THURSDAY'S CHILD - CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG

 A site to discuss better education for all

TODAY

Nancy Bailey: The Haunted Third Grade Classroom That Traps Children

by dianeravitch / 13min

Nancy Bailey writes here about a zombie polic y launched by Jeb Bush called third grade retention. Students who can’t pass a third grade reading test are flunked and held back. Nineteen states have adopted this practice despite a large body of research showing that it hurts kids and leads to future failure, even dropping out. Children who are held back feel humiliated. There is one big benefit to

Pennsylvania: Speaker of the House Who Hates Public Schools and Teachers Will Have Electoral Challenge

by dianeravitch / 1h

Remember Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, who denounced public schools as a “monopoly, and expressed his contempt for public school teachers as a “special interest group”? He will have a Democratic challenger in the next election. Emily Skopov is the daughter of a public school teacher and an activist. Read her biography and learn about her project called “No Crayon Left Behind.” Em

Chicago: CTU Explains Terms of Tentative Agreement

by dianeravitch / 1h

Tentative Agreement Tonight’s Vote to Conditionally Suspend the Strike CTU’s House of Delegates met tonight to consider a new tentative agreement. The terms of the tentative agreement can be downloaded from the MemberLink Portal . Delegates voted 364 to 242, with four abstentions, to accept the revised tentative agreement on the condition that Mayor Lightfoot agree to make up the days lost in the

Africa: World Bank Ombudsman Expresses Concern about For-Profit Bridge International Academies

by dianeravitch / 2h

In recent years, I have posted several times about the issues raised by the efforts of for-profit Bridge International Academies to supply low-cost schools in Africa. These schools are staffed by teachers equipped with iPads reading a script written in Boston or someplace similar. Most African families can’t afford the cost. BIA aims to disrupt and replace African nations’ underfunded, ill-equipp

Alexandria Millet: The Charter School-to-Prison Pipeline

by dianeravitch / 3h

Alexandria Millet writes in The Progressive about the consequences of the harsh discipline at “no excuses” charter schools. She begins by telling the recent story of two six-year-old girls who were arrested in school for having a temper tantrum. They were taken to the police station, where their mug shots were taken. Eventually, in response to public outrage, the charges were dropped, and the sch

YESTERDAY

Chicago Teachers Union Reaches Tentative Agreement, But Strike Not Over Yet!

35by dianeravitch / 11h

The CTU reached a tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools. The CTU House of Delegates voted 364-242 to suspend the strike pending resolution of final issues. The settlement, which meets most of the CTU demands, will be voted on by the full membership within 10 days. But the strike is not yet over. The sides are very close but the union wants an assurance that there will be no loss of inst

Peter Greene on DeVosian Nonsense

43by dianeravitch / 17h

Peter Greene skewers Betsy DeVos’ unsubstantiated claims about the meaning of the disappointing NAEP scores. Don’t believe her when she says that 2/3 of students are “below grade level” in reading. NAEP proficiency is not “grade level.” NAEP even posts that statement on its graphs. This is what NAEP says as a note attached to its graphs: “The NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent g

The NAEP Results: A Powerful Statement by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

78by dianeravitch / 19h

Rosa DeLauro is one of the most significant members of Congress. She oversees Congressional appropriations for education. She is a strong supporter of public education and a critic of privatization of public funding. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 30, 2019 CONTACT: Will Serio: 202-225-3661 DeLauro Statement on 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress Results WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congres

Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat: Betsy DeVos Uses Disappointing NAEP Scores to Call for More Charters and Vouchers

by dianeravitch / 20h

In a thoughtful article, Matt Barnum writes in Chalkbeat that Betsy DeVos used the disappointing results of the NAEP 2019 national tests to call for her “Education Freedom” plan, which would further disinvest in public schools and divert funding from the federal government, states, and local school districts to charters and vouchers. Barnum writes: But the call for more school choice — which, alo

Weingarten on NAEP Results

20by dianeravitch / 20h

This is a strong statement by Randi Weingarten. Please note that 10% of New York City’s public school students are homeless; students in many other districts suffer trauma, including homelessness, lack of access to medical care 

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all