Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/12/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/12/17

Featured Post

DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today - Network For Public Education #DumpDeVos

CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools

by mike simpson / 1h

CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools : Tofu Schools The repeated claim is that charters and choice are necessary in order for students to have options and to be able to select from many different educational programs, which makes me wonder-- are public schools made out of tofu or some other featureless, uniform substance. When you slice a public school, do you uncover the same bland surface, the same unv

State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

by mike simpson / 2h

State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Board of Education Approves Final Elements of the New Groundbreaking Accountability System, the California School Dashboard SACRAMENTO—The State Board of Education (SBE) today took the final steps in approving a landmark Accountability and Improvement System that will provide a wealth of new information to

SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue

by mike simpson / 2h

SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue : SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data By John Thompson. There are so many reasons why anyone interested in public education should read Marta Jewson’s latest expose of the high profile New Orleans SciTech Academy’s shenanigans when providing – and not providing – special education services. Reader

Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World

by mike simpson / 2h

Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World : Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick Saying Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan millionaire, hates public schools and teachers, the nation’s two big teachers unions launched a campaign to stop the Senate from confirming her to head the federal Education Depar

Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 3h

Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic : The DeVos Hearings: A Crib Sheet Prepare to hear “school choice” a lot. Here’s what it actually means. The Trump administration could bring to the fore some education terms that have been largely overlooked in recent years as it moves to dramatically change the way students learn in the United States. And officials and advocacy g

The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled!

by mike simpson / 6h

The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled! : The Elephant in the Room – Fairness While VAMs have many issues pertaining, fundamentally, to their levels of reliability, validity, and bias, they are wholeheartedly unfair. This is one thing that is so very important but so rarely discussed when those external to VAM-based metrics and metrics use are debating, mainly the benefits of VAMs. Issu

New board takes reins at Detroit schools

by mike simpson / 6h

New board takes reins at Detroit schools : New board takes reins at Detroit schools Detroit — A new era officially began Wednesday for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Seven new school board members took an oath to serve the state’s largest school district’s children before an auditorium of parents, students, faculty and community members. It is the first elected body in seven years

State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource

by mike simpson / 6h

State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource : State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests After hours of discussion, the State Board of Education on Wednesday settled two much debated issues that will enable state officials to move ahead this year with the state’s new school accountability system. One decision creates a different way to measu

John Thompson: One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc

by mike simpson / 7h

One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc : One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle A quote from Daniel Webster appears on the side of Harding Charter Prep's building Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2016. (Josh McBee) T he OKCPS board deserves great praise for conducting a roundtable discussion of charter schools in a retreat Monday that was open to the public. Th

Randi Weingarten doesn't share Jeb Bush embrace of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary - SaintPetersBlog

by mike simpson / 7h

Randi Weingarten doesn't share Jeb Bush embrace of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary - SaintPetersBlog : Randi Weingarten doesn’t share Jeb Bush embrace of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary Though education was rarely discussed by Donald Trump on the campaign trail, at the top of his list of priorities was to spend $20 million on school choice, which would come from “reprioritizing federal doll

Parental Discrimination Lawsuits on the Rise - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 7h

Parental Discrimination Lawsuits on the Rise - The Atlantic : The Revolt of Working Parents Mothers—and some fathers—are increasingly suing employers for discriminating against working parents. They are succeeding. “There is no way you can be a good mother while achieving what I aspire." “Let’s face it. It’s a man’s world. The woman always stays home with the child.” “It’s hard to do this job wit

Will Betsy DeVos Restart The ‘Education Wars’?

by mike simpson / 7h

Will Betsy DeVos Restart The ‘Education Wars’? : Will Betsy DeVos Restart The ‘Education Wars’? Education, which was hardly ever mentioned in the recent presidential election, has suddenly been thrust to the frontline in the increasingly heated conflict over President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet appointees. The reason for that turn of events is his choice of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of

The Long Shadow of Poverty and School Segregation by Income | janresseger

by mike simpson / 8h

The Long Shadow of Poverty and School Segregation by Income | janresseger : The Long Shadow of Poverty and School Segregation by Income \ One of the serious problems posed by the likely Trump administration’s policy on public education is that it sidesteps entirely the deeply troubling challenges on the ground for children and their teachers. While the only education idea being mentioned by the n

Conflicts of DeVos – Center for American Progress #DumpDeVos

by mike simpson / 8h

Conflicts of DeVos – Center for American Progress : Conflicts of DeVos Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos, and a Pay-to-Play Nomination Billionaire activist Betsy DeVos and her family have given a massive $4 million to the Republicans who will decide whether to confirm her as Trump’s secretary of education, according to a new analysis by the authors. DeVos’ hearing begins this Wednesday, and her family ha

Friends - Please Do What You Can To Support Wait, What? - Wait What?

by mike simpson / 8h

Friends - Please Do What You Can To Support Wait, What? - Wait What? : Friends – Please Do What You Can To Support Wait, What? Now, more than ever, truth-tellers are needed for as George Orwell so wisely observed, “In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” For six years, Wait, What? has been dedicated to educating, persuading, engaging and mobilizing readers about

Jersey Jazzman: Will NJDOE Turn Charter School Teachers Into Indentured Servants?

by mike simpson / 8h

Jersey Jazzman: Will NJDOE Turn Charter School Teachers Into Indentured Servants? : Will NJDOE Turn Charter School Teachers Into Indentured Servants? Last week, the New Jersey state Board of Education held hearings on regulatory changes for the state's charter schools. Probably the most significant -- and most controversial -- of the Christie administration's proposed revisions were changes to th

DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today - Network For Public Education #DumpDeVos

by mike simpson / 9h

DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today - Network For Public Education : DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today Thousands of calls have been made to senators’ offices, and over 95,000 emails have been sent by Network for Public Education members since the DeVos nomination. The DeVos hearing was delayed until the 17th. In order for senators to make truly

Why the Office of Government Ethics Needs Weeks to Investigate Betsy DeVos | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 9h

Why the Office of Government Ethics Needs Weeks to Investigate Betsy DeVos | deutsch29 : Why the Office of Government Ethics Needs Weeks to Investigate Betsy DeVos I do not often agree with the New York Times (NYT) editorial opinions on education. However, even they are worried about the financial entanglements of Michigan billionaire and US ed secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos. An excerpt from the

CURMUDGUCATION: Bad Management

by mike simpson / 9h

CURMUDGUCATION: Bad Management : Bad Management I have a theory that one of the major problems in America today is just plain bad management. I have watched it trash companies on the smaller, more local scale here, and periodically we get to watch large American corporations go down in flames. For instance, consider retail giant Sears. Business Insider has published a blistering look inside the o

My Child, Your Child, Everyone's Child (Five Years An Actual Father) | The Jose Vilson

by mike simpson / 9h

My Child, Your Child, Everyone's Child (Five Years An Actual Father) | The Jose Vilson : My Child, Your Child, Everyone’s Child (Five Years An Actual Father) Five years ago, my son was on his way to us. We hailed him as a Three Kings’ Day (01/06) gift, the bookend to an otherwise brutal winter. We waited 41 weeks and counting to no avail as he refused to leave his mothers’ natural cocoon. The hos

Why We Need Independent Media | Seattle Education

by mike simpson / 9h

Why We Need Independent Media | Seattle Education : Why We Need Independent Media Posted with permission from TurningPointNews.org. About the author: Elizabeth Hanson M. Ed. Is a college instructor from Seattle Washington and co-founder of turningpointnews.org. She is also a co-author of the book, “Weapons of Mass Deception, The War against our public schools.” https://weaponsofmassdeception.org/

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/11/17

by mike simpson / 23h

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/11/17 Featured Post Real Democrats Form Congressional Caucus To Support Public Education | The Huffington Post Betsy DeVos: Dangerous for Students and the Promise of Public 

Top Posts This Week

• Meryl Streep gives shout-out to public schools during her Golden Globes anti-Trump speech - The Washington Post
• Embedded Assessments: An End Around Parental Opt-Outs | Truth in American Education
• NYC Public School Parents: Two new research summaries on the multiple benefits of class size reduction
• Protest the Confirmation of Billionaire Betsy DeVos - New U.S. Senate Education Committee Members | Truth in American Education
• 

  Senate postpones confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick - The Washington Post
• The Rotten State of Charter Schools in Michigan: A For-Profit Bonanza, Sponsored by the DeVos Family | Diane Ravitch's blog
• 

  AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech Livestreamed On Facebook
• 

  Seattle Schools Community Forum: Noted Education Speaker Comes to Garfield High
• How Serious Is The Threat of School Privatization under Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos? | janresseger
• DeVos Hearing 1/11: UPDATED Senate HELP Committee Members. Call today. - Network For Public Education

CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools

CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools:

Tofu Schools

The repeated claim is that charters and choice are necessary in order for students to have options and to be able to select from many different educational programs, which makes me wonder-- are public schools made out of tofu or some other featureless, uniform substance. When you slice a public school, do you uncover the same bland surface, the same unvaried material, no matter which way you slice? Is it true that the only way to find variety, choice, or selections is to set up charter schools?

I teach in a relatively rural high school, so we're not loaded with resources or money, and yet a student at my school can choose to emphasize music or the arts or attend our vocational technical school to learn welding or home health care. You can take a yearbook class to learn photography and design, or theater, or public speaking, or business technology. If you're interested in 3D printing or working in a basic-but-fun mass media lab, we can hook you up. In my department alone, we have a variety of pedagogical and personal styles; a student who passes through our building is bound to find one teacher in our department that she really clicks with.

We are most definitely built our of tofu.

In fact, I would think that our school, like most public schools, actually provides better access to variety and choice than a so-called choice system, because to switch gears ("I think I'd like to stop playing trumpet and start learning auto body repair!") doesn't require a student to withdraw, then CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools:

State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

State Board of Education Approves Final Elements of the New Groundbreaking Accountability System, the 
California School Dashboard

SACRAMENTO—The State Board of Education (SBE) today took the final steps in approving a landmark Accountability and Improvement System that will provide a wealth of new information to help parents, educators, and the public evaluate schools and districts, identify strengths and weaknesses, and provide targeted assistance.

Today’s actions pave the way for the system, called the California School Dashboard, to be unveiled to the public in late February or March. Next year several changes will be made to strengthen and improve the Dashboard for the 2017-18 school year when it will be fully operational.

“This completes the final pieces of a groundbreaking system to help the public better understand what is going on in our schools,” said California State Board of Education President Mike Kirst. “I look forward to the launch of the California School Dashboard later this year, but this is just the beginning. We plan to make significant improvements in future years.”

Kirst and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson thanked the California Department of Education (CDE) staff and educators throughout the state for their creativity and hard work in producing the California School Dashboard, which was years in the making.

“This ambitious system was not easy to put together,” Torlakson said. “It never would have happened without a remarkable effort by a supremely talented group of CDE staff members, help from educators throughout the state, and strong leadership from the State Board of Education.”

Torlakson said the California School Dashboard will be far more useful to parents and the public than the previous Academic Performance Index, which relied on test scores to produce one number for each school.

“This is another example of California’s national leadership,” he said. “Our students, our schools, and our districts will benefit by having so much readily available information about the performance of schools and districts in the elements needed to create a successful, positive learning environment.”

The SBE approved performance standards for the Academic Indicator, which includes student results on standardized tests for English Language Arts and mathematics, and tools to assist districts in measuring and publicly reporting their progress on two local indicators, academic standards implementation and parent engagement.

The Academic Indicator will be based on assessments of the California State Standards in English Language Arts and mathematics , which are more rigorous than the former standards and expect students to demonstrate critical thinking, analytical writing, and problem-solving skills needed to be ready for college and the 21st century job market.

For this indicator, schools and districts will be rated on how close their student test scores in English Language Arts and mathematics are to Level 3, which demonstrates that students have the knowledge and skills associated with college content readiness. To determine this, all scores will be averaged and the average will be compared to Level 3. In some cases the average will be below Level 3 and in others it will be above.

As with the other indicators, performance will be based on status, how each school or district fared last year, and change—how much they have improved or declined in the last three years. Schools will be rated based on a combination of these factors and assigned one of five performance levels. From highest to lowest: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red.

The State Board previously approved performance standards for four state indicators: readiness for college and careers, graduation rates, progress of English learners, and suspension rates. In addition, the Board approved tools for four local indicators: basic conditions at schools, school climate, coordination of services for foster youth, and coordination of services for expelled youth.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue

SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue:

SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data 

By John Thompson.

There are so many reasons why anyone interested in public education should read Marta Jewson’s latest expose of the high profile New Orleans SciTech Academy’s shenanigans when providing – and not providing – special education services. Readers should follow Jewson’s links and read The Lens’ entire series on the charter school. I’d particularly recommend her report on mid-year transfers of special education students, and ask whether it calls into question the latest research that supposedly indicates that better accountability systems can deter destructive practices of charters in New Orleans and elsewhere.

Jewson explains that the Louisiana Department of Education has found that one of NOLA’s largest charter operators, ReNEW Schools, inflated its special education needs in the 2014-15 school year, and denied students the specialized services that they deserved. The state investigation thus “found that ReNEW SciTech Academy had inflated how much extra attention it would provide to certain students, and then didn’t provide the extra help to those who really needed it.”

The state “report includes a sample of 52 education plans that were incomplete or inadequate,” and tracked down 62 kids who didn’t receive the extra instruction they needed. The state discovered that “SciTech employees planned to push as many students as they could through special-education evaluations in January 2015 ‘because school leadership had communicated that “thousands of dollars are on the line.”’”

In other words, the charter would be reimbursed for services for students who signed up by February 1, but it would not be obligated to serve those students if they then transferred. It’s no surprise that charters will enroll students before a deadline (most typically in the fall) and get paid for the entire year for students who they do not retain. However, the chronology which Jewson documents is especially important, and it should SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue:

Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World

Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World:

Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick

Saying Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan millionaire, hates public schools and teachers, the nation’s two big teachers unions launched a campaign to stop the Senate from confirming her to head the federal Education Department.

And the Senate’s most-prominent former teacher, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is skeptical about DeVos, too. Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will hold a Jan. 17 hearing on DeVos.

DeVos’ family became rich through Amway, a thinly veiled direct sales scheme which has been cited for paying new clients out of proceeds from old ones. She now runs other enterprises. She’s also a former chair of the Michigan GOP and a big party donor.

She’s better known in Michigan for fierce opposition to public schools, her campaign to get the GOP-run state government to eliminate teacher tenure and her advocacy of charter schools with no oversight and taxpayer-paid vouchers for parents of private school students.

That record prompted both American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, a high school history teacher from New York City, and National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen-Garcia, a pre-school teacher from Salt Lake City, to announce their unions’ strong opposition to DeVos.

Weingarten devoted much of a Jan. 9 wide-ranging speech on education policy to the DeVos nomination. Eskelsen-Garcia’s union has asked its 3.2 million members to call or e-mail their senators against DeVos. AFT has 1.6 million members.

DeVos “is the most anti-public education nominee for Secretary of Education in the history of the department and lacks the necessary qualifications and experience to be the nation’s top education official,” Weingarten said.

“DeVos hasn’t taught in a public school. She hasn’t served on a school board. She never attended public school — nor did she send her kids to one. She’s a lobbyist, not an educator.

“DeVos worked in Michigan to undermine public schools and to divide communities. And now she’s poised to swing her Michigan wrecking ball all across America.”

Besides the voucher schemes, Weingarten reminded her listeners that DeVos’ charter schools – unlike similar charter schools elsewhere – lack accountability. As a result, DeVos’ showcase charter school system, in financially troubled Detroit, produces worse education for the kids. And the Detroit system also lets failed charter schools open more schools, she said.

“What is the result of all this? Student performance has declined across Michigan. Nearly half of all its charter Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World:

Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic

Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic:

The DeVos Hearings: A Crib Sheet
Prepare to hear “school choice” a lot. Here’s what it actually means.

The Trump administration could bring to the fore some education terms that have been largely overlooked in recent years as it moves to dramatically change the way students learn in the United States. And officials and advocacy groups will throw around other words that are commonly heard but not always thoroughly understood. As Congress prepares to decide whether President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is fit for the job, it’s worth reviewing what some of the words and phrases that will be floating around in the coming days and months actually mean:

School choice: Trump and DeVos have repeatedly said they are fans of school choice. It’s a phrase that backers of charter schools (see that definition below) often use to avoid the more contentious “charter” wording. Broadly, proponents of school choice say they want students to be able to attend whatever school they and their families decide is best, whether it’s the traditional public school down the street or a charter across town. Sometimes, people also argue that school choice means parents should be able to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to private schools, too.

Vouchers: About that public money to pay for private school … That’s where vouchers come in. Vouchers, which Trump and DeVos have both backed and which are opposed by many Democrats, let families use government money to pay for private schools, including, sometimes, religious schools. The Trump administration has talked about creating a national voucher program, which would be unprecedented, but it already exists in various forms in several states. Understanding the variety is important. Some voucher programs are very limited—like the one in Arkansas, which is restricted to students with disabilities. The state lets families with special-needs children use public money to pay for private school, but it requires those schools to be accredited and to administer certain tests. Indiana, where Vice President-elect Mike Pence is from, has a broader voucher system that lets low-income students (in addition to students with disabilities) use public money to pay for private schools. Voucher amounts vary Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic:

The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled!

The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled!:

The Elephant in the Room – Fairness

While VAMs have many issues pertaining, fundamentally, to their levels of reliability, validity, and bias, they are wholeheartedly unfair. This is one thing that is so very important but so rarely discussed when those external to VAM-based metrics and metrics use are debating, mainly the benefits of VAMs.

Issues of “fairness” arise when a test, or more likely its summative (i.e., summary and sometimes consequential) and formative (i.e., informative) uses, impact some more than others in unfair yet often important ways. In terms of VAMs, the main issue here is that VAM-based estimates can be produced for only approximately 30-40% of all teachers across America’s public schools. The other 60-70%, which sometimes includes entire campuses of teachers (e.g., early elementary and high school teachers), cannot altogether be evaluated or “held accountable” using teacher- or individual-level VAM data.

Put differently, what VAM-based data provide, in general, “are incredibly imprecise and inconsistent measures of supposed teacher effectiveness for only a tiny handful [30-40%] of teachers in a given school” (see reference here). But this is often entirely overlooked, not only in the debates surrounding VAM use (and abuse) but also in the discussions surrounding how many taxpayer-derived funds are still being used to support such a (purportedly) reformatory overhaul of America’s public education system. The fact of the matter is that VAMs only directly impact the large minority.

While some states and districts are rushing into adopting “multiple measures” to alleviate at least some of these issues with fairness, what state and district leaders don’t entirely understand is that this, too, is grossly misguided. Should any of these states and districts also tie serious consequences to such output (e.g., merit pay, performance plans, teacher The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled!:

New board takes reins at Detroit schools

New board takes reins at Detroit schools:

New board takes reins at Detroit schools

Detroit— A new era officially began Wednesday for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Seven new school board members took an oath to serve the state’s largest school district’s children before an auditorium of parents, students, faculty and community members.

It is the first elected body in seven years to oversee academic affairs for the 45,150-student district. The community fought hard to restore local control after being under emergency management since 2009. The reinvented district, which struggled with finances and student performance for years, received a $617 million in state aid that wiped out $467 million of the district’s debt and gave $150 million in startup money for the renamed district.

“I just think this is an incredible day in the city of Detroit and everyone should be celebrating,” interim Superintendent Alycia Meriweather said.

Meriweather described the new school board as “extremely intelligent, committed, passionate, compassionate, creative.”

The new board members include a retired hospital CEO, a former Wall Street investor, a former superintendent and the community relations director for UAW Ford, among others. They all have strong ties to the city, and most are graduates of the school district.

The board members — Iris Taylor, Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, LaMar Lemmons, Georgia Lemmons, Misha Stallworth, Sonya Mays and Deborah Hunter-Harvill — say they spent 50 hours preparing for their roles since the election.

One of the board’s first orders of business will be to select a new superintendent. Meriweather said Wednesday night that she wants the job.

The district will use a search firm to find a schools chief. Stallworth said the board also has a subcommittee working on the search.

“I feel good, I’m excited about the work,” said Stallworth, who was appointed board secretary.

Taylor, who was appointed board president, said the board needs to build trust with the community.

“Our job is to continually demonstrate that we are worth trusting and that we are accountable, we’re transparent, we have integrity, we are responsible and that we are committed to the goals to facilitate excellence,” Taylor said.

The board is working with transition teams to assess the state of the district and determine what its priorities will be, Taylor said.

Board members also will decide what changes should be made to the district to boost enrollment, she said.

This group replaces an 11-member board appointed by the state during oversight by emergency managers.

The seven new members were chosen by voters in November from a field of 63 candidates. Only one of them, Lemmons, is an incumbent.

District finances, however, will still be watched by the state through a Financial Review Commission. New board takes reins at Detroit schools:

State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource

State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource:

State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests

After hours of discussion, the State Board of Education on Wednesday settled two much debated issues that will enable state officials to move ahead this year with the state’s new school accountability system.

One decision creates a different way to measure schools’ and student groups’ progress on standardized tests in math and English. The other, more contentious issue will determine which schools and districts will require intervention or technical help because their English learners did poorly on the math and English language arts tests.

In September, the board approved a framework for the new improvement and accountability system that will give a broader view of schools’ and districts’ performance through measures that will include students’ readiness for college and careers, school climate, parent engagement and academic performance. The board set a timeline for refining the State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource:

John Thompson: One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc

One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc:

One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle

A quote from Daniel Webster appears on the side of Harding Charter Prep's building Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2016. (Josh McBee)

The OKCPS board deserves great praise for conducting a roundtable discussion of charter schools in a retreat Monday that was open to the public.

The board was briefed on OKC’s complex history that resulted in creating 12 different charter schools in 20 locations. Different charter contracts were negotiated over time as the history of school choice unfolded. As a result, today’s charters provide very different academic programs to incomparably different student populations.

My only complaint about the board’s discussion: Had the exact same conversation been conducted with the exact same data to start an overview of the district’s capacity, it would have been a win-win process, but the data that the board was provided is utterly worthless for accountability or decision-making purposes.

No, the data is worse than worthless. Until we all, not just education leaders, realize that schools are forced to use primitive metrics that can barely provide apples-to-watermelon comparisons, we will continue this charade. Until a firewall is created to separate these numbers from accountability processes, high-poverty systems like the OKCPS will be in jeopardy.

In short, the OKCPS is now responsible for holding charters and traditional public schools accountable using student-performance and demographic data that is not up to the task.

Grading system for schools shared, flawed

As Superintendent Aurora Lora said during the meeting, the A-F Report Card data presented to the roundtable only gives “ballpark” indicators of performance. Even one-One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc: