Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, April 26, 2013

Diane in the Evening 4-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:







DFER Defended by Head of the Discovery Institute

This is indeed an odd turn of events.
Bruce Chapman, the head of the Discovery Institute, a Reagan Republican, warns Democrats that they should take care not to offend Democrats for Education Reform because they might become Republicans.
The reason for his warning was that the California Democratic Party recently passed a resolution denouncing corporate education reform and specifically singling out DFER and StudentsFirst as fronts for corporations and Republicans.
Chapman was the founder of the the conservative Discovery Institute, which promotes “intelligent design” and is 


Alan Singer: Pearson Fails the Test Again and Again

From Alan Singer:
Pearson is reading the columns. Please spread the word to your lists and encourage people to reply online. Keep the pressure on!
Enough is Enough — Pearson Education Fails the Test Again and Again
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/enough-is-enough-pearson-_b_3146434.html
Attention: Charles Goldsmith, Head of Corporate Communications at Pearson Plc
Emailed Sunday, April 21, 2013, noon, New York time
Dear Mr. Goldsmith
I am very upset about what I have documented as a pattern of poor performance by Pearson Education and its 


Pearson Makes Massive Errors and Big Profits

Valerie Strauss catalogued the long history of Pearson’s testing errors.
These are only the errors that were discovered and went public.
What about the errors that went undiscovered?
What about the students who never graduated because Pearson made a

The “Bloomberg Legacy” Article Is No Longer Behind Paywall

Leonie Haimson and I wrote an article for The Nation reviewing the Bloomberg legacy in education.
It is no longer behind a paywall. It is online and free.

The Legacy of Michael Bloomberg

Leonie Haimson and I written an article in the current issue of The Nation about Mayor Bloomberg’s 12-year control of the public schools.
The article unfortunately is behind a pay wall. If you can find a copy at your newsstand or library.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Breaking News! Illinois Stops $$$ to UNO Charters by dianerav The state of Illinois has cut off funding to the politically powerful UNO charter chain because of conflicts of interest, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The head of UNO, Juan Rangel, was co-chair of Rahm Emanuel’s mayoral campaign in 2011. According to the story, millions of dollars of a $98 million construction grant went to contracts with two brothers of a high-ranking UNO official. NC: Vou... more »