10-24-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Video from Jaisal Noor: Parents Organize Boycott To End Standardized Testing of 4-year-olds

Jaisal Noor does a great job in following up on this story (Parents Lead Massive Opt-Out of Kindergarten Tests in Washington Hts (District 6) as he features Dao Tran, whose partner is Peter Lamphere. They send their child to the Castle Hill K-2 school. New York School believed to be first to reject testing in grades K-2, principal and 90% of parents support boycott and hope it helps spark nationwi

1 by ed notes online / 37min 

Change the Stakes General Meeting, Friday, October 25

PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR MONTHLY OPEN MEETING  Change the Stakes General MeetingFriday, October 255:30 - 7.30 pmWhen:  Fri, October 25, 5:30pm – 7:30pmWhere:  CUNY Graduate Center located on 365 5th Avenue Room 5489. Bring Photo ID for building entry   Agenda for Oct 25:1. Introductions2. Discussion:  How are students experiencing assessment this year? Begin with a report from Dao from Castle Bri

1 by ed notes online / 2h mark as read  //  save

Readings: Plutocrats, Toddler Testing, Looting Pension Funds

I had these lurking on my browser for sharing. A short selection followed by the link. I haven't read all of them but worth checking out if you have time. I'm back from the Dewey co-loco hearing (Some video tomorrow). Giving up on the World Series and going to bed while listening to Bill Mazur tributes on WFAN (I listened to him every eve at 6 in the 60s  - what a mensch).Looting the Pension Funds

1 by ed notes online / 2h 

10-23-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: The Madness Continues: Another Co-Loco Hearing Oct. 23 - JOHN DEWY HS !!!!!!I was looking forward to an evening at home Weds night. Guess not. Those good ole boys and girls at Tweedle Dee keep 'em comin' like the Top 40 hits. But hey, no worries. Big Bill will just reverse the PEP rubber stamp on Oct. 30 -- the day before Halloween -- and please join everyone at the PEP - wearing

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-24-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Methinks KIPP Advocates Protest Too Much

As the wheels appear to be coming off the education reform bus, many reformers are scrambling to change the narratives, shift the arguments, and even retool their foundational commitments. One such retooling may be Knowledge Is Power Program charters, if this piece at Education Next authored by Alexandra Boyd, Robert Maranto and Caleb Rose is any indication: “The Softer Side […]

1 by plthomasedd / 4min 

The U.S. Formula for Children and the Choices We Refuse to Make

The U.S. Formula for Children and the Choices We Refuse to Make. via The U.S. Formula for Children and the Choices We Refuse to Make.

by plthomasedd / 1h 

My Best Year as a Teacher

I began teaching in my first, full-time classroom in 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It was right in the thick of various No Child Left Behind changes and shifts, and it was about the time that data became paramount and a new program was being handed down every other week.  Or so it seemed.  I […]

6 by Kris Nielsen / 5h

10-23-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: New Refusal Movement Blossoms in New MexicoNew Mexico has one of the masters of Chiefs for Change, Hanna Skandera, in the chief’s seat of their education department.  They are under her thumb and trapped under her policies, which she brought with her, straight outta Florida and straight from Jeb. This week, Albuquerque BOE member Kathy Korte organized and held a rally […]4 by Kri

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-24-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

NEA President Says Get Rid Of Step And Lane Increases For Teachers

Time to get rid of Dennis Van Roekel:Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, or NEA, came out strongly against single-salary teacher-compensation systems at an Education Writers Association, or EWA, event held earlier this month in Chicago. “Let’s get rid of step and lane,” he declared. “I don’t like it.” Van Roekel’s comments about trading in one-size-fits-all salary s

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Another Bloomberg Innovation That Should Go The Way Of The Betamax

The Mayor of Money defended his pedestrian plazas today:“The pedestrian plazas have been phenomenally successful,” Bloomberg said at a Brooklyn press conference Thursday.  At Tuesday night’s debate, both Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota said they were unsure if they would keep the pedestrian plazas at Times Square and Herald Square that have closed Broadway to cars in place.  But Bloomberg said the ve

by reality-based edu... / 33min

Let The UFT Leadership Know How You Feel About ADVANCE, Danielson And The Common Core

Here was my response to Peter Goodman, Unity hack extraordinaire, who left some spin at Gotham Schools on the new evaluation system that went like this:First Goodman:On the just released state teacher evaluation 50% of teachers were "highly effective" and 41% "effective" with 1% "ineffective," these do include NYC, our plan just started, so, just maybe, teachers were

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Newsday Poll: 47% Say Limit Charter School Growth, 40% Say Increase Charter School Growth

From a Newsday poll on the NYC mayor's race:According to the poll, de Blasio's plan to limit the growth of charter schools is favored by only 47 percent, while 40 percent echo Lhota's position that the city needs more charter schools.While de Blasio's plan to limit charter school growth may be supported by "only" 47%, that's 7% more than support Lhota's plan to increase charter school gr

by reality-based edu... / 28min 

UFT Spins The Evaluation System As A Win

NYC Educator has a post up this morning noting that  Peter Goodman, retired Unity hack extraordinaire, left a comment at Gotham Charter Schools on their post about the just released teacher evaluation results.Goodman wrote the following:On the just released state teacher evaluation 50% of teachers were "highly effective" and 41% "effective" with 1% "ineffective," thes

by reality-based edu... / 1h mark as read  //  save

CEO's Should Lay Off The Common Core Propaganda And Focus On Their Own Businesses

The latest business genius to weigh in on the Common Core - the CEO of Xerox.My first thought reading this opinion piece was, Xerox is still in business?Huh.Who knew?I sure didn't.So I decided to check and see what's going on for them in the news.It's not good, that's for sure.Xerox Glitch Halts Food-Stamp UseSEC Probes Xerox Unit's Accounting PracticesThat SEC probe into the Xerox unit accounting

by reality-based edu... / 4h

10-23-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: A Syracuse Mother Thanks Her Children's TeachersThis made the rounds on the Internet yesterday, but in case you haven't seen it, give it a listen.It should be required listening at SED and the Board of Regents, where they think their "objective" and "scientific" APPR teacher evaluation system measures the true worth and value of teachers.That evaluation s

by mike simpson / 10h 

NAEP - Nation's Report Card

NAEP - Nation's Report Card Home:

   

               

 

Available Now: Results of the
2012 Long-Term Assessments in Reading and Mathematics

• Download a copy of the report to print or share.
• Read the statementfrom Jack Buckley, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics.
• Read the National Assessment Governing Board's news release.

© Kidstock/Blend Images/Getty Images #142019099

​​

 

• See a summary of your state’s performance in State Profiles.
• Compare your state to others using State Comparisons.
• Learn more about the assessments by viewing Sample Questions.
• Create custom tables and graphs of NAEP results using the Data Explorer.
• Explore the results of the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessments (TUDA) using the District Profiles.

 

Explore information on the instructional factors related to student education in the following subject areas:

• Arts
• Civics
• Economics
• Geography
• Long-Term Trend
• Mathematics
• Reading
• Science
• U.S. History
• Writing

​​

 

Learn more about NAEP and why it's important to encourage your students to do their best if they are selected to participate.

• See the video

 

 © Image Source/Jupiterimages

• Learn what NAEP is, how your child was selected for an assessment, and why your child’s participation is important.
• Read the new brochure for parentsand find out what NAEP results tell parents about education.

 

 

Learn more about the assessment, how the results are used, and why participation is important.

• See the video

​​​

Heads of Teachers Union, State Education Department Agree on Common Core: photo 2

Heads of Teachers Union, State Education Department Agree on Common Core: photo 2:

Heads of Teachers Union, State Education Department Agree on Common Core

By Petr Svab, Epoch Times | October 23, 2013

I want the commissioner to listen to teachers and parents.

Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers

 NEW YORK—Two heavyweights in the education field discussed the Common Core curriculum testing, as well its connection to teacher evaluations, during the Teaching Matters annual luncheon, held at the Harvard Club in Manhattan on Oct. 23.

John King Jr., the state’s education commissioner, expressed resolve to push forward with the federal-issued Common Core curriculum, along with teacher evaluations, and “make adjustments along the way.”

Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, also expressed support for the Common Core, along with the teacher evaluations, diverging only on one point.

“The testing, right now, is not ready for prime time,” she said.

Weingarten proposed delaying the use of Common Core for assessing teachers, schools, and students, while the adjustments are made.

The debate, moderated by Columbia University professor Jeffrey Henig, veered even closer to consensus, with King using consoling language on 

Sacramento city's contentious school superintendent to resign, jumps ship before the storm - Sacramento News & Review -

Sacramento News & Review - Sacramento city's contentious school superintendent to resign, jumps ship before the storm - Bites - Opinions - October 24, 2013:

Sacramento city's contentious school superintendent to resign, jumps ship before the storm

If Jonathan Raymond is all done with them, could we please have our schools back now?

By Cosmo Garvin 
cosmog@newsreview.com

Read 1 reader submitted comment

This article was published on 10.24.13.

If Jonathan Raymond is all done with them, could we please have our schools back now?
In the middle of the school year, a few months after renewing his contract, Raymond has decided his work as superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District is done. He wants his kids to grow up near family in his home state of Massachusetts. “Can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want my kids in a school district he was in charge of either,” a teacher friend joked.
Raymond is not an educator. He spent three years as “Chief Accountability Officer,” tracking test scores and other data for Charlotte, N.C., public schools. Before that, he was a graduate of The Broad Superintendents Academy, a 10-month program for turning businessmen into school chiefs. Before that, he was a CEO of a multimillion-dollar nonprofit for workforce training. Before that, a political dilettante: In Massachusetts in 1996, he ran as a Republican trying to oust Barney Frank from Congress, and lost 72 to 28 percent.
In 2009, Raymond parachuted into Sacramento with this eclectic résumé—unblemished by classroom experience—and soon began dictating what kind of schools we would have, and how many. He played favorites, giving the campuses in his Priority Schools program resources and protection while sacrificing others. A lot of others. He short-circuited public processes to get his way. And having had his way, he’s now ready to be on his way.
To be fair, Raymond was mildly successful at raising test scores. A slightly higher percentage of students now score “proficient” or “advanced” on standardized tests in most subjects, in most grades, than did four years ago.
Funny though, test scores took a dive during 2012-2013, Raymond’s last full year. None did worse than Leataata Floyd (formerly Jedediah Smith) Elementary School, one of Raymond’s Priority Schools, which plunged 91 points on the Academic Performance Index last year, the biggest drop for any school in the district.
None did better than Maple Elementary School, which Raymond decided to close, but which earned the highest API growth in the district.
These contradictions, and the overall nosedive in scores over the last year, should be troubling to anyone who thinks test scores mean anything. Bites does not. Raymond does: Testing and accountability are his thing. But rather than stay and try to turn those scores around, he is hitting the road.
Raymond is also ducking out on the aftermath of his school closures. The public, and even some members of the elected board of education, have been asking for months for data on how closures have affected enrollment and where all those students wound up. The district has provided nothing. By the time those numbers come out, Raymond’s bags will be packed.
Raymond also recently struck a deal with the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, committing Sac city schools to tie teacher evaluations to student test scores. In exchange, the feds would loosen up some of the more punitive provisions of No Child Left Behind Act.
Problem is, Raymond did this without approval of the elected school board, and without asking 

UPDATE: Harvard student: ‘Don’t Teach For America’

Harvard student: ‘Don’t Teach For America’:

Harvard student: ‘Don’t Teach For America’

• BY VALERIE STRAUSS

• October 24 at 5:00 am

Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp (The Washington Post)

Year after year, Harvard University is one of the leading contributors of new graduates to the teacher corps of Teach For America. The latest statistics for the 2013 corps show Harvard and Vanderbilt University tying for No. 1 among medium-sized universities, with 45 each. (The University of Texas at Austin was the biggest contributor, with 73 graduates.) But not all Harvard students think highly of Teach For America.  Here is a smart piece from the Harvard Crimson– which I am publishing with permission from the student newspape — written Sandra Y. L. Korn ’14. Korn is a Crimson editorial writer who is concentrating her studies on the history of science and studies of women, gender, and sexuality. You can follow her on Twitter @sandraylk.

By Sandra Y.L. Korn

Last month, I got an email from a recruiter. An associate of Teach For America, citing a minor leadership role in a student organization as evidence that I “have distinguished [myself] as a leader here on Harvard’s campus,” asked me to meet with Harvard’s TFA representative on campus. Dropping phrases like “race and class,” “equal opportunities,” and “educational injustice,” the recruiter promised that I could have a

A cautionary lesson in ‘raising the stakes’ for young students

Here’s a cautionary post about the unintended consequences of the high-stakes testing of very young children. Glory Tobiason,  a former ESL teacher and current PhD student in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA, writes about a new policy passed by the D.C. Public Charter School Board to give new standardized tests children […]    

2 by Valerie Strauss / 9min 

Five key features of effective schools

Yes, we do know the recipe for effective schools, as Greg Anrig explains in this post. He is vice president of policy and programs at The Century Foundation and author of Beyond the Education Wars: Evidence That Collaboration Builds Effective Schools. By Greg Anrig Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, who runs the education policy shop at the […]    

1 by Valerie Strauss / 5min

NYC Educator: Teachers Suffer, UFT Leadership Spins

NYC Educator: Teachers Suffer, UFT Leadership Spins:

Teachers Suffer, UFT Leadership Spins

This comment from professional Unity-New Action apologist Peter Goodman appears at Gotham Schools:

On the just released state teacher evaluation 50% of teachers were "highly effective" and 41% "effective" with 1% "ineffective," these do include NYC, our plan just started, so, just maybe, teachers were overreacting .. On the grades 3-8 scores teachers in NYC scored considerably better than the rest of the state. 
Take a deep breath, maybe the guys and gals who negotiated the plan on the union side knew what they were doing.

It's a fact that VAM has never proven to be effective, and it's a fact that anyone who fails the junk science part of this plan must be rated ineffective overall. It's another fact that city teachers can get those ratings based on test results of kids they've never met, let along taught. No one even understands this system we have, and I see no 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Uh oh, Rahm is 'furious'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Uh oh, Rahm is 'furious':

Uh oh, Rahm is 'furious'

The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman reports that the Little Emperor is "furious." Why? Because people keep bringing up this Amer Ahmad thing and the Lois Scott connection. Remember, Rahm appointed Ahmad to be his comptroller based on CFO Scott's recommendation. Then we learned that Ahmad was indicted by the feds for money laundering, bribery and other public corruption charges related to his previous position as deputy treasurer in the state of Ohio. Scott, it turns out, had some nefarious dealingswith Ahmad.

Writes Spielman:

A furious Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday likened media attacks on his Chief Financial Officer Lois Scott to the “drive by hits” that drove him out of the “crap town” that is Washington D.C.

Wow! Such language. So that's why Rahm left the White House staff. Drive by hits in a crap 

Common Core Redux: Cartoons, Images, and Satire | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Common Core Redux: Cartoons, Images, and Satire | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Common Core Redux: Cartoons, Images, and Satire

For the monthly cartoon feature, I return to the Common Core State Standards. The first one I did just over a year ago was popular with readers–over 10,000 views. For this month, I gathered a medley of pro and con images, cartoons, and descriptions of the Common Core State Standards.

The first one is a three minute video explaining the reasons for the CCSS and what they are expected to do. The Council of Great City Schools, an endorser of the Standards, produced the video. While critics will rail at the assumptions and values embedded in the video, it is clear, crisp, and to the point.

What follows are additional images and cartoons, again, mostly done to criticize CCSS. The final offering I have is a satire of the critics.