Moskowitz and Petrilli Push Education Model Designed to Serve Strivers and Shed the Rest | janresseger

Moskowitz and Petrilli Push Education Model Designed to Serve Strivers and Shed the Rest | janresseger:

Moskowitz and Petrilli Push Education Model Designed to Serve Strivers and Shed the Rest

It is amazing to watch Eva Moskowitz, New York City’s charter school diva, take on her arch political rival, Mayor Bill de Blasio in a charter school war she wages through histrionics and melodrama.  The two were rivals in New York’s city council, and only recently did Moskowitz decide not to challenge de Blasio for mayor in the next election.  She has amassed a powerful backing—from billionaire hedge fund managers to New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo, who has proven himself responsive to the money Moskowitz’s supporters have donated to underwrite his own political campaigns.

Moskowitz, who eschews the term “brand,” has spent lots of time and money creating one.  It has been documented here and here that she and her supporters have employed the Washington, D.C. communications firm, SKD Knickerbocker, whose managing partner is Anita Dunn, the former communications director for the Obama White House.  One problem Moskowitz may not see, due to her obsession with building the power of her own Success Academy Charters, is that she may be damaging the entire charter school “brand” by persistently demonstrating the ethical problem inherent in school choice: such programs favor the few who are most promising at the expense of children who are more vulnerable and less desirable.

First, a couple of weeks ago, the PBS NewsHour aired a piece filmed by John Merrow on the outrageous suspension rates for children in Kindergarten and first grade at Success Academy Charters.  (This blog covered Merrow’s report here.)  Eva responded, typically, by attacking PBS and John Merrow.  Then last Thursday, Kate Taylor reported in depth for the New York Times on a Success Academy charter school that singled out children for disciplinary action after the school had determined that some children should be on a “Got to Go” list.  Taylor explains, “Success Academy, which is run by Eva S. Moskowitz, a former New York City councilwoman, is the city’s largest charter school network.  It has 34 schools, and plans to Moskowitz and Petrilli Push Education Model Designed to Serve Strivers and Shed the Rest | janresseger:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES Rauner's a 'sociopath'. Does anyone still doubt it?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES Rauner's a 'sociopath'. Does anyone still doubt it?:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES Rauner's a 'sociopath'. Does anyone still doubt it?

"Sociopath" Rauner sends Chicago a dead fish.

CTU Pres. Karen Lewis

"I do want to say something about that sociopath governor," Lewis said during her talk Friday before launching into a long story about an encounter with Rauner.

"He told me what he believed in, and then he told me what he didn't believe in," she said. "He said, 'I don't believe in collective anything. I don't believe in communal anything.'"

"But then he told me we had something in common," Lewis said. Rauner noted that they both attended Dartmouth College. "Worst two years of my life," Lewis said. -- Chicago Tribune

Alliance Charters spokeswoman Catherine Suitor

"Of course, we are going to comply with the order. It actually doesn't change much. It says no one will coerce or threaten [unionizing Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES Rauner's a 'sociopath'. Does anyone still doubt it?:

Hailed as a ‘bold vision,’ an innovative school plan hits roadblocks - The Hechinger Report

Hailed as a ‘bold vision,’ an innovative school plan hits roadblocks - The Hechinger Report:

Hailed as a ‘bold vision,’ an innovative school plan hits roadblocks

Controversy over a California community center that would unite a school district and a city shows how popular ideas can lose favor once they are executed

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — The Emeryville Center of Community Life was supposed to be a slick, 150,000-square-foot community schools complex that would assist this city’s neediest students and their families by providing dental, mental health, and tutoring services on the same site where they attended school. It was first proposed more than a decade ago just as the community schools model was becoming increasingly popular.

In 2013, the National League of Cities hailed the Emeryville plan as a “bold vision.” It was also touted in a Fast Company article titled “This Is What It Looks Like When a School Becomes a Community Hub.”

