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Thanks to reader Lloyd Lofthouse for citing this article. It shows which academic think tanks get money from the Koch brothers to advocate for privatization of the public sector.
A reader comments: “It’s rather ironic and infuriating that our schools have been robbed of necessities under the catchy phrase “No Child Left Behind” and the more straight foward one, “Race to the Top” ( or push to the bottom) I have been teaching for over 30 years and have watched as the robbing and eventual exploitation of our children has become the norm. The bad old days before any of this be
Representative Rick Glazier explains the court decision today that invalidated the General Assembly’s voucher plan. The State Constitution clearly says that public funds are for public schools. Representative Glazier writes: The lawyers who put together this case for the plaintiffs, including Burton Craige and his firm, lawyers for the NC Justice Center, Eddie Speas, and former Supreme Court J
School Choice: Not for Students with Disabilities
Charter schools and voucher schools –unless they are one of the few created specifically for students with disabilities–are noted for excluding them. A Gulen charter in Minneapolis took over a public school and immediately kicked out 40 autistic students. In this article, the parents of students with special needs in Wisconsin explain how their children are cheated by voucher schools and lose the
A Third Grade Teacher in North Carolina: What It Is Like To Teach in My State
This third grade teacher responded to the post and comments about the heavy emphasis on testing students in third grade. She wrote: I thought that maybe a third grade teacher in NC should weigh in on this. I can only speak for what is occurring in my county, but here is what I am up against: I have to complete all reading 3D data within an approximate 2 week period. This involves a three minute fi
In Honor of Terry Stetson Wilson
Colleen Wood, parent leader in Florida, active in 50th No More, and board member of the Network for Public Education, here remembers a true champion of children and public education, Terry Stetson Wilson, who died suddenly a few days ago. Colleen asks that we all Tweet a comment to honor Terry’s good life and work for others. Write your words on Twitter, marked #ForTerry. For her dedication to our
Stephanie Simon: The Voc-Ed Backlash Against Common Core
Politico’s crack reporter Stephanie Simon discovered a growing backlash among states against the presumption in the Common Core that all students are college-bound. She writes: “Florida students no longer need chemistry, physics or Algebra II to graduate from high school. Texas just scrapped its Algebra II requirement. And Washington state has dropped its foreign language mandate. “A standards r
NC Charter is Living Proof of Need for Regulation and Oversight
Charter school advocates predict the great benefits that flow from deregulation, freedom from oversight. For more than 20 years, they have boasted that great education benefits would flow from the removal of state supervision: The deal, they said, was give us freedom and hold us accountable. While the charter industry boasts of its successes, no one has kept track of the number of charter schools
YESTERDAY
BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Judge Throws Out Teacher Tenure Law
A judge tossed out a significant part of Governor Bobby Jindal’s law denying due process for teachers. The judge said the teacher did not have a fair hearing. GOOD NEWS!
Chalkbeat: NYC Charter Principal Has a Long History of Faking His Résumé
Chalkbeat reports that the principal of a NYC charter school has gone from one position to the next, touting fake credentials. Despite the fact that he had been forced out of other schools, despite the fact that he made numerous other unsubstantiated claims about jobs he had held, he was hired to run a charter for transfer students, a school for students at risk of not graduating. His résumé is
Breaking News: NC Court Halts Voucher PlAn
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2014/02/21/breaking-court-halts-north-carolina-school-voucher-plan/
Why Is the US DOE Supporting Gulen Movement?
