RheeFirst! » How not to respond to a testing scandal #edchat #edreform #p2

RheeFirst! » How not to respond to a testing scandal:

How not to respond to a testing scandal

by admin

Written by Jay Mathews for The Washington Post. Read the entire article here.
“The city should have investigators interview principals, test directors and teachers under threat of criminal sanctions if they do not tell the truth. Asking students what they remembered would also help: Did they actually check their work and make erasures?
Will we ever discover what happened after hours to the D.C. answer sheets kept in cabinets to which principals had the keys? Will D.C. parents ever have proof that the people running their neighborhood schools can be trusted? I doubt it. The impact of ignoring the inflated scores will be disastrous. I wonder why the people in charge don’t see that.”

New probe of 2011 suspect test erasures – The Washington Post

by admin

This suspected cheating occurred in 2011, after Michelle Rhee was forced to resign as DC chancellor. However, her DCPS personnel selections and operations remain virtually intact and remain in place as her legacy.
Written by Bill Turque for The Washington Post. Read the entire article here.
“[DCPS] has winnowed from 128 to 35 the number of classrooms that it will ask an independent contractor to investigate for possible cheating on the 2011 DC CAS, the agency announced Thursday.
The 128 classrooms, spread across 54 public and public charter schools, represent less than three percent of classrooms citywide in which tests were administered last April. They were identified in a study last July by CTB/McGraw-Hill, publisher of the DC CAS, as having ‘inordinate numbers’ of wrong-to-right erasures on answer sheets. The study, which wasn’t made public by OSSE until late December, said the data ‘may indicate inappropriate intervention on students’ answer documents by an educator.‘”

35 D.C. classrooms investigated for possible cheating

by admin

Written by Lisa Gartner for The Washington Examiner. Read the entire article here.
“Thirty-five District classrooms are being investigated for possible cheating on last spring’s standardized tests, nearly double the number of classes investigated in 2010, school officials said Thursday.
The Office of the State Superintendent for Education quietly concluded its analysis of anomalies on the 2011 D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System by recommending that nearly three dozen classrooms — less than 1 percent of the 4,279 classrooms tested — be further investigated by an independent firm that OSSE is expected to choose Monday.”

Launching Project RESPECT | ED.gov Blog

Launching Project RESPECT | ED.gov Blog:

Launching Project RESPECT

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Cameron Brenchley

Official Department of Education Photo by Leslie Williams

“Our goal is to work with educators in rebuilding their profession—and to elevate the teacher voice in shaping federal, state and local education policy,” said Secretary Duncan today at the launch of the RESPECT Project. “Our larger goal is to make teaching not only America’s most important profession—but America’s most respected profession,” he said.

The RESPECT Project (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching), is a national conversation led by active classroom teachers working temporarily for the Department to help provide input on the administration’s 2013 budget proposal, and on the broader effort to reform teaching.

The Obama Administration’s 2013 proposed budget includes a new $5 billion competitive program that would challenge states and school districts to work with teachers, unions, colleges of education and other education stakeholders to reform the teaching profession.

“We need to redefine what it means to teach in today’s global economy,” Duncan said. “Because what you learn in school today is the foundation for what you will need to know tomorrow to be successful.”

Click here (pdf) to read more about the RESPECT Project, and sign up for our Teaching Matters newsletter for regular updates on the teaching profession and future information about the RESPECT Project.

View the archived video of today’s launch.

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is Going on with this MOU?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is Going on with this MOU?:

What is Going on with this MOU?

by Melissa Westbrook

I keep trying to get up from this computer but something new pops up.

So the Action Report on the Creative Approach Schools has changed (but not the MOU). Here are the changes (the red is new):

I move that the Seattle School Board approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Seattle Education Association and the Seattle School District No. 1 regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement process for Creative Approach Schools and further direct the Superintendent to provide written notice to the Board prior to approving any Creative Approach School and consult Board Directors prior to waiving any Board adopted policies

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust? Part 2

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust? Part 2:

Who Can You Trust? Part 2

by Melissa Westbrook

I guess no one.

So from what I was following on the superintendent search (both in person and reading minutes), I thought I understood how the superintendent search would be working. Of course, we are still waiting on the webpage for this information (tick tock).

I had understood the search committee to be made up of the following:

• 7 Board members
• 1 SEA rep
• 1 PASS rep
• 1 SCPTSA rep
• 1 staff person from Central Administration
• 1 Local 609 rep

That's 12 people. But then I find out that there have been interviews with other people/groups with the consultant group, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates. This included the Alliance for Education who apparently sent five people and Our Schools Coalition and Asian Pacific Directors Coalition. It is unclear how any of the groups were selected. The interviews were to help get ideas about questions for the candidates and what the community

This Week In Education: Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoating

This Week In Education: Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoating:

Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoating

by john thompson

David Cantors’ EdWeek commentary (Who Is Responsible for Student Achievement?) starts as if it was another exercise in the blame game. Cantor’s focus groups with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders could never answer the question "who should be responsible for making things better." But Cantor listens and realizes that educators "were shouting to policymakers: You can't put anything else on our plate" and that "this sense of exhaustion and frustration has consequences." Even better, Cantor notes that all sides, while not wanting to take the blame for the system’s undeniable failures, point to the same solution: We must instill the love of

To Catch a Plagiarist | Edwize

To Catch a Plagiarist | Edwize:

To Catch a Plagiarist

by Senorita in the City

Pirillo & Fitz

[Editor's note: Señorita in the City is the pseudonym of a fifth-year teacher in a high school in Manhattan. She blogs at senoritainthecity.com where a version of this post first appeared.]

Recently I found myself identifying with these words spoken by Liam Neeson’s character in the movie “Taken”: “What I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.”

Now, my teaching career is not yet “very long,” but I have honed some particular skills during my years in the classroom. Spotting plagiarism is one of them.

I assigned my high school Spanish students the following project: Choose one holiday from a list of celebrations

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento:

Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento

by Duane Campbell

Join Us on March 5 Day of Action

To Demand that the California Government:

Fully fund public education, which is a public good and is the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy, and the social and intellectual development of every individual.

Fully fund social services, which to a large part provide a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable members of society and therefore serve as a measure of society's moral standard.

Tax the rich, pass the Millionaires Tax, pass the Oil Tax to Fund Education, and reject regressive taxes.

In the state of California working people with the lowest income pay a higher rate (11%) of state and local taxes than the rich (8%). This tax inequity has contributed to an 81 percent growth in the income of the wealthiest 1 percent of Californians between 1978 and 2008, while during the same period the income of the poorest 20 percent dropped by 11.5 percent.

We refuse to pay for the crisis created by the 1 percent. If we make the rich and the corporations pay, we can fully fund public education and social services and reverse the budget cuts, tuition hikes, and attacks on jobs. Join us in this peaceful demonstration.

Endorse our rally and mobilize your members to attend.

Send endorsements to: occupysfMarchfirstrally@gmail.com

Endorsed by Sacramento Progressive Alliance, and Sacramento DSA.