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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Katie Lapham: The Failure of Common Core Testing in New York=Child Abuse
Katie Lapham, a teacher in New York City, here recounts the disaster of Common Core testing in New York state. She wonders why children who don’t speak English are supposed to pass a high-stakes exam, with only one exemption. She wonders why she, their teacher, will get no information about student performance except a score–no information about what her students learned and what they did not lea
Christie Administration Threatens to Suspend Democracy in Newark
Frustrated by the appointments made by the mayor who replaced Cory Booker, the Chris Christie administration is now considering a complete takeover of the finances of the city of Newark. Newark’s schools have been under state control since 1995. David Giambusso of the Star-Ledger reports: After a months-long cold war over Newark Mayor Luis Quintana’s hiring practices and his approach to city budge
On Chris Hayes: The SAT Accurately Measures Family Income
This was a good panel discussion on Chris Hayes’ show on MSNBC about the redesign of the SAT. What came through clearly is that the SAT–like all standardized tests–favors those who are the haves of society, those who have family income and family education. Chris refers to a recent study (which I will say more about on Monday) showing that the kids who took the SAT or ACT did no better in college
Jan Resseger writes of her delight in discovering that Mike Rose has released a revised edition of “Why School?” Resseger writes: “In the 2014 edition, Rose has revised, updated, and expanded Why School? It now addresses the impact of President Obama’s Race to the Top program and other federal programs that have emerged since 2009—including problems with the waivers now being granted to address t
Parent to the President: Why Don’t Private Schools Adopt Your High-Stakes Testing Policies?
Bertis Downs is a great supporter of public education who lives in Athens, Georgia, and sends his daughter to Clarke Central High School. He is also a valued director of the Network for Public Education. In this post, he thanks President Obama for recognizing the great things happening in his local high school. But he invites the President to visit Athens and see what his policies are doing to th
Erin Osborne: Keep Profiteers Out of the Classroom!
Erin Osborne warns in this powerful article at Salon.com that the profiteers are invading the classroom. They aren’t just selling pencils and textbooks. They are creating business ventures to make millions from controlling and directing the curriculum and testing, supplying the software and hardware that the new curriculum and testing requires. Tellingly, she titles her article: “Keep Fox News Out
Emma Gulley is a student at one of America’s finest colleges, Bryn Mawr. She was intrigued by the mystique of Teach for America, and she agreed to represent TFA on campus. But the more she worked for them, the more she realized that she was not fulfilling her dream of “giving back” and “social justice,” but servicing a powerful and ambitious organization. This is the story of her disillusionment.
The Abject Failure of Michigan’s Educational Achievement Authority
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s pet project is the Educational Achievement Authority, where the lowest-performing districts are clustered in a single entity managed by Superintendent John Covington, a Broad Academy graduate. The EAA has been funded not only by taxpayers but by the Broad Foundation and many Detroit philanthropists. For reasons documented amply by Eclectablog, the EAA has failed to
Researcher: Most “Common Core-Aligned” Textbooks Are Shams
Professor Bill Schmidt of Michigan State University told the Education Writers Association that most textbooks claiming o be aligned to the Common Core are not. The publishers slapped a sticker on the book and changed very little or nothing. Most textbooks he reviewed were a “sham,” sold by “snake oil salesmen.” “Hoping to boost their share of a $9 billion annual market, many publishers now boast
FairTest Gathers the News on Growing Resistance to Testing Mania
Guy Brandenburg here reproduces the listing of anti-testing news from FairTest, an organization that has been ringing the alarm bells about standardized testing for years. If you want to see the expulsion of test boycotts, opt outs, and rollbacks, read the FairTest update.
YESTERDAY
Great Opinion Piece in NY Times: “Save Us from the SAT”
A wonderful article appeared in today’s New York Times about the SAT. While the letters columns and the talking heads were discoursing on the meaning of the redesign of the SAT, Jennifer Finney Boylan, recounted her own tortured experience taking the SAT. She offers no hope that the changes are anything more than cosmetic. Her view: “All in all, the changes are intended to make SAT scores more a
Will You Sign a Petition to Governor Cuomo? Please Fund Our Public Schools!
