolishness, nor that it subjects teachers–who went to college and in most cases have earned advanced degrees–to
Bernard Fryshman: Why College Courses Taught in Person Are Superior to MOOCs
What a beautiful essay this is! Bernard Fryshman teaches physics. He describes the magic of the classroom, the anticipation of the young people looking to him for guidance, knowledge, wisdom, insight, discussion, and, yes, humor. What he describes cannot happen by sitting in front of a computer watching someone lecture or seeing videos. MOOCs are allegedly the wave of the future, and surely they h
Houston’s Apollo Program Faces Tough Questions
With any experimental program, the question is always “is it replicable and affordable?” If the program works only on a small scale, it may not be replicable or scalable. In this discussion of Houston’s Apollo program , we learn that the program started with mass firings and intensive tutoring in math. The designer of the program said it might close the achievement gap in three years, but that se
Sirota: Brookings, Your Pension, and the Man Behind the Curtain
This may be the most important article you read this week or month or year. Crack investigative journalist David Sirota, who blew open the story of the financing of the PBS series on pensions, now demonstrates the five rules of what he calls “native advertising.” In this case, the same John Arnold Foundation that underwrote the PBS series with $3.5 million, underwrote a report by the Brookings I
EduShyster: How to Make Your Toddler College and Career ready
It is never too soon to start Racing to the Top. It is never to soon to warn your toddler about the utter irrevance of studying useless subjects like Art History, Philosophy, or Literature. Ask EduShyster. She will explain it to you. “Chetty, chetty bang bang “Chances are, your career-ready kindergartner LUVS his or her teacher. [Brief pause while writer shakes her head slowly and dramatically f
LAUSD Heads for Fiscal Cliff
The Los Angeles school district is making short-term and long-term decisions that are fiscally and educationally irresponsible. Having committed to spend $1 billion to give an iPad for Common Core testing to every student and staff member, the district is short changing or eliminating essential programs. The money for the iPads is mostly from a bond issue intended for construction and facilities.
Parents, Eva Angry about de Blasio Co-Location Decisions, But for Different Reasons
Mayor de Blasio and Carmen Farina approved most of the Bloomberg administration’s charter co-locations, to the outrage and dismay of public school parents whose schools will lose space to the new charters. Parents at the schools that will receive co-locations are furious and issuing press releases denouncing de Blasio for betraying them. Of 49 co-locations rushed through in the dying days of the B
The Shame of Los Angeles
Due to budget cuts, half the elementary and middle schools of Los Angeles have been forced to close their libraries due to a lack of librarians or aides. This is a disgrace. The district committed to spend $1 billion for iPads for Common Core testing but can’t staff its libraries. “In the sun-filled space at the Roy Romer Middle School library, thousands of books invite students to stimulate the
Jonathan Pelto: Why Is Connecticut a Sick State?
Jonathan Pelto points out that Connecticut is one of the wealthiest, best educated states in the nation, yet its politics and government are increasingly dysfunctional, driven by greed and indifference to the public weal. Citing an article by Connecticut journalist Sarah Darer Littman, Pelto shows how state officials have been pushing to build a high school in Bridgeport on a polluted brownfield
How to Analyze False Claims about Charter Schools
An experienced researcher saw a story in the Economist about charter schools. It was, as is typical among news stories, incredibly naive. The writer didn’t ask the right questions. Maybe he already believed in the charter “miracle” story and didn’t ask any questions. So my correspondent–who requires anonymity– decided that it would be helpful to reporters and members of the public to explain how t
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: What Richard Rothstein Told NAGB About the History of NAEPDid you know that the National Assessment Of Educational Progress used to test much more than reading and math, much more than academic subjects? Did you know that it was designed originally to assess student cooperation and behavior as well as skills? Did you know that the