SKrashen:
Our focus should be on protecting children from the impact of poverty
Published in the Wall Street Journal, February 21.Response to: "A progressive education" (Editorial, Feb. 14)Your editorial sends the message that our public schools are failing. They aren't. When researchers control for the effects of poverty, American schools rank near the top of the world. Our overall scores are unspectacular because the child poverty rate in the U.S. is very high, 23
FEB 20
No unnecessary testing
Sent to the Wall Street Journal, Feb 21To the editor:"The pleasures of teaching to the test," (Feb. 13) argues that test prep can be a good thing, and the letters published on Feb 20 argue that tests are necessary, and in life, we must pass lots of tests. All assume that those of us critical of the common core are anti-testing. Not true. All educators understand the necessity of responsi
FEB 19
Meaningful work versus coercion
Sent to the Oregonian, Feb. 19Joanne Yatvin's description of how "Meaningful work keeps students in school," (Feb. 18) includes small class sizes, sports teams that allowed all comers to join and play, teacher collaboration with time to meet during the school day, plays and musical events that included all interested students, emphasis on building classroom community, and school wide pro
FEB 16
Charters: Another point of view
Sent to the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16, 2014Mathew 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-aca
FEB 15
A bad solution to a non-existent problem
Sent 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 must be delivered online. This requires internet acc
FEB 12
Why Invest in Libraries
WHY INVEST IN LIBRARIESStephen KrashenPresentation at LAUSD Board of Education meeting, Febuary 11, 2014To discuss libraries, several important results from educational research will be of use.POVERTY COUNTSThe impact of poverty on educational achievement has been documented again and again. Poverty means, among other things, inadequate diet, lack of health care, and lack of access to books. Eac
California's public libraries do poorly in national rankings. LA is 69th out of 77 cities.
California cities captured six of the bottom ten places in the public library category of the most recent "America's Most Literate Cities report" (2013). Los Angeles public libraries ranked 69thout of 77.The report analyzes data from 77 cities with populations of 250,000 and above. The bottom ten: 68. Anaheim, CA69. Los Angeles, CA70. Anchorage, AK71. Bakersfield, CA72. Sacramento, CA