Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Reader and arts consultant Laura Chapman cites an article in today’s Wall Street Journal that reminds us that test scores are not objective. Panels of experts and non-experts make a judgment about what is “proficient,” what is the “cut score for other labels. It is a judgment. The person in charge can adjust the cut score to make the tests harder or easier. If he wants to show that kids are reall
There is something about corporate education reform that encourages chutzpah. Chutzpah is a Yiddish word for arrogance. Reformers think they are on the front lines of the civil rights movement. They think that making tests harder helps kids who are already struggling. They think that if the failure rate for black and Hispanic kids goes higher, these kids are getting the help they need. Please don’
Peter Goodman regularly blogs about education in New York. He is close to the UFT leadership in New York City and thus has good sources. Here is his update from inside the AFT convention. Reading this, I conclude that the AFT will not call for Arne Duncan’s resignation. This is the first time in my memory that the AFT was less militant that its larger brethren and sisters in the NEA. It appears
In this era of duplicity and double-talk, we may never learn the real reason, but one thing is sure: Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst is closing down in Minnesota. It is laying off its single employee. It claims 29,000 members in the state, but it is impossible to verify that number since people often sign deceptive petitions on websites that ask if they support great teachers. “Earlier this week, S
A comment from a reader, Joyce Murdock Feilke, in Texas: “As a mental health professional in Texas schools, I can relate to this teacher’s comment: “The students are beginning to “check out”. “Dissociation is how children often cope with stress which they are developmentally unprepared to process. When it becomes chronic in their daily environment, it can lead to mental illness, since it impacts
Teacher: No Time For Teaching, Only Testing
This teacher laments the explosion of testing in school, which has reduced or eliminated time for play, recess, and activities. This is the brave new world of Common Core and PARCC: H/she writes: “The Common Core and PARCC will ruin education as we know it..And, of course, it is all part of the overall plan. My school starts PARCC this next school year. My 2.5 hour paper and pencil test (in only
Where Is Governor Cuomo’s Running Mate?
A blogger has been looking for Governor Cuomo’s running mate. It seems she is a strong supporter of gun rights but not a friend to immigrants. The trick for Cuomo is to let her talk in conservative districts upstate but keep her under wraps in New York City and the liberal suburbs. Perdido Street School writes: “Where in the world is former US Rep. Kathy Hochul? “The one-time Buffalo-area congre
A Mom in Utah: Next Year We Opt Out of Abusive Testing
A comment from a Mad Mom in Utah. When the parents wise up and act in concert to protect their children, the toxic reform hoax will collapse. She writes: “I live in Utah and I have a third and fourth grader that completed the AIR SAGE test this last school year. Yes, those test are just as long as reported for my children. These tests were given over a number of days and my children suffered from
Why Taking Notes By Hand Is Better Than Taking Notes by Laptop
We have been told that buying a laptop or a tablet for every student is a civil rights issue. Vendors of new technology might find it awkward to make such a claim for their products, but “reformers” do not. Lest the inevitable technology boosters complain that I am spreading doubt, let me iterate and reiterate that I love technology. Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge its drawbacks. An
YESTERDAY
Politico: AFT Opens Up Common Core Debate
Stephanie Simon of politico.com reports that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, has invited members to debate the Common Core standards at the organization’s convention in Los Angeles. Until now, Weingarten and the AFT have strongly defended the standards. But she has been reconsidering their value over the past 15 months. In April 2013, she said in a major speech
Why the California Teachers Association Launched the Call for Duncan’s Resignation
The California Teachers Association introduced the resolution calling for Arne Duncan to resign. Similar proposals had been defeated in 2011 and 2012. This one passed. Here it is. Duncan is without question the most anti-teacher,anti-public schoolSecretary of Education in our history, and I say that advisedly. Both Bill Bennett Reagan’s second term Secretary) and Rod Paige (George W. Bush’s first
Charter School Corruption in North Carolina
To think about charter schools in America today, you have to separate the rhetoric from the reality. It helps to have a guide, someone who sees the man behind the curtain. Blowing smoke in the eyes of the media and the public. Fortunately there is such a man in North Carolina. His name is George Hartzman. He is a financial consultant. The smoke machine doesn’t blind him to the reality. The rhetor
John Ogozolak’s Choice: Clean a Septic Tank or Grade a Test?
John Ogozokak, a high school teacher in upstate New York, ponders here which is the more meaningful task: to clean a septic tank or to grade a standardized test: About a half dozen years ago the septic tank lurking beside our old farmhouse went kerflooey. I dug out the top of the rusty thing and it was clear something VERY wrong had happened. I’ll spare you the graphic details but suffice to say
Paul Thomas: The U.S. Needs a New Mythology to Stop Blaming Victims
Paul Thomas uses “Hamlet” and allegory to make the point that the myth of rugged individualism is over, that we are ruled by an oligarchy, and that we must redirect our belief system to recognize reality. He writes: “The U.S. is trapped in our false myths—the rugged individual, pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps—and as a result, we persist in blaming the poor for being poor, women for being
Paul Bucheit: Five Facts for Dangerously Deluded Education “Reformers”
Paul Bucheit writes about five aspects of corporate education reform. 1. Privatization takes from the poor and gives to the rich. 2. Testing doesn’t work. 3. The arts make better scientists. 4. Privatization means unequal opportunity for all. 5. Reformers are primarily business people, not educators. To read his explanation, open the link.
JUL 10
An Update on My Knee Injury
Thanks to all those who have inquired about my health. I was on Long Island in a remote location, no one nearby, when I tripped and landed on my left knee on April 5. I was alone, had no cell phone, and had to drag myself inch by inch into the house to reach a phone. Within minutes, the town’s fire department and police officers arrived to put me in a stretcher and take me to the localhospital. On
The Facts About Corporate Education Reform in Denver
Jeanne Kaplan recently retired as an elected member of the Denver school board. She has started her own blog where she will keep track of education in Denver. Here is her inaugural post, where she lays out the facts about “reform” in Denver. The biggest “success” has been the steady increase in privately managed charter schools, most of which get free public space. The educational gains are harde
Laura Chapman: Trouble Ahead for Higher Education from ALEC, Gates, Duncan
Laura Chapman writes in response to a post about OECD ratings for higher education in different nations based on ability of adults to answer standardized test questions. This comes as the U.S. Department of Education has declared its intention to rate, rank, and evaluate colleges and universities by a variety of criteria, then to tie funding to ratings. That is, to bring the data-based decision ma
Reader: That Nonsensical Moratorium on High-Stakes
The Gates Foundation called for a two-year suspension of the high stakes evaluation of teachers–ratings and rankings tied to student scores—but not a moratorium on the testing. A reader writes: “If there is a moratorium on the evaluations connected to the tests, then there is no point in continuing the tests either since the sole purpose of the tests was to attempt to measure growth for the purpo
Akron Beacon-Journal: Why So Many Turkish Gulen Charter Schools in Ohio?
Could it be those free trips to Turkey for key legislators? One of the curious aspects of the charter movement, beloved by both Republicans and the Obama administration, is the growth of Gulen charter schools. These are schools associated with a reclusive Turkish imam named Fetullah Gulen who lives in the Poconos but leads a vigorous political movement in Turkey. The Gulen schools have a board of
NPE Endorses Valerie Wilson for State Superintendent in Georgia
This comes from the website of the Network for Public Education: Fight for public ed. in GA to be decided in July 22 run-off. Support Valarie Wilson for GA State Superintendent. On July 22, the run-off for Georgia State School Superintendent will be decided. Valarie Wilson, NPE’s endorsed candidate and the past-president of the Georgia School Boards Association, was the top vote-getter in the May
The Excellent But False Messaging of the Common Core Standards
Have you ever wondered about the amazingly effective campaign to sell the Common Core standards to the media, the business community, and the public? How did it happen that advocates for the standards used the same language, the same talking points, the same claims, no matter where they were located? The talking points sounded poll-tested because they were. The language was the same because it cam
JUL 09
Peter Greene: Duncan’s New Plan to Put Great Teachers in Low-Performing Schools
Arne Duncan recently announced his plan to put the “best” teachers in low-performing schools. These would of course be the teachers whose students get the highest scores, and most of them teach in affluent suburbs or schools for the gifted. Unfortunately, Arne has not figured out that the “best scores” and the biggest gains reflect the student population and family income. Peter Greene has a seri
New Jersey: Charter Chains Pull a Fast Deal in Camden Takeover
The fix is in to privatize the schools of Camden, New Jersey, reports Julia Sass Rubin. Rubin is an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and a visiting associate professor of public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She also is one of the founding members of the gras
Is the District of Columbia Making Gains or Playing Games with Data?
Media Advisory: BBA to Hold Press Call on Real vs. Claimed Achievement Trends among DCPS Students Washington, DC | Jul 8, 2014 On Thursday, July 10 at 11:00 am ET, the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education (BBA) will hold a press call to discuss a new BBA memorandum that assesses achievement trends of District of Columbia Public (DCPS) students. Elaine Weiss, national coordinator of the Broader, B
“Data Is Fool’s Gold of the Common Core”
Common Core standards are usually described in the mainstream media in idealistic terms, using the positive and affirmative messages to sell the idea to the public. Doesn’t everyone want “high standards?” Doesn’t everyone want every single student to be “college and career ready?” Doesn’t everyone want students to be “globally competitive”? Of course. These claims, though untested and unproven, so
Indiana: Governor Pence Strikes a Blow at Democracy Today
Governor Mike Pence didn’t like the results of the election in 2012 when voters chose Glenda Ritz as State Superintendent of Education. For the past two years, he has whittled away the authority and funding of her office and transferred it to other agencies. He even created a new agency to assume control of education policy, turning her office into an empty shell. He mat think he is clever but in
D.C. Gets Its First Gulen Charter School, and Kaya Henderson Doesn’t Like Its Location
D.C. has approved its first Gulen-connected charter school. Fetullah Gulen is the reclusive Muslim cleric who lives in the Poconos, rus a vast political network in Turkey, and is associated with the largest charter chain in the U.S. D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson is upset because the Gulen Harmony charter has leased a building directly across the street from a traditional public school serving th
JUL 08
NYC: Public School Principals Given 24 Hours to Clear Space for Eva’s Charters
Only one charter chain gets special treatment in New York City, and that is Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academies. Principals have beenr told they had 24 hours to clear and clean the space where her schools will co-locate rent-free. The city hired hundreds of workers to get the space in order. The 1 million children who attend public schools are second-class citizens. Eva’s 7,000-10,000 students ar
Why Don’t Reformers Care About Child Poverty?
Corporate education reformers often say that poverty is just an excuse for bad teachers. Michelle Rhee said that often, but seven years after she took charge of the D.C. Public schools (and was replaced by her deputy Kaya Henderson), D.C. remains one of the nation’s lowest-scoring districts. Arne Duncan has often called poverty an excuse. Wendy Kopp and Bill Gates have said that if “we” fix schoo
Peter Greene Explains What Campbell Brown Doesn’t Know about Schools
Peter Greene here reviews and refutes Campbell Brown’s article in the New York Daily News about why she is bringing a Vergara lawsuit in New York. Campbell Brown was once a CNN anchor; her husband advised Romney and is on the board of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst New York. She is a fierce critic of teacher unions, tenure, and seniority. The lawsuit gives her an opportunity to act on her passionat
The Best Way to Motivate People Is….
In an article in the New York Times, two scholars explain how best to motivate people in every line of endeavor. Amy Wrzesniewski is an associate professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management. Barry Schwartz is a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. They make a distinction between internal motivation and instrumental motivation. Usually, psychologists contrast int
How Statistics Can Be Manipulated Any Which Way
Mr. Anonymous, an education policy analyst who is working towards his doctorate, wrote the following cautionary story about the use and misuse of statistics for political purposes. He requires anonymity for the usual reasons, mostly fear of retaliation for speaking up. He writes: The Common Core and Departments of Education: Lies, Darn Lies, Statistics and Education Statistics Numbers have taken
Paul Horton Chastises the Chronicle of Higher Education about the Common Core Standards
The Chronicle of Higher Education regularly publishes laudatory articles about the Common Core standards. Paul Horton wrote a letter to the editor. Here it is: http://chronicle.com/blogs/letters/common-core-standards-are-the-tip-of-a-corporate-iceberg/ Common Core Standards Are the Tip of a Corporate Iceberg To the Editor: In response to recent several columns that embrace the Common Core
New York: An Insider’s View of the Test Scores
This personal report about setting the cut scores for New York’s Common Core 11th grade ELA test was written by Dr. Maria Baldassarre Hopkins, Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Nazareth College. The cut score is the passing mark. Professor Hopkins writes: My name is Maria, and I am not a psychometrician. There. I said it. Apparently it took me a while to get it through my thick sk
Anthony Cody: Can We Motivate Students When They Face Bleak Futures?
Anthony Cody is confused by the contradictions of the corporate reform movement. “On the one hand, we have a seemingly utopian project with bold pronouncements about the boundless capacity of all students – even those with serious learning disabilities – to succeed on ever more difficult tests. On the other hand, we have tests that are apparently intentionally designed to fail in the realm of two
Edushyster Visits the National Charter School Conference
EduShyster (aka Jennifer Berkshire) girded up her loins and attended the riotously happy National Charter Schools Conference. There she found that it was all about the numbers–growth, test scores, dollars: “The numbers that are adding up, of course, refer to the growing number of charter schools, their students, and their scores (their scores!), not to mention the swelling ranks of advocates, po
JUL 07
Hartford Courant: Pelto Is No Spoiler
It is funny to see the big-money corporate types behind Governor Dan Malloy criticizing Jonathan Pelto as a “spoiler.” These are the same people who love school choice. They just don’t like voter choice. The Hartford Courant says quite rightly that Pelto is playing by the rules. This is democracy, Governor Malloy and friends. Jon Pelto is standing up for teachers and parents and everyone else w
Carol Burris: How “Reformers” Inflate College Remediation Rates
In the television series called “The Wire,” there is an episode dedicated to “juking the stats.” Since it is a program about the police, criminals, and the drug trade, “juking the stats” means that the officials were able to manipulate crime data to show that crime was up–requiring more police–or down–showing their success in slowing a crime wave. Now we know that the corporate education reform mo
Will Obama Ban TFA?
Joy Resmovits reports that the Onama administration plans to enforce a provision of NCLB that requires states to put experienced and highly qualified teachers in schools serving high numbers of poor and minority students. Will this create a crisis for Teach for America, whose corps members have no experience? Since this administration believes that teachers can be judged by student test scores,
Jason France: The Data Crises in Louisiana
Jason France (aka blogger Crazy Crawfish) writes here about the warping and destruction of data held by the Louisiana Department of Education. He writes: “There is a data crisis at LDOE. Almost all of the data collection systems are failing. The data, statistics and reports being generated are garbage. Data is being ferried back and forth between the department and school districts using Excel w
Linda Darling-Hammond: How to Close the Achievement Gap
Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University offers common-sense ideas about closing the achievement gap. She says that testing is less important than teaching. No surprise there. She reviews an OECD study about teachers. What it shows is that teachers in the U.S. work longer hours under more difficult conditions than teachers in many other nations. “Now we have international evidence about somet
The Same Old Miracle School in Chicago, with a High Attrition Rate
A few years ago,I wrote an article in The New YorkTimes about “miracle schools” that weren’t. I called out Mayor Bloomberg, as well as Arne Duncan and President Obama for making grandiose claims about schools that allegedly graduated 100% of their students or saw dramatic test score gains. On closer inspection, none of the miracles was true. In the schools where the scores jumped by 50 points, the
Indiana: Governor Pence Is Trying to Thwart the Will of the Voters
Two years ago, Glenda Ritz pulled off an astonishing upset in Indiana when she trounced rightwing favorite Tony Bennett to win the position as State Superintendent of Instruction. Bennett far outspent her but lost anyway. She got more votes than new Governor Mike Pence. Since then, Pence has worked tirelessly to undermine Ritz’s authority and transfer her responsibilities to other agencies, includ
Kaiser Fung: Bill Gates Needs to Hire a Statistical Advisor
Thanks to Paul Thomas for the link to this impressive post by Kaiser Fung, a professional statistician. Fung saw an article By Gates claiming that spending on education was rising but student achievement was flat. Fung demolished this claim and said that Gates was promoting innumeracy. The scales of his graph were wrong, the analysis was wrong, the arguments rested on fallacies. Gates, he said,
Susan Ochshorn: Why the Academic Pressure in Kindergarten?
In the early 1980s, our political leaders went into a panic because the economy stalled. Other nations had higher test scores. Thus the schools must be to blame for the industrial growth of Japan and Germany, so said a report called “A Nation at Risk” by President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education in 1983. By 1988, Susan Ochshorn writes, the academic demands of third grade h
JUL 06
A Teacher’s Hopes for Lily
This just in from a member of NEA from Massachusetts who is at the Denver convention. She hopes that Lily Eskelsen, the new president, will be a champion and fighter for kids, teachers, and public schools. Is she THE ONE? Will she stand up to the phony “reformers”? Will she fight for democratic control of the schools? Will she tell the plutocrats to use their billions to alleviate poverty instead
Who Is Campbell Brown and Why Does She Want to Eliminate Tenure?
Mother Jones published this article in 2013 when Campbell Brown started her campaign against “sexual predators” in the New York City public schools (there are none, apparently, in charter schools, thank goodness!). Campbell Brown is now leading the lawsuit attacking tenure, seniority, and due process for teachers in New York state. Her organization has found half a dozen student plaintiffs who c
Roxana Elden: The Myth of the Super Teacher
Roxana Elden teaches high school English at Hialeah High School in Miami. In this very funny video, she explains to education writers how demanding teaching is and how prevalent are the misconceptions in Hollywood and the media about the “super teacher.” Elden is a National Board Certified teacher and the author of “See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers.” She is a Teach for America a
3 Louisiana Teachers: What Is Wrong with the Common Core Standards
The following statement by three Louisiana teachers was distributed by Mary K. Bellisario of the Louisiana Coalition for Public Education. From: Mary K. Bellisario, Coalition for Louisiana Public Education Re: Real teachers’ concerns with Common Core in the classroom Attached is an unsolicited letter I received from three Louisiana classroom teachers describing their concerns with the Common Core
California Court: Corruption Is Not Sufficient Reason to Close a High-Scoring Charter School
For a few years, the American Indian Model Charter Schools in Oakland, California, were the most celebrated charter schools in the nation, beloved especially by the conservative and rightwing media, not only for their high test scores but for their founder’s scathing comments about liberals, unions, and “multiculturalists.” Despite the name of the charter, it enrolled few American Indians; most of
Peter Greene: Who Would Replace Duncan?
Peter Greene responds to the NEA resolution. Calling for Arne Duncan to resign. he first deals with the debate on Twitter, about who would replace Arne Duncan. The assumption behind the discussion is that President Obama has no idea what Duncan has been doing and that when he finds out, Duncan will be ousted. Then he takes on the NEA resolution. Greene quite rightly points out that Duncan is doi
Bruce Baker: Vergara Is Fallacious in Néw York State
Bruce Baker reviews the Vergara claim that teacher laws in Néw York deny students a quality education and shows that it is fallacious. He writes: “VergarGuments are an absurd smokescreen, failing to pass muster at even the most basic level of logical evaluation of causation – that A (state laws in question) can somehow logically (no less statistically) be associated with selective deprivation of
Arthur Camins: “Reform” Policies Are Unsubstantiated
Arthur Camins, Director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ., points put that drug makers are not allowed to make unsubstantiated claims. They are required to gather evidence and to disclose possible negative side effects. They can make boasts, offer up dubious facts, and get away with it. They speak about the indi
JUL 05
Utah: AIR’s Absurdly Long Common Core Tests
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
In NYC, Most of Race to Top Funding Paid for More Bureaucrats
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
Tennessee: Math and ELA Scores Are Flat
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
Pearson Likely to Get $1 Billion PARCC Contract Despite Checkered Past
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