ED Data Express: State Graduation Rate, All Students: 2009-10

ED Data Express: State Graduation Rate, All Students: 2009-10:

Data Mapping State Graduation Rate, All Students: 2009-10

U.S. Map Legend

 

Less than the lower bound number

 

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67%95%

51 (98.1%) states are within the specified range

Lower Bound: 

Upper Bound: 

State	State Graduation Rate, All Students: 2009-101	In the Range 67% - 95%
National	†
Alabama	88%	√
Alaska	68%	√
Arizona	78%	√
Arkansas	85%	√
California	81%	√
Colorado	72%	√
Connecticut	91%	√
Delaware	87%	√
District of Columbia	76%	√
Florida	78%	√
Georgia	81%	√
Hawaii	80%	√
Idaho	92%	√
Illinois	88%	√
Indiana	84%	√
Iowa	89%	√
Kansas	80%	√
Kentucky	77%	√
Louisiana	67%	√
Maine	82%	√
Maryland	87%	√
Massachusetts	82%	√
Michigan	76%	√
Minnesota	92%	√
Mississippi	73%	√
Missouri	86%	√
Montana	80%	√
Nebraska	89%	√
Nevada	70%	√
New Hampshire	85%	√
New Jersey	95%	√
New Mexico	67%	√
New York	76%	√
North Carolina	74%	√
North Dakota	88%	√
Ohio	84%	√
Oklahoma	82%	√
Oregon	85%	√
Pennsylvania	91%	√
Puerto Rico	>97%
Rhode Island	76%	√
South Carolina	72%	√
South Dakota	89%	√
Tennessee	89%	√
Texas	84%	√
Utah	90%	√
Vermont	87%	√
Virginia	80%	√
Washington	83%	√
West Virginia	84%	√
Wisconsin	90%	√
Wyoming	80%	√

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Closing Bad Charters

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Closing Bad Charters:

Closing Bad Charters

by Charlie Mas

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers said 900 to 1,300 of the privately run, publicly financed schools should close because they are in the bottom 15 percent of public schools in their states. Here's a link totheir press release and a Bloomberg News story that the Seattle Times ran.

In short, there are a number of poor performing charter schools and, according to NACSA, they should be closed. NACSA also calls for states to add school closure provisions to their charter school authorizing laws.

"For the first time, NACSA is urging state legislatures to adopt new laws that hold both schools and authorizers accountable for their performance. NACSA is also calling for the establishment of statewide authorizing offices because they are more likely to implement professional practices based on high standards and promote quality growth. These changes will help create more successful new schools, including replications, while facilitating the closure of hundreds of schools that are falling short."

NACSA points to the new charter school law here in Washington as a model. Section 220 of I-1240 speaks to

Seattle School Board Meeting Last Night

by Melissa Westbrook

I couldn't stay long (darn cold) but I did make some remarks and heard other interesting remarks.

First up was Wayne Barnett of the City Ethics department who gave a concise and lively wrap-up of what has been happening with this joint ethics venture between the City and the district.  This is a mid-term report as they are in the middle of the 3-year process.

He said that everyone at JSCEE had been given the ethics training as had all the principals.

In terms of advice, as of now about 80% of the contacts had been via phone or e-mail.  He said they have slightly less active than at the City level but that is to be expected (given the relative sizes of each).

Investigations.  He stated they received their 100th call this week.  He said about a quarter of all calls had launched investigations.  He said about 60% of those calls did not fall under their jurisdiction but that the City had been pleased to act as a liaison between the district and the callers to get the callers to the right people.  He said that Ethics had been acting as a squeaky wheel (of sorts) in order to get answers for many of these people that they could not get on their own.

He said that the issue of worries over retaliation to whistleblowers continues (indeed, he stated that nationally it was 1 in 5 and this has risen since 2007).

Ron English of Legal has a request for the public.  The Board did vote to send the resolutions on the two levies to King County Elections.  However, the district is obliged to find people to write both the Pro and Con 

Education Research Report: State Spending on K-12 Assessment Systems

Education Research Report: State Spending on K-12 Assessment Systems:

State Spending on K-12 Assessment Systems

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

In the coming years, states will need to make the most significant changes to their assessment systems in a decade as they implement the Common Core State Standards, a common framework for what students are expected to know that will replace existing standards in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The Common Core effort has prompted concerns about the cost of implementing the new standards and assessments, but there is little comprehensive up-to-date information on the costs of assessment systems currently in place throughout the country.

This new report by Matthew Chingos of the Brown Center on Education Policy fills this void by providing the most current, comprehensive evidence on state-level costs of assessment systems, based on new data from state contracts with testing vendors assembled by the Brown Center on Education Policy. These data cover a combined $669 million in annual spending on assessments in 45 states.

The report identifies state collaboration on assessments as a clear strategy for achieving cost savings without compromising test quality. For example, a state with 100,000 students that joins a consortium of states containing one million students is predicted to save 37 percent, or $1.4 million per year; a state of 500,000 students saves an estimated 25 percent, or $3.9 million, by joining the same consortium.

Collaborating to form assessment consortia is the strategy being pursued by nearly all of the states that have adopted the Common Core standards. But it is not yet clear how these common assessments will be sustained after federal funding for their development ends in 2014, months before the tests are fully implemented. The report identifies a lack of transparency in assessment pricing as a barrier to states making informed decisions regarding their testing systems, and recommends that consortia of states use their market power to encourage test-makers to divulge more details about their pricing models.

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee writes a ‘zealot’s manifesto,’ er, memoir:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee writes a ‘zealot’s manifesto,’ er, memoir

Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 29, 2012 at 11:00 am

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Michelle Rhee has written a memoir that gives her version of reality about the years (2007-2010) that she ran D.C. Public Schools and became a national leader of corporate-based school reform. The book is due out next year but Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips has already read it, and in this column writes in less than flattering terms about Rhee’s narrative. In fact, the  column, with the headline “Rhee-visionist History,” describes the book, entitled “Radical, Fighting to Put Students First,” is described as reading “like a zealot’s manifesto on the rightness of her cause.”

(Did anybody expect anything different?)

Here are some of the highlights of the book, via the Loose Lips column, which you

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, November 29, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Kerchner: How a small bet on technology could have a big payoff in learning

Let’s adopt a public policy that increases the capacity of public education, one that makes existing schools winners again, and that empowers both students and teachers. To make a technology investment we need to simultaneously think small and think big.

Dr. Gary Rutherford final candidate for superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District

The Desert Sands Board of Education has selected Dr. Gary Rutherford as its final candidate for superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District.

Denair school district's shortfall a shock to small town

Small-town loyalty mixed with shock and just plain sadness as the 4,000 residents tried to digest news of their schools' dire finances.

West Contra Costa schools aim to reduce suspensions by 25 percent

Citing the loss of school funding based on daily attendance and damage to student learning, the West Contra Costa school district has set a goal of lowering suspensions by 25 percent.

California school districts face huge debt on risky bonds

About 200 districts have borrowed billions of dollars using so-called capital appreciation bonds. Districts may have to pay 10 to 20 times the amount borrowed.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Silva to mothball retirement

Barring a last-minute change of heart from the state teacher’s pension system, Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Joe Silva will not proceed with a plan to “retire” and work at a much lower salary while collecting his full pension.

Sausalito Marin City school sees test scores jump, but it soon may close

Bayside Elementary School in the Sausalito Marin City School District, which has long struggled to improve student achievement, is now ranked as a "high performing school," according to the most recent state scores. But the much improved result comes as the district board looks at a plan to close the Sausalito school and merge it with Martin Luther King Jr. Academy school in Marin City.

Post-election, Push for Changes in Education Policy | California Progress Report

Post-election, Push for Changes in Education Policy | California Progress Report:

Post-election, Push for Changes in Education Policy

by callen

By Lisa Schiff
Re-electing President Obama may have felt like a huge accomplishment, but it was really just the beginning of the work to come. With the rather low-key confirmation thatSecretary of Education Arne Duncan will be continuing on into the second term, the President gave the clear signal that federal education policies and strategies will remain essentially the same, meaning a continued emphasis on competitive grants, further support for privatization via charter schools, and a focus on formulaic assessment of students, teachers and the overall quality and outcomes of our educational system. Arne Duncan was a troubling choice from the outset and his actions as Secretary proved those worries to be well-founded. In other words, we have nothing to be excited about and much to be gravely concerned over.
read more

Reject the Fiscal Cliff and the Grand Bargain

by callen

By Duane Campbell
The Sacramento Bee editorial board started in the right direction in their editorial of November 26, 2012 by calling for small steps to avoid the "fiscal cliff". Then, strangely, they list small steps that only call for compromise as advocated by the Republican-austerity side. While unemployment remains high and economic growth slow, we do not need more austerity. If you want some small steps, President Obama suggested that we extend the Bush era tax reductions for the bottom 98% of earners. This is a proposal that almost everyone agrees with - or at least say they agree with. Then, we can disagree over the 2%, and work out a compromise.
read more

GEDs for the 1%. « @ the chalk face

GEDs for the 1%. « @ the chalk face:

GEDs for the 1%.

1

November 29, 2012 by slekar

Recent news out of Hartford, Connecticut is that the NON PROFIT GED Testing Service is “merging” with Pearson .  This must mean that the GED will be delivered more efficiently because of the enormous resources Pearson will be able to put behind delivering the GED.  This must mean reduced costs and better delivery systems—efficiency! Great news for people seeking a GED right?

But no, that assumption would be wrong.

In Connecticut, it currently costs $13 to take the GED….  The price of the new test, however, will jump to $120.

Yep!  That’s right. Now that the multi-billion dollar mega testing Corporation—Pearson—is taking over the price for taking the GED will increase ten fold.

Why?  GED programs typically serve economically disadvantaged people trying to 

Common Core [sic] Standards (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out)

Common Core [sic] Standards (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out):

To Be or Not To Be: The Teacher Must Decide

by elaine

Susan Ohanian

Source: 

Susan Ohanian.org

Opportunists have always promoted stupid things in education, but the Common Core seems to send opportunism traveling as skills development over the top of Mount Absurdity. I clicked on an ad for Imagine Learning appearing on the ASCD Smartbrief (sic) that comes in my e-mail every day. I couldn't resist the sell: A Cure for the Common Core. 

Every literacy salesman in the country is now selling The Cure. 

Imagine Learning invited me to See how the new Imagine Learning version 12 is closely aligned with the Common Core standards. The program features over 500 new activities, all specifically designed to address the Common Core. 

I chose to watch a video on the Grammar Strand. Here's a description. 



K-1 students receive focused instruction on nouns, verbs, question words, prepositions, singular and plural nouns, proper nouns, adjectives, pronouns, sentence structure, sentence 

Affluent White People: Now with 1/3 More Excellence | EduShyster

Affluent White People: Now with 1/3 More Excellence | EduShyster:

Affluent White People: Now with 1/3 More Excellence

by edushyster2012

This young man, let’s call him Chad, graduated in the top 1/3 of his class at Shore Country Day, ergo he would make an outstanding teacher.

Reader: no doubt you are aware by now that affluent white people do just about everything a little better than you and I do. It’s called panache, and like dietary restrictions and yoga passions, this better-ness, otherwise known as excellence, is something that comes naturally to our affluent white friends. Now, in addition to all of the things this elite corp already excels at—field hockey, recycling, wealth management—we can add another: teaching. It turns out that affluent white people make the most excellent teachers.
Or they WOULD, if only we recognized their innate outstanding-ness and made sure that theirs were the ranks