Monday, March 31, 2014

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 3-31-14

Former Military Leader Tried for Treason in Pakistan

Pervez Musharraf, a former military leader is being tried in Pakistan for a form of high treason, this crime is punishable with the death penalty or life in prison. Musharraf was president of Pakistan from 1999 to 2008. Monday he faced a total of five charges during his hearing. Three counts of changing the country's constitution, sacking the Chief Justice and imposing emergency rule. He pleaded n

by Hannah Riley / 10min

United Arab Emirates: there's an app for that

The United Arab Emirates has launched the first-ever smart government app store. In conjunction with Google and Apple, local and federal governments have created over 100 apps to serve around 700 people at a time in one location. The plan is for the UAE to transition to smart government by the middle of 2015, only a little over a year from now. The apps are "characterised by reliability, secu

by Isoke Khemet / 5h

YESTERDAY

America once again is getting into Asia's business

For the article:http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/obama-brings-south-korea-japan-together-for-talksWell, as the article states, Obama recently pulled Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye together to talk about the issue of North Korea's efforts to have more nuclear capabilities (i.e. missiles). Even though there are quite a few unresolved proble

by Jay / 6h

It's A Sad World, Sadly

Writer T.M. Luhrmann recently visited India to find that Depression is slowly taking over the country, and possibly the world. The majority of people in India used to view the topic of depression and suicide as taboo, but many are bringing it up more and more as it is becoming more relevant. A lot of young people are finding when something goes majorly wrong in their life, suicide seems to b

by Madison Vassilopo... / 7h

Global warming dials up our risks, UN report says--- Seth Borenstein, AP

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLEThe most recent United Nations' report about the dire global warming situation the international community faces came out Monday, saying that unless carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gas emissions are greatly reduce in the next few years, effects of the temperature increase will become catastrophic. In addition to the more than 12,000 specialists who contributed to

by Elaine Lucier / 7h

Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan declares victory after local elections

Link to articlePrime Minister Erdogan of Turkey confidently claims the victory of his Justice and Development party even before the results of the election came in. Despite all of the corruption surrounding him and his infamy in the country for the past few years since 2003 when he came into office, he still appears to be certain of his party's victory. He said that he respects people's decisions

by Lucy / 7h

Saudi Arabia Shuffles Leaders With New Second in Line to Throne

Saudi Arabia named Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz as second in line to the throne, the latest royal promotion as King Abdullah confronts unprecedented political instability in the Middle East and economic changes at home. King Abdullah named his defense minister and half-brother Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, born in 1935, crown prince in June 2012, making the traditionalist former governor of Riyadh n

by Ivan Plazibat / 7h

untitled

Some Who Fled Cuba Are Returning to HelpRecently, exiles of Cuba who fled after Fidel Castro took over are returning to their native homeland. Their previous bitterness and anger has diminished and been replaced by an empathetic need to help usher in a new era for Cuba. These Cuban-Americans previously lost their entrepreneurship ventures to the communist government, which made their businesses il

by Heather / 7h

Peace talks going on in Syria, still very boring

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/27/world/europe/syria-geneva-talks-behind-the-scenes/Peace talks are going on in Geneva mediated by a UN mediator named Lakhdar Brahimi who is reported as doing an excellent job of mediating. Good on you Mr. Brahimi. Rebel groups and the government keep arguing about who gets what land and which rights go to which people. In return, the government has said that women

by Brian Sherry / 7h

Peter MacKay wishes Canada's Afghan troops had been better prepared

ArticleCanada's former defense minister Peter MacKay recently stated that the Canadian government should have and could have done more for its soldiers in the war in Afghanistan. MacKay said that he had wished that Canada had "provided more equipment, helicopters, mine-clearing equipment in the early days. In retrospect, we could have perhaps prepared our soldiers better through both equipm

by Rachel Chin / 8h hide // save

Japan and N. Korea?

Formal talks between Japan and North Korea have been going on for nearly two years. They are about settling some "outstanding issues." One of them is the unsettled problem of the 17+ Japanese abductions. According the N. Korea the matter was settled when they returned a few (not all) the abductees. N. Korea said the others were dead. Obviously this answer did not satisfy Jap

by Hunter Wong / 8h

Saadi Gadhafi Apologizes for Past Actions towards the people of Libya

Libyan state television has recently aired a video to the public of Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saadi, in which he apologizes to the nation from his prison cell. Saadi, one of seven, has been locked up in Tripoli jail since his extradition from neighboring country Niger. He fled Libya during the the uprising that was supported by NATO in 2011. As of now, there has been no court trial yet and no charges

by Johnny Lam / 8h

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 3-30-14

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Fun with North Korea: "Mind Your Own Busniness"(This post will be written in the style of Dick and Jane books to reflect the mental age of Kim Jung Un) See Democratic People's Republic of North Korea. See Supreme Leader Kim Jung Un. Un sends So Se Pyong to U.N. Human Rights Council. Un questions So about human rights."What are human rights?" says Un

by mike simpson / 8h

Moving Forward without a Backward Glance: MOOCs and Technological Innovations | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Moving Forward without a Backward Glance: MOOCs and Technological Innovations | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Moving Forward without a Backward Glance: MOOCs and Technological Innovations

In a recent commentary on the rock star Sting’s dipping back into his childhood to revitalize his song writing, David Brooks said: “how important it is to ground future vision in historical consciousness.” I agree with Brooks when it comes to the half-life of technological innovations. The experience of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) over the past few years is an unexpected example of what Brooks meant.

Much has been written about MOOCs since they went viral in the past three years (see here, here, here, and here). This vision of creating platforms for college-level courses that would give anyone with an Internet connection access to college courses while reducing ever-escalating costs of higher education has turned some professors into academic entrepreneurs. Here is a two-for-one innovation (increased efficiency and equity) that has married new technologies with global access to higher education. MOOCs spread rapidly among elite institutions (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Stanford) and some second- and third-tier universities. For those familiar with the Gartner hype cycle–which many acolytes of MOOCs somehow either missed or ignored–the first two phases of the cycle were textbook examples:

“Technology Trigger: A potential technology breakthrough kicks

Ravitch on Charters: NY Review of Books and Bill Moyers Interview | janresseger

Ravitch on Charters: NY Review of Books and Bill Moyers Interview | janresseger:

Ravitch on Charters: NY Review of Books and Bill Moyers Interview

Posted on March 31, 2014 by janresseger

According to the NY Times, a deal has been cut in a New York state budget bill that will stop New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from charging rent to charter schools and also prevent his haulting the practice of co-location (putting charter schools in buildings that already house a traditional public school). The budget agreement will preserve these policies of Mayor Bloomberg that Mayor de Blasio has sought to end. “Most significantly, the legislation would require the city to find space for charter schools inside public school buildings or pay much of the cost to house them in private space. The legislation would also prohibit the city from charging rent to charter schools, an idea Mr. de Blasio had championed as a candidate for mayor.”

Mayor de Blasio had resisted New York City’s tradition of accommodating charter schools (funded with public money and in New York endowed additionally by wealthy financiers) with rent-free space in public buildings. While he approved the majority of requests for new space from charter schools in February (the charter school co-locations had been pre-approved by Mayor Bloomberg before he left office), Mayor de Blasio attempted to cancel plans for three schools affiliated with a network known as Success Academy Charter Schools. Two of the schools would have moved very young children into high schools, a situation de Blasio believed created safety issues. A third would have threatened space currently housing physical therapy and other special services for disabled students.

New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo is known to favor charters. This blog has tracked his

Shanker Blog » When Growth Isn't Really Growth, Part Two

Shanker Blog » When Growth Isn't Really Growth, Part Two:

When Growth Isn’t Really Growth, Part Two

Posted by Matthew Di Carlo on March 31, 2014

Last year, we published a post that included a very simple graphical illustration of what changes in cross-sectional proficiency rates or scores actually tell us about schools’ test-based effectiveness (basically nothing).

In reality, year-to-year changes in cross-sectional average rates or scores may reflect “real” improvement, at least to some degree, but, especially when measured at the school- or grade-level, they tend to be mostly error/imprecision (e.g., changes in the composition of the samples taking the test, measurement error and serious issues with converting scores to rates using cutpoints). This is why changes in scores often conflict with more rigorous indicators that employ longitudinal data.

In the aforementioned post, however, I wanted to show what the changes meant even if most of these issues disappeared magically. In this one, I would like to extend this very simple illustration, as doing so will hopefully help shed a bit more light on the common (though mistaken) assumption that effective schools or policies should generate perpetual rate/score increases.

Let’s first quickly review the illustration presented in the previous post, which is pasted below.

Here we have a hypothetical progress of test scores in a highly effective middle school. In this school, we have applied our magical assumptions, which basically eliminate the normal sources of volatility/imprecision that plague these cross-sectional changes in real life:

We are using actual scores instead of proficiency rates (read this great paper about problems with the latter);
Every single incoming cohort of sixth graders is the exact same size and performs at exactly the same level

Education Reform: Building Houses of Sand in Swamps | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

Education Reform: Building Houses of Sand in Swamps | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

Education Reform: Building Houses of Sand in Swamps

Posted on March 31, 2014

One of first sermons I heard when I was younger that really “sunk in”, came from the book of Matthew. The Sermon was based on Matthew 7:26 from a section known as the House on the Rock.

26“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand

27“The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell– and great was its fall.”

Growing up it always seemed like I was seeing people build houses upon sand that would easily be washed away with the first serious flood; people making plans that would be ruined or abandoned at the first sign of trouble. If you think back I’m sure you will think of some situations where you took the quickest, easiest and most available path and found yourself regretting it. I think I ended up with quite a few skinned knees this way myself, both literally and figuratively.

As we grow older we learn to spot these sandy spots for what they are, and avoid them . . . sometimes. Those beaches are really attractive . . . all covered in sun and sand and begging to be built upon. We tell ourselves that this time will be different. We seduce ourselves into thinking we are better, than everyone who has tried to build a castle in the sand before us. In the end, our failure is almost as inevitable as the fact some people will always be waiting and willing to take those chances, those risks, telling ourselves we are the smartest guys in the room.

Enron was a castle in the sand. An empire built by people who thought they were the smartest,

Refuse the TEST!! Parents Opting Out Is RISING! Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Refuse the TEST!! Parents Opting Out Is RISING!

Parents all across the US are getting it: Corporate sponsored hi stakes testing if profitable for them while it is killing the education soul of their children and replacing it with fear and loathing.

Now is the time for all concerned Parents, Students and Educators to unite and join the Opt Out Movement: http://unitedoptout.com... and stay tiuned to: http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out.

This is one struggle for quality education we can win as more and more students and parents and educators JUST SAY NO!

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

SAY JAY!...Travis concedes but the coalition that came close to electing her, meets and agrees to continue working together for honest and accountable elected leadership.

Jay Travis

"I could not be more proud of our campaign. I am writing to let you know that I am officially conceding... I look forward to continuing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in our fight to grow the economy for everyone, to strengthen our neighborhood schools and to govern them democratically, and to ensure that all families can live, work, and retire with dignity and peace. We have only just begun." -- March 28th Statement

Diane Ravitch

“They loved mayoral control when it was Mayor Bloomberg, but now it’s a progressive mayor, and they’re gutting it.” -- New York Times

S. Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

“It’s not something we want to see happen,” she told The Greenville News.“ We discourage any companies that have unions from wanting to come to South

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Tennessees’ TVAAS (now EVAAS) Developer W. L. Sanders on his VAM |

Tennessees’ TVAAS (now EVAAS) Developer W. L. Sanders on his VAM |:

Tennessees’ TVAAS (now EVAAS) Developer W. L. Sanders on his VAM

The model I know best, as I have been researching this one for now almost a decade, is the TVAAS (which is now more popularly known as the EVAAS) which, as mentioned numerous times on this blog, has its strong roots in Tennessee. It is in Tennessee that William L. Sanders, a then (in the 1980s/90s) Adjunct Professor of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, developed the TVAAS.

Contrary to what was written in an article released today in The Tennessean, however, he did not invent “value-added.” This has been a mainly econometric approach that can be found in economics literature since the 1970s. Regardless, it is worth a read of this articleto understand this model’s history, the model in education from which much of the current education system’s value-added “craze” (or as they call it “vogue” trend) came, as this article was written in response to the many lawsuits coming to fruition in Tennessee (see posts forthcoming this week), largely in the model’s defense.

Interesting points to point out:

The state of Tennessee pays $1.7 million annually to SAS to calculate their TVAAS scores, and to also put them online. This is certainly a nice chunk of taxpayer funds per year, also considering that the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina use the EVAAS statewide as well.
“Sanders dismisses claims of volatility,” when the research evidence coming from the EVAAS system continues to warrant the counter claims; that is, that this model is about as volatile as the rest of the models that are currently available and operational.
Sanders claims that the model’s “formula adjusts for one-offs,” again contrary to what continues to emerge in the research. The statistics, unfortunately, do not work

State Protections for Charter Schools Threaten de Blasio’s Education Goals - NYTimes.com

State Protections for Charter Schools Threaten de Blasio’s Education Goals - NYTimes.com:

State Protections for Charter Schools Threaten de Blasio’s Education Goals

Mayor Bill de Blasio has mapped out an ambitious agenda for education in New York City. He wants to reinvigorate schools on the verge of shuttering, open 100 schools with health clinics and therapists at their core, and train more students for careers in science and technology.

But the budget deal announced by state leaders on Saturday, which would require the city to find space for charter schools, may cut into Mr. de Blasio’s priorities.

Charter schools, which serve about 6 percent of students citywide, are poised to expand significantly in New York over the next several years, potentially attracting as much as 10 percent of students by 2017, according to education advocates. And it is up to the state — not the city — to approve any new charter schools, leaving Mr. de Blasio virtually powerless to stop their growth.

With classroom seats in short supply across the city, Mr. de Blasio may find it difficult to accommodate charter schools and find space for some of his own programs.

Mr. de Blasio has said he is willing to work with charter schools, so long as they do not disrupt programs run by traditional public schools. He named a committee of district officials and charter school leaders last week to help mediate disputes over space and overcrowding.

But conflict seems likely given Mr. de Blasio’s vision for the school system — he has said repeatedly that he would like to focus resources on traditional

Anniston Star - Speak Out Education under attack

Anniston Star - Speak Out Education under attack:

Speak Out: Education under attack

Mar 28, 2014 | 1760 views | 0

| 25

As a retired educator with 35 years of teaching experience, I see the time has come to save our children’s education from an attack by the Alabama Republican House and Senate. These new-style Republicans are not our parents’ (or our) Republican representatives and senators. The aim is the control of public education (and public education funds) and the shifting of those funds to their specialized ends.

These “reformers” have an agenda much like Michelle Rhee’s failed takeover of the D.C. school system. One has to wonder if there isn’t also a dislike of public education generally. It is difficult to imagine any of them ever being one to “thank a teacher.”

Let us examine the legislative work of these new style Republicans. Their Alabama Accountability Act, after labeling the bottom 6 percent “failing schools,” then spent $40 million from the Education Trust Fund ($25 million for scholarships and $15 million for tax credits and rebates for relocation costs). Of the 30,005 students in “failing schools,” 719 transferred within their system, 18 went to another system, and 52 could go to private schools. ($40 million for these 52?)

These failing Republicans also believe that teachers’ health insurance (PEEHIP) should be raised $504 a year, with no pay raise. (Retirees, as usual, get nothing).

Parents, it is time to remove this Republican impediment to educational progress. We always knew that these Republicans would give rich corporations nearly whatever they wanted; now we know what they will do for private schools and to public schools. Vote these Republicans out.

R. E. Blanton, Ph. D.

Professor Emeritus
Jacksonville

Marie Corfield: #NJEdMarch27 Postscript

Marie Corfield: #NJEdMarch27 Postscript:

#NJEdMarch27 Postscript

I've been struggling to put words together to reflect on last Thursday's education march on Trenton. As a fledgling blogger, I sometimes find it easier to write about an event as a witness, but last week I was a participant. I was honored to be on a speakers list that included so many passionate voices for public education. And even more honored to speak to such a passionate, enthusiastic crowd. Hundreds of people—parents, students and teachers—braved the bitter cold and wind to make their voices heard.

We are all sick and tired of the lies being told about public education by people who can afford to send their children to the very best private schools in New Jersey: that our schools are 'failure factories', our teachers are 'lazy', and poverty doesn't matter. And no one hammered home that point better than Central High School Principal and Newark Mayoral Candidate, Ras Baraka.

I'll stop talking now. Sit back and watch this terrific video recap of the march by my friend and fellow teacher, Ronen Kaufman.

And remember...

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

The Deceptive Push to “Implement” Common Core | deutsch29

The Deceptive Push to “Implement” Common Core | deutsch29:

The Deceptive Push to “Implement” Common Core

March 30, 2014

I just returned home from speaking at the iRefuse Rally on March 29, 2014, in Port Jefferson Station, New York. My trip was an adventure in many ways, not the least of which was in my managing to get to New York.

In short, my flight to NYC was canceled; I was able to fly to Baltimore on standby and rent a car at 1:30 a.m. to drive through the night to Long Island (250 miles).

(It turns out that the kind individual who anonymously paid for my airfare and hotel approached me after hearing my story and offered to pay for the rental car, as well.)

I was determined to make it to the iRefuse event. It was certainly worth the effort. The rally was wonderful. Several hundred people showed to listen to almost a dozen speakers despite the dreary, rainy weather.

I spoke for about 30 minutes. The title of my talk was The Politics of Standards. I did not use notes, so I cannot post exact, complete content just yet. The rally was video recorded; once I receive the video, I will post my complete speech.

My speech came near the end of the rally; the audience was tired, and so was I (having been awake for 34 hours by then). I polled the audience before deciding upon

Latest News and Comment from Education