Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Peter Greene reports that teacher tenure (aka, the right to due process) is under attack in Pennsylvania. Not surprisingly, StudentsFirst is in the mix, urging the legislature to strip teachers of any and all job protections. He concludes: So the bottom line of this bill would be that any district can fire teachers at any time, based on an evaluation system that rests on bad data generated b
Josh Waldron has repeatedly been honored by the local Rotary Club as high school teacher of the year. He loves teaching. He planned a career as a teacher. But he is leaving. He explains why he is leaving here. You probably know why. It is always the same story. Budget cuts. Frozen salary. Every year, the district or the state invents new goals, new hoops to jump through. A parade of new ideas, th
The Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia, just released a report describing the ways that co-location of multiple schools into the same building reduces educational equity. The report is called “THE EFFECTS OF CO-LOCATION ON NEW YORK CITY’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE ALL STUDENTS A SOUND BASIC EDUCATION.” Co-location was a primary goal of the Bloomberg administration, which closed
George Joseph: Exposé of Trafficking in Teachers
This is an amazing story, written by investigative reporter George Joseph. It seems there are recruitment agencies that go to other nations, the Philippines especially, hire good teachers, charge outrageous placement fees, and send them to work in American schools. He writes: “Between 2007 and 2009, 350 Filipino teachers arrived in Louisiana, excited for the opportunity to teach math and science
Billionaires Pouring Campaign Contributions into Illinois
The Billionaire Boys Club and their allies are dumping campaign cash into races in Illinois. Money is arriving from the hedge fund managers and other super-rich who take a keen interest in privatization and in removing any due process from teachers. Democrats for a education Reform and Stand for Children, both with strong ties to the privatization movement, are very interested in picking the winn
Students in Ipswich, Mass., Request Payment for Taking Field Tests
Two sixth-grade classes in Ipswich, Massachusetts, lost a week of instruction while taking field tests, and they want to be paid for their time. “But for now the test is still in its trial period and Laroche’s 37 students are among the 81,000 that spent two 75-minute periods in March and two 90-minute periods this past week completing the test. “This time would have otherwise been spent writing a
YESTERDAY
Testing Expert Calls on NYC Chancellor Farina to Say No to Pearson Field Tests
Testing expert Fred Smith explains here why New York City Chancellor Carmen Farina should say no to the Pearson field tests. The field tests waste instructional time. They benefit the publisher, not the students. “Here are some arguments the chancellor could use: *Because students know the stand-alone field tests don’t count and are of no consequence to them, they are not motivated to do well, e
Parents at Philadelphia School Vote Overwhelmingly Against Charter Takeover
Parents at the Luis Munoz Marin public school in Philadelphia voted overwhelmingly to oppose a charter takeover of their school. “After a bitterly fought battle, parents at Luis Muñoz Marín Elementary have voted to keep their school a part of the Philadelphia public school system, rejecting a charter organization’s takeover proposal. “According to results announced Thursday night by Philadelphia
LAUSD Board Refuses to Reappoint iPad Critic to Independent Board
The Los Angeles school board has thus far refused to reappoint Stuart Magruder to the Bond Oversight Committee. Magruder, who was appointed to the committee by the American Institute of Architects, was booted largely by the opposition of board member Tamar Galatzan, a close ally of Superintendent John Deasy. She accused Magruder of interfering wit instructional authorities when he criticized the i
New Orleans: The Biggest Scam in the History of Public Education?
New Orleans will soon be the first urban district in the nation that is all-charter, the first district where public education has been completely extinguished. Because so much money has been invested in the privatization of the schools in New Orleans, there is a media machine that cranks out favorable stories about it. The state board of education, the state department of education, and the Gove
New Orleans: “Appalling Academic Performance”
One day, perhaps, the nationaledia might admit that they were taken in by the purveyors of the Néw Orleans story. Or maybe they will keep saying the same things again and again, without regard to facts. Mike Deshotels, veteran educator, blows up the carefully manufactured tale of success by privatization. What a lesson for the nation: close down every public school; turn every school into a priva
Bruce Baker: How Is New Jersey Doing?
