Saturday, February 27, 2021

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

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG 
A site to discuss better education for all




Ed Deform Groups Congratulate Biden on Decision to Test
Review the list of organizations that signed a letter thanking the Biden administration for insisting on tests this spring. Some outspoken enemies of public education are there. Some rightwing groups are there. Supporters of school choice are there. What do you make of this?
Leonie Haimson: Biden Should Focus on Vaccinating Teachers Instead of Forcing States to Give Pointless Tests
Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, board member of the Network for Public Education, and expert on student privacy, pulls together some interesting threads in this post. If Biden wants schools to reopen soon, she says, he should make sure that every teacher gets vaccinated so schools can safely reopen. Instead, he has broken his promise to get rid of the federal testing man
Nancy Bailey: Is EdTrust Behind the Renewal of Standardized Testing?
Nancy Bailey explains why we should worry about who is making the decisions at the U.S. Department of Education before any of its top officials have been confirmed. She suspects it is Education Trust, which favors charter schools and high-stakes testing. EdTrust is Gates-funded, and its leader is John King, who served briefly as Secretary of Education in the last year of the Obama administration.
Victoria E.M. Cain: A Brief and Sobering History of Technology in the Classroom
During the pandemic, most schools turned to remote learning as a matter of necessity. Some in the education biz think that the pandemic has created a new market for their products. Actually, most parents and students are eager for real schools with real teachers to open again. Contrary to popular myth, teachers too want schools to reopen, as soon as they are safe for staff and students. Historian
Jan Resseger: Eve Ewing Ignored the “Economic Catastrophe” That Charter Schools Create for Public Schools
Jan Resseger is one of our wisest commentators of issues of education, equity, and social justice. She devoted her professional life to these issues. In her latest blog post, she is critical of Eve Ewing for ignoring the “economic catastrophe” that charter schools impose on public schools. She has seen it up close and personal in Cleveland and other cities in Ohio, where public schools suffer as
Bob Shepherd on Standardized Tests
Bob Shepherd is a polymath who worked in the education industry for decades and was recently a teacher in Florida. He spent many years developing standardized tests. He has written often about their poor quality, their lack of reliability and validity. In this post, he explains why he has reached these conclusions: The dirty secret of the standardized testing industry is the breathtakingly low qu

FEB 25

My Review of Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire, “A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door”
I reviewed A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door in The New Republic. It is an important book that pulls together all the threads of the privatization movement and shows that their agenda is not to improve education or to advance equity but to destroy public education. The review is here. Tonight, I will join the authors at a town hall Zoom meeting in Seattle at 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST. Please join us! I
Let Ian Rosenblum Know What You Think about His Decision to Impose Standardized Testing
Many of you have asked how to express your indignation and outage about the decision by Acting Assistant Secretary Ian Rosenblum to require all states to administer standardized testing this spring at a time of great stress on students, families, teachers, schools, and communities. I have repeatedly explained why the federally mandated tests are worthless. The teachers are not allowed to see the
Is the edTPA a Valid Measure of Teacher Quality?
Three researchers published an article in the Kappan that is highly critical of the edTPA, a test used to assess whether teacher candidates are prepared to teach. Over the years, there have been many complaints about the edTPA, because it replaces the human judgment of teacher educators with a standardized instrument. It’s proponents claim that the instrument is more reliable and valid than human
Nora De La Cour: Abolish High-Stakes Testing
Teacher Nora De La Cour writes on her blog that it is time to restore the joy of teaching and learning by abolishing high-stakes testing. She writes that candidate Joe Biden forcefully promised to get rid of standardized testing and restore teacher autonomy, but Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona seems unwilling to commit to granting states a waiver from the mandated federal testing. He did no
David Berliner: Why Religious Schools Should Never Receive a Dollar of Public Funding
Since the 2020 election, when Republicans won many seats in state legislatures, there has been an explosion of proposed voucher laws, to allow people to get public money to pay for religious schools. David Berliner, one of our nation’s most distinguished researchers of education, explains why funding religious schools with public money is a terrible idea. Why Religious Schools Should Never Receiv

FEB 24

California: Nearly 50,000 Teachers and Parents Say NO to Biden Testing Demand
UPDATE TO NEWS RELEASE: 50,000 signatures submitted to SBE-parents, educators urge waiving standardized testing NEWS RELEASE California Teachers Association February 22, 2021 1705 Murchison Drive Burlingame, CA 94010 www.cta.org Contact: Claudia Briggs cbriggs@cta.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Educators Call on State Board of Education to Seek Waiver from U.S. Department of Education Suspending Stand
New York: A Sample Opt Out Letter
New York State Allies for Public Education created sample opt out letters for parents to present to the school. For both English and Spanish, visit the NYSAPE homepage . Home
Steve Hinnefeld: Black Legislators in Indiana Were Right to Talk about Race
Veteran blogger Steve Hinnefeld writes about education in Indiana. In this post, he describes a controversy in the Legislature about whether a portion of a district should be allowed to secede in order to join a “whiter” district. Some Indiana House Republicans lost their cool last week when Democratic colleagues dared to raise the issue of race. According to the Indianapolis Star , the Republica
Nicholas Tampio: Let the Children Play This Summer, Not Catch Up on “Learning Loss”
Nicholas Tampio, a professor of political science at Fordham University, wrote recently in the Washington Post that children need a break, not academic pressure, this summer. But the federal government seems to have swallowed whole the claims that children are suffering from “learning loss.” He disagrees. Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle have repeatedly urged policymakers to acknowledge the import
New Congressman Jamaal Bowman Blasts Biden Testing Plan
Congressman Jamaal Bowman, experienced teacher and principal and teacher, was elected last November and now is a member of the House Education Committee. He was outraged by the announcement that the Biden administration demands a resumption of annual testing. He denounced it as “a big mistake.” He knows what kids need, and it’s not testing. Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Tuesday joined progressive educati
NYSAPE Urges Parents to Opt Out of Biden Testing
New York State Allies for Public Education has led the successful opt out movement in their state for years. As much as 20% of all eligible students have refused the annual tests in most years, in some schools and districts, a majority of students don’t take the test. They reacted angrily to the news that the Biden administration plans to require annual testing after Joe Biden publicly promised n

FEB 23

Learn About Litigating Against Vouchers
REGISTER NOW FOR 2/24 WEBINAR: Litigating Against Private School Vouchers Join Education Law Center and Public Funds Public Schools on Wednesday, February 24, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. EST for a webinar, “Litigating Against Private School Vouchers.” During the webinar, experienced attorneys will discuss lawsuits challenging private school voucher programs and other diversions of public funds to private
Pastors for Texas Children to the Texas Legislature: “Make Suitable Provision!”
One of our greatest allies for public schools in the nation is the remarkable Pastors for Texas Children. They are active every day in Texas, urging the public to support and fund their public schools. Their leadership has helped to spur similar organizations in other states where public schools need help and where privatizers are making a play for public funds. Here is their latest appeal for fu
Al Franken on Rush Limbaugh’s Squalid Legacy
Al Franken is the former Senator from Minnesota. He wrote this retrospective on Rush Limbaugh in the New York Daily News. Rush Limbaugh died this week. His impact on our nation’s discourse and polity will long outlive him. Many Americans had been puzzled when President Trump bestowed upon Limbaugh our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After all, previous honorees
Mercedes Schneider on the Biden Testing Plan
Mercedes Schneider comments here on the Biden administration’s unexpected and ridiculous decision to insist on another round of standardized tests in the middle of the pandemic. She begins: On February 22, 2021, acting ed secretary Ian Rosenblum ( formerly of testing-friendly ed reform org, Education Trust ) sent this letter to state school superintendents informing them that standardized testing

FEB 22

Leonie Haimson: Biden’s Absurd Decision to Impose the Tests: Opt Out!
Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters and board member of the Network for Public Education, responded to Biden’s broken promise about suspending the testing. She wrote: Today, Ian Rosenblum acting Asst. Sec. of the US Dept. of Education announced that states would NOT be given a waiver from administering standardized exams – though ten had already requested them, including New
Biden Administration’s Broken Promise: Schools Must Give Standardized Tests This Spring
The Biden administration chose a pro-testing advocate, Ian Rosenblum of Education Trust New York, to announce the decision that states must administer the federally mandated tests this spring. Miguel Cardona has not yet been confirmed as Secretary of Education nor has Cindy Marten been confirmed as Deputy Secretary. Who made this decision? Joe Biden? Jill Biden? Ian Rosenblum, who has not yet bee
Eve Ewing Is Wrong About Charter Schools
Eve Ewing is a writer and scholar whose work I very much admire. When her book Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side was published in 2018, I called it the best book of the year. Today, however, she published an article in the New York Times about charter schools that completely misses the point about the damage that charter schools do to public schools. Bas
This Is What a Great National Leader Looks Like
This is a wonderful and well-deserved tribute to Angela Merkel, who recently stepped down as leader of Germany and (for now) leader of the western world (Trump abdicated that position). Angela Dorothea Merkel has been Chancellor of Germany since 2005. She served as Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union from 2000 to 2018. A member of the Christi
Curtis Cardine: The Cost of Funding the Arizona Voucher Legislation
Curt Cardine of the Grand Canyon Institute has calculated the cost of the proposed Arizona voucher proposal, which would give public money for private choices to the overwhelming majority of students in the state. If the proposal passes, even if relatively few students take vouchers, it will defund every school district in the state. The public schools of Arizona, already underfunded, will take y
New York City: Andrew Yang Panders to Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Community
Politicians in New York City and New York State eagerly seek the endorsement of the ultra-orthodox Hasidic community because it tends to vote as a bloc, favoring whoever supports their interests. One of their highest goals is to make sure that their religious schools are free of any state mandates. Andrew Yang has emerged as the leading defender of the yeshivas and their “right” not to provide a

FEB 21

New Hampshire: As House Delays Voucher Bill, Senate Forges Ahead with Same Bad Bill
The New Hampshire House decided to hold off for a year with the universal voucher bill, that would funnel public money to religious schools, home schoolers, and anyone else who wants public money. However, the State Senate is barreling ahead with the same legislation. On Thursday, February 18, the House Education Committee unanimously voted to retain HB 20, the statewide voucher bill, delaying fu
West Virginia: House Delays Voucher Bill When It Sees the Cost
The West Virginia legislature is rushing–like other red states–to pass voucher legislation. They know that very few students will apply for vouchers but that the cost will be enormous. West Virginia Republicans want to have the most expansive voucher bill in the nation (they are competing with New Hampshire and Arizona to supply everyone with the chance to use public money to attend a private or
Peter Greene: Disaster Capitalism and Kids Today
Peter Greene notes the emergence of a new narrative among “reformers”: Whereas schools have long been failing kids, now the kