Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children | Creative by Nature

Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children | Creative by Nature:

Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children

“The factory model was developed to ensure quality control and produce identical “consumer” products cheaply. It is NOT an approach that should be used with children. Modern researchers and professional educators have come to understand that thehuman brain is wired for learning, and that the most effective methods of education are aligned with how children naturally learn.”

Education reforms that attempt to enforce fixed standards, continuous data collection and high-stakes testing are applying an industrial model of factory production developed in the early part of the last century. It’s a manufacturing approach that should not be applied to children. 

The factory model (and mindset) continues to be very popular in business. It’s been re-branded, but can be recognized by it’s shared emphasis on top-down controls, strict standards, rules enforcement and data collection. It is a very effective way of making products cheaply and generating profits (turning everything it touches into a commodity to be bought, sold and traded), but is completely inappropriate in educational settings, and with children, because it ignores their inner lives, treating them like data points and soul-less products on an assembly line.

“Asking kids to meet target on standardized tests is like making them meet a sales quota. Our kids are not commodities.” ~Kris Nielsen

The Mismatch of the Data Focused Business Model with Education

This graph shows the “business model” of data collection and decision-making that is utilized by many Fortune 500 firms and is currently being implemented by education reformers in the United States. (It’s also quite popular in Asia, where it appears to be Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children | Creative by Nature:

Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected | Tampa Bay Times

Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected | Tampa Bay Times:

Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected

A seven-year effort to put better teachers in Hillsborough County schools is costing the system millions of dollars more than officials projected. And the district's partner in the project, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is spending $20 million less than expected. The numbers, found in recent reports, differ significantly from what was commonly understood about the high-profile partnership, known as Empowering Effective Teachers. The district was to raise $102 million for its part, much of it by aggressively pursuing grants from local corporations and other entities. Gates was to kick in $100 million, for a total of $202 million. But as the project stands in its final year, the district's contribution will total $124 million in money and labor, while the Gates organization is paying only $80 million, the reports state. What's more, the district has put the total cost of the program, so far, at $271 million, which includes costs related to the effort. The numbers likely will be part of a detailed discussion that begins today on how to address the district's dwindling reserves and the resulting budget crisis that has bond-rating companies raising questions about school system finances.

School Board chairwoman Susan Valdes said she has long harbored doubts about escalating costs for the Gates-funded program, which launched in 2009 with great fanfare and put Hillsborough on the map nationally as an innovative district.

"That was my biggest fear, as excited as I was," she said Monday. "I am looking forward to tomorrow's workshop like there's no tomorrow."

Anna Brown, who manages the Gates grant for the district, cautioned against thinking the program is too costly, or that it can be dismantled now that one of its primary features, performance pay, is state law.

She said the extra $69 million in total expenses includes activities outside the scope of Empowering Effective Teachers, but related to it — such as a principal training program that uses funds from the Wallace Foundation, a New York-based philanthropic group focused on education.

Similarly, the $124 million listed in reports as "district reallocation" includes time by workers such as programmers, test designers and personnel staff who would be on the job anyway. "Some of it's an in-Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected | Tampa Bay Times:

Seattle School Board To Vote on Suspension Ban | Al Jazeera America

Seattle School Board To Vote on Suspension Ban | Al Jazeera America:

Seattle School Board to vote on elementary school suspension ban

Plan would halt out-of-school suspensions in Seattle public schools, which disproportionately affect students of color

The Seattle School Board will vote Wednesday evening whether schools should stop suspending elementary school children for breaking rules, a move prompted by a growing body of research showing that students of color are disproportionately punished.

Seattle’s seven-member school board is considering a resolution that would eliminate out-of-school suspensions at public elementary schools (PDF) starting in the 2015-16 school year. If approved, the resolution calls on the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools to instead create plans for staff training and alternative disciplinary programs and to begin scaling back the use of suspensions in all grades.

The resolution is based on growing evidence that African-American, Latino, Pacific Islander and Native American children are suspended two or three times as often as their white and Asian-American peers. The same is true for children who are enrolled in special education or English-as-second-language programs, according to data crunched by UCLA and the University of Washington.

For example, Native American children were given 8.57 percent of all suspensions among Seattle students in kindergarten through the fifth grades in 2011-2012, even though they only made up 0.8 percent of the population. Black children, who comprised 16.5 percent of the population, were given 7.6 percent of the suspensions among K-5 students during that same school year. White children, on the other hand, made up 45.8 percent of the population but were issued just 1.09 percent of the suspensions, according to UCLA’s Civil Rights Project.