From: “Greg Basta, NYCC” Subject: She is FED UP with Cuomo! Date: March 7, 2014 Join Zakiyah’s Fight! Click Here To Sign The Petition Demanding Governor Cuomo Fully Fund Public Schools in NY State I’m angry! Governor Cuomo claims to be the “students’ lobbyist,” but his actions tell a different story. For the last four years, he has severely underfunded New York’s public schools leaving public sch
Paul Thomas: Why South Carolina Should Not Tie Teacher Evaluations to Test Scores
The indefatigable Paul Thomas of Furman University wrote an opinion piece for a major newspaper in South Carolina, warning against the error of evaluating teachers by test scores. This, he says, is a bad idea that won’t die. In other words, it is a zombie policy. Thomas carefully reviews the research on this idea for a lay audience, explaining what they need to know about the inaccuracy and bias i
Here Are the Trailers for “Rise Above the Mark”
Reader Lloyd Lofthouse found trailers on YouTube for the wonderful film “Rise Above the Mark.” Please watch it and try to get the film to show in your community. Lloyd Lofthouse writes: “ “Here’s the trailer for “Rise Above the Mark”. If you click on YouTube’s name, right-hand lower corner of the video’s frame, that will take you to YouTube where you may also watch the other two, longer trailers
Fairy Princess Explains Child Abuse
When she read that parents in New York are planning an Opt-Out rally on March 29, this reader sent the following poem: “Way to go NEW YORK ! BRAVEHEART of our Nation! “I Opted Out in Texas by resigning. As an educator, I could no longer violate my professional ethics or my conscience and participate in a state school system that abuses children. I felt that I was being manipulated and “used” to a
OECD Head Admits that Shanghai Numbers for PISA Lower Than Previously Admitted
In the ongoing debate between Tom Loveless of Brookings and Andreas Schleicher of the OECD, score one for Loveless. Loveless has steadfastly maintained that the astonishing scores from Shanghai are almost meaningless because of the missing students. At a conference in Great Britain, Schleicher admitted that about a quarter of the children in Shanghai were not sampled for the PISA exam. Yet he con
Good News: Japanese Edition of “Reign of Error”!
Wonderful news! I just learned from my literary agent that there will be a Japanese translation of “Reign of Error.” The Japanese people will learn from our mistakes. Will we? Almost all of my books have been translated into Japanese. They are eager to improve their excellent public school system.
Peter Greene Channels David Coleman on the Redesign of the SAT
Peter Greene teaches high school in Pennsylvania so naturally he is very interested in the redesign of the SAT. So, in a well-used journalistic tradition, Greene assumes the voice of David Coleman–president of the College Board–to explain the reasoning behind the changes. This is his conclusion. You get the drift. Open the link and read it all. “Yes, the SAT was a biased test. It still is– but
John Thompson: An Early Post-Mortem for Common Core
John Thompson, an experienced teacher and historian, is convinced that Common Core will die unless there is a moratorium on high-stakes testing. The early returns from states that have tested the “rigorous” Common Core show high failure rates, especially among poor and minority youth. Thompson writes: Real world, there are only so many hours in a day, and time is running out on the opportunity to
“Rise Above the Mark”: A Fantastic New Film About Real Teachers and Schools!
You have to see this film: “Rise Above the Mark.” It was produced and written by educators and friends of public education in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is professional, compelling, and honest about the challenges facing children, schools and teachers today. The team interviewed Pasi Sahlberg, Linda Darling-Hammond, Marc Tucker, me, and others. But more importantly, the film interviews teachers,
Veteran Teacher Says: No Matter What They Throw at Us, I Won’t Quit
Another third-grade teacher weighs in on the damage that politicians and legislators and testing corporations are doing to children: Forget all of our methods classes in college. Forget developmental learning. Forget that children are not all the same. Every word above is true. I too am a third grade teacher. Or perhaps I should say I am now a third grade test administrator. Education is no long
MAR 06
David Sirota: How Eva Used Kids As Political Pawns
Investigative reporter David Sirota wonders about the legality of Eva Moskowitz closing her charter schools and busing the students to Albany for a political rally. Even stranger is that Governor Cuomo attended and supported her rally. If her schools were public schools, she would have been fired. At once.
My Speech at the Network for Public Education: “Why We Will Win!”
The Network for Public Education held its first annual conference at the LBJ Center of the University of Texas in Austin. It was an amazing gathering of some 400 activists from across the nation: students, teachers, parents, principals, superintendents, journalists, union leaders. Many familiar names, bloggers everywhere, interspersed with state and local heroes, people fighting for kids and publi
Wisconsin: This Takes the Cake
This letter was written by Scott Wittkopf of the Forward Institute in Wisconsin to the Senate Education Committee about a bill to create a new “model academic standards board” consisting of political appointees, not educational experts. March 6, 2014 To Wisconsin State Senate Education Committee Members: Senator Luther Olsen, Chair Senator Paul Farrow, Vice Chair Senator Alberta Darling Senato
Durham, NC, School Board Loves Its Teachers
Members of the Durham school board voted unanimously yesterday to join a lawsuit against the law eliminating “career status” protections afforded to veteran teachers. Guilford County and Wake County are also opposing the llegislature’s mandate to identify the “best” teachers and offer them a bonus to abandon due process. Think how dumb that is: find your best teachers and make it easier to fire th
Why Cuomo Loves Charters
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who once promised to be a lobbyist for students, is in reality a lobbyist for charter schools, which enroll about 3% of the state’s students. He is not a lobbyist for the other 97%, whose schools are cutting their budgets because of Cuomo’s tax cap. How could this be? Geoff Decker of Chalkbeat, a New York City’s nonpartisan education blog, explains Cuomo’s close connection w
Wall Street Journal: Cuomo Poll Numbers Tumble
There is little doubt that Andrew Cuomo will be re-elected, given that he has raised $33 million from New York’s financial titans. But the latest Wall Street Journal poll shows that Cuomo’s numbers dropped sharply to their lowest point. Apparently, his claim to be the “lobbyist for students” hasn’t worked so well, especially with black and Latino voters. His fervent embrace of charter schools in r
Ladd and Fiske: A Guide to What Happened to Public Education in North Carolina
Professor Helen F. Ladd of Duke University and her husband Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of the New York Times, have written a comprehensive analysis that explains the politics of education in North Carolina in recent years. They have generously shared it with readers of this blog. Professor Ladd is one of the most distinguished economists of education in the United States. Fiske is edi
Cuomo Distorts Charter School Facts and Issues, Gets a Grade of F
A researcher who has followed the issues in New York state closely submitted the following analysis of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s views on charter schools. The researcher has requested anonymity; he has documented his review. The sources are nonpartisan and unimpeachable. This is recommended reading for all journalists and citizens. Forgive the formatting. ************************************
Parent Advocate in New Orleans: The “Miracle of New Orleans” is a Fraud
EduShyster here prints a guest column by Ashana Bigard, a New Orleans native and parent advocate who describes the hoax perpetrated on the national media about school choice in that city. Bigard describes schools where children are punished because they are poor. She writes: The majority of schools in New Orleans have these overly rigid disciplinary codes—they’re run like little prisons. The schoo
MAR 05
College Board Will Revise SAT: FairTest Says Drop SAT
David Coleman, president of the College Board (and architect of Common Core), announced plans to revise the SAT. Read here about the changes. Critics now believe that the SAT accurately measures family income, especially the ability to pay the cost of expensive tutors. Coleman says that will change. Currently, the ACT has more test takers than the SAT. FairTest is not satisfied with the changes
A Public School Teacher Explains How His School Differs from Eva’s Charters
Arthur Goldstein has been teaching high school students in New York City for 29 years. He has a blog called NYC Educator. This is his reaction to the charter flap in New York City, caused when Mayor de Blasio approved 39 out of 49 charter applications (some of the new charters will be given space in public school buildings, displacing public school students), approved three new charters for Succes
