Chicago Tribune Poll: Voters Reject Rahm’s Education Policies, Favor CTU
The Chicago Tribune’s poll of voters‘ views of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school policies showed very low approval for the Mayor. The mayoral election is in February 2015, and it appears that education is Rahm’s weak spot. He favors charter schools and shut down nearly 50 public schools in one fell swoop, an act unprecedented in American history. He has fought bitterly with the Chicago Teachers Union ov
Gates Foundation Funds “Consumer Reports” for Common Core Resources
The long arm of the Gates Foundation reaches out to create a rating system for Common Core-aligned materials. Not content to have paid for the writing of the CCSS. the evaluation of the CCSS, the implementation of the CCSS, and the promotion of and advocacy for the CCSS, the foundation wants to take the next step to make sure no one uses anything less than stellar CCSS. In politico.com today:
Paul Thomas: Why South Carolina Should Copy Oklahoma, Not Florida
Paul Thomas writes that education policies now being decided by elected officials who don’t know that there is a research base, actual evidence that should be considered before acting. Some policies are popular despite the evidence about them, not because of it. Thomas cites two policies, both promoted by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, that are popular these days despite the evidence: charter
New York’s Phony Test Score Increases
Yesterday, state officials were celebrating the latest test scores. English was flat; math was up a few points. But stop the party! It turns out that the passing mark was lowered.
Cheating in Top School in Dallas
Jeffrey Weiss and Matthew Haag report in the Dallas Morning News about a cheating scandal at one of Dallas’s top-rated schools: “Umphrey Lee Elementary was recognized as one of the best schools in Dallas, based primarily on the students’ STAAR results. But Dallas ISD officials concluded that was a sham, a distinction propped up by teachers feeding students answers on most of the 2012-13 state ass
Julie Cavanaugh: Common Core Was Designed to Fail Kids
In as sharp a summary as I have read, Julie Cavanaugh explains what’s wrong with Common Core. Julie is a teacher of special education in a poor neighborhood in Néw York City. She writes that Common Core and its tests were designed to create a narrative of failure. They divert billions to testing companies and consultants that should be spent directly to help children. She writes about the latest
Jeannie Kaplan: Reform Has Failed in Denver
Jeannie Kaplan, who served as an elected member of the Denver Board of Education, here reviews the latest test scores for that city and declares that “reform” has been a failure. She writes: “Colorado released its 2014 standardized test results (TCAPs) today. Here is a quick and dirty overview of how Denver Public Schools fared. This analysis focuses on proficiency, not growth. Some say proficie
North Carolina: How Teachers Can Give Themselves a Raise
Civitas is a libertarian, anti-union organization in North Carolina. It is funded by Art Pope, who may be the most powerful powerbroker in the state. Civitas recently put up billboards saying “Teachers: Want a $450 Raise?” If teachers go to the Civitas website, they will learn that they can increase their annual salary by $450 if they quit the North Carolina Association of Educators, which is affi
Kipp Dawson: Only Democracy Can Save Our Unions
Kipp Dawson, a teacher in Pittsburgh public schools and a dedicated member of the American Federation of Teachers, attended the recent AFT convention in Los Angeles. She experienced a convening of brothers and sisters in the movement that encouraged her. Yet she was disheartened by the iron control of the New York City-based Unity Caucus, which dominates the Progressive Caucus, which calls the sho
Peter Greene: What It Means to Teach Without Tenure
Peter Greene describes what it would be like to teach in a public school without tenure. Anyone in the building with more authority than a teacher has the power to end his or her career, for any reason. The worst thing, he writes, is not that you can be fired for anything at all. The worst thing is the threat of firing. He writes: “Firing ends a teacher’s career. The threat of firing allows oth
California Investigating Magnolia Charter Schools
Another scoop by KPCC’s Annie Gilbertson. The California State Auditor is investigating four of the state’s 11 Magnolia Science Academies, part of the Gulen charter chain. “After sampling transactions from Magnolia campuses in 2012, L.A. Unified found over $43,000 in duplicate payments to vendors, flagging those as potential misuse of funds. “The Los Angeles Unified school board ordered a second
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Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Missouri: Rex Sinquefeld Wants to Gut Local Control and Impose Unfunded MandatesMultimillionaire equity investor Rex Sinquefeld doesn’t like public education. Apparently he doesn’t like teachers either. He doesn’t think teachers should be evaluated by their administrators but by the standardized test scores of their students. Evide