But for folks here in this quirky swath of tech-start-ups, shopping malls and renovated artist studios, the citywide plan has proven to be less of a solution and more of cautionary tale, a lesson in how hard it can be to take a community schools dream and turn it into a workable reality, even when almost everyone likes the idea.

Emeryville’s small size — only two schools and fewer than 800 students — may not be typical of districts experimenting with the community schools idea. Many are in larger, more urban areas. But with the growing interest around the country in community schools, Emeryville’s problems are an important cautionary tale.

When community schools succeed, the results can be impressive. Two years ago, Emeryville’s neighbor Oakland, a larger, more troubled school district, adopted the model, turning 27 neighborhood schools into community hubs by adding afterschool programs, asthma-mobiles, farmer’s markets, adult literacy classes and free Dad’s clubs. In Chicago, there are more than 200 community schools. Baltimore has 45. And New York City, the largest school district in the country, has an estimated 150.

The concept is based on the idea that schools in struggling communities should serve as social service hubs, helping to provide support for families before and after the regular school day. Some community schools offer literacy programs for mothers. Others provide regular check-ups to toddlers. All serve to limit the non-academic barriers that can hold students and their families back.

The plan for a community school in Emeryville first surfaced more than 10 years ago and was seen as a way for this small, economically diverse city to lure more families to the under-enrolled district, increase test scores and create more of a community feel.

But the plan has been plagued by political controversy, financial wrangling and practical roadblocks.

“Philosophically, I agree with a lot of the concepts,” said school board member Christian Patz, echoing the sentiment of many here. “But the execution has not been as promised.”

Twenty minutes outside of San Francisco, Emeryville has long been a unique place, attracting big-box retailers, artists and tech start-ups. But it also has a substantial number of low-income residents among its population of 11,227. According to census data, an estimated 10 Hailed as a ‘bold vision,’ an innovative school plan hits roadblocks - The Hechinger Report:

.@NAACP Now: Will we get more testing status quo from Presidential Candidates? | Cloaking Inequity

.@NAACP Now: Will we get more testing status quo from Presidential Candidates? | Cloaking Inequity:

@NAACP Now: Will we get more testing status quo from Presidential Candidates?

I recently wrote an article for the NAACP national office about the 2016 presidential race, high-stakes testing, Common Core and civil rights. I wrote the piece for NAACP Now, a forum that includes “voices of members, activists, partners and supporters who believe in our cause to bring about social change.”

Here is the article entitled Will we get more testing status quo from Presidential Candidates? (pdf version):

Many were recently disappointed by the lack of conversation about K-12 education in the recent Democratic debate in Las Vegas. The Progressive Magazine asked me to reflect on the dearth of coverage. I wrote.

The recent Democratic Party presidential debate in Las Vegas left many observers scratching their heads. Why did the candidates and their CNN hosts ignore K-12 education?

Is education not important enough to merit discussion as a top national priority in 2016? The public clearly cares about education. US News reports that education is the third ranked search term on Google. When Gallup asked an open-ended question on the most important issues to voters in the 2016 campaign, education came in sixth.

We know that education is important to the public. What issues do voters identify as most important? A recent poll found that “less testing” was tied with “parental involvement” for the most important issue.

High-stakes tests came to the nation with the passage of No Child Left Behind during the presidency of George W. Bush. The tests were framed .@NAACP Now: Will we get more testing status quo from Presidential Candidates? | Cloaking Inequity:

From 'Book Strap' To 'Burrito': A History Of The School Backpack : NPR Ed : NPR

From 'Book Strap' To 'Burrito': A History Of The School Backpack : NPR Ed : NPR:

From 'Book Strap' To 'Burrito': A History Of The School Backpack

Our Tools of the Trade series is exploring some of the icons of schools and education.

My editor, Steve Drummond, isn't that old of a guy. He's from Michigan — Wayne Memorial High School, class of '79.

But when he starts talking about backpacks, he dips into a "back in my day" tone that makes you think of a creaky rocking chair and suspenders: "You know, Lee, when I was in school, no one had a backpack!

"You just carried your books in your arms." He says it like he's talking about sending a telegram with Morse code. "No one really thought about it, that's just what you did."

And, like all good memories, he tops it off with some commentary about the younger generation.

"Nowadays, backpacks are everywhere. It's almost impossible for younger people to imagine a world without them."

Right about then, I started to tune him out. I think he went off about how our phones are practically glued to our hands or something like that.

But it's true. I'm one of those younger people, and I can't imagine going to school without my backpack.

Since my first day of kindergarten in 1995, my JanSport and I were inseparable. It was a fluorescent green SuperBreak model. My dad wrote my name on the front with a Sharpie (he did his best to match the JanSport font).

Me and millions of other kids. The school backpack is as essential to education these From 'Book Strap' To 'Burrito': A History Of The School Backpack : NPR Ed : NPR:

In Elizabeth, Christie and the NJEA, perfect together | Bob Braun's Ledger

In Elizabeth, Christie and the NJEA, perfect together | Bob Braun's Ledger:

In Elizabeth, Christie and the NJEA, perfect together

Christie and the teachers’ union–happy together in Elizabeth

The lawns in my neighborhood are predictably dotted with political signs promoting the two slates for three school board seats. One slate is backed by Elizabeth’s Democratic mayor, Chris Bollwage, and state Sen. Ray Lesniak who also is running (probably) for governor. The other is backed by an organization created years ago by the late Thomas Dunn, a former mayor; it has a majority on the school board now. Both sides claim to be Democrats because Republicans are rare in Elizabeth. The Dunn group, however, has consistently endorsed Republican politicians for statewide and national office, including, yes, Gov. Chris Christie.

It’s a long-standing feud. The oddest part of it this year is the open and aggressive position of the Elizabeth Education Association (EEA), a local of the New Jersey Education Association—in favor of the crypto-Republican slate.

Tour Elizabeth and, anywhere you see the green and black signs for what is generally called the “Continue the Progress Team” slate, you will also see political signs for the Elizabeth Education Association. Indeed, the EEA/NJEA sent out mailings promoting the candidates.

The connection goes back years. At one time, the late Dennis Giordano, then a former NJEA president and a paid organizer for other state unions, became principal of Elizabeth High School with the support, obviously of the school board, but also  of the EEA. He was the brother of Vincent Giordano, until recently, the NJEA’s executive director.

When I asked Vincent about the EEA’s love for Christie backers on the school In Elizabeth, Christie and the NJEA, perfect together | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Deterioration of public school arts programs has been particularly jarring in L.A. - LA Times

Deterioration of public school arts programs has been particularly jarring in L.A. - LA Times:

Deterioration of public school arts programs has been particularly jarring in L.A.

rmandie Avenue Elementary Principal Gustavo Ortiz worries that he can't provide arts classes for most of the 900 students at his South Los Angeles school.

Not a single art or music class was offered until this year at Curtiss Middle School in Carson.

At Carlos Santana Arts Academy in North Hills, a campus abuzz with visual and performing arts, the principal has gone outside the school district for help. A former professional dancer, she has tapped industry connections and persuaded friends to teach ballroom dancing and other classes without pay until she could reimburse them.

Budget cuts and a narrow focus on subjects that are measured on standardized tests have contributed to a vast reduction of public school arts programs across the country. The deterioration has been particularly jarring in Los Angeles, the epicenter of the entertainment industry.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is discovering the extent of those cuts as it seeks to regain the vibrancy that once made it a leader in arts education. For the first time, L.A. Unified in September completed a detailed accounting of arts programs at its campuses that shows stark disparities in class offerings, the number of teachers and help provided by outside groups.

Arts programs at a vast majority of schools are inadequate, according to district data. Classrooms lack basic supplies. Some orchestra classes don't have enough instruments. And thousands of elementary and middle school children are not getting any arts instruction.

A Los Angeles Times analysis that used L.A. Unified's data to assign letter grades to arts programs shows that only 35 out of more than 700 schools would get an "A." Those high-performing schools offered additional instruction through community donations, had more teachers and a greater variety of arts programs than most of the district's campuses.

Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >>

The Times' analysis shows that elementary school arts programs in poor neighborhoods have been the hardest hit despite the district's decades-long attempt to close the gap between low-income and more affluent students.

A key factor contributing to the disparities is the ability of schools in more affluent areas to tap foundations and community members for help as district funds dwindled. Elementary schools that supplemented arts education at their campuses with outside resources had an average poverty rate of 60%, well below the district average. On the other end, at Deterioration of public school arts programs has been particularly jarring in L.A. - LA Times:

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Enemies Eva Moskowitz Has Made

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Enemies Eva Moskowitz Has Made:

The Enemies Eva Moskowitz Has Made

Eva Moskowitz may be popular with Hedge Fund Managers, famous singers some politicians, and to be fair, many parents in her schools, but she is a lot less popular with

1. Parents, Teachers and Students in schools who are Co-Loated with Success Academy schools who have been insulted, ostracized deprived of classrooms, libraries and gymnasium space and treated like carriers of a dread disease that might "infect" Success Academy "scholars" and teachers. By now, these people number in the tens of thousands!

2. Parents whose children have been pushed out of Success Academy schools because they are considered behavioral problems who might undermine school discipline or lower test scores. This group now numbers in the hundreds.

3. Teachers who left Success Academies because they couldn't stand the authoritarian treatment, long hours, and lack of union protection. This group also now numbers in the hundreds.

Finally, and this is something few will talk about, there are Charter School founders, principals and teachers who abhor the authoritarian methods and relentless self promotion Eva employs and feel they give the entire Charter School Movement a bad name.

When you add up all these groups, you will see why Eva could NEVER be elected Mayor of New York City, and why so few people are defending her in the wake of revelations of abusive practices at her schools

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Enemies Eva Moskowitz Has Made:

Gentrification in U.S. cities masks big declines in math.- US News

How Can Cities' NAEP Report Cards Be OK When Students Are Doing Worse? - US News:

How Can Cities' NAEP Report Cards Be OK When Students Are Doing Worse?

Gentrification in U.S. cities masks big declines in math.

Here's a riddle. In New York City, the largest school district in the nation, eighth-grade math scores were virtually unchanged between 2013 and 2015, according to national test results released Oct. 28, 2015. That's not great news, but at least they didn't decline along with those of the rest of the nation's eighth graders. (See our story about the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.)

But a closer inspection of New York City's scores showed something peculiar. Scores of white students fell a whopping 7 points, with the average white student now scoring below "proficient" instead of above. Scores of black students declined 2 points. And Asian test scores declined by a point as well.

So, three of the city's four major demographic groups, which make up more that 60 percent of the city's public school children, did worse. But overall the city's average math score was unchanged. How can this be?

[READ: Student Scores in Reading and Math Drop]

It's partly explained by the 4-point rise in the eighth-grade math scores of Hispanics, who make up 37 percent of the population. But the bigger answer is that U.S. cities are fluid and their populations can change fast. In 2013, New York City's eighth graders were 11 percent white, 31 percent black, 42 percent Hispanic and 16 percent Asian. Two years later, in 2015, the city's gentrification had changed the complexion of middle school classrooms. The city's eighth grade was suddenly 15 percent white, 30 percent black, 37 percent Hispanic and 17 percent Asian. 

The two demographic groups that, on average, score low – blacks and Hispanics – had shrunk (down 6 percentage points). The two demographic groups that score high – whites and Asians – had grown (up 5 percentage points). Even with the sharp decline in white scores, white students, on average, were still scoring much higher, about 30 points higher, than their black and Latino peers. And so when there are more whites and Asians in the public school system, that's going to prop up the school district's overall scores.

[SPECIAL REPORT: STEM Index]How Can Cities' NAEP Report Cards Be OK When Students Are Doing Worse? - US News:

Campus Equity Week - Lily's Blackboard

Campus Equity Week - Lily's Blackboard:

Campus Equity Week

It’s fitting that we celebrate Campus Equity Week during the last full week of October, right before Halloween. While students are out trying to scare each other on this day every year, contingent faculty face scary circumstances that last year-round.

