Diane Ravitch's blog
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG
DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Why should Common Core tests require 8-10 hours? Does anyone know? Why should third graders, 8 or 9 year-old children, be expected to sit for eight hours of testing? This is nuts! This from a teacher in Utah, responding to a post called “Good Riddance to Common Core Tests.” Let the parents know. They recognize child abuse. “And it’s not just the SBAC or PARCC that are long and awful. Utah went wi
Aaron Short of the New York Post shows how New York City used the $107 million in Race to the Top funding that it received during the Bloomberg administration. Let’s just sat it was NOT a game-changer: “Bureaucrats are winning the Race to the Top. “Less than a quarter of the $107 million that the school system received in federal Race to The Top funds last year was sent directly to school princip
I don’t know about you, but I am sick of the test score obsession. I think our schools need to have a prolonged testing moratorium so we can figure out what education should be about and how to reduce our dependence on testing. But since that has not happened yet, we are compelled to look at the rise and fall of test scores. . When Tennessee’s scores went up on NAEP last year, Arne Duncan speedily
Now that the purchasing agent for New Mexico approved the $1 billion PARCC contract tailor-made for Pearson, that lucky British company will write the Common Core tests for 6-10 million American children. But consider Pearson’s history of testing errors: “PEARSON SCORE FOUL-UP HISTORY, by Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director, FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing (updated Feb
Note to Arne Duncan from a Special Education Teacher in Florida
After Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new rules for special education, requiring higher standards and more testing for students with disabilities, many teachers and parents debated this course of action on the blog. This teacher in Florida offered some real-life experience to inform the debate and, perhaps, the Secretary: “Let me start by saying that I am an ESE teacher. I teach stude
Arizona Officials Harass Teacher For Criticizing Common Core
The Arizona Department of Education under the leadership of John Huppenthal is strongly supportive of the Common Core. When officials at the Department learned that teacher Brad McQueen had written an article critical of the Common Core standards, they decided that something had to be done about him. He had worked on the Common Core assessments, and state officials began to harass him. Several of
John Stocks Gets Angry at the NEA convention
John Stocks, the executive director of the NEA, voiced the anger and frustration that so many of the members are feeling. He gave a rip-roaring speech. But, sadly, he did not mention the perfidy of the Obama administration or the duplicitous role of the Gates Foundation in undermining the teaching profession. Here is a high point: “We’re frustrated by the barrage of bad ideas from so-called educa
Teacher: Who Really Designed Common Core?
A comment on the blog: “Elementary schools should be “incubators” for holistic development for children. That is the only way our country can be strong. “Instead, our elementary schools have become “chambers of horror” for children. Eight year olds being tortured with 8 hours of testing insanity. One would think that Dick Cheney designed Common Core.”
A Teacher Quits the D.C. Public School System
Olivia Chapman taught for five years in the public schools of the District of Columbia. Then she decided that her philosophy of education was diametrically opposed to the District’s demands. She resigned her position. Her letter of resignation was first posted on Rachel Levy’s blog, All Things Education. When she resigned, she was asked what DCPS could have done to retain her. Her letter of resig
Is the Charter Movement Imploding?
In state after state, charter schools are proving that it is downright risky to turn public money over to deregulated corporations and unqualified individuals to run schools. The Detroit Free Press series on the scams, frauds, and corruption in many Michigan charters was an eye-opener for all those who are not part of the charter movement. The exposé of similar frauds in Florida by the League of W
If Arne Resigned, Would It Be a Game Changer?
Let’s face it. If Arne resigned, as the delegates to the NEA convention recommended in Denver, teachers would be thrilled to see one of the worst Secretaries of Education go away, but would we get someone worse? Would it be Ted Mitchell, who makes no bones about his love of privatization and for-profits? Would it be the teachers’ nemesis Michelle Rhee? Most reformers make too much money to step do
Jeff Madrick: Inequality Begins at Birth
Jeff Madrick, journalist and economic policy consultant, wrote an important post for the New York Review of Books blog about the inequalities that begin at birth. Madrick writes: “Pre-K is not enough…Indeed, two studies completed in 2013 relate neural deterioration directly to poverty. A group of researchers from six universities measured the brain activity of adults who had been poor at age nin
YESTERDAY
Breaking News: NEA delegates Pass Resolution Calling for Arne Duncan’s Resignation
Delegates to the national convention of the National Education Association passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Similar resolutions did not pass in 2011 ad 2012. The resolution was proposed by the California Teachers Association. Teachers are angry at Duncan because of his support for the controversial Vergara decision, which ruled against teache
Governor Malloy of Connecticut: No Friend to Teachers
I am repeating this post because I left out the crucial word NOT in the original post. Malloy’s SB 24 thrilled “reformers” like ConnCAN, but not teachers. He also made the insulting comment that teachers get tenure just for showing up for four years. Some people in Connecticut want to keep Jon Pelto off the ballot. That is not democratic. Let the people decide. Governor Malloy has NOT been a fa
Connecticut: Why Keep Pelto Off the Ballot? Is This Democracy?
Some people in Connecticut want to keep Jon Pelto off the ballot. That is not democratic. Let the people decide. Governor Malloy has NOT been a faithful friend to teachers. He has been a faithful friend to charters and plutocrats. Let them vote for him. Pelto has been a faithful friend to public schools, to teachers, and to kids. Let him run. Kevin Rennie of the Hartford Courant doesn’t think i
Schneider: Showdown Between Louisiana Governor Jindal and Commissioner White Gets Amusing
On June 18, Governor Jindal announced that Louisiana was pulling out of Common Core and dropping PARCC testing. State commissioner of education John White disagreed. The state board of education supports White. Wow! The Governor versus the state commissioner! Mercedes Schneider brings us up to date on this epic struggle between the governor and the state commissioner he once strongly supported.
Show Your Patriotism! A Reminder to Sign the Petition for Gus Morales in Holyoke
I signed the petition to support Gus Morales, who was unjustly fired a few weeks after he was elected as head of the union in his school in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Gus spoke out vigorously against high-stakes testing and privatization. He opposed the posting of student scores on a public “data wall,” which he thought was humiliating. Let’s help Gus get at least 3,000 signatures, then aim for 5,000
Jefferson on the Need to Diffuse Knowledge to the General Public
Thomas Jefferson advocated for a system of public education. He proposed “A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge.” Whereas it appeareth that however certain forms of government are better calculated than others to protect individuals in the free exercise of their natural rights, and are at the same time themselves better guarded against degeneracy, yet experience hath shewn, that even
What Dennis Van Roekel Said in Denver
I just received a copy of Dennis Van Roekel’s speech to the NEA RA in Denver. It is his last, as he is retiring as President. He waxed nostalgic but he hit out appropriately at the toxic culture of the corporate reformers. He lambasted NCLB. He is a mild-mannered and kindly gentleman, so it is hard to imagine him getting really angry. He said: In all of our history, we have always advocat
A Reading List on Testing
Bob Shepherd posted this reading list on testing. The list was compiled by Alfie Kohn. I have a few additions: Todd Farley, Making the Grades Banesh Hoffman, The Tyranny of Testing Phil Harris, The Myth of Standardized Testing Jim Horn and Denise Wilburn, The Mismeasure of Education Daniel Koretz, Measuring Up Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and C
Lloyd Lofthouse: Public Schools Made America Great
Reader Lloyd Lofthouse submitted this comment: “The U.S. public schools are part of the infrastructure of the country. They are as vital—if not more so—than the highways, bridges, waterways, airports, electric grid, water and gas lines, etc.—-infrastructure built mostly by hard working Americans and not by billionaires, who often take credit for what they never sweated or toiled to build. “Regardl
Peter Greene: I Will Not Quit; They Will Not Win
Peter Greene, a high school teacher in Pennsylvania, describes the present moment–in which powerful people are tearing apart public education and attacking the profession of teaching–as either a passing storm or the apocalypse. “A far-reaching network of rich and powerful men is working to take the public education system as we know it and simply make it go away, to be replaced by a system that
Be a Patriot: Support Gus Morales!
Defend a brave teacher! Defend students! Sign the petition to reinstate Gus Morales! Gus Morales was elected head of his school union in Holyoke, Massachusetts, as an outspoken opponent of high-stakes testing and privatization. Children’s test scores were posted in a data wall. Morales objected. Only weeks after his election, he was fired. “As I started speaking out, I was targeted with negative
Joseph Stiglitz: Inequality Is Not Inevitable
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at Columbia University, writes that the increasing inequality in the U.S. is neither inevitable nor necessary. Other nations have experienced economic growth while assuring greater equality. We could as well, but the super-rich have managed to capture control of enough politicians to prevent any legislation that might increase their tax rates and as
JUL 03
NEA Endorses National Campaign Against “Toxic Testing”
NEA delegates approve creation of national campaign for equity and against “Toxic Testing” Campaign to focus on assessments and developing real accountability systems DENVER—The National Education Association (NEA) will launch a national campaign to put the focus of assessments and accountability back on ensuring equity and supporting student learning and end the “test blame and punish” system tha
New Mexico Okays Pearson Contract for PARCC
New Mexico’s purchasing agent approved the award of a contract to Pearson to develop the Common Core PARCC tests, despite the absence of competitive bidding. AIR had lodged a complaint against the process since Pearson was the only bidder. The New Mexico contract covers testing of 6-10 million students in 14 states. It is worth about $1 billion to Pearson. “Last December, the Washington DC-based
Green Party Supports Teacher Tenure in New York
Green Party Defends Teacher Tenure Against Legal Challenge The Green Party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor today spoke out strongly against a lawsuit to be filed by a former CNN anchor seeking to overturn tenure in New York State. “The attack on teacher tenure is about scapegoating teachers for the conditions of our schools,” remarked Brian Jones, a former NYC school teacher running for
NYC Public Schools: Less Money, More Homeless Students, More Crowded
A report by the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office in New York City has found that the New York City public schools are experiencing extensive overcrowding, even as federal and state funding has diminished. Nearly 450,000 students were enrolled in overcrowded buildings, defined as those at greater than 102.5 percent capacity, in the 2012-13 school year, the most recent covered by the report f
A Partial Look at Michelle Rhee’s Finances
Politico.com reports on some of the finances of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst and StudentsFirst Institute, based on the 990 tax form that her group is required to file. During the fiscal year from August 2012 to July 2013, her organizations raised $28.6 million, down slightly from the previous year. She does not disclose the names of her donors (we can all guess: the Koch brothers? Rupert Murdoch?
Texas Commissioner Ignores State Board to Approve Great Hearts Charter
Michael Williams, Texas State Commissioner, gave Great Hearts Academy permission to open another charter in Dallas even though the state board of education tuned it down. Williams is not an educator. He is a favorite of the Bush family who previously served as head of the Texas Railroad Commission, which “regulates” the oil and gas industry (not?). Great Hearts is controversial because it has cam
Good Riddance to the Common Core Tests!
A few years ago, Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, David Coleman, and a merry band of policy wonks had a grand plan. The non-governmental groups like Achieve, the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Coleman’s own Student Achievement Partners would write the Common Core standards (paid for by the Gates Foundation); Duncan would require states to agree to adopt the
Rocketship Charter Chain’s Big Plans in Texas
A note from a reader in Texas, where Rocketship charter schools have big expansion plans: Rocketship has re-applied for charters in Texas, 8 each in San Antonio and Dallas. Last cycle, in spite of support from San Antonio group, Choose to Succeed (along with the promise of million(s) in start-up funds), Rocketship failed to meet TEA external reviewers standards and was not eligible for considerat
Rocketship Charter Chain Sputters
Rocketship charter chain had an audacious plan to enroll one million students nationwide, drawing students from poor and immigrant communities, putting them in front of a computer in large classes, and relying on low-wage (mainly Teach for America) “teachers.” The chain got high scores and began opening charters outside San Jose, California, where it originated, but then something happened that wa
Anthony Cody: These Tests are Designed to Fail Students
Anthony Cody points out the contradiction between claims that the Common Core will prepare students for college and careers and the reality that the Common Core tests are designed to fail most students. He also notes what happened to the GED graduation rate after Pearson took control of the program. The pass rate on the GED plummeted. What is going on? Cody has two hypotheses: “Hypothesis #1:
Detroit Free Press on Its Probe of Michigan Charter Schools
The Detroit Free Press published a series of deeply researched articles about the charter schools in the state, most of which operate for profit. The state spends $1 billion on charters but does not hold them accountable for financial practices or academic outcomes. Charter schools do NOT get better results educating students in poverty. Will legislators or the governor care? Not as long as the c
JUL 02
Connecticut: Another FUSE Employee Has a Criminal Record
A community outreach for a Bridgeport charter school organization managed by FUSE has a criminal record. “The record of Mack Allen, 49, of Bridgeport, surfaced in a confidential background check that FUSE had a law firm perform in January after he had begun working. But the organization didn’t inform Bridgeport schools Supt. Frances Rabinowitz about it until Tuesday night, after she requested bac
Connecticut: Who Endorsed Jumoke Charter Schools and FUSE?
Mary G. of Connecticut offers the following insight into the charter mutual support network. Jennifer Alexander of ConnCAN was quoted in this post extolling the superior performance of charters as compared to public schools. In this post, Jennifer Alexander said that the scandal surrounding Jumoke and FUSE should provide an opportunity to discuss not only accountability and transparency but fundin
Louisiana Carnival: State Auditor Investigating DOE for Payroll Fraud
While Governor Bobby Jindal and State Superintendent John White continue to slug it out over Common Core and PARCC testing, a new wrinkle has been added. Blogger Louisiana Voice reports that John White’s office is being investigated for payroll fraud: “LouisianaVoice has learned the Legislative Auditor’s office is conducting an investigation of DOE that could involve payroll fraud, according to
Connecticut: Will Jumoke Charter Scandal Lead to New Oversight?
The Jumoke-FUSE charter scandal in Connecticut has become “an important moment” to reconsider the state’s warm embrace of charter schools. As readers may recall, the CEO of FUSE, Michael Sharpe, was found to have a criminal record and to have falsely claimed to have a doctorate. Sharpe’s organization had collected $53 million in state funds since 1998. The fact that Governor Malloy appointed Stefa
The Shame of Connecticut: Charters with Nepotism, Uncertified Teachers, Conflicts of Interest
Governor Dannel Malloy and Commissioner Stefan Pryor love charter schools, but now they have egg all over their faces after the revelations about the Jumoke/FUSE leadership. Michael Sharpe, the CEO of FUSE resigned after revelations of his criminal record and his false claims of having a doctorate. The fact that Governor Malloy chose Stefan Pryor as his state commissioner of education is the first
Gary Rubinstein Remembers the Day That TFA Booed KIPP
Gary Rubinstein was one of the earliest members of Teach for America. He is today its most incisive critical friend or friendly critic. In this post, he remembers the days that Dave Levin and Michael Feinberg presented their KIPP plan to a TFA audience and were boed off the stage. Now, however, they are superstars. Gary reviews KIPP’s current record. Currently, he says, KIPP has an attrition rate
Microsoft Cashes in on Common Core and Online Testing
Are you ready for the new standards? Check out how Microsoft can help your school.
Michigan: A One-Woman Truth Squad for Charter Accountability
This article tells the story of Mary T. Wood, a woman in Michigan who has devoted nine years to tracking the spending and management of the state’s charter schools. She is not a public official. No one pays her. She took on this mission when she enrolled her daughter in a charter school in 1999, which did not have approval of its building so spent the first month doing field trips and other outdo
Wendy Lecker: How “Disruptive Innovation” Harmed the Children of Hartford
Wendy Lecker shows in this important article how corporate reformers impose “disruptive innovation” on struggling schools and communities. They close schools, take over schools, and fire staff instead of making needed improvements. The reformers are following the advice of a writer who argues that disruptive innovation works in the business world. But, she says, it doesn’t work in the business wo
New Republic: The Harris v. Quinn Decision Is a Terrible Decision
Moshe Z. Marvit, a labor lawyer who has written several articles for The New Republic on unions, here analyzes the Harris v. Quinn decision and maintains that it sets an impossible standard for unions to meet. He believes that it is a preliminary to reversing decades of Supreme Court precedent and completely crippling unions. Marvit was co-author of “Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right.”
JUL 01
Louisiana Educator Explains Why He Opposes Common Core Standards
This statement was delivered to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2014/06/statement-to-bese-on-ccss-and-parcc.html Monday, June 30, 2014 Statement to BESE on CCSS and PARCC The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has scheduled a special meeting On July 1, at 11:30 A.M., to respond to the executive orders by Governor Jindal that wou
Bill Gates Blames Students for Failure of His Education Plans
At a meeting in Los Alamos, Bill Gates said it was easier to find cures for malaria and other diseases than to “fix” American education. Being the richest man in America, people hang on his every word. Gates again knocks U.S. education. He said that technology should help, but it only benefits motivated students, and the U.S. has lots of unmotivated students. Usually, he blames teachers. Now he b
Do Teachers’ Unions Have Any Friends in the Obama Administration?
We are living in an era when the very idea of public education is under attack, as are teachers’ unions and the teaching profession. Let’s be clear: these attacks and the power amassed behind them are unprecedented in American history. Sure, there have always been critics of public schools, of teachers, and of unions. But never before has there been a serious and sustained effort to defund public
Schneider: Will the Courts in New Mexico Decide Louisiana’s Tests?
Mercedes Schneider tells a strange tale about PARCC testing, John White, Bobby Jindal, AIR, and Pearson. Will AIR’s lawsuit against Pearson in the Arizona courts affect Louisiana’s choice of tests?
Florida Charter Schools: Follow the Money to Scams and Profiteering
The following article is by Patricia W. Hall, chair of the League of Women Voters Education team in Hillsborough County, Florida. It was originally published by La Gaceta in Tampa, Florida. The state League of Women Voters recently published a one-year study of charters across Florida. Charter School Explosion: Follow the Money Patricia W. Hall Although charter schools must, by Florida law, be ov
Paul Bruno: What if There is No Crisis in U.S. Education?
Paul Bruno, a science teacher in California, assembled a few charts to show that there is no “crisis” in American education. What we have today was aptly named “a manufactured crisis” by David Berliner and Bruce Biddle, in their book “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools” in the mid-1990s. Last year, my book “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatizat
Jeb Bush’s Ardent Advocacy for Common Core
Conservatives are backing away from Common Core in response to angry parents who see it as a federal takeover of their local schools. Several states have dropped the Common Core assessments or the Common Core standards. But one conservative is not backing down: Jeb Bush. He has become the flag-bearer for the Common Core. He and Arne Duncan are the most ardent proponents for the embattled national
EduShyster: Who Wins When the Fight Against Tenure Hits the Road?
EduShyster explains the back story on the new team that has been assembled to eliminate teacher tenure wherever it still survives. The lead player in this docudrama is Campbell Brown, a one-time CNN anchor who now works full-time to oust sexual predators from our classrooms. EduShyster says she will be rewarded with more airtime and media FaceTime. Then there is the ex-Obama communications team,
Australia: Adopting the U.S. Model, With Sorrow
Phil Cullen writes The Treehorn Express in Australia. He regularly reports on that nation’s slavish copying of the worst American ideas, especially testing and accountability. The Australian national testing program is called NAPLAN. FELLOW EDUCATORS : Please send this along to people in schools as extensively as you can. Those who already do…..thanks from Treehorn and the other kids. The Treehorn
JUN 30
CTU on Harris v. Quinn
What have unions done for working people? Reduced working hours, improved working conditions. Think of the Triangle Waist Fire. Think of Chinese factories where workers live in dormitories 24/7 and work long hours seven days a week in dangerous conditions. Here is the CTU statement on the Harris v. Quinn ruling: ” CTU Stands in Solidarity With Home Care Workers in Wake of Harris v. Quinn Ruling
PTA Mom: Who Bought the National PTA?
In response to a post by Peter Greene (“The Arne Duncan Drinking Game“), this reader describes the National PTA convention in Texas. The National PTA has received $2.5 million from the Gates Foundation, including $500,000 specifically for Common Core. Also, the National PTA provided a screening of the anti-public school “Waiting for Superman” at its annual convention in 2011. Odd. She writes: “I
Supreme Court Decision: Loss for Public Sector Unions
The U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion in Harris Vs. Quinn that allows some public sector workers to opt out of paying union dues. The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, was 5-4. The majority held that some employees don’t have to pay union dues, even though they enjoy the benefits negotiated by the union. But the decision left intact the unions’ right to bargain collectively. Here are
Common Core Testing Is No “Game-Changer”
Arne Duncan is one of the most fervent advocates of the Common Core standards and testing. As Valerie Strauss explained in this article, Duncan said: “I am convinced that this new generation of state assessments will be an absolute game-changer in public education. For the first time, millions of schoolchildren, parents, and teachers will know if students are on-track for colleges and careers — a
Hot Sales for Bulletproof Armor for Children
I wish this were a joke but it is not. The manufacturer of body armor for children has reported high sales to parents and schools concerned about school shootings. “The alarming rate of school shootings across the country appears to have added an unsettling new item to parents’ list of “back to school” items: bulletproof armor for their children. Among such items, the Bodyguard Blanket, a portab
Lucy Calkins Vs. David Coleman
New York City and Néw York State have enthusiastically embraced the Common Core standards. In the background, however, is a simmering–one might say boiling battle between literacy guru Lucy Calkins of Teachers College and Common Core architect David Coleman about teaching reading. Calkins supports balanced literacy, Coleman supports close reading. The city and state adopted materials based on Co
Virginia: Governor McAuliffe, Please Let the OEI Disappear
Blogger Rachel Levy sends out an alert to everyone in Virginia: Please contact Governor McAuliffe and ask him not to appeal the court decision saying that the state’s plan to take over low-performing schools violates the state’s constitution. The decision stopped the state from creating an anti-democratic bureaucracy called the Opportunity Educational Institution. Levy writes: “I am urging you t
Michigan: Charter Schools Have Not Lived Up to Promises
The press in Michigan is waking up to the fact that charter schools do not get better results than public schools (and many get worse results), and lack of supervision and regulation clears the way for fraud and corruption. The Lansing State Journal reportson the failed promise of charter schools, which soak up $1 billion a year from taxpayers. “Two decades into Michigan’s charter school experie
JUN 29
KrazyTA: This Blog Has Just Hit 13 Million Views
A comment from Krazy TA, one of our most valuable, witty, and informed readers: “This blog has just hit 13 million views. 😃 Why does it keeps attracting a high number of views? Because it presents vital info excluded from the MSM, and because it offers folks like Ms. Christine McLaughlin a forum. Heartfelt thanks to Diane. And to Christine McLaughlin: “Not all of us can do great things. But we
Ms. McLaughlin Comments
An earlier post about the Vergara case contrasted the testimony of a plaintiff (a student) who said Ms. McLaughlin was a “bad” teacher with a video in which several students spoke highly of the same teacher, who was named by the Rotary as Pasadena Teacher of the Year. Christine McLaughlin, the teacher who was the subject of the post, left the following comment: “I was so surprised to hear of thi
Frank Breslin: Standardized Tests Reflect Family Income, not Teacher Quality
Here is a good example of taking facts to the public: Frank Breslin, retired teacher, writes an opinion article that explains the flaws of Common Core and standardized testing, as well as teacher evaluation based on flawed tests.
Is Ms. McLaughlin “Grossly Ineffective” or “Teacher of the Year”?
At the Vergara trial, a student identified one of her teachers as undeserving of tenure. She named Christine McLaughlin of Blair Middle School. Ms. McLaughlin had been selected as Pasadena Teacher of the Year. So which is she? This reader writes: “Here’s a video of one of the “grossly ineffective teachers” and “2013 Pasadena Teacher of the Year” named in this lawsuit (by her former student and pl
Jeff Bryant: Who Will Stop Charter School Corruption?
Charter schools have been the beneficiary of a myth, the myth that a free market in schooling will produce miraculous results. Unfortunately, like most myths, it is not true. Deregulation translates into lack of supervision and oversight. In the absence of supervision of public funds, scams, frauds, and corruption flourish. Jeff Bryant here reviews some of the egregious examples of charter school
Lisa Haver: NCTQ’s Advice to Fix Philadelphia Schools
In 2013, the National Council on Teacher Quality offered its advice on how to fix Philadelphia’s financially beleaguered public schools. Retired teacher Lisa Haver reviewed its counsel to the city. Haver is a founder of the grass-roots advocacy organization Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools. In this article, Haver wrote: “”Thank heavens,” you’re thinking. The district is so broke it’s look
Oklahoma Rejected Pass-Fail Third Grade Reading Test
I am late in reporting this story, but did not want to miss the opportunity to correct my oversight. One of the truly bad ideas that has been adopted in various states is that third graders must pass a reading test or flunk. They can’t advance to fourth grade. This is part of the punitive test-based accountability of our times, which hurts children and trusts standardized tests more than teachers
Peter Greene: The Arne Duncan Drinking Game
Peter Greene proves himself a man of infinite patience. In this post, he analyzes and deconstructs a speech that Arne Duncan gave to the annual meeting of the PTA. He writes: “Arne opens up his speech as pretty much anybody would (Glad to be here! Your organization is great! Let’s here it for your leaders!) and then moves on to tales of his children’s schooling. Their experience was not the typi
Inside China’s “Insanely Stressful” College Entrance Exam Process
Chinese students live (and sometimes die) for their test scores. Here is a portrayal of the “insanely stressful” examination system that rules the lives of all Chinese students. This is the system that American policymakers like Arne Duncan hope to import to the United States. This is the dream of “tiger moms” like Amy Chua and Michelle Rhee, to subject children to higher and higher stakes u
JUN 28
Question for Researchers about School Closings
Does anyone know an authoritative source for the number of public schools closed because of NCLB and Race to the Top? Either turnarounds, turned over to charters, or just closed?
Bob Braun: State Policy in Newark Is Racist. Period.
In one of the most powerful posts I have ever read, veteran journalist Bob Braun (retired after fifty years as an investigative reporter in New Jersey) bluntly declares that state policy in Newark is racist. He writes: “The eighth-grade graduation ceremonies at the Hawthorne Avenue School this morning–the last of their kind–provided an island of sanity and goodwill in the ocean of madness that i
What Jesse Hagopian Told Bill Gates
Jesse Hagopian of Garfield High School in Seattle wrote this speech for the protest at the gates of the Gates Foundation a few days ago: “Comments from Jesse Hagopian For the Gates Foundation Protest:” Teaching in the shadow of the Gates Foundation is an ominous and treacherous endeavor. Everywhere you turn there is another so-called “expert”, funded by the Gates foundation–with very little, if a
Pennsylvania: the Fight to Fund Education
The Pennsylvania legislature is hammering out the state budget, and it looks like education will once again face budget cuts. Why are legislators prepared to sacrifice the future? This letter was sent yesterday to all Pennsylvania state legislators in the 5-county region as well as to press representatives by Higher Education United for Public Education, a group of educators at colleges and unive
Jack Hassard: NCTQ Ratings Are “Junk Science”
Jack Hassard, professor emeritus of science education at Georgia State University, here reviews the ratings of the National Council on Teacher Quality and declares them to be “junk science.” He looks at the Georgia institutions of teacher preparation and finds that the ratings are haphazard, spotty, and inaccurate. The he gathers some of the major critiques by others and concludes that the ratings
NY Teacher: Reformers, Please Explain This Puzzle
This comment came from a reader who signs as “NY Teacher”: They can’t prove it because they are all barking up the wrong tree. In fact their entire premise is wrong. The weakest link in the learning/achievement chain is rarely the teacher. I have one hundred students this year. I teach a subject that is new to all of them. This puts all of my 14 year old students on an equal footing as far as
Schneider: What Bill Gates Told the Washington Post About Common Core
On June 7, Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post wrote a blockbuster article about how Bill Gates pulled off the Common Core coup, which the headline calls “the swift Common Core revolution.” In a short period of time, less time than it takes a state to write standards in one subject, the U.S. suddenly had “national standards,” written and then adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia. Th
Greene: How Awful is Higher Education?
Up until now, we thought that American higher education was the best in the world. That’s why students come from all over the world to attend our colleges and universities. But wait! There is an OECD test that shows our college graduates don’t know much. That supposedly proves we need more tests, more regulation, motte evaluations. Peter Greene shows how crazy this is.
The Millions Wasted on Testing Could Be Spent on…..
Valerie Strauss ran this great article by Jim Arnold and Peter Smagorinsky. Jim Arnold recently retired from the superintendent’s position of the Pelham City Schools in Georgia. Peter Smagorinsky is Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at the University of Georgia. Arnold and Smagorinsky describe the many millions spent on testing, with no end in sight, and ask how that money mig
Teachout: It’s Time for 21st Century Trust Busting
Zephyr Teachout is running for governor in the Democratic primary against Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has collected more than $30 million for his campaign, much of it from Wall Street titans. At the convention of the Working Families Party last month, Cuomo won over the union leaders, who delivered the WFP endorsement to him over Teachout. She must gather 15,000 signatures on petitions by July 7 from acro
Fairtest: Testing Resistance Continues to Grow Nationwide
FairTest National Center for Fair & Open Testing TO: Journalists Who Cover Education FROM: Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director RE: Testing Resistance & Reform News DATE: June 24, 2014 What a week! The impacts of “Testing Resistance & Reform Spring” protests reverberate across the nation with more states suspending testing requirements or pulling out of testing consortia. Bill Gat
