Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Governor Rick Snyder’s Education Achievement Authority has stalled in the legislature, in the face of questions by Democrats and Republicans about its effectiveness. The state-run district now has 15 low-performing schools. The governor would like to expand it to 50 or more schools. It is ALEC dogma that local control must be replaced by state control. State control has not worked to improve educ
Legislation was introduced to prohibit school officials from using construction bond funds for the purchase of technology. The bill is a response to Los Angeles’ officials’ taking money from a bond issue approved by voters for facilities to purchase iPads, which will be obsolete in 2-4 years.
I just received the education policy statement of one of the candidates for mayor in D.C. His name is Andy Shallal. He has an interesting biography, which I read on Wikipedia. He is an entrepreneur, a political activist, and a very interesting person. I am not endorsing him at this time. I will wait to hear what the endorsement committee of the Network for Public Education determines after surveyi
This letter arrived recently from Rhode Island: “Dear Ms. Ravitch, Another example of what’s happening in Little Rhody: We also received an incredible letter from Grace (last name withheld), a High School Junior in a southern Rhode Island town who wrote a “breakup letter” with Common Core. I have independently verified the author’s authenticity but have not published her last name for privacy rea
When I started public elementary school in Houston, we learned to write with pens that were dipped in an inkwell. I think it was called a quill pen. This was not easy for me because almost every desk had a wooden arm for right-handed students, and I am left handed. I had to contort myself to dip my pen and write on a desk meant for right-handed students. Then about the time I was in second grade,
Alexandra Miletta heard President Obama make an off-hand remark about art history, a putdown–what can you do with it? What will it pay? Having benn a college major in art history, and having studied art history in Siena, she bristled at the condescension. Here she explains how her study of art history prepared her to be a teacher educator and why she treasures what she learned as a lifelong resour
One reader writes frequently to boast about the high, high, high test scores at Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain in New York City called Success Academy (previously known as Harlem Success Academy until Eva decided to move beyond the Harlem area). Another reader offered this response: Great that the test scores are so high. But these data alone are not enough to reject the null hypothesis that pov
Peter Greene: Pearson Press Release, 2015:
Peter Greene, a high school English teacher in Pennsylvania, has concocted a press release by Pearson, issued soon after it purchased the U.S. Department of Education in 2015. In this press release, Pearson announces the release of the Common Core 2.0. Here is a sample: “*We’re pretty sure that Kindergarten simply isn’t early enough to start the reading process, so we are proud to announce a pro
I Love the Providence Student Union!
The Providence Student Union is a creative, energetic group. They are also very smart, and they figured out that it was wrong to use a standardized test as a graduation requirement. PSU has created a series of fabulous demonstrations, and this guinea pig protest at the Rhode Island statehouse was one of their best. These kids have convinced me that this younger generation is far smarter and wiser
Mark Naison on the Bloomberg Policy of Putting Charters First
In this post, Mark Naison explains why so many parents seek to place their children in charters in New York City. Fr 12 years, the Bloomberg administration showered preferential treatment on the charters and ignored the needs of the public schools tat enroll 94% of the city’s children. He predicts that the policies of Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina will reverse some or most of the damage d
YESTERDAY
Breaking News: PBS Will Return $3.5 Million to Billionaire
PBS is returning $3.5 million to former Enron trader John Arnold, in response to stories by investigative journalist David Sirota about a likely conflict of interest. Arnold was underwriting a series on pension reform, and Sirota warned that PBS was abandoning its impartiality because of Arnold’s strong views.
Another Valentine Gift (8)
A poem by Richard Lovelace, best known for its last stanza: When Love with unconfinèd wings Hovers within my Gates, And my divine Althea brings To whisper at the Grates; When I lie tangled in her hair, And fettered to her eye, The Gods that wanton in the Air, Know no such Liberty. When flowing Cups run swiftly round With no allaying Thames, Our careless heads with Roses bound, Our hearts with Loya
A Valentine for You (7)
Christina Rossetti is a favorite poet. Here is one of her beautiful poems that is appropriate for today: I loved you first, by Christina Rossetti. I loved you first: but afterwards your love Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove. Which owes the other most? My love was long, And yours one moment seemed to wax more strong; I loved and guessed at you, yo
What Happens to Doctors When the Right Answer Is Wrong?
This is a terrific article that appeared on the New York Times blog. Written by Abigail Zuger, M.D., it is titled “The Real World Is Not an Exam.” Dr. Zuger explains what happens to the brilliant young doctors who aced every standardized test (there were so many of them!), but were flummoxed when it came time to diagnose a complicated real-life problem presented by a patient. She gives examples of
L’Affaire Steinberg-Ogozolek Continues
I have posted about an accidental exchange between teacher John Ogozolek and Professor Laurence Steinberg, and it continued here. And here is more of the exchange, posted as comments on the blog: Laurence Steinberg writes: “I’m the author of the Slate column Diane has critiqued. I think my argument is being mischaracterized both by her and some others. “The object of my criticism is our schools,
Another Gift of Words for You, (6)
VITAE SUMMA BREVIS SPEM NOS VETAT INCOHARE LONGHAM (The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long – Horace) They are not long, the weeping and the laughter, Love and desire and hate: I think they have no portion in us after We pass the gate. They are not long, the days of wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream. Ernest Dowson
Study: Kids in Kindergarten need Rigor
Edweek reports a new study that concludes kindergarten is too easy. The little tykes need rigor, not play! Clearly the kiddies need Common Core and a stiff dose of hard work. Too much play spoils them. How about a rod?
Peter Greene Reacts to a Teacher Who Supports CCSS
Peter Greene read a column by a teacher in Arkansas who is enthusiastic about the Common Core standards. He is not a strident critic of Common Core. Count him as agnostic. But when a supporter describes the virtues of Common Core, Greene wonders what they were doing before CCSS. What does it encourage or permit that is new or different?
Another Valentine’s Day Gift of Poetry (5)
Andrew Marvell lived from 1621-1678. Today, this poem would be considered sexist. But nonetheless, it is ageless and timeless. I suppose if old Andy spoke that way to me today, I would enjoy the language and laugh out loud. For years, it was a favorite in schoolbooks and is one of the most parodied of poems (aside from “Casbianca,” which begins, “The boy stood on the burning deck, whence all had f
Bruce Baker Has a Problem with “Simple, Ignorant Solutions & Simulations”
A respected researcher recently pointed out to me that there is a vast divide between most economists of education–who devoutly believe (it seems) that whatever matters can be measured, and if it can’t be measured, it doesn’t matter–and education researchers, who tend to think about the real world of students and teachers. Here is an excellent example of the divide. Bruce Baker takes issue with
Hillsborough County, Fla; Where Testing Trumps All
Michael Weston reports that Hillsborough County is field testing the PARCC tests, despite previous declarations by the Governor that PARCC was not wanted. According to Weston, the local superintendent has never seen a test she didn’t love. She insists that teachers want and need more tests. Weston says, “Huh?” “PARCC will replace the Stanford Achievement Test the district normally uses. The distr
Another Valentine’s Day Gift for You (4)
One of William Shakespeare’s most beautiful love poems is Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s chang
A Beautiful Poem for You Today (3)
Another much loved poem is Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” Marlowe lived from 1564-1593. Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dale and field, And all the craggy mountains yield. There will we sit upon the rocks, And see the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madri
Good News for Mississippi! ALEC Bill Stalls
An effort to create a special statewide district for low-performing schools in Mississippi was defeated by legislators in the House by a vote of 60-55. The issue now advances to the State Senate. The far-right American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has made a priority of creating statewide entities and eviscerating local control. These statewide districts are hallmarks of states bent on priv
Another Valentine’s Day Gift for You (2)
W. H. Auden is one of my favorite poets. This is a sad poem, but it is nonetheless one of the most beautiful expressions of love in poetry. W. H. Auden Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the mes
Breaking News: David Sirota Exposes Financing Behind PBS Series on Pension Reform
David Sirota, a crack investigative journalist, has written an expose of the financing behind the PBS series on pension reform. Sirota calls it:” The Wolf of Sesame Street: Revealing the secret corruption inside PBS’s news division.” You may be surprised to learn the secret. You may be disturbed to learn who is paying the bills. Sirota’s hard-hitting article prompted an immediate response from the
Leaving on a Jet Plane….
Yes! I am taking a vacation. Can’t wait to leave the snow, ice, slush behind. We were supposed to fly yesterday, but were so sure the flight from NYC would be canceled that we changed flights to today. Bad move. JetBlue flew yesterday to our destination in Caribbean (Turks-Caicos). The flight is dominated by parents and little children. As I sit here blogging, a very pretty young woman stops and
Happy Valentine’s Day! A Gift for You (1)
I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day by sharing some of my favorite poems with you. I love some of you, I like some of you, I tolerate some of you, I grit my teeth with a very few of you. That’s how I show “grit.” But the poems I post today are for all of you. For today, I love you all. You read what I write, you share your frustrations and your victories. We are a community of people who care
FEB 13
Bill Gates: Why the United States Really Needs Common Core Standards
The Gates Foundation spent nearly $200 million to pay for the writing, review, evaluation, dissemination, and promotion of the Common Core standards. It is difficult to find a D.C.-based education organization that has not received millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation to promote the standards. Bill Gates believes in the Common Core standards. That is why he wrote this article to explain t
Ed Berger: One of Our Champions is “Going Dark”
Ed Berger, one of social media’s eloquent voices and a champion of free public education, has decided to sign off…at least for now. As he explains in this post, he is “going dark.” He and his wife are going to Mexico for a few weeks, and he is at least temporarily dropping out of the blogosphere, perhaps to write a book of historical fiction. This is what Ed Berger believes: I believe in free educ
The Disastrous Failure of “Turnarounds” and “State Takeovers” in Boston
One of those brilliant PR spinmeisters invented the term “turnaround” to disguise the brutality and ugliness of firing the entire staff of a school with low scores and pretending that mass firing is a method of “reform.” “Turnaround” sounds like a game or a dance, something delightful. The reality is that everyone who works in the school is fired–or in lesser forms of the punishment, the princ
How Ohio Wastes Billions on Charters
Bill Phillis, leader of the Ohio Equity and Adequacy Coalition, is a dedicated advocate for equitable funding of public schools. He reports here that charter schools–many of which are very low-performing–receive nearly $1 billion a year. He writes: Total payment to charter schools is $903,344,671.24 as of the January 2014 report. This is a one-year figure. You may wish to examine the State Repo
KIDS! What’s the Matter with Kids Today?
Late last night, I posted a commentary that connected two seemingly unrelated communications. One was an article in Slate by psychologist Laurence Steinberg, saying that our high schools are not rigorous enough, our seniors are not learning enough, and bemoaning both kids and schools. It happened to arrive about the same time as a letter in my inbox from a teacher in upstate Néw York. I pointed o
Who Are the Education Entrepreneurs?
Well, of course, there are scores of education entrepreneurs, the men and women who dream up clever ways to make profits from the field of public education. They have start-ups, they have real-estate investment trusts, they create companies to build data systems, they operate for-profit charter chains, on and on. Some get very rich. They certainly make more money than teachers, who spend their day
Ex-KIPP Teacher: Why I Could Not Teach Like a Champion
In this post, Rebecca Radding explains why she was asked to leave at the end of her third year as a Teach for America teacher in a KIPP school in Néw Orleans. She could not teach like a champion. She writes: “I was never much of a champion, to be honest. KIPP defines a successful teacher as someone who keeps children quiet, teaches children how to answer each question on a test composed of arbi
Teacher in L.A. Reviews “Close Reading” in Common Core
This article was written by a teacher in Los Angeles. She describes the implantation of the Common Core standards. She is especially perplexed by the practice of “close reading,” which means that students are expected to comprehend text without any context or background knowledge. She and her colleagues were disappointed by the “professional development,” which was not at all professional. She w
A Declaration of Independence from Corporatist/Behaviorist Education
From a reader: please sign! A Declaration of Independence from Corporatist/Behaviorist Education Posted on February 7, 2014 When, in the course of a teaching career, it becomes essential to break from excessively rational beliefs and schemes and to begin thinking openly and freely, disregarding the dictatorial influences of political hacks, the insidious prodding of education gurus and the bleatin
FEB 12
Gary Rubinstein: Juking the Stats in the Vergara Case
The well-publicized Vergara trial in Los Angeles has put a spotlight on teacher tenure and seniority. The plaintiffs’s lawyers say that the “best” teachers are unfairly assigned to teach white students. Gary Rubinstein looks at the claims and finds them statistically dubious. For one thing, they are based on value-added measures, which are themselves of dubious scientific validity. For another, th
Are Our High School Students Dumb? Are Our High Schools Disastrous?
I received a letter from John Ogozolak, a teacher in upstate New York, where the economy has long been in serious trouble, with a paucity of jobs and economic opportunity. I decided to share it, because like him, I too have wondered what message we give our high school students. The politicians and the media constantly tell them how dumb they are, how lazy and shiftless, yet they are our future. W
TAMSA: The Hero Moms of Texas
The heroes of the movement to reduce standardized testing in Texas is a group called TAMSA. The unwieldy title is Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment. They are better known as Moms Ahainst Drunk Testing. They realized that Pearson had a lock on the Texas legislature as that body passed more and more testing requirements. The legislature cut $5 Billion from the schools’ budget yet m
Teach Plus Corrects Errors in Last Week’s Report About Testing Time
Last week, the Gates-funded group Teach Plus put out a report saying that state testing didn’t take up all that much time, despite the loud complaints of parents and teachers. The howls of outrage on the Education Week site caused the researchers at Teach Plus to take another look, and they discovered they were wrong. Reporter Catherine Gewertz follows the story here. She begins: Remember that stu
A Balanced, Sane Explanation of the Issues in the Vergara Case
Ben Spielberg here explains the issues in the Vergara case, the litigation attempting to eliminate due process and seniority for teachers in Los Angles, and likely, for California. This is a big case for those trying to destroy unions and any rights for teachers. Ben’s analysis is the best I have seen to date. He includes recommendations for improving the laws.
What School Grades Measure Best: Family Income
A reader forwarded this excellent article that appeared in the Denver Post. The author Robert Zubrin scanned the state’s tables ranking schools based in large part on test scores. And this was his amazing discovery: “So, does this testing data, acquired at great expense in both money and class time, tell us which schools are doing their job and which are performing poorly? Not at all. Rather, wh
Carol Burris: How the NY Regents Fooled the Public on Common Core
Carol Burris explains here how the New York Board of Regents hoaxed the public into thinking they had agreed to major changes when they actually changed nothing. She writes: “The press was led to believe the Regents pulled back the passing scores on the Common Core English Language Arts and math exams for the Class of 2017 from 75 and 80 to a score of 65 on both exams. The State Education Depart
What Do a Law Professor and a Kindergarten Teacher Have in Common?
Ty Alper is a law professor at The University of California in Berkeley, one of the nation’s most prestigious law schools. He is running for school board in Berkeley. As he thought about the challenges of teaching today, he realized that his child’s kindergarten teacher was teaching some of the same skills he was teaching: “Brook Pessin-Whedbee teaches five-year-olds at Rosa Parks. I teach law stu
League of Women Voters in Florida Studying Charter Schools
When I lectured at the University of Florida, I met Sue Legg of the League of Women Voters. She informed me that the League has undertaken a county-by-county study of charter schools across the state. Florida has nearly 600 charters, including for-profit charter chains and non-profit charter chains. (Vice-President Biden’s brother Frank runs one of the for-profit chains.) These schools draw money
Whitehurst of Brookings Supports Vouchers for Pre-K, Doubts Need for It
Grover (Russ) Whitehurst,who served as director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences during the administration of George W. Bush, testified before a Congressional committee in opposition to federal support for universal pre-kindergarten, except as a voucher for families to use for the setting of their choice. Whitehurst is now at the Brookings Institution, once con
EduShyster: A Soap Opera in Boston: As the School Turns
It is hard to be sure who first had the idea that the way to improve schools was to fire the staff and start all over again. When No Child Left Behind was written, it set an impossible goal of 100% proficiency, then set out a series of escalating sanctions for schools that were unable to do the impossible. The ultimate sanction–based on no research, experience, or wisdom–was to close the school.
FEB 11
News Flash! NC County School Board Will Defy State Law
The school board in Guilford County, North Carolina, voted unanimously tonight to defy state legislation denying “tenure” (career status) to experienced teachers. According to the latest news reports: “GREENSBORO — The Guilford County School Board unanimously supported a resolution challenging the state’s new tenure law and asking for relief from laws requiring them to offer contracts to certain
A Message from North Carolina Representative Rick Glazier
This just in, following my speech at the Emerging Issues Forum in North Carolina, whose extremist Governor Pat McCrory and General Assembly have passed laws diminishing the status of teachers and promoting vouchers and charters. “Your speech to the IEI Forum was extraordinary and really sparked immense discussion on the floor of the Forum and later this afternoon. It cogently summarized the drama
Who Is Behind the Vergara Attack on Due Process in California?
Who is paying for and supporting the lawsuit claiming that due process for teachers harms the civil rights of students? Until now, all we knew was that the case was bankrolled by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur named David Welch. That much is true, but Welch also has an advisory board that includes Russlyn Ali, who served as an assistant secretary to Arne Duncan, now working for the supposedly lib
NC Governor McCrory Pledges Pay Raise for New Teachers Only
I participated in the major North Carolina Emerging Issues forum, where Governor Pat McCrory promised a pay increase to teachers in their first five years of teaching, but nothing for experienced teachers. Some veteran teachers will earn the same as teachers in thir fifth year. This went over like a dead balloon. Some observers speculated that it was a bonus for Teach for Merica, which won a $5-6
NCLB: The Undead Vampire Law
Remember back in 2001 when Congress passed No Child Left Behind and mandated that all children in grades 3-8 would be proficient in reading and math? Remember when President George W. Bush signed it into lain January 2002, surrounded by Senator Ted Kennedy, Congressman George Miller, Congressman John Boehner, and others who hailed a historic moment in Anerican history? We now know that NCLB was a
Ladd and Fiske: Destroying Public Education in North Carolina
Helen F. Ladd of Duke University and Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of the Néw York Times, lambasted the Governor and Legislature of North Carolina for their calculated program to destroy public education in the state. Only two years ago, Ladd and Fiske drafted a “vision statement” for the state board of education, describing how public education could better serve the children and the
The Two Faces of John Deasy
When the Los Angeles School Unified School District was sued by lawyers claiming that due process for teachers harms the civil rights of minority students, one of those who testified FOR the plaintiffs and AGAINST the district was Superintendent John Deasy. The high-powered lawyers are paid by a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur. The goal of the lawsuit is to remove the single most important prote
Teacher: Why “Stupid Bubble Tests” Are Meaningless
In this post, which arrived a few days ago as a comment, Ron Lapekas, a retired teacher, explains why standardized tests have no value or validity for many students: “I am a retired teacher. I always thought the SBT’s (Stupid Bubble Tests) had little value for my East Los Angeles 99% Latino students for several reasons. “First, vocabulary necessary both to understand the questions and the answer
Wisconsin: State Senator Reveals Covert Plan to Privatize Public Education
Senator Kathleen Vinehout revealed a plan hatched behind closed doors to close 5% of thestate’s schools every year and turn them over to private corporations. She wrote: “The latest version of the bill was crafted behind closed doors; unlike three years ago when a wide-ranging group developed a system to test and report the progress of all students attending school with public money. Private sch
NY Republicans, with Cuomo’s Silence, Block Tax for Pre-K
The leading education reform of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign was universal pre-kindergarten, funded by a small tax increase on city residents with income over $500,000. Governor Cuomo opposes any new taxes. So do State Senate Republicans, who announced that the tax idea was dead. Shame on them. If residents of NYC want to tax themselves, why should they block it? The real cost of the tax i
Stan Karp: The Trouble with the Common Core
