Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Derrell Bradford Takes Manhattan!
Hey, New York! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You and me, we got a beef:See, you guys are always shipping your reformy types across the Hudson to us here in New Jersey and, frankly, we're all sick of it. We're up to our necks in these corporate education reformers, with their "no excuses" and "think-tanky research" and Joel Klein-enhanced resumes.Chris. Cami. Paymon. Janine. They've
APR 27
Two Questions For Arne Duncan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave an interview to Andrea Mitchell this past week that once again attempts to shift the blame for America's inequitable education outcomes on to everything and anything except the most obvious thing:Yeah, sure, that's the problem: the schools of education. I mean, what else could possibly explain this:Obviously, the difference in student outcomes between afflue
APR 26
Cami Anderson's Rusty Knife
Newark's state-appointed superintendent, Cami Anderson, is so hard at work fighting against "adult interests" that she doesn't have time to attend public meetings of her elected school board. She doesn't even have time to explain herself to the NJ Legislature.But she apparently does have time to hobnob with a bunch of edupreneurs for a few days in the warm Arizona sun. Speakers at the AS
APR 25
Corporate Education Reform Buys Public Broadcasting - Again
A couple of months ago, David Sirota broke the story of how PBS took money from plutocrat John Arnold to push a story touting a non-existent pension crisis. I'll admit that since then my radar has been more finely tuned to corporate-friendly frameworks when watching PBS or listening to NPR.So, as I was sitting at the kitchen table this evening, my ears perked up at the 5:30 break for WNYC, the NPR
The Cuomology of State Aid (or Tales from Lake Flaccid)
We’ve heard much bluster over time about school funding in New York State, and specifically how money certainly has no role in the policy debate over how to fix New York State schools, unless it has to do with providing more money to charter schools, or decrying the fact that district schools statewide are substantially over-funded. See for example, this wonderfully absurd rant from DFER. Here’s
APR 30
Uncommon Denominators: Understanding “Per Pupil” Spending
This post is another in my series on data issues in education policy. The point of this post is to encourage readers of education policy research to pay closer attention to the fact that any measure of “per pupil spending” contains two parts – a measure of “spending” in the numerator and a measure of “pupils” in the denominator. Put simply, both measures matter, and matching the right numerator to
APR 29
On “Dropout Factories” & (Fraudulent) Graduation Rates in NJ
This NJ Star Ledger piece the other day reminded me of an issue I’ve been wanting to check out for some time now. I’m skeptical of graduation rates as a measure of student outcomes to begin with, because, of course, graduation can be strongly influenced by local norms and practices. As such, it’s really hard to validly compare graduation rates from one place to another or even over time, as gradua
APR 26
Welcome to Relay Medical College & North Star Community Hospital
Arne Duncan has one whopper of an interview available here: http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/better-preparing-our-nations-educators-237066307522 Related to his new push to evaluate teacher preparation programs using student outcome data: http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/arne-ology-the-bad-incentives-of-evaluating-teacher-prep-with-student-outcome-data/ And his Whi
APR 25
Arne-Ology & the Bad Incentives of Evaluating Teacher Prep with Student Outcome Data
As I understand it, USDOE is going to go ahead with the push to have teacher preparation programs rated in part based on the student growth outcomes of children taught by individuals receiving credentials from those programs. Now, the layers of problems associated with this method are many and I’ve addressed them previously here and in professional presentations. This post summarizes my earlier c
#NJEdTruthSquad: Just Gimme Some Truth, Jersey!
#NJEdTruthSquad #NJEdTruthRemember these hash tags.Education 'reform' may be stifling creativity and collaboration in the classroom, but it's had an unintended consequence: it's made many of us stronger advocates for public education outside the classroom. All across the country education professionals, parents and community members are joining together, taking action and speaking out against the
APR 24
Tom Moran crosses the line in latest editorial
(Note: as I was drafting this post this week, Bob Braun wrote several excellent pieces on One Newark, which I quoted from extensively. Oh to be retired and have time… Well, I can dream, can’t I?)The Star Ledger is my newspaper of choice. I’m sorry to see it suffering so much financial hardship in recent days. On average I’ve tended to agree with editorial page editor, Tom Moran more than I’ve disa
West Side erupts. Where’s Cami?
Newark’s West Side High School erupts after a popular teacher is fired. Where is Cami Anderson, the state-appointed superintendent? At yet another education conference, this one in San Francisco, extolling the virtues of charter schools. According to Twitter feeds coming from an individual and a charter school organization, she is in San Francisco at the annual […]
APR 29
Cry for Newark
Sad. There’s a word rarely heard in the context of the state’s war on Newark’s neighborhood public schools. Sad. Yet the story of how a cruelly tone-deaf state bureaucrat named Cami Anderson is singlehandedly destroying a community’s neighborhood schools is just that. Sad. And nothing more illustrates that sadness than the brave but probably futile […]