Torlakson: Waiver to cost billions | Thoughts on Public Education

Torlakson: Waiver to cost billions | Thoughts on Public Education:

Torlakson: Waiver to cost billions - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson didn’t rule out President Obama’s invitation to seek a state waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, but he definitely sounded negative in his first public statement on the idea. “We are carefully examining the proposal, which would appear to cost billions of dollars to fully implement, at [...]

A much needed shift away from rating schools on test results alone - by Peter Schrag

by Peter Schrag

It probably could have been predicted a decade ago. The way the American political system judges schools – indeed the whole center of gravity of educational accountability – is shifting again. From a rigid reliance on test-based numbers, which was the fashion of the big state and federal education laws of the George W. Bush [...]

Dispatch from Detroit - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Dispatch from Detroit - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Dispatch from Detroit

by Nancy Flanagan

On Friday morning, I had the pleasure of speaking about education reform on Points North, the regional NPR call-in radio show. The other guest was Howard Walker, the local state senator--and the topic was privatizing public education.

The senator, who spoke first, said that his constituents, here in beautiful northern Michigan, supported and were satisfied with their public schools and teachers, and wouldn't be likely to change what they were doing if new legislation to permit wide-scale hiring of non-unionized, free-lance teachers is passed. The problem the law was designed to address was those terrible urban districts downstate--that's where we need drastic solutions, where schools were failing.

This is a familiar dodge to those who live in the suburbs and semi-rural areas in many states: Not my problem.

Senator Walker tossed out a few well-worn chestnuts about being "college ready" (ACT averages have gone

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Posts

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Posts

Don’t Think Class Size Affects Achievement? Think Again. | Edwize

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Don’t Think Class Size Affects Achievement? Think Again. | Edwize:Don’t Think Class Size Affects Achievement? Think Again.by Maisie McAdooIt is already obvious that class sizes are up this year — which will give School Year 2011-12 the dubious honor of being the fourth straight year of class size increases. The DOE won’t have official numbers until November, but budget cuts resulted in the loss of some 2,500 teachers this year, enrollments are rising and now we have theDay 6 class ... more »

Smacking Down Margaret Spellings | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Smacking Down Margaret Spellings | Scathing Purple Musings:Smacking Down Margaret Spellingsby Bob SikesLast weekend’s Huffington Post piece by Bush-era Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was a remarkable exercise in condescension and self-righteousness. Her mischaracterizations of teachers was unprecedented and representative of someone who never should have been in such a position of power in the first place. Writing in the Washington Examiner, Kansas teacher David Reber responds to Spellings in a manner appropriate to her airy missive:Ms. Spellings, you proudly ... more »

Me vs. the movement to opt students out of tests - Class Struggle - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Me vs. the movement to opt students out of tests - Class Struggle - The Washington Post:Me vs. the movement to opt students out of testsBy Jay MathewsShaun Johnson is a blogger and assistant professor of elementary education at the College of Education at Towson University in Maryland. He has been active in the movement to protest overuse of standardized tests by persuading parents to opt their children out of the testing, an option few exercise or even know they ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Big Education Ape - PostRankThe Innovative Educator: What's Popular This Week on The Innovative EducatorBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 minutes agoThe Innovative Educator: What's Popular This Week on The Innovative Educator:What's Popular This Week on The Innovative Educatorby lnielsen.professional@gmail.com (The Innovative Educator)Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog this week. Below you’ll see my top weekly posts along with the number of pageviews in the past 7 days. I hope there's something that ... more »

Interconnect Ed - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Interconnect Ed - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post:Looking AheadInterconnect EdThe hallmark of this brave new Information Age is the interconnectedness of everything: ideas, information, people. Relationships are key. It’s no longer what you know or how much you know…it’s who you know and how to connect with them. Interactions are more immediate, fluid and dynamic. On an individual basis it is happening as I write. But what about on an institutional scale? Don’t we eventually have to ... more »

The LEARN Act’s real effect on literacy - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

The LEARN Act’s real effect on literacy - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:The LEARN Act’s real effect on literacybyValerie StraussTheLiteracy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act, or LEARN ACT,was introducedin both houses of Congress earlier this year with the aim of providing federal funds to support state and local literacy programs.Supporters argue that passage of the legislation would be an important step in the country’s literacy policy. Opponents say there is no evidence that the $12 ... more »

Schools Matter: The Obama-Gates-BRT 10-Year Priority Plan for Urban School Privatization

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Schools Matter: The Obama-Gates-BRT 10-Year Priority Plan for Urban School Privatization:The Obama-Gates-BRT 10-Year Priority Plan for Urban School Privatizationby Jim HornA piece in this morning's NYTimes reports on legions of small donors who have given up on Obama in his bid to raise $1,000,000,000 for the 2012 campaign. Why, indeed, should I or anyone who pays taxes send money to Team Obama when the hedge-funders and oligarchs who pay none are sending him all he needs? Why should any of ... more »

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky's blog:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyThey only call it class warfare when we fight back. #occupywallstreetUnhappy with Obama’s conciliatory approach to the Republicans in Congress, small donors are not givingto the campaign this time around.Michael Moore goes on Olbermann and announces his support for the Wall Street occupation.Caterpillar Inc, which supplies the machinery for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, was getting an award from the National Building Museum. Thousands think that’s a bad idea.Live streaming from ... more »

The Spin to Justify Florida’s Voucher $214 Million Price Tag | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 hours ago

The Spin to Justify Florida’s Voucher $214 Million Price Tag | Scathing Purple Musings:The Spin to Justify Florida’s Voucher $214 Million Price Tagby Bob SikesJacksonville public education advocate and freelance writer Julie Delegal has the lead letter today in the Florida Times Union. Delegal provides the numbers on what Florida’s two voucher system cost taxpayers and ultimately take from public schools.Florida currently operates two school voucher programs.The McKay Scholarship transmits state funds directly to families of disabled students so that ... more »

Brill: Colorado a reform bellwether | EdNewsColorado

Brill: Colorado a reform bellwether | EdNewsColorado:

Brill: Colorado a reform bellwether

Written by Charlie Brennan on Sep 26th, 2011. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org

If Steven Brill needed yet another reminder about the passionate level of debate over education reform, he got one during a Denver radio appearance earlier this month.

As a guest Sept. 7 on David Sirota’s program on AM 760, KTLK, also known as “Colorado’s Progressive Talk,” Brill found himself in an hour-long contentious debate in which his host challenged him on some of the central assertions in his controversial new book, Class Warfare.

Steven Brill (photo by Lewis James)

“Tell me when you’re finished, so I can talk,” Brill implored Sirota, more than once.

At one point, Sirota countered with “I’m part of this, you know. I don’t pretend to be a moderator. I’m part of this discussion here, whether you like it or not.”

Reflecting on that appearance in a recent interview with Education News Colorado, Brill expressed some lingering exasperation.

“He didn’t mention that his wife was a pro-union, anti-reform candidate for the board of education,” said Brill, who appeared on the show with New York-based

Rating California Schools: Not by Tests Alone | California Progress Report

Rating California Schools: Not by Tests Alone | California Progress Report:

Rating California Schools: Not by Tests Alone

by megan

By Peter Schrag

It probably could have been predicted a decade ago: The way the American political system judges schools – indeed the whole center of gravity of educational accountability – is shifting again: From a rigid reliance on test-based numbers, which was the fashion of the big state and federal education laws of the George W. Bush era, the pendulum is slowly swinging back toward breadth, flexibility and moderation.

In California, the most recent example, and the most encouraging, is Senate President pro-tem Darrell Steinberg’s SB 547. The bill would replace API, the 12-year-old Academic Performance Index, which, in rating each school and district, narrowly focused on standardized tests in reading and math, with a much broader set of standards. .

read more

Troy Davis Executed, While CEO Responsible for Deaths of 29 Miners Sails Free

by megan

By Mike Elk

Wednesday night at 11:08, Troy Anthony Davis was executed in the State of Georgia for the 1989 murder of a police officer. Much doubt existed in the case as seven of the nine witnesses recanted their testimony (one even claimed that an eighth murder witness was guilty) and no DNA or other physical evidence linked Davis to the crime.

Former FBI Director William Sessions wrote, “The evidence in this case — consisting almost entirely of

SB 202: Better Timing For Ballot Measures

by megan

By Anthony Wright
Health Access California

In addition to the handful of health reforms on the Governor's desk, SB202 (Hancock/Gordon) is an important measure on the timing of ballot initiatives. In particular, the bill ensures that ballot measures are scheduled for general elections in November, rather than primaries in June. It also

Researchers question learning-styles theory | California Watch

Researchers question learning-styles theory | California Watch:

Researchers question learning-styles theory

Eleanor Yang Su

Juska Wendland/Flickr

For years, the conventional wisdom has been that everyone has a different dominant way of learning. Some are visual learners who prefer studying pictures or graphics. Some say they are auditory learners, absorbing information best through lectures and conversation. Others consider themselves kinesthetic learners who benefit from hands-on activities.

A robust industry has formed, marketing materials to educators for dozens of learning-style models. There are tools based on a learner’s personality type. Others are based on how analytical or creative individuals are. Some even delve into the optimal lighting and seating for workspaces. Teachers can buy various assessment tools for

Obama’s NCLB waivers: Do flaws outweigh benefits? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Obama’s NCLB waivers: Do flaws outweigh benefits? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Obama’s NCLB waivers: Do flaws outweigh benefits?

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to ending the misuse of tests. He is writing about the newly announced plan by President Obama to provide conditional relief to states from key provisions of No Child Left Behind.

By Monty Neill

The Obama administration’s new No Child Left Behind “flexibility” planoffers our struggling public schools a leap from the frying pan to the fire.

President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan provide no relief from No Child Left Behind’s massive over-use of testing — more testing than in any other advanced nation. In fact, they are demanding more, not less, testing. They provide no relief from NCLB’s mandated

The Educated Reporter: Getting Colleges Students to Turn Off and Tune In

The Educated Reporter: Getting Colleges Students to Turn Off and Tune In:

Getting Colleges Students to Turn Off and Tune In

by Emily Richmond

College students don’t need expensive big-ticket items to be successful academically, according to the Boston Globe’s online news site, which recently ran a list of seven unnecessary items courtesy of Kiplinger’s.

The list included a car, a high-powered computer (unless the student’s major demanded it) and signing up for the dining hall’s full meal plan.

Having spent the past year at the University of Michigan auditing classes as a Knight-Wallace Fellow, I’d like to add something else– Internet access in the lecture halls.

I’ve listened to some brilliant professors talk about everything from the fight between Horace Mann and the Boston Masters to how subcultures of dissent are appropriated by advertisers and sold to the masses. From my vantage point in the higher rows, I often saw dozens of “real” students with their laptops open and linked to

Schools Matter: Spellings and the Perpetual Obfuscation

Schools Matter: Spellings and the Perpetual Obfuscation:

Spellings and the Perpetual Obfuscation

by P. L. Thomas

While I hesitate to acknowledge former Secretary of Education Spellings, her comments, and the source of those comments, let's not forget that Spellings herself either has no understanding of statistics, has the propensity to distort evidence. . .or both:

"A Question of Power": Of Accountability and Teaching by Numbers

[originally published in OpEdNews, 12 March 2011]

The speaker in Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck" confronts the contrast between land and sea--"the sea is another story/ the sea is not a question of power"--leaving the clear message that our world is "a question of power."

Over the past thirty years, the education reform debate and the rising calls for education reform have exposed

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Where's the Zuckerberg $$?

"We don’t know what the foundation is doing or how they intend to spend the other money. With that money comes a responsibility to the public to be clear about its use." -- Newark Teachers Union President Joe Del Grosso

From Education Nation

"This (teacher salary issue) really strikes home for me because when I know passionate, excellent teachers who've left the

NYC Educator: There Are Times...

NYC Educator: There Are Times...:

There Are Times...

by NYC Educator

...when a man has to make the supreme sacrifice and go to work. For me, that day is today. Now I don't expect much sympathy, because it's likely the same for you.

On the upside, I have the best job there is. That's not because it's easy. It's not because of the summers off, or the incredible salary (that hasn't changed in three years). It's not because working for Michael Bloomberg is wonderful, or because the press is so kind to us.

It's because I get to meet and influence some of the most interesting people I've ever met. My kids come

Former Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith Among Group For Whom Pearson Sponsored Extravagant Overseas Trips | Scathing Purple Musings

Former Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith Among Group For Whom Pearson Sponsored Extravagant Overseas Trips | Scathing Purple Musings:

Former Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith Among Group For Whom Pearson Sponsored Extravagant Overseas Trips

by Bob Sikes

While reporting a 31 percent gain in profits this year, education corporate giant Pearson was paying for state education commissioners from all over the country to fly overseas to attend their conferences. Included in the list was former Florida education commissioner Eric Smith. From Michael Winerip of the NY Times:

In recent years, the Pearson Foundation has paid to send state education commissioners to meet with their international counterparts in London, Helsinki, Singapore and, just last week, Rio de Janeiro

The commissioners stay in expensive hotels, like the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore. They spend several days meeting with educators in these places. They also meet with top executives from the commercial side of Pearson, which is one of the biggest education companies in the world, selling