Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Latinos Students ACT, Improved Scores Especially in Math & Science - Hispanically Speaking News

Latinos Students Taking College ACT Continue to Show Improved Scores Especially in Math & Science

College and career readiness among 2011 Hispanic U.S. high school graduates who took the ACT test shows slow but steady improvement, particularly in the key areas of math and science, according to ACT’s yearly report, The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2011, released today.

This has occurred as the number of Hispanic test-takers continues to dramatically increase.

Eleven percent of Hispanic graduates in the class of 2011 who took the ACT exam met or surpassed all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks suggesting they are ready to succeed academically in specific first-year college courses (English composition, college algebra, introductory social science and biology) without the need for remediation. This is unchanged

How Teachers End Up in Your School or Laid Off voiceofsandiego.org: Education

voiceofsandiego.org: Education

How Teachers End Up in Your School or Laid Off: Editor's NoteComments | 1:50 pm

It's back-to-school time.

And this year, the roster of teachers that greet students at your neighborhood school could look notably different when the doors fly open on that first day.

San Diego Unified has laid off hundreds of teachers. Now it's rehiring a bunch more. As our reporting has detailed over the years, the process for picking who stays, who goes and who ends up at which school can seem more Rube Goldberg than Albert Einstein.

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Rise in Alternative Tests Could Inflate Schools' GainsComments | 5:35 pm

Test scores have been rising across California. But one testing expert believes that the gains have been inflated because more students with disabilities are taking an alternative test.

If fewer students who score poorly take the test, that could increase the percentage of kids doing well, notes John Fensterwald, a blogger and former San Jose Mercury News editorial writer.

The alternative test is permitted by the U.S. Department of Education as a different way to assess special education students, Fensterwald writes. It is only given to students who do very poorly on the ordinary state test. He reports that the alternative test has gradually been introduced for more grades, expanding the number of kids who take it from 39,000 to 184,000 statewide in four years.

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Poll: Parents give thumbs up to local schools - USATODAY.com

Poll: Parents give thumbs up to local schools

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

Updated 9h 40m ago

Comments66

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A new survey finds that more Americans today like their kids' public schools than at any time in the past 36 years — even though they believe U.S. education in general has taken a bit of a dive.

File photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
Although many Americans have soured on schools in general, nearly eight in 10 give high marks to the school their oldest child attends, according to a new survey.

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File photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Although many Americans have soured on schools in general, nearly eight in 10 give high marks to the school their oldest child attends, according to a new survey.

Nearly eight in 10 Americans — 79% — give an "A or B" grade to the school their oldest child attends, according to findings released today by Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International, an educators association. That's up from 68% in 2001, and the highest percentage of favorable ratings since PDK began asking the question

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 10

DC Parent Power Organizing Meeting inspired by the National Save Our Schools DC Parent Power Organizing Meeting You are invited to an organizing meeting for “DC Parent Power” to look for common ground for civic engagement around public education in the District. Watha T. Daniel Library (Shaw Library) 1630 7th St. N.W. ...

Randi Weingarten for Chancellor? - Teacher Beat - Education Week Randi Weingarten for Chancellor? - Teacher Beat - Education Week Randi Weingarten for Chancellor? by Stephen Sawchuk What would happen if New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg installed American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten as the ...

Poor English fluency and parent income, education drive down O.C. scores - The Orange County Register Some answers to common questions | answers, common, questions - News - The Orange County Register Poor English fluency and parent income, education drive down O.C. scores Share 4 - - Related [image: Students in Rose Ellis' third-grade ...

The meaning of the rain | Taking Note The meaning of the rain | Taking Note The meaning of the rain by JOHN MERROW on 16. AUG, 2011 in 2012 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, ARNE DUNCAN, CHEATING, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION,EDUCATION WARS, EDUCATIONAL LANGUAGE, LAST IN FIRST OUT, POLITICS, PRESCHOOL, ...

Tuesday randomness. « Fred Klonsky's blog Tuesday randomness. « Fred Klonsky's blog Tuesday randomness. by Fred Klonsky *I know. I’m without shame. But if you think I wasn’t going to post this picture…* *There is no point in me going over the stupidity of Rahmbo’s plan* to give bonuses to ...

An Urban Teacher's Education: Are You a Teacher Who Has Been "Converted" by Public Education? An Urban Teacher's Education: Are You a Teacher Who Has Been "Converted" by Public Education? Are You a Teacher Who Has Been "Converted" by Public Education? by James Boutin A few weeks ago at the SOS March in DC, I met Luciano D'Orazio. We talked about ...

Margaret Spellings: To Waive Or Not To Waive Margaret Spellings: To Waive Or Not To Waive [image: Margaret Spellings] Margaret Spellings Former U.S. Secretary of Education and White House Domestic Policy Advisor GET UPDATES FROM MARGARET SPELLINGS Like To Waive Or Not To Waive Posted: 8/16/11 ...

Florida teacher's essay rallies educators for respect | Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms Florida teacher's essay rallies educators for respect | Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms Florida teacher’s essay rallies educators for respect 12:56 am August 16, 2011, by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso A Florida teacher’s essay has gone viral on Facebook and ...

Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall | ED.gov Blog Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall | ED.gov Blog Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall Posted on August 16, 2011 by Cameron Brenchley The Department of Education announced today that Secretary Arne Duncan will participate ...

Geaux Teacher!: A Real Life Case for . . . Tenure Geaux Teacher!: A Real Life Case for . . . Tenure A Real Life Case for . . . Tenure Revelations continue to surface regarding Pelican Educational Foundation since its charter contract was revoked by the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE), ...

The Rebels in the Hills Throw the Capital into Disarray « Jay P. Greene's Blog

The Rebels in the Hills Throw the Capital into Disarray

by matthewladner

(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)

Libya? Well yes at the moment but also NCLB as the Department has decided to allow states to retroactively “reset” their proficiency goals.

Over at Eduwonk, Andy grouses that if you have your attorneys study the fine print, it is actually 92 percent proficiency, and not 2014. He may be right, but the state departments of education either don’t agree or don’t realize it. The AMO charts I have seen all end with 100 percent proficiency in 2014.

McNeil and Klein write:

By letting a state retroactively revise its proficiency targets so that schools do better under the law, the

Pension reform. How to turn a blue state red. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Pension reform. How to turn a blue state red.

by Fred Klonsky

There are more than just late summer thunderstorms moving up from Springfield as the school year approaches.

Once again, the public service worker pension battle is heading our way. Once again, teachers are being targeted by the Chicago money bags of the Civic Committee and their President, Ty “the shark” Fahner.

At the conclusion of the Illinois General Assembly session last May, GOP House leader Tom Cross, Democratic Speaker Mike Madigan, and the unelected Fahner signed a letter that promised to return in the Fall with their failed pension destruction bill.

Their is no question that Fahner is the power player in this game. Fahner has “the corporate mouthpiece”

Eduwonky » Blog Archive » Class Warfare Becomes Legal Warfare?

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Class Warfare Becomes Legal Warfare?

Class Warfare Becomes Legal Warfare?

Diane Ravitch and Simon & Schuster are lawyered-up and in some back and forth about the new Steven Brill book “Class Warfare.” What seems to be in dispute is not whether Ravitch took speaking fees from various stakeholders in the education debate but how much exactly and whether Brill’s calculations are flawed.

But from where I sit the key questions seem to have more to do with transparency and obligations to disclose than speaking fees per se and how the media should balance highly informed and connected commentary with disclosure and conflicts of interest. Those are not questions with

Should children have to compete for their education? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Should children have to compete for their education?

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Mary Fertakis, a member of the Tukwila School District Board of Directors and president-elect of the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

By Mary Fertakis

Should children have to compete for their education? Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to put that question to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan following his speech to more than 800 school board members from around the country at the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network Conference in Washington, D.C.

It’s a question that has weighed on me as I’ve watched cash-strapped states repeatedly driven into a “race” to compete for federal

ASCD Inservice: What At-Risk Readers Need

What At-Risk Readers Need

"Two of every three students in U.S. schools have reading proficiencies below the level needed to adequately do grade-level work," cites Richard Allington in "What At-Risk Readers Need," part of the Best of EL 2010–11.

If we began screening for letter name knowledge in kindergarten, we could know on the second day of kindergarten who is at risk of becoming a struggling reader, and begin interventions, he says.

However, he adds, most U.S. schools have no plan to provide the sorts of expert, additional instruction that at-risk kindergartners need. "This means that most schools deliberately create a pool of students who will become struggling readers," Allington concludes.

To break this status quo, Allington suggests shifting early reading interventions from what doesn't work:

School Tech Connect: The Big Ten

The Big Ten

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Blogging is hard!

Too busy to make much of a contribution to these pages over the past few days. I'm storing up a few doozies, though. I'm trying to break out of my endless fugue of pension posts. But let's face it, the local billionaires are trying to bag the pensions. Poor billionaires. Taxes are KILLING them!

When I worked in one of the Chicago North Shore suburbs, I would occasionally hear 8th graders chime in during a social studied discussion with this phrase: Taxes are KILLING us. You had to really wonder how many times this phrase was repeated in the home for the child to get the intonation

All Education Matters: Lovebirds: Sallie Mae and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

Lovebirds: Sallie Mae and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

by C. Cryn Johannsen

Oh! Isn't this generous of them?!? Sallie Mae and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) are hosting a workshop on how to pay for college! (Also, don't get the wrong idea about her - she's no shill for the lenders or the banks!) I bet that's going to be a stellar event, and the (mis)information will be grand.

On top of all the (mis)information the duo will be offering, they'll be handing out a whopping $500 scholarship for soon-to-be indentured students! Ain't that cute? What will that pay for? Let's see . . . I bet it will cover the cost of

NYC Educator: Dropping Like Flies

Dropping Like Flies

by Miss Eyre

It used to be that I didn't personally know anyone who was leaving teaching forever, believe it or not. My circle of friends, from the Fellows and from the schools in which I've worked, seemed to be an unusually persistent bunch of people. I'd check with the gang from the Fellows in particular, and we'd tote up all the members of our crew and confirm that each one was still hanging in there. This ritual took on new significance as we reached year 5, the time by which, many studies suggest, 50% of teachers have quit the profession. Each year we would be happy that we made it through without losing anyone.

I don't know what it's been about 2011, though, because it seems like every time I turn around, I'm hearing about

PDK Finds Public Likes Teachers, Down on Teacher Unions, Mixed on Obama :: Frederick M. Hess

PDK Finds Public Likes Teachers, Down on Teacher Unions, Mixed on Obama

by Frederick M. Hess • Aug 17, 2011 at 8:19 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Today, Phi Delta Kappan releases its 43rd annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll on public schools (full disclosure: I've been a regular member of the advisory panel for several years now). As always, there's much to chew on.

I'll start by noting that I'm not a huge fan of the American public right now. After all, we're the twits who demand lots of services but don't want to pay for them. And then we get angry when our leaders can't square this circle. We insist that they take painful steps to rein in spending, and then complain when they try to do it. In short, we've shown all the character and discipline of an irate preschooler. But what else is new?

That said, there are highlights worth noting. First off, you know all that griping from teacher leaders that there's

Class Warfare—Over What? « The Core Knowledge Blog

Class Warfare—Over What?

by Diana Senechal
August 17th, 2011

Tags: book review, Curriculum, education reform, Steven Brill
Posted in Curriculum, Education Practice, Teaching | No Comments »

In a whopping 437 pages, Steven Brill’s Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools (Simon & Schuster, 2011) recounts a dramatic and vicious battle between two education camps: on the one side, hedge fund managers, aggressive chancellors, determined charter school leaders, teachers who work endlessly, all fighting for reform as they define it; on the other, the big unions who use their clout to block, complicate, or slow down reform. The book has good guys, bad guys, and a surprise twist. Yet it does not stop to consider what education is, what it contains, or what ends it serves. This weakness is not particular to Brill or his book; it is at the core of the battles he describes. But Brill takes part uncritically.

About a hundred pages into the book, Brill describes Anthony Lombardi, a tough-minded

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