Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
The Common Core Standards: Has the Ship Already Sailed?
Some say the ship has already sailed. Some say the train has left the station. But others say they never knew the train was in the station, and they wonder why they are passengers on a train they never booked tickets for, and how it could leave the station when no one knew it had arrived except the drivers. Still others say that the ship is in trouble. When it sailed, the skies were clear. But uh-
Janos Martin, former counsel to the Moreland Commission, which was created by Governor Andrew Cuomo to investigate political corruption, then disbanded by Cuomo, has endorsed Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu, who are challenging Cuomo in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. In his statement, he recounted the travails of the Moreland Commission. And he said, “When I joined the Commission to Investigate Public
Internationally respected economist Jeffrey Sachs issued a statement endorsing Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. It appeared on Huffington Post. The Democratic primary is this Tuesday. Andrew Cuomo has raised $35 million. Teachout has raised $200,000. The New York Times declined to endorse Cuomo because of his failed promises to root out corruption in Al
Mercedes Schneider: New York’s Vergara-Style Soap Opera
Mercedes Schneider reports the latest twist in the evolving drama in New York state’s education scene, where Campbell Brown is trying to push erratic parent activist Mona Davids off the stage. Davids was quick to file a lawsuit and thought that Brown and Students Matter would support her, but they pulled the plug and told her to go away. Davids has been pro-union and anti-union. She was featured i
Tom Scarice: The Phony Fear Tactics Used to Sell Common Core
Tom Scarice, the superintendent of the Madison, Connecticut, public schools, writes that the campaign for the Common Core has been waged with fear tactics, mainly the fear that other nations have higher scores and will therefore “beat” us. But, he points out, citing the work of Yong Zhao, there is no connection between test scores and economic growth. He concludes: “Reducing the debate of the co
John Ogozolek Tells the Democratic Party to Buzz Off
As someone who has responded many times to Democratic Party fund-raising appeals on the Internet, I now get daily requests to give more. For the past few weeks, I have been responding that I will not give another penny until President Obama renounces Race to the Top and replaces Arne Duncan with someone who supports public schools. I thought I was the only one doing that, but then I got this lette
Ohio: Letter from a Teacher in a For-Profit School
This came in my email from a teacher who gave me her/his name, email, school name, and phone number. I asked for permission to post the letter and received it. Do you have any suggestions for this teacher? Ms. Ravitch, I am writing to you because you are the first person I have seen take such a great interest into researching the integrity of charter school systems. I am a teacher at a charter sch
Laura Chapman on Churning the Workforce, VAM, and Magical Thinking
Laura Chapman, a regular contributor to the blog, has worked in arts education for many years. She writes: This desire to churn the teaching workforce is not just a push from Bill Gates and lawsuits to dismantle unions. Six economists/statisticians brought together at the Brookings Institution offered a similar plan. These number crunchers said that district-wide VAM (value-added) scores should
YESTERDAY
NY: Parent Groups Endorse Teachout, Other Candidates
For immediate release Sept. 4, 2014 For more information contact: Shino Tanikawa, info@nyckidspac.org , 917-770-8438 NYC KidsPAC endorses Teachout for Governor, Jackson, Liu, Koppell for State Senate; Fedkowskyj and Simon for Assembly Today, NYC KidsPAC, a political action committee composed of parent leaders devoted to strengthening our public schools, announced its endorsements in the Democratic
Peter Greene Deconstructs Think Tankers’ Ideas About Teacher Evaluation
Peter Greene here evaluates a report by two analysts at Bellwether Education, a DC think tank, about how teachers should be evaluated. His post is a model of how to tear apart and utterly demolish the musings of people far removed from the classroom about how things ought to work. He begins by situating its sponsor: “I am fascinated by the concept of think tank papers, because they are so fancy
Jeff Bryant: Is There a Néw Conversation in Education?
Jeff Bryant notices an interesting new phenomenon: Corporate reformers have dropped their triumphalist tone, and now they want to have a “conversation.” But the curious aspect to their concept is that the conversation they want begins with their assumptions about the value of charters, vouchers, collective bargaining, and tenure. As he shows, their “conversation” doesn’t involve actual classroom t
Who is Zephyr Teachout and Why is Cuomo Afraid to Debate Her?
Zephyr Teachout is running against Andrew Cuomo for Governor of New York. Cuomo twice tried to knock her off the ballot and lost in court both times. Cuomo refuses to debate her, fearing to let the public hear her. Why is he afraid of Zephyr? Read this excellent article by Jaime Franchi in the Long Island Press and you will find out why he is afraid of her candidacy. “Teachout is hoping to cap
Plunderbund: Ohio’s Richest Charter Haul
The Ohio blogger Plunderbund here lays out the astonishing record of William Lager and the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.(ECOT). This online charter school is the largest charter in the state. It receives almost $100 million a year from the state. “On the latest report cards released by the Ohio Department of Education, ECOT continues to rank below all of the 8 large urban schools that are oft
Ken Previti: The Illusion of Democracy
Ken Previti writes here about the illusion of democracy, the seeming choice between two candidates who are Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. He cites the Governor’s races in Illinois and Florida, where the differences between the candidates are not large, and both owe their fealty to the same monied interests. He might well have included New York, where the incumbent Governor has lined such an imposing
Paul Thomas: NPR Whitewashes Disaster Capitalism in New Orleans
Paul Thomas writes here about NPR’s whitewash of disaster capitalism in New Orleans. Without reference to the extensive debunking of “the New Orleans miracle” by Mercedes Schneider, Research on Reforms (Dr. Barbara Ferguson and CharlesHatfield), and others, NPR recycles the glories of closing public schools, opening privately managed charters, eliminating the union, firing thousands of veteran tea
What Happened to the Scholar Who Challenged Pearson
Jason Stanford has written a jaw-dropping article about what happened to the professor who debunked standardized testing. It’s not pretty. Walter Stroup, a professor at the University of Texas College of Education, made a remarkable discovery about standardized tests: “what the tests measured was not what students have learned but how well students take tests.” He shared what he learned with the
SEP 04
Worst “Report” Yet
This is the most absurd “report” yet. This organization says that the U.S. does not have an “efficient” school system. Finland has the most efficient school system. What can we do to become more efficient? Cut teachers’ salaries and increase class size. Funny, when I visited Finland in 2011, I saw many classes, none larger than 16. Teachers’ pay is equivalent to U.S. pay. “The Efficiency Index –
Florida DOE to Districts: Don’t Dare to Opt Out of State Tests
When local school board members in Lee County and Palm Beach County began talking about opting the entire district out of state testing, the state warned them they would face punishment if they dared. “But the district better be prepared to pay the price of skipping the new exam — quite literally. Skip the exam and the state is likely to withhold money. “The ramifications could be pretty dramatic
New York: Parent and Educator Groups Blast Cuomo
A large coalition of parent and educator groups in New York State developed a scorecard for voters in the Democratic primary on September 9 and the general elections in November. They concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo was the candidate likeliest to support privatization of public education. Here is their press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: More information contact: Eric Mihelbergel (716) 55
Louisiana: Judge Orders Superintendent to Release Cut Score Information
A district court judge in Baton Rouge ordered State Superintendent John White to release information about setting cut scores. Veteran educator Mike Deshotels posted this on his blog: “Breaking News: On Thursday, August 28, Judge Bob Downing of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge ordered State Superintendent John White and the LDOE to produce detailed information about the setting of
Jersey Jazzman: Is “One Newark” Racist?
This post by Jersey Jazzman is part of a dialogue about Cami Anderson’s “One Newark” plan to close public schools and open charter schools in their place, without consulting with the school board or the community. Mark Weber, aka Jersey Jazzman, asks, whether the plan is racist? Does it have a disparate impact on black students and black teachers? Jersey Jazzman says yes.
