Sunday, May 4, 2014

Common Core Tests: Educational Malpractice for Students with Special Needs | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Dear Mr. and Mrs Gates:

This is what is gong on in every county across the country as students with disabilities are forced to take tests they are not yet ready for and have not learned the content:

In about one week I, and my colleagues, will be asked to participate in educational malpractice. This malpractice will be in the form of administering the state mandated standardized tests. I have read many critiques about these new Common Core aligned tests. But no criticism I have read has touched on an issue of such fundamental fairness and decency that I must speak of it.

These tests discriminate against students with disabilities. They do this is many ways, but the method I wish to address today, is that they require us to give tests that cover material the student has not yet been taught. So imagine if you had taken French all year and were eager to demonstrate how much you had learned and felt ready for the French test. But the test you were handed instead was in Spanish. Your face flushes, you feel like you are about to throw up, but instead you shakily ask the teacher and she says, “well I know you have not learned this yet, but just do the best you can.”

This may seem extreme and unfathomable. But imagine a 5th grader with a severe learning disability in math. He needs to begin learning math facts and how to add and subtract accurately and place value. At the end of the year he has learned a lot and is so much farther ahead then when he began. But he is not yet at the end of the year 5th grade level. He is handed a test that contains decimals, percentages and fractions. He has learned none of this and we just shake our heads and say, “Do the best you can.” Right next to him sits the 5th grade girl reading at a 2nd grade level. After a year of hard work, she now Common Core Tests: Educational Malpractice for Students with Special Needs | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

Breaking News: Houston Teachers Suing over their District’s EVAAS Use |

Breaking News: Houston Teachers Suing over their District’s EVAAS Use |:

Breaking News: Houston Teachers Suing over their District’s EVAAS Use

It’s time!! While lawsuits are emerging across the nation (namely three in Tennessee and one in Florida), one significant and potentially huge lawsuit was just filed in federal court this past Wednesday in Houston on behalf of seven teachers working in the Houston Independent School District.

The one place I have conducted quite extensive research on VAMs, and the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) and its use in this district in particular, is there in Houston. Accordingly, I’m honored to report that I’m helping folks move forward with their case.

Houston, the 7th largest urban district in the country, is widely recognized for its (inappropriate) using of the EVAAS for more consequential decision-making purposes (e.g., teacher merit pay and in the case of this article, teacher termination) more than anywhere else in the nation. Read a previous article about this in general, and also four teachers who were fired in Houston due in large part to their EVAAS scores here. See also a 12-minute YouTube video about these same teachers here.

According to a recent post in The Washington Post, the teachers/plaintiffs are arguing that EVAAS output are inaccurate, the EVAAS is unfair, that teachers are being evaluated via the EVAAS using tests that do not match the curriculum they are to teach, that the EVAAS system fails to control for student-level factors that impact how well teachers perform but that are outside of teachers’ control (e.g., parental effects), that the EVAAS is incomprehensible and hence very difficult if not impossible to actually use to improve upon their instruction, and, accordingly, that teachers’ due process rights are being violated because teachers do not have adequate opportunities to change as a results of their EVAAS results.

“The suit further alleges that teachers’ rights to equal protection under the Constitution are being abridged because teachers with below-average scores find themselves receiving Breaking News: Houston Teachers Suing over their District’s EVAAS Use |:

Corporate Reformers Say Money Doesn’t Matter in Public Schools. The Facts Say Otherwise. | NEA Today

Corporate Reformers Say Money Doesn’t Matter in Public Schools. The Facts Say Otherwise. | NEA Today:

Corporate Reformers Say Money Doesn’t Matter in Public Schools. The Facts Say Otherwise.

May 4, 2014 by twalker
Filed under Education Funding, Featured News, Top Stories

Teachers, be silent no more! TLtBG will be signed, sealed, delivered to Bill and Melinda Gates at #EducatingGates June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Teachers, be silent no more! TLtBG will be signed, sealed, delivered to Bill and Melinda Gates at #EducatingGates June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

Teachers, be silent no more! TLtBG will be signed, sealed, delivered to Bill and Melinda Gates at #EducatingGates June 26th!

Posted on May 4, 2014by Teachers'LettersToBillGates

Dear Teachers,

Katie and I have formally endorsed the Washington Badass Teachers Association’sEducating the Gates Foundation Rally to be held on June 26th. We would like to join hands in coalition building with the Wa BATs by asking our readers to write letters to Bill and Melinda Gates over the next 7 weeks prior to the rally.

It just so happens that our blog will be one year old on June 9th and we thought we would coordinate our anniversary celebration with the Wa BATs rally (June 26th) by inviting all of you to join in both events!

All year long, teachers across the world have been writing and sharing their personal stories about how the Gates Foundation’s policy decisions — through Bill and Melinda’s corporate education reforms — have impacted the lives of their students, their classrooms, their schools, their communities, and their own profession.

Here’s how we would like to celebrate your work: We are asking you to be part of the Educating Gates Foundation Rally in letter form. We know many of you will not be able to attend the rally in person. Please think about the following list of 7 questions. Analyze: How have the policies of the Gates Foundation impacted the lives of your students? Your classrooms? Your schools? Your communities? Your pedagogy? Your personal lives? Your profession? Your unions?

Here are a few guidelines for our new teacher TLtBG authors:

1. Keep your letters professional, no foul language or personal attacks.
2. We are not editors. If you need help with editing, ask a friend before you share your letters to make sure you have used proper grammar, spelling, punctuation.
3. We will post your letters “as is” with formatting changes when necessary. Readers, please forgive minor errors and read for content. We will include a picture that we feel most demonstrates the emotive quality of your letter.

Over the next 7 weeks, please write to Bill and Melinda Gates and share your letters with Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates via the following methods:

A. You can post your letters here in the comment section here athttp://www.TeachersLettersToBillGates.com or
B. You can email them to the Wa BATs rally email address:EducatingTheGatesFoundation@gmail.com .

Teachers, be silent no more! Write your story…

Here are the 7 topics:

1. How have you been affected by the teacher evaluation systems that were the result of the Gates Foundations’ advocacy?
2. How has your community been affected by school closures and expansion of charters as influenced by the Gates Foundations’ advocacy?
3. How have the Common Core State Standards — which are funded and promoted in
Teachers, be silent no more! TLtBG will be signed, sealed, delivered to Bill and Melinda Gates at #EducatingGates June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

5-4-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:

NY Explains Worst VAM Ever

A reader pointed me at an extraordinary piece of educational in-house PR from our good friends at engageNY*, the uber-reformy wing of the NYSED.It's extraordinary because, if accurate, it explains clearly and simply exactly how VAM-style evaluation can be made even worse.Carol Newman-Sharkey linked me to this short informational video. You know it's going to be fun, because it's stylish cell anima

by Peter Greene / 53min

A Real Race

My wife is a runner. I love my wife. That's why I woke up this morning at 4:45 in a Pittsburgh hotel.We did this last year, but last year she ran the full marathon; this year she's a first-year first-grade teacher who lacks the time to train, to put in the 147 hours of prep required for six-year-olds, and to occasionally hang out with me. So this year she ran the half marathon instead.I've been to

by Peter Greene / 26min

5-3-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:Not One Size Fits AllI often criticize the core (and other standards-- while I know some decent, intelligent people like the idea of some sort of national standards, I do not) by calling it a "one size fits all" solution.But I'm wrong.It's a handy shorthand phrase-- just four words and everybody knows what you mean. But it's not precisely correct."One size fits all&qu

by mike simpson / 18min

5-4-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online:

A Newark Teacher Issues Warning to NYC Teachers on Contract -

It is more than mere coincidence that the challenges of the “historic” Newark contract are now being exported to New York City teachers. Do not allow Randi Weingarten to dance the minuet at your reception..... A Newark Teacher Has Randi evolved into a whirling dervish?Randi’s Dance Repertoireby A Newark TeacherIn an interview with Josh Eidelson of Salon, Randi danced the hora, circling round and r

by ed notes online / 1h

Advice to MORE on Contract Strategy

Norm, you strike me as a realist. What are your thoughts on getting this voted down?... Roseanne McCosh PS 8xRoseanne asks a good question. Before trying to respond I want to lay down some historical points because being out of schools for a decade I don't have the best feel for the mood of the members, other than the fact that some old supporters of Ed Notes have been in touch about getting a NO

by ed notes online / 7min

5-3-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineKit Wainer: Historical Reference to Previous Contract StrugglesKit's history is an important starting point for the upcoming contract struggle. I have a different take on some of Kit's analysis - remember - my history of contract struggles goes back to the early 70s. But it is too nice a day and I am too lazy to get into it - though I may do a separate post at where

by mike simpson / 47min

Leaders: Strive to be the Weak Link | Connected Principals

Leaders: Strive to be the Weak Link | Connected Principals:

Leaders: Strive to be the Weak Link

by Sam LeDeaux • May 4, 2014 • 0 Comments

Many have leadership titles, but our true leaders exhibit leadership behaviors. Some are listed here. Certainly not an exhaustive list, nor set in stone; but led to some great candid discussion and sharing–which is what learning and education should be all about! I’m not sure if this is an addition to the list, or a subset of empowerment, but leaders should strive to be the weak link. Leaders need to take pride in the hiring process and teaching, coaching, supporting, and learning from the staffs we lead.

Some leaders delegate critical aspects of the future of the school community such as initial screening of applicants, filtering of candidates, or evaluations of current staff. I understand the demands on everyone’s time, especially leaders; however, I urge us, as leaders, to be active participants in these critical endeavors. I believe there are 2 mindsets when it comes to hiring and evaluating, which differentiate those with leadership titles from those with leadership behaviors.

I believe the mindset of those with leadership titles is to take anybody and affix an “If you’re lucky, one day you’ll be able to know what I know, achieve what I’ve achieved, and get to where I am” mentality. The hinderance of this logic is that someone with a leadership title and 44 years of experience in 2014 sets a vision for an educator with 11 years experience that 33 years from now, in the year 2047, if lucky enough, the younger educator will have finally “made it” to where the elder educator was 33 years ago in 2014. Yuck.

The mindset of those with leadership behaviors is to actively seek out specific individuals and commit to a “With proper support, collaboration, and partnership, where you are 8-12 years from now will be further than I will ever be at any time in my career” mentality. The benefit of this logic is that, applied to everyone in the organization, the current leader Leaders: Strive to be the Weak Link | Connected Principals:

WaBATS are Leading a Movement: #EducatingGates Foundation Rally – June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

WaBATS are Leading a Movement: #EducatingGates Foundation Rally – June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

WaBATS are Leading a Movement: #EducatingGates Foundation Rally – June 26th!

Posted on May 4, 2014by Teachers'LettersToBillGates

Dear Bill and Melinda,

Katie and I would like to extend an invitation to both of you to join us at the Gates Foundation in a movement started by teachers and hosted by the Washington Badass Teachers Association on June 26th in Seattle. This is an important event in your lives, one that will be part of your legacy. Of course it will also be important for you to be there in person to receive our published Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates in a free printed copy of all of the heart-felt letters teachers have written to you over the first year of our blog to you.

Our blog anniversary date is coming up on June 9th. That day, one year ago, we invited you and Melinda to join us in a dialogue. The day before, Linda Shaw of the Seattle Times wrote this piece: “Gates Foundation looking to make nice with teachers“.

“Five years into the second phase of its mission to overhaul America’s public schools, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is moving to work more closely with teachers, generating interest but also wariness because of past hostilities.”

Irvin made that day: “We’re trying to start a movement,” Scott told the teachers in Scottsdale. “A movement started by you. A movement you’re leading.” The reforms your foundation has sponsored have indeed started a movement, but perhaps not the one you intended. There are scores of organizations working to support public schools, to oppose high stakes tests and the Common Core. Even Louis CK has joined in the fight!

So I guess we can say you (via Irvin Scott) were right! You started a movement and we are leading! With the spirit of that movement, we’d like to celebrate our one year anniversary WaBATS are Leading a Movement: #EducatingGates Foundation Rally – June 26th! | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

The Republicans of Democrats for Education Reform

The Republicans of Democrats for Education Reform:

What is Democrats for Education Reform?

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is an education privatization group started by hedge fund managers who wanted to influence Democrats' education policies just as the Wal-Mart family had influenced Republicans'. In the words of one of DFER's founders, in order to get Democrats to emulate Republicans on education, it would have to be an "inside job,"and they needed a group that would be named Democrats for Education Reform.

Charles and David Koch

In 2012, DFER became the face of the most anti-public education and anti-union referendums in California's history. DFER helped promote ALEC-like legislation to make it harder for labor unions to advocate for working Californians. DFER's California was part of the face for a joint campaign that also ran tens of millions of dollars in television ads against Proposition 30, which raised taxes on millionaires to fund California schools. The right-wing campaign against Proposition 30 and for Proposition 32 raised tens of millions of dollars from the Koch brothers' network.

Rex Sinquefield

The apparently defunct DFER group in Missouri has two ties to right-wing financier Rex Sinquefield, the president of the Show-Me Institute and a member of the right-wing State Policy Network. Rodney Hubbard, the former president of DFER-Missouri, was fined by the Missouri Ethics Commission for concealing campaign contributions, including several large contributions from Sinquefield. DFER-Missouri's Web page uses the same Google Analytics code as several organizations founded by Sinquefield, including the Children's Education Alliance of Missouri, the Missouri Council for a Better Economy, Pelopidas and United for Missouri’s Future, and several expired domains related to Sinquefield’s Show-Me Institute.

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch, owner of FOX News and numerous right-wing newspapers across the globe, was revealed to have donated $1 million to Education Reform Now, the 501(c)(3) arm of DFER.

Walton Family Foundation

Even though DFER co-founder Whitney Tilson once said, "Because the moment we take any Wal-Mart money—that's anti-union, etcetera, etcetera," DFER has accepted $5,739,600 from the Walton Family Foundation since 2010.

American Federation for Children

In 2010, when the American Federation for Children was praising Scott Walker's regressive education agenda, DFER donated $25,000 to the right-wing voucher group. The American Federation for Children is run by Betsy DeVos, a major Republican benefactor and the sister of Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater. The American Federation for Children exists to promote vouchers, which subsidize education at private schools — including schools that teach creationism and non-scientific nonsense.

Geaux Teacher!: Whose Responsibility Is Education?

Geaux Teacher!: Whose Responsibility Is Education?:

Whose Responsibility Is Education?

I am an educator and a parent/grandparent. I understand how children learn, how to teach them to learn, why they learn differently and why some face huge obstacles to learning. My knowledge and understanding are based on research, training and experience.

I have no interest in nor authority to develop pedagogy that produces a single philosophical, religious, sociological, economic or political ideology. Those beliefs and theories are the products of individual minds that are developed through study and exposure to diverse ideas. They grow out of each individual's personal experiences and realities. They evolve as a result of having learned critical thinking skills and having had the opportunity and freedom of youth to test their ideas without fear of failure when they don't align with a pre-established or common standard.

No Child Left Behind diverged greatly from the "freedom of thought" concept that this country was built on. While NCLB was not the genesis of the standardization school of thought (history recounts many disastrous examples of that), it produced a LAW that mandated the tool, or weapon as I refer to it, that allowed it to grow roots and to be me firmly planted in the soil that used to be our foundational system of democracy - public schools that serve every single child.

The "consequential accountability" mandated by NCLB with the belief that we could force educational results by requiring every student to show proficiency as measured by one HIGH STAKES standardized test has PROVEN to be a failure.

Consequences were interpreted by many states to imply punitive measures - a definition counter to the premise that education should be a constructive process and that consequences should be constructive. Punishment always has and probably always will be embraced by society as a deterrent to perceived or real negative behavior, but it has NO beneficial or constructive effects in changing the conditions or thinking that caused that negative behavior. In the sphere of education, limiting behavior purely via a fear of punishment creates a chilling effect on critical thinking and discourages children from learning in their formative years Geaux Teacher!: Whose Responsibility Is Education?:

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