@ The Answer Sheet 2-5-14

The Answer Sheet:

Virginia Senate votes to cut number of SOLs, delay A-F school grading

The Virginia legislature is on its way to delaying some school reforms pushed by the former governor, Bob McDonnell, and reducing the number of Standards of Learning tests students are required to take. The state Senate on Tuesday passed bills to reduce by about 25 percent the number of SOLs students take — from 34 to […]    

2 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

America’s school funding problems, state by state

A new report on school funding reveals how uneven and unfair public school funding is in states across the country. The report, titled “Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card,” looks at funding data from 2007 through 2011, analyzing the condition of state school finance systems with a focus on the fair distribution of resources to the […]    

3 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

Ravitch: The ‘White House’s obsession with data is sick’

Education historian and activist Diane Ravitch has been blasting the Obama administration for a long time for education policies that have expanded the importance of standardized tests and promoted the privatization of public education. She was just in Washington to talk with U.S. legislators about the dangers of corporate-influenced school reform and she made some of her […]    

2 by Valerie Strauss / 57min 

Text of report detailing $100 million-plus needed for Common Core tests in Maryland

I recently wrote about a Maryland Education Department report that said the vast majority of schools in many of the state’s counties are not technologically prepared to give new online Common Core-aligned standardized tests, and  at least $100 million will have to be spent by 2015 to get ready. The report, done for the state legislature, […]    

1 by Valerie Strauss / 34min 

Yes, teacher morale really is low — despite a report to the contrary

The Center for American Progress, a Washington D.C. think tank, released a report recently that declared that teachers really aren’t all that dissatisfied with their jobs, despite, apparently multiple polls that show morale has plummeted. In this post Barnett Berry looks at how much sense that report really makes. Berry is the founder, partner and […]    

2 by Valerie Strauss / 34min 

Obama smacks Bill O’Reilly on school vouchers

President Obama often says things about school reform that suggest he hasn’t read up on the effects of his policies, but he knew his stuff on vouchers cold during an interview with Bill O’Reilly, effectively smacking down the conservative commentator’s wishful thinking with the facts. The Obama administration has steadfastly opposed vouchers, which use public […]    

23 by Valerie Strauss / 5h 

@ The Answer Sheet 2-4-14

The Answer Sheet: J.K. Rowling, please keep any Harry Potter afterthoughts to yourselfShortly after the last Harry Potter novel — “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” — was published in 2007, author J.K. Rowling revealed that one of the main characters, Hogwarts headmaster and master wizard Albus Dumbledore, was gay. There was no indication in the books that this was the case, so her disclosure

by mike simpson / 7h 

2-5-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

The Story of How Corporate Welfare Child Prison Operators Got Rich in Pennsylvania

AMY GOODMANDEMOCRACY NOW! / VIDEO INTERVIEWFrom Nation of Change:Published: Wednesday 5 February 2014“Kids for Cash” is the shocking story of how thousands of children in Pennsylvania were jailed by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities.Today a special on "kids for cash," the shocking story of how thousands of children in Penn

by Jim Horn / 20min hide  //  save

De Blasio: Not Just Another Bullshitter

It has to feel like Spring in New York in the middle of a snowstorm:  a progressive mayor elected to serve the people that Wall Street predators and casino capitalists forgot.  From DNAInfo New York:". . . . De Blasio sparked a political showdown earlier this month by rejecting Cuomo's offer to provide $1.5 billion for universal pre-K across the state over the next five years. Instead of usin

by Jim Horn / 1h 

BREAKING NEWS: Florida

Breaking NewsFlorida legislators follow renaming Common Core by replacing "turd" with "dandelion" in official state dictionary.More as details become available.

2 by P. L. Thomas / 1h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

An Olympics Musical Break: We're Barefootin', with Bare Putin

(With apologies to Robert Parker)Everybody get on your feet, We can’t search you when you in your seatTake off your shoes, your coat, and your shirt, Let’s see you dance and no one gets hurt,We're barefootin', with bare Putin, We're barefootin', with bare Putin, Went to a party at a swinging yurt, Long Tall Sergei was quite a flirtThrew way his wig, and his high collar, too, He was doin’ a dance w

2 by Jim Horn / 10h  

2-4-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: International Education JournalPlease visit and read the outstanding new issue of International Education Journal: Comparative PerspectivesVol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testingReaders of this blog will find the efforts to unmask high-stakes testing of value.by P. L. Thomas / 3h 2-3-14 Schools Matter All WeekSchools Matter: Children should not be allowed

by mike simpson / 7h 

2-5-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

Will Costs Crush Common Core?

Perry Chiamamonte of FOX News reports that “states are learning the cost of Common Core is uncommonly high.” States will spend up to an estimated $10 billion up front, then as much as $800 million per year for the first seven years that the controversial program is up and running. Much of the cost is on new, Common Core-aligned textbooks and curriculum, but the added expenses also include teacher

by Bob Sikes / 3h 

2-4-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Common Core is promising “tests worth teaching to.From John Thompson in the Huffington Post: Test-driven reform has largely failed but, until recently, it was as great of a public relations success as anything that the billionaires’ bounty could buy. They branded teacher

by mike simpson / 7h 

2-5-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

“How Do We Help Our Students Become Better Readers?” Is My New Podcast — With Donalyn Miller!

Check out my latest eight minute BAM! podcast, this time with Donalyn Miller, educator, author, and admired by all of us who teach reading. Donalyn, and others, have contributed to an upcoming series at my Education Week Teacher column on teaching reading.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 48min 

“How Can Schools Best Embrace The Maker Movement?”

How Can Schools Best Embrace The Maker Movement? is the newest “question-of-the-week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave your responses here or there…

by Larry Ferlazzo / 48min 

Three Excellent Articles From ASCD On Teacher Morale

The new issue of ASCD Educational Leadership is on teacher morale, and I’m adding these three articles to The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions: Can’t Wait for Monday is by Rafe Esquith. Getting Beyond the Blame Game is by James Harvey. An Open Letter on Teacher Morale is by Dina Strasser.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h hide  //  save

Quote Of The Day – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on stumbles: ‘There’s always a next move’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on stumbles: ‘There’s always a next move’ is the title of an article — and video — from The Today Show. Here’s an excerpt: I’m adding this to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

Yup, Another Update Of Sochi Olympics Resources

Here are today’s additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: Journalists at Sochi are live-tweeting their hilarious and gross hotel experiences is from The Washington Post. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design c

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

I Just Updated My “Best” List Sharing Tools To Annotate Webpages & It Sure Got Smaller

I’m always on the look-out for web tools that can mimc a key instructional strategy I use with students in the classroom — having them use post-it notes to annotate books or articles so they can demonstrate their use of reading strategies (asking questions, making connections, etc.). I just updated Best Applications For Annotating Websites, and was shocked to see how many of the tools I had liste

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

2-4-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Today’s Resources On Sochi OlympicsHere are today’s additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: The Games Are A Great Party, But Not A Great Investment is from NPR. The CBC has an excellent Olympics site (thanks to Michelle Henry for the tip). Explore more infographics like this one o

by mike simpson / 7h 

Is the Use of Untested Technologies in Classrooms Unethical?* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Is the Use of Untested Technologies in Classrooms Unethical?* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Is the Use of Untested Technologies in Classrooms Unethical?*

In a recent Teachers College Record commentary, M.O. Thirunarayanan, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies in the College of Education at Florida International University, argues the following:

When it comes to technology integration, no testing or research is done upfront to determine if they help students learn. Such products are typically purchased by schools and used in classrooms before educators start conducting research to determine if they are effective. This is akin to providing treatment using drugs whose effects have not yet been studied. Both are unethical. Not to mention the millions of dollars that are spent every year by schools to acquire these technologies, just so the leaders of these schools can claim that their schools are on the “cutting edge.”

Every time a new technological tool is developed, manufactured, and sold, its potential to improve learning is hyped up to a great extent. A tool that has a new or unique feature is sold as the tool that will help solve all problems in education. Such a product is overbought and underused in schools for a few years until the next best technological tool becomes the hottest product that has to be purchased and used in all schools….

He then concludes:

Those who develop technological products should be asked to spend their own funds to conduct research to find out the benefits of using their products in 

2-5-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

Here's A Solution For The Teachers Contract Negotiations

Comment left on the NY Times story on contract negotiations:Just declare all the teachers to be bankers and that they deserve bonuses regardless of performance. That seems acceptable for real bankers (hi there, Jamie Dimon), who are extracting money from society, so why not extend the model?Guy has a point.

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Common Core, CCSS Tests, APPR, And InBloom Are A Package Deal

The Cuomo administration yesterday:“Common Core is an issue about which there has been a lot of dialogue,” Cuomo spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said in a statement Tuesday that both affirms the standards and distances the administration from its rocky rollout. The proposed moratorium on its implementation is “premature,” DeRosa said, adding that the governor would wait for recommendations from a panel

by reality-based edu... / 17min hide  //  save

Ed In The Apple Gives Hint On What UFT Is Negotiating For The Contract

NY Times article this morning on what's going on in the teachers contract negotiations.James Eterno has an excellent companion piece to the Times article over at ICEUFT, but the gist of the Times article is basically, if teachers receive full back pay due as part of the bargaining pattern, it eats away a lot of the money that could go to increases for other unions.In the comments on the side of th

2 by reality-based edu... / 3h 

Cuomo, Tisch & King Seem To Be Only Supporters Left On CCSS

Prominent members of the Assembly are calling for a moratorium:Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Cathy Nolan today called for a two-year delay – “at minimum” – in using Common Core test results for “high-stakes” decisions for teachers, principals and students. Silver and Nolan said in a statement that “New Yorkers share the same goal – to improve our schoo

by reality-based edu... / 6h 

2-4-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Making SUNY And CUNY Tuition FreeFrom State of Politics:Assemblyman James Skoufis is sponsoring legislation to give students free tuition to SUNY and CUNY schools if they agree to certain requirements. Participants would have to do 250 hours of community service each year, and then after graduation they’d need to stay in the state for at least five years. The goal is to help

by mike simpson / 6h 

2-5-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

The Moratorium Miracle: Delaying PARCC Can Actually Help Save It

Today I read two articles regarding testing and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). After reading both, I am left with the same thought: The events detailed in both articles promote CCSS survival– and by extension– PARCC survival. The first is this press release regarding the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC): […]

47 by deutsch29 / 10h  

2-4-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Gates Scholar, Tom Kane, Wants Schools to Replicate His MET ExperimentI would have nothing but praise for the Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project if it only claimed to be doing theoretical research. Neither would I have a real complaint with the work of the MET’s director, Tom Kane, if he saw it as basic research, not policy research. Kane seems to be […

by mike simpson / 7h