What Educators Say About the Common Core Tests
On the new website testingtalk.org, educators are venting their rage at tests that are developmentally inappropriate and overly technical in their approach to reading. Go to the website to read more comments. Here is one principal: http://testingtalk.org/response/day-3-grades-3-5 Day 3 of the Common Core NYS ELA is absurd. The third grade test includes an excerpt from a book that, according to Sch
Arne’s PR Guy Wants to Go on Tour with Me But I Want to Debate Arne or Bill
Valerie Strauss received an odd April Fool’s column, allegedly written by her, announcing that Peter Cunningham, known as Arne Duncan’s mouthpiece or his brain, had had a conversion experience, has turned against the Race to the Top policies, and plans to go on tour with me to explain why we now are on the same page. Valerie checked with him, and he is game. Now, I admit I like Peter even though
“A Tale of Two States”: Funding Inequity in New York and New Jersey
A new report by the Education Law Center, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the Alliance for Quality Education, and the Public Policy and Education Fund of New York contrasts the funding of public education in New York and New Jersey and finds two different worlds in two neighboring states: On opposite sides of the Hudson River, New York and New Jersey stand only a mile apart. But when it comes to
Pelto: A Very Bad Day in Connecticut
Jonathan Pelto writes here that yesterday was a very bad day for public education in Connecticut. The State Board of Education voted to hand out $80-100 million over five years to privately managed charters, most known for excluding the neediest kids. And they voted full steam ahead on Common Core, pet project of the corporate elite, guaranteed to increase testing and costs of hardware, software
Greg Taranto: Be a Hero, Slay the Testing Beast
Greg Taranto, principal of Canonsburg Middle School, was named was named 2012 Middle Level Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals. He now joins our Honor Roll for his courage in speaking up for students and good education. Taranto says that testing is out of control, it is absurdly expensive, draining resources from schools, and of cou
UCLA Report: New York Has the Nation’s Most Segregated Schools
According to the UCLA Civil Rights Project, New York State has the most segregated public schools in the nation. Nearly three-quarters of the charter schools in New York City are considered “apartheid schools” because less than 1% of their enrollment is white. Charters are often more racially segregated than the district in which they are located. 2014 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the landm
Julian Vasquez Heilig: Why Not Tell the Truth about Charters?
San Antonio is set for a major expansion of privately managed charter schools. Several national chains will open there, welcomed by the mayor and the business community. The San Antonio Express News published an opinion column by an advocate for the corporate charter chains, but refused to print Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig’s succinct rebuttal. Despite the blue-sky promises of the charter indu
Who Supports Common Core?
We have heard constant patter about who opposes Common Core. According to Arne Duncan, only the Tea Party and a few disgruntled cranks oppose it. But more interesting is who supports Common Core. Aside from Arne Duncan and the organizations that created it, Common Core has the fervent support of Jeb Bush, Michelle Rhee, a dozen hard-right Republican governors, and corporate America. Erin Osborne
How Texas Moms Beat Back the Standardized Testing Machine
Jeffrey Weiss has a terrific story in the Dallas Morning News about the Texas moms who beat the powerful testing lobby. Whenever anyone says that democracy can’t defeat the plutocrats, think of Texans Advocating for Meaningful,State Assessment. they said, “Enough is enough.” And they got busy. The moms not only organized an effective opposition to Pearson’s lobbyists, they changed the minds of l
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-2-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: How to Locate United Opt OutAs you may know, the website for United Opt Out was hacked yesterday, and many of its internal files were destroyed. What you will find if you go there is a “ghost site,” not the real thing. In the meanwhile, here is an alternative site to visit as efforts to reatore the original continue: “Diane – do yo