We understand that Arne Duncan prefers privately managed charter schools to public schools, but why is he supporting the Gulen Movement? Is it because it is the largest charter chain in the US, with nearly 150 charters, all led by Turkish men? Politico.com writes: “GULEN INSTITUTE LANDS HIGH-PROFILE SPEAKER: Ken Bedell, a senior advisor in the Education Department, spoke Wednesday at a conferen
Peter Greene: Why We Need Data Walls for Everyone
Peter Greene here rages against data walls, until he realizes that everyone should be subject to the se public shaming so they too can feel humiliated and outraged. He writes; “Suddenly I get it. Data walls aren’t just an indefensible abuse of children. They aren’t just a way to make school a bit more hostile and unpleasant, a way to shame and bully the most fragile members of our society. They’
Major Study: College Admission Tests Matter Less Than HS Grades
A major new study finds that college entrance tests matter less than high school grades. Indeed, the rise of the test-tutoring industry has increased the significance of family income as a predictor of scores on the ACT And SAT. Tutors can earn hundreds of dollars PER HOUR to prepare young scions for the tests. Here is the press release about the study by William Hiss, former head of admissions a
The Vergara Trial: Harvard Expert Takes Stand
The Vergara trial is an effort by a wealthy tech entrepreneur to win a judgment that any due process rights for teachers harms the civil rights of minority students. The defense (the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers) called Harvard professor Susan Moore Johnson to testify. Johnson is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the teaching profession. Plaint
“A Sea of Red”: A Néw Model of Unionism
In September 2012, the Chicago Teachets Union went out on strike to protest the conditions of teaching And learning in the schools. Surprisingly, the strike was supported by parents, who understood that the teachers were fighting for their children. More than 90% of CTU’s members supported the strike, outwitting the pernicious efforts by Jonah Edelman and Stand for Children to make a strike imposs
Beardsley: Will South Carolina Fall for Rhee’s Humbug?
One of our Marion’s leading experts on teacher evaluation, Audrey Amrein Beardsley, here evaluates Michelle Rhee’s efforts to promote her failed ideas in South Carolina. Rhee trots out her familiar rhetoric about bad teachers and failing schools in one of the nation’s poorest states, urging them to buy her snake oil. Will they buy? Or will they do some research?
Connecticut Pumps Millions into Google Books But….
Jonathan Pelto reports that Connecticut districts are spending lavishly on Google Chromebooks, while Google admits it is data mining to promote advertising and sales. Google to Connecticut: Thank you!
Why Does the US DOE Want to Mine Student Data?
Race to the Top provides incentives for unprecedented collection of student data. Bill Gates and Rupert Myrdoch created a new corporation called inBloom to collect and store this data. They say it is good for students and teachers but it is hard to understand why the government and private corporations need so much confidential data about everyone. Here is one article that creates a context. It
FEB 20
New York Will Release Confidential Student Data, California Says No
New York officials say they will release confidential student data in July to Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates’ inBloom, despite parental protests and a futile lawsuit. Why the unseemly rush to give away student information? Meanwhile a California legislator has introduced a proposal to protect student privacy. The California law is sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg: “A leadin
Schneider and Greene on Van Roekel’s Common Core Repositioning
Mercedes Schneider and Peter Greene, both high school teachers, had different responses to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel’s acknowledgement that implementation of the Common Core standards has been highly problematic, er, disastrous. Give Dennis credit for recognizing that things are going very badly. Teachers are beginning to recognize that they are not prepared and that the boom will be lower
What Randi Told the Nation’s Governors: Do What’s Best for Students
(fYI: No mention of the increasingly toxic CCSS; could this be a change of course? First, NEA, now AFT? A sign of change or oversight?) WASHINGTON—Statement by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, urging governors to provide the same access to a quality public education for all children as is done in other industrialized countries. The National Governors Association
Breaking News: Washington State Senate Rejects Failed Educator Evaluation Plan
Good news! The Washington State Senate, rejecting federal bribes and threats, voted NO to evaluating teachers by student test scores. The fact that this method has failed wherever it was tried may have influenced their decision. Also, the state senators may have been aware of the research showing the utter failure of this way of evaluating teachers, which reflects who was in the class, not teache
Libertarian Law Firm Enters NC Voucher Case
The North Carolina state constitution clearly says that public funding is for public schools, but the Governor and General Assembly passed voucher legislation so parents can use public funds to send their children to schools run by religious groups. Now a high-powered law firm backed by the Koch brothers has entered the lawsuit to defend vouchers. They want more children to learn Biblical scienc
Rochester, NY: No Common Core Koolaid for Us
Doug Noble is a member of Rochester’s Coalition for Justice in Education. He wrote this letter to the editor of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. . Editor: The D&C Feb 11 editorial “Committed to Common Core” reveals a remarkable willingness to swallow the Common Core Kool Aid and to accuse of “posturing” its many critics, including parents’ groups, teachers and their unions, who have moved
What Rough Beast Comes Slouching from Lansing?
With my apologies to W. B. Yeats, this blogger says it is too soon to pop the cork about what may be a momentary setback for Governor Snyder’s Educational Achievement Authority, where he hopes to aggregate the state’s lowest performing schools and subject them to large classes and inexperienced teachers. He has other unsavory options up his sleeve. She writes: “Let us be perfectly clear here. T
What Matters Most in Teaching Can’t Be Quantified
Another great column from Myra Blackmon in the Athens (Georgia) Banner-Herald, explains the education industry and its obsession with data. She writes: “Some folks believe that if you can’t quantify something, it isn’t worth bothering with. People in power are often so obsessed with the data, the numbers, and the profits they often lose sight of the people behind the information. Such is the cas
A Reader Comments on the South Korean Model of Education
This came as a comment: Why do Obama and Duncan insist on naming South Korea as a model? Other than testing results, there is little that is admirable about the South Korean education system and South Koreans would be the first to admit it (I am South Korean, although I was educated in the US because my parents immigrated to — you guessed it — spare my siblings and me from the South Korean educa
David Safier: Corporate Reformers Fund Fake Dems to Support Vouchers in Arizona
David Safier is a journalist and friend of public education in Arizona. In this post, he explains how the usual assortment of corporate reformers amd make-believe Democrats have descended on Arizona to push vouchers. First, they donated handsomely to the campaign of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthaler, who uses his platform to promote the destruction of public educati
Michigan Hero of Public Schools Ellen Lipton Calls for Closer Watch on EAA
After the Michigan Department of Education ended its agreement to hand over low-performing schools to Governor Snyder’s controversial floundering Education Achievement Authority, Represenative Ellen Lipton called for stricter oversight of this entity. She said: ““This is evidence of a governor, a state education department and an experimental educational entity flying off the rails,” Lipton said.
Ohio: Do Legislators Really Want the Best Education for Children? Or…
A reader asked the question: Money for Education Misplaced If Ohio legislators truly want the best education for all children then why are most public school students from third to tenth graders required to take 17 standardized tests, written by a variety of educational vendors, while private school students take one, the OGT? Why is the state of Ohio giving tax credit scholarships for some stu
EduShyster: This Marriage Was Not Made in Heaven
EduShyster reports here on the comings and goings at ALEC. ALEC is a super-secret rightwing group sponsored by major corporations, whose members include about 2,000 state legislators who want to advance the corporate agenda. In this post, EduShyster notes that scores of corporations abandoned ALEC after it got so much bad press following the Trayvon Martin murder in Florida (ALEC supports stand
Who Are America’s Highest Paid Government Workers?
According to Education Week, the Center for Media and Democracy and Education has released a report on America’s highest paid government workers, and they are not whom you would think of. In education, it is Ron Packard, who until recently was CEO of K12 Inc., which manages virtual charter schools. Packard, formerly of McKinsey, was paid handsomely. The company insists its schools are public scho
Surprise! Class Size Really Does Matter!
In recent years, the false “reformers” have told s again and again that having “a great teacher” (defined by test scores) is more important than the size of the class he or she teaches. They have proposed finding those great teachers (they are still looking, but haven’t found the right method to identify them), then assigning them classes of 35-40 or more. It never occurs to them that the great te
FEB 19
Advice for Robert Reich About K-12 Education
A reader whose tag is “Not a Public School Teacher” reacts to the news that Robert Reich has come out in opposition to the overuse of standardized testing: “I was very grateful to see Reich’s stance in “Inequality for All”, but frankly, I think it’s about time he took a stand on K-12 public education. HIgh-stakes standardized testing is not a new issue. We’re talking about 12 years of standardized
Jeff Nichols Advises Governor Cuomo’s Panel On Common Core
Governor Cuomo created a panel to review the flawed rollout of the Common Core. His panel is stacked with supporters of Common Core. The governor invited the public to offer suggestions. Here is one from Jeff Nichols, a parent of children in the New York City public schools and a professor at Queens College and the GraduateCenter of the City of New Yrk: Professor Nichols writes: The Common Core I
Breaking News: Michigan Department of Education Terminates Agreement with EAA
After a series of exposes on Eclectablog about poor conditions of teaching and learning in Governor Rick Snyder’s so-called Education Achievement Authority for failing schools, the Michigan State Department of Education terminated an exclusivity agreement with EAA. This leaves open the possibility that the state education department might try some evidence-based practices–like smaller classes, ex
Camden, N.J.: Parents Face Manufactured Crisis and False Choice
Stephen Danley, a professor at Rutgers University, here describes the game that Camden’ state-appointed superintendent is paying on residents. He touted the virtues of the Urban Hope Act for new school construction, not the School Development Authority, because the former is funded. But the only schools it offers are charter schools! Neat trick! Danley writes: “I don’t know where that leaves Ca
Robert Reich On Standardized Testing
Robert Reich posted this on his Facebook page: Robert Reich “I’ve been a teacher for most of my life, and few professions are more intrinsically rewarding. Yet I’m troubled by the direction we’re heading in, especially K-12 education. It makes sense for all kids to be brought up to a minimum level of proficiency in English and math, and standardized tests can help insure they are. But we’ve gone w
The Perils of Privatization: Good News
A report from “In the Public Interest,” an organization that tracks privatization. The outlook for the profiteers is not so bright. That is good news. So is the news from Alaska and Maine. “National: As U.S. revenues of for-profit education companies slump, they look overseas for greener pastures. “Outside the U.S., it’s a wide-open area to run in without as much scrutiny,” says Michael Moe, chief
NJ Legislators Plan Hearings into Christie Plan to Privatize Newark Public Schools
State Senator Ronald Rice promised hearings into the Christie plan called “One Newark,” which would turn over 1/3 of the city’s umbilical schools to charter operators. Ironic name for Balkanization, no? “Let me assure you I will be calling for an investigation into the operation of the Newark district,” Rice said at the close of a two-hour hearing in Newark City Hall about the so-called “One Newa
Reader: The Chief Factor Behind “Global Competitiveness” Is….?
A sage comment by a reader: “The chief purpose of the Common Core standards –– one cited by the Common Core initiative, and repeatedly echoed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Business Roundtable, and Arne Duncan and the like –– is that the standards are necessary to enable American students and the American nation “to compete successfully in the global economy.” That’s demonstrably false. Amer
LA Times: How PBS Sold Its Soul
When Ronald Reagan and Congress cut funding for PBS, the public system had to go begging to the 1%. As this article in the LA Times shows, David Sirota was right when he exposed the funding behind the PBS series on “pension reform.” The money came from a billionaire who is a vocal critic if public pensions. PBS returned the $3.5 million. But read the story to learn how PBS quashed a show about
The Debate of the Decade Would be Schneider vs. Gates on CCSS
Mercedes Schneider recently wrote an open letter to Bill Gates. She is angry that he will be the keynote speaker for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Let’s face it: Bill Gates has never taught and most of what he knows about education is wrong. Schneider calls on him to explain how teachers can hold him accountable for having the nerve to tell them how to teach. She writes
Anthony Cody: What Bill Gates Will Tell the NBCTs, and Why They Should Not Believe Him
Anthony Cody is steamed that Bill Gates was invited to be a keynote speaker for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He knows that Gates will praise them and make them feel good. But, beware, he says. No one has done more to damage the profession of teaching than Bill Gates. Cody cites word-for-word the insulting and vacuous comments Gates has made in print and in lectures tha
Bob Braun: Cami Assures Newark Parents She Knows Best
Bob Braun writes that Christie’s appointee as Newark superintendent Cami Anderson told parents she knows what’s best for their children: “Pity the parents of Newark’s public school children. Many are unsure where their children will attend school in the fall. They’ve had to fill out application forms and hope they get their first choices in an ever-changing program called “One Newark.” For many,
A Network of Privatizing Institutions
Every time I think I have encountered every organization associated with corporate reform, I find I am wrong. Here is one I did not know about. It consists of foundations, nonprofits, mayor’s offices, etc. It shows you the funding and political muscle behind the movement to get rid of public schools and build up the number of non-union privately managed schools. It is yet another example of fals
Legal Challenges to North Carolina’s Voucher Plan Move Forward
The North Carolina legislature created a voucher plan, which they call “opportunity scholarships.” Voucher proponents never have the courage to call a voucher what it is; they always use the euphemism “opportunity scholarship” to try to fool the public. A number of North Carolina organizations challenged the law and the funding, and the judge ruled that the case against the law had merit and coul
FEB 18
Thank You, David Sirota!
Intrepid and fearless journalist David Sirota broke open the scandal of PBS accepting $3.5 million from the foundation of a billionaire with a strong interest in “reforming” (away) the pensions of public sector workers. Here Sirota reviews how the story unfolded, how PBS and WNET stone-walled, how the Arnold foundation attempted to distance itself from its funder, and how social media changed eve
New York Comptroller Releases Charter Audits: Not a Pretty Picture
The New York Charter School Association fought state audits in the courts and won. They said they were perfectly capable of auditing themselves. Some people assumed that where public money goes, public scrutiny follows. The law was changed to permit audits and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has been patiently auditing the charter schools. Here are his latest reports. COMPTROLLER DiNAPOLI RELEA
Peter Greene: A Teacher’s View Of Cybercharters
Peter Greene teaches in a small town in Pennsylvania. He hasn’t studied the research on Cybercharters but he can tell you which students they attract and how they are affecting the public schools in his town. If he read the research, he would find out that Pennsylvania is utopia for virtual charter schools, having 16 different companies advertising for students. Students drop out almost as fast as
John Thompson’s Brilliant Analysis of the Vergara Case
Teacher John Thompson here brilliantly and cogently dissects the efforts of the Billionaire Boys Club to eliminate due process rights for teachers in California. This post examines testimony in the infamous Vergara case, where a fabulously wealthy tech entrepreneur has engaged a top legal team to argue that “bad” teachers are causing low test scores. Tom Kane of Harvard and Gates is a star witnes
Prediction
I know, I know! I’m on vacation. But the hotel has wi-fi, and I have two devices and a serious addiction to this blog. Of course, I forgot to bring my able staff of 92 so you may spot more typos than usual, as the glare of the sun in the West Indies is pretty intense. As a matter of record, I am not sorry to miss today’s snowstorm in NYC. But I will be back in a few days, ready to don the boots
Parent: Children With Disabilities Need a True Voice on the Regents
Children with disabilities have many struggles to deal with. Public officials should do their best to remove the obstacles these children confront, not add to them. This is a statement written by Bianca Tanis, a parent of a child with disabilities. Here is an excerpt: “As of Tuesday, 2/11, Members of the NYS Assembly completed interviews of both new and incumbent candidates for the 4 positions t
Pennsylvania Cybercharters: The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow
A reader offers this perspicacious view of Pennsylvania’s cybercharter industry. There are 16 of them in the state. The founders of two of the major cybercharters are currently under indictment for siphoning millions of dollars of public funds: The reader writes: “Running a cyber-charter in PA is as good as printing money. No oversight and a system that completely ignores the actual costs of the
#resistTFA Tops Twitter Trend
The student-led movement to defend the teaching profession is off to a fast start: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contacts: Stephanie Rivera Rutgers University 1.732.485.0508 srrivera92@gmail.com Hannah Nguyen University of Southern California 1.408.644.9717 hbnguyen@usc.edu #ResistTFA (Resist Teach For America) Hashtag Tops Twitter Trend List February 18 – Chicago, IL – The hashtag, #ResistTFA (Res
How Cybercharters Cheat Taxpayers