Harium Martin-Morris, president of the Seattle School Board, told Al Jazeera that he introduced the resolution to the board in July. Students who are suspended at a young age, he notes, are more likely to keep getting suspended as they get older, and are at risk of ending up behind bars in what’s known as the school-to-prison pipeline. “Part of that is the criminalization of behavior that starts very, very early on,” Martin-Morris said. "This is a way to kind of Seattle School Board To Vote on Suspension Ban | Al Jazeera America:

AB 101 Ethnic Studies - Will California Lead the Way in Ethnic Studies?

AB 101 Ethnic Studies:

Will California Lead the Way in Ethnic Studies?

There has been a flourishing interest in Ethnic Studies since the State of Arizona banned the successful Mexican American Studies program a few years ago. Arizona has had a history of passing discriminatory laws that have drawn criticism from numerous civil rights and education advocates.

However, in California, the state legislature passed AB 101 Ethnic Studies, which would create a model Ethnic Studies curriculum that school districts across the state could adopt and offer in its schools. This would move California in the opposite direction of its neighboring state and towards a more inclusive and progressive model of education. Governor Jerry Brown should sign AB 101.

Nearly every academic study conducted on Ethnic Studies demonstrates the academic and social benefits to taking these classes. Students of color (who are the majority of students in our schools) should learn more about themselves, their struggles and contributions of their community to the country. Through Ethnic Studies, they can explore and critically think about the world around them in depth; while simultaneously revealing significant issues that are very often left out of our traditional curriculum.

I have met numerous students who have taken Ethnic Studies courses in college always return to say, “Why didn’t I learn about this in high school?”

I have met numerous students who have taken Ethnic Studies courses in college always return to say, “Why didn’t I learn about this in high school?” If signed by Governor Brown, all students will be able to learn more about each other, which brings empathy and builds community. The increasing diversity of California makes this a necessity and California’s current education standards are unfortunately inadequate.

A research review conducted by Professor Christine Sleeter found that, of the 96 Americans who were named for study in the History-Social Studies Framework for California Public Schools course descriptions, there are 77% White, 18% African-American, 4% Native American, 1% Latino and 0% Asian American. No wonder students who take Ethnic Studies in college feel as if they have AB 101 Ethnic Studies:

2015-2016 NYS Refusal Letter - NYS ALLIES for Public Education

2015-2016 NYS Refusal Letter - NYS ALLIES for Public Education:
NYS ALLIES for Public Education

2015-2016 NYS Refusal LetterStudent:   _____________________
School:     ______________________
Teacher:   _____________________
Grade:      ______

 Dear ____________________,

We are writing today to formally inform the district of our decision to refuse to allow our child __________________, to participate in:

______ the 2016 New York State grade 3-8 ELA assessment

______ the 2016 New York State grade 3-8 math assessment

______ any stand alone New York State field testing in the 2015/16 school year (grades 3-12)

______ any local/benchmark assessment used in the New York State teacher evaluation system administered in the fall, winter, and spring (may include STAR, AIMSweb, MAP/NWEA, SLO's) in the 2015/16 school year (grades k-12) (excluding spring 2016 middle school local assessments being used as a final grade)*

______ the 2016 grade 4 New York State science assessment

______ the 2016 grade 8 New York State science assessment

Our refusal should in no way reflect on the teachers, administration, or school board. This was not an easy decision for us, but we feel that we have no other choice. We simply see these tests as harmful, expensive, and a waste of time and valuable resources.

We refuse to allow any data to be used for purposes other than the individual teacher’s own formative or cumulative assessment. We are opposed to assessments whose data is used to determine school ranking, teacher effectiveness, or any other purpose other than for the individual classroom teacher’s own use to improve his or her instruction.

We are aware that NYS Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia will direct you to talk us out of this decision in an effort to push forward the corporate takeover of public education.  We decline any such meeting or phone call.  Do not contact us for that reason.  To protect yourself, keep this letter as proof to Commissioner Elia that we have declined.  Instead, we invite you to attend an educational seminar detailing the expert research and reasons that have led parents to refuse participation in this harmful testing program.

Sincerely,



*an option for local assessments that parents and teachers agree are diagnostically useful, yet used for APPR purposes, could be to participate in the assessment while withholding the student's score from the overall evaluation score.

Download the Letter here:

refusal_letter_2015-2016__8_.docx

Download File

---

                                         
                                                  INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFUSAL LETTERSThe first thing you should do before filling out your refusal letter is find out which assessments your district administers that are tied to the evaluation plan (APPR). All teacher, principal, school, and district evaluations use state assessment scores (ELA, math, and science) to generate a score. Many include a separate local assessment as part of the score. Many different assessments can be used for the local part of the evaluation score. Some have always been used and some have been implemented only to satisfy the state requirements. Some are standardized, some computerized, and some are written by teachers. A few have diagnostic value, and many do not. Some parents may want to refuse any assessment tied to evaluations, some may not. Not all districts will honor the request to refuse local assessments. If your child is old enough to refuse on their own, refusals can still be accomplished in those cases. Another option is to allow your child to take the local assessment if the district agrees to withhold the score from the evaluation system. This would ensure authentic administration and scoring for the benefit of the child and classroom teacher. Please read up on the differences, speak to your child's teacher if you are unsure, and make the decision that best fits your child and your family. Refusal letters should go to the school principal. Copies can also be given to the teacher and the superintendent.

DESCRIPTIONS/TERMS:APPR - Annual Professional Performance ReviewJust like students, teachers, principals, schools, and districts are given a number grade at the end of every year that represents their effectiveness rating. These scores are used to rank, sort, and punish. Schools can be closed and teachers may lose their jobs or face disciplinary action based on the results.

LOCAL ASSESSMENTS
In addition to state assessments, a portion of the APPR score can be based on local assessments. Local assessments are also called SLO's, and can include MAP, STAR, DIBELS, AIMSweb, and teacher created assessments.** These benchmark assessments are often administered the first week of school.

SLO/Benchmarks - Student Learning Objective
Educators who teach a course that does not have a state exam must use Student Learning Objectives to determine part of their evaluation.  Here is how this process works: Teachers that need to use an SLO must give a pre-assessment (benchmark) to their students.  This exam could be a district, regional or corporate created test that would assess the students in what content and skills the children should obtain at the end of the school year.  Basically it is giving the students an abbreviated version of the final exam.  Almost all the students will score poorly on the pre-assessment because they have not learned the curriculum yet and achieve a low baseline level. After the “pre-assessments” are scored, the districts make a prediction as to how their students will perform on the final assessment of the year. If the teacher does not meet this “expected outcome of performance”, then that educator loses points on his or her evaluation score.

**Some districts have chosen to use assessments that are widely considered to be valuable diagnostic tools, such as the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) and the F&P (Fauntas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment), as their local assessment. Again, the concern is that once an assessment is used to rate a teacher, its diagnostic value decreases. This is a perfect case in which a parent could request to have the test administered, but the score withheld from the evaluation.

- See more at: http://www.nysape.org/2015-2016-nys-refusal-letter.html#sthash.cVYHR4Z1.dpuf

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling:

Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling

There will be three threads to this topic. 

• Overview of Reaction to the Ruling
• The Ruling Itself
• Current Overview

Part One: Overview of Reaction to the Ruling

Simply put, many people - from the unscrupulous folks who wrote this law to those overseeing charter schools to those running charter schools - made a deliberate choice to gamble with children's academic lives.  And they lost.

The people who wrote this law should get the lion's share of blame.  The wording of the law very much mirrors what the ALEC group's template charter law looks like.  It appears that almost no attempt was made to mold this law to fall within the boundaries of the Washington State Constitution.  I'm certain that many well-paid lawyers reviewed the initiative and may have even warned the proponents of the initiative that there could be constitutional issue but no matter - the initiative went forward.

The Charter Commission, who I have generally lauded, dropped the ball here.  They did not require approved charter schools to notify prospective parents - either via website or application form or public forum - that there was a lawsuit challenging the law and what the possible outcomes of the lawsuit could beincluding the overturning of the law. 

The charter schools themselves could have done notification on their own.  To the best of my knowledge, not a single one told prospective parents or, after they opened, told current parents about the lawsuit.  (I believe there was at least one question brought up by a prospective parent at a forum  - and the charter school rep waved it off - but that's not the same as notification.)  

Finally to note, the Court chose to look only at the funding issue (rightly believing that if the funding wasn't there, the whole thing was moot).  The Court stated, in their ruling, that the plaintiffs had multiple issues with the law but the Court was only considering one.  However, there are at least two other legal issues within the law so even if somehow the Legislature "fixes" the funding, the law can be brought back into legal limbo. 

If charter proponents want charters in Washington State, the best "fix" for this law is to start over entirely and write a law that is constitutionally sound.  Not "strong" or "the best charter law in the Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling:

The Great Homework Debate: What's Getting Lost in the Hype - NEA Today

The Great Homework Debate: What's Getting Lost in the Hype - NEA Today:

The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the Hype

Homework – is it an unnecessary evil or a sound and valuable pedagogical practice? The media coverage of the debate often zeroes in on these two seemingly polar opposite views, even though they may not be all that far apart. Homework can be good until – well, until it isn’t. Assign too much or the wrong kind (or both) and the law of diminishing returns kicks in, says Dr. Harris Cooper, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, resulting in undue stress for students, aggravation for parents and no real academic pay-off. 

But as Cooper, author of “The Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents,” recently told NEA Today, homework levels and parental attitudes haven’t really changed dramatically over the years. Cooper also concludes – perhaps a shock of those who are convinced that very little in our classrooms is working as it should – “the vast majority of educators have got it right.”  

There’s a lot of focus on homework now, but has it been scrutinized so heavily in the past? 

Harris Cooper: Throughout the 20th century, the public battle over homework was quite cyclical. You can go back to World War I or a little after, when it was considered important for kids to exercise their brain like a muscle and that homework was a way to do that. During the 1930s, opinions changed. In the 1950s, people were worried about falling behind the communists, so more homework was needed as a way to speed up our education and technology. During the 1960s, homework fell out of favor because many though it inflicted too much stress on kids. In the 1970s and 1980s, we needed more homework to keep up with the Japanese economically. More recently, as everything about education and teachers is being scrutinized, homework has come into question again.

What’s interesting is that the actual percentage of people who supported homework The Great Homework Debate: What's Getting Lost in the Hype - NEA Today:

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest:

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.

Learn more about us and our mission.

Spotlight

Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Lani Guinier: FairTest Heroes in Education

As part of its 30th anniversary, FairTest will honor Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Lani Guinier with the Deborah W. Meier Heroes in Education Award. The ceremony will be November 11 in Cambridge, MA. For tickets and more information, go to http://www.fairtest.org/FairTest-to-honor-LaniGuinier-and-NancyCarlssonP...

Read more...

State-by-State Nat. Merit Cut-off Scores for Class of 2016 Vary but Guarantee Most Awards Will Go to Affluent Students -- Preliminary SAT scores do not measure 'merit' accurately or fairly

Students from affluent families are greatly over-represented in the lists of high school seniors eligible for National Merit Scholarships released last week, a result of the competition’s reliance on standardized test results, according to data made public today. The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) posted National Merit’s previously secret cut-off scores, which vary greatly among states, and a table showing SAT scores by family income.

Read more...

SAT Scores Down (Again), Test-Optional Admissions Way Up

SAT scores continued a 10-year decline but the number of colleges that do not require admissions tests is soaring.

Read more...

You Can Boycott Standardized Tests without Risking Punishment to Your School.

This fact sheet explains why your school will in most cases not lose money or face sanctions if many students refuse to take the state test.

Read more...

Tell Congress: Keep Federal Accountability Mandates Out of a New Education Law

Now is the time to make sure a new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the best possible replacement of “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) that we can win at this time.

Read more...

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest:

DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education

DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education:

DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD

Wednesday, November 11, 2015, 6 – 8:30 PM

Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., Cambridge, MA

Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served

Lani Guinier is the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, at which she was the first woman of color appointed to a tenured professorship. Previously, she was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Professor Guinier worked in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, then headed the voting rights project at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Her many scholarly and general-access articles and books include her most recent book, The Tyranny of the Meritocracy: Democratizing Higher Education in America. Her work has addressed issues of race, gender, and democratic decision-making and has exposed the damaging consequences of test use in college admissions. She has received many awards and 10 honorary doctorates.

Nancy Carlsson-Paige is co-founder of Defending the Early Years and Professor Emerita at Lesley University. As an education activist, writer and public speaker, Nancy advocates for play-based, experiential education for young children and against over-testing and harmful education policies. She was a teacher educator for more than 30 years at Lesley, where she co-founded The Center for Peaceable Schools. Her books, articles, and op eds stress the need for optimal growth for children while opposing the prevailing climate of harmful education policies, media saturation, and diminishing play. At Defending the Early Years and alongside other early childhood leaders, Nancy calls for education policies and practices that promote social justice, equity, and the well-being of all children.

