Should States Be Sued for Providing Low-Quality Schools?

Should States Be Sued for Providing Low-Quality Schools?:

Should States Be Sued for Providing Low-Quality Schools?

by Sam

How’s this for a summer blockbuster – the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the state of Michigan in general, and one local school district in particular, for violating the “right to learn” of all Michigan children, a right that is guaranteed under an obscure state law stating that any “pupil who does not score satisfactorily on the 4th or 7th grade . . . reading test shall be provided special assistance reasonably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or her reading skills to grade level within 12 months.”
That assistance hasn’t happened, says Kary L. Moss, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the ACLU. “The Highland Park School District is among the lowest-performing districts in the nation, graduating class after class of children who are not literate. Our lawsuit . . . says that if education is to mean anything, it means that 

Is This a Good Guide for Teaching? « Diane Ravitch's blog

Is This a Good Guide for Teaching? « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Is This a Good Guide for Teaching?

by dianerav

I am a historian, I have spent years (decades) studying and writing about American education. I know my limitations. Aside from teaching graduate students in courses about the history of education and controversies in current education policy, I have not been a classroom teacher. That may be why I respect classroom teachers so much. I can’t do what they do. I would not know how to control students who are bored and don’t want to be there. I would not be able to teach a classroom of 35 adolescents who wish they were somewhere else. I would not know how to teach 24 feisty five-year-olds. I would not have the patience to spend all day with little children. I am awed when I meet the men and women who do it every day.
The upshot is that I never tell others how to teach. How could I? I haven’t done it. I can’t do it. I have no authority 

Democurmudgeon: Poor Republican Public School Teachers, Victimized by All.

Democurmudgeon: Poor Republican Public School Teachers, Victimized by All.:

Poor Republican Public School Teachers, Victimized by All.

by Democurmudgeon

Poor Republican teachers, it all start out so innocently:

Thousands pack(ed) a convention center, Barack Obama T-shirts, videos celebrating the health care law … But this Obama love fest in Washington (saw) nearly 9,000 gathered were teachers in town for the National Education Association's weeklong annual convention.

Get out the crying towel, here come the “victimized” Republican teachers comments:

Edweek: For the Republican teachers in attendance, the digs at their political views were impossible to overlook."What I don't like is the harassment going on for people to be an 'EFO'—an educator for Obama," said Maureen van Wagner, a special education teacher … roughly a dozen 

An Exchange with a Reader about Charter Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog

An Exchange with a Reader about Charter Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog:

An Exchange with a Reader about Charter Schools

by dianerav

An exchange with a reader this morning:

Diane, I thank you for calling attention to the challenges of public schools working well with public charter schools. (when i say public charters, i’m referring to those I’m familiar with where the local school district is the authorizor and the transparency and accountability measures are in place).As a strong supporter of teachers, i’m surprised you don’t think it is a positive for some schools to be able to get out of all this ridiculous tying teachers to test scores…isn’t this a good thing ?? Or is this just really galling because because your goal is for ALL schools to be exempt and transparency? I’m reading all of your blogs posts, and you are posting many, and I love your perspective. Your book The Great American School system actually educated me at how much I had been”fooled” into using many of the buzzwords (like choice). Now, as a parent serving on a governing board for a local not-for profit-public charter I feel i now have to use instead of “charter school” to accurately share what kind of public school my kid attends and to avoid rapid rush to judgement during

98% of Eligible Students Say No to Vouchers

by dianerav

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a state offered vouchers to more than half its students?
The Louisiana Department of Education just learned the answer to that question. It made the offer to 450,000 students. Not quite 9,000 students applied to enroll in the voucher program that begins in September. That’s 2% of the eligibles.
That means that 98% of the 450,000 students who were eligible declined to apply.
Not exactly a stampede for the exits. No big rush to enroll in the little church schools that are supposedly better

Why Does Ohio Governor Kasich Treat Teachers as Public Enemy #1?

by dianerav

A reader writes in response to the post about New Jersey Governor Christie:
When you solve this mystery please come and help us in Ohio to uncover why Gov. Kascich has made teachers public enemy number one. We may have defeated his infamous House Bill 5, but he and his cronies are managing to slip in most of the laws and regulations in the back door .
Are there any Republican governors who are not at war with the teachers in their state? If so, please let me know. Maybe something happened at the Republican Governors’ conference in 2011.

U.S. News Discusses Best High Schools Rankings at Ed Department Meeting - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com)

U.S. News Discusses Best High Schools Rankings at Ed Department Meeting - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com):

U.S. News Discusses Best High Schools Rankings at Ed Department Meeting

July 12, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Government data quality issues affected a small number of ranked high schools.

Soon after the U.S. News 2012 Best High Schools rankings were published in May 2012, it became clear that there were errors in the 2009-2010 enrollment data used in the calculations. The data came from the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of Data (CCD) and the errors affected a small number of the ranked high schools.

[See the detailed methodology used in Best High Schools rankings.]

One reason why U.S. News ranks the Best High Schools and 

About Those Minnesota Charter Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog

About Those Minnesota Charter Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog:

About Those Minnesota Charter Schools

by dianerav

Joe Nathan, who was a leading figure in the development of the charter movement, has spiritedly defended charters on this blog. He points to charters in Minnesota to show that the original ideals of the movement survive there. Unlike New York City, for example, where the charters are aggressively entrepreneurial, glory in pushing public schools out of their space, spend more than the neighborhood public school, and crow that they are far, far better and get higher test scores and deserve even more space.
But Minnesota is not altogether idyllic. Last December, John Hechinger of Bloomberg News wrote a disturbing article about segregated charter schools in Minnesota. He wrote about an all-black charter school (for “East

Is This a Real Graduate School of Education?

by dianerav

Evidently the Relay Graduate School of Education is not the only “graduate school of education” in which charter school leaders award masters’ degrees to charter school teachers.
There is also a “graduate school of education” in Boston organized by charter schools to train charter teachers to get “jaw-dropping” test scores. Not surprisingly, this one acknowledges its ties to Relay and TFA. It seems we are developing a parallel system of “graduate” schools, one for charters, another for public schools.
As I scan the “faculty” of this “graduate school of education,” I could not find anyone with a doctorate in any field.
As I scanned the “course catalogue,” I saw courses in methods, classroom management, community relations,

Note to Jeb Bush: Florida Loses Its Bragging Rights

by dianerav

Coach Bob Sikes blogs about Florida, where he teaches.
He just sent me his latest post, which shows that Florida has lost ground in its national rankings in both business and education under Governor Rick Scott.
Of course, Governor Scott listens closely to whatever former Governor Jeb Bush says, since he is now seen as a national authority on the subject of choice and educational excellence. But, somehow, those two big guys together blew it.
In CNBC’s rankings of the best states to do business, Florida fell from #18 to #29. Governor Scott likes to boast

Are Charter Schools Public Schools?

by dianerav

A reader from Pennsylvania asks whether charter schools are public schools if they seek to avoid transparency and if their teachers are not subject to the same evaluation scheme as public school teachers:
Charters insist on being called “public” schools.
Yet in Pennsylvania charters are in court trying to prevent laws requiring them to be transparent about their operations, as public schools are required to do.
The state legislature just passed a law requiring 50% of teacher evaluations to be based test scores. The law EXEMPTS charter teachers from this new evaluation system.
In the ALEC rush of legislation at the close of its session last week, a bill was introduced in the PA legislature 

Community colleges move closer to rationing enrollment | EdSource Today

Community colleges move closer to rationing enrollment | EdSource Today:

Community colleges move closer to rationing enrollment

July 11th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By Kathryn Baron

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With so many students vying for a shrinking number of classes at community colleges, theCalifornia Community Colleges Board of Governors is on its way to offering priority registration as a way of motivating students to develop and pursue an educational goal. At a public hearing in Sacramento this week, the Board agreed to put the issue up for a vote at its next meeting in September.

Under existing regulations, several groups of students are already allowed to jump to the front of the line: active duty military and veterans, former and current foster youth, disabled students, and students in the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), for low-income, struggling 

Arne Duncan To Report College Completion Rates Rise By Half A Percentage Point

Arne Duncan To Report College Completion Rates Rise By Half A Percentage Point:

Arne Duncan To Report College Completion Rates Rise By Half A Percentage Point

by Joy Resmovits

The number of Americans with college degrees is inching up slowly, with about 100,000 more students holding post-secondary degrees in 2010 than the year before, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan plans to tell the National Governors Association's annual gathering in Williamsburg, Va., on Friday.

â�œEvery capable, hard-working, and responsible student should be able to afford to go to college. Thatâ�™s not a Democratic dream or a Republican one. Itâ�™s the American Dream,â� Duncan will say, according to prepared remarks.

According to census data the Education Department will release in advance of Duncan's speech, the percentage 

Why Do Kids Hate Math? Probably Because of Incoherent Curriculum | Truth in American Education

Why Do Kids Hate Math? Probably Because of Incoherent Curriculum | Truth in American Education:

Why Do Kids Hate Math? Probably Because of Incoherent Curriculum

by Shane Vander Hart

USA Today had an article entitled, “Why Kids Hate Math?”  A friend of TAE, Niki Hayes, responded saying the column’s author, Patrick Welsh who teaches at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA, missed the larger point of why kids struggle in math:

The huge elephant in the room with failing math students is the incoherent curriculum that has been produced since the advent of the 1989 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Curriculum and Standards document. They created “reform” procedures and purposes of math education; this created a debacle in elementary grades as states jumped on board because of the NCTM’s goal of bringing equity to girls and minorities. The states also got big grants from the 

Attention Grows About “Education Reformer's” Faux Technique to Push Up Test Scores - Wait, What?

Attention Grows About “Education Reformer's” Faux Technique to Push Up Test Scores - Wait, What?:

Attention Grows About “Education Reformer’s” Faux Technique to Push Up Test Scores

by jonpelto

The CTMirror ran a story yesterday about how some school districts have figured out that if you shift lower performing students to a Modified Assessment Test instead of the Connecticut Mastery Test, you test scores will go up, and people will think that you are” improving the quality of education” in that community.

Readers will recall that about four months ago, we examined how Hartford’s former Superintendent of Schools, Steven “where is my pension” Adamowski has used this very technique from 2006 to 2011 to push up Hartford’s test scores.

As the CTMirror story indicates;

“One of every 20 students in Connecticut is being directed to take standardized tests 

The Innovative Educator: Common Core State Standards - The precursor to testing the crap out of kids

The Innovative Educator: Common Core State Standards - The precursor to testing the crap out of kids:

Common Core State Standards - The precursor to testing the crap out of kids

by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)

Educators are becoming more and more familiar with and learning about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  What they might not realize that CCSS is really code for constantly testing the crap out of kids. As a result those who designed them publishers and politicians reap the rewards. The politicians have pretty charts and numbers they can use as talking points and publishers like Pearson rake in enormous profits. 

Meanwhile these same politicians and publishers have been yapping about how the new standards and assessments will be so much different and better. 

Is Khan Academy a real ‘education solution’? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Is Khan Academy a real ‘education solution’? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Is Khan Academy a real ‘education solution’?

By Valerie Strauss

The Khan Academy has been in the education news lately but it’s not the kind of publicity that its founder, Salman Khan, would have chosen if given a choice.

The academy is a nonprofit organization started by Khan, a former hedge-fund manager, that offers free lessons in math and other subjects via videos posted on the Khan Academy Web site.

Last month, two associate professors from Grand Valley State 
Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy in 2010. (Courtesy of Khan Academy)University in Michigan critiqued one of the Khan videos — on negative and positive integers — in a satirical video that pointed out problems in the specific lesson and, more 

solidaridad: Robert D. Skeels, a Social Justice Schoolboard Candidate

solidaridad: Robert D. Skeels, a Social Justice Schoolboard Candidate:

Robert D. Skeels, a Social Justice Schoolboard Candidate

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

From my official LAUSD Campaign website: Robert D. Skeels, a Social Justice Schoolboard Candidate

My name is Robert D. Skeels. Over the course of many years as an education activist and a social justice writer, I've witnessed many grave injustices perpetrated by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on our community. Sadly, a primary reason for this is that a majority of our current Schoolboard members were elected with, and beholden to, money from the one percent and corporate interests. Until we have a majority of social justice minded Schoolboard Trustees, we will continue to suffer from policies that don't serve the needs of students, families and communities.
This is why I am running for the District 2 Trustee seat. As an individual committed to social justice, I will stand up to the corporate interests that currently dominate LAUSD. I bring both a wealth of knowledge on education and a commitment to the principles of social justice set forth by luminaries including Paulo Freire, Donaldo Macedo, and Henry GIroux. Armed with facts and truth, I will challenge the fatalistic neoliberal narrative that currently dominates Los Angeles education policy and I will speak truth to the corporate power that dominates our schools.
I've lived in LAUSD District 2 for eighteen years. My wife and I own a home in Echo Park/Historic Filipinotown.

I need donations and campaign volunteers. Help save Los Angeles Schools from privatization.

July 15 Recall Mónica García South Central, Trinity Park

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

This Sunday, July 15, 2012 from 9:00am — 1:00pm, South Central, Trinity Park, corner of Wall Street & 25th Street (3 blocks from Santee Educational Complex), 90011
Information: Vera Padilla marver69@hotmail.com or (323)236-0595
See the complete summer schedule

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Public Meeting

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Public Meeting:

Private Public Meeting

by Charlie Mas

There will be a public meeting tomorrow evening at which Seattle Public Schools will present, jointly with the Downtown Seattle Association, a study showing the need for a downtown elementary school. The District has made no announcement of this meeting, but KOMO News reported it.

Here's the entire story by KOMO News Communities Reporter Michael Harthorne:

Facing overcrowding and growing numbers of children living downtown, Seattle is considering building anew elementary school in north downtown.
At Thursday’s Uptown Alliance meeting, the Downtown Seattle Association and Seattle Public 

Pro-Charter Op-Ed in the Seattle Times

by Charlie Mas

Here it is, the first of many:  High-performing charter schools can close the opportunity gap

I have nothing to say about this. It is impossible to have a discussion when we cannot even agree on the facts.

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Republicans sell off public schools - Thom Hartmann

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Republicans sell off public schools - Thom Hartmann:

Republicans sell off public schools - Thom Hartmann

by Duane Campbell

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Modern School: Incompetent Administrators, Not Unions, Keep Molesters in the Classroom

Modern School: Incompetent Administrators, Not Unions, Keep Molesters in the Classroom:

Incompetent Administrators, Not Unions, Keep Molesters in the Classroom

by Michael Dunn

“The standard here is low—reasonable suspicion. The obligation is mandatory reporting, not mandatory investigation on your own.”—Alison Filo, Deputy District Attorney in San Jose, California, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Filo’s comments were in reference to the recent filing of charges against Lyn Vijayendran, principal of O.B. Whaley Elementary School in Santa Clara County, for failing to report allegations of sexual abuse by one of her teachers. If convicted, Vijayendran faces up to six 

Louisiana Educator: Spin on Voucher Applications

Louisiana Educator: Spin on Voucher Applications:

Spin on Voucher Applications

by Michael Deshotels

Lance Hill of the Southern Institute for Education and Research has a slightly different take about the success of the new Jindal voucher program than that of the Baton Rouge Advocate.

State Superintendent John White and the Education Department announced yesterday in a press release that over 10,300 applications for vouchers had been received this year. This was presented as a major success of the program. Last year, there were about 2,000 vouchers that had been limited to the New Orleans area. This year because of the new Jindal voucher law, students attending any public school rated “C” or lower became eligible to apply for a voucher to a private school.

So the Baton Rouge Advocate, taking its cue from Superintendent White led its article on vouchers with the enthusiastic headline:
Voucher demand soars 
followed by the Sub head:
10,000 ask to attend new school

The Advocate article goes on to gush about how the voucher applications this year are well above initial 

Teachers Working with Teachers: The Fragility of School-wide PLCs (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teachers Working with Teachers: The Fragility of School-wide PLCs (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Teachers Working with Teachers: The Fragility of School-wide PLCs (Part 2)

by larrycuban

Some elementary grade-level teams and secondary academic departments grew into school-based communities —even before the phrase “professional learning communities” was invented. Exemplars come from the alternative schools of the 1970s, the Effective Schools movement in the 1980s, and the Coalition of Essential Schools in the 1990s. For example, Deborah Meier founded Central Park East in New York City’s Harlem in 1974 and subsequent secondary schools, staying until 1995; Ray Anderson became principal of H-B Woodlawn in Arlington (VA) in 1978 and remained until 2004;

Ann Cook and Herb Mack established Urban Academy in 1986 and continue

Tony at the Red Line Tap. « Fred Klonsky

Tony at the Red Line Tap. « Fred Klonsky:

Tony at the Red Line Tap.

by Fred Klonsky

“School budgets,” I say to Tony as I grabbed the stool.
“Is that the topic of the day?”
“Yes,” I said.
Two tattooed Loyola students walked in and sat on the far end of the bar and ordered a couple of PBRs. One got up, walked over to put  some noise on the juke box. I say “juke box,” but maybe they’re called something else these days.
“White Rabbit,” said Marty from behind the bar.
“What?”
“White Rabbit. That’s the name of the band.”
“How can you tell?” asks Tony.
“Because I’m not old, like you two jamokes.”
“Ouch,” I said.
I explain to Tony about the meetings