This Week's Education Research Report 6-15-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT

Moral vs. Performance Character Development in Urban Adolescents

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago

This study compared the effects of emphasizing moral character development or performance character development at three high-performing, high-poverty urban middle schools. Performance character consists of the qualities that allow individuals to regulate their thoughts and actions in ways that support achievement in a particular endeavor. Moral character consists of the qualities relevant to striving for ethical behavior in one’s relationships with other individuals and communities. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the authors found that early adolescents attending a... more »

Laws help limit junk foods in schools

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

District policies and state laws help reduce the availability of sugar- and fat-laden foods and beverages in elementary schools, according to a study published online in *JAMA Pediatrics.* Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at the association between established policies and laws and the availability of candy, baked goods, ice cream, chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and soda sold outside the school meal program. More than 1,800 elementary schools in 45 states responded to surveys during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 school years. The researchers found that ... more »

Is Starting College and Not Finishing Really That Bad?

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

In this report, The Hamilton Project examines whether starting college is worth it for students who fail to complete a degree. Their "startling" finding is that it is: these students’ lifetime earnings are roughly $100,000 higher (in present value) than that of their peers who ended their education after high school. Measured by the rate of return, getting some college is an investment with a return that exceeds the historical return on practically any conventional investment, including stocks, bonds, and real estate. (Of course, the return to some college is considerably smaller t... more »

High school graduation requirements are out of sync with Common Core

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

A new report from Change the Equation (CTEq) and the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Center for Public Education (CPE) examines the connection between state graduation requirements and Common Core State Standards in math. The report, “Out of Sync: Many Common Core states have yet to define a Common Core-worthy diploma,” found that of the 45 states that have voluntarily adopted Common Core, only 11 have aligned their graduation requirements in mathematics with those standards. CPE and CTEq have compared states’ high school graduation requirements in math to the Common Co... more »

Reading to children: a head-start in life

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago

This article examines the effect of parental reading to children early in life on the child’s reading skills using the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). In addition to reading skills at age four to five, reading skills at later ages (up to age 10 to 11) are also examined. At most ages, more than one reading skill measure is observed, which allows for checking the consistency of results when using different measures. The raw data used in the study show patterns indicating a clear association between reading to children more frequently and higher early reading scores.... more »

Information and Student Achievement: Evidence from a Cellular Phone Experiment

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago

This paper describes a field experiment in Oklahoma City Public Schools in which students were provided with free cellular phones and daily information about the link between human capital and future outcomes via text message. Students' reported beliefs about the relationship between education and outcomes were influenced by treatment. Treatment students also report being more focused and working harder in school. However, there were no measureable changes in attendance, behavioral incidents, or test scores. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a model in which s... more »

Strategic Involuntary Teacher Transfers and Teacher Performance: Examining Equity and Efficiency

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago

Despite claims that school districts need flexibility in teacher assignment to allocate teachers more equitably across schools and improve district performance, the power to involuntarily transfer teachers across schools remains hotly contested. Little research has examined involuntary transfer policies or their effects on schools, teachers, or students. This article uses administrative data from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to investigate the implementation and effects of the district's involuntary transfer policy, including which schools transferred and received teachers, which te... more »

How much do teachers vary in performance improvement during their first five years of teaching

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago

Educational policymakers struggle to find ways to improve the quality of the teacher workforce. The early career period represents a unique opportunity to identify struggling teachers, examine the likelihood of future improvement, and make strategic pre-tenure investments in improvement as well as dismissals to increase teaching quality. To date, only a little is known about the dynamics of teacher performance in the first five years. This paper asks how much teachers vary in performance improvement during their first five years of teaching and to what extent initial job performance pr... more »

New Study Looks at Discrimination African-American Adolescents Face in Schools

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Nearly 60 years after the Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in public schools, African-American adolescents of all socioeconomic backgrounds continue to face instances of racial discrimination in the classroom. A new study sheds light on that and points to the need for students of color to rely on personal and cultural assets to succeed academically. The study “African American Adolescents’ Academic Persistence: A Strengths-Based Approach,” was published online May 24 in the *Journal of Youth and Adolescence.* “This study is unique in that it is a socioeconomically divers... more »

Advances in student achievement since the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act in Massachusetts

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Mass Insight Education has released a summative report reviewing student achievement during the twenty years since the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act in Massachusetts, which set to transform public education across the state. The anniversary report highlights the significant progress the state has made as a result of the landmark legislation and also provides a call to action to address the challenges that remain - specifically in raising student achievement for underserved populations and in increasing college success rates for all Massachusetts students. - *Statewi... more »

Trends to Reform the American School Calendar

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar, from the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) and the Education Commission of the States is an update to a July 2011 report of the same name. It provides a comprehensive overview of legislative and policy developments at the federal, state, and district levels to close achievement gaps and improve public school through expanding learning time over the two years since the release of the first report. The report also includes results from a national survey, commissioned by NCTL and administered in February...more »

Lessons from High Schools on Educating Students to Succeed in a Changing World

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

With the increasing national recognition that high schools need to better prepare students to navigate a changing world and the advent of the more complex Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards, a new report from the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) describes how five innovative high schools are rethinking - and in some cases expanding - how and when learning takes place to make sure students graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Students at these high schools must not only master grade-level content and standards, but mus...more »

High School Graduation Rate Reaches Highest Point in 40 Years

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

A new national report from Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center finds that the nation’s graduation rate has posted a solid gain for the third straight year, following a period of declines and stagnation. Amid this continuing turnaround, the nation’s graduation rate has risen to almost 75 percent, the highest level of high school completion since 1973. Although 1 million students will fail to graduate with the class of 2013, the report shows that the nation’s public schools will generate 96,000 fewer dropouts than the previous year. Nationwid... more »

Peer Pressure Starts in Childhood, Not with Teens

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Peer group influences affect children much earlier than researchers have suspected, finds a new University of Maryland-led study. The researchers say it provides a wake-up call to parents and educators to look out for undue group influences, cliquishness and biases that might set in early, the researchers say. The study appears in the May/June 2013 issue of *Child Development*, and is available online. The researchers say their work represents a new line of research – what they call "group dynamics of childhood." No prior research has investigated what children think about challeng... more »

Teacher collaboration, professional communities improve many elementary school students' math scores

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Many elementary students' math performance improves when their teachers collaborate, work in professional learning communities or do both, yet most students don't spend all of their elementary school years in these settings, a new study by UNC Charlotte researchers shows. The U.S. Department of Education funded the study, which the journal *Sociology of Education* recently published. As school districts work to improve math scores and narrow racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps, many schools may have overlooked the impact of teacher collaboration and professional community on ... more »

More Fresh Air in Classrooms Means Fewer Absences

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

If you suspect that opening windows to let in fresh air might be good for you, a new study by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has confirmed your hunch. Analyzing extensive data on ventilation rates collected from more than 150 classrooms in California over two years, the researchers found that bringing classroom ventilation rates up to the state-mandated standard may reduce student absences due to illness by approximately 3.4 percent. With this reduction in student absence, California’s school districts would gain $33 million annually in attendan... more »

Many Well-Prepared US High School Grads Don’t Enroll/Persist in College

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Nearly one in five 2011 U.S. high school graduates who were prepared to succeed in first-year college coursework either never enrolled in college or didn’t return for a second year, according to national and state-specific reports from ACT entitled The Reality of College Readiness 2013. (State Reports here) The data show 19 percent of college-ready, ACT-tested 2011 graduates were not enrolled in a two- or four-year college a little more than a year later, in the fall of 2012, including 10 percent who had never enrolled. Those data are based on graduates who had achieved the ACT C... more »

High School Students Don't Need Another Test

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

According to a recent report, U.S. high schools should start taking part in yet another standardized test, as a way to spur improvements in achievement. Specifically, the report contends that participating in a new international test will benefit U.S. middle class students. The report, from the advocacy organization America Achieves, is titled Middle Class or Middle of the Pack: What can we learn when benchmarking U.S. schools against the world’s best?. It contends that U.S. students are performing inadequately in the math and science portions of a prominent international assessmen... more »

The Impact of a Classroom-Based Guidance Program on Student Performance in Community College Math Classes

