Charters: Another point of view
Sent to the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16, 2014
Mathew Kaminski's enthusiasm for Success Academy and for charters in general, ("Teachers Union Enemy No. 1", February 15) presents only part of the story.
The high test scores achieved by Success Charter Schools in New York has been thoroughly discussed in a series of blogs by Diane Ravitch (http://dianeravitch.net/category/harlem-success-academy/). The series includes evidence that Success schools devote an astonishing amount of time to test preparation and devote little or no time to subjects that are not tested, evidence that teachers, parents, students and staff were required to attend the pro-charter rally last fall, and evidence that suspension rates at Success schools are very high.
It should also be pointed out that research has shown that in general charter schools do not do as well as public schools, even though may are very selective in who they admit, and can expel "problem" students.
Stephen Krashen
Source:: Performance of charter schools: National Charter School Study. Can be downloaded at http://credo.stanford.edu/.
Original article: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304434104579382993628994458?KEYWORDS=kaminski
Mathew Kaminski's enthusiasm for Success Academy and for charters in general, ("Teachers Union Enemy No. 1", February 15) presents only part of the story.
The high test scores achieved by Success Charter Schools in New York has been thoroughly discussed in a series of blogs by Diane Ravitch (http://dianeravitch.net/category/harlem-success-academy/). The series includes evidence that Success schools devote an astonishing amount of time to test preparation and devote little or no time to subjects that are not tested, evidence that teachers, parents, students and staff were required to attend the pro-charter rally last fall, and evidence that suspension rates at Success schools are very high.
It should also be pointed out that research has shown that in general charter schools do not do as well as public schools, even though may are very selective in who they admit, and can expel "problem" students.
Stephen Krashen
Source:: Performance of charter schools: National Charter School Study. Can be downloaded at http://credo.stanford.edu/.
Original article: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304434104579382993628994458?KEYWORDS=kaminski
Stephen Krashen Blog 2-15-14
SKrashen:A bad solution to a non-existent problemSent to the New York Times, Feb. 14, 2014"The common core in New York" (Feb. 14) neglects to say that:The standards are untested. There were no pilot studies. They come with a substantial increase in testing; research has indicated that increasing testing does not mean greater achievement.The new tests will cost a fortune because they mus