In this trenchant analysis of the Common Core, Stan Karp explains that the fundamental problem is not about their content but their context. While people argue the merits of the Common Core, public education itself is under assault: Karp writes: Today everything about the Common Core, even the brand name—the Common Core State Standards—is contested because these standards were created as an ins
Help Students Organize to Speak For Themselves
Please help this great group of students crowd-source a national convening of student leaders to fight false reforms. I first learned about its spokesperson Hannah Nguyen when she challenged Michelle Rhee. I subsequently met Hannah and gave her a hug when I visited Occidental College in Los Angeles last fall. Hannah and her allies must raise $2,000 by February 15. I sent a donation. Send whatever
Jeff Bryant on Vouchers: A Failed Agenda for America’s Children
Jeff Bryant here describes in alarming detail the push for vouchers at the state and federal levels. Vouchers give taxpayer dollars to families to pay tuition at any private or religious school. The best private schools, whose tuition runs into tens of thousands, seldom if ever accept vouchers, which don’t amount to a significant part of the tuition. Voucher plans usually subsidize fundamentalis
FEB 10
Network for Public Education Endorses Baraka for Newark Mayor
The Network for Public Education has endorsed City Councilman Ras Baraka for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is a career educator who opposes school closings and supports reduced class sizes and other research based strategies. We are proud to support him and believe that his election will begin a movement to restore democracy to education in Newark, whose schools have been under state control fo
NY Saga Heats Up as Advocates Blast Regents
The Regents pledged to tweak the botched Common Core rollout, which caused Governor Cuomo to accuse them of backing away from tough teacher evaluation (they didn’t). Now parents and educators condemn the Regents for failing to address their concerns: From: “NYS Allies for Public Education” Date: February 10, 2014 at 4:40:37 PM EST To: “‘NYS Allies for Public Education’” Subject: FOR IMMEDIATE R
Cuomo Blasts Regents for Common Core Fumbling
Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement blasting the Regents for seeming to delay the tough teacher evaluation that Cuomo wants. Common Core has turned into a giant mess. The Regents and Commissioner John King want to appear to compromise without compromising. The governor condemns them for compromising. Here is the Regents’ statement. This is the report of the Regents Working Group that ca
NC Democrats Blast McCrory Pay Plan
North Carolina Governor McCrory tried to defuse criticism of his hostile policies toward teachers by offering a pay raise to teachers in their first five years instead of responding to a call by former Governor Jim Hunt to lift salaries to the national average. NC teachers are now 46th in the nation in salary. Under McCrory’s proposal, 70% of teachers get no raise. Salaries for teachers have been
Long Island Poll: 86% Thumbs Down on Common Core
Even as the Néw York Board of Regents made minor tweaks to the Common Core standards and testing, a poll by News 12, Long Island’s only TV news station, showed simmering anti – Common Core sentiment in this crucial suburban area. 8% say Delay It 86% say Eliminate It 6% say Leave It Alone Long Island has been a hotbed of anti-Common Core activism. A special committee of the Regents reviewed the b
NY Times: Are Parents to Blame for Low Test Scores?
The Néw York Times blog published a debate about whether parents are to blame for “failing schools.” The question is: “Do parents care enough about schools?” Various writers offer their opinions. The debate is based on President Obama’s assertion in his State of the Union address that parents don’t demand enough. Of course, that begs the question of which schools are “failing” and how they are
Los Angeles Lawyer: How to Fire a Teacher
Ron Lapekas, an attorney in Los Angeles, submitted the following comment to the blog about the Vergara trial, in which plaintiffs claim that tenure (due process) for teachers violates the civil rights of students. The case of the plaintiffs is funded with millions of dollars by a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who thinks that teachers should be fired at the will of their employer without hea
Jon Stewart Interviews Bill de Blasio: Hilarious!
This is a fabulous interview of Bill de Blasio by Jon Stewart. Bill is funny, smart, terrific! What a change! And watch to see how great it is to live in Brooklyn. Laughter, not hectoring.