Rupert Murdoch’s War on Mayor de Blasio
After eight years of Rudy Guiliani and twelve years of Michael Bloomberg, the 1% is accustomed to getting whatever it wants in Néw York City. They like to cover their “wants” in deceptive rhetoric suggesting they are doing it “for the kids” or for “civil rights.” Media Matters here reports on billionaire Murdoch’s vendetta against Mayor Bill de Blasio. Our newly elected progressive mayor is now th
Paul Horton on the What the NPE Conference Meant to Him
Paul Horton, teacher of history at the University of Chicago Lab School, wrote the following after participating in the first conference of the Network for Public Education: Attending the NPE inaugural conference was an exhilarating experience! As Diane said in her keynote, we cannot afford to exclude anyone. We all met hundreds of amazing and dedicated folks in Austin. I had a conversation with
The Big Lie about Mayor Bill de Blasio and Charters
The New York City tabloids–whose owners are zealous about charter schools–have whipped up a frenzy against Mayor Bill de Blasio because he did not approve every single charter application rushed through the Bloomberg board at its last meeting in October 2013. That board, which never said no to Mayor Bloomberg, approved an unprecedented 49 charter applications, some of which are co-locations. A co-
Bloggers React to the NPE National Conference in Austin
I had planned to publish each of the bloggers’ descriptions of the first conference of the Network for Public Education, but it would take weeks to report them all. Here is the initial wave of comments. My impression from the conference was that people were ecstatic. They loved the conversations, the debates, the solidarity. Robert Perry, communications director of NPE, and a middle school teac
Funny Bu$iness at Florida Air Base
The Tampa Bay Times wrote an editorial urging the state to reject a for-profit charter school at an Air Base. The base already has an on-base public school that was A-rated by the state for 12 of the past 13 years. But Governor Rick Scott encouraged the creation of a charter on the base. As the editorial says, the local school board rejected the application: “But organizers now are appealing to
Georgia: Legislators Dumbing Down the Kids and the State
There are people who hate public education and don’t care much about any kind of education. Some are legislators. Some have positions of influence in states like Georgia. Here Maureen Downey writes about the latest legislative assault, which started as an attack on Common Core and grew into something far worse. As one who has been critical of Common Core in its current form, I want to disassocia
Myra Blackmon: Why Don’t Legislators Leave Schools Alone?
Myra Blackmon writes in Online Athens (Georgia) about the legislators who listen to al the wrong people. She writes: “….our lawmakers need some new ears, to hear the voices of parents, teachers and people who spend their time and energy in public education. “They need new ears that won’t hear the twisted “facts,” crazy ideas and pronouncements from wealthy people and others who have a financial i
Michigan: Governor Snyder’s Plan to Destroy Public Education
Dale Hansen in the Detroit News explains in this blog post how Governor Rick Snyder has underfunded the public schools while claiming (falsely) to have increased funding. By the way, the title of his article is: “Governor Rick Snyder Is Working to Destroy Public Education.” He shows how the Governor is pushing teachers out of the pension system, contributing to its woes as there are fewer teachers
Microsoft and Pearson Join Forces to Create Common Core Curriculum: Are You $urprised?
A reader forwarded the following story. Microsoft and Pearson will join forces to build “the first curriculum…for a digital personalized learning environment that is 100 percent aligned to the new standards for college and career readiness.” Now we see the pattern on the rug. It begins like this: New York, NY (PRWEB) February 20, 2014 Today Pearson announced a collaboration with Microsoft Corp. th
Watch the Brilliant Speeches by John Kuhn and Karen Lewis Here
John Kuhn and Karen Lewis spoke as keynoters at the first annual conference of the Network for Public Education at the LBJ Center at the University of Texas in Austin last weekend. Watch and listen here.
NPE Leadership Calls for Congressional Hearings About Misuse and Costs of Testing
Here are links to the Network for Public Education’s resolution calling for Congressional hearings on the misuse, abuse, overuse, and cost of standardized testing in our schools: PRESS RELEASE: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/2014/03/press-release-npe-calls-for-congressional-hearings/ SUMMARY: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/2014/03/npe-call-for-congressional-hearings-summary/ FU
Sharon Higgins on New and Coming Gulen Schools
From Sharon Higgins, a parent activist in Oakland who keeps track of the Gulen charter movement: “List of active Gulen charter schools @ http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/p/list-of-us-gulen-schools.html “More information about recently approved/proposed Gulen charter schools @ http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/proposed-gulen-charter-schools.html. “GULEN CHARTER SCHOOLS ALREADY APPROV
Iris Rotberg: Charter Schools Exacerbate Segregation
There has long been evidence that charter schools are more segregated than the districts in which they operate, and a few scholars–like Gary Orfield at UCLA have systematically documented the segregating consequences of charters. Public officials tend to shrug off such concerns as irrelevant to the quest for higher test scores or just an unfortunate fact of life over which they are powerless. But
MAR 04
Wake County Unanimously Passes Resolution Protecting Its Teachers from Bad Law
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps common sense will prevail in embattled North Carolina. Here is the Wake County board resolution, passed unanimously tonight. Media Release WCPSS Communications Samiha Khanna (919) 431-7716 skhanna@wcpss.net For Immediate Release | March 4, 2014 Board of Education requests repeal of new teacher contract legislation The Wake County Board of Education unanimously passed a r
BREAKING NEWS: Wake County Board Says NO to Anti-Teacher Law!
The latest news from North Carolina: “A victory this evening. The nine-member Wake County NC (16th largest district in the U.S., 150K students) unanimously passed a resolution opposing legislation that requires local Boards of Education to offer four-year contract to only 25% of teachers of all who are deemed “effective.” No one supports this divide and conquer strategy aimed at killing teacher ca
Who Loves Standardized Testing? No One!
The Network for Public Educstion has called for Congressional hearings to investigate the misuse, overuse, and multiple costs of standardized testing. A panel about accountability st Austin’s SXSW, Randi Weingarten and Duncan’s former Assistant Secretary for Communications Peter Cunningham, discussed the issue. Then NPE’s peerless leader Anthony Cody asked the first question. “Will you support ou
9 Moguls Take Home $2.6 Billion
While most people are struggling with a tough economy, nine tycoons cleaned up last year. Nine tycoons took home more than $2.6 billion, according to the Wall Street Joirnal. “Nine founders of four of the world’s largest private-equity firms together collected the sum–more than twice as much as they made in the prior year–through dividends and other payments. The executives each took home more t
Jason Stanford: “Education Spring” Is Right Around the Corner
Veteran political analyst Jason Stanford attended the Network for Public Education conference in Austin, and he sensed the beginning of a movement against high-stakes testing and the corporate takeover of public education. He writes: “In the state where high-stakes testing began, a few hundred teachers, academics, and activists came together last weekend to hasten what one leader called an “Educ
Rhode Island Board Chairman Accuses Educator of “Grandstanding”
Eva Mancuso, the lawyer who heads the Rhode Island Board of Education, accused the superintendent of schools in Providence, Susan Lusi, of “grandstanding” because she came out against using NECAP as a high school graduation requirement. Lusi sided with the Providence Student Union, which has steadfastly opposed the use of a standardized test for graduation. Mancuso and State Commissioner Deborah
Ah! The Missing Few Minutes Were Captured After All by Video
Here is the website where you will find the speeches by me, Karen Lewis, and John Kuhn. Initially, I read that the last few minutes of my speech were not recorded, but apparently two film makers were at work, and the missing piece is there after all on a spare YouTube video. The panels were amazing. The conversation invigorating. How wonderful it was to meet people we knew only by their Twitter
Speeches from NPE Conference
The keynote addresses by Karen Lewis, John Kuhn, and me may be found at http://www.schoolhouselive.org/ Unfortunately, the last three minutes of my speech were not recorded. Lost in space and time. Watch, enjoy, feel energized, and get to work. Right now!
Peter Greene: Why the “Reformers” Will Lose
Peter Greene writes here on why the “reformers” will lose. The subject of my speech at the NPE conference was “Why We Will Win.” I will post it when I find the link in a few minutes. Peter notes that no one espouses the “reformer” agenda unless they are paid to do so. On our side, as we saw at the NPE conference in Austin, everyone is a passionate and knowledgeable volunteer, unpaid and deeply
Larry Lee: Alabama Is Lucky to Have Tommy Bice As State Superintendent
Larry Lee, a native Alabamian who is devoted to public education, is an admirer of State Superintendent Tommy Bice. Here he explains why: Education Matters By Larry Lee How many legislative hearings have I attended in my life? Too many is probably the correct answer. But I recently witnessed something in one that I’ve never seen before. A standing ovation. It was a joint meeting of the Alabama Se
Cleveland Charter Fails: Don’t Blame Founder, He Is Not an Educator
The Lion of Judah charter school in Cleveland is closing, and the founder was sentenced to five years probation. “Prosecutors last year accused Romey Coles Jr. and other officials of the Lion of Judah charter school of funneling at least $1.2 million in public funds to businesses associated with the troubled charter school….” “Prosecutors left Coles’ sentence up to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Ju
Nevada: Teacher Explains How Corporate Reformers “Play” with Education
From Angie Sullivan in Nevada, where the rich play, kep taxes low, and are privatizing the public schools: “Some of the most wealthy people in the world live in Nevada. What do billionaires and business people do for fun in Nevada? Reform public education of course! What do Casino Tycoon Elaine Wynn, Amazon.com Jeff Bezos, and Zappos Tony Hsieh have in common? Teach for America and ALEC inspire
Billionaire Arnold Backs Both Sides in Rhode Island Race
Texas billionaire John Arnold, who has drawn attention for his interest in public sector pension reform (meaning that public sector pensions are too generous), is supporting both sides of the gubernatorial race in Rhode Island. David Sirota wrote about how the Arnold Foundation underwrote a PBS special on the pension crisis and underwrote a Brookings Institution report on the same subject. PBS re
How to Talk Real to Your Pearson Trainer!
The voice of a new blogger! At least, new to me. Glad to make his/her acquaintance. This post was written by a veteran teacher who knows how to get students to love literature. But it is a brave new world, and now the teacher must be trained to say the right words and terms by a “perky” Pearson trainer. She tried! She really, really tried. She traded jargon with the trainer, blow for blow. But in
David Berliner: Why We Must Support Public Schools and Their Teachers
In an essay posted by Gene Glass, the distinguished researcher David Berliner here explains the importance of public education and the heroic role of teachers. Gene Glass writes: The Teacher as Sisyphus Sisyphus was a king whose sins were punished by being made to push an immense rock to the top of a hill every day only to have the rock roll back down each night. Philosophers and poets for centur
Paul Buchheit: How Privatization Destroys Education
The handover of public schools to private control is a defining feature of President Obama’s Race to the Top. Make no mistake, as the President likes to say, Race to the Top has been a mighty force for privatization. Although there are some charter schools that are managed by dedicated educators, the charter movement is now largely powered by ambition, a passion for control and power, and–yes–gree
MAR 03
Opt Out Movement on the Rise: School Officials Worried
This spring may be the biggest mass protest against standardized testing ever, and school officials are worried, according to Education Week.
Mercedes Schneider: First Thoughts on NPE Conference
There will be more to come from Mercedes Schneider, who reports her first thoughts here.
NPE Calls for Congressional Hearings on Testing
At the conclusion of its first annual conference, the Network for Public Education announced a call for Congressional hearings on testing: NPE Calls for Congressional Hearings – Full Text March 2, 2014 NPE News We are writing to request that the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee hold hearings to investigate the over-emphasis, misapplication, costs, and poor implementation of high-sta
Joe Bower’s Reflections on First Conference of the Network for Public Education
Joe Bower, a school leader in Canada, joined us in Austin for the first national conference of the Network for Public Education. Here are his reactions: I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas at the first Network for Public Education (NPE) and it was fantastic. You can find my day 1 post here and my day 2 post here. Here are 3 things I learned from The Network for Public Education Conference: 1. Re
Guy Brandenburg Reports on the First Conferece of the Network for Public Education
Guy Brandenburg writes here about the first conference of the Network for Public Education, just concluded in Austin, Texas. Nearly 400 educators, parents, and activists met to brainstorm about how to roll back the corporate attack on public education. It was huge, exciting, energizing, and the beginning of a new day.
Milwaukee: Poster District for the Failure of Corporate Reform
Bob Peterson here writes about the fate of Milwaukee which is a model city for almost every bad idea of the corporate reform movement. Milwaukee has had vouchers and charters since 1990. The voucher schools and charter schools do not outperform the public schools. The public schools have disproportionate numbers of students with special needs, who Re not wanted by the voucher and charter schools.
Jack Schneider: Why School Integration Matters
In this post, Jack Schneider explains why he and his wife chose to send their daughter to the public school across the street. Schneider, a historian of education (like me), knows that many of his friends and acquaintances don’t agree or approve. They are not bigots, but they nonetheless are uncomfortable when confronted with the opportunity to react with people of a different race or class from t
Julia Sass Rubin: School Performance Measures Are Poor Measures of School Performance
Julia Sass Rubin here analyzes “school report cards” in New Jersey. This analysis was published last year but is as valid now as it was last May. Rubin writes: “Comparing schools to those with similar demographics is a good idea that highlights that students’ personal characteristics play a bigger role in determining their academic outcomes than anything that happens to them in-school. And what
The Rise and Rise of UP Academy, UP, UP, and Away
A reader sends the following sad story of a phony “turnaround”: “In Boston, the Gavin Middle School was “transformed” into the in-district charter school Unlocking Potential (UP Academy) beginning SY 2011-2012. It was part of a package deal in which several schools were closed and morphed into something else. The school department’s first presentation on the takeover included these statements: •.
Why Are Hoboken’s Schools Segregated?
Theresa Minitullo, a passionate advocate for Hoboken public schools, is dismayed that the city has separate and unequal school systems, all publicly funded. The overwhelming majority of poor kids go to the public schools. The white kids and non-poor kids go to the charter schools. There is a reason: the charters help gentrify Hoboken, assuring young professional tat their kids can get a free pu
EduShyster: Newly Released Documents Show Links Between Charters and TFA
EduShyster and co-author Chad Sommer reveal the contents of newly released documents that show the close relationship between Teach for America and charters (90% of which are non-union). Sommer is an alum of TFA, class of 2011 TFA are inexperienced and inexpensive. They are an essential part of the charter business model. They write: Emails sent by the Broad Foundation, a leading advocate of marke
MAR 02
Poverty Matters
It is all the rage among the pseudo-reformers to dismiss the importance of poverty. Although most of the pseudo-reformers grew up in affluence, attended elite private school, and send their own children to equally splendid private schools, they feel certain in their hearts that poverty is a state of mind that can be easily overcome. All it takes is one great teacher. Or three effective teachers in
The Vergara Case: The Corporate Reformers Blame Teachers, Ignore Social Science
Julie Gutman Dickinson, a pro-union lawyer, here explains that the Vergara case is not what it appears to be. Its wealthy corporate backers say that teachers are to blame if students get low scores, ignoring decades of social science about the effects of poverty and inadequate resources. Their attack on teachers is a convenient way to divert attention from the impact of massive budget cuts that de
Teacher: Who Is Making Real Money? Vendors.
A teacher describes the incessant arrival and departure of vendors, each with a different program and remedies: “From what I noticed as a teacher, the extra money given to the low performing schools was used to pay VENDORS. Our school district paid some company to come in and “help” the teachers. The guy walked around a lot, then hired people from all over the US. My “helper” came to MI all the wa
Teacher: Pay Attention to the Devastation in North Carolina
A teacher writes: “Diane, I am a special education teacher in Eastern NC. I have taught in some wonderful schools in Buffalo, NY and Richmond VA before coming down here to open my doors to foster children who are involved with the juvenile justice and mental health departments. My teaching role is to work with self contained students with behavior issues.I feel I am a humble person who doesn’t to
Secrets of Test Success at Success Academy
Eva Moskowitz, an attorney who served on the New York City Council and was chair of the education committee, opened her own chain of charter schools in Harlem in 2006. Moskowitz is an interesting, brilliant woman with a Ph.D. in history. Her chain initially was called Harlem Success Academy, but has since been renamed Success Academy, presumably because it is now moving into other neighborhoods. H
A Miracle on Long Island?
Kevin J. Glynn, a teacher who founded Lace to the Top (those ever-present green laces and green bracelets that are meant to remind us that children are more than a test score)*, sends an exciting report from his school district on Long Island. The powers that be have abolished test prep! Kevin writes: The message to teachers changed today in the South Country School District, and tomorrow the acti
David Sudmeier: Music Doesn’t Lie
This post arrived as a comment. It bears directly on one of the major issues in the Common Core: Will uniform national standards encourage or discourage creativity? Bill Gates wrote recently that teachers would be more creative because of the CC, but on second reading, it seems what he meant was that the publishers and innovators would develop new apps for teachers to use and deliver lessons. He w
MAR 01
Chicago: More Parents and Teachers Opt Out of Tests
From a reader in Chicago: Teachers at 2nd Chicago school bravely boycott State ISAT tests Also 1,000 parents in 57 schools opt out http://www.wbez.org/news/education/teachers-2nd-school-boycott-isat-109797 Here’s a petition to share with your supporters on the “ICE the ISAT” movement. They need 500 more signatures. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/support-the-testing-boycott
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
Newark Plans to Lay Off More than 1,000 Teachers
Teachers, students, and parents protested the decision by Superintendent Cami Anderson to lay off about a third of the teachers in Newark, NJ, more than 1,000. Anderson plans to close many public schools and replace them with charter schools. Anderson did not attend the meeting of the elected advisory board –and has announced that she will no longer attend such meetings–because she did not like t
KrazyTA Sets the Record Straight on VAM of a Different Sort
One of the blog’s regular contributors writes from California. I am sorry to say that I have never met him, but he can be counted on to write some of the wittiest comments on the blog, almost always punctuated by maxims and axioms gleaned from his reading. Everyone who is a regular reader knows his writings and commentary. Here are his thoughts on the brouhaha about salaries for school leaders: Kr
Nashville Superintendent Says No to Merit Pay: Not Today
The state of Tennessee, led by State Commissioner Kevin Huffman, whose education experience was limited to his brief tour of duty in TFA, wants to tie teacher pay to evaluations based on test scores (50%) and observations (50%). This method (known as VAM) has been thoroughly discredited by research and by years of failed experience. The Tennessee acronym (deceptive, of course) is TEAM, as if all t
Breaking News: Durham, NC, May Join Opposition to Anti-Tenure Law
The school board of Durham, North Carolina, is planning to join Guilford, NC, in opposing a state law intended to remove any due process rights from teachers. “The board was unanimous in its decision authorizing Chairwoman Heidi Carter to work with the attorney for the N.C. Association of Educators and to provide an affidavit supporting the association’s lawsuit to maintain the tenure rights of te
How Test-Based Reform Will Ruin Lives and Our Society
Time to be data-driven! Carol Burris decided it was time to test the extravagant claims of the New York Board of Regents and Commissioner John King by checking the numbers. The Regents and King made a grand pretense of delaying the date when the Common Core tests will be used for graduation. It is all a charade, she writes. Consider what would have happened if they had used the Common Core tests
Robert Shepherd’s Reformish Lexicon
Robert Shepherd, a frequent contributor to this blog, has started his own blog. Our of our brilliant friend’s first contributions is a “Reformish lexicon ” in which he attempts to translate the language of “reform” into plain English. If you have more words for him, send them in. There are many more. He has only scratched the surface.
Peter Greene Knocks the Highly Qualified Teacher Talk Outta the Park
Peter Greene has a ball with the U.S. Department of Education’s latest fantasy plan: Every child has a civil right to a “highly qualified teacher.” Who is a “highly qualified teacher”? Any teacher who can raise test scores or anyone who belongs to Teach for America and leaves before the third year of test scores are reported. It is all super but here is the laugh-out-loud deconstruction of Dunca
Bruce Baker: De Blasio Is Right; Charters Can Afford to Pay Rent
During his mayoral campaign in 2013, candidate Bill de Blasio said that he would charge rent to charter schools using public school space, in relation to their ability to pay. Bear in mind that charters in New York City enroll 6% of children, while the public schools enroll about 1.1 million children. The charter schools cried foul, and the rightwing Manhattan Institute issued a study with dire