Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
A group funded by the notorious conservative Koch brothers will host a school choice forum in Nashville on July 22. Here are their panelists: “Moderating the talk will be Shaka Mitchell, who works for Rocketship Education, a California-based charter school organization with an East Nashville location set to open this summer. A second Rocketship school in Nashville has been approved to open in 20
According to a guest post for EduShyster by high school teacher Keith Benson, The taxpayers of Camden, New Jersey, will spend $82 million to build a practice facility for the Philadelphia 76ers at the same time it is laying off hundreds of school teachers. The new facility will provide 50 low-wage seasonal jobs. This clarifies the priorities of the political leaders of Camden and New Jersey. Educa
Cuomo’s Democratic Challenger Opposes Common Core
Zephyr Teachout, who is opposing Governor Cuomo in the New York Democratic primary, explained her strong opposition to the Common Core standards, which Cuomo supports. She writes: “Common Core forces teachers to adhere to a narrow set of standards, rather than address the personal needs of students or foster their creativity. That’s because states that have adopted the standards issue mandatory
Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst Targets Alabama
Michelle Rhee is determined to see that every legislature is taken over by hard-right Republicans who support her campaign against teachers and public schools. One of her current targets is Alabama. Here is where she is sending money. All but one of those listed below are Republicans, except Patrick Sellers, who challenge a Democratic incumbent and lost. Governor Bentley returned the $5,000 cont
Greene and Dalgleish: What Parents Need to Know About Teacher Tenure
In this short post, David Greene and Glen Dalgleish explain what tenure is, in plain English.
Why Poor Schools Can’t Succeed on Standardized Tests
Meredith Broussard, a professor of data journalism at Temple University, was helping her son with his homework, and she made a discovery: he could not find “the right answer” to homework questions unless they were in the textbook. But on further investigation, she learned that the public schools of Philadelphia don’t have a textbook budget. So not only do students not have access to the answers th
YESTERDAY
EduShyster: The Inside Scoop on Why Massachusetts Did Not Lift the Charter Cap
As we all know, the State Senate in Massachusetts voted against lifting the cap on charter schools. This was a shocker. Here is the inside story, told by Edushyster. You won’t see this anywhere else.
Jeff Bryant: The Media Doesn’t Understand Why Teachers and Parents Are Angry
Jeff Bryant notes that many in the national media were stunned when the NEA called for Secretary Duncan’s resignation. For years, they believed the Secretary’s press releases instead of investigating the festering discontent against his ill-informed policies. Many journalists are oblivious to the protests by teachers–like the one at Garfield High school in Seattle– against the use of student test
Important Primary Election for Georgia State Superintendent On July 22
Georgia has an important run-off for State Superintendent of Education in the Democratic Party on July 22. If you care about the future of public education in Georgia, please vote. Valarie Wilson came in first in the primary, with 32% of the vote. The runner-up, Alisha Thomas Morgan, received 26%. The Network for Public Education has endorsed Valarie Wilson, a strong supporter of public educatio
Great Hearts Charter Schools Coming to Texas in Controversy
Texas State Commissioner Michael Williams overrode the veto of the state board of education to bring Arizona-based Great Hearts Academy to Texas. The state board thought they could veto the commissioner’s choices. But, well, it didn’t work that way, especially after Great Hearts hired Governor Rick Perry’s former chief of staff as its lobbyist. Williams was impressed by Great Hearts’ excellent te
Great Hearts Charter Chain Expands by Having Far Right Political Connections
Great Hearts Charter chain, based in Arizona, was rejected by the Texas state board of education. State Commissioner Michael Williams–not an educator–overturned the state board’s veto. It is not clear that Williams, a Bush family favorite, has this power. But Great Hearts has the right connections. As this story in the Texas Observer explains, “In early June—weeks before Williams reversed the b
North Carolina Plans to Give Out Vouchers Before Court Hearing on Legality
North Carolina won’t wait for a court to rule on vouchers. It will start giving them out next month before the court hearing. “RALEIGH, N.C. — Taxpayer money for private or religious school tuition may start flowing to North Carolina families before a judge rules whether the program is legal. “The state agency in charge of the Opportunity Scholarships late last month advanced to August 15 the dat
Russ Walsh: I Blog; Therefore, I Am
Russ Walsh has been teaching about literacy for 45 years. He started blogging to share his thoughts. But then he discovered that his views about literacy did not exist in isolation. They were part of a great national debate that involved the Common Core, education reform, charters, and other aspects corporate education reform. He read other bloggers and found that he was engaged as a. Teacher,a re
JUL 17
My Not So Good Knee-Leg News
After writing a post last week to tell you about the great progress I have made, about going from walker to cane to walking like a normal person, I suffered a sudden setback. Out of nowhere, I developed a very large hematoma on the back of my operated leg. That’s a humongous bruise that is black-blue and very ugly. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk. The pain was intense. The physical therapist said I prob
How to Create a “Failing” Public School
A reader sends a simple recipe that city officials in places like Chicago and Philadelphia use when they want to close a public school and open a charter school: “They create the demand by killing the public school BEFORE they close it. They underfund it, cut all the specials, close school libraries, let guidance counselors go, get rid of attendance officers, class sizes become huge. What is a pa
Chicago Parents Grill City Officials About Budget Cuts
At a public hearing, Chicago parents and teachers demanded to know why the city closed 50 public schools while opening charter schools. “How could CPS continue to cut budgets at neighborhood schools while opening new charter and contract schools — even after shutting down a record number of schools just a year ago? “We need to pull the money from the plan of expanding charter schools, reinvest in
Breaking News: Massachusetts Senate Votes Not to Lift Cap on Charter Schools
In a surprise move, the Massachusetts State Senate voted 26-13 not to increase the number of charter schools in the state. A similar bill cleared the House by a vote of 114-35 in May. “The Senate proceeded in a separate 9-30 vote to also defeat the underlying bill that had cleared the House.” The Senate President, Therese Murray said: “In some ways, the vote could be looked at as a reflection of
Poll: Karen Lewis Could Beat Rahm Emanuel
A recent poll shows that if Chicago’s mayoral election were held now, union leader Karen Lewis would beat Rahm Emanuel. “If the mayoral election were held today, the lightning rod union leader who was the architect behind a 2012 teachers’ strike would beat Emanuel by 9 percentage points in a head-to-head contest, the survey found. “Lewis was leading Emanuel 45 percent to 36 percent with 18 percen
Courtney Bowie: Vouchers and Privatization Undermine Educational Equity
Courtney Bowie is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. In this article, she describes the ACLU’s efforts to stop discrimination against students with disabilities in Wisconsin’s voucher program. Privatization, she says, is promoting segregation and rolling back decades of legal advances for students of color and students with disabilities. In Wisconsin and elsewhere, vou
David Perrin: What Would Mark Twain Have Thought About Common Core Testing?
Writing in The Atlantic, high school English teacher David Perrin tries to imagine what Mark Twain would think about Common Core testing. He begins: I’ve been teaching high school English in Illinois for over 20 years, but have only recently come to believe that I am complicit in a fraud. For nearly a decade, I have dutifully prepared college-bound students for the rigors of the ACT and the Ad
Bruce Baker: Why Vergara Precedent Makes No Sense in New York
At the heart of the Vergara decision lies a logical fallacy: eliminate due process and seniority from teachers, and schools with low-performing students will magically have a great teacher in every classroom. To say this makes no sense is an understatement. In this post, Bruce Baker demonstrates that it makes no sense empirically either. As he concludes: “In the land of VergarNYa… a world where
How “Reformers” Lie About Graduation Rates
I did not write the following post. It was written by a high-level official at the New York City Department of Education who–for obvious reasons–requires anonymity. The story he tells is instructive. It is about how “reformers” claim victory by manipulating statistics. This is not an accusation directed at the de Blasio administration, but at their predecessors who regularly boasted that the new s
JUL 16
Mercedes Schneider on Unions, Kathleen Carroll, Me, TURN, Money, Power, and Reform
In recent days, there has been an extended discussion online about an article by California whistle blower Kathleen Carroll, in which she blasts Randi Weingarten and the Teachers Union Reform Network for taking money from Gates, Broad, and other corporate reform groups, in some cases, more than a dozen years ago. Carroll also suggests that I am complicit in this “corruption” because I spoke to the
Detroit Emergency Manager: Increase Class Sizes to 43 to Save $$
Just remember: It’s all about the kids. Just remember: The children are our future. In Detroit, where they enroll thousands of children who need a great education, the state-appointed emergency manager has decided to save money by increasing class size to 43. Students will not get individual attention. Students will not get the support they need. Teachers will spend time on crowd control instead
You Are Invited to Meet and Honor a Hero of American Education!