Temple University law professor Susan deJarnett studied Pennsylvania’s 16 Cybercharters and found that they make huge profits while providing few services. “Parsing the tax documents for the 12 cyber charters for which information was available, she found that cyber charters carry large surpluses and spend what she considered a disproportionate amount of Pennsylvania tax dollars on advertising, t
A Stunning Article About the Obama Administration’s War on Public Education
This article by Michael Brenner, a professor of international relations at the University of Pittsburgh, is a trenchant summary of the relentless attack on public education launched by the Obama administration and backed by billions of federal and private dollars. Brenner begins: “A feature of the Obama presidency has been his campaign against the American public school system, eating way at the
Breaking News! Ras Baraka’s Campaign Bus Burned
Veteran journalist Bob Braun reports that mayoral candidate Ras Baraka’s campaign bus was burned soon after the launch of his campaign. As you know, the race for mayor of Newark represents a pivotal struggle over not only the future of Newark, but the future of its children and its public schools. And for that matter, the future of democracy. Newark’s citizens have been deprived of any role in go
The Network for Public Education Endorses Ras Baraka for Mayor of Newark
The Network for Public Education enthusiastically endorsed Ras Baraka for the position of mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Baraka is an experienced teacher and administrator, now a city councilman, fighting school closings and privatization. He stands strong for the children and people of Newark, not for the Christie administration and hedge fund managers seeking to disassemble and privatize public e
Forward Institute: Milwaukee Charter Study Shows Effects of Truancy, Poverty, and Experienced Teachers
The Forward Institute has released a study of charter schools in Milwaukee, comparing district charters, privately managed charters, and public schools. The findings are instructive. The 2R charter schools are the privately managed charters. The privately managed charters are skimming, doing grievous harm to the public school system. Any educational “gains” are the result of skimming, not educatio
Why Isn’t Andre Agassi Building Tennis Camps Instead of Charter Schools?
Andre Agassi is one of our nation’s greatest tennis stars. In his heyday, he was one of the most exciting people in the game. Because he was a child prodigy, he dropped out of high school in ninth grade to concentrate on his game. It was a good decision for him. But now in his retirement, he has decided that he should open a chain of for-profit charter schools, despite his lack of education or exp
FEB 17
Jason Stanford: Sandy Kress Registers to Lobby for Amplify and Pre-K Testing LINK ADDED!
Everyone–well, almost everyone–seems to think that pre-K is a great idea that will help children develop vocabulary and learn the social skills to prepare for kindergarten. But, wait! Who knew that Race to the Top, round 2, included funding for pre-K testing? Jason Stanford, intrepid Texas journalist, noticed that Sandy Kress registered to lobby for Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify, the big for-profit ru
NC State Chancellor: We Don’t Have a Music Major
On my recent visit to North Carolina, I met any wonderful people who are working hard to change the state for the better. I saw Former Governor Hunt, who is well respected in the state. I visited the East Durham Children’s Initiative, a very ambitious effort to meet the needs of children and families in the poorest section of town. But the most shocking moment of my visit came at the leadership
Arizona Chief of Public Schools Makes Robo-Calls Promoting Private Schools
John Huppenthal, Arizona’s state superintendent of PUBLIC instruction, is taking part in a campaign to urge parents to take advantage of tax credits to send their child to private school. He is doing it with public dollars. But, as usual, follow the money. . This video contains the robo-call he has made so far to 50,000 parents, touting the virtues of private schools. Question: Why isn’t this man
David Greene Deconstructs the New York Times’ Bizarre Article about “Left” Opposition to Common Core
David Greene asks a logical question: Does the New York Times know its left from its right? This is a confused and confusing portrait of the vigorous, noisy, and numerous activists who are fighting Common Core and its testing and scripted modules in New York. The article leaves out the parent and educator groups across the state: the BATs, the Long Island parent opt-out groups, Leonie Haimson’s
Fear in the Classroom: Thank You, Bill and Eli
This was written by Kipp Dawson, an experienced teacher of English and social studies in middle school in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh won a large grant from the Gates Foundation to apply its ideas about evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students. Things have not gone well, as Dawson reporters here, especially since the city schools have a Broad superintendent who is a true believer in tes
The Vergara Case: Is Harvard Prof Tom Kane the VAMboozler in Chief?
Audrey Amrein Beardsley of Arizona State Is one of our nation’s leading experts on matters related to value-added measurement. In this rarified but important field, Beardsley has a stellar advantage: she was a classroom teacher. Imagine that! She has been following the Vergara trial in Los Angeles closely. She writes here about the testimony of Harvard professor Tom Kane, who advises the Gates F
Long Island Resistance Condemns Regents’ Failure to Fix Common Core
New York parents, especially in the politically powerful suburbs of Long Island and Westchester-Putnam, are outraged by the failure of the New York Board of Regents to take more decisive steps to fix the Common Core. They want a thorough review of the standards by New York practitioners, and not those picked by CC-loving Commissioner John King. They want a true moratorium on the CC testing until
Illinois: PARCC Field Tests Begin, Not Auspiciously
A reader sends this comment: “It is starting in Illinois with the PARCC fled tests coming next month . Technology coordinators and classroom teachers have been trying the online sample field test questions and are appalled at how developmentally inappropriate the tasks and questions are for eight, nine, and ten year olds. I am all for rigor. Ask my students and their parents. Rigor does not mean
An Education Researcher Speaks Out Against War on Public Schools
Tim Slekar moved not long ago from Penn State-Altoona to Edgewood College in Wisconsin, a small Catholic liberal arts college. In both places, he has been a firebrand, fighting to restore common sense to the national dialogue and to promote respect for educators. Tim has made videos, podcasts, a radio show, run for school board (in Pennsylvania), and done whatever he could to draw attention to the
Alfie Kohn on Grit and Its Misuses
Due to the success of Paul Tough’s book “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character,” the corporate reformers seized on the idea that what is needed for academic success is not just strict discipline and constant test prep, but GRIT. Grit, meaning perseverance. As Alfie Kohn writes, the original interest in noncognitive skills focused on emotional intelligence. He w
What Will Happen When Common Core Tests Go National
Experienced curriculum designer Robert Shepherd wrote the following prediction after reading this post: “The oligarchs who got together in a back room and decided that we were going to have a. invariant, top-down national standards, and b. these ridiculous new tests “have grown used to absolute power. They have grown used to implementing policy in their companies, for example, and having people ac
Mark Weber: The Mess That Cerf Leaves Behind in New Jersey
Mark Weber, who blogs as Jersey Jazzman, here describes the legacy of Chris Cerf’s three years as State Commissioner of Education in New Jersey. Cerf has announced that he is leaving to join Amplify, the education division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which is headed by Cerf’s former boss Joel Klein. Cerf was deputy chancellor in New York City when Klein was chancellor. Together, they wil
FEB 16
Jonathan Pelto: Guess Which Corporate Sponsor Pays for PBS’ “The Teaching Channel”?
Jonathan Pelto points out that one of the most powerful mainstream media voices promoting the Common Core is PBS “The Teaching Channel.” Who sponsors the program? One guess.
Grace Got It Right: What Education is for
After reading a letter by a student named Grace, this reader pointed out a crucial diggerence in purpose: the authors of the Common Core want to rank and rate everyone, but many educators have a humane vision, not of winners and losers, but of self-directed human beings. “Even kids like Grace know that an individualized, self-directed, self-paced approach is the real future of education. Helping
Why Does PBS Ignore the Assault on Public Education? Can You Guess?
In the aftermath of David Sirota’s exposé of PBS accepting $3.5 million for a series about pension reform, funded by the Arnold Foundation (and since returned), another question naturally arises: why has PBS shown little or no interest in the corporate takeover of and turmoil in public education? I appeared on Charlie Rose last year for about 15-20 minutes. But otherwise the viewers of PBS have n
The BATs Have Their Own Common Core
This is the BATs’ Common Core of beliefs and values. It probably won’t go far because no one can make any money by adopting it. It won’t sell new hardware or software. It won’t sell new tests or textbooks. It won’t make any entrepreneurs rich. Not much of a future in this brave new market-based world.
Louisiana Principal: When I Had to Test a Boy Treated for Cancer in Memphis
After reading the tragic story of Ethan Rediske, the boy dying in hospice who could not be excused from taking the Florida state test without documentation, this principal wrote about a student in her school. Bear in mind: Nothing is more important to the State of Louisiana than the tests: Not the boy’s health, not his life: Just his test score. If the state didn’t have his test score, how would t
David Lyell Explains Why L.A. Is Jeopardizing the Future with Hasty iPad Purchase
David Lyell–a classroom teacher and UTLA officer– here describes the ongoing iPad fiasco in Los Angeles. Why did the district commit to spend $1 billion on iPads? To test the Common Core. Are tests more valuable to students than smaller classes, experienced teachers, and the arts, all of which are being sacrificed for iPads? Was the Pearson content reviewed? Who is investigating how decisions were
Texas Parents Give Grades to Legislators: “It’s Ugly”
“Reformers” love to grade students, educators, and schools. Parent-led Texas Kids Can’t Wait has turned the tables. It here gives grades to the state’s legislators. Parent groups should do the same everywhere else. Newsletter I didn’t want you to miss seeing this great blog by Kim Burkett: IT’S REPORT CARD DAY FOR TEXAS LEGISLATORS … AND IT’S UGLY February 13, 2014 By Kim Burkett, PTA Mom Like m
Why PBS/WNET Returned $3.5 Million to John Arnold’s Foundation
Investigative Journalist David Sirota wrote a brilliant series of articles about PBS taking $3.5 million about pension reform from the foundation of billionaire JohnArnold, a former Enron trader. After stonewalling, PBS decided there was a perception of conflict of interest since Arnold has been a prominent figure in the public debate about public pensions. And PBS returned the money. Here is an
Diagram of the Brain of a Reformer
These two teachers have discovered the brain of a reformer and can demonstrate the comparison between the brain of a reformer and the brain of those who need reforming. Very impressive.
When the Rubric Goes Horribly Wrong
We are all aware of long sustained efforts to turn education into a jargon-filled technical exercise, overlooking such mundane goals as the joy of learning I could not resist sharing this comment from a reader. The reader writes: “Once I was taking a writing course that featured a US Poet Laureate as a guest speaker. He was a grand speaker and told us about many experiences. “He told us that he
Teacher: When Test Scores Measure Nothing
A teacher writes to challenge the claim that teachers are never fired and to explain why it is wrong to judge teachers by test scores: “Teachers do get fired. 3 in my own school in recent memory. Tenure only provides teachers the right to due process before they are let go for poor performance. And, how do you judge me on my students’ performance? I’m a special education teacher. I teach students
FEB 15
Good News from Michigan: EAA Expansion Stalls in Legislature
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
California: Bill Introduced to Protect Bond Funds
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.
A Mayoral Candidate for D.C. Who Rejects the Rhee Era of Test and Punish
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
Grace Breaks Up with Common Core
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
In Praise of the Pencil
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: What I Learned by Studying Art History
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 been 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
Reader Offers a Dose of Common Sense about “High Test Scores”
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