Schneider: Updates on State-by-State Common Core Controversies: Part 3
Mercedes Schneider here reports on the ongoing debates about Common Core standards and tests in the states. Links to the earlier posts are included in this one. The reason for the controversy is the lack of democratic process in imposing the standards. Imposing them by stealth was not a good idea. The public doesn’t know what they are, and their merits and demerits were never discussed and debated
Peter Greene on #evaluatethat
Peter Greene, who teaches high school English in Pennsylvania, here reviews the Twitter outburst with the hash tag #evaluatethat. The campaign on Twitter began as a way to point out that teachers do far more important things for students than get measured on standardized tests. And it grew. Greene points out that people in many occupations go beyond their job descriptions. So what is the point
What Went Wrong with Common Core Testing in Nashua, New Hampshire
Not long ago, I posted a news story about the problems with Common Core testing in Nashua, New Hampshire, where teachers reported serious flaws with the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Here is the letter from John Nelson, the principal of Fairgrounds Middle School, which contains details about the problems, as reported by teachers. FROM: JOHN NELSON RE: SMARTER BALANCE TEST This communication
A Message from James Meredith to BATS
This just in from the BATs: “ On February 12th the Badass Teachers Association was honored to get this amazing message from James Meredith via his co-author William Doyle. BATs will be honoring Meredith’s The American Child’s Education Bill of Rights with a special event on February 10-13. Here is that amazing message: A MESSAGE TO AMERICA’S TEACHERS The destiny of America is in your hands. We are
FEB 09
Do Charters Beat the Odds? This Reader Says No.
In response to a debate about charters in Minneapolis, this reader says the comparison is unfair. The charters enroll different students from the public schools. Moreover, as the charters exclude students with disabilities, the public schools enroll larger proportions of the students with the highest needs. He writes that charters do NOT beat the odds. They stack the deck in their own favor while
A Mother Responds to Newsday’s Claim That Common Core Is Right No Matter How Many Protest
This letter came from a mother and teacher on Long Island in New York, which has been a hotbed of resistance to the Common Core and the testing. Newsday ran an editorial today saying that it is time to “Stop the testing tug-of-war.” The editorial insists that Common Core is needed no matter how many teachers and educators object. The editorial is accompanied by a cartoon showing a tug-of-war with
New Yorkers Denounce Cuomo’s Stacked Panel to “Review” Common Core
After the past year’s troubled rollout of Common Core standards and tests, parents and legislative leaders spoke out against the New York State Education Department’s rush to impose and test standards that neither students nor teachers were prepared for. On the botched tests, passing rates fell to only 30% across the state. Only 3% of English learners passed the test, along with 5% of students wit
EduShyster: Who Is Mercedes Schneider?
Here are two of my favorite bloggers in conversation. Jennifer Berkshire–aka EduShyster–went to a bloggers’ convention in New Orleans and stayed with Mercedes Schneider. Jennifer spent a day with Mercedes, then interviewed her here. As it happened, they were meeting on the first anniversary of the start of Mercedes’ blog.
Teacher in Mississippi: Praying for a Pay Raise
This appeared on a Facebook page and was sent to me (I am one of the few people on the planet not on Facebook). “I’m getting ready to go to bed b/c I have to get up at 5:00 in the morning for early duty. I plan to pray tonight for our Elected Officials b/c that is what it says to do in the Bible to pray for them b/c they are placed in authority. I have a lot of emotions going through my mind but I
Ohio: The High Cost of “Choice”
Below is a letter to the editor published in the Akron Beacon Journal by a long-term suburban board of education member. February 1, 2014 – 10:54 PM “High cost of choice.” In response to the Jan. 30 letter “Thanks for the choice,” I’m pleased that the writer’s children “thrive in the home-school environment.” I firmly believe, however, that most young people would benefit more from interacting wi
Schneider: State-by-State Update on Common Core Controversies–Part 2
Schneider here provides part 2 of her state-by-state review of controversies over the Common Core standards and testing. This one includes the following states: Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. Her part 1 appeared yesterday. She describes the entire mess as a textbook example of how NOT to cre
Public Schools Across NY See State School Aid Decline Due to Cuomo Budget
I can’t find a link for this story, but I have the newspaper in front of me. (Thanks to a reader, here is the link: http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/84-of-li-school-districts-to-get-less-aid-than-6-years-ago-under-cuomo-budget-plan-1.6973979) It is dated February 7, 2014, Newsday (published on Long Island, New York), and it is the front-page headline: “School Aid Slide: 84% of LI Distr
Deborah Meier: Follow the Money!
Deborah Meier, one of the great education thinkers of our time, says we were duped. The corporate reformers stole the good words like “reform” and “choice,” to cover their intentions. They borrowed language from the civil rights movement but not its noble goals. What do they want? Bust the unions. Make money. Their favorite vehicle: charter schools. She writes: “However, the idea of Charter School
Joseph Featherstone: A Thoughtful Review of “Reign of Error” in the Nation
Joseph Featherstone has been writing about education for decades. He was a progressive back when I was infatuated with accountability and other useless ideas. In the current issue of the Nation, Featherstone has an interesting and provocative review of my latest book “Reign of Error.” What was especially gratifying to me is that he understands the dangers of privatization, he sees the larger conte
Attention, Arne and Jeb: Why Does a Dying Child Have to Take the Test?
This is a horrifying story about educational policy gone mad, gone cruel, gone inhumane. Ethan Rediske, an 11-year-old boy, died in hospice in Florida last Friday. Before he died, his plight gained national attention. Valerie Strauss wrote about him, and so did Laura Clawson in the Daily Kos. Ethan was blind and had brain damage and cerebral palsy. As he lay dying in hospice, the state demanded wr
FEB 08
Join Me at Network for Public Education Conference in Austin, March 1&2
Come to Austin on March 1&2 and meet the True Reformers! All your favorite advocates for children, teachers, and public schools will gather in Austin to share ideas and learn from each other. Join us! Sign up here.
Schneider: A State-by-State Update on Common Core: Part 1
Mercedes Schneider is keeping track of the debates about the Common Core standards in the states. So much is happening that she is breaking it into three posts. This post covers the controversy surrounding Common Core in 12 states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
Idaho Teacher: We Have a Testing Crisis
This article was sent to me by the author, Travis Manning, who teaches high school English in Idaho. We have reached a testing crisis in Idaho and Common Core hasn’t helped. As a current high school English teacher, I know. We are over-testing children, including the new 8-hour Common Core test: the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). In high school alone we give students the PSAT, S
Los Angeles: FB Page Goes Viral Calling for “Repairs, Not iPads”
Two Los Angeles teachers critical of the decision by Los Angeles school leaders to use construction funds to buy iPads have created a Facebook page that has gone viral. The teachers wanted the public to see that their schools are in dire need of repair. “The photos are unmistakable: a rat dropping on a school desk, an ant-filled water fountain, overflowing trash cans and a cockroach in a classroom
Mercedes Schneider: NGA and Its Corporate Fellows
The National Governors Association has a corporate fellows program. Mercedes Schneider takes a close look at which corporations are supporting NGA and where their money so spent. Some of their leading corporate sponsors are deeply involved in education: “Here is NGA’s complete corporate listing. However, allow me to list a sampling of corporate names that hold particular meaning in the current co
James Meredith: Time for an American Child’s Bill of Rights
Civil rights hero James Meredith is worried about the future of American public schools. He fought so hard to integrate them, but now he sees new forces seeking to take control of them, and not for good reasons. He wrote recently, as reported in Valerie Strauss’s “Answer Sheet”: ““We are losing millions of our children to inferior schools and catastrophically misguided and ineffective so-called ed
Eclectablog: A Teacher Speaks Out, not Anonymously
Eclectablog has been posting a series of interviews with teachers in Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s Education Achievement Authority. This is a statewide district intended to “save” the state’s lowest performing schools. In this account, a teacher tells how he was suddenly fired without notice and describes what happens in the EAA. It is dangerous for a teacher to spill the beans. He or she will
Reader Asks: Is Pearson Taking Control of AP?
An AP teacher sent me the following letter. I don’t know the answer. Can anyone answer her question? Maybe not, maybe we are all in the dark. It does not seem beyond belief that Pearson and the College Board are closely collaborating. Is there more afoot than collaboration? Shouldn’t they be competitors? Here is the communication I received: “Hi Diane, Just wanted to bring this to your attention.