Confidential Report: EduProfiteers See a Big Market in Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Confidential Report: EduProfiteers See a Big Market in Education | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Confidential Report: EduProfiteers See a Big Market in Education 

 This arrived in my email box today. The author, who owns a literacy company, asked to remain anonymous. He is describing an entrepreneurs’ conclave at Arizona State University, cosponsored byGSV Capital, whose leader, Michael Moe, has been bullish about the education sector as a profit opportunity for many years.

My correspondent writes:

 Dear Dr. Ravitch,

 I’m a longtime fan of your work and your blog (which I have recommended to many colleagues and in my company’s blog).
My name is ……

 I’m writing to you today to tell you about a conference I just returned from called the ASU GSV Summit. It should really be called the Taxpayer Funded Education Business Con-ference (with an emphasis on “con”), because it was filled with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists claiming to want to do “social capitalism” but who actually were participating in an event filled with corporate dominated “school reform” propaganda that placed its focus on charters, accountability (ie testing), and corporate solutions such as Teach For America. While a great deal of lip service was paid to the great work of teachers (including an appearance by the hip-hop star, Common, along with his mother, a Chicago school board member), far more attention was given to pro-corporate propaganda. For instance, one of the hosts, GSV’s Michael Moe (http://investors.gsvcap.com/management.cfm) gave a lengthy keynote in which he compared education reformers to former Notre Dame coach, Lou Holtz and then extolled the virtues of companies such as Dreambox Learning, an online math program, that owes its existence to the fact that its owners also own a chain of charter schools that purchase its software. Not coincidentally, Dreambox won their ROE (Return on Education) award for the 3rd year in a row.

 I think Dreambox is well worth a look because it exemplifies the kind of corporate reform darling that has success based completely on smoke and mirrors. If you read this report: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.epi.org/files/2014/school-privatization-milwaukee.pdf, it outlines Dreambox’s relationship with the Rocketship Charter Schools. It also details how: “When the U.S. Department of Education reviewed DreamBox in December 2013, researchers found 11 studies claiming to assess the program’s impact, but immediately rejected 10 of them as statistically meaningless. While the 11th study used sound methods and reported “significant gains in overall mathematics scores,” DOE staff found that the authors—whose work was commissioned by Rocketship—had arbitrarily excluded students they deemed “outliers.” When DOE Confidential Report: EduProfiteers See a Big Market in Education | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Want to Make a Buck? Invest in Charter Schools by T.N. Box Chair of Teacher in the Box

1. Come up with a cool "Education" name:

2. Partner with your local Astro Turf Corporate Education Reform non profit (sic)

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Other Astroturf lobbying groups

DON'T FORGET THE TAX BENEFITS

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

3. I don't know anything about running a school! I understand. I didn't know anything about Education either. YOU Don't Have TO!!! Hook up with a CMO - Charter Management Organization,  I Did and I am rolling in tax sheltered cash. And isn't that what it is all about!

The preceding Public Service announcement was brought to you by   

Check out our Next Generation Charter Schools

Pro PARCC post in Gist memo is propaganda piece:

Pro PARCC post in Gist memo is propaganda piece

 In her recent field memo of April 3, 2015Commissioner Gist took the unusual step of quoting an entire blog post.

“I’m a mom,” it begins. “And the happiness of my children, now and in the future as they go on to start careers and families of their own, is on my mind all the time.”

The post was written by a mother from Florida who is in support of the Common Core State Standards and the accompanying testing. She is also an attorney and president & CEO of the Multicultural Education Alliance.

The blog on which it appeared is put out by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a Jeb Bush creation, which states on its website: “The 21st century economy is the most competitive in world history. It is an economy that requires a growing number of educated and skilled workers. Yet, on international assessments, American students rank 21st in science and 26th in math, behind their peers in countries like Singapore, Japan and Canada. We need to reverse this trend if America is to continue its dominant role.”

In other words, the goal of education is to provide a workforce with the skills to meet the needs of the global corporate economy and maintain America in a dominant world position. Does this goal resonate with most parents of preK-12 students?

The website for the EdFly blog has as its web address ExcelinEd.org. According to the 2014 donor page for ExcelinEd, those at the top of the donor list include (no surprises here):

Greater than $1,000,000:

• Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
• Walton Family Foundation

Between $500,001 and $1,000,000:

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• GE Foundation
• News Corporation
• Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation

Between $250,0001 and $500,000:

• Laura and John Arnold Foundation
• Bloomberg Philanthropies

Between $100,001 and $250,000:

• Eli & Edythe Broad Foundatio
• Jeb Bush & Associates

It is no coincidence that Commissioner Gist herself as a Chief for Change, a group also created by Jeb Bush, would choose this particular blog post to send to all RI superintendents. That she has used her position of authority to single out this one blog post, which can reasonably be assumed to be propaganda for the position she has espoused since assuming the role of commissioner, is very unfortunate and does a disservice to the hundreds of RI parents and other concerned citizens who have researched the Common Core and PARCC testing in depth and decided they are not in the best interests of our children.

While it is true that many prominent civil rights groups, including the National Council of La Raza, do support the allegedly “rigorous” Common Core Standards and testing for accountability of students, teachers, and schools, one can only wonder whether the members of these groups have confronted the reality of the harm this agenda is actually having on traditionally under-served children and youth. It is understandable that those concerned about children of color, children from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, children with special learning needs, and children living in poverty, should be alarmed by the very real lack of advancement of many of these children in the public schools.

This is a complex issue and needs to be addressed comprehensively. The starving of Pro PARCC post in Gist memo is propaganda piece:

THE STATE OF AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION: DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

THE STATE OF AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION: DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

By Andrés Rodríguez Jr., father of BAT and DREAM admin Aixa Rodriguez



 How the current apostates of education reform distort the meaning of “public” in public education is breathtaking. More astonishing is the perversion of time-tested and proven elements of good public education with its concomitant, predictable and disturbing consequences: institutional segregation of students, under-resourced schools, overcrowded classrooms, no access to the arts, music or physical education, lack of diversity in the teaching corps, mediocre school leadership, bland and non-stimulating curricula emphasizing test-taking instead of critical thinking and analysis.

This is the legacy that education “reform” in New York City and other urban centers of America are leaving in their wake. Institutions of higher learning want a well-rounded and diverse student body. Much of what currently passes for “reform” in New York City is depriving students of experiences highly valued by college recruiters. The students that stand to lose the most are poor, of color, and immigrants.

Above: Protest held by College Bound students and fellow Franklin students demanding the same small classes and programs for all students. Below: Students from NYCLetEmPlay at the International Community High School protesting against racial inequities in sports funding.

The maxim “there is always room for improvement” encapsulates the essence of “continuous quality improvement”, a management philosophy applicable to virtually all human endeavors, including education. Who would question the wisdom of that philosophy? Many “reformers” self-identify as polemicists only interested in improving public education. But some of the loudest and well-connected reformers around now would be better described as propagandists with hidden agendas. One must wonder what exactly these “reformers” are peddling. The polemics about what constitutes an effective and productive system of public education were settled decades ago. The accomplishments of the high school I attended in East Harlem, El Barrio, in the late 1960’s exemplify that.

Benjamin Franklin High School in East Harlem (years ago renamed the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) was never on my radar. I didn’t choose to attend the school. I was focused on Bronx Science, Brooklyn Technical or Stuyvesant high schools. But I was never alerted to the entrance examination dates for these specialized schools. Forced to choose between Morris High School in the Bronx and Benjamin Franklin High School in Manhattan, schools with less than stellar reputations at the time, I chose Franklin. It was not apparent to me and many of my classmates that an extraordinary set of circumstances would have life-changing implications for all of us.

My introduction to freshman year of high school was more about rude awakening than high expectations. The most vivid recollection I have of its start is an overcrowded English classroom so lacking in resources that each available copy of George Eliot’s novel, Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, had to be shared by two students! It was a dispiriting revelation. I had always been an enthusiastic student earning high marks for class participation. Despite the teacher’s best efforts to jump-start my enthusiasm and pique my interest, I quickly became withdrawn and uncharacteristically passive. Funding for books mattered then, it matters now.

Predictably, the first parent-teacher conference that my mother attended did not go well. The teacher explained that my classroom participation was poor: I didn’t raise my hand enough, didn’t want to read out loud and didn’t participate in class discussions. After a few minutes hearing the teacher’s litany of concerns and seeing my mother’s worried face, I lost my composure and blurted, “How can I participate in the classroom with so many students raising their hands competing for attention while my hand is rarely, if at all, noticed?” It was my way of saying that I had become a face in the crowd and had simply given up. Class size mattered then. It matters now.

Somehow I survived freshman year. The summer went fast and I expected to start my “sophomore slump” in September. It didn’t take long. Again I encountered crowded classrooms, a dearth of resources and the customary bland and sparse course offerings for a purportedly “academic” Badass Teachers Association:

Anti-Union Group StudentsFirst Launched Astroturf Campaign to Undermine Teachers | Alternet

Anti-Union Group StudentsFirst Launched Astroturf Campaign to Undermine Teachers | Alternet:

Anti-Union Group StudentsFirst Launched Astroturf Campaign to Undermine Teachers

Michelle Rhee's group is sneakily trying to rebrand itself to advance its anti-union agenda.

StudentsFirst, the organization founded by Michelle Rhee to battle teachers unions over education policy, has seen better days – having pulled back its chapters in several states and laid off staff. Many are associating its advocacy with being reflexively against the rights of teachers and reflexively for school privatization, a trend in education policy that is starting to wane.

One way for an organization that is starting to lose its base is to rebrand, or to disguise its activities. An email Alternet has obtained shows StudentsFirst emailing individuals in New Mexico (and reportedly other states) offering to pay them to blog and social media comment in favor of its preferred anti-teachers union policies. Here's a copy of the email we received from a source who says it appeared over the summer:

The Truth Campaign for Teachers (TCT) is looking for:

·3-5 New Mexicans who are willing to blog at least twice/week on a variety of pro-reform issues

·3-5 New Mexicans who are willing to comment on/promote content on social media

Bloggers

Ideal candidate is passionate about education reform and is willing to be vocal about issues like the ones StudentsFirst supports.

·TCT would supply them with:

-Daily emails with suggested content and they would choose which topics to write on

-Before posts are final, a TCT write will provide feedback on post to form a compelling blog post

-(Help set up blog if person does not have one yet)

·Prefer that individual is willing to be named but we can work with anonymous bloggers as well

·Trying to get as many volunteers as possible

Social Media Commenters

·Ideal candidates are passionate about education reform

·Have the ability to respond quickly

·Preferred that they a twitter following but not mandatory

            This is not a StudentsFirst initiative but if they are interested, we will connect them with partners at the Truth Campaign for Teachers.

Although this email tries to distance itself from StudentsFirst, it echoes tactics the organization used in other states – for example, in Florida, it promised gift cards to people who commented on blogs in support of its ideology. It's also worth noting that the 501(c)3 organization where the “Truth Campaign for Teachers” is registered is the address of OutsideEyes, a firm owned by Matt S. David who has worked with StudentsFirst.

Since the emails went out, a number of new blogs, including a couple of blogs and twitter accounts in New Mexico, have popped up, all aimed at supporting the StudentsFirst agenda.

It's impossible to prove where funds from this front group have gone, unless it – and StudentsFirst – decide to provide transparency and come clean.Anti-Union Group StudentsFirst Launched Astroturf Campaign to Undermine Teachers | Alternet:

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Other Astroturf lobbying groups

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

¡Si Se Puede Take the Test! | EduShyster

¡Si Se Puede Take the Test! | EduShyster:

¡Si Se Puede Take the Test!



 Test takers who are still learning English get a special treat this time of year...

Pssst: did you know that there is a connection between how well one speaks English and how well one performs on a test conducted in English? If your answer was *no,* *I don’t understand the question,* or *charter schools,* an exciting leadership opportunity awaits. It’s time for another round of Let’s Take Over a District. This season’s lucky winner: scenic Holyoke, Massachusetts. We’re headed west, young reader, and there’s not a moment to spare.

Good luck with that
Shall we begin with a bit of context? Readers who reside outside of the Bay State’s 10,555 square miles (note: includes water) might be surprised to learn that the state consists of more than Kennedys, Bradys, Wahlbergs and Bulfinches. In fact, Massachusetts is home to an astonishing diversity of immigrants who come from all over the world to enjoy our 10 months of winter. Many of these newest residents reside in what are known as *Gateway Cities* like Holyoke. And the newest, newest residents—those young enough to go to school—receive an extra special welcome this time of year: a bilingual dictionary, a sharpened pencil, and a standardized test given in English.

We’re number one (year)
But wait—there’s more, or rather, mas in this case. You see, back in 2002, Massachusetts voters voted to get rid of bilingual education in favor of a speedier system that would require students to learn English in a year because, well, ¿how hard can it really be to learn another language? For school districts like Holyoke, where close to 30% of students are still learning English, this presents something of a challenge, especially since the state, which is now poised to take over the Holyoke schools for persistently low test scores, has found that the *one-year and you’re mainstreamed* policy leads to proficiency for just 20% of English Language Learners. Oh, and that ELL students are three times more likely to drop out of school, which I’m pretty sure is also one of the reasons why the state is now considering serving papers on Paper City.

¿Comprende? Perhaps Holyoke student Jose Dominicci who arrived in the US at the age of 10 and took seven years to learn English en route to becoming a valedictorian can help us understand why the state’s policy doesn’t make any sense. Jose: take it ¡Si Se Puede Take the Test! | EduShyster:

Thousands Likely To Sit Out New York English, Math Tests:

Thousands Likely To Sit Out New York English, Math Tests

 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Parent leaders of the movement to boycott New York's standardized tests say opting children out could do more for their education than the tests themselves.

As English assessments are given Tuesday through Thursday to more than 1 million third- through eighth-grade students, tens of thousands of others are expected, with their parents' permission, to refuse to take them with the hope of eventually changing state policy.

Parent critics and teachers unions say the tests and time spent preparing for them take away from creative instruction and that tying results to annual teacher and school rankings has only worsened the problem.

"The connection between these tests and the teacher evaluations and the school evaluations has changed the entire culture of what our kids are experiencing in school," said parent Eric Mihelbergel, whose fourth- and seventh-grade daughters will sit out the tests in the Kenmore-Tonawanda school district outside Buffalo. "Instead of the focus being on the student in school, now the focus is on the test."

Last year, about 49,000 students did not take the ELA test and about 67,000 sat out the math tests, according to the state Education Department. About 1.1 million students took each test. This year's math tests are scheduled for next week.

Mihelbergel, a member of New York Allies for Public Education, said Monday the group's goal this year is 250,000 opt-outs, or enough to dilute their usefulness in teacher evaluations. State tests count for between 20 and 40 percent of a teacher's mandatory Annual Professional Performance Review under the current statewide formula.

But authorities warn there may be financial implications, as well. Federal law requires states to assess students in grades 3-8 each year and mandates that 95 percent of students in each school participate or risk losing federal funding, the New York State School Boards Association advised districts in a recent legal memo.

Although there were districts that fell short of the threshold last year, none have been sanctioned, state officials said.

"Any sanctions must be decided on a case by case basis, taking into account the degree and length of time the district has failed to meet participation rate requirements and the reasons for such failure," the Education Department said in an email.

Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the policy-setting Board of Regents, has said the Thousands Likely To Sit Out New York English, Math Tests:

The Assault on Public Education Continues in North Carolina - The K-12 Contrarian - Education Week

The Assault on Public Education Continues in North Carolina - The K-12 Contrarian - Education Week:

The Assault on Public Education Continues in North Carolina

 Down in North Carolina, a revolution is afoot. The revolution appears to have begun in 2008, when a little known senator from some northern state managed to get himself on the ballot as the nominee of one of the two major parties (the one that's not so popular down in North Carolina) for president. That was bad enough, but then he went out and won more votes than the guy he was running against that year. Even worse, he won more votes in North Carolina. And that, apparently, has had more than a few people in that state's government running scared ever since.

That senator, of course, was Barack Obama. His election seems to have set off a counterrevolution in the Tar Heel state that has unfolded like a tragi-comic farce: comedic in the sense that his opponents can't seem to stop falling all over themselves to undo any and everything that they think may have resulted in his election, tragic in the sense that so much of what they are doing had little to do directly with his election in the first place. Worse than that, much of what they're undoing had helped make North Carolina one of the most sought-after places in the country, a place that attracted educated people drawn to its varied geography, great barbecue, rich cultural traditions, and mild climate. Oh, and its reasonably progressive approach to things like education and public works.

Indeed, North Carolina used to be known as a "vale of humility between two mountains of conceit"—a sometimes surprisingly progressive state tucked between more haughty, and more conservative, neighbors to the north and south.  North Carolina never boasted the most generous teacher salaries but it did offer opportunities for professional development in higher education, at a mix of top-flight public universities and top-flight private ones, too, and a growing economy centered on its famous "Research Triangle." As of 2013, North Carolina still had the largest number of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards—there were more than 20,000 of them, almost 20% of the total number in the whole country. North Carolina was right on the verge of entering the 21st century. It seemed to be turning the page on a past that wasn't always a past to be proud of.

Instead, it appears that North Carolina's Republican government is determined to dial it back past the 20th century all the way to the 19th. Draconian voting laws intended to keep people from the polls, cuts to education funding, a relentless assault on teachers—none of it, apparently, is enough to get the legislature's foot off the gas. More than most states, North Carolina seems intent on making sure that no one like Barack Obama—and by that I don't an African American man or one-term U.S. senator; I mean a Democrat—ever wins the state's electoral votes again. Apparently that means dismantling anything that was ever done to support the common good. 

And now comes this: news of another bill circulating in the legislature (Rebecca Schuman atSlate has already said most of what needs to be said about this, but I couldn't help piling on) that would require all professors in the state's public universities to teach eight classes per year. I'm not just whistling Dixie when I say this is a terrible idea that, if it becomes law, would have far-reaching consequences. This bill would not bring integrity to the state's university system, as its sponsors claim; it would water that system down, make it worse, put it on uneven footing with private colleges and universities, and drive those pesky college professors—who, if you didn't know it already, don't tend to vote for Republicans—all the way out of North Carolina for good. At the very least, it would get them off the payroll. As Jay Schalin, of the conservative Pope Center on HIgher Education Policy, put it: "The university system is not a jobs program for academics, and whether a bill reduces or increases the number of jobs is irrelevant." Did you know North Carolina Republicans were job killers, not job creators? 

And kill jobs is what this bill would do—not just the ones held by those troublesome professors, but the ones created by their research—even as it eviscerated the state's public system of higher The Assault on Public Education Continues in North Carolina - The K-12 Contrarian - Education Week:

Teachers Have Had Enough! | M. Shannon Hernandez

Teachers Have Had Enough! | M. Shannon Hernandez:

Teachers Have Had Enough!

BATs Demand Change of Direction

Badass Teacher (BAT) Association

WELCOME TO THE BAT CAVE

Badass Teacher Association Web Site

 I've been watching my social media feeds. Teachers are banding together like never before on Twitter and Facebook and using their voices to speak the truth about what is happening in our public schools. We are organizing ourselves for demonstrations and rallies, and we are forming advocacy groups, at the local, state, and national levels.

We have realized that there is strength in numbers.

We have realized that if an entire nation of teachers speaks, it's hard to pin-point one or two "trouble-makers."

We have realized that we share the same concerns and struggles from state-to-state, and that talking about it, publicly, educates the public.

Teachers have had enough. The evidence can be seen across the nation, as teachers stand up to the unrealistic demands that are being handed down to them from education policy makers and corporate reformers.

We've had enough of the testing, the scripted, fake curriculum, and the crowded, underfunded classrooms.

We've had enough of the lies -- being told that our students can't do the work, aren't proficient, and don't have what it takes to succeed in public schools.

We've had enough of the bullying -- being told, over and over again, that we are "bad" teachers, and that the students are failing because we aren't doing our jobs.

And now, it's time for change. Because we know some things...

We know that our nation's youth deserve the countless hours we invest, outside of our classrooms, to fight for what is theirs -- a public school experience that exceeds their needs, and one that is filled with love and compassion, and is built on engaging, meaningful, and passionate instruction.

After all, we are the professionals. We are the people walking into our classrooms, day in and day out, building relationships with students, and inspiring minds to reach higher and think bigger. We are the very individuals who know exactly what our schools need so we can continue doing the work we have been called to do.

And yet, most often, teachers are not asked about the topics being debated across the nation. How is it that the very professionals who have been trained to work with a variety of learners, are never asked, "What do you think will make the greatest impact in our schools?"

And now...for the truth...

The truth is that our voices do matter in public education reform. We are seeing the results when we use social media to organize ourselves, begin blogging on our own websites, opt-out of the testing madness, or voice our concerns at the faculty meeting. There are numerous ways that we can continue fighting for our public schools.

I invite you to join another platform where your voice matters, big time. TheTransforming Public Education Podcast is a weekly show which highlights all the wonderful things happening in public schools It is a place where educators, parents, and students have a voice in what is working in our schools -- and what isn't. It is a Teachers Have Had Enough! | M. Shannon Hernandez:

‘Congratulations to me. I have been offered a position as a professional scorer by Pearson.’ - The Washington Post

‘Congratulations to me. I have been offered a position as a professional scorer by Pearson.’ - The Washington Post:

‘Congratulations to me. I have been offered a position as a professional scorer by Pearson.’

 Jennifer White is a parent and former elementary school teacher who taught Grades 1-4 over the course of 15 years. She lives in Basking Ridge, N.J., and has four children — ages 8, 10, 12 and 14 — who go to school in the Bernards Township School District.  White has a permanent New Jersey teaching license; a masters degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, in reading, specializing in learning disabilities; and an M.Ed in educational leadership from Bank Street College.

In recent months, White has become an activist against the Common Core PARCC test, which students in New Jersey and a number of other states are taking this spring. In an e-mail, she wrote:

“Throughout my years of teaching, I administered standardized tests. I believe tests can be important tools for assessing student performance. I am not anti-testing but I am anti PARCC.”

White co-created a Facebook group for parents to help them educate each other about the PARCC exam and  discuss the future of public education in their township. Hundreds of parents have joined the forum, expressing concern about student stress and anxiety surrounding the PARCC test and extensive test prep, lost instructional time, the use of student test scores on PARCC to evaluate teachers, and the loss of local control over their public schools.

White wanted to find out about the company that created the PARCC exam — Pearson, the world’s largest education company. She decided to apply for a position as a professional scorer for the 2015 PARCC Spring Operational Grade 4 English Language Arts test. This post is her report on her hiring experience. Following that is a comment I requested from Pearson, and then the letter she received from Pearson offering her the job.

By Jennifer White

Congratulations to me. I have been offered a position as a professional scorer by Pearson for the 2015 PARCC spring Operational Grade 4 English Language Arts exams.

Pearson PLC, the company that has its hands in our children’s education, is a multinational for-profit education and publishing company, headquartered in London, and traded on the London and New York Stock Exchanges. Pearson Education, part of Pearson PLC, is the largest educational assessment provider in the United States, according to its website. New Jersey awarded NCS Pearson, a subsidiary of Pearson Education, a multi-year $108 million contract to create and administer the Common Core test PARCC (though there are different pricing options that could mean the state pays less).

You might wonder how I came upon this wonderful opportunity. I was curious about who would be scoring the exams said to be able to tell if my children are college- and career-ready, so I filled in an on-line application for a Pearson’s scorer’s job. (If you too are interested in a position, Pearson advertises on Craigslist and Facebook, as I learned when these were two of the options listed on my application as to how I heard about the job opening.)

Pearson’s offer of employment came to me even though I never actually spoke to anybody at the company. The offer is conditional upon verification of my college degree, completed project training and signature on a confidentiality waiver. The company, valued at well over $10 billion, did not verify my information before its offer of employment, and seems interested only in verifying my college degree.

If I accept, I will be able to earn $10.10 an hour for training. When actually grading tests, I would be required to work a minimum 20 hours a week and would earn $12 an hour with the possibility of additional earned incentives for consistent productivity. Therefore, if I were to be very speedy at scoring your children’s tests (which could impact their school placement, future education, and their teachers’ jobs), I would have the potential to earn ‘Congratulations to me. I have been offered a position as a professional scorer by Pearson.’ - The Washington Post: