John King is Running for Governor of Maryland (probably not supported by NYS teachers) | Ed In The Apple

John King is Running for Governor of Maryland (probably not supported by NYS teachers) | Ed In The Apple

John King is Running for Governor of Maryland (probably not supported by NYS teachers)

John King, the former Obama-appointed US Secretary of Education and the highly controversial Commissioner of Education in New York State announced he is running for governor of Maryland; the current governor, a republican, Larry Hogan, is term-limited. King will be facing a number of others in the democratic primary..

As some of you are aware, pre-COVID, I traveled to Albany each month and attended the Board of Regents meetings, I tweeted, blogged, wrote memos, sort of a journalist/citizen lobbyist, and I observed and occasionally talked with the commissioner; he is both brilliant and totally dedicated to recasting education, however; you cannot impose change.

The New York State Board of Regent is a seventeen-member policy board elected by a joint meeting of the legislatures, effectively selected by the speaker, the democratic leader of the Assembly; the Board selects the head of the State Department of Education, the Commissioner. For decades the Board was made up primarily of non-educators, usually business leaders with roots in their communities; however, in 2009 the Regents elevated Merryl Tisch, a member of CONTINUE READING: John King is Running for Governor of Maryland (probably not supported by NYS teachers) | Ed In The Apple

Laura Chapman: Education Trust and Its Well-Funded Demands That the Biden Administration Deny Waivers from the Tests | Diane Ravitch's blog

Laura Chapman: Education Trust and Its Well-Funded Demands That the Biden Administration Deny Waivers from the Tests | Diane Ravitch's blog

Laura Chapman: Education Trust and Its Well-Funded Demands That the Biden Administration Deny Waivers from the Tests

As readers are well aware, the federal law called the Every Student Succeeds Act continued the mandated annual testing of students in grades 3-8 in reading and math (as well as one high school test) that was the heart of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, enacted in 2002. The Secretary of Education is allowed to grant waivers to states that ask not to give the tests. Last year, as the pandemic closed most schools, Secretary Betsy DeVos offered a blanket waiver to all states. She vowed not to do it again.

During the campaign of 2020, candidate Joe Biden publicly and unequivocally pledged to abandon the tests. He seemed to understand that they were not producing useful information and were squeezing out valuable instruction and subjects that are not tested.

Education Trust, led by John King, who was Obama’s Secretary of Education in his last year in office, created a campaign to demand that the Biden administration refuse all waiver requests and demand that everyone be tested, despite the pandemic. Education Trust, and most of the organizations that signed its two letters, are heavily funded by the Gates and Walton foundations.

The decision not to allow waivers, bowing to the EdTrust CONTINUE READING: Laura Chapman: Education Trust and Its Well-Funded Demands That the Biden Administration Deny Waivers from the Tests | Diane Ravitch's blog

Who Signed the Pro-Testing Appeals? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Who Signed the Pro-Testing Appeals? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Who Signed the Pro-Testing Appeals?

Education Trust, led by former Secretary of Education John King, sent two letters to the Biden administration, urging the administration not to allow states to receive waivers from the mandated federal testing. The signers of the letters were not the same. As State Commissioner in New York, King was a fierce advocate for Common Core and standardized testing.

Leonie Haimson, leader of Class Size Matters, the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, and board member of the Network for Public Education, wrote this about the pro-testing coalition assembled by King:

I asked my assistant Michael Horwitz to figure out which organizations were on the first Ed Trust letter pushing against state testing waivers, but not the letter that just came out, advocating against allowing flexibility by using local assessments instead.  National PTA, NAN (Al Sharpton’s group), LULAC, KIPP and a few others did drop off the list. 

I then asked Leonie if she could add the amounts of funding to these organizations by the Gates Foundation and the Walton Foundation and she replied:

The largest beneficiary of their joint funding among these CONTINUE READING: Who Signed the Pro-Testing Appeals? | Diane Ravitch's blog

NANCY BAILEY: Is EdTrust Behind High-Stakes Testing During This Pandemic?

Is EdTrust Behind High-Stakes Testing During This Pandemic?

Is EdTrust Behind High-Stakes Testing During This Pandemic?

High-stakes standardized testing. Why now? Why again? Why ever? Was The Education Trust (EdTrust) involved in the decision? Who is EdTrust, and why would President Biden listen to them?

EdTrust is a pro-school-reform group that carries clout, and they’ve been vocal about schools reopening during the pandemic.

John B. King, Jr., who was education secretary after Arne Duncan for a short time, is now the President and CEO of EdTrust. King was involved with charter schools and became the New York Education Commissioner before becoming education secretary in the Obama administration.

King has been on TV numerous times stating how schools should run during the pandemic. The EdTrust is often cited in the mainstream media, including during the pandemic, like this USA Today report. Reopening schools has been expensive. Making up for student learning losses may be worse.

It’s rare to find one of their headlines referring to public schools in a CONTINUE READING: Is EdTrust Behind High-Stakes Testing During This Pandemic?

EdTrust and Other Groups Ask Cardona NOT to Allow Testing Waivers | Diane Ravitch's blog

EdTrust and Other Groups Ask Cardona NOT to Allow Testing Waivers | Diane Ravitch's blog

EdTrust and Other Groups Ask Cardona NOT to Allow Testing Waivers

One of the first and most important decisions that Secretary-designate Miguel Cardona will make is whether to grant waivers to the states that want to suspend the annual federal testing mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Some states–like New York–intend to request waivers, in light of the turmoil and unequal access to education caused by the pandemic. Others–like Texas and Arkansas–plan to proceed with their regular testing program regardless of the harm inflicted on students, teachers, and families by the past year.

Education Trust, headed by former Secretary of Education John King, has organized several groups to demand that Secretary Cardona refuse any requests by states for waivers. It makes no sense for a group of corporate reformers to insist that the Secretary of Education reject the requests of states that sincerely believe their students will be harmed if the federal government refuses to grant waivers at their request. Shouldn’t states have the authority to decide what is in the best interests of their students?

As I explained in my article in the Washington Post, the standardized tests have no diagnostic value. The tests are given in the spring, and the results are returned in the fall, six months later. Teachers never learn what their CONTINUE READING: EdTrust and Other Groups Ask Cardona NOT to Allow Testing Waivers | Diane Ravitch's blog