Florida Judge: Teacher Evaluation Unfair but Not Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Florida dismissed a lawsuit against the state evaluation system, declaring that it was unfair to rate teachers based on the scores of students they never taught but not unconstitutional. The evaluation system may be stupid; it may be irrational; it may be unfair; but it does not violate the Constitution. So says the judge. An article in the Florida Education Association newsle
Governor Malloy Stops Bashing Teachers Long Enough to Wish Them “Happy Teachers’Day”
Jonathan Pelto notes the hypocrisy of Governor Dannell Malloy, one of the most anti-teacher governors in the nation, issuing a smarmy proclamation in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. The trick is to bash teachers day after day, but say really kind (if insincere) things this week and right before the election.
And Now a Word about Teacher Appreciation Week
Laurel Sturt, a teacher, sent this note, responding to an email from StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee. The teacher has Michelle wrong. Michelle doesn’t hate teachers. She just wants to see more of them fired, lose their teaching license, lose their mortgage, and suffer grievously unless they raise test scores every year. Let’s be clear. She appreciates some teachers. The winners. Don’t you get
Ras Charges Secret Newark Slush Fund
Below is today’s press release. Representatives of Newark First showed up to this press conference to disrupt and agitate the Newark residents who attended. This is another indication that Shavar Jeffries and his backers lack positive ideas to change Newark, and so they have to rely on negativity and cynicism to cut into Baraka’s lead. With YOUR help, they will not succeed! NEWS For Release: Tuesd
Amrein-Beardsley: Why the Houston Lawsuit Could Demolish VAM
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley has been consulting with the seven Houston teachers who filed a lawsuit in federal court against the use of value-added metrics in their evaluations. She has conducted extensive VAM research in Houston and concluded it was arbitrary and inaccurate. “Houston, the 7th largest urban district in the country, is widely recognized for its (inappropriate) using of the EVAAS for
Anthony Cody Interviews Ras Baraka about Newark
In this post, Anthony Cody interviews Newark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka. Newark has been under state control for nearly 20 years. During that time, democracy has been suspended. Ras is running for the restoration of democracy in Newark. He is a high school principal and City Councilman. He is running against Cami Anderson’s plan to turn more public schools into charter schools. Cami is Chris
Tony L. Talbert: It’s Time to Take Back Our Public Education System
Tony L. Talbert, a professor of social/cultural studies education and qualitative research in the Baylor University School of Education, writes in the Waco News that we as a nation have failed to recognize “the reality that our students, our teachers and our entire system of pre-K-12 public school education has been significantly and negatively impacted by the very tests we allowed to be enacted o
Florida: Republicans Sneak Voucher Law Through at Last Minute
Florida Republicans, aided by three rogue Democrats, rammed through voucher legislation in the closing day of the legislative session. The vouchers are supposedly for the benefit of children with special needs. The Republican legislators’ alleged concern for children with special needs is especially hypocritical in view of their failure to act on the Ethan Rediske legislation, would have exempted
Rick Hess Blasts Duncan’s Waiver Policy
Rick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute wrote a hard-hitting and sensible column critical of Arne Duncan’s NCLB waivers. The column is especially pertinent in light of Duncan’s decision to withdraw his waiver from Washington State for daring to defy his will. Duncan will punish the state of Washington because it failed to adopt a way of using test scores to evaluate teachers, a
How TFA Buys School Board Seats
From a parent in East Nashville: “Oh, yes, I know all too well about TFA buying, I mean winnng, seats on BOEs. I live in Nashville, TN, where a seat on our local board in my district was “won” by Elissa Kim in 2012. She took her seat from the former board chair and long-time dedicated community member, Gracie Porter. From the City Paper: “With her $81,414 fundraising mark, Kim outpaced Porter, th
Oklahoma: Ms. Bullen’s Data-Rich Year
Blue Cereal Education is the name of an educator-blogger in the Tulsa area. He or she has helpfully reproduced a graphic from the website of the Oklahoma State Department of Education that will show you, in a flash, how teaching and learning are being systematically destroyed in this country by robots who pretend to be humans. It is called “Ms. Bullen’s Data-Rich Year,” but it might as well be ca
Walton-Funded group Says Charter Schools Underfunded
The one thing we know for sure about the Walton Family Foundation is that it loves school privatization, I.e., charters and voucher. The other thing we know for sure is that WFF does not like public schools. So, no surprise that the Walton Family Foundation funded a study claiming that charter schools are underfunded. This is actually very funny, because when the idea of charters was first float
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-5-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NYC Parents, Elected Officials To Protest Preferential Treatment for Charters on May 6Another protest against the law sponsored by Governor Cuomo to give preferential treatment to the billionaire-sponsored charter schools. the Cuomo law was enacted at the same time that New York City’s public schools are overcrowded, with class siz