Probe finds fraud in U.S. distance education | Reuters

Probe finds fraud in U.S. distance education | Reuters:

Probe finds fraud in U.S. distance education

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified a "serious vulnerability" in distance education programs due to frauds committed by students and recommended a stricter enrollment process for colleges.

Stocks of for-profit colleges, which mostly offer online programs, fell on fears of further decline in enrollment and profit.

In the letter dated September 26, the OIG said it identified increasing number of cases involving large and loosely affiliated groups of individuals who conspired to defraud Title IV programs -- a type of federal loan -- as

Librarians Missing from NBC's Education Nation Summit:

Librarians Missing from NBC's Education Nation Summit

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By Rocco Staino
September 29, 2011

It was NBC's second annual Education Nation Summit, a two-day event that brought together 350 educators, policymakers, business leaders, parents, and students to talk about improving education—but one thing was clearly missing: the discussion of librarians.

New York City's Rockefeller Center ice skating rink was converted into a stage on September 26 and 27, drawing high-profile names like Bill Clinton, Laura Bush, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. But the only talk of librarians during the 19 panel discussions was when education activist Diane Ravitch, speaking about student achievement, said "closing libraries and getting rid of school

Parents Want to Think About What's Right« Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

Parents Want to Think About What's Right

September 29th, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by Paula Mirk, M.Ed. Mirk has worked at whole child partner the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE) since 1996 and currently oversees the IGE education department’s many initiatives, including the Ethical Literacy expanding community of schools. She collaborates with national and international organizations, and with school districts from large to small, to integrate ethical literacy into classroom practice, school culture, and systemic reform. Mirk has worked with schools and audiences around the world, particularly across Latin America, as she is also fluent in Spanish. Her articles have appeared in education journals in the United States and Canada.

Ethics is a great topic for thinking about parents and their role in the learning process. Most parents are

Schools as Guardians of Democracy

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  Schools as Guardians of Democracy

  September 28, 2011 by Melissa Mellor
  Report from the Civic Mission of Schools documents the decline in civic learning in U.S. schools and presents six proven practices that should be at the heart of every school's approach to civic learning.

Ready? Set? PLAY!

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  Ready? Set? PLAY!

  September 27, 2011 by Klea Scharberg
  What are you waiting for? Go outside and play!

We Want and Need Parents at the Table

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  We Want and Need Parents at the Table

  September 26, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers
  Are educators ready for a new role for parents, defined by today's mothers and fathers and the times in which we live?

Parent Involvement: What Do the Kids Think?

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  Parent Involvement: What Do the Kids Think?

  September 22, 2011 by Klea Scharberg
  Have you asked your students what they think about their parents and families being involved and engaged in their education?

Using Project-Based Learning to Engage Parents in the School Community

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  Using Project-Based Learning to Engage Parents in the School Community

  September 21, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers
  Find tips on ways to make parents partners in their children's learning and school identity.

Families and Schools Get Engaged: A Long Road to a Great Marriage

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  Families and Schools Get Engaged: A Long Road to a Great Marriage?

  September 20, 2011 by Jessica Wakefield
  Are you prepared to let isolated incidents get in the way of all the great things that can come from a committed partnership?

September 20, 2011

Families and Schools Get Engaged: A Long Road to a Great Marriage?

Are you prepared to let isolated incidents get in the way of all the great things that can come from a committed partnership?

What Happened to My Grade Book?: Rupert Murdoch, Jeb Bush, President G.W. Bush, President H.W. Bush- "Education Reformers"

What Happened to My Grade Book?: Rupert Murdoch, Jeb Bush, President G.W. Bush, President H.W. Bush- "Education Reformers":

Rupert Murdoch, Jeb Bush, President G.W. Bush, President H.W. Bush- "Education Reformers"

by Della

Rupert Murdoch is the newest education reformer coming to the forefront. And he's touring with Jeb Bush. I must say, I am in no way shocked since the standards-based reform efforts began with President H.W. Bush. The Bush Family also had some questionable ties with MacGraw Hill, a major profiteer of standards-based reform efforts. No Shareholder Has been Left Behind

So, why is Jeb still in this education reform arena? Ah-ha!, here is the capitalist's motivation. The Need for DL Standards

Standards are about money.

They are not based in learning theory.

They do not consider what is best for children.

They are about business.

Standards are about money.

Business, Money, Capitalism, Money

Here is a history of standards-based reform efforts that started with

This Week In Education: Thompson: The False Allure Of Statistics

This Week In Education: Thompson: The False Allure Of Statistics:

Thompson: The False Allure Of Statistics

by john thompson

Data-driven school "reform" came of age as Bill James's Sabermetrics was creating "moneyball." Follow Alexander's link to the discussion at the Atlantic Wire about the effect of James's statistics on baseball, and see how the same lessons apply to education reform. Especially when it comes to actually playing the game, "stats only go so far" because they "are much better at illustrating the past than predicting the future." They cannot measure team chemistry, infectious optimism, or a player's (or a teacher's) sheer presence. The lure of statistics has had a dramatic impact for the worse for fans (and education wonks) who have "never felt or contributed to the rhythm

Five Best Blogs: Raising Risk While Lowering Rewards [image: ScreenHunter_43 Mar. 05 19.40] Of Oversimplification and Education Bruce Smith:This tendency to seize on a success in a limited span of the academic spectrum with a limited section of the total student population and to then apply the ...

Maps: USDE's "Threat Warning" Map Of States' Schools [image: State of the states map] Red, yellow, green -- the familiar color scheme long used to warn us of terrorist threats (and to tell us when to accelerate). Only now it's applied to state education outcomes. Color-Coded Maps Rank States' ...

THE DEMISE OF OUTDOOR RECESS « Teachers Fight Back

THE DEMISE OF OUTDOOR RECESS « Teachers Fight Back:

THE DEMISE OF OUTDOOR RECESS

by alkleen

I hear that more schools are completely doing away with outdoor recess. I’m sure the lawyers for school districts are partly behind this recent trend. Can you imagine the potential for lawsuits that outdoor recess brings ? Here are just a few: There is a much greater chance that a child might be bullied outdoors. A child might fall while running. Air pollution might trigger an asthma attack. A child without a coat might be cold. The warm weather might cause a student’s clothes to become stained with sweat. A lawn nearby might have weed killer applied to it and some might blow over to the recess area. Someone might get sunburned in half an hour. A student could fall off playground equipment. A bee could sting someone.

I’m sure a good lawyer could come up with dozens of other scenarios that might result in a parental lawsuit. In

Cartoons on Testing* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Cartoons on Testing* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Cartoons on Testing*

by larrycuban

Amid the hyper-inflated rhetoric of “reformers” (a.k.a “no excuses” reformers) vs. “anti-reformers” (a.k.a. “defenders of the status quo”) I have been struck by the many political cartoons that have appeared around testing, especially since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2002. Surely, these labels are misnomers since whichever side a reformer is on, what separates one from the other is the direction and means for achieving reform. Like Toys R Us, it is Reformers R Us. School reform is the Great American Cottage Industry.

Having made the obvious point that reformers of all stripes seek to improve schools but pursue different goals and strategies, what I have noticed is that most cartoons I have seen oppose standardized testing and in drawings and captions lay out negative consequences flowing from the type of tests, too many of them, and the anxieties surrounding them. In short, opponents of market-driven, “no excuses” reformers have a wealth of

Watch this First: Steven Brill and Diane Ravitch on Book TV | Seattle Education

Watch this First: Steven Brill and Diane Ravitch on Book TV | Seattle Education:

Watch this First: Steven Brill and Diane Ravitch on Book TV

by seattleducation2011

Steven Brill

For all of you who just received the Gates backed League of Education Voters (LEV) invitation to hear Steven Brill talk about his book “Class Warfare” and you are considering attending, watch After Words with Steven Brill

Education Research Report: Measuring NAEP Inclusion Rates of Students With Disabilities,

Education Research Report: Measuring NAEP Inclusion Rates of Students With Disabilities,:

Measuring NAEP Inclusion Rates of Students With Disabilities,

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Ω

The report Measuring Status and Change In NAEP Inclusion Rates of Students With Disabilities, Results 2007-09 has been released. This report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) contains the findings of a study on the status of inclusion and changes in inclusion rates for the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 4th- and 8th-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and mathematics assessments.

The decision about whether a student with disabilities is included in NAEP is made by the school personnel most knowledgeable about the student. The percentage of students with disabilities who are not English

Who's On Top? Color-Coded Maps Rank States' Education Performance - Education - GOOD

Who's On Top? Color-Coded Maps Rank States' Education Performance - Education - GOOD:

Who's On Top? Color-Coded Maps Rank States' Education Performance

We all hear horror stories about the poor academic quality of America's schools, but a new study shows that different states rate very differently on measures like test scores and graduation rates. For example, students in Massachusetts and Minnesota are two to three times more likely than their peers in West Virginia and Mississippi to pass national eighth-grade standardized tests, according to the U.S. Department of Education's new

Watch The President’s Answers to The Roundtable Questions (VIDEO) - Hispanically Speaking News

Watch The President’s Answers to The Roundtable Questions (VIDEO) - Hispanically Speaking News:

Watch The President’s Answers to Hispanic Roundtable Questions (VIDEO)

Yesterday, President Obama answered questions on a vast range of subjects important to Latinos, asked by a panel of representatives from three Hispanic online media outlets.

President Obama talked about a range of issues from immigration and education to Social Security and the American Jobs Act during a round table discussion with Jose Siade from Yahoo Español, Karine Medina from MSN Latino and Gabriel Lerner from AOL Latino and Huff-Post Latino Voices.

The group joined the President in the White House Map Room for an hour-long conversation that centered on the questions submitted to the Hispanic roundtable around issues that matter most to Latinos.

Take a look at the video below where President Obama answers the following questions:

Latino Children Are Living in Poverty More than Any Other Racial or Ethnic Group

The spread of poverty across the United States that began at the onset of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and accelerated last year hit one fast-growing demographic group especially hard: Latino children. This information is being provided by the report, “Childhood Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record, Leads Nation,” by Pew Hispanic Center.

More Latino children are living in poverty——6.1 million in 2010——than children of any other racial or ethnic group. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white. In 2010,

Regular Teachers, Regular Schools - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Regular Teachers, Regular Schools - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Regular Teachers, Regular Schools

by Nancy Flanagan

So--who's watching Education Nation this week?

My friends (a group with a disproportionately large percentage of teachers) are neatly divided into two camps: the folks who thought last year's Education Nation was such a smarmy, hyped-up caricature of "journalism" that they're avoiding the whole thing in favor of grading papers or watching baseball--and those who are watching, hoping fervently that NBC will have learned something from their heartfelt complaints / letters / tweets / blogs. Call them education's jaded pessimists and earnest optimists.

I've been watching, too--sporadically, not compulsively. A look at the list of sponsoring organizations was enough to tell me what I needed to know about truth, social justice and the American way at (drum roll) Education Nation

NYC Educator: What If We Taught for Tiffany?

NYC Educator: What If We Taught for Tiffany?:

What If We Taught for Tiffany?

by Miss Eyre

That's the question that Robert Pondiscio asks in his most recent post at the Core Knowledge Blog. Tiffany Lopez is a former student of Robert's, a young woman who, despite the challenges she and her peers faced, is nevertheless bright, eager, and very capable. She sounds like the kind of young woman who we secretly (or not-so-secretly) wish constituted the entirety of our student bodies. Robert's point is that, far too often, we're not actually teaching Tiffany. Because of a (well-intentioned and much-needed, certainly) focus on the lowest achievers, we've forgotten that our schools are also hosting highly motivated students who are or would like to be high achievers.

After reading Robert's post, I wondered what my teaching

80% of Michigan Charter Schools are For-Profits - Forbes

80% of Michigan Charter Schools are For-Profits - Forbes:

80% of Michigan Charter Schools are For-Profits

by E.D. Kain

The charter school movement began as a grassroots attempt to improve public education. It’s quickly becoming a backdoor for corporate profit. In Michigan, four out of five charter schools are run by for-profit EMO’s.

Once upon a time, the charter school movement was a grassroots phenomenon. Its proponents wanted to create a system of experimentation and innovation within the public schools. Everyone knows that the traditional public school system can be a bit burgeoning, with lots of bureaucratic red tap and uniformity which can hinder creativity in teaching.

Historically, this has meant that a lot of teacher-driven education reform has been centered around finding new, less uniform ways of teaching.

The charter school movement was born out of a desire to creatively address the many obstacles teachers faced.

What Happened to My Grade Book?: A Lesson in Word Choice, for Me

What Happened to My Grade Book?: A Lesson in Word Choice, for Me:

A Lesson in Word Choice, for Me

by Della

I agree with you. Sean Gainger, @graingered ,tweeted in response to my blog "=ing highstakes tests w/weapons of war is xtreme. IMO. Perspective."


Here's how I originally started Rubbish Piles of #blueberries and #Edreform that provoked his response.

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." Dwight D. Eisenhower

This quote is perfectly applicable to the weapons made by high-stakes test/assessment publishers -MacGraw Hill and Pearson- in the name of student accountability. I also

MCPS superintendent: Have we really learned lessons of No Child Left Behind? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

MCPS superintendent: Have we really learned lessons of No Child Left Behind? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

MCPS superintendent: Have we really learned lessons of No Child Left Behind?

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Joshua P. Starr, the new superintendent of the high-achieving Montgomery County Public Schools system in Maryland.

By Joshua P. Starr

As a school superintendent, I’m glad to see that President Barack Obama has launched a national conversationabout dismantling No Child Left Behind. However, I’m concerned about what may take its place and whether a new law will be what our education system and our country need to improve.

Read full article >>

What I Saw at #OccupyWallStreet Last Night « Student Activism

What I Saw at #OccupyWallStreet Last Night « Student Activism:

What I Saw at #OccupyWallStreet Last Night

by Angus Johnston

So last night I wandered down to Occupy Wall Street for the second time. I’d visited the night before, and been impressed — impressed by the richness of the space, impressed by the process and enthusiasm of the general assembly. I wasn’t (and I’m still not) sure what it all adds up to, but I found it invigorating and compelling. So I went back.

I spent some time strolling around, talking to people and checking out what was happening. I ate some free food. I sat in on a workshop on building democratic structures in progressive organizations. I compared notes with a couple of friends who were there.

And then the general assembly got started. The evening GA is a decision-making meeting, but it’s also a place where lots of announcements get made — OWS has a lot of working groups on issues ranging from first aid to

This Week In Education: Coaching: Even Veterans & Star Teachers Could Benefit

This Week In Education: Coaching: Even Veterans & Star Teachers Could Benefit:

Coaching: Even Veterans & Star Teachers Could Benefit

by Alexander Russo

Remember that New Yorker story about coaching I recommended a few days ago just because it was about coaching (What Makes Top Performers Better?)? Well it turns out that the long feature article actually focuses in part on on school-based coaching of teachers in Albermarle County, Virginia, where veterans as well as novices can get help and you get to see oone math teacher who's class is observed and dissected.

The description of the lesson and the debrief are yet another reminder of just how excruciatingly intricate classroom teaching is, how exceedingly sensitive coaches have to be in order to be effective at what is essentially teaching another adult, and a reminder about the issue of "deliberate