Anthony Cody: What Marc Tucker Gets Wrong
Anthony Cody was not heartened by Marc Tucker’s vision of a new accountability system with fewer tests. In this post, he explains why. If ever there was a need for close reading, he believes, this is it. Cody writes: “Tucker’s plan is confusing. In a proposal in which accountability remains closely tied to a set of high stakes tests, Tucker cites the “Failure of Test-based Accountability,” and
Tom Moran Responds to New Jersey Bloggers about One Newark
Tom Moran, chief editorial writer for the Star-Ledger of New Jersey, responds here to the open letter written by three New Jersey bloggers, posted on their sites, and at blue jersey.com. Here is Jersey Jazzman’s reply to Moran. Moran was offended by the tone of the bloggers’ letter to him. The bloggers are offended by Cami Anderson’s One Newark” plan, which seeks to charterize large numbers of Ne
The Politico Top 50
Thank you to Politico magazine for naming me one of the Top 50 political figures whose ideas are making a difference. The bio says “For standing up for teachers, not tests.” I am honored to be in such illustrious company!
Marc Tucker Calls for a New Accountability System
Marc Tucker writes that we test students more than any of the high-performing nations in the world. Here is a graph that demonstrates the differences. Tucker proposed a new accountability system for the U.S. that puts us more in line with common practice. Here are his key points: “The ideas outlined by Marc Tucker in Fixing Our National Accountability System signify a departure from conventiona
Troy A. LaRiviere: How Chicago Neighborhood Schools Outperformed Charter Schools
Troy A. LaRaviere is principal at Blaine Elementary School. In this article in the Chicago Sun-Times, he explains how the city’s public schools got higher test scores than the city’s well-funded, politically favored charter schools. To my knowledge, the Chicago Tribune–a cheerleader for charters– has not reported this story, nor has Mayor Rahm Emanuel acknowledged it. Please let me know if I am wr
SEP 03
FairTest: Resistance to Over-Testing Grows Nationwide
Here is FairTest’s weekly roundup of resistance to test mania: This week’s biggest assessment reform news was the vote to “opt out” of state-mandated standardized exams by the Lee County, Florida School Board. Though that was the most dramatic action so far this school year, we are seeing more and more local officials across the nation speaking out against testing overkill. As grassroots activists
John Thompson: When Arne Duncan Punished Oklahoma for Dropping Common Core
John Thompson, widely published writer, historian and teacher, wrote this post for the blog. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan obviously knew what he was doing when he timed the USDOE revocation of Oklahoma’s NCLB Waiver on the proverbial “take out the trash day,” just before the long Labor Day weekend. One Duncan soundbite is that Common Core is not a top down corporate and/or federal mandate,
Scholars: “Grit” May Not Be Related to Creativity
An article in Education Week reports on research about “grit” or perseverance at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Scholars reported that it had more bearing on academic outcomes than on creativity. “Magdalena G. Grohman, the associate director of the Center for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas, argues that grittiness is n
Gates Funds Programs to Grade Student Essays
Thanks to Leonie Haimson for this item. http://www.grantspace.org/Tools/Knowledge-Base/Individual-Grantseekers/For-Profit-Enterprises/business-funding By and large, foundations do not make grants to for-profit enterprises. If you are seeking funds to start a for-profit business, please consult the resources below for more information. You might also consult the business section of your local publ
Why Computers Should Not Grade Student Essays
In the brave new world of Common Core, all tests will be delivered online and graded by computers. This is supposed to be faster and cheaper than paying teachers or even low-skill hourly workers or read student essays. But counting on machines to grade student work is a truly bad idea. We know that computers can’t recognize wit, humor, or irony. We know that many potentially great writers with un
Peter Greene: Reform and the Cult of Order
Peter Greene has noticed that reformers are in love with order. They love it wWhen students wear identical uniforms and walk in straight lines without a word. He writes: “The Cult of Order believes in blind, unthinking devotion to Order. Everything must be in its proper place. Everything must go according to plan. Everything must be under control. “It is not new to find cult members in education
Plunderbund: Are Religious Charter Schools the New Normal in Ohio?
Plunderbund is one of Ohio’s most valuable bloggers. In this post, Plunderbund points to an alarming trend in that state: the authorization of charter schools that are connected to clerics and churches. To begin with, there are the Gulen schools, associated with a reclusive Turkish imam. With 150 schools, it is the nation’s largest charter chain, with 19 located in Ohio and operating under the na
Two More Florida Charters Close Abruptly
Two more charter schools closed their doors without warning, sending students and parents in search of a new school. This continues a pattern documented by reporters Karen Yi and Amy Shipley in a major investigative story in June. “Two charter schools on Tuesday shut down just two weeks into their first school year, the latest in an unprecedented string of overnight closures among South Florida c
SEP 02
Rhode Island: Gist and Education Leaders Will Review Over-Testing
This is a surprising story. State Commissioner Deborah Gist and other state leaders will review whether there is too much testing in the schools of Rhode Island. This is a battle that the Providence Student Union has been waging for the past two years. They held rallies and staged political events to call attention to the state’s testing program. They criticized high stakes testing, standardized t
Duncan Threatens to Withdraw Florida’s NCLB Waiver over ELLs
The Tampa Bay Times published an editorial saying that the U.S. Department was “out of line” for threatening to yank Florida’s NCLB waiver. Duncan took away Washington State’s waiver because the legislature refused to tie teacher evaluations to student test score. So now, schools across the state must send home letters saying that their child attends a “failing” school because it had not achieved
Some DAM Poet: Comparing “Reform” to “The Wizard of Oz”
In response to a post by Krazy TA, who portrayed Arne Duncan as the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz,” this post comes from “Some DAM Poet, Devalue Added Model”: So, Duncan is the Scare Crow? I’ll buy that (though he’s certainly no Ray Bolger) That leaves quite a few roles to cast: Here are my suggestions: The Wizard of Ads (and Fads): Bill Gates Cowardly Lion: Obama Tin Man: David Col
Michigan Awakes from Long Slumber: Majority in Poll Want Charter Moratorium
Possibly in response to the Detroit Free Press’s expose of charter schools’ lack of transparency and accountability, a majority in most recent poll (73%) want a moratorium on new charter schools until the Legislature and the State Department of Education has reviewed charter legislation. Having learned from the 8-day series of articles that charters get $1 billion without oversight, the public m
Breaking News: Lee County School Board Reverses Vote, Backs Down
Last week, the Lee County, Florida, school board voted 3-2 to opt out of state testing. Over the past few days, one member of the three-vote majority declared that she wanted to change her vote. A meeting was called for 8:30 a.m. This morning, a time that was sure to be inconvenient for parents and teachers. A message to me from Bob Schaeffer of Fairtest, who lives in Lee County: “As expected, g
Pennsylvania: When Tests Are Pointless
The purpose of testing is for students and teachers to learn about students’ strengths and weaknesses. Teachers can look at student performance and learn what they taught well and what they didn’t teach well. When states, in collaboration with testing companies, keep tests confidential, reeves long nothing to students and teachers but test scores, they vitiate the value of the test. It’s akin to
Massachusetts: An Interview with Barbara Madeloni about the Failure of Testing
Zak Jason wrote a fascinating interview in “Boston” magazine with Barbara Madeloni, the recently elected president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest union in the state with 110,000 members. I first learned of Madeloni when she was preparing teachers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and she refused to give the Pearson test to evaluate new teachers. Michael Winerip
Why Does the U.S. Test More Often and Earlier than Any High-Performing Nation?
Education policymakers in the U.S. seem to think that more tests will produce higher achievement, but there is no evidence for this assumption. As this article from the Center on International Education Benchmarking shows, the U.S. tests more frequently than any of the world’s high-performing nations. Jackie Kraemer writes: “Unlike the top-performing countries on the 2012 PISA, the United States
New Jersey Bloggers: An Open Letter to Tom Moran, Chief Editorial Writer @Star-Ledger
Three New Jersey bloggers–Jersey Jazzman, Marie Corfield, and Ani McHugh–here jointly respond to Tom Moran, chief editorial writer for the Star-Ledger and chief cheerleader for Newark’s state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson. Their open letter was jointly posted on their blogs at 7 a.m. This morning. Although Moran has ignored them and any other critics of the Christie-Anderson plan to elimi
Jeff Bryant: Time to Regulate Charter Schools
Jeff Bryant of the Education Opportunity Network notes that the charter industry has launched an advertising campaign to sell the charter idea to the public. But, writes Bryant, there have been so many revelations of corruption, self-dealing, and rogiterring by charter schools in recent months that the public should be wary of their self-promotion. What’s needed now, he says, is state regulation o
Florida: the Test-Crazy State
Can you believe this? “Out of the 180-day academic year, Miami-Dade County schools will administer standardized tests on every day but eight.” “Though not every student will take every test, the number and consequences of testing are facing a growing backlash from parents, teachers and even some district officials….. The Miami Dade School Board on Wednesday will approve its assessment schedule fo
Bob Braun: Pray for the Children of Newark
This is a column that will raise the rafters, curl your hair, or make you shake with rage. It should. Bob Braun, who started his own blog after writing for New Jersey’s largest newspaper, “The Star-Ledger,” for 50 years, is furious. This week, when schools start in New Jersey, the children of Newark will get on buses and be distributed to schools across the district. This is Cami Anderson’s “One
SEP 01
Krazy TA Explains the Meaning of TAGO
To those of you who regularly read the comments on this blog, you will frequently encounter pithy, funny, learned comments by reader KrazyTA. He is as likely to quote a Greek philosopher as to quote Groucho Marx. And he constantly reminds us to laugh. Here is his latest, in which he explains the mysterious acronym TAGO, first written here by Señor Swacker. . “Special Educator NY: all credit to D
Jersey Jazzman Marks Labor Day in a Sad Time for Our Nation
Jersey Jazzman quotes Frank Sinatra and George Carlin to mark Labor Day. Sinatra made more sense than our Harvard-educated pundits. Sinatra said: “All I know is that a nation with our standard of living, with our Social Security system, TVA, farm parity, health plans and unemployment insurance can afford to address itself to the cancers of starvation, substandard housing, educational voids and se
Laura H. Chapman: Who Speaks for Teachers?
A regular reader, Laura H. Chapmam, curriculum consultant in the arts, asks: Who speaks for teachers? And, who is paid to appear to speak for teachers? Chapman writes: A collective teacher voice has depended on unions. The billionaires are recruiting teachers who are not friendly to unions, with the blessing of PR firms that USDE put in charge of helping states and districts comply with RttT requi
Ken Previti: Same Poo-Poo in Different Bags?
Ken Previti explains Governor Rick Scott’s Dilemma: he wants to denounce Obama and disassociate from the Common Core, but he wants to keep everything about the Common Core because his mento Jeb Bush loves it. So what does he do? He rebrands Common Core and calls it something else. But everything remains “aligned” with Common Core. To avoid offending my sensibilities, Ken referred to “poo-poo” ra
A Parent-Teacher in Lee County to the Board: “Seize the Day”…Don’t Back Down!
The Lee County school board will meet tomorrow at 8:30 am, a time that will exclude many parents, students, and educators. Public meetings should be scheduled when the public is not at work or in class. This letter was written by a parent and teacher who can’t attend the meeting because she will be working. It is a plea to the board not to back down. Regarding Lee County School Board decision to
Peg Robertson: Be Reasonable? First, Do No Harm!
Peg Robertson, a mother and teacher, responds to those who tell the Lee County Board of Education to be reasonable and to rescind their historic vote to opt out of testing. Peg wants them to stand strong and defend the children. She is one of the founders of United Opt Out. She writes: “As this common core and high stakes testing war comes to a head I am watching lots of folks trying to mediate
Mercedes Schneider Debates Common Core with Two Advocates
Mercedes Schneider, high school teacher, debates Common Core with a state representative and a representative of the pro-voucher group Black Alliance for Educational Options. Mercedes explains who BAEO is, then engages in 6 minutes of debate in which the two men were pro-Common Core and Mercedes was critical. Does 2 vs. 1 sound unbalanced? At least there was some disagreement. A few days ago, ther
A Principal in West Seneca Joins the Honor Roll
Today, Marge Borchert, principal of Allendale Elementary School in the West Seneca Central School District, an inner-ring suburb of Buffalo, NY. joins our honor roll. She loves the children who attend her school. She sees each of them as beautiful human beings, growing and learning, not as data points. Many of her children opted out of the state tests. This caused Ms. Borchert to get a zero growth
Labor Day, 2014
I recently saw photographs of John F. Kennedy giving a Labor Day speech in New York City during his Presidential campaign in 1960. He spoke in the center of the Garment District, on the west side of Manhattan. He spoke to tens of thousands of garment workers. Today, the Garment District has been replaced by luxury high-rise residences. Following NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), the
Peter Greene: Will This Be the Year That Educators Say “Enough”?
Peter Greene sees signs that educators are fed up with the top-down mandates from non-educator Arne Duncan, fed up with the failed punitive policies of NCLB and Race to the Top. Now we know that Washington cares about one thing only: test scores, and now we know that the beneficiaries of Washington’s obsession are the testing companies. We have now had nearly 15 years of test-based incentives and
Words of Wisdom from President of Lee County Teachers Association
Mark J. Castellano, president of the Lee County Teachers Association, explains in this post that the Lee County school board defended a love of learning when it took a stand against the testing frenzy that has engulfed our schools. He writes: “Our state and our nation have become obsessed with standardized testing of students in public schools. Obsessed to the point it has changed what our publi
AUG 31
Pittsburgh was the First District to End Its Contract with TFA
Shortly after posting that the school board of Durham, North Carolina, voted not to renew its contract with Teach for America, I recalled that another major city had done the same, reversing the previous board’s decision to bring in 30 TFA recruits. Last December, the newly elected majority on the Pittsburgh school board voted 6-2 not to renew its contract with TFA. The issue was how to fill posit
Breaking News: Durham Public Schools Votes to End TFA Contract
The Durham public school board voted 6-1 to finish its current contract with Teach for America and then sever the relationship. “The Durham school district will honor its current contract with Teach For America, but the national teacher training program’s future with Durham Public Schools is up in the air. “The school board voted 6-1 last week to honor its commitment to TFA teachers, including fi
Stephen Sawchuck Asks: Do Evaluations Punish Teachers of Needy Students?
Stephen Sawchuck notes in his blog at Education Week that a pattern is emerging from teacher evaluation programs: The highest ratings go disproportionately to teachers of advantaged students and the lowest ratings to teachers of students who are disadvantaged. He wonders whether this suggests that the ratings systems are biased against those who teach the neediest students or does it suggest that
Schneider: The New Sales Technique for Common Core
Mercedes Schneider has discovered a new public relations campaign to sell the Common Core, especially in California, where the state has not jumped head first into testing, as New York did. Since public support, especially teacher support, for Common Core appears to be evaporating, it makes sense to hire a sophisticated group of communications experts to redesign the sales campaign. No more cris
Ohio: When Does Public Money Turn into Private Assets?
Bill Phillis, a veteran warrior for public schools and equitable financing of them, wrote the following in response to a court case that will be heard on September 23. Does a for-profit private corporation own all the assets of the schools it manages? Who owns school facilities, equipment, technology, furniture and other assets purchased with taxpayer’s money? White Hat Management? The privately-o
Ohio: When Is Public Money Not Public Money?
Bill Phillis of the Ohio Equity and Adequacy Coalition asks, where is the outrage? He writes: “Charter school operators argue that public tax money becomes private when it reaches the borders of charterland “Real estate, facilities, equipment, education materials and all other assets purchased by public school districts, obviously, belong to those political subdivisions-not private individuals. D
Susan Ochshorn: Play Is Necessary for Children’s Healthy Mental Development
Susan Ochshorn, a specialist in early childhood education, demonstrates in this post (as she has before, and will again) that play is crucial for the healthy mental development of young children. Ochshorn is the founder of ECE Policyworks and a tireless advocate for childhood. Ochshorn cites the research of Deborah Leong to explain the importance of play. “Self-regulation, as the non-neuroscient
Chicago Public Schools Best Charters
Ra Rmanuel has not disguised his dislike for public education or his love for charter schools. After all, he closed more public schools at one time –50–than any other school district in U.S. history. Well, how about this? An independent report found that Chicago public schools outperformed Chicago charter schools, especially in reading, but in math as well. “Austin community activist Dwayne Trus
AUG 30
Florida School Board Election Results
If teachers had turned out to vote–teacher Justin Katz would have been in the runoff for the Palm Beach County school board. He lost by 54 votes of 15,400 votes cast. Teacher Joshua Katz lost in Orange County by 67 votes out of 14,500 cast. The moral of the story: if you want change, get out and vote!
Alan Singer: Duncan Declares Victory in War on Teachers and Public Schools
Alan Singer compares Arne Duncan’s recent denunciation of over-testing–that is, his own policy in Race to the Top–to George W. Bush’s infamous victory speech in Iraq under a banner saying “Mission Accomplished.” He notes that Duncan offers a one-year delay in using test scores to evaluate teachers, while the other leading voice in American education proposed a two-year moratorium. Wouldn’t you th
Will Lee County Back Down from Its Opt Out Stand ?
Last week, the Lee County, Florida, school board voted 3-2 to remove the district from state testing. Some members want to reconsider. They have scheduled a meeting at a time when students, parents, and teachers are likely to be unavailable. Bob Schaeffer of Fartest issued the following statement: for immediate release Friday, August 29, 2014 NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAIR & OPEN TESTIN
Nicholas Gledich: A Brave Superintendent in Colorado
Dr. Nicholas Gledich, Superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11 has proposed a three year moratorium on high stakes standardized testing. This takes courage in test-happy Colorado. Dr. Gledich understands that high-stakes testing cheapens education, demoralizes teachers, and makes testing far more important than it should be. Tests should be used periodically to see how students are d
The Nation Endorses Zephyr Teachout for Governor of New York
In a stirring editorial, the “Nation” magazine endorsed Zephyr Teachout for Governor of New York. Its editorial makes clear that Andrew Cuomo has served the interests of Wall Street, not the people of New York. He is an austerity Governor who has been a disaster for the state’s public schools and children, as well as those who serve the children. It says, in part: “We believe New Yorkers who wan
Crazy Crawfish and Mike Deshotels: Test Score Manipulation in Louisiana Hides Declines
Veteran educator Michael Deshotels filed a public records request last June to find out how the state tests were scored. The state claimed that the tests were harder but the scores held steady. Deshotels got the records and concluded that the state had manipulated the scoring of the tests. He writes: “It turns out that the number of correct answers required for a passing score (or a level of bas
Connecticut: New London School Board Withdraws Offer to Terrence Carter
The New London school board voted 6-0 to withdraw its offer of a contract for the superintendent job to Terrence Carter, a leader of the school turnaround organization AUSL in Chicago. After the “Hartford Courant” published articles about discrepancies in the background of the man chosen to be the next superintendent of the New London schools, the school board asked a law firm to investigate the
Ruth Conniff: The FBI Is Investigating Charter School Malfeasance
Ruth Conniff of “The Progressive” reports that the FBI is becoming more assertive in its investigation of criminal behavior by charter schools. Charter schools receive millions of dollars of public money with minimal accountability. In some states, they have gone to court to fight public audits, claiming that the schools are public but the organization running them is a private corporation. Conni
Florida: Charter Schools Making Big Profits from Real Estate Deals
Why do we see the same story in state after state? Wherever for-profit charter schools exist or wherever state law allows charter schools to hire for-profit management companies, someone is making a lot of money that was supposed to go for educating students. The latest story comes from Florida, where for-profit charter entrepreneurs are making big dough. Noah Pransky of WTSP writes about the fi
Breaking News: Governor Jerry Brown Appeals Vergara Decision
In a much-awaited decision, Governor Jerry Brown has appealed the Vergara decision. LOS ANGELES (CBS / AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown appealed a court ruling that struck down tenure and other job protections for California’s teachers, setting himself apart from leaders in some other states who have fought to end such protections or at least raise the standards for obtaining them. Attorney General Kamala