Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, October 12, 2015

Is kindergarten too young to suspend a student?


Is kindergarten too young to suspend a student?


At the largest charter school network in New York City, strict academic and behavior standards set the stage for learning. That doesn't exclude children as young as 5 or 6 years old, who can be given out-of-school suspensions if they don't follow the rules. Special correspondent for education John Merrow explores what that policy means for both the child and the school.




Louisiana Educator: Conversion Tables Reveals White Lowering the Bar. . . . Again!

Louisiana Educator: Conversion Tables Reveals White Lowering the Bar. . . . Again!:

Conversion Tables Reveals White Lowering the Bar. . . . Again!

Release of Secret Conversion Tables for PARCC Forced by Public Records Request. 






Louisiana citizens will be the first ones in the PARCC testing group to see the critical conversion tables, that are used for producing the scale scores.  It only happened because of a formal public records request and the threat of a lawsuit against White for withholding public records.

The 33 member citizens public records request filed on October 1, included a request for a copy of the conversion tables for converting raw PARCC scores to the new PARCC scale scores. Those conversion tables were finally released by White today along with a calculation of the percentage of students scoring Basic, Mastery and Advanced. The newspapers will give you the percentages of students deemed performing satisfactory by the setting of the cut scores but the subject of this post is the lowering of the academic bar once again by Superintendent White.

Those conversion tables reveal absurdly low cut scores for ratings of Basic and Mastery. The percentage of students getting a rating or Basic or above depend upon BESE adopting the lowest passing scores in the history of Accountability testing in Louisiana! (by far)

Would you believe that White's cut scores for Basic performance on the 3rd grade English-Language Arts test would require students to only get 30% of the available raw points on the test correct to get a rating of Basic?

A student can receive a rating of Basic on 7th grade math by 
Louisiana Educator: Conversion Tables Reveals White Lowering the Bar. . . . Again!:


Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design | Seattle Education

Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design | Seattle Education:

Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design



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Don Nielson


Don Nielson recently had yet another op ed published by the Seattle Times, a newspaper which has provided many wealthy (white) men with a platform and microphone to share their opinions with the rest of us on public education. This time Mr. Nielson wanted to state that a lack of adequate funding for public schools is not the problem, it’s having an elected school board among other things.
What came to my attention, thanks to my co-editor’s sleuthing, was the fact that the same Don Nielson is also a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute and “chair of the Institute’s program on public education reform.”
discovery instituteThat wouldn’t be too shocking except for two items. First, Don Nielson has had a great influence over Seattle Public Schools in the past and continues to try and influence the public conversation now, and also because the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture is “dedicated to the reinvigoration of traditional Western principles and institutions and the worldview from which they issued” and is “the institutional hub for scientists, educators, and inquiring minds who think that nature supplies compelling evidence of intelligent design. We support research, sponsor educational programs, defend free speech, and produce articles, books, and multimedia content.” And here’s another good one: “Discovery Institute has a special concern for the role that science and technology play in our culture and how they can advance free markets, illuminate public policy and support the theistic foundations of the West.”
With all this in mind, let me take you back a bit.
In 2010 I wrote the first in a series of posts titled “The Battle for Seattle” which provides a history of the Broad Foundation in Seattle and the attempt at a corporate takeover of Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design | Seattle Education:

Reading prepares students for living and learning outside the text | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn

Reading prepares students for living and learning outside the text | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn:

Reading prepares students for living and learning outside the text

Reading prepares students for living and learning outside the text


Common Core's emphasis on deep analysis of text and discrete literacy skills is misguided and will not improve the college and career readiness of students.
These standards do not properly prepare our students for the real world literacy challenges of lifelong learning and employment.
As I previously commented here, the standards demand students think critically as they stay connected and dive into text, while most employers desire workers who think creatively while connecting with people as they dive into their work.
Proficient close readers will spend days determining "how the text works" while productive employees will achieve much more in just a few hours of putting their imagination to work.
I also previously commented that when it comes to success in college and careers, the ability to independently master complex informational text is far less important than students having learned how to maximize their talents and master themselves.
Our students and our nation would be better served by standards that cultivate Reading prepares students for living and learning outside the text | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn:

School Reformers Who Blame Public Schools for Eliminating Special Education

School Reformers Who Blame Public Schools for Eliminating Special Education:

School Reformers Who Blame Public Schools for Eliminating Special Education

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I see Washington Post Columnist Jay Matthews as someone who usually cheerleads for privatization of public schools. I take issue with his Sunday Washington Postarticle “How can a special education student fail finals yet pass? Sadly, it’s easy.”
Oh help! Is this not a case of the right hand not being able to find the left hand of reform?
Matthews laments over a father’s issues with not being able to get realistic services for his daughter, who has learning disabilities at the well-respected Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County, Virginia.
Oliver Hirschfeld’s daughter is a senior, and while she got the special education services she needed in ninth and 10th grade, she didn’t get self-contained classes in 11th and 12th grade.
I have a tough time learning the material, she said in reference to the large regular class sizes.
Now she is being passed through classes without getting the skills that would help her get into community college, and Mr. Hirchfeld and Matthews are critical of the school pushing the student through and not giving her a smaller self-contained class placement.
Well join the club! Many students are now disengaged from meaningful IEPs. It is more School Reformers Who Blame Public Schools for Eliminating Special Education:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/12/15




CORPORATE ED REFORM




New waivers from school readiness law raise concerns | Chalkbeat
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ESPN delays '30 for 30' Kevin Johnson doc in light of sex allegations - NBA - SI.com
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The Legacy of Arne Duncan, ‘A Hero in the Education Business’ | The Nation
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Another state redefines ‘proficiency’ on Common Core tests, inflating performance - The Washington Post
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Letter to Ken Gotsch, CFO
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Suggestions for @politico on education reporting #commoncore | @ THE CHALKFACE
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Philadelphia: Ideologues Press On to Expand Charters Despite Deepening PA Budget Crisis | janresseger
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Giving hope to the hungry - Lily's Blackboard #FightStudentHunger
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School-funding initiative backers keep outraising opponents - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS
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Informative writing from Peter Greene, but we have, have, have to… | @ THE CHALKFACE
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Denver district focuses on quality as schools resegregated - The Denver Post
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The Student Success Act: Passed in House of Representatives | VAMboozled!
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How Common Core quietly won the war - POLITICO
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Charter School Battle Heats Up - WSJ
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TN bill would ban teaching 'religious doctrine' until high school
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Mayor's office withholds records on school contract scandal - Chicago Tribune
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Put Public Education Out Of Its Misery Already
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Teachers unions hope Hillary Clinton will undo Arne Duncan’s work - Vox
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What the increasingly oppressive climate in many schools is doing to kids - The Washington Post
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Parents Struggle With The Ways Gentrification Changes A Bilingual Schools | ThinkProgress
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Leadership Issues Could Cloud Federal K-12 Picture - Education Week
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Charter advocates release poll that shows support for L.A. expansion - LA Times
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Some Key Education Programs Alive in NCLB Rewrite, But Dead in the Budget - Politics K-12 - Education Week
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Clive McFarlane: There's more to education reform than charter schools - telegramcom
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Hold charter schools accountable
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The Common Core wins the war - POLITICO
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With A Brooklyn Accent: My Eight Years of Education Activism
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Parents Rising - Dear Directors
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Where Have All The Teachers of Color Gone? (With Answers) | The Jose Vilson
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New times demand new ways to support students and schools | EdSource
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Will the Obama administration now focus on desegregating schools? - The Washington Post
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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/11/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMThe next education secretary: Polarizing, powered by personal story - The Washington PostThe next education secretary: Polarizing, powered by personal story - The Washington Post: The next education secretary: Polarizing, powered by personal storyThe nation’s next education secretary is a man driven by what might have been had he not found refuge in public schools.John B. King J