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 weeks ago

Passing through remedial and required math classes poses a significant barrier to success for many community college students. This study uses random assignment to investigate the impact of a “light-touch” intervention, where an individual visited math classes a few times during the semester, for a few minutes each time, to inform students about available services. Entire class sections, rather than individuals, were randomly assigned to program and control groups, reducing the administrative burden for the college of a randomized-controlled experiment. This study finds that the... more »

States Made Deep Cuts to Higher Education

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 weeks ago

Public universities and colleges in nearly every state have seen their state funding decline sharply, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nationwide, states are on average spending 28 percent less this year than they did in 2008, a decrease of $2,353 per student. As a result, colleges and universities have had to raise tuition, make changes that undermine educational quality, or both. “Investment in higher education should be a priority,” said Phil Oliff, policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and author of the report ... more »

All Week 6-15-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: 

Merrow Is a Jolly Fellow (Not)

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 hour ago

I hate even to acknowledge John Merrow’s most recent venture into not having a clue, but his attempt at humor is yet more evidence that the evidence doesn’t matter: The Common Core and the End of the World In Merrow’s evidence-free world, all who question the Mighty Common Core are nothing more than end-of-the-world loonies. […]

Report Back from the Trigger Happy Parent Revolution’s “Meet and Greet” with teachers and social justice organizers

rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 hours ago

What troubles me is what you are doing with the millions you raise. You use it to sow dissension, to set parents against parents, parents against teachers, parents against principals. I don’t see this as productive or helpful. Schools function best when there is collaboration among teachers, parents, administrators, and students. Schools have a better […]

#highered needs some consistency in its #MOOC concerns. Please. #AAUP

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

We don’t really cover MOOCs here all that much. Perhaps we need to get on it. But I was cued into a post on the Chronicle over the AAUP’s concern with intellectual property rights and MOOCs. I like the AAUP. It’s a relatively strong organization that seems to be the last really supporting academic freedom, […]

@educationgadlfy reviews state science standards, but something’s missing #NGSS

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

For the record, a “gadfly” is an annoyance, right? Something that buzzes around, maybe a thorn in the side or a stick in the craw? But this gadfly is the status quo, let’s be clear. Nothing revolutionary coming out of Fordham these days. Nothing subversive. All right. They gave the new Next Generation Science Standards […]

The Lies that Won’t Die (Despite the Evidence)

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

To embrace the claims and policies of the education reform movement requires ignoring a tremendous amount of evidence to the contrary. The education reform narrative goes something like this: Education is the one true way to overcome all of society’s ills, but our schools are failing, and thus we must take the standards-and-testing accountability reform […]

Thoughts on a teacher in a Catholic school fired for being a domestic abuse victim?

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

I’m torn on this issue. Unfair, dispassionate, and further stigmatizes domestic abuse survivors/victims. However, this could definitely be a safety issue for students at the school. Perhaps she could be put on paid leave until this blows over, maternity leave, some kind of leave. Sick leave? But outright termination seems unreasonable. Tagged: catholic, domestic […]

Ask and receive: #Commoncore cereal!

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

Never too early to get college and career ready! Gotta have my jobs! Tagged: cereal, common core, pops, profit

CCSS, the Corporate Profit Black Hole

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

Unleash the Power!!!!! The power of corporate education reform to generate profit for textbook, program, and testing corporations while childhood poverty in the US skyrockets and children continue to be cheated out of rich educational experiences… Sounds about right: —– I think Education Week accidentally published the cover from an upcoming new young adult science […]

Coming Together for Solutions for Creating Respectful Learning Cultures

John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

I began this series of posts in response to the Los Angeles schools banning of suspensions for willful defiance of authority. I oppose punitive disciplinary systems and recognize that suspensions are a flawed response to nonviolent behavior. We teachers must take risks in order to better serve our students, so I would support restrictions on […]

Coming Together for Solutions for Creating Respectful Learning Cultures

John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

I began this series of posts in response to the Los Angeles schools banning of suspensions for willful defiance of authority. I oppose punitive disciplinary systems and recognize that suspensions are a flawed response to nonviolent behavior. We teachers must take risks in order to better serve our students, so I would support restrictions on […]

Even the Canucks are profiting from our #commoncore obsession

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

From School Specialty of Canada, each grade level classroom can own one of their own Common Core State Standards kits. For Canada, wouldn’t they be called CC Province Standards, right? Thankfully, they are Title I funding approved. By the way, does Canada have Title I? Not sure about that one. Apparently, every kit comes […]

21st century… dance skills? YES!! #commoncore

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago

The CASD has been released. Oh, you haven’t heard. Yes, it’s the Colorado Academic Standards for Dance. This seven page document just covers the Kindergarten.Dance.Standards. Standards have indeed jumped the shark. I have nothing further to say about this, maybe you can help me. Tagged: 21st century, dance, kindergarten, skills, standards

Improved School Safety Requires a Balanced Approach

John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago

It speaks well of the UCLA Civil Rights Project that in addition to their own research they commissioned scholars from the Consortium of Chicago School Research and equally great institutions to analyze what schools can do to better support students. The Consortium has a long history of placing quantitative and qualitative evidence in a longitudinal […]

Solidarity and My Name: Some Thoughts

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago

I have written about this before at this blog: John Proctor, in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, nearly bends to signing a false confession, but then has a moment of clarity and proclaims: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am […]

Duncan Embraces of “Personalized Learning” and Company Curricula

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago

As corporate education has made the 10-hour work day the gold standard for the segregated K-8 test camps that behaviorally neuter poor children, a different kind of high school is being promoted that will loose the “career ready” as soon as they can pass the tests required to set them upon a career at WalMart. […]

If any doubt remains…

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago

The compromise argument that Common Core is revolutionary, but a high-stakes testing moratorium is needed appears to be gaining traction. But this is simply a concession to the very real fact that Common Core is destined to benefit only the standards and testing market being created by this Brave New World of Common Core. If […]

It’s Time; Let’s Talk

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

The rally on June 8 kind of bothered me. I’m not sure why. It made me realize that teachers and locals aren’t getting the full story. That bugs me. Professionals are smart, and they like to have the full facts so that they can make good, thoughtful judgments about things. Things like Race to the […]

Anonymous, DefCon, and Young and Adult Hackers of the World: We Need Your Help

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

If you are a young person of school age or an adult with a child in public schools, you should be outraged that your education, or your son’s or daughter’s education, is in the process of being hijacked by Business Roundtable self-serving ideologues whose ignorance about education is matched only by their greed and hatred […]

Join the Tweetin’ Fun at #againstcommoncore

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

Tweet much? Thanks to Roseanne Eckert, I’m gonna start her idea up on Twitter. Using hashtag #againstcommoncore, fill in the blanks: I am a ________ and a _____________ and I’m #againstcommoncore. Example: I am a dad and an educator and I’m #againstcommoncore. No planned Twitter bombs or wars. Just an ongoing plug. Keep it up and […]

Ban Suspensions as Alternatives Are Implemented

John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

I very much respect Daniel Losen and the UCLA Civil Rights Project, so I was taken aback by his statement on NPR regarding the question of whether a single suspension could send a secondary student of color down the pipeline to prison. Losen replied that even one such incident is “associated” with a doubling of […]

Do We Need Another Edu-Proclamation, or Do We Need Resistance Strategies to End High Stakes Tests?

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

Every few weeks it seems another group of luminaries signs on and circulates another proclamation or declaration making it clear what perpetrators who aren’t listening “must do” or “should do” to correct the corporate savaging of public education. The latest appears today and is posted at Daily Kos and WaPo. This one appears vetted by […]

In Moving Beyond Repartee

Kuhio Kane at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

A comment made to the blog, Cloaking Inequality: We need to move the conversation forward. There is nothing new in all the words I have read so far in the blog article nor the response / comment Dr. Thornburg put out there. The focus of an activist movement to maintain public education in America must […]

ExxonMobil sends Mafia-style Letter to PA

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

UPDATE: A source has confirmed that Pennsylvania Governor Corbett’s office did indeed receive this letter. Now we’re starting to feel some heat! Because of opposition movements (like my friends and me), Governor Corbett of Pennsylvania put the brakes on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (aka the Pennsylvania Common Core). Or, who […]

You hear that #highered #teacherprep? It’s your clock, winding down.

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

Some very nice people worked at the GSE at Willamette U in Salem, OR. They recently found out that their entire school is closing. Why? The email, written by University President Steve Thorsett, said the Board of Trustees’ decision was based in large part on a state and national trend in licensing and accreditation that […]

#Commoncore supporters are butthurt #ESEA

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago

Know your meme. CCSSO abandoning “efforts” to write social studies standards to instead focus on ELA/Math implementation, and to thwart opposition to CCSS, according to Education Weak [link excluded purposely, find it yourself if you want, or trust us]. CCSSO Executive Director Chris Minnich told me that the chiefs group wants and needs to focus […]

Just Acquired: Slide one from a USDE presentation on new accountability program #QUIZM

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago

Does this slide not look oddly familiar? It must be some kind of really terrible government Powerpoint template. And to think, as a result of this initiative, schools are actually using Powerpoint presentations in real classrooms. All of this money spent on technology and it just gets us Powerpoints on DELL’s. Awful. In any event, […]

Why Do We Need 1.4 Million Corporate State Spies?

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago

If you divide the number of K12 teachers (2.8 million) in the U. S. by 2, you get the number of corporate geeks and geekettes with top secret U. S. Government clearance who have privileges to invade our privacy in ways we never imagined. Booz/Allen/Hamilton, which is 70% owned by the infamous Carlyle Group from, […]

Can Someone Explain This NYSED Policy?

antiqueteacher60 at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago

So, here’s the deal ………. in NYS, if you as a student, want a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, you MUST score 65 or better on a Regents Exam in a Language Other Than English. But, wait, in 2011 – NYS DROPPED FOREIGN LANGUAGE REGENTS EXAMS!! How does a student manage to get “Advanced Designation” […]

#Commoncore defenders, own it! It is a curriculum, and that’s that.

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago

I have no problem with unvarnished assent to the common core. That’s between you and your therapist. But let’s get some things very, very clear. Actually, might I suggest some close reading of all the press, research, and commentary on the subject, because I’m not sure you’d be such a fan? In any event, the […]

Bill Gates and the Incubators

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago

I know–it’s a great name for a band, but it is distinctly unmusical and no fun. It’s about destroying public schools and the teaching profession in urban areas where children of the poor will be grown and behaviorally groomed in segregated corporate welfare hothouses. Who makes these cozy corporate nests possible? The oligarchs and high […]

Activism is the alternative

Barbara Madeloni at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

Last week I was on a local radio program, Bread and Roses, to discuss the assault on public education in its various nefarious forms, and the possibilities of resistance, especially through grassroots union organizing. As I was discussing the ways that educators are being boxed in by shock doctrine tactics of depleted resources on the […]

NSA “Architecture of Oppression” Outed by Edward Snowden

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

The inner workings of the Panopticon now come under scrutiny through the courageous acts of one individual. May our movement to free schools be characterized by the same kind of courage that Snowden has demonstrated. Will we fight? Will we stand up? Will we act to make sure that “turnkey tyranny” doesn’t happen to […]

Another experiment: #edreform news briefs as WW2 propaganda reels

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

As if I don’t have other things to think about, I wanted to experiment with providing perhaps bi-monthly news reels sort of summarizing what’s been happening. And I wanted to try a different format. Let’s see where this one goes until I’m tired of it. Or, if folks like it, it’ll stay. So, enjoy the […]

A new one from @mornamcdermott, is it the blue or the red pill? #highered

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

Once again, a well-researched and detailed piece from Educational Alchemy. Quick question, and this is for higher ed: why the hell would college syllabi need to be aligned to common core? I thought being college and career ready meant you were, you know, ready for college and we could move on? Whose ridiculous idea is […]

Next Chapter Begins Tomorrow.

Timothy D. Slekar at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

In 1985 I went to a state University and majored in elementary education. In 1989 I taught 32 second graders in Virginia In 1991 I moved to Pennsylvania and taught fifth graders In 1995 I finished my Master’s Degree and began work on my PhD at the University of Maryland at College Park. From 1996-1999 […]

Common Resistance to Common Core

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

Common Resistance to Common Core Jim Horn The New York Times has an opinion piece today that suggests that opposition to Common Core State [sic] Standards is mostly from the Far Right. That’s simply wrong. Long before the Tea Party noticed that opposition to CCSS could be another cudgel to use on Team Obama, and […]

On the Art of Ignorance and Other Stories

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago

In Kurt Vonnegut‘s Cat’s Cradle, The Book of Bokonon appears to be prescient about David Coleman, Bill Gates, Michelle Rhee, or Arne Duncan: “Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before,” Bokonon tells us. “He is full of murderous resentment of people who are […]

Reflections on the One Voice Rally in Albany

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago

If you’ve ever wondered where you can find the biggest collection of superheroes, find a place where there are lots and lots of public school teachers. Find a place that looks like Albany’s Empire State Plaza on June 8, 2013. This is the day when almost 20,000 educators, parents, and citizens showed up to tell […]

Get the Message Clear re: #commoncore #highstakestesting

peggyrobertson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago

The common core and high stakes testing must both go down. It cannot be one or the other. Very concerned that the message I hear today is asking for more time to implement the core, more time to make better tests, more time for teachers to get accustomed to the common core. This is not […]

A Revenue First Agenda: Open Commentary to Triggermen Ben Austin and Bruce William Smith

rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

These myths falsely portrayed desegregation’s failures as the product of autonomous individual choice. Meanwhile, these myths obscured inequalities in desegregation. A new, but parallel, kind of mythmaking about choice is underway in today’s charter school efforts. — Ansley T. Erickson Parent Revolution’s executive director, wealthy white Beverly Hills lawyer Ben Austin, has made himself out […]

CPS enrollment figures unreliable, so we should probably rethink this whole school funding scheme, no?

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

The Chicago Tribune is reporting today that the enrollment proportion offered by CPS to tout progress of the massive closure plan is, well, bunk. Bottom line: Chicago Public Schools touted a smooth start to the school closing process this week by announcing that 78 percent of students at schools being shut down have been enrolled […]

The One Type of Data That is Off Limits (For Now)

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

Health history and information is protected at a Federal level by HIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act) laws. This provides a challenge for education data collectors that are trying to gather health records and information on students under Arne Duncan’s P-20 program. And, unfortunately, Arne isn’t allowed to mess with the HIPAA rules […]

New KIPP:Care Will Include Child Doping Benefit

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

Since corporate school cult leader, Mike Feinberg, left his KIPP superintendent’s duties in Houston for the full-time pursuit of national brand saturation, KIPP teachers report chaos at a number of the KIPP stores schools around Houston, with mass retentions, administrative meltdowns, faltering test scores, and mass teacher resignations. What will it take to restore […]

What Road to Take?: The CCSS Debate

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

I invite readers of this blog to my personal blog where I examine the fatalism behind false arguments about a moratorium on CCSS high-stakes testing: “There wasn’t a lot of choice, but there was some” It has lots of dystopian literature, including zombies, with some Deleuze and Freire tossed in for good measure. Enjoy. Tagged: ccss, […]

Say that again Mr. Kayser! LAUSD should have more public meetings

rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

“As it is, the meetings are held downtown in the middle of the day when most parents, students and employees cannot participate. Ultimately this behavior pattern leads to decisions made in a vacuum, isolation from reality and the rubberstamping of pre-determined outcomes.”—Bennett Kayser Former teacher and current Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of […]

Broad’s Girl Friday in RI, Deb Gist, Looking for the Duncan Bump

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

If there is an education official in Rhode Island who has earned an Arne Duncan endorsement, it would have to be Deborah Gist (Broad Class of 2008). Her ability to ignore those pestering parents, those vomiting children, those weeping teachers, and those angry grandparents has earned Ms. Gist a place among the giants of corporate […]

Ingredients for a great thin soup: Asparagus, Fennel, and Turnips. @aftunion

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

I call it AFT soup for short. It’s really good and very easy to make. Ingredients 1 bundle chopped asparagus 1 fennel bulb sliced, not the greens 1 diced turnip 4 cups veggie broth 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine 800 AFT teachers, roughly 1/3 from NY state alone Directions 1. In a 4 quart pot, […]

Where are my #edtech folks on this one? #prism AND #connectED?

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago

At noon today, on the White House blog, ConnectED was announced to, among other things: That’s why President Obama is unveiling a bold, new initiative called ConnectED, which will connect 99 percent of America’s students to the internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within 5 years. The President also directed the federal government to […]