You are invited to a major event honoring Leonie Haimson, a brilliant, fearless leader. Please make plans to attend and meet her and other allies in the fight for better education! Haimson led the fight to block inBloom from gaining access to the confidential records of millions of children. Thanks to her leadership, inBloom went out of business even though it was backed by the Gates Foundation, t
Florida Education Assocoation Sues to Block Voucher Expansion
The Florida Education Association filed suit to block the expansion of vouchers. In their legal challenge, the teachers’ union said the law was passed at the last minute and “violates the constitutional requirement that legislative proposals be limited to a single subject.” “The lawsuit from the Florida Education Association raises concerns about the way SB 850 became law. Some of the bill’s more
New Mexico Welcomes Floundering, Profitable Virtual Charters
If data and research matter, the worst reform in U.S. education is the virtual charter school. The League of Women Voters–one of the few national organizations with integrity about education issues (I.e. has not been bought by the Gates Foundation) issued a report about these floundering “schools,” that typically have low test scores, high dropout rates, and low graduation rates. Only a devotee o
Kipp Dawson Reflects on AFT Convention
KIPP Dawson teaches middle school in Pittsburgh. She is a brave union activist; she began her career as a coal miner, and worked underground for ten years. She has worked even longer in the classroom, where she brings with her the same courage, integrity, and determination. Here are her initial reflections on the AFT convention on Los Angeles. I hope we will hear more: KIPP writes: Dear friends,
Georgia: Jason Carter vs. Nathan Deal for Governor
Jason Carter, grandson of President Jimmy Carter, is running for governor of Georgia against incumbent Nathan Deal. Carter, elected to the state senate in 2010, is a graduate of Duke University who served in the Peace Corps in South Africa, the graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law. His wife is a high school teacher. Carter has made education a centerpiece of his campaign and has
Lloyd Lofthouse: Why We Need Unions
Regular reader and commenter Lloyd Lofthouse explains why we need unions: Let me add something one of my uncles told me. He was 96 when he died about ten years ago. As a young man, he remembered going to the railroad yard hoping to get work to earn enough to buy food. There was no union then. He said hundreds got up early every morning to show up. The manager in charge of loading and unloading th
Peter Greene: Take More AP, Build Revenue $Tream for the College Board
Peter Greene takes a hard look at AP (Advanced Placement) courses and wonders how the U.S. Department of Education got involved in pushing a for-profit product as a mark of distinction. He notes that: “AP tests are a product of the College Board, the same people who bring you the SAT, and although the name seems to suggest a group of college scholars who gather together on some altruistic missio
Blogger: Close Reading Wrongly Ignores Students’ Thoughts and Feelings
David Coleman, the architect of the Common Core standards, believes that students should analyze difficult text as written, without reference to context or their personal reactions. This blogger disagrees. His blog is vigornotrigor, though you might be tempted to call it Wag the Dog. However, if you google Wag the Dog, you will never find it. He includes a video of David Coleman, New York State C
JUL 15
Breaking News: 19 Gulen Charter Schools in Ohio Under Investigation by State Board
Sometimes it is hard to believe that anyone cares anymore about old-fashioned things like integrity, honesty, accountability, and transparency, especially in the red red states where the charter chains have bought the legislature and the governor. But look at this story. All of these schools are associated with the Gulen movement, a Turkish chain of charters, the largest in the U.S. They get hi
Chris Christie Reduces Impact of Test Scores on Teacher Evaluations
The word is getting out. Basing teacher evaluations on test scores is a sham. Or unpopular. Or junk science. Or Gates said not to do it. Whatever the reason, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has announced that his state will cut back on the importance of test scores in evaluating teachers. “Governor Christie announced the rollback Monday while ordering the creation of a commission to study t
LAUSD Closes Two Gulen-Related Charter Schools for Fiscal Insolvency, Other Issues
The Charter Schools Division of the Los Angeles Unified School District informed two charter schools that they would be closed for reasons of fiscal insolvency, despite the fact that the schools have high scores. The schools, Magnolia Science Academy 6 and Magnolia Science Academy, are part of the extensive Turkish Gulen charter network. This letter from the district explains why the charters
Jeanne Kaplan: Why Teachers Are Sick of Duncan
Jeanne Kaplan served on the Denver school board for years and watched with a heavy heart as fake “reformers” took over Denver and Colorado. Now Colorado has the most punitive teacher evaluation law in the nation, thanks to Arne Duncan and Colorado’s State Senator Michael Johnston. When the NEA voted a resolution calling on Duncan to resign, the reporter didn’t speak to a teacher. No, the call went
KrazyTA: LIFO and Michael Jordan
A wonderful find by loyal reader KrazyTA, who has read the Vergara transcripts. The esteemed economist Raj Chetty of Harvard, a cheerleader for VAM, says he prefers large data sets (no humans) to anecdotes, then tells a theoretical anecdote about a coach who lays off rookie Michael Jordan. The fact that this never happened is of no consequence to the professor from Harvard. KrazyTA writes: A goo
FAIRTEST: The Movement to Stop Test Mania Continues
An update on the spread of the movement against over-testing and the misuse of those fallible instruments: The rapid pace of strong news stories and commentaries about assessment reform campaigns continued uninterrupted through the long Independence Day weekend. More and more media outlets are reporting the widespread grassroots response to testing overkill: “Enough is Enough!” And, some politici
BATS Blast Common Core Standards and Arne Duncan
The Badass Teachers Association issued the following press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2014 More Information Contact: Marla Kilfoyle, General Manager, BATs Melissa Tomlinson, Asst. General Manager, BATs contact.batmanager@gmail.com “The Badass Teachers Association, an organization that is nearing 50,000 members, is releasing this statement to express our outrage over Resolution #2 (A
Maryland Test Scores Tumble as Common Core Tests Are Adopted
Every state that has adopted Common Core tests has seen a sharp decline in test scores. Maryland is the latest to discover that its scores fell thanks to Common Core tests. “Reading and math scores on state tests for Maryland elementary and middle school students have dropped to their lowest levels in seven years, according to a Washington Post analysis of 2014 test data released Friday. Some Ma
JUL 14
“A Principle Is a Terrible Thing to Waste”
The following letter was written by labor leader Lee Saunders to Dr. Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund, to protest the fund’s acceptance of a gift of $25 million from the Koch brothers. From: Portside labor Subject: A Principle Is A Terrible Thing to Waste A Principle Is A Terrible Thing to Waste Lee A. Saunders July 14, 2014 Huffington Post Lee Saunders, President of the
Missouri Governor Signs Bill to Review Common Core
Jay Nixon, Governor of Missouri, signed a bill to review and revise Common Core. It will remain in place for next two years,
Good News! David Sirota’s New Job
Just received good news from crack investigative journalist David Sirota: http://davidsirota.com/ July 14, 2014 ———————————————————— Friends: http://www.ibtimes.com I just wanted to share some exciting news in my world – as of July 21st, I will be starting a new job at the International Business Times (www.ibtimes.com). I will be a senior writer focusing on the intersection of politics, business
Clay Pell: A Fresh Face for Rhode Island Governor
Clay Pell, a grandson of Rhode Island’s legendary Senator Claiborne Pell, announced that he is running for governor. Since the other two candidates are allied with corporate reformers, Pell offers hope that he might take a different tack and actually help public education (despite his own elite schooling). Clay has two distinctions. First, he is 32, which would make him the nation’s youngest gove
A Spirited Debate about Common Core at AFT Convention
Stephen Sawchuck did a good job reporting the heated debate about the Common Core standards at the AFT convention. The Chicago Teachers Union wanted to dump them. The head of the New York City United Federation of Teachers mocked the critics of the standards. One union official said that the critics represented the Tea Party. That’s pretty insulting to the Chicago Teachers Union and one-third of t
Jill Lepore: What the Theory of Disruptive Innovation Gets Wrong
If your school has been closed, if the staff was fired in a “turnaround,” you have experienced the theory of disruptive innovation, which is associated with Harvard Business Professor Clayton Chistensen. Or perhaps your neighborhood school fell victim to Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of “creative destruction.” Just so you can see these ideologies from a critical perspective, be sure to read Harvard
Paul Thomas on Arne Duncan and the Myth of Low Expectations
Paul Thomas here reviews many of the public statements of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and finds a common theme: the cause of low test scores is low expectations. If only society, the schools, and parents had higher expectations, no child would be left behind, no child would ever get low test scores, children with disabilities would excel. Embedded in this claim is the strange belief tha
Help Joshua Katz Take Back Our Democracy in Florida!
I hope you remember seeing Joshua Katz’s fabulous TED talk, where he lacerated the fake reformers who are assailing hard-working teachers, smothering children with standardized tests, and privatizing public education for fun and profit. Josh is a math teacher in Orange County, Florida. Great news! Joshua Katz is running for school board in Orange County, Florida. That board is thinking of bringing
Pearson Errors: Would You Trust Your Child to This Corporation?
Pearson, the British megacorporation, appears to have won the PARCC Common Core contract, which is worth about $1 billion. Its tests will be administered to 6-10 million children in 14 states. The third grade tests will take eight hours. The high school tests will take 10 hours. PARCC is also developing tests for kindergarten, first and second grades. FAIRTEST has compiled a catalogue of known Pe
Finland: Frequent Recesses Keep Students Focused
When American teacher Tim Walker got a job as a teacher in Finland, he learned a lot about its successful schools. For one thing, students get a recess every hour for 15 minutes. They spend 45 minutes in class, then run out to the playground for a 15-minute break. At first, he bought this was unnecessary so he gave two consecutive classes. He had some very grumpy students who did not understand w
JUL 13
Mercedes Schneider on AFT Resolutions
Mercedes Schneider was unimpressed by the AFT resolutions. Plaintively, she writes: “It sure would be nice if a national union would aggressively confront the pro-privatization education agenda emanating from the Oval Office.” Neither NEA nor AFT would take on that Herculean task. She expects that nothing will happen to Duncan, no matter how many absurd things he says or does. He is coated with T
AFT: Yes to Common Core, Remediation Needed by Duncan
In a day of debates, the American Federation of Teachers voted to continue its support for the controversial Common Core standards while complaining about its faulty implementation. The delegates also voted for a resolution to put Secretary Duncan on a remediation plan that would be monitored by President Obama (ha-ha, when he is not busy with foreign crises). Politico.com wrote: “The “improvement
New Group Called “Democrats for Public Education” Will Fight Privatization
Leading Democrats have announced the creation of a new organization called Democrats for Public Education. It will be led by Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio, and Donna Brazile, political consultant. Its name is a swipe at Democrats for Education Reform, which is dominated by hedge fund managers, and which funds candidates who support charter schools, Teach for America, and any other grou
Connecticut: Charter Lobby Gives New Meaning to the Word Chutzpah
Journalist Sarah Darer Littman is still aghast from the weeks of scandal that have rocked Connecticut and its charter sector. “Dr.” Michael Sharpe stepped down as CEO of Connecticut’s Jumoke Charter Schools and its parent organization FUSE. Sharpe had a criminal record long ago, and his doctorate was a phony. Littman remembers how she was fingerprinted every time she took a new job. She writes:
Littman: Students Need School Libraries and Librarians
Sarah Darer Littman bemoans the fact that our policy makers are willing to spend more on testing while many schools have no libraries or librarians. When she said this to an elected official, he responded: “Where’s the evidence for the benefit of libraries?” In this post, she supplies the evidence. She cited the studies showing that schools and students tend to have higher literacy if they have li
Teacher: How We Lost Our Profession
A teacher from North Carolina wrote the comments below. I don’t agree with his conclusion that unions are responsible for teachers’ loss of control over their work. What he describes can be found in states that never had unions, that were always “right to work.” Who is the villain of the piece? Testing companies? NCLB? I would put the blame on the accountability movement, which now belongs to Cong
Peter Greene: How to Get Great Teachers
There is no secret to getting great teachers, writes Peter Greene. Everything the reformsters do is guaranteed to drive away great teachers. Here is the secret: “If you really want to put a great teacher in front of every child, then you need to preserve and enhance a vision of teaching that gives teachers control over their fate, their teaching environment, and the education they provide their
The Connection Between Jeb Bush, ALEC, K12, and Maine
This prize-winning story by investigative reporter Colin Woodard follows the money trail in Maine, as Governor Paul LePage seeks to make a name for himself in the world of digital learning. It was originally published two years ago, but remains relevant. Woodard dug through more than 1,000 documents that he obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and his story won the George Polk award.
WATCH THIS! Reverend Dr. William Barber Tells AFT the Secrets of Victory
In this spell-binding video, borrowed from Fred Klonsky’s blog, the Reverend Dr. William Barber speaks at the AFT convention and describes the powerful Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina. This movement has a broad social and economic agenda, and it may well bring down the hard-hearted, mean-spirited governor and legislature of that state. Do yourself a favor. Watch it. Take hope. What Dr. B
Reform, Chicago Style
Smart politicians understand that the appearance of reform is even better than real reform. Chicago Democrats have learned that lesson and turned it into an art form. Here is an article from the Chicago Tribune that makes the point–not about schools but about crime and police. In education,”reform” means closing schools, shutting down libraries, and replacing experienced teachers with newcomers.
JUL 12
Laura H. Chapman: Test Scores Are Not Objective
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
NY Commissioner John King Compares Supporters of Common Core to Tuskegee Airmen
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: A Report from Inside the AFT Convention
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 than its larger brethren and sisters in the NEA. It appears
Rhee’s StudentsFirst Pulling Out of Minnesota
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
Joyce Murdock Feilke: What Are We Doing to the Children?
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