Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/13/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Do I Understand ESEA? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

Do I Understand ESEA? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Do I Understand ESEA?This question — do I understand ESEA — should have been a starting point for President Obama and all 535 members of Congress as they approached the reauthorization of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act). I’m only attempting to answer the question today because a citizen on Facebook asked it and I happened to

by mike simpson / 28min 

CURMUDGUCATION: Go Home, CAP

CURMUDGUCATION: Go Home, CAP: Go Home, CAPOn the heels of a recent tweet in which the Center for American Progress tried to pretend that politics had nothing to do with Common Core (at least, not until big meanies dragged politics in), CAP is now here to assert that CCSS math standards are both necessary and research based."How the Common Core Will Help the United States Bring Up Its Grade on

by mike simpson / 2h 

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests - Wait What?

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests - Wait What?: Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core testsNew York’s Common Core testing madness is one year ahead of Connecticut’s, which means parents know more and are taking action to protect their children.Last summer, the majority of parents in New York State were told their childre

by mike simpson / 2h 

Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing: Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are DisappearingThe explanation of why bees are disappearing is complex. The question why teachers are leaving the profession is not. Teaching is a tough job, especially in the inner city. But, especially in high-challenge classrooms, it would be hard to find a more wonderful career. I

by mike simpson / 3h 

K.J. lawsuit update: SN&R challenges mayor on attorney-client privilege claim

Sacramento News & Review - K.J. lawsuit update: SN&R challenges mayor on attorney-client privilege claim - Editorial - Opinions - August 13, 2015: K.J. lawsuit update: SN&R challenges mayor on attorney-client privilege claimEarlier this summer, Mayor Kevin Johnson sought an injunction from the court. He wanted a judge to stop the city of Sacramento from releasing emails and records per

by mike simpson / 3h 

Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam - The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam - The Onion - America's Finest News Source: Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education ExamWASHINGTON—Saying the long nights of cramming from the study guide and the constant drilling from flashcards had really worn on his nerves, Arne Duncan told reporters Tuesday that preparing for

by mike simpson / 4h 

The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3) | Brookings Institution

The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3) | Brookings Institution: The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3)Advocates of the Common Core State Standards say that high, uniform academic standards are essential to improving American students’ academic performance—to prepare them better for college o

by mike simpson / 4h 

From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education Reform | The Progressive

From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education Reform | The Progressive: From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education ReformAs a New Orleans parent and an active member of my community, I think of myself as an expert on the experiment in education reform that tranformed my city into the nation's first all-charter school district. So when I attended a recent community-centered conference on

by mike simpson / 4h 

Experts: Keep 'Grit' Away From Teacher Evaluations - NEA Today

Experts: Keep 'Grit' Away From Teacher Evaluations - NEA Today: Experts: Keep ‘Grit’ Away From Teacher EvaluationsThe latest sign that “grit” has graduated from mere buzzword to the big time emerged a few weeks ago when the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) announced that it will soon be collecting data on student perseverance and desire to learn. Every two years, NAEP measures th

by mike simpson / 4h 

LAUSD board president Steve Zimmer talks about getting back to basics | Education | Jewish Journal

LAUSD board president Steve Zimmer talks about getting back to basics | Education | Jewish Journal: LAUSD board president Steve Zimmer talks about getting back to basicsSteve Zimmer was first elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board in 2009 after coming to town as a Teach for America trainee and then teaching for 17 years. Now he helps guide the nation’s second-largest publ

by mike simpson / 4h 

Poor teachers: Who is to blame? | My Island View

Poor teachers: Who is to blame? | My Island View: Poor teachers: Who is to blame?I posed an #Edchat Topic recently based on a number of studies I have been reading about that are claiming millions of dollars are being spent, or wasted, on professional development, while very few teachers are benefitting from it. Again the age-old story of doing things the same old way but expecting different resul

by mike simpson / 5h 

Supreme Court holds state in contempt over school funding | Breaking News | KOMO News

Supreme Court holds state in contempt over school funding | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News: Supreme Court holds state in contempt over school fundingSEATTLE (AP) - The Washington Supreme Court is holding the Legislature in contempt for its lack of progress on fixing the way the state pays for public education, but it is holding off on punishments un

by mike simpson / 5h 

Got Art? How Much Art Do Students Get in School?

Got Art? How Much Art Do Students Get in School?: Got Art? How Much Art Do Students Get in School?I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.Georgia O’KeeffeThe new school year is starting and I’d like to hear how much art students get? Do children in preschool do art? Kindergartners—how much art will they find between Response to

by mike simpson / 5h 

WNYT.com - Common Core protesters hit goal of 200,000 test refusals

WNYT.com - Common Core protesters hit goal of 200,000 test refusals: Common Core protesters hit goal of 200,000 test refusalsALBANY – Parents and teachers fighting the Common Core hit their goal to get 200,000 students across the state to opt out of this year’s controversial exams.The state released the official numbers Wednesday along with test results.While opt out numbers skyrocketed across the

by mike simpson / 5h 

You Get What You Pay For: Taxes and the Public Schools | janresseger

You Get What You Pay For: Taxes and the Public Schools | janresseger: You Get What You Pay For: Taxes and the Public SchoolsSlashing income taxes will not grow your state’s economy, but it will very likely destroy your public schools.  If your state rolls back income taxes, your public schools will inevitably have fewer guidance counselors, and class sizes will be bigger—that is unless you can pas

by mike simpson / 7h 

Evaluation system is 'irrational,' teacher argues in court | POLITICO

Evaluation system is 'irrational,' teacher argues in court | POLITICO: Evaluation system is ‘irrational,’ teacher argues in courtBruce and Sheri Lederman. (Jimmy Vielkind/POLITICO New York)ALBANY—A Long Island elementary school teacher argued before a judge Wednesday that part of the state's teacher evaluation system is based on a "statistical black box" and should be thrown out.Sheri Le

by mike simpson / 7h 

Choosing Democracy: Initiative to Restrict Teacher Retirement is Filed

Choosing Democracy: Initiative to Restrict Teacher Retirement is Filed: Initiative to Restrict Teacher Retirement is FiledSeth Sandronsky On Tuesday California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released the full title and summary text for the Public Employees Pension and Retiree Healthcare Benefits Initiative Constitutional Amendment. The title is a mouthful, but the initiative’s wording is just s

by mike simpson / 7h 

Marie Corfield: What if the media treated teachers like football players?

Marie Corfield: What if the media treated teachers like football players?: What if the media treated teachers like football players?It's not hard these days to wake up and wonder if I'm living in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Whether it's women's health or voting rights or climate change deniers or Donald Trump or those pesky education 'reformers', life these days feels a lot like that episode,

by mike simpson / 8h 

Don’t Let John Kasich Near The U.S. Department Of Education

8/13/2015 – Don’t Let John Kasich Near The U.S. Department Of Education: Don’t Let John Kasich Near The U.S. Department Of EducationTHIS WEEK: Teacher Shortages … Revolt Against Testing … Increased Scrutiny Of Special Ed … Why Reading To Kids Is Good … Jeb Bush’s Education LegacyTOP STORYJohn Kasich Doesn’t Belong Anywhere Near The U.S. Department Of EducationBy Jeff Bryant“Some Very Serious Peopl

by mike simpson / 8h 

Beware the Roadbuilders Redux: Education Reform Wars Fail Race, Again | the becoming radical

Beware the Roadbuilders Redux: Education Reform Wars Fail Race, Again | the becoming radical: Beware the Roadbuilders Redux: Education Reform Wars Fail Race, AgainA classic analogy is Mothra vs. Godzilla, but a more contemporary comparison—and one to be highlighted in upcoming Marvel superhero films—is Marvel’s Civil Wars.First, the larger situation involves two powerful forces, both of which are 

by mike simpson / 8h 

Trial of Steve Conn on Members’ Charges - Detroit Federation of Teachers | Stateweb

Detroit Federation of Teachers | Stateweb: Trial Decision [8.12.15]In re:  Trial of Steve Conn on Members’ ChargesDecision The Bylaws of the Detroit Federation of Teachers provide at Article XV, Section 1(a) that: The Union shall have the power to suspend or expel any member, or remove from office any officer who violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Constitution of the Ame

by mike simpson / 8h 

Our Public Education Crisis: A White Parent’s Perspective - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association: Our Public Education Crisis: A White Parent’s PerspectiveBy Barclay KeyAugust 11, 2015 From the chaos of initial desegregation efforts to the white flight of the past few decades, Little Rock’s hopes for strong public schools have consistently been sacrificed on the altar of white supremacy. As a historian, I knew the general contours of this story before my family and

by mike simpson / 8h 

Education’s Merchant of Doubt & The Plight of State School Finance Systems | School Finance 101

Education’s Merchant of Doubt & The Plight of State School Finance Systems | School Finance 101: Education’s Merchant of Doubt & The Plight of State School Finance SystemsBack in 2012, I opined: “It is hard to imagine a time in the history of American public education when there has been such a widespread political effort to argue that improving the quality of schools has little or nothing

by mike simpson / 8h 

New York’s Common Core test scores flop yet again — with 20 percent of students opting out - The Washington Post

New York’s Common Core test scores flop yet again — with 20 percent of students opting out - The Washington Post: New York’s Common Core test scores flop yet again — with 20 percent of students opting outNew York just released student scores on the 2015 state-mandated Common Core standardized tests in math and English Language Arts and the results were interesting. The scores — the third year for

by mike simpson / 9h 

Indiana’s got a problem: Too many teachers don’t want to work there anymore - The Washington Post

Indiana’s got a problem: Too many teachers don’t want to work there anymore - The Washington Post: Indiana’s got a problem: Too many teachers don’t want to work there anymoreIndiana’s got a problem: Teachers increasingly don’t want to work in the state anymore. The problem has become so acute that some school districts have have had a hard time finding enough teachers to cover classes for the new

by mike simpson / 9h 

Chicago Public Schools may pressure teachers union on pensions - Government News - Crain's Chicago Business

Chicago Public Schools may pressure teachers union on pensions - Government News - Crain's Chicago Business: Can CPS force pension concessions on teachers?Chicago Public Schools officials have found a legal weapon that could force pension concessions from the Chicago Teachers Union—or blow up in their faces.The device is an untested clause in the teachers' contract that could allow CPS to unilater

by mike simpson / 9h 

City, state teachers' unions take different tacks on exam scores | POLITICO

City, state teachers' unions take different tacks on exam scores | POLITICO: City, state teachers' unions take different tacks on exam scoresNew York's city and state teachers' unions had starkly different responses Wednesday to the release of state exam scores, highlighting the divergent opinions on the Common Core academic standards and the opt out movement the unions have adopted.Just moments a

by mike simpson / 9h 

Sacramento News & Review - Kevin Johnson and Co. could face ethics test in 2016 - Beats - Local Stories - August 13, 2015

Sacramento News & Review - Kevin Johnson and Co. could face ethics test in 2016 - Beats - Local Stories - August 13, 2015: Kevin Johnson and Co. could face ethics test in 2016Embrace external reform or risk losing party endorsement, says Democratic Party affiliateSacramento City Council members who don't embrace true ethics reform may be in trouble next election, according to the chairwoman of

by mike simpson / 9h 

$240 Million Education Contract Illustrates State Lobbying Loopholes | Political Muscle | The California Report | KQED News

$240 Million Education Contract Illustrates State Lobbying Loopholes | Political Muscle | The California Report | KQED News: $240 Million Education Contract Illustrates State Lobbying LoopholesWhen California education officials awarded a $240 million, three-year contract to conduct Common Core testing for millions of school children this spring, they said it was an open and competitive process —

by mike simpson / 9h 

Parent Power Can Crush the Testocracy – and the Government is Scared Witless | gadflyonthewallblog

Parent Power Can Crush the Testocracy – and the Government is Scared Witless | gadflyonthewallblog: Parent Power Can Crush the Testocracy – and the Government is Scared Witless“We need to change accountability for schools to be more holistic. My greatest frustration is that I can’t do it fast enough.”–Pedro Rivera, Pennsylvania’s Education SecretaryParents, you can.It doesn’t matter where you live

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Why Can't the America that Creates 'This American Life' Also Integrate Our Schools? | John Thompson

Why Can't the America that Creates 'This American Life' Also Integrate Our Schools? | John Thompson: Why Can't the America that Creates 'This American Life' Also Integrate Our Schools?Paul Tough, formally of the New York Times Magazine, wrote that school reform was the result of "liberal post-traumatic shock" from supposedly losing the War on Poverty. Believing that it was too hard to fi

by mike simpson / 19h 

The big Jeb Bush charter school lie: How Florida became a cautionary tale for the rest of the country - Salon.com

The big Jeb Bush charter school lie: How Florida became a cautionary tale for the rest of the country - Salon.com: The big Jeb Bush charter school lie: How Florida became a cautionary tale for the rest of the countryLiberty City's schools were supposed to provide a pathway out of poverty. Instead, they've invited profiteeringThis article originally appeared on AlterNet.When people begin a story ab

by mike simpson / 21h 

SES IS A MESS: State’s ESEA waiver request related to tutoring requirement denied | EdSource

State’s ESEA waiver request related to tutoring requirement denied | EdSource: State’s ESEA waiver request related to tutoring requirement deniedThe state’s effort to give more control to local districts in choosing after-school tutors for struggling students has been denied by the U.S. Department of Education.Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction, said Wednesday that he was di

by mike simpson / 22h 

DFT president blasts decision to dump him for misconduct

DFT president blasts decision to dump him for misconduct: DFT president blasts decision to dump him for misconductThe president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers was stripped of his job and kicked out of the union today after being found guilty of misconduct in an unprecedented decision he has vowed to appeal.Steve Conn, 57, said he's confident that the "overreaching" ruling from the

by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/12/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMSharp climb in number of students opting out of state standardized tests | Philadelphia Public School NotebookSharp climb in number of students opting out of state standardized tests | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Sharp climb in number of students opting out of state standardized testsBut the overall percentage of opt-outs in Pennsylvania is still minusc

by mike simpson / 23h 

Do I Understand ESEA? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

Do I Understand ESEA? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

Do I Understand ESEA?

This question — do I understand ESEA — should have been a starting point for President Obama and all 535 members of Congress as they approached the reauthorization of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act). I’m only attempting to answer the question today because a citizen on Facebook asked it and I happened to see it. It’s an excellent question with answers that have varied according to who is speaking and the depth of their understanding or political motivation.

It is confusing.

ESEA —the original 1965 law— and NCLB (No Child Left Behind) aretechnically the same law but the similarities in their purposes and methods are few.

Here is an explanation directly from Senator Crapo of Idaho.

ESEA was actually enacted in 1965 and its focus was on funding to children disadvantaged by poverty. The funds were to meet under-privileged children’s educational needs through improved teacher, counselor, and state leadership training, community support services, and increasing support for libraries and learning materials.

We stopped questioning authority?

The provisions ended in 2007? That’s confusing. It makes it sound as if NCLB ended; it did not! Congress just FAILED at that point to do their jobs and the detrimental effects of the law continued unchecked for eight more years.

Here’s how it once worked.

To implement the original ESEA required low-income communities to identify the needs of impoverished children and develop plans to address those needs. This is because the Do I Understand ESEA? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

CURMUDGUCATION: Go Home, CAP

CURMUDGUCATION: Go Home, CAP:

Go Home, CAP

On the heels of a recent tweet in which the Center for American Progress tried to pretend that politics had nothing to do with Common Core (at least, not until big meanies dragged politics in), CAP is now here to assert that CCSS math standards are both necessary and research based.

"How the Common Core Will Help the United States Bring Up Its Grade on Mathematics Education"comes perilously close to being the sort of thing certain bloggers might write if they wanted to make fun of folks like CAP. This is like a small museum of bad and discredited arguments for the CCSS.

First, it's "OMGZ!! Our test scorers are worserer than everybody elses!!"

American high school students also perform far below the international average in math. Currently, they rank 27th in mathematics, while Korean and Japanese students lead the world. Between 2003 and 2012, the average math score in the United States actually decreased 2 points, while Korea’s shot up 12 points. 

Education historian Diane Ravitch has addressed this point roughly a gazillion times. 


In 1964, when the first international test was offered in two grades to twelve nations, we came in last and next to last in the two grades but went on to have a stronger economy in the next half CURMUDGUCATION: Go Home, CAP:

Education, Inc. Premiere

Brian Malone has written and directed a new documentary that belongs with your collection of films that make the current assault on public education clear and vivid. And the film's official release is tomorrow.

Education Inc is in the fine tradition of Food, Inc. It provides both a specific and important story and a clear and comprehensible overview of the larger forces shaping the small battles in education. The small picture is of events in Colorado, where Jefferson and Douglass counties find their school boards being bought up by outsider interests and their schools hammered by the folks who want to see public education run by private corporations.

The larger picture shows how this local battle is just one manifestation of forces that are dismantling public education across the entire country. Here's the trailer:



Tomorrow is the official launch of the film, though copies have been available for a while now. Many "official" screenings are scheduled across the country (you can find a partial listing here), but you can also go ahead and buy a copy ($15 plus s/h), then screen the film in the comfort of your own home.

This is one more opportunity to bring clarity and real information to the education debates. Check out Malone's film-- if not tomorrow, then as soon as you're able.

Education, Inc. Premiere

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests - Wait What?

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests - Wait What?:

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests

New York’s Common Core testing madness is one year ahead of Connecticut’s, which means parents know more and are taking action to protect their children.

Last summer, the majority of parents in New York State were told their children were failures as a result of that state’s version of the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Common Core testing scheme.

As a result, parents were prepared for this year’s testing scam and record numbers of public schools students were opted out of the opted-out of the testing fiasco.

Yesterday, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) finally released their test results, admitting that nearly a quarter of a million New York students did not take the test as a result of parental action.

The New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE), an anti-common core testing advocacy group which is made up of more than 50 parent and educator groups across New York released a major statement calling on parents to step up the opt out movement by handing in their test refusal letters on the first day of school.

The NYSAPE statement;

Opt Out to Sharply Rise as NYS Continues to Sacrifice Children With Flawed Tests & Policies

Yesterday, released the results of the 2015 3-8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) & Math exams. ELA scores were essentially flat, and the small increase in Math scores (less than 2 percentage points) was smaller than last year’s modest jump. There was also an increase in the percentage of Level 1 students in ELA, and an unchanged percentage of Level 1 students in Math, suggesting that the ratcheting up of high-stakes is leaving our most struggling students behind.

Test refusals, also known as opt outs, rose to a record number of 222,500, surpassing advocates’ estimates. More New York parents across the state are informed and have said no to the high-stakes testing regime that is disrupting quality education and harming their children. With no relief in sight, opt out figures are expected to grow significantly again this year until damaging education laws and policies are reversed.

Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public school parent and founder of Long Island Opt Out said, “How many more children will we sacrifice to a narrow education, excessive testing, and failure, before New York calls a timeout? How many veteran, master teachers will we watch flee the profession before we untie testing from evaluations? How many schools will close before New York State recognizes that public schools are the foundations of every community? Instead of dreaming up sanctions, SED should be working with educators and parents to change course and right this wrong.”

“Governor Cuomo, the Regents and SED have been quick to judge teachers through a sham accountability system that wrongfully reduces highly 

Opt-Out Movement Grows as parents fight back against unfair Common Core tests - Wait What?:

Update on state tests, opt outs, meeting with Commissioner and last chance to sign our petition! NYC Public School Parents:

NYC Public School Parents: Update on state tests, opt outs, meeting with Commissioner and last chance to sign our petition!:

NYC Public School Parents: Update on state tests, opt outs, meeting with Commissioner and last chance to sign our petition!

The state test scores were released yesterday and they were nothing to brag about.  As before, the vast majority of students scored at Level 1 or 2, and there was only a very small uptick in those scoring Level 3 or 4 (supposedly proficient.)  The big story was the number of opt outs, which statewide reached 20%, meaning  there were about 225,000 students who refused to take the tests.   In NYC, the percent of opt outs were far fewer – between 1.4-1.8%, but even there the number tripled compared to the year before.  
  

There are real questions as to whether the results have any validity, given the large number of opt outs and the flawed nature of these exams.  If those students who opted out were included, there might have been no improvement at all in the overall proficiency rate, as the state admitted that the opt-outs were more likely to have scored Level 1 or 2 in 2014.   In any case, the percent of Level 1 students in ELA increased and stayed the same in math, giving little support to the claim that our high-stakes testing regime is helping our neediest students succeed.     

Even if the numbers and scoring methodology were reliable, which is doubtful, we know these exams are designed to confuse students.  See my blog about a passage on the 3^rdgrade exam involving a talking snake, with questions that even the author of the story could not answer.  Also, you can check out Carol Burris’ analysis showing that the achievement gap between racial and ethnic groups increased, theNYSED website for the test score and opt out data by district and school, and NY Times maps of the amazing opt out numbers across the state.

Also, on August 4, we met with the new State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, along with other members of the steering committee ofNYS Allies for Education.  Though most of the discussion revolved around the defective state exams and Common Core standards and their damaging impact on our schools, I briefed her on three areas in which the state has failed to comply with the law:  Ensuring that charter schools enroll and retain equal numbers of high-needs students, as required by the 2010 amendments to the charter law;  that student data is protected, according to the 2014 student privacy law; and that NYC is lowering class size according to the 2007 Contracts for Excellence law. The Commissioner seemed interested and took notes; only time will tell if she improves the poor record of our previous Commissioner in fulfilling the state’s legal obligations to our children.

Speaking of class size, please sign our petition, also posted to the right, urging the NYC Chancellor to comply with  the C4E law and reduce class size.  The legal deadline for submitting our comments is Saturday, August 15, which is the day after tomorrow – so this is your last chance!NYC Public School Parents: Update on state tests, opt outs, meeting with Commissioner and last chance to sign our petition!:

Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing:

Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing

The explanation of why bees are disappearing is complex. The question why teachers are leaving the profession is not. 

Teaching is a tough job, especially in the inner city. But, especially in high-challenge classrooms, it would be hard to find a more wonderful career. If teaching in urban schools is the calling for you, only a fiasco as bad as the contemporary school reform movement could drive the joy out the job.

The latest discussion about the disappearance of teachers was prompted by the New York Times Motoko Rich. Rich, in Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional), explains that California has to fill 21,500 teaching slots, and the state is issuing fewer than 15,000 new teaching credentials a year. She also reported on efforts in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Louisville, Ky.; Nashville; Oklahoma City; and Providence, R.I. to staff their classrooms. NPR's Diane Rehm adds that enrollment in teacher preparation programs across the U.S. fell by around 30% between 2010 and 2014.

I can't imagine what teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg feel when recalling their district's past integration efforts, and the loss of the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of a real civil rights movement - where school desegregation promised kids and adults such rewarding and life-changing opportunities. Seeing their system move from a pioneer in social justice to being a showcase for "reform" must have been devastating.

But, I can comment on Oklahoma City where recruiters have traveled to Puerto Rico and Spain to fill classrooms. When I entered the inner city neighborhood school classroom in 1993, my John Marshall High School had more great teachers than I could have imagined. I had never encountered such teaching excellence. The faculty had stuck out the violence of 1970's bussing and the 1980's crack and gangs epidemic. But, soon, the reform mantra would be that these awesome educators' "low expectations" and their "excuses" were to blame for the low performance of high-challenge students.  So, teachers were told to all "get on the same page" in teaching the same tested material at the same rate, or get out of the inner city.  

Our school went through bouts of dysfunction when violence and disruptive behavior spun out of control, and we had funerals for far too many students, but we also produced an astounding amount of academic, artistic, musical, and athletic excellence.  It was test-driven, competition-driven reform, not the failures of our school's educators and students, that eventually transformed us into the lowest-performing high school in the state.   

It was not just NCLB and Arne Duncan's accountability-driven reforms that sucked the oxygen out of our school improvement efforts and drove out our best teachers. Top-down reform robbed us of our professional autonomy. Eventually, those of us who stood and fought for our kids' right to engaging instruction found ourselves losing battle after battle and most tearfully left for easier schools where they had more freedom to teach in a holistic manner. 

As these national stories bring the exodus of teachers into the political consciousness of nonThis Week In Education: Thompson: Why Teachers (& Bees) Are Disappearing:-

Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam - The Onion

Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam - The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam

WASHINGTON—Saying the long nights of cramming from the study guide and the constant drilling from flashcards had really worn on his nerves, Arne Duncan told reporters Tuesday that preparing for the upcoming standardized Secretary of Education Test was completely stressing him out. “I know I’ve got the stuff on FSA loans down, but it’s super unrealistic for them to think I’ll memorize every little thing about federal lunch voucher requirements—what if I’m wrong, though?” Duncan said of the yearly four-hour exam, adding that he wasn’t a very good test-taker to begin with and that even thinking about how he would get through the essay portion in just 50 minutes was making him anxious. “Half the multiple-choice questions on the SETs are on things like the Office of Migrant Education that hardly ever come up in everyday life, and the other half seem like they’re designed to trick you. Ugh, why can’t this be over?” Duncan went on to say that he’d probably do far better on the test if he could afford a high-priced tutor like former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.Arne Duncan Stressed About Preparing For Standardized Secretary Of Education Exam - The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3) | Brookings Institution

The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3) | Brookings Institution:

The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3)

Advocates of the Common Core State Standards say that high, uniform academic standards are essential to improving American students’ academic performance—to prepare them better for college or career and to enhance our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. However, surveys of teachers and the general public reveal growing opposition to the Common Core as it entered its first year of full implementation nationwide in 2014-15. These same surveys also show that most people do not know much about the Common Core, and that much of what they think they know is incorrect.

Opposition to the Core does not stem from a single source and is not confined to members of one political party. People dislike the Common Core for different reasons. In this post, I will identify various sources of opposition to the Common Core as well as assess (and in some instances dispel) the stated reasons for opposition. It is also important to understand the unusual political alliances that have emerged in opposition to the Common Core implementation, and how they may play out longer term. In a future post, I will analyze their likely effects on the future of the Common Core.

Federal (and presidential) overreach

Some, particularly Tea Party adherents and others on the right, view the Common Core as a dangerous—even unconstitutional—expansion of federal control into education and a violation of states’ rights. The word “education” does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, and our country has a strong tradition of local control of schools. Beginning with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, the federal role in education has grown tremendously and, like the law itself, has become more controversial. Yet the Common Core originated as a state venture. It was and continues to be led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers — not the federal government. But the Obama administration’s use of the Race to the Top grant competition and NCLB waiver application process to encourage states to adopt the standards, and its funding of the two consortia that developed the Common Core-aligned assessments, have fed concerns that Uncle Sam is becoming the national schoolmarm. This involvement, along with the Obama administration’s vocal support for the Core, has made it easy for opponents to cast it as a federal initiative. It is an erroneous claim taken as fact by many who oppose the Common Core. The 2014 PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools revealed that 40 percent of those who opposed the Common Core said it was “very important” to their opinion that “the federal government initiated the Common Core State Standards.” An additional 22 percent who opposed the Core said the federal genesis was “somewhat important.”

As a result, the Common Core has become a powerful and threatening symbol of big government to conservatives. Dislike of a Democratic president and the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) has been transferred to the Common Core and tagged by some with the moniker “Obamacore.” Once championed by conservatives, national standards have come to be identified as “liberal” and linked to President Obama. Some Republicans contemplating a 2016 presidential bid—including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, both former Core supporters—are highlighting their opposition to the Common Core to appeal to conservative voters who dominate GOP primaries.

Data privacy

The Common Core had the misfortune of emerging around the time of revelations about the National Security Agency’s invasive data collection. The centralized collection of student information and test scores at the heart of the Common Core thus collided with heightened fears of data mining. For example, a 2014 survey by Education Next found that 85 percent of Americans who have heard of the Common Core erroneously believe the federal government will receive detailed data on individual students’ test performance. While the federal government has funded the development of longitudinal state databases of student performance, it will not have access to any individual student information.

Backlash to corporate concerns

The business community has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Common Core, arguing that higher academic standards are imperative to ensuring that the American economy has the high-quality workforce necessary to compete in the global marketplace. The Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and major corporations such as The complicated politics of national standards: The many sources of opposition (part 1 of 3) | Brookings Institution:

From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education Reform | The Progressive

From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education Reform | The Progressive:

From New Orleans: Washing Machine-Style Education Reform

As a New Orleans parent and an active member of my community, I think of myself as an expert on the experiment in education reform that tranformed my city into the nation's first all-charter school district. So when I attended a recent community-centered conference on “The New Orleans Model of Urban School Reform: A Guide or a Warning for Cities Across the Nation?” I wasn’t sure there’d be much for me to learn.

In fact, given the focus on academic urban education research, I feared the event would speak only to people who have Ph.D.s or are working on getting one, neither of which describes me.

But the research on what has happened to New Orleans over the last ten years shocked me. The story of what happened here is important not just to those of us who live here, but to people who live in any of the cities where New Orleans-style education reform is headed next, possibly including yours.

Parent activist Anthony Parker described what he called “washing machine” approach to education reform: “Wash, rinse, repeat. Wash, rinse, repeat.” He was talking about what happens to children. Children wait at bus stops as early as 4:30 in the morning and don't get home until 7:30 or 8:00 at night. Then it’s time to do homework, go to sleep, get back up and repeat the cycle all over again. Children are badly sleep deprived. Despite the long school days, children often get no time for social development because of the strict and rigorous atmosphere of the charter schools here. Nor are they learning from a curriculum that feels relevant, respectful, and accessible to a child of color growing up in this community. This is a painful and unnecessary waste of most of these children's time.

Parker, whose grandparents taught in the New Orleans Public Schools for a combined sixty years, described how hard it was to explain to his son why he can’t attend their neighborhood school after his charter school was closed. For Parker’s own son, who is just seven years old, “washing machine” reform means he’ll be attending his fourth school this fall. “Wash, rinse, repeat.”

The lives of adults have been disrupted, too. Charmaine Neville talked about her relationship to the schools in the New Orleans neighborhood of Bywater. Before the storm, she was deeply involved in schools across the city, volunteering, tutoring, and giving lessons of all kinds. She described her heartbreak when she tried to help children with special needs who attend the

- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/08/188260/new-orleans-washing-machine-style-education-reform#sthash.yTCQJM1C.dpuf