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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Big Education Ape:7-6-11 AM ‘Ravitch Rage’ Edition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Published by Coopmike48 – 8 contributors today

Invitation to a Dialogue: Fixing the Schools

nytimes.com - To the Editor: Re “Smells Like School Spirit,” by David Brooks (column, July 1): Mr. Brooks has misrepresented my views. While I have criticized charter schools, I am always car...

DianeRavitch

Video

nypost.com - They're back to their dirty old tricks. The city's Department of Education has continued to privatize the cleaning of dozens of its public schools through no-bid contracts -- despite a 2004 court o...

leoniehaimson

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education

nap.edu - In recent years there have been increasing efforts to use accountability systems based on large-scale tests of students as a mechanism for improving student achievement. The federal No Child Left B...

DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Read NEA Standing Strong#NEARA11 ▸ today's top stories via @mbaenews @socolaura @mlea_prez ▸http://t.co/7tKnquh5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 LeBron increasing involvement in education causes - USATODAY.com -http://goo.gl/UpiqC16 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Obama Passes Teachers' Test...Barely - ABC News -http://goo.gl/Viyif16 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Collective Bargaining Gets the Axe in Ohio | Mother Jones -http://goo.gl/SypzL15 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

What is Evans Solutions, Inc.?

wsws.org - Detroit’s Catherine Ferguson Academy to be privatized By Nancy Hanover 21 June 2011 Detroit Public Schools’ Emergency Financial Manager Roy Roberts announced last week that the Catherine Ferguson A...

DianeRavitch

Systematic Cheating Is Found in Atlanta’s School System

nytimes.com - ATLANTA — A state investigation released Tuesday showed rampant, systematic cheating on test scores in this city’s long-troubled public schools, ending two years of increasing skepticism over remar...

DianeRavitch

Invitation to a Dialogue: Fixing the Schools

nytimes.com - To the Editor: Re “Smells Like School Spirit,” by David Brooks (column, July 1): Mr. Brooks has misrepresented my views. While I have criticized charter schools, I am always car...

mikeklonsky

PoliticsSee all

School Tech Connect: Where Will Arne Go?

schooltechconnect.com - This will be my last NEA endorsement post for a while, I promise. And who really knows how things will work out-- it may have been a canny move on Dennis Van Roekel's part to speed up the unearned ...

tbfurman

Obama Passes Teachers' Test...Barely - ABC News

abcnews.go.com - President Obama seems to have a love-hate relationship with the nation's largest teacher's union.On Monday, the National Education Association endorsed Obama in 2012 -- long before his Republican o...

coopmike48

NJ Spotlight | Fine Print: The Line

njspotlight.com - What it is: Gov. Chris Christie last week announced that he would take his veto pen to more than 100 specific items in the Democratic-controlled legislature's spending plan, ending up with a $29.7 ...

coopmike48

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Relationships in Learning - Hispanically Speaking News

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Relationships in Learning - Hispanically Speaking NewsRelationships in Learning0 CommentsJuly 5, 2011 | by Dr. Ellen McMahonPhoto Credits: It is important to recognize that “liking” and the ability...

coopmike48

12 Ways Parents Can Build a Mathematics Brain in Children

rickackerly.com - The most important thing we can do to ensure that our children speak mathematics when they are older is to make sure that mathematics is part of their world during their first 10 years of life. At ...

coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Welcome new readers. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - I don’t even read the Wall Street Journal. But a couple of quotes from National Education reporter Stephanie Banchero by me on the NEA RA impressed a few of my friends and brought me new readers. E...

fklonsky

Home - Inside Higher Ed

insidehighered.com - February 24, 2011 The return of ROTC to some campuses -- seemingly assured by the end of the military's policy against gay service members -- may be hitting a few bumps.More February 24, 2011 City ...

coopmike48

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School Tech Connect: Where Will Arne Go?

schooltechconnect.com - This will be my last NEA endorsement post for a while, I promise. And who really knows how things will work out-- it may have been a canny move on Dennis Van Roekel's part to speed up the unearned ...

tbfurman

#neara11See all

Watch Lily dance. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - NEA VP Lily Eskelsen appeared on MSNBC this morning to explain yesterday’s NEA RA daily double: The early no strings endorsement of Obama and the adoption of the bogus Policy Statement on Accountab...

fklonsky

Chicago Shopping

chicagotribune.com - There is only one man in my life who sits by the phone on Father's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas awaiting my call.Albert Walter. He was my high school guidance counselor.Not only did Mr. ...

fklonsky

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    Schools Matter: Teacher Evaluations Based on Test Scores: Bad Idea and Worse Policy

    Schools Matter: Teacher Evaluations Based on Test Scores: Bad Idea and Worse Policy

    Teacher Evaluations Based on Test Scores: Bad Idea and Worse Policy

    by Jim Horn
    Esperanza never got to give her speech in the fake teacher forum that she drove over an hour to get to, but I think she has her say here today in the Worcester Telegram:
    By Jim Horn and Esperanza Donovan-Pendzic


    In the new state regulations for evaluation of educators, approved on June 28, one of the three measures that will be used to evaluate teachers includes “state-wide growth measure(s) where applicable, including MCAS Student Growth Percentile and Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA).”

    How much student growth, or value-added, test scores will count in the proposed teacher evaluation system remains unknown, even though other states like Tennessee that have already adopted similar policies in order to cash in on Race to the Top funds, count student test scores as 50 percent of teachers’ professional evaluations.

    Evaluating teachers based on the results of the MCAS test is unfair and counterproductive. The reality is that high-stakes testing continues to narrow the school curriculum and to fragment
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    Today’s “Round-Up” Of Recent School Reform Posts | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

    Today’s “Round-Up” Of Recent School Reform Posts | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

    Today’s “Round-Up” Of Recent School Reform Posts

    by Larry Ferlazzo

    Here are a few recent good school reform-related posts from around the Web:

    Marzano’s “Causal” Evaluation System by Justin Baeder at Education Week makes a great point about “research-based practices” not holding all the answers.

    KIPP’s Atrocious Attrition and Expulsions from New Orleans Charters are posts by Gary Rubinstein. I’m adding both to The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools.

    Garry Rubinstein has also helped start a Miracle Schools wiki to coordinate research on this phenomena. I’m adding it to the same “The Best…” list.

    Data-Driven To Distraction appeared on Larry Cuban’s blog. I’m adding it to

    Posted by at

    Schools Matter: Open Letter Season on Arne Duncan

    Schools Matter: Open Letter Season on Arne Duncan

    Open Letter Season on Arne Duncan

    by Jim Horn
    A great one posted by Valerie Strauss:
    This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, the principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.

    Dear Mr. Duncan:

    You have never been to my high school, but if you visited, you would be impressed. It is an integrated suburban public high school that meets AYP each year for all groups of children. We are on all of the top 100 lists — U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and The Washington Post. Over 80% of our students graduate having passed the state exam in Algebra 2/Trigonometry and over 60% graduate with AP Calculus under their belt. We do a good job by the students we serve, some of whom have difficult life circumstances. I doubt that you will ever visit — we are not a KIPPor other charter school likely to attract your attention. I think you should know, though, something
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    Deal on charter regulation | Thoughts on Public Education

    Deal on charter regulation | Thoughts on Public Education

    Deal on charter regulation

    Tough academic goals, new levels of compliance

    Posted on 7/06/11 • Categorized as Charters

    By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

    Charter schools will have to follow state public records, open meeting, and conflict of interest laws. They will also have to make higher academic gains on standardized tests and serve proportionally the same numbers of special education and low-income students as in the surrounding neighborhood or school district to have their charters renewed.

    These are among requirements in a trio of bills that mark a meeting of the minds, after long negotiations, between a leading legislator and the primary organization representing charter schools. In a year in which charter advocates have been swatting back a slew of anti-charter legislation, the compromises on the three bills – AB 360, AB 440 and SB 645 – are a notable accomplishment that will serve the long-term interests of the charter movement, according to Jed Wallace, CEO of the California Charter Schools Association.

    For Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, chairwoman of the Assembly Education

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    Possible education cuts could shorten school year | California Watch

    Possible education cuts could shorten school year | California Watch

    Possible education cuts could shorten school year

    by Joshua Emerson Smith

    Jo Forthergill/Flickr

    The budget Gov. Jerry Brown signed last week is based on optimistic revenue projections and contained a last-minute education bill [PDF] that grants protections for teachers.

    But if the anticipated revenue doesn't come in, school districts face up to $1.75 billion in cuts at the end of the year. The budget deal allows districts to shorten their school years by seven days to cut costs, but they would need union approval to reduce teacher salaries accordingly.

    The budget triggers funding cuts if the anticipated revenue isn’t raised by Dec. 15. The budget assumes the stat

    CSU campuses top list of colleges with fastest-growing tuition

    by Erica Perez

    All but one of the California State University campuses are on a new list produced by the U.S. Department of Education showing colleges with the fastest-rising tuition and fees – and those campuses will have to submit reports to the federal government explaining the rapid increase.

    A set of 54 new lists released last week by the Department of Education shows which colleges have the highest and lowest tuition and "average net price" – the average price paid by full-time students after figuring in grants and scholarships. The lists also show which colleges have the fastest-rising tuition and net price.

    Sprachcaffe Düsseldorf/FlickrSan Diego State University

    Colleges where prices are rising at the fastest rate will be required to report why costs have gone up and what the institution will do to address them.

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    Pithy questions for Obama’s Twitter Town Hall - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

    Pithy questions for Obama’s Twitter Town Hall - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

    Pithy questions for Obama’s Twitter Town Hall

    by Valerie Strauss

    --

    This was written by educator Anthony Cody, who taught science for 18 years in inner-city Oakland and now works with a team of science teacher-coaches that supports novice teachers. He is a National Board-certified teacher and an active member of the Teacher Leaders Network. This post appeared on his Education Week Teacher blog, Living in Dialogue.

    Read full article >>
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    Tuesday, July 5, 2011

    Standardized Test Cheatin'

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    I'll Bet You LAUSD Fixes More Student Assessments Than Atlanta (Te apuesto LAUSD Arreglos Más evaluaciones de los estudiantes que Atlanta) - Perdaily.com

    I'll Bet You LAUSD Fixes More Student Assessments Than Atlanta (Te apuesto LAUSD Arreglos Más evaluaciones de los estudiantes que Atlanta) - Perdaily.com

    I'll Bet You LAUSD Fixes More Student Assessments Than Atlanta (Te apuesto LAUSD Arreglos Más evaluaciones de los estudiantes que Atlanta)

    by Leonard Isenberg
    Cheaters.jpg
    (Mensaje se repite en Español)

    (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

    For 23 years I was an acclaimed teacher who taught school with excellent teaching evaluations and no negative marks of any kind against me. Only when I dared to say that cheating on student assessments was rampant in my school and throughout LAUSD (for which I have documentary proof) was I subjected to a well orchestrated campaign of harassment, highly defamatory false charges, and ultimate dismissal from LAUSD which is now pending before an expensive and protracted legal process that LAUSD seems content to endlessly throw money at even though they have no evidence against me that has not been fabricated.. I guess I should be flattered that they recently engaged the toney outside law firm of Bergman and Dacey to continue the
    Posted by at

    Test Anxiety and the Zen of Motorcycle Riding | The Classroom Sooth

    Test Anxiety and the Zen of Motorcycle Riding | The Classroom Sooth

    Test Anxiety and the Zen of Motorcycle Riding

    by classroomsooth

    Since 2009 I have spent my summers riding an orange and cream colored scooter round Chicago. She purred and zipped and zoomed and so was dubbed “Sneaky Cheetah.”

    Alas, she didn’t make it to her third July 4th and so I took it upon myself to trade the Sneaky Cheetah for a cool looking motorcycle, which I got from a buddy of mine. The motorcycle, however, is an animal of a different nature, as scooters don’t have a clutch, or a shifter, and for the Sneaky Cheetah, I didn’t even need the special “M” Class license in Illinois to ride it. I decided I needed to take a motorcycle riding course.

    I took the course this past week. We were six students and one instructor over two days: In the morning we were in a classroom learning bike basics and road safety, and both afternoons were spent “in the field” learning how to operate a motorcycle. On the third morning there was the “M class” licensing test, administered by an

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    Diane Ravitch: Invitation to a Dialogue - Fixing the Schools - NYTimes.com

    Invitation to a Dialogue - Fixing the Schools - NYTimes.com

    Invitation to a Dialogue: Fixing the Schools

    Published: July 5, 2011

    To the Editor:

    Enlarge This Image
    Jason Polan

    Re “Smells Like School Spirit,” by David Brooks (column, July 1):

    Mr. Brooks has misrepresented my views. While I have criticized charter schools, I am always careful to point out that they vary widely. The overwhelming majority of high-quality research studies on charters shows that some are excellent, some are abysmal and most are no better than regular public schools.

    Some charters succeed because they have additional resources, supplied by their philanthropic sponsors; some get better results by adding extra instructional time. We can learn from these lessons to help regular public schools.

    Others succeed by limiting the admission of students with disabilities and those who can’t read English, or by removing those with learning problems. These students are then overrepresented in regular public schools, making comparisons between the two sectors unfair.

    I don’t want to get rid of testing. But tests should be used for information and diagnostics

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    Jersey Jazzman: Testing/Cheating Nation

    Jersey Jazzman: Testing/Cheating Nation

    Testing/Cheating Nation

    by Duke
    Cheating on high-stakes tests? I'm just shocked!
    ATLANTA — A state investigation released Tuesday showed rampant, systematic cheating on test scores in this city’s long-troubled public schools, ending two years of increasing skepticism over remarkable improvements touted by school leaders.
    The results of the investigation, made public by Gov. Nathan Deal, showed that the cheating occurred at 44 schools and involved at least 178 teachers and principals, almost half of whom have confessed, the governor said.
    A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in the district, which led to a
    Posted by at

    Relationships in Learning - Hispanically Speaking News

    Relationships in Learning - Hispanically Speaking News


    Relationships in Learning

    0 Comments

    July 5, 2011 | by Dr. Ellen McMahon
    Image

    Photo Credits: It is important to recognize that “liking” and the ability to see connections and possibilities is key to learning

    If you think back to those classes or courses you loved the most during your education I think you will find that what made the course so compelling was the relationship you developed. It could be a relationship with the teacher. “I loved Mrs. Cannon; she was the best teacher, she was fun and fair and hard but she helped me so much.” Or, you may have loved the topic and content so the teacher didn’t really matter. “I want to learn enough French so I can be talk to people from France and maybe visit there.” Learning happens in relationships with either people or content. So it is important to recognize that “liking” and the ability to see connections and possibilities is key to learning for the long haul.

    Clearly you can be terrorized into learning. Fear of being embarrassed in front of others; fear of being held back in some way; or even fear of some change in your public image. But learning through fear is short term learning. It is the kind of thing you remember for the test but forget as soon as the grade or presentation is over. This learning is often characterized by how quickly it is forgotten and how little you can actually say about the topic after the event.

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