Letter From Cape Town - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Letter From Cape Town - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Letter From Cape Town

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,
I'm sitting in Cape Town, having just cabled down from fabled Table Mountain. Even before that we were in love with Cape Town. We leave tomorrow, so I thought I'd send a few words for Thursday. I imagine that when I get into my own bed Thursday a.m. I won't want to stop to write!
We've done all the usual and delightful tourist things—like safari'ing near Cape Elizabeth where we saw lions, giraffes, warthogs, hippos, many antelopes of every sort, and two elephants at play—and ooh'd and ahh'd and snapped photos galore. We drove along the eastern shore on a route that makes Route One in California seem like a snap, and all the while driving on the wrong side of the road. Our first stop was at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein in the center of the country. We spent three days being feted and feasted, and more or less giving the same talk to three mostly different audiences about the complexity of schooling if we have 

Test-Based Teacher Evaluation Earns F, Again | Education | AlterNet

Test-Based Teacher Evaluation Earns F, Again | Education | AlterNet:

Test-Based Teacher Evaluation Earns F, Again

South Carolina is poised to link 40% of teacher evaluations to student test scores. Is that a colossal mistake? 

Teacher quality, including teacher evaluation and pay scales, is a growing national and state concern in education reform -- a trend that can be traced to, and remains reflected in, the Los Angeles Times' repeated publication of value-added models (VAM) of ranking teacher quality.

Catherine S. Durso’s National Education Policy Center review of VAM results calculated for and reported by the Los Angeles Times exposes that once again linking teacher quality to student test scores fails to identify fairly high-quality teachers. The body of evidence shows that test-based teacher evaluation is unstable and counter-productive to evaluating, paying and retaining teachers, explains Durso:

Many researchers have raised concerns regarding the use of value-added models (VAM) for teacher evaluation. Briefly, VAM do not provide guidance for improvement, are comparative rather than absolute measures, assess a small part of teacher’s responsibilities, force different kinds of teaching into one scale, do not produce consistent results for given teachers over time, and may not identify effects actually caused by the teachers.

Test-Based Teacher Evaluations: A Failed Solution without a Problem

 

These conclusions about VAM in California and throughout the country are powerful but ignored 

Schools Matter: Videos of Occupy the DOE Collected Here by UOON

Schools Matter: Videos of Occupy the DOE Collected Here by UOON:

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Videos of Occupy the DOE Collected Here by UOON

Follow this link to the video library, which would not exist without the tireless work by Califather.  You will find many useful talks that can be viewed by classes and parent-teacher groups for discussion and explication.

My talk on KIPP starts 30 minutes into the third clip from the top and runs almost 40 minutes.

Lions and Tigers and Math SOL scores – Oh My!!! « PWC Education Reform Blog

Lions and Tigers and Math SOL scores – Oh My!!! « PWC Education Reform Blog:

Lions and Tigers and Math SOL scores – Oh My!!!

by pwceducationreform

Lions and Tigers and Math SOL scores – Oh My!!!

June 21, 2012 — pwceducationreform

Word on the street is that PWCS’s pass rates on the revised and “more rigorous” Math SOL are abysmal, and hysteria has broken out across the county.  OK, hysteria might be a bit of an exaggeration because most of us are already in a summer vacation frame of mind and getting all hot and bothered when it’s 90 degrees out at 8:30 in the morning is impossible, but there has been a massive outbreak of vigorous finger pointing and hand wringing.

Told ya so.  Just saying.        Told.      Ya.      So.

We, or I to be more accurate, typically take a break from posting articles to the blog in the summer.  The snark and sarcasm factor tends to increase exponentially as the school year comes to a close, and we, or I more specifically, haven’t wanted to 

Shanker Blog » Do Charter Schools Serve Fewer Special Education Students?

Shanker Blog » Do Charter Schools Serve Fewer Special Education Students?:

Do Charter Schools Serve Fewer Special Education Students?

by Matthew Di Carlo

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides one of the first large-scale comparisons of special education enrollment between charter and regular public schools. The report’s primary finding, which, predictably, received a fair amount of attention, is that roughly 11 percent of students enrolled in regular public schools were on special education plans in 2009-10, compared with just 8 percent of charter school students.
The GAO report’s authors are very careful to note that their findings merely describe what you might call the “service gap” – i.e., the proportion of special education students served by charters versus regular public schools – but that they do not indicate the reasons for this disparity.
This is an important point, but I would take the warning a step further:  The national- and state-level gaps

Corporate Education Reform - DC Style

Corporate Education Reform - DC Style

NYC Educator: They're Just Kids (and Teachers)! They Don't Need No Stinkin' A/C

NYC Educator: They're Just Kids (and Teachers)! They Don't Need No Stinkin' A/C:

They're Just Kids (and Teachers)! They Don't Need No Stinkin' A/C

by Miss Eyre

Well, for once, I applaud Mayor Bloomberg's approach to answering questions about students in non-air-conditioned classrooms taking Regents exams and, theoretically, teachers still trying to conduct classes.  Man up, kids, says the Mayor.  Life is full of challenges.

The Mayor, of course, is right.  And I'm so excited to hear that he and his staff are foregoing air conditioning in solidarity.  After all, running all these air conditioners 

Pa. auditor again blasts funding formula for cyber and charter schools:

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Pa. auditor again blasts funding formula for cyber and charter schools

By Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writer

 Pennsylvania taxpayers could save $365 million each year if the state fixed its flawed formula for funding cyber and charter schools, state Auditor General Jack Wagner said Wednesday.

Wagner released a report saying the state has spent "substantially more" than the national average on the charter and cyber charter schools that educate more than 100,000 students.

"With the tightening of school budgets and funding available to school districts throughout the state," Wagner said, "Pennsylvania's flawed and overly generous funding formula for charter and cyber charter schools is a luxury taxpayers can no longer afford."

He said taxpayers could save $1 million each day if charter tuition payments were in line with national averages and if the payment rate were set lower for cyber charters serving students at home.

Wagner said the state's charter schools spend an average of $13,411 per student, against a

The in box. Todd Mertz responds to IEA President Cinda Klickna’s pension update. « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Todd Mertz responds to IEA President Cinda Klickna’s pension update. « Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Todd Mertz responds to IEA President Cinda Klickna’s pension update.

by Fred Klonsky

Todd Mertz is an Illinois teacher pension activist.

Dear President Klickna and the EA Team,
I, and others, have major concerns and are disappointed with the IEA Pension update on June 13th.
It appears to us that the IEA is “softening us” for some concessions ahead. I’m sure you can understand this perturbs us. Please correct me if I am wrong with any of these historical facts below: 

*Current and former legislators decided to spend our money elsewhere for decades (this includes 

Death Watch for Public Schools in Michigan « Diane Ravitch's blog

Death Watch for Public Schools in Michigan « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Death Watch for Public Schools in Michigan

by dianerav

Governor Rick Snyder’s administration is closing down public schools in two districts in Michigan and turning the schools over to charter operators.
Michigan has a draconian law that permits the governor to appoint an emergency manager whenever a municipality or school district or other governmental entity is in financial distress. All democratically elected officials are superseded by the emergency manager. Democracy comes to an end. The emergency manager has a free hand to do as he or she wishes. Decisions are made by diktat, with no need to consult with the community whose children are involved. So much for choice.
As context, bear in mind that the governor cut the budget for public schools while giving big tax breaks to 

Oh No! I Am a Member of Students First « Diane Ravitch's blog

Oh No! I Am a Member of Students First « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Oh No! I Am a Member of Students First

by dianerav

After I blogged about Change.org dropping Michelle Rhee and Jonah Edelman, I got an email from a representative of Change.org asking me to explain its policy on my blog. I told him my concern was not with its policy, but with the deception involved in signing people up as members of an organization they did not wish to join. On our third exchange of emails, he informed me that I was a member of Students First. He said his records showed that I had signed one of its petitions a year ago. He gave me a website where I could view my member profile, but I was unwilling to click on the link for fear that doing so would reconfirm my “membership.” Maybe the second click would put me in a category of “active” membership.
This is horrifying. I never knowingly signed to join Michelle Rhee’s Students First.
When Rhee boasts of her huge membership, she is counting people like me who were snared without their

Why Assess the Arts?

by dianerav

Nancy Flanagan is one of the nation’s premier teachers and bloggers. Unlike many who opine about education (I include myself in that category), Nancy knows teaching inside and out. She was a music teacher for thirty years and was deeply involved in creating National Board Certification for teachers. Now she blogs for Education Week and she is always informative.
When a Washington, D.C., think-tank person suggested that students of the arts should be assessed by standardized, multiple-choice tests, Nancy was properly incensed. (And so were many of the teachers of the arts who commented on this blog.)
In her commentary, Nancy posed a basic question:
Why would we deliberately advance a worthless (and expensive-to-develop) mode of assessment for 

Is Vermont the Best State?

by dianerav

I have received many comments from readers nominating their state as the worst in the nation for having enacted legislations that removes due process from teachers or reduces their status or connects their evaluation to student test scores or defunds public education or harms professional educators and the public weal in other ways.
Vermont is different. Vermont still has leadership that wants to improve its schools and support teachers. Vermont decided to turn down the NCLB waiver when it realized that it provided no flexibility, just another bunch of mandates that would be bad for the schools and for children. Vermont doesn’t want to test its students every single year. Vermont realized that NCLB and Race to the Top are not good for students or education.

The in box. Response to Fareed Zakaria’s “Why We Need Pension Reform,” (Time Magazine, June 25) by Richard Sasso. « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Response to Fareed Zakaria’s “Why We Need Pension Reform,” (Time Magazine, June 25) by Richard Sasso. « Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Response to Fareed Zakaria’s “Why We Need Pension Reform,” (Time Magazine, June 25) by Richard Sasso.

by Fred Klonsky

From Glen Brown’s blog.

I write in defense of my pension and that of my fellow public employees. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously quipped that people were entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. In the recent debate surrounding public pensions, I have noticed that many people desperately want to have their own “facts,” especially those who want to “reform” public pensions. Here are the facts about how we got to where we are today in Illinois, with an emphasis on the 

Another report urges changing API | Thoughts on Public Education

Another report urges changing API | Thoughts on Public Education:

Another report urges changing API

Share

Added arguments making Steinberg's case

Posted on 6/21/12 • Categorized as A to G Curriculum, Multiple pathways, Tests, Twenty-first Century Learning, Workforce preparation

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

A report this week from a Washington think tank bolsters Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s call for significantly revising the state’s primary accountability measure, the Academic Performance Index. Now, if Gov. Jerry Brown would only read it…

“Ready by Design: A College and Career Ready Agenda for California,” published by Education Sector, recommends that the API shift focus from students’ performance on 

Daily Kos: June 21, 1964 - A day of shame

Daily Kos: June 21, 1964 - A day of shame:

June 21, 1964 - A day of shame

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

It is the date on which three young men, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael  Schwerner, "disappeared."  All three were involved in Freedom Summer, the attempt to register - and educate - Blacks in Mississippi.
They had been arrested on false charges, released from the jail in Neshoba County and ordered to leave the county, but then re-arrested as they were living the county by deputy sheriff Cecil Price and held until a murder squad from the KKK arrived.  They were murdered, their car burned and dumped into a swamp, and their bodies buried in an earthen dam.
It was not the first murder of people involved in Civil Rights, nor would it be the last.
They had gone to Philadelphia to examine the scene of a church burning - one of almost two dozen black churches torched by the KKK in an attempt to suppress, terrorize (is there a more appropriate word?) and intimidate and thereby crush the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi.
The disappearance caused a national outrage.   Lyndon Johnson had to politically threaten J. Edgar Hoover to 

The real meaning of ‘accountability’ and ‘trust’ in education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The real meaning of ‘accountability’ and ‘trust’ in education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

The real meaning of ‘accountability’ and ‘trust’ in education

By Valerie Strauss

This is an abridged version of a speech that Michael J. Feuer, dean of George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, recently gave at a conference in Jerusalem about trust and accountability in education.

By Michael Feuer

The topic of this conference brings back fond memories of my undergraduate years at Queens College (CUNY), where lessons of accountability and trust were a central part of the informal curriculum. The president when I was there, 1969-1973, was a remarkable young man named Joseph Murphy. Joe had come to Queens after writing his PhD under Herbert Marcuse at Brandeis University, drafting speeches for the Kennedys, and directing the Peace Corps in Ethiopia – all by the time he was 38. The name Murphy sounds Irish, but there was more to 

One district’s tough road toward equity for all kids

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Melissa Krull, the former superintendent of schools in Eden Prairie, Minnesota,who now teaches for Minnesota State University, Mankato, and provides coaching on equity in education.
Read full article >>

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gail Collins' take on privatization

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gail Collins' take on privatization:

Gail Collins' take on privatization

by Mike Klonsky

In her column this morning, "Political Private Practice",  NYT's Gail Collins talks privatization, including public school privatization with what she calls  humorization. No one can do it better.

In honor of the campaign season, maybe this is a good time to point out some examples of privatization disasters. Texas tried to turn eligibility screening for social services over to a private company, creating all sorts of messes until it gave up the experiment. The most apocryphal story involved a privately run call center that told applicants to send their documentation to a number 

Unsolicited Advice for New and Novice Teachers: How We Teach Matters Most & Stay Humble | Outside the Cave

Unsolicited Advice for New and Novice Teachers: How We Teach Matters Most & Stay Humble | Outside the Cave:

Unsolicited Advice for New and Novice Teachers: How We Teach Matters Most & Stay Humble

by Stephen Lazar

I caught wind of a math blog meme giving advice to new teachers after reading a wonderful post from Jason Buell called “Life in the Gray,” which nicely goes a long way toward summing up how complicated teaching really is. It reminded me of something I just wrote, which I though I would post here as well.
The following is a response to an email that was forwarded to me without a name or background.  Because of who sent it to me, I’m assuming it’s from a novice teacher, but I’m not sure.  The email came after this teacher got into a heated and upsetting argument with coworkers where she or he advocated for adding one piece of non-western, non-canonical world literature that might validate alternative experiences to the school’s curriculum of “Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Homer, and all of the other BS that we make the students read.”  She or he was

It’s Official: I Work at Harvest Collegiate High School!

by Stephen Lazar

I am very proud to write that at about 7pm last night, I officially became the first faculty member of Harvest Collegiate High School.  To this point, I was a member of the school’s planning team, but after the formal interview yesterday, I will now get to actually work there.  I am immensely excited, and am eager to write about the work that has and will go into planning a brand new school (that, for the record, is NOT a charter; we’re 100% 

Change.org's Support for Stand For Children Should (And Did) Not Stand: When Liberals Push An ALEC Education Agenda | K-12 News Network

Change.org's Support for Stand For Children Should (And Did) Not Stand: When Liberals Push An ALEC Education Agenda | K-12 News Network:

Change.org’s Support for Stand For Children Should (And Did) Not Stand: When Liberals Push An ALEC Education Agenda

by admin

Disclosure: I was sought out by and interviewed with Change.org back when they were seeking an education organizer; I like and respect many talented organizers there, and from speaking with him, I believe that Ben Rattray is a reasonable, thoughtful, person committed to social change. I’ve also written for Care2.com and similarly like and respect the many excellent bloggers and campaign staff there as well, but am uncomfortable with their retention of StudentsFirst as a client also.
It’s a contradiction that’s been discussed in progressive circles for some time now and the possibility that the Chicago Teacher’s Union might strike has pushed discussion to the fore: why do mission-driven Beneficial Corporations like Change.org (and Care2.com) do so much good elsewhere but have as clients at least two 

All Education Matters: Cruel and Inhumane Punishment - "Father Struggles To Pay Dead Son's Student Loans"

All Education Matters: Cruel and Inhumane Punishment - "Father Struggles To Pay Dead Son's Student Loans":

Cruel and Inhumane Punishment - "Father Struggles To Pay Dead Son's Student Loans"

by Cryn Johannsen

I have heard so many stories that are similar to this one. It's infuriating, because it is unjust and cruel and unnecessary. The creation of this system of payday scammers of higher education is despicable, and has no place in our society. And yet they are flourishing and cashing in at the expense of borrowers, their families, and US taxpayers. Meanwhile, the best we can get in DC is quibbling over a student loan rate increase. (And I've made my position clear on that issue in interviews on CNN, HLN, as well as several articles that I've written).

In this case, this father had just buried his son and the higher ed payday lenders came after him for money. Here's part of the story:

A few months after he buried his son, Francisco Reynoso began getting notices in the mail. Then the debt collectors came calling.

Can’t Economists Stay Away From Schools? Don’t They Have Enough Other Things To Do? | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Can’t Economists Stay Away From Schools? Don’t They Have Enough Other Things To Do? | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Can’t Economists Stay Away From Schools? Don’t They Have Enough Other Things To Do?

by Larry Ferlazzo

Just what we need, another study from economists telling us how to make schools more effective (one released earlier this year concluded that “The message is to fire people sooner rather than later” ).
This new study, The Behavioralist Goes to School: Leveraging Behavioral Economics to Improve Educational Performance, has several authors, including Steven D. Levitt of Freakonomics fame.
They wanted to see if students would try harder on a standardized test if they knew they would get cash or some kind of immediate reward if they improved on their results. They tried offering these rewards in a couple of 

Participate in “The People’s School for Public Education” and endorse Oakland’s Sit-in | Dailycensored.com

Participate in “The People’s School for Public Education” and endorse Oakland’s Sit-in | Dailycensored.com:

Participate in “The People’s School for Public Education” and endorse Oakland’s Sit-in

by Danny Weil

Dear community and supporters, We have managed to hold on to the Lakeview building and grounds for 6 days now!!! We also have been running a free Social Justice based summer program since Monday morning. Each day we have had more students attending. Yesterday there were between 20 and 30 students! For more updates and pictures check out our blog at:

saveoaklandschools.org

We are Sitting-in at Lakeview, holding the People’s School for Public Education to demand: We are still here, after 6 days,because of the massive support we have received from the community members, teachers, parents, students, organizations, unions and media. We are thankful for all of your support and also ask that you continue to support us in the coming days and weeks. Come to speak-outs every day outside of Lakeview at 5pm. March on Saturday at 12pm from Oscar Grant plaza to Lakeview Elementary. And spread the word! Also, help us spread word about the March this SATURDAY. We have teams passing out thousands of fliers, but we always need more help!

Please come down to get copies, or print straight from here! Other ways to support include:

Sign the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/i-support-the-lakeview-sit-in/ Donate funds:https://www.wepay.com/donations/157174

Volunteer: email saveoaklandschools@gmail.com

with your interests and availability or come on down to Lakeview Spread the word: like us on facebook, tell your friends, forward our emails, pick up flyers at Lakeview and pass them out!

Come by Lakeview between 4:30pm and 7pm to participate in a picket, holding signs and giving out fliers.

Participate in “The People’s School for Public Education” Enroll your children Support us through leading a class or activity-email saveoaklandschools@gmail.com to let us know Donate food or supplies: your contributions are always welcome, bring them down to Lakeview!

Our current wishlist includes Napkins/paper towels Tents/sleeping bags Tupperware containers/zip lock bags Hula Hoops/Jump Ropes Snacks for kids-snack bars, juice, fruit Lunch for the kids: email us atsaveoaklandschools@gmail.com if you can provide lunch for our kids one day this week. Coolers and ice Walkie Talkies Pens Toner for a large copy machine (ask us about the specific model)

If you are part of a union/organization/community group/faith community please: Invite members of your organization to the daily 5pm actions outside of Lakeview and to the Saturday 12pm march meeting at Oscar Grant Plaza. Officially endorse the Lakeview Sit-in, “The People’s School for Public Education” and our demands.

You can email me with your endorsement. We will post that endorsement on our blog at saveoaklandschools.org.

Our list of demands can be found here:

http://saveoaklandschools.org/demands/.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In the Mailbox

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In the Mailbox:

In the Mailbox

by Mike Klonsky

From Jennifer Johnson

Dear Public Education and Teacher Supporters,

Yesterday, we got some good news. Thanks largely to your thousands of signatures and comments Change.org has dropped both Jonah Edleman’s Stand for Children and Michelle Rhee’s Students First as clients.

You can read Huffington Post's coverage here: huff.to/M5j0bh 

Though this is good news, we still need to be very realistic about Change.org and their willingness to repeatedly dupe signers into supporting petitions that appear to be progressive but are really backed by corporate and anti-labor organizations. While this is a great step, we still don't have a clear indication from Change.org on where they draw the line on anti-worker organizations and groups that advocate against collective bargaining or promote legislation written by ALEC, an extreme organization that you may recognize as the author of the 'Stand Your Ground' law in Florida and anti-worker legislation across the country. We should be