After four years of Governor Chris Christie, we are used to loud complaints about how terrible New Jersey’s schools are, how poorly they perform compared to Tennessee (Arne Duncan’s favorite), how expensive they are, how large the achievement gaps are. Bruce Baker shows that none of this is true: New Jersey’s schools perform very well indeed, and they exceed expectations. Baker documents what he
Beardsley: Another Critic of VAM & Chetty et al
Audrey Amrein Beardsley invited an economist to review Raj Chetty & Co’s effort to take down the statement of the American Statistical Assosociation. Chetty and friends are the leading advocates for using test scores to rank teachers and fire those whose students have the lowest scores. The ASA report was inconvenient for their thesis, as it pointed out that teachers account for a small perce
Pando Investigation: Gates Foundation Underwrote PBS Series Without Disclosing Possible Conflict of Interest
Pando reporters Nathaniel Mott and David Sirota write that the Gates Foundation underwrote a PBS series to promote the Common Core standards without revealing that Microsoft has financial interest in the success of the Common Core standards. They write: “The discovery that the Gates Foundation is funding PBS programming that supports its political agenda comes only a few months after Pando first
JUN 05
Pelto Plans Third Party Run in Connecticut
Blogger and former Democratic legislator Jonathan Pelto announced his plans to run as a third party candidate against Governor Dannell Malloy, largely on education issues. See here and here. His running mate is Hartford teacher Ebony Murphy.
Cambridge, MA, School Committee Votes to Delay PARCC Tests
Last night, the school board in Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to delay the implementation of PARCC, one of the two federally-funded online Common Core assessments. This was something of a problem for Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, because he is chair of the governing board of PARCC. The Cambridge School Committee acted in response t
Parents and Educators Demand Release of Pearson Tests
Take Action and Click Here to Demand the Release of the 3-8 Grade NYS Tests, Only 30 Seconds of Your Time Dear Allies, New York parents and teachers are outraged that they are not allowed to see the NYS Standardized 3-8 grades tests. Before 2011, all tests were posted on the New York State Education Department (NYSED) website. That changed after the State Education Department signed a contract wit
Ira Shor: When Do Kids Count?
Ira Shor describes our complex sustem, based on race, class, income: “Teachers count only if their students count. To count in this society, kids have to come from affluent families; the teachers of those affluent kids are paid more and generally treated better. The vast majority of students in k-12 pub schls don’t count b/c they are poor, working-class, or lower middle-class, many not white, man
Michigan: A Very Curious Story of Charter Management Techniques
This is an astonishing story from Michigan. There, a persistent blogger named “Miss Fortune” discovered that a charter manager was indicted on multiple charges, including tax evasion and bank fraud. His wife and brother plus a local contractor and his wife diverted nearly $1 million of a $1.8 million construction loan to his personal bank accounts. Miss Fortune began digging, as persistent blogger
Peter Greene: Why Are Common Core Standards Written in Stone?
Peter Greene asks a simple, logical question: why are the Common Core standards written in stone? “Not just stone, but stone mounted in cement crazy-glued to bedrock all sealed in amber.” The Common Core standards are copyrighted. “…if you want to use them, you must do so as is, with not a single change. States may add up to 15% on top of what’s there, but they may not rewrite the CCSS in any way,
What Is Likely to Happen if Some States Drop the Common Core
The problems with the Common Core are multiple. Many states are now experiencing a populist revolt against it, sometimes led by extremist groupss, sometimes (as in New York) led by responsible parents and veteran educators. Support is strong and includes the Obama administration, major corporations, Republicans like Jeb Bush, and educators who like the new standards. Opposition is strong and span
Ohio Virtual Charters Tailor Ad Campaigns to Lure Students
An article in the Akron Beacon Journal shows how virtual charters design advertising campaigns to appeal to students who are unhappy and feel bullied at school “With profits on the line, private charter school companies are advertising on television, radio, billboards, handbills and even automated telephone messages to entice students away from public schools. “And with words such as free, flexi
JUN 04
Connecticut: AFT PAC Endorses Anti-Teacher Governor
Jonathan Pelto reports that the AFT’s Legislative and Political Action Committee endorsed Governor Danell Malloy for re-election, despite his dismal record on education. The committee did not interview Pelto. He wrote: “The decision to endorse Malloy without an open process is a sad commentary on the state of politics. Putting aside the work I’ve done to speak out for teachers and their unions
Linda Thomas: The Arizona Voucher Hoax
Linda Thomas is the school board president of a small rural district in Arizona. She is a strong advocate for public education as a public responsibility. In this post, she reminds us that 85% of children in Arizona attend public schools despite the state ‘s trepidation as the “wild west” of charters. She also describes the legislsture’s devious efforts to expand vouchers. She writes: “When vo
Heilig: High-Stakes Testing Does Not Curb Inequity
On his blog, Julian Vasquez Heilig explores how the federal courts have failed to confront the racially disparate impact of high-stakes tests. When the courts were asked in Florida to recognize the unfairness of denying a diploma to students who could not pass the exit examination, in light of the racial disparities in passing rates, the federal court upheld the exams. Not only that, but the cour
Protest against PISA League Tables Goes International
A few weeks ago, educators Heinz-Dieter Meyer of the State University of New York and Katie Zahedi, principal of the Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, New York, wrote a protest letter against the international horse race inspired by OECD’s PISA examinations. They gathered other signers and went public. Since then, the letter has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, French, and Sp
SEC Charges Chicago’s Largest Charter Chain with Fraud
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the federal SEC has “charged the clout-heavy United Neighborhood Organization and its charter-school network Monday with defrauding investors in a $37.5 million bond deal by “making materially misleading statements” about contracts that funneled millions of state taxpayer dollars to organization insiders.” Federal officials say their investigation is continuing
Pearson: Follow the Money
It is curious indeed that Pearson has been so effective at buying a controlling interest in American education. It is curious because in school we were always taught that heathy competition produces better products, that America reveres an open field for new products, and that monopolies are clumsy and inefficient. We were also taught that the public sector belongs to the public, not to private co
Florida Students Avoid Mandatory Online Classes
Back in 2011, the Florida legislature decreed that every student must pass an online course as a graduation requirement. Was this decision based on research about the value of online learning? No. It was justified as a means of readying all students for an online workplace but there is as yet no solid evidence that students learn better online. Perhaps it was sheer coincidence that the legislature
JUN 03
Cursive Writing and Me
I earlier posted about an article in the New York Times that expressed concern about the loss of handwriting, as children are taught keyboarding at younger and younger ages. The article said that some researchers believe that a loss of handwriting skills may be associated with a loss of cognitive development. As I read the comments on this post, I felt inspired to share my own experiences with ha
What Happens When Handwriting Fades?
The New York Times reports today that the loss of handwriting skills may lead to the loss of cognitive development. Maria Konnikova writes: “Does handwriting matter? “Not very much, according to many educators. The Common Core standards, which have been adopted in most states, call for teaching legible writing, but only in kindergarten and first grade. After that, the emphasis quickly shifts to p
Alan Singer: Why Is This Charter Management Company Still in Business?
Alan Singer asks why National Heritage Academies is still in business, in light of its business practices. For-profit companies are good at making profits, and that’s what NHA does well. NHA has most of its charters in Michigan, where more than 80% of charters operate for-profit. It has ties to ALEC and conservative think tanks. It also operates charters in other states. Singer writes: “In 2005
When Will Bill Gates Admit He Was Wrong–Again?
Bill Gates has loomed large in education for the past decade. The reason is obvious: his foundation is the largest in the world, and districts are more than willing to accept his conditions in return for his money. When anyone asks Gates whether it is right that one man and one foundation should have so much influence, he says that the money he gives is minuscule compared to the hundreds of billi
Edushyster: Graduation Rate at Boston Charters No Better Than Public Schools
Massachusetts is preparing to lift the cap on charter schools, the assumption being that they have cracked the code to educating the neediest children. The Boston Globe has been cheerleading for the charter sector, along with the usual hedge funders and philanthropists. Only problem, says Edushyster, is facts. EduShyster writes: “At the heart of our great debate about how much greater charter s
Stephen Krashen: Pearson Poll Finds Support for Common Core!
Stephen Krashen shows himself to quite the satirist in this report. HUMOR ALERT: I post this notice because it is hard to tell the difference between satire and reality in American education these days. Krashen writes: “There is now no doubt: Americans overwhelmingly support the common core. In a poll organized by the Pearson Publishing Company, 96% strongly agreed with the statement, “Schools s
North Carolina Republicans Offer Nearly $500 Million to Abolish Tenure–This Teacher Says “No”
North Carolina’s Republican-dominated State Senate hates teacher tenure. They hate it so much that they are willing to offer nearly $500 million in higher salaries if teachers are willing to abandon their tenure. Bear in mind that tenure in K-12 education is not a guarantee of lifetime employment; it is a guarantee of due process rights. Also note that until recently, North Carolina was thought t
Pasi Sahlberg: How Are Finnish National Standards Different from CCSS?
