That Dumb, Dumb Portfolio Model, Not Right for Public Schools
Some districts, thinking that they have latched on to new thinking, have adopted the idea of a portfolio model. This means that they pretend that their community’s public schools are akin to a stock portfolio. They keep the winners and “dump the losers.” This is truly a dumb idea. It turns out that the “loser” schools are the ones serving the children with the highest needs, who get the lowest tes
That Dumb, Dumb Portfolio Model, Not Right for Public Schools
Some districts, thinking that they have latched on to new thinking, have adopted the idea of a portfolio model. This means that they pretend that their community’s public schools are akin to a stock portfolio. They keep the winners and “dump the losers.” This is truly a dumb idea. It turns out that the “loser” schools are the ones serving the children with the highest needs, who get the lowest tes
Troubled North Carolina Charter School Collapses in Financial Mess
The North Carolina legislature recently voted to expand the number of deregulate, privately managed charter schools in the state. One that opened last fall, StudentFirst Academy in Charlotte, announced that it would close its doors on April 11, leaving nearly 300 students unprepared for state exams and scrambling to find a school. The school struggled financially almost from its first dy, when en
Breaking News: NC Court Freezes Voucher Plan
The News-Oberver in North Carolina reported that a court put a freeze on the voucher program passed by the legislature: “The state school voucher plan remains frozen after the N.C. Appeals Court this week rejected requests to lift a lower court’s injunction. “A Superior Court judge in February halted the new program that would have given parents up $4,200 in taxpayer money to help pay their child
Sara Stevenson Writes to the Wall Street Journal
Sara Stevenson, one of the heroes of this blog, reads the Wall Street Journal regularly, and she gets outraged every time the paper writes an editorial or publishe an article blasting public schools. That occurs frequently, as the WSJ supports privatization, not public schools. When Sara read an article by a charter teacher in his second year of teaching, she wrote the following letter. In what o
Georgia Parents Sue to Block Tax Credits for Religious Schools
Parents in Georgia sued to block a tax-credit program that has drained nearly $300 million from public schools since 2008. Meanwhile the public schools have had to absorb crippling budget cuts. “A controversial state program that offers tax credits to people who fund private school scholarships is unconstitutional and robs public schools of much-needed financial support, a lawsuit filed by Georgi
Cato: Obama Administration Plans to Make CCSS Permanent and Mandatory
I don’t often agree with the libertarian CATO Institute, as I am not a libertarian. I appreciate the necessity of a vigorous federal government that provides a safety net and protects the neediest. However, I don’t appreciate the federal government doing what is clearly illegal, that is, controlling, directing, and supervising curriculum and instruction via the Common Core standards. Although its
Phyllis Bush: Yes, There is Hope for Change in Indiana
Phyllis Bush, one of the founders of Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education, describes here the growing sense of hope among her fellow activists. Bush joined a contingent of colleagues in Austin for the first conference of the Network for Public Education. Bush is a member of the board of NPE. Everyone, she says, felt the energy in the room when hundreds of Resistance leaders gathered. S
Amy Prime Explains Why She Opted Her Children Out of State Tests in Iowa
Amy Prime is a parent and a teacher of second grade in Iowa. She is also a gifted writer. Here she explains why she opted her children out of state testing, and she explains how to do it. It is this simple: “To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to inform you of my instruction to have my children opted out of any state testing for the 2013-2014 school year. “ If you live in the state of Iowa,
Good News: You Will Never Need to Think for Yourself Again!
Deborah Meier brought to my attention this series of workbooks that contain 180 days of Common Core worksheets in math and English. What a relief for anxious teachers! No more worrying about what to do. Here are the daily activities you need. No more planning or thinking. A standard a day keeps the evaluator away! Not only problems, but answers too! From: “Emily Self, Great Educators” Subject: 180
Testing in Texas: The True Story of a Professor, Angry Moms, and Legislators Who Listened
This is part 3 of Jeffrey Weiss’s series in the Dallas Morning News on the pushback against testing in Texas. In this article, the hero is a soft-spoken professor, Walter Stroup, who challenged the validity of Pearson’s tests. His doubts caught the attention of some legislators who were not wedded to the testing beast. Texas is where No Child Left Behind was generated and blossomed into a myth th
Why Must English Learners Take the State Tests in English?
This is a account written by Lindsay Allanbrook, a teacher in New York City. Last year, when the first Common Core tests were given, 97% of English language learners failed the test of English language. What is the point of testing these children in a language they have not mastered? She writes: State Tests and Our Newest Arrivals, by Lindsay Allanbrook It’s that time of year again, testing seaso
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 4-5-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGA Teacher Offers Sound Advice to Tom FriedmanJohn Ogozalek teaches in upstate Néw York. He read Tom Friedman’s column in the Néw York Times on Sunday and had a strong reaction of cognitive dissonance, as in, why can’t Tom be consistent? Tom Friedman’s describes a thrilling ride on a nuclear submarine, where there is no ro