Schneider: New Orleans and the Big Lie Revealed
Earlier, I posted about “the triumph of reform” in New Orleans, referring to an article in the Washington Post on the final conversion of that district to all-charter. One commenter said there are still six public schools in New Orleans, but even so the point of the article was that this is the first urban district in which all or almost all schools are privately managed. Mercedes Schneider, writ
I Am Not a Candidate for Political Office
In the past two days, there has been speculation in the media that I might be a candidate for governor on behalf of the Working Families Party. I have not sought this designation nor am I running for any political office. There are many well-qualified candidates, and I expect that WFP will choose one of them. Regular readers of this blog know that I had major surgery on May 9 to replace a knee t
Triumph of Reform: Last Public School in New Orleans Closes
Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post describes the triumph of the reform movement in New Orleans: The last public school has closed for good. A few observations. All schools in New Orleans are now charter schools. . It’s hard to compare achievement pre-and post-Katrina because so many students never returned after the hurricane. Test scores are up, graduation rates are up, but populations are d
For-Profit Firm Will Open Largest Charter in Florida
Academica, the largest charter chain in Florida, won approval to open the state’s largest charter school in Miami-Dade, with 3,000 “student stations.” The firm operates for-profit. A month ago, the Miami Herald reported that the chain was under federal investigation for its business practices. A report yesterday by the Florida League of Women Voters pointed out that Academica has key connections
FairTest: Update on Resistance to High-Stakes Testing
The 2013-2014 school year may be winding down but Testing Resistance & Reform Spring actions activity continues to accelerate. Remember that back issues of these weekly news summaries are archived at http://fairtest.org/news Local Delaware School Board Pursues Opt-Out Policy http://www.doverpost.com/article/20140522/NEWS/140529891/10082/NEWS Florida Kindergarten and First Grade Teachers Questi
Top 25 University Presidents Paid Nearly $1 Million Per Year
Citing a study by the Institute for Policy Studies, the New York Times says the salaries of the top 25 college/university presidents average nearly $1 million a year. “The study makes some disturbing observations about “the top 25.” Student debt is worse than at other schools. Administrative spending is twice the spending on student aid. The percentage of tenured faculty members fell dramatically,
New York: Report from the Frontlines
The following letter was written by a principal in Néw York City. He describes what so many educators feel: Education is being destroyed by excessive, pointless testing. The sad fact is that testing no longer functions as a way to inform teachers and parents and to help children but as a blunt instrument to wear children down and demoralize their teachers. Subject: Student and testing burn out. “T
Oregon Educator: When Did the Federal Role Change from Equity and Integration to Control?
Oregon Educator, a high school principal in that state, poses some hard questions about the federal role in education. The federal government puts up about 12% of the cost of public education but has grown increasingly assertive about exercising maximal control over state and local decision-making. She writes: “In 1965, President Johnson’s landmark education bill was designed to equalize school
Mercedes Schneider on the Warm Relationship Between Gates and Pearson
Somehow I missed this piece when it appeared several months ago. It is a Mercedes classic, where she shows her skill at reading tax returns and connecting the dots. You may or may not recall that Attorney General of New York Eric Schneiderman fined the Pearson Foundation $7.7 million for engaging in activities related to its for-profit parent Pearson. In some regions, this fine would be referred
Joshua Katz’s Fabulous TED Talk on Our Toxic Culture of Education
Set aside about 17 minutes and watch this wonderful video. Joshua Katz, a high school teacher, connects all the dots. This is a truly outstanding presentation. Watch it and help it go viral. He shows how our present “toxic culture of education” is hurting kids, stigmatizing them as early as third grade by high-stakes standardized testing, while the vendors get rich. He connects the dots: the tes
Russ Walsh: “Reformers” Don’t Know What Motivates Teachers
Russ Walsh writes that corporate reformers have no idea what motivates teachers so they impose their own flawed ideas. Few have ever taught. They listen to economists, most of whom see education as an economic activity, not a humanistic activity. First, they decided that the teacher is the most important determinant of student test scores (not true, the best predictor of student scores is family i
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-28-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Help Sponsor Researchers to Study Failure of Vouchers in ChileProfessor Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas is trying to raise funding to take a research team to Chile to study the failure of the voucher progr. He needs your help. Tickets cost either $1,000 round trip or 30,000-60,000 frequent flyer miles. Please consi