This includes carrying overwhelming student debt, no offices on their campuses to meet with students one-on-one, no office hours for students, and having to travel between multiple colleges and campuses each day.

These professors work just as hard as their full-time colleagues to shape the minds of the nation’s future teachers, scientists, doctors and leaders, but because of their job status they face enormous obstacles.

Since 1999, Campus Equity Week has been a week to raise awareness and fight to fix these issues faced by contingent educators throughout the United States. This year we are happy to have an ally in this fight in Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]. Sen. Durbin recently introduced the Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2015, a bill that would immensely help relief some of the student loan debt carried by these adjuncts by allowing them access to the Public Loan Forgiveness Program—just like their full-time colleagues.

We’ve all had great professors who’ve made a lasting impact on our lives, and as we wrap Campus Equity Week I ask you to make a lasting impact on their lives and support the Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2015.Campus Equity Week - Lily's Blackboard:

DENVER: Colorado recall targets conservative school board members | Nation | CentreDaily.com

DENVER: Colorado recall targets conservative school board members | Nation | CentreDaily.com:

Colorado recall targets conservative school board members

DENVER — Angry parents and educators in a Colorado battleground county are trying to recall three conservative school board members Tuesday, citing several complaints, including a change in how teachers get pay raises and talk of reviewing the history curriculum to promote patriotism.

The idea prompted students to walk out of class and protest in the streets last year. Teachers staged sick-outs, the Jefferson County district claimed.

The board members facing recalls cruised to victory in 2013, but their arrival quickly caused a stir. The superintendent of the school district, Cindy Stevenson, left days after their election, saying she felt disrespected by them and couldn't do her job anymore.

Then came a decision to tie teacher pay increases to performance rather than seniority, and accusations that the three conservatives on the five-member board were meeting privately before scheduled meetings. Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk have repeatedly denied holding secret meetings.

While school-board spats typically are confined locally, these recall efforts have attracted spending from special-interest groups in a battle over what education reform should look like. It's no surprise the setting for that question is Jefferson County, a politically diverse swing district where rural, mountain, and urban communities mingle.

"I think we are a harbinger of education reform, what can persist and succeed and what cannot," said Witt, the board's president.

Jefferson County, which has Colorado's second largest school district, drew national attention when the conservative-led majority considered reviewing a new Advanced Placement U.S. history curriculum to emphasize patriotism.

Ultimately, the board didn't do anything with the AP history class, an elective course that has been criticized by the Republican National Committee and the Texas State Board of Education. The course gives greater attention to the history of North America and its native people before colonization and their clashes with Europeans.

But the board members insist it's their duty to periodically look at curriculum, and that the scuffle had more to do with union displeasure over the new teacher pay system.

Recall supporters also highlight the salary of the superintendent hired to replace Stevenson.

Stevenson's salary had been $205,000, but for her replacement, Dan McMinimee, the board approved a base salary of $220,000, with up to $40,000 in additional merit pay. Board members facing the recall vote say that's comparable to what superintendents make in similar-sized districts. They've also disputed ballot language that claims McMinimee is being paid $280,000.

The recall effort is happening during an otherwise sleepy election year, making it hard to predict turnout and outcome. It's not unusual for some Jefferson County voters to not be completely familiar with what's going on this year, said Wendy McCord, a parent who helped organize the recalls with the group Jeffco United for Action, which also includes educators.

"I think when you actually have a chance to talk to people about what's going on, they areDENVER: Colorado recall targets conservative school board members | Nation | CentreDaily.com:

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2015/10/31/4993338_colorado-recall-targets-conservative.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Lily Eskelsen García: Test results don't cure inequity: Opposing view

Test results don't cure inequity: Opposing view:

Test results don't cure inequity: Opposing view

We need to understand what really works to close opportunity gaps

If taking a patient’s temperature cured disease, the world would be much healthier. Medical professionals will tell you that knowing there’s a fever begs the question: Why? A thorough examination follows, ultimately leading to a diagnosis — which in and of itself — is not a cure.

The same goes for the scourge of inequity in our schools. Some would say the only way to ensure opportunity for all is to focus on standardized test results. But if you listen to the professionals, the educators, we will tell you that it is far from a cure. In fact, we’ll tell you the very same thing — the test results should prompt more involved inquiry.

Yet the results are the basis for critical decisions for our students and their schools. Ultimately, those decisions — punishments of students and schools — have only exacerbated the inequity in the system. It’s akin to knowing there’s a fever and then deciding — based solely on that fever’s presence — to perform surgery.

In too many schools, the pressure to “Make Your Score” has pushed out all semblance of creative learning and critical thinking. Rote memorization becomes more important than problem-solving skills and love of learning that are the seeds of true success. Hardest hit are children who need support the most, those of color and those who live in poverty.

A true cure requires consults with specialists: the professionals who answer the call to educate students. We’ll tell you: A complete measure of student success demands recognizing that standardized tests are only a small part of that picture.

USA TODAY

Streamline standardized tests: Our view

Rather than administering punishments, policymakers must provide all students with what they need — access to nurses, counselors, well-equipped libraries, music and arts, and more. Don’t focus on a single temperature check; also measure what goesinto an education.

That’s why educators are demanding a broader “Opportunity Dashboard” in a new education bill moving through Congress — more inputs to understand what really works to close opportunity gaps. Measurement is one part of a diagnosis for sure, but equal opportunity is the cure.

Lily Eskelsen García is the president of the National Education Association.Test results don't cure inequity: Opposing view:

Let's talk about that market-based school reform, shall we?

Let's talk about that market-based school reform, shall we?:

Let's talk about that market-based school reform, shall we?

How about every day this month?

In the past few weeks I've read over and over about "successful market-based reforms" and school districts "borrowing ideas from the world of business" as if this is some trendy, superexciting new model. As if it is not the shopworn, underwhelming methodology that unsuspecting communities have been force fed for the last ten, fifteen, even twenty years. As if it has not itself become the status quo.

So-called market-based school reform in education has been around for twenty years, and under the Obama administration it has been given free reign to gallop untrammeled throughout the land. But the glorious shining future of new and improved disrupted education hasn't arrived yet. Instead, parents and students responded to the Obama administration's mass assessment efforts with mass testing opt-outs; participant states in the PARCC (Common Core testing) Consortium have shrunk from 26 to 7; and spectacular corruption scandals have emerged across the country including mass cheating incidents and conflict of interest schemes. The disappointing latest NAEP scores--the first time they've ever dipped for American kids--have left the administration sputtering about how with such great advancements being implemented in our districts, we're bound to see initial setbacks.

So-called market reform is a model that's not new, and it bears little resemblance to anything in the actual world of business. But it is coming down upon us with the force of an avalanche, newly, again, still. There's one reason for this. It's not data. It's not evidence. It's not success. It's not pedagogy.

It's cash. That is to say, the profits generated by the privatizers and the dealers in educational technology.

While no one's really realized the $500 billion potential profits foreseen by Rupert Murdoch, there's an awful lot of scratch to be made in education.

What does this race to capture the $500 billion market share look like in Let's talk about that market-based school reform, shall we?:

The Costs of English-Only Education: A Growing Movement to Teach ELL Students in Their Native Languages - The Atlantic

The Costs of English-Only Education: A Growing Movement to Teach ELL Students in Their Native Languages - The Atlantic:

The Costs of English-Only Education

Efforts to teach ELL students in their native languages are gaining traction—and they’re benefitting native English speakers, too.

