CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Off To A Great New Year's Start Edition (1/5)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Off To A Great New Year's Start Edition (1/5)

Off To A Great New Year's Start Edition (1/5)

Marking the new year always strikes me as a bit odd-- we draw an arbitrary line in the chronological sand, then get all excited about examining it. Humans are fun.

In the meantime, this week's list is loaded with some exceptionally good readings. Remember to share the ons that speak to you. Amplifying voices is what the interwebz are all about.

The Surprising Source of the NPE Data
The pushback against NPE's report on charter waste and fraud has been considerable, but here Carol Burris provides a measured and detailed response. And guess where some of the data in question comes from...

The Dangers of Disinformation
Last Sunday I failed to do due diligence on one of the posts and recommended something from an untrustworthy source (the post is no longer on the list).  The up side is that it prompted this thoughtful post from Dad Gone Wild.

The Democrats' School Choice Problem
Jennifer Berkshire breaks it down for the Nation in a thoughtful take that spins off the Pittsburgh education forum. It's a good look at some of the political dynamics involved.

The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade
This Audrey Watters post is the bomb, and if you somehow haven't read it yet, then stop procrastinating. It's a horrifying stroll down memory lane.

Teachers "Never Broke The Law"
Remember when Matt "Sore Loser" Bevin tried to throw some laws at teachers who walked out? It's one more bad policy that his successor has reversed.

Closing the Minority Teacher Gap
Bill Tucker at the St. Louis Post Dispatch takes another look at this continued problem. There's lots of good stuff here, including this sentence: "Teachers are known for working for less pay and respect, but that is a big ask for a minority student, whose family has been underpaid and not respected." There's also another look at the issue in the Washington Post this week.

Novelist Cormac McCarthy paper writing tips 
McCarthy has been helping faculty and students at Santa Fe Institute with editing. Who knew? Here's a distillation of some of his writing advice.

School Grade Cards Gotta Go
The editorial board of the Toledo Blade argues for an end to Ohio's letter grade policy for schools.

Why the Charter School Proposals by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Shouldn’t Be Controversial
Gotham Gazette has this piece from a former charter teacher and a former charter parent (the parent involved in an infamous Success Academy discipline scandal). Clear and compelling.

Lies, Lies, and More Lies
In the Troy Daily News, a former Ohio superintendent has some blistering words for Ohio's ed reform. He may be late to the party, but he is not holding back a bit.

Economists Ate My School 
Steven Singer looks at the damage done by imagining that teaching is simply one more transaction .

The Greatest Ed Tech Goof of All Time
Ed historian Adam Laats takes us back to an early example of terrible tech ideas for education, showing once again that hardly any modern innovations are actually innovations.

Montessori schools embrace kid-tracking devices  
What would make Montessori schools even better? How about constant student surveillance. This is your hate read for the week.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Off To A Great New Year's Start Edition (1/5)

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The Ed Reform Glossary You Need

68by Peter Greene / 1d

If that Amazon gift certificate is burning a hole in your pocket, I have a few suggestions. Let's start with this one. In 2006, education historian Diane Ravitch published EdSpeak , a glossary of education policy jargon to help those folks who found it all, well, jargonny. But the education world has shifted around just a tad since 2006, and it is time for a brand new version of the critical guid

Michelle Rhee Has Been Robbed

500+by Peter Greene / 1d

As the various lists of faces, names, moments that defined the education policy debates of the last decade have been tallied up, one name has been, I think, unfairly overlooked-- Michelle Rhee. No, really, bear with me. The very fact that I don't really need to review her story makes part of my point. Rhee was the previous decade's best-known public face of education reform, culminating in that in

New Report: Charter Fraud And Waste Worse Than We Thought

47by Peter Greene / 2d

Last March, the Network for Public Education released a report showing that the federal government has lost a billion dollars to charter school waste and fraud . But the organization had not stopped sifting through the data. Their follow-up report , “ Still Asleep At The Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Results in as Pileup of Fraud ands Waste ,” reveals that the situation is even w

I Have One Good New Years Story

46by Peter Greene / 3d

New Year's Eve is not one of my favorite holidays, and some of them have been downright unpleasant, but I have one good story. It involves the Olympic torch. This was the route. I wasn't kidding with "circuitous." Back on New Year's Day of 2002, the Olympic flame was on its way to Salt Lake City, and on its long circuitous route out West, the flame passed through Erie, Pennsylvania, which is just

OH: Ohio Excels and the Hostile Takeover of Education

95by Peter Greene / 4d

Ohio is one of many states in which business leaders have appointed themselves education overseers. The most recent version of this phenomenon is Ohio Excels , a lobbying group that believes that Ohio's education system owes them better meat widgets for job fodder. "improving the quality of education will give students a better chance to succeed and will help Ohio businesses grow and innovate, fue

The Ground Level Ed Reform Decade Retrospective

37by Peter Greene / 4d

Yeah, it's time for everyone to do decade lists (including "Ten Reasons The New Decade Doesn't Start For Another Year") from the list of education faces that Alexander Russo is doing on Twitter to this absolutely-the-only-list-you-need-to-read from Audrey Watters, " The 100 Worst Ed Tech Debacles of the Decade. " I'm not going to try to sum up the decade in education. Or rather, I'm going to sum u

The Height Of A Dead Salmon

94by Peter Greene / 6d

A while back someone sent me an article with a striking lead : The methodology is straightforward. You take your subject and slide them into an fMRI machine, a humongous sleek, white ring, like a donut designed by Apple. Then you show the subject images of people engaging in social activities — shopping, talking, eating dinner. You flash 48 different photos in front of your subject's eyes, and ask

ICYMI: Almost A New Decade Edition (12/29)

by Peter Greene / 7d

Yep, soon anything from the 1900s will be "a long time ago." But we can meditate on how experience fades into the dim past some other day. Right now we'll just worry about last week. Here's some of the worthwhile reading; it's a short list because holiday time. Remember to amplify the stuff that speaks to you! How Ibram X. Kendi's Definition of Antiracism Applies to Schools If you don't know Kendi

Dana Goldstein's Common Core Ten Year Tale, Annotated

74by Peter Greene / 7d

Dana Goldstein's NYT ten year retrospective of Common Core has been sitting on my desktop since it was published, making me grumpy. It's yet another example of how the stories we are told about modern disruptive education reform are subtly sugared and carefully crafted to avoid discussing some of the larger issues. I don't know-- after all, Goldstein is a published book author and writes for the A

VA: Ideas About How To Recruit and Retain Teachers

200+by Peter Greene / 8d

As squawking about the teacher "shortage" many states have developed methods to either take advantage of the situation ("Now we can finally break the teachers union and public education by letting any warm body stand in front of a classroom because, hey, there's a shortage") or try to figure out a way to actually solve the problem. In Virginia, a coalition appears to be t aking a shot at the latte

Big Brother U & The Surveillance State

63by Peter Greene / 9d

If you missed this article at Washington Post about on campus surveillance of students-- well, congratulations on having one less troubling thought in your head over the past week. Because the surveillance is continuing its slow, 

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Los Angeles: Charters Are Proliferating Where They Aren’t Needed | Diane Ravitch's blog

Los Angeles: Charters Are Proliferating Where They Aren’t Needed | Diane Ravitch's blog

Los Angeles: Charters Are Proliferating Where They Aren’t Needed

Earlier this year, LAUSD board member Scott Schmerelson revealed that 82% of the charter schools in Los Angeles have empty seats (no waiting lists).

Yet because of California’s charter-friendly environment, the privately managed schools continued to open.

A new report finds that charters in Los Angeles are proliferating where they are not needed. 

The report points out that traditional school districts can’t build new schools when real or potential enrollment fails to justify expansion. But those rules don’t apply to charter schools, which can open anywhere and qualify for state funding or subsidies to build or lease facilities. The report says public funds helped open and sustain at least 450 charters in areas with plenty of existing classroom space.

“Paying for more schools than are needed wastes taxpayer dollars,” the report says. “Furthermore, an oversupply of schools serves to undermine the viability of any individual school.”

The latter argument has been made repeatedly by L.A. Unified officials, who say that rapid and widespread charter growth is one of several factors threatening the solvency of the nation’s second-largest school system.

The report’s lead researcher, Gordon Lafer, an associate CONTINUE READING: Los Angeles: Charters Are Proliferating Where They Aren’t Needed | Diane Ravitch's blog

Former Ohio Superintendent: Lies, Lies, Lies! Enough! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Former Ohio Superintendent: Lies, Lies, Lies! Enough! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Former Ohio Superintendent: Lies, Lies, Lies! Enough!

Former superintendent Tom Dunn wrote a blistering critique of federal and state interventions into education that were lies, all lies.

And the promises and lies continue despite the failure of all the previous promises.

He writes:

As a former school superintendent, one of my most important, difficult, and frustrating responsibilities was trying to stay abreast of state and federal laws governing education. It was during this time that I had my eyes opened to how politics at the state and federal level really works. Suffice it to say that what I learned was disturbing.

First of all, to this day, the sheer number of proposed and/or passed bills makes the task of staying current nearly impossible. I imagine this is a political strategy meant to keep people as confused and overwhelmed as possible. The number of laws that made no sense and were sold to the public with misinformation and lies was staggering.

I felt perpetually conflicted about being forced to implement mandates that were, frankly, bad for kids. The irony is how often the very politicians who denounce bullying use their power to beat adults into submission with their ill-conceived laws. In education, they do this through threats of financial penalty against districts that dare disobey them, by threatening the professional licensure of educators who don’t do as they are told, CONTINUE READING: Former Ohio Superintendent: Lies, Lies, Lies! Enough! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Settlement possible in Sacramento school discrimination suit | The Sacramento Bee

Settlement possible in Sacramento school discrimination suit | The Sacramento Bee

Discrimination lawsuit against Sacramento City Unified schools may end up in settlement

Months after advocacy groups sued the Sacramento City Unified School District for discrimination against students with disabilities and black students, the district and the plaintiffs may seek a settlement.

The news comes after a federal court granted the mutual request in December for a seven-month stay of the litigation for the class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in September by the Black Parallel School Board on behalf of three students, says the district segregates, denies students with disabilities, and specifically black students with disabilities, the right to an education side-by-side with their peers, and disciplines them more frequently.

While the district does not agree with the allegations in the lawsuit, “We appreciate plaintiffs’ willingness to work with us,” said Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. CONTINUE READING: Settlement possible in Sacramento school discrimination suit | The Sacramento Bee

Reform Funded Research: Winning KIPP Lottery Does Not Significantly Increase Chance Of Persisting In College | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Reform Funded Research: Winning KIPP Lottery Does Not Significantly Increase Chance Of Persisting In College | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Reform Funded Research: Winning KIPP Lottery Does Not Significantly Increase Chance Of Persisting In College

The way reformers misuse data follows a very simple and predictable plan:  First they get some skewed data, then pick a ‘researcher’ to interpret the skewed data.  The ‘researcher’ then writes a report which gets touted in The74, EduPost, and eventually even makes it into more mainstream publications like USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.  Since the report is filled with nonsense and half-truths, within a few weeks the truth comes out and the report is discredited, but not before the damage was done and the spin has made it into folklore.  When this happens, the reformers will then ‘move the goalposts’ and get some more skewed data and start the process over again.

An example of this is the July 2017 report by Richard Whitmire called ‘The Alumni‘.  Whitmire has written books about both KIPP and about Michelle Rhee so I think you get the idea of what his point of view is.  In this poorly researched project he concludes that “Data Show Charter School Students Graduating From College at Three to Five Times National Average“.

This was probably the easiest report I ever debunked.  The biggest flaw was that for most of the charter schools, they were only counting the percent of graduating seniors who persisted in college and then comparing that percent to the overall percent of all low- CONTINUE READING: Reform Funded Research: Winning KIPP Lottery Does Not Significantly Increase Chance Of Persisting In College | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling | Parents Across America

EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling | Parents Across America

EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling

Education historian, professor, author, and founder of the Network for Public Education, Diane Ravitch, and education blogger, author, and retired educator, Nancy Bailey, co-authored a new book: “EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling”. They kindly included Parents Across America in the chapter titled, ‘Groups Fighting Education Reform’.

“Parents Across America (PAA): A nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots organization connecting U.S. parents and activists with workable ideas for improving public schools. Some of their issues are pushing back on increased school privatization, school closings, and high stakes testing. They advocate child-centered curriculum, adequate social services, reducing class size, and parental voice.” ~EdSpeak and Doubletalk by Diane Ravitch and Nancy Bailey

PAA board member, Laura Bowman, was given the opportunity (really, the honor) of previewing the book before it was published and gave it a glowing review:

“EdSpeak and Doubletalk is so much more than a glossary of education terms. Diane Ravitch and Nancy Bailey masterfully unveil the deception, duplicity, schemes, and profit motives behind the moneyed interests that strive to control education policies and privatize public education for profit.” ~Laura Bowman, board of directors, Parents Across America

Others who’ve read the book have this to say about it:

“This glossary provides excellent and accurate definitions of the educational terms common to our times. Novice educators, school board members, and parents of school-age children can all use this book to decode the specialized vocabulary of this profession. In addition, the authors are unapologetically strong believers in CONTINUE READING: EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling | Parents Across America

Jersey Jazzman: The Misleading Rhetoric of School "Choice" Advocates: Wealth and "Choice"

Jersey Jazzman: The Misleading Rhetoric of School "Choice" Advocates: Wealth and "Choice"

The Misleading Rhetoric of School "Choice" Advocates: Wealth and "Choice"

One of the functions of this blog over the years has been to deconstruct the rhetoric of education reformers as they advocate for their preferred policies. Foremost among these is the expansion of school "choice."

"Choice," in our current discourse, comes in two basic flavors: charter schools (often sold as "public charter schools," despite the many problems with the term) and vouchers (often sold as "scholarships," although the difference is practically meaningless).

The rhetoric used to push for either or both is largely similar. One of recurring themes for both charter and voucher proponents, for example, is that "choice" is giving disadvantaged families access to the same types of schooling that advantaged families enjoy.

"Choice," you see, is the reason privileged parents can send their children to "good" schools, while less-affluent parents must consign their children to "bad" schools. Because of "choice," privileged families can move to places with "better" public district schools, or enroll their children in "better" private schools. If we offer all families "choice," the argument goes, they will enjoy the same access to "good" schools that the wealthy enjoy.

Implicit in this argument is an assertion -- sometimes overtly stated, sometimes not -- that, under a school "choice" regime, disadvantaged families will enjoy access to choices that are equivalent to the school "choices" the wealthy currently enjoy. 

The logic of this entire line of argument is dependent on the idea that charter schools or CONTINUE READING: Jersey Jazzman: The Misleading Rhetoric of School "Choice" Advocates: Wealth and "Choice"

Loophole could give F-rated charter schools millions meant for better schools - cleveland.com

Loophole could give F-rated charter schools millions meant for better schools - cleveland.com

Loophole could give F-rated charter schools millions meant for better schools

By Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio – East Academy, Cleveland Preparatory Academy and West Park Academy charter schools each scored an F on their latest state report cards.

But school leaders are claiming they are “quality” schools, so they can receive new bonus tax money of up to $1,750 per enrolled student from the state.

Officials of the F-rated OhDELA online charter school of nearly 2,000 students are making the same claim.

And Chapelside Cleveland Academy is seeking the “quality” bonus, even though its authorizer — the non-profit that oversees the school on behalf of the state — has given up on trying to fix the school’s F grade and is yanking its support.

The fast-growing for-profit Accel charter school chain, which runs all of these schools, has applied for more than $15 million in cash from a new $30 million fund that Gov. Mike DeWine and the state legislature created this summer as a boost for Ohio’s best charter schools.

The 33 Accel schools seeking the money failed to earn the good grades that would qualify them for the bonus. Instead, the chain is applying under language in the state budget bill that declares schools as “quality” if their operator meets a few criteria with schools it runs in other states.

Under a provision in the bill, these F-rated Accel schools may qualify for CONTINUE READING: Loophole could give F-rated charter schools millions meant for better schools - cleveland.com

NANCY BAILEY: Corporate School Reform and “Disruption” Also Hurts Children in Suburban Schools

Corporate School Reform and “Disruption” Also Hurts Children in Suburban Schools

Corporate School Reform and “Disruption” Also Hurts Children in Suburban Schools

The following is written by a teacher who asked that I post her essay but remain anonymous. Isn’t it sad that we live in a time where teachers feel they will get in trouble if they write about their concerns and question the establishment?

Corporate school reform breaks schools apart. While children in urban and rural areas are hurt, suburban schools face difficulties as well. Teachers watch as their schools change. They are stressed and often look for a way out. Yet their ideas are critical for good teaching to occur.

Here is the essay. 

Who remembers when elementary age children’s schedules included daily periods of recess, English, social studies, science & math, with a rotation of daily enriching specials, such as art, music, gym, library, etc.?

Who remembers when change was slow and steady in school districts, because they knew children needed stability and predictability?

Who remembers when there were no charter schools siphoning public school money CONTINUE READING: Corporate School Reform and “Disruption” Also Hurts Children in Suburban Schools

Providence Journal: First, Fire All the Teachers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Providence Journal: First, Fire All the Teachers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Providence Journal: First, Fire All the Teachers!

This is the most curious news story of the week. It appeared unsigned in the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, prepared by the “GoLocalProv News Team.”

It says that the fate of the reform of the Providence public schools lies in the hands of the Providence Teachers Union, led by Maribeth Calabro; she, the story warns, may be able to veto the new state commissioner’s  plans to transform the Providence public schools. It does not mention that the state commissioner taught for two years in New York City as a fast-tracked Teach for America teacher, has no prior experience as either a school principal or superintendent and has kept her plans to transform the district a deep secret.

But here is where the article goes strange.

In 2011, newly-elected Providence Mayor Angel Taveras fired all the teachers in Providence — it was a big and bold decision, and it was reversed within days.

Not too many politicians, especially Democrats. will take on teachers unions in this country and especially in the heavily union-based Rhode Island.

The action in 2011 drew national attention. In a statement, the American Federation of Teachers national President Randi Weingarten called the decision CONTINUE READING: Providence Journal: First, Fire All the Teachers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

What is the Primary Impediment for Kids Not Graduating from High School in New York State? | Ed In The Apple

What is the Primary Impediment for Kids Not Graduating from High School in New York State? | Ed In The Apple

What is the Primary Impediment for Kids Not Graduating from High School in New York State?

What is the primary impediment for kids not graduating from high school?

If I conducted a poll the answer would probably be failing to pass Regents Examinations, and, you’d be incorrect.

The primary reason is chronic absenteeism.

Blaming the Regents Examinations is akin to arguing over the brand of band-aid chosen to cover a wound, not the source of the wound.

What is so frustrating is that this is not a secret. The data is clear: we can identify dropouts and failures to graduate by attendance in elementary school grades.

Absenteeism, poverty, low achievement and failure to graduate are chillingly congruent.

Way back in 2002 No Child Left Behind, required testing in grades 3-8 in English and Math and requiring a 95% school participation rate among all students and sub-groups, NCLB failed miserably. Race to the Top offered hundreds of millions of dollars to lure states to adopt the Common Core State Standards and tie teacher evaluation to test scores, once again, a miserable failure.

Prestidigitation is not a required teaching skill; school leaders and teachers are CONTINUE READING: What is the Primary Impediment for Kids Not Graduating from High School in New York State? | Ed In The Apple