Thursday, May 9, 2013

Diane in the Evening 5-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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








Achieve Official Refutes Statements About PARCC

In an earlier post, a teacher in Tennessee wrote critically about the PARCC assessments of the Common Core. The teacher said that the assessments did not permit accommodations for students with disabilities.
Chad Colby of Achieve, one of the organizations responsible for developing the Common Core, says that these claims are wrong.
He writes:
“The information presented in this post is factually incorrect.
“Students with disabilities will have access to accommodations on the PARCC assessment. A draft 


Jeanne Allen Responds to Bruce Baker

After the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the funding for vouchers was unconstitutional, Jeanne Allen urged Governor Jindal to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bruce Baker chastised Allen and said she needed a civics lesson about how federalism works.
Jeanne Allen responded here. In her response, she says that there were criticisms of her family on this blog. I did not see every comment, but nothing posted here referred to Jeanne’s family, only to her published views.

Chicago: Three day March Planned to Protest School Closings

This just in from the Chicago Teachers Union, which is fighting to preserve public education in that city. The mass closure of 54 public schools is unprecedented in American history.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Stephanie Gadlin
May 9, 2013 312/329-6250
StephanieGadlin@ctulocal1.com
Thousands prepare for a three-day march against school closings as Chicago’s mayor continues his assault on working-class people under the guise of education reform
CHICAGO – As the city braces itself for the largest assault on public education in the country, thousands of 

Mercedes Schneider: Do Most Teachers Support Common Core?

Ira Shor, a professor at the City University of New York, left a comment recently, wondering if “the great Mercedes Schneider” would take a look at the AFT survey showing that 75% of AFT members support the Common Core. As it happens, Dr. Schneider saw the comment and did exactly that. Dr. Schneider is a high school English teacher who holds a Ph.D. in statistics and research methods.
Here is her analysis of the AFT survey.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-9-13 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] Why Rhee’s Test-Driven Incentives Always Fail by dianerav In this thoughtful article, Charles Taylor Kerchner of Claremont Graduate University explains that Michelle Rhee’s belief in using test scores to reward and punish teachers is guaranteed to produce adverse consequences like cheating. Her reliance on test scores plus her “fear-based management style” is the Achilles’ heel of reform policy, he says. “This is the lesson of organizational history, not an isol... more »