For more information, to order your tickets, or place an ad in the event program, please go here or visit http://www.fairtest.org.

If you cannot attend, please make a donation in their honor – use the red Donate button on the website.

Honorary Chairs (in formation):
Susan Bailey, Fred Bay, Sherrilyn Ifill, Shirley M. Collado, Patricia Jehlen, Jonathan Kozol, Linda Lantieri, Diane Levin, Margaret McKenna, Intisar Rabb, Suzi Sluyter, Susan Sturm

Host Committee (in formation):
Mahzarin Banaji, Ruth Kaplan, Geralyn McLaughlin, Linda Nathan, Sophie Sa (chair), Chanda Smart

You Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing | EduShyster

You Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing | EduShyster:

You Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing

Which is why I’m launching a podcast series!

THAT’S MY NEW MICROPHONE!

I’ve spent the last two years visiting cities like Chicago, New Orleans and Philadelphia that are on the front lines of the often bitter battle over the future of public schools in the US. And what I’ve heard along the way is far more interesting, encouraging and honest than the talking points and stale exchanges that dominate the discussions about our schools. That’s why I’m launching a podcast series so that you can listen in and hear what I’ve been hearing.

No talking points allowed
I approach my work as a journalist and blogger with one very important rule: I’ll talk to anyone who will talk to me. I’m keenly attuned to the voices that are too often shut out of the conversation, and I’m not afraid to march right into the places where decisions are being made—whether I’m wanted or not. Now I aim to take that same spirit to the airwaves. My talented sidekick Aaron French (that’s him in the picture!)—the creator and former producer of Teach For America’s popular Education on Tap podcast—and I aim to bring you something new: sharp, insightful, accessible and often humorous conversations about the hottest-button topics in education. You’ll hear voices and points of view you haven’t heard before. What you won’t hear are talking points. We won’t allow them!

Here’s a taste of what we’re up to:

• The movement to opt out of standardized tests is typically characterized as white, suburban and affluent. We’re headed to Philadelphia next week to hear how different the opt out conversation sounds when urban school parents, includingYou Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing | EduShyster:

Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes | OregonLive.com

Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes | OregonLive.com:

Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes

A group of parents from Portland's Sabin School personally delivered letters to the district to advocate for lower class sizes. Portland Public Schools is currently adding some staff to over crowded schools. (Laura Frazier/The Oregonian)

Portland Public Schools has finalized staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes at some schools.

The district had the equivalent of 20 full-time positions to distribute to overcrowded schools this fall.  Beaumont, Hosford and Mount Tabor middle schools were the last three schools to add a teacher, according to district spokesman Jon Isaacs.

Many schools received an additional teacher or classroom assistant if class sizes were above thresholds. The district reviews all kindergarten classes with at least 26 students, classes with more than 30 students for grades one to eight, and student loads of 180 or more for each high school teacher.

More than two-dozen schools received extra teachers or classroom assistants based on enrollment counts.

Some parents advocated for relief by raising concerns with district officials. A group of Sabin School parents organized a gathering at the district office after a first-grade classroom saw enrollment hit 32 students. Sabin School was allocated an additional teaching position to help with the first-grade class. 

Woodstock Elementary parents also attended a board meeting Sept. 16 to ask for an additional kindergarten teacher. The school at first was allocated a classroom assistant, Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes | OregonLive.com:

Climbing the Common Core Staircase | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn

Climbing the Common Core Staircase | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn:

Climbing the Common Core Staircase

The CCSSO and NGA clearly have high hopes and great expectations for their Common Core State Standards…

"The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live."

~About the Common Core State Standards

The narrator in the video below explains how the standards are like a K- 12 staircase that every student must climb starting from the bottom step...

"Each step is a skill your child needs to learn before stepping up to the next one. Think of Kindergarten through 12th grade as a great staircase."

The Common Core is a standardized staircase designed to challenge the climbing skills of “standard” students. All students are expected to "climb" these stairs in a synchronized way, regardless of individual ability level or disability.

Unfortunately the Common Core implementation kit does not appear to include contingency plans and directions for assembling and installing the Climbing the Common Core Staircase | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn:

The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores

The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores:

The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores

The many factors that contribute to a student being successful in the classroom interweave into a complicated tapestry, and one that has grown even more intricate in the last decade.

Pull a single thread and the tapestry falls apart.

For students who grow up in an impoverished household, stresses and other distractions make success all the more challenging. Transience, lack of resources at home, lack of parent engagement — all diminish a student’s chances for success, and in many cases are a direct impact of poverty on a household.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, in Virginia over 975,000 families with 1.8 million children live in poverty.

Over the last 10 years, the percentage of area students qualifying for free and reduced lunch has increased, and in some areas, significantly. The program serves households meeting federal poverty guidelines.

While a causation between high free and reduced lunch populations and lower scores on standardized tests can not definitively be drawn, there is an evident correlation.

Poverty numbers tell the story

It’s hard to say definitively that schools with higher rates of poverty will have lower test scores as well, but there is correlation for many area schools, particularly in the cities.

In both Staunton and Waynesboro the school with the highest free and reduced lunch populations had the lowest Standards of Learning pass rates in 2013-2014, the year with the most recent SOL data released by the state.

In Staunton, Bessie Weller Elementary had 69.5 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and had the lowest English and math pass rates at 64 percent and 48 percent respectively during the 2013-2014 school year.

In Waynesboro, Wenonah Elementary had 88.2 percent qualifying for free and reduced lunch, and had English and math pass scores of 48 percent and 57 percent, the lowest in the school division for 2013-2014.

Staunton and Waynesboro have higher rates of students qualifying for free and reduced The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores:

Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City:

Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City

Like so many reformers in Newark and elsewhere, Cory Booker was a true believer in "disruptive innovation" to produce "transformative" change. Dale Russakoff, in The Prize, explains that Newark reformers, funded by Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million grant, were slow in developing a plan for creating a "hybrid" district through school closures and expanding the charter sector.  Booker had said that the biggest challenge would be "breaking this iceberg of immovable, decades-long failing schools." After this is done, "They'll melt into many different school models. They're going to flower, just like the cherry blossoms in Branch Park."

Booker didn't seem to have read about the [then] decade-long history of Chicago school closuresstarted by Arne Duncan. And, he seemed to have forgotten about the murder of Derrion Albert as he walked home from his turnaround school, Fenger H.S. Or, perhaps he believed that Newark gang-bangers would be so inspired by One Newark that they would transform gang turf into cherry orchards for all. 

In 1998, when I had my first experience with a school closure and reopening, Oklahoma City had some schools as violent and low-performing as those of Newark and Chicago. My John Marshall wasn't one of them. It was somewhere between 2/3rds and 3/4ths low-income, very similar to the neighboring Northeast H.S., which was turned into a magnet school. Marshall had the best faculty that I had ever seen, and Northeast was known for producing state and local teachers of the year and teacher-leaders. After the crack and gang violence peaked in the early 1990s, and after the "jobless recovery" finally started to put some patrons back to work, both schools had been seeing incremental gains.

Then came the 1998-1999 "Year from Hell," as our long-suffering principal dubbed it. Combining students from the two neighborhoods who could not be admitted to selective schools was not the sole cause of our collapse. Neither am I aware of a connection between the change in school boundaries and the deaths that year of five Marshall students and recent alumni. But, the meltdown of our school showed the risks involved with tampering with the delicate ecosystems of schooling.  It was a major step in our blood-drenched path to becoming the lowest-performing secondary school in the state.

Even before our first funeral, during my daily, dazed walk to the gym for lunchtime basketball with the This Week In Education: Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?:

Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?

At last night's Progressive Caucus community forum in Logan Square, Caucus members and community groups spoke out against Rahm's austerity budget and massive property tax increase. 

Will enough typically spineless Chicago Alders finally find their way out of Rahm's pocket to push back on his draconian budget proposal? Doubtful.

There are 11 members of the City Council progressive caucus who generally don’t side with the mayor on fiscal policy (including Arena); an 18-member aldermanic black caucus that plays nice with Emanuel but doesn’t back the garbage-fee proposal; and a handful of Hispanic aldermen, including Ald. Roberto Maldonado, who think the mayor’s budget proposal, as it stands, well, stinks. -- Mark Konkol, DNAInfo

Rahm's strategy, like his predecessor Daley's, includes selling off or privatizing everything that's not nailed down. Closing schools and getting rid of public space also weakens unions and public decision making.

His idea of privatizing the 311 call center came in his 2016 budget address, saying it would save the city "about a million dollars a year" to replace union workers with outside contractors. It was one of the few pieces of actual news Tuesday, after the mayor's administration had spent the past week dribbling out many of their financial proposals for the coming year. -- John Byrne, Tribune  

His budget proposal includes an unprecedented increase in property taxes and fees Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?: