Republicans Reject Grijalva Efforts to Make Charters Accountable
The House Rules Committee, dominated by a conservative Republican majority, rejected efforts by Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva (D) to insert amendments into federal legislation to require charter schools to be transparent and accountable. Conservative Republicans want deregulated, privately managed charters to be the centerpiece of their privatizing education platform this fall. It is hard to understa
House Debates Legislation to Help Charter Schools
Under the leadership of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the conservative-dominated House of Representatives is debating a bill today that would reauthorize federal support for the charter school industry and provide $300 million, some of which is for facilities. The members of the House will ignore, of course, the report issued this week showing that charter schools–which are deregulated by d
NAEP Scores for Seniors Are Flat Since 2009
This NPR report summarizes the 12th grade NAEP report: Scores for high school seniors are flat. Reading scores in 2013 were lower than in 1992. While there were small gains for each racial and ethnic group since 2005, there were no gains at all since 2009, when Race to the Top was initiated. Achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups remain wide. Secretary of Education gnashed his teeth
Esquire: Louis C.K. Is Right About Common Core
Louis C.K. opened the floodgates of debate about Common Core. Before he started tweeting his complaints, Arne Duncan and Bill Gates had silenced everyone. Arne insisted that only crazy people questioned the CC, and Bill paid off every education organization to sing its praises. Who knew that the nation could be so easily bribed and intimidated? The story of Common Core is reminiscent of Dr. Seuss
NEPC: Charter School “Wait Lists” Are Overstated, Possibly Meaningless
A new report from the National Education Policy Center reviews the “wait lists” that charter advocacy groups regularly publicize and finds them to be vastly inflated. Charter advocacy groups claim that nearly one million students are wait-listed for admission, but they acknowledge themselves that the actual number may be about 400,000. NEPC authors Kevin Welner and Gary Miron say that even this n
The Incredible But True Story of the Plan to Destroy Public Education in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Jonathan Pelto tells the astonishing story of a calculated effort by Connecticut Governor Malloy and Bridgeport Mayor Finch to destroy public education in Bridgeport. First, starve the public schools of resources that they needed and to which they were entitled by state law; then declare the schools were failing and beyond help; finally, turn over the children to corporate charter chains that woul
Sign This Open Letter to Andreas Schleicher of OECD Against Too Much Testing!
Nearly 100 educators from around the world signed a letter warning that the over-emphasis on testing inspired by PISA was killing the joy of learning. This unelected, unaccountable organization is driving international competition and bad education policies. It is time for parents, educators, students, and researchers to join together and say “Enough is Enough.” Focus on access to education; focus
Amrein-Beardsley: What Kind of States Won Race to the Top $$$?
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley noticed an interesting pattern among the states that won Race to the Top funding. Most were states with highly inequitable school finance systems, as noted by the Education Law Center of New Jersey. But Beardsley saw other correlations. She writes: “In this case, correlational analyses reveal that state-level policies that rely at least in part on VAMs are indeed more co
Anya Kamenetz at NPR: A Brief and Useful Guide to Testing
This piece by Anya Kamenetz is an excellent brief summary to standardized testing. It explains in lay men’s terms the difference between formative and summative assessment. It explains the concepts of reliability and validity. It points out that schools have tested students throughout history, but leaves out a few vital facts. Historically, most tests were written by classroom teachers for their
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-7-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Patrick Walsh on the Death of Philosophy in a World of PhilistinesMany bloggers have commented on the pretentiousness and vacuousness of the gaggle of politicians, entrepreneurs, and hedge funders who have gathered in the Adirondacks of New York and audaciously dubbed themselves the “thought leaders” of our time. They called their