I invited Pasi Sahlberg, the eminent scholar of Finnish education, to write a brief description of how the Finnish national standards function. The key differences, as you will see, between the Finnish national standards and the Common Core standards is first, the role of teachers in writing and revising them, and second, that Finland has no external national testing of the standards Sahlberg, wh
JUN 02
Cuomo Won the WFP Endorsement by Promising to Act Like a Democrat
Peter Goodman here tells the sorry story of how Governor Cuomo won the endorsement of the Working Families Party by promising to act like a Democrat. For example, he promised to help Democrats gain control of the State Senate and to let localities raise the minimum wage, which are not big concessions from a Democratic governor. On education, where Cuomo has governed as a conservative Republican,
Growing Backlash Among Teachers Against Common Core
As we have seen in mainstream media coverage of the Common Core, there is a common–but fake–narrative about the Common Core. Secretary Duncan has repeatedly said that opposition to the Common Core comes from the far right, especially the Tea Party. We are also told that teachers like the Common Core. The underlying goal is to stigmatize critics and to belittle those who do speak up. A good place
Is College Worth The Cost? A Puzzling Question or Not?
David Leonhardt says the latest data demonstrate that a four-year college degree is worth the investment. In fact, it pays so well that it actually rewards those who get the degree. College graduates with a four-year degree definitely make more money than those who didn’t finish college or those with only a high school diploma. He concludes that everyone should get a four-year degree. “Not so ma
Ohio’s Charter Dropout Factories
Ohio has some of the worst charter schools in the country, which avoid accountability because their owners contribute generously to elected officials. Among the worst performing charters are those specifically designed for dropouts. Some of these schools teach students online. Can you imagine how ineffective it is to put a discouraged student in front of a computer instead of in a class with a li
John Merrow’s Poetic Critique of Bubble Testing, H/T Robert Frost
John Merrow demonstrates the incisiveness of poetry as a means of communicating complex ideas in his rewrite of Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall.” Merrow turns the poem into “Mending School,” a scathing critique of bubble testing. Used appropriately and sparingly, he suggests, the bubble tests may offer value. Used promiscuously, as they are today, they are a parasite that is consuming the host. They
Stephanie Simon: Who Is Mining Your Child’s Data?
Stephanie Simon has written a startling story about the corporations that are collecting information about your child. This is known as data mining, and it usually occurs without the subject’s knowledge or consent. One such corporation called inBloom went out of business because of parent concern about privacy. But there are many others doing the same work with less scrutiny. She writes: “The NS
Chetty and Friends Stand by their VAM
The American Statistical Association released a brief report on value-added assessment that was devastating to its advocates. ASA said it was not taking sides, but then set out some caveats that left VAM with no credibility. Can a school district judge teacher quality by the test scores of his or her students? ASA wrote this: “VAMs are generally based on standardized test scores, and do not di
Raj Chetty, VAM, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, and Me
On May 3, I received an email from Professor Raj Chetty of Harvard University, informing me that his famous paper on value-added assessment of teachers was being published by the American Economic Review. The paper has three authors: in addition to Chetty, the other authors include John Friedman and Jonah Rockoff, also at Harvard. When the paper was first released, it was reported on the front pag
JUN 01
Los Angeles: Bond Oversight Committee Demands Reappointment of Magruder
The Los Angeles school board failed to reappoint Stuart Magruder, the appointee of the American Institute of Architects, to its 15-member. Bond Oversight Committee. Magruder was an outspoken critic of Superintendent John Deasy’s decision to use funds from a 25-year bond dedicated to construction and repairs to pay for his purchase of iPads for every student and staff member in the district. The fa
Heilig: NCLB Failed, What Next?
Julian Vasquez Helig says NCLB failed.. It’s time for a new paradigm. He calls it “community-based accountability.”
Will Néw Mexico Choose an Educator in the Democratic Primary?
A reader from Néw Mexico describes what is at stake in the Democratic primary for Governor: “Last week teachers in New Mexico were shocked, dismayed, and horrified with their VAM scores from the Pretend Secretary of Education Skandera’s office. She has not been confirmed since she was nominatedf 3 1/2 years ago. “When our Koch-funded, anti-union and anti-public education Governor ran for office sh
NPE Endorses Hendy Newbill for Los Angeles School Board
The Network for Public Education is pleased to endorse Sherlett Hendy Newbill for LAUSD District 1. Sherlett is a teacher, a coach and a parent. She grew up in the district as the daughter of immigrants who struggled to put food on the table. She went to elementary, middle and high school in the district. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, she received a scholarship to attend X
The Crucial Race for State Superintendent in California
The race for State Superintendent of Education in California pits veteran educator Tom Torlakson–who has held the job since 2010–against Marshall Tuck, who is closely associated with the privatization movement. A third candidate, Lydia Gutierrez, is notable in the race for her opposition to Common Core. With the unions supporting Torlakson and the business sector behind Tuck, Gutierrez is consider
Bob Shepherd on the Insanity of “Education Reform”
Bob Shepherd writes on the absurd demands now placed on teachers and principals by politicians, who expect to see higher test scores every year. Step back and you realize that the politicians, the policy wonks, the economists, and the ideologues are ruining education, not improving it. They are doing their best to demoralize professional educators. What are they thinking? Are they thinking? Or is
Robert Berkman: Is This the Worst Article Ever Written about Common Core Math?
Robert Berkman, a veteran math teacher, writes a blog called “Better Living Through Mathematics, where he regularly skewers nonsense. In this article, he looks closely at a chart that purportedly demonstrates how pathetic is the performance of U.S. adults, compared to many other nations. Berkman says this may be the “stupidest article about Common Core math program” that he has ever read. To be
Congratulations, Brian Page! This Is What Teachers Do.
After years of endless negative press about teachers, it was refreshing to pick up the New York Times and read a story about Brian Page, who teaches high school students about economics and personal finance. He teaches them through life experience and field trips what economics means in their own lives. Page took his students to a pawn shops where they learned about what it means to borrow, about
MAY 31
Cuomo Strikes a Deal with Working Families Party
Well, we got to know a little bit about Zephyr Teachout, who was supposedly the chosen candidate of the Working Families Party. But in the last 48 hours, it became clear that Governor Cuomo wasn’t going to let that party line slip away from him. It is impossible to know what promises were made, whose arms were twisted, what deals were struck, but Governor Cuomo got the endorsement of the WFP tonig
Crazy Crawfish Tries to Make Sense of John White’s Data Games
Crazy Crawfish, aka Jason France, used to work in the assessment division of the Louisiana State Department of Education. He has sources there, and he knows the games that officials can play to make data look better or worse. In this post, he asserts that State Commissioner of Education John White, with two years in TFA and a few years in Joel Klein’s NYC Department of Education, came to Louisian
Finnish Schools Not Relying on Ed Tech
Caitlin Emmaof Politico.com paid a visit to Finland and was surprised to discover that teachers are not depending on educational technology. By contrast, American schools are spending billions of dollars on tablets, laptops, and other devices. She writes: “Finnish students and teachers didn’t need laptops and iPads to get to the top of international education rankings, said Krista Kiuru, ministe
Jonathan Pelto Exploring Challenge to Governor Malloy in Connecticut
Blogger. And former state legislator Jonathan Pelto must raise $250,000, in amounts no larger than $100 to challenge Governor Malloy. The laws protect incumbents and those with deep pockets or friends with deep pockets. Jon reports he is off to a strong start.
Tearing Our School Apart: Is it Worth It?
Under current federal and state laws, test scores are supposed to go higher every year. Every year, the students are a different cohort, but their scores must be higher than those who preceded them. High expectations–no matter how unrealistic–are supposed to produce high achievement. Think of it this way, if students are running track and can barely jump over a 3′ bar, raise the bar to 4′ and see
Motoko Rich Shows: Far Right Opposes Common Core
It is getting to be a dizzying experience to read about the Common Core on the Néw York Times. When Motoko Rich reported from Tennessee, she found an unlikely left-right alliance questioning the standards. A few days later, and the familiar script is back in place: only the far right opposes this fine experiment. Once again, Mike Petrilli is trotted out to defend them. This seems to be his job no
Motoko Rich Shows: Unlikely Alliances For and Against Common Core
Until now, the New York Times has followed Arne Duncan’s formula to explain opposition to Common Core, which is to demonize critics as Tea Party yahoos. However, Motoko Rich wrote a story about the unlikely alliances that are forming on both sides of the issue. Supporters of the Common Core cross a wide spectrum and include big corporations and anti-public education zealots like Jeb Bush and Mich
HISD Hiring Teachers in North Carolina!
The Houston Independent School District is taking advantage of abysmal salaries in North Carolina. HISD is holding a job fair today in Raleigh, hoping to poach some of NC’s terrific but underpaid teachers. “HISD is promising a starting salary of $46,805. “In a response to the ad posted on Facebook, North Carolina state Representative Graig Meyer (D-District 50) notes the average salary for teach