In 1998, Ron Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire and former gubernatorial candidate, set out to abolish bilingual education in California. Fueled by an anti-immigrant climate, Unz spearheaded a statewide campaign for Proposition 227, a highly controversial state initiative that required schools to teach language-minority students almost entirely in English. The ballot measure passed with 61 percent of the vote and made California the first state to prohibit bilingual programs in schools, radically altering the education of hundreds of thousands of children. Now almost 17 years later, while the political tensions remain, a reversal is underway, powered largely by findings that bilingual instruction is what’s best for English language learners.

Nationally, bilingual education has been rechristened “dual-language programs” and is gaining fresh appeal. The templates of dual-language instruction vary—some programs transition students into English-only after several years while others emphasize ongoing two-language immersion at different ratios—but the common strand is an attempt to build literacy and proficiency in more than one language. The approach is found to outperform traditional ESL, where lessons are typically taught entirely in English. Research shows two-language instruction is linked to numerous positive and long-term benefits, including stronger literacy skills, narrowing of achievement gaps, and higher graduation rates. And the academic advantages of two-language programs even carry over to an unexpected group: children who only speak English at home. A Michigan State University study of Texas elementary students in 2013 found “a substantial spillover effect”—higher math and reading scores—for children from English-only homes who were enrolled in schools with bilingual education programs.The Costs of English-Only Education: A Growing Movement to Teach ELL Students in Their Native Languages - The Atlantic:

How daylight saving time explains standardized test scores - The Washington Post

How daylight saving time explains standardized test scores - The Washington Post:

How daylight saving time explains standardized test scores

“Cut scores,” according to the Educational Testing Service, are “selected points on the score scale of a test,” points that “are used to determine whether a particular test score is sufficient for some purpose.” In education today, of course, the purpose for which cut scores are set is to separate student test-takers into categories — those who do badly on a test, or average, or well, or really well. So how are cut scores set?

You can read this 2014 post about  the scary way the cut scores were set for New York’s Common Core tests. And you can read the brief post below, which succinctly explains the problem with cut scores in general. It was written by Peter Greene, a veteran teacher of English in a small town in Pennsylvania, who initially published this on his Curmudgucation blog.

[Teacher: Why the ‘rich student data’ we get from testing is actually worthless]

By Peter Greene

The afternoon is only half over, but the sun is riding a little low in the sky. Within a few hours, it’s going to get dark outside. That’s because we just switched the clocks back an hour, and it’s no longer daylight saving time.

Here’s the thing– it will get precisely as dark as it got yesterday, just as the sun rose just as high today as it rises every single day. The distribution of light and dark through the day, the distribution of the sun’s high points and low points– it will be pretty much the same today as it was yesterday.

[The scary way N.Y. Common Core test ‘cut scores’ were selected]

What changed is not the distribution of light and dark, but the labels that we put on it. Saturday we labeled this position of the sun 4:00. Today we are labeling it 3:00.

This is a fine way to explain cut scores. The distribution of student scores, the How daylight saving time explains standardized test scores - The Washington Post:

2016 United Opt Out Conference: Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution | Seattle Education

2016 United Opt Out Conference: Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution | Seattle Education:

2016 United Opt Out Conference: Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution

United Opt Out National Conference

Friday, February 26, 2016

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Philadelphia, PA

 Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution

It is time for revolution.  

It is time for non-negotiable demands.

It is time to reclaim our public schools and demand all for all children.

Join us in Philly as we dialogue with an incredible group of revolutionary leaders who will help the Opt Out movement, the people’s movement, to craft a revolution that will tear down the test and punish system and help reshape our country, our communities, and our public schools so that equity and true democratic thinking becomes our reality.

February 26, Friday Evening Keynote
Stephen KrashenFebruary 27, Saturday Morning Keynote
Chris Hedges
February 27, Saturday Afternoon Keynote
Antonia DarderFebruary 28, Sunday Morning Keynote
Mercedes Martinez 
February 28, Sunday Afternoon Keynote
Bill Ayers 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Book Talk with Ricardo Rosa: Capitalism’s Educational Catastrophe: And the Advancing Endgame Revolt!

Community Empowerment

Student Activism

Opt Out 101

Black Lives Matter

Teachers of Professional Conscience

Media and Messaging

Our Demands: What’s Next?

More TBD soon!

PANELS

Global Privatization “and the Advancing Endgame Revolt”

Civil Rights: Reclaiming the Narrative

For more information, go to eventbrite.

2016 United Opt Out Conference: Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution | Seattle Education:

In Denver suburb, a school board race morphs into $1 million ‘proxy war’ - The Washington Post

In Denver suburb, a school board race morphs into $1 million ‘proxy war’ - The Washington Post:

In Denver suburb, a school board race morphs into $1 million ‘proxy war’

Americans for Prosperity, the national organization founded by the Koch brothers

When voters cast ballots Tuesday in a school board race in suburban Denver, it will mark the climax of a two-year battle over public education that has reverberated well beyond the Rockies.

Spending on the school board election in Jefferson County, Colo., is expected to top $1 million, with money pouring in from Americans for Prosperity, the national organization founded by the Koch brothers, as well as a libertarian think tank and teachers unions.

The contest is actually a recall election, with activists trying to kick out three conservative members who won seats in 2013, becoming the majority power block on the five-member board.

“This is not a school board race, this is a proxy war,” said Jon Caldara, the president of the libertarian Independence Institute in Denver, which wants to keep the three conservatives in power. “This is a proxy war between education reform and union power.”

Tina Gurdikian, a parent who helped spearhead the recall effort, agrees that the election is a stand-in for a larger national debate about public education and she said she sees it as an ideological fight.

“This is really part of a national agenda by special-interest groups like Americans for Prosperity to privatize public education,” said Gurdikian, who has two children in the Jefferson County public schools. “We have a nearly $1 billion budget, and I think a lot of people look at that and want a piece of it. Privatization can work for some things, but not really public education. It In Denver suburb, a school board race morphs into $1 million ‘proxy war’ - The Washington Post:

Wendy Lecker: Why use the SAT? - StamfordAdvocate

Wendy Lecker: Why use the SAT? - StamfordAdvocate:

Wendy Lecker: Why use the SAT?

A new large-scale, longitudinal study should make Connecticut policy makers think twice before continuing with their ill-advised policy imposing the SAT as the new “mastery test” for 11thgraders.

Last spring, after opt-outs and outcry from parents and students, Connecticut lawmakers decided to quickly abandon the unvalidated SBAC test — but only for 11thgraders. In its place they decided to adopt the newly redesigned SAT.

Jettisoning the SBAC was a step in the right direction, but adopting the SAT presents a host of new problems.

First, the SAT is supposedly a test to predict college “aptitude,” not to assess what Connecticut high school students have learned.

Yet Connecticut plans to use the SAT to judge and rank schools and, of course, sanction them when they perform poorly. The State Department of Education confirmed that after it receives the 2016 results, cut scores will be set to determine “mastery.”

I asked SDE who will set the cut scores and how they can possibly have proof that these scores are valid representations of “mastery” when the test is new, as they will only have one year of results and it isn’t designed to test mastery. SDE refused to answer.

And even though the College Board itself opposes the use of the SAT for teacher evaluations because there is not enough evidence of its validity or reliability for this use, Hartford public schools is already planning to use the SAT in teacher evaluations this year. The district intends to compare spring 2016 SAT scores against students’ fall 2015 PSAT scores.

Second, while the SAT provides accommodations for certain students with disabilities, it does not provide any for English Language Learners (ELL). SDE plans to simply use the accommodations previously used for the CMT and CAPT for the new SAT.

However, experts in this field confirmed to me that one cannot simply transfer accommodations from one test to another. When I asked SDE for any proof of the validity and reliability of using CMT/CAPT ELL accommodations for the SAT, again, they refused to answer.

Proof that there are significant problems using the SAT for accountability purposes in Connecticut comes from a study just published by the University of California.

The study examined 1.1 million students from 1994-2011. It found that one-third of the variance of SAT scores could be explained by parental education, socio-economic status or status as a member of an Wendy Lecker: Why use the SAT? - StamfordAdvocate: