Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, March 13, 2014

3-13-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:






Tennessee House Votes 82-11 to Halt Implementation of Common Core: Haslam/Huffman Rebuked
It is essential that you call your state senator and urge her to vote with the House on this.  Find your senator here.from the Tennessean:Tennessee lawmakers voted to delay the Common Core education program for two years, as opponents staged an ambush Thursday morning on the floor of the state House of Representatives.A coalition of Republicans and Democratic lawmakers used an unrelated bill on Am
Common Core Presentation for Public Forums
From Rog Lucido:In the ongoing effort to debunk the Common Core Standards and associated testing, I have created a PowerPoint called Common Core Exposed. I have posted it in two downloadable versions. The first is a Read Only version that can be used at one’s own pace for presentations at school boards, parent meetings and the like. References for each slide are below each slide by just hitting Es

John King's "Bar Exam" for Teachers Who Are Paid Like Clerks
Lawyers' median pay?  $113,000.  Teachers' median pay?  $53,000.  Judicial law clerk? $47,000.Ready or not, here comes John King's Pearson test: New York Education Commissioner John King and a Board of Regents committee have released a full-throated endorsement of the state's controversial new teacher certification system.In a statement distributed this morning, King rejected calls to postpone the

Memphis Schools to Cut 800 Jobs As This Year's Charter Outlay is $78,000,000
This year, alone, Shelby County plans to close ten schools and turn them over for charter conversion.  It is now becoming increasingly clear that, without a huge infusion of Federal funds, turning Memphis into a New Orleans type charter chain gang system is going to an expensive ordeal for the pampered citizens of the leafy suburbs.  I guess that is what NOLA school board president, Phyllis Landri

Parent Files Suit to Establish Opt Out Legal Precedent

MD parent files suit over MSA opt out and sets precedent for futureassessmentsMarch 11, 2014Cindy Rose of Frederick County has taken the matter of MSA <http://www.examiner.com/topic/msa> opting out to court by filing an emergency motion for injunctive relief. She is asking the court to force Frederick County Public Schools to allow her child to remain in her classes and not be administered the
3-12-14 Schools Matter All Week
Schools Matter: Using the Common Core Testing Delivery System to Label, Sort, SegregateFrom WaPo:. . . .In New York for example, one of the first states to roll out the new curriculum, scores from Common Core tests dropped like a stone—and the achievement gaps dramatically widened. In 2012, prior to the Core’s implementation, the state reported a 12-point black/white achievement gap between averag