FairTest: Computer Test Failures Are Common
Florida had widespread problems with its FCAT, delivered–or not–by Pearson. Pam Stewart promised to seek damages from Pearson. Remember the bad old days when teachers tested students, graded the tests, and students got immediate feedback. Now state officials trust Pearson more than teachers. Who peddled the idea that all testing should be done online? Here is a report from FairTest: FairTest Nat
Oklahoma: Reform Fatigue Sets In
After years of enacting reform after reform, and after years of defunding the public schools, Oklahoma legislators are stepping back and thinking twice what they have wrought. It is not pretty. They passed a law saying that third graders would be held back if they didn’t pass a test, but they are rethinking that. They adopted the Common Core standards, but they are rethinking that. They adopted A
Pearson Crashes in Florida During State Testing
I am getting reports of computer servers crashing in various states. Whose nutty idea was it that all testing must be online? Was it to make data mining easier? Ir to enrich the testing companies and vendors of software and hardware? News from a reader in Florida: Diane – below is the email sent by our Commissioner of Education, Pam Stewart. Pearson’s server apparently could not handle the numbe
Peter Greene: The Sad Scientist Behind CCSS
Peter Greene feels sorry for Bill McCallum, one of the writers of the Common Core math standards. From what Greene has read, McCallum meant well but doesn’t understand what CC has become. He calls McCallum “a sad scientist.” Greene says he believes there are three types of people who support CCSS. “We have a tendency to characterize all CCSS backers as evil geniuses, malignant mad scientists, or
Time for an Anti-Testing Movement in Upstate New York
A reader sent this comment: Dear Diane, I was wondering if you could create a post to get the anti-testing movement that seems to be thriving downstate to garner some more support upstate. I teach in a suburb of Rochester, NY. My school is on the “west side,” where household incomes are substantially lower than they are on the “east side.” Today a colleague emailed me a link to a letter that the
NCAA Will No Longer Accept Credits Awarded by 24 K12 Virtual Charter Schools
The NCAA announced that it will no longer accept credits awarded by 24 virtual charter schools, all of which are operated by Michael Milken’s corporation K12. This is huge. All of these virtual schools are highly profitable. The K12 corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, receives full tuition for each student; the district loses the tuition, and the student gets a computer and tex
Reader: Another Liberal Who Questions the Overreach of Common Core
This reader comments on earlier posts about why some liberals dislike Common Core, even though they find allies with whom they disagree on other issues. Arne Duncan has tried to create a narrative in which only the Tea Party is opposed to Common Core, but he neglects to mention that leaders of major corporate interests, plus Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee– support the Common Core. Reasons for favoring
Reader: Can the Quest for Efficiency Be Stopped by the Pursuit of a Culture of Humanity?
This reader, a lawyer in Mine, asks important, thoughtful questions that go to the heart of the current debate over the future of education–from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. Is technology now promoting the demand for objective, measurable means and ends? Is the technological culture at odds with the humane goals of the Western intellectual tradition? Do we treasure only what can be me
Jay Greene on the Common Core: Why Total Victory Often Leads to Total Defeat
I don’t often agree with Jay Greene because he is a proponent of school choice, especially vouchers. I disagree, as I see no benefit to giving public money to religious schools and tossing aside one of our important traditions, i.e., separation of church and state. Greene is chair of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, which is funded in part by the Walton Family Foun
4-21-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Alan Singer: The Dishonorable Governor Cuomo and the Charter School ZombiesAlan Singer gets credit for one of the most creative headlines of the year. He calls his article “The Dishonorable Andrew Cuomo Meets the Hedge Fund / Charter School Zombies.” Governor Cuomo has indeed dishonored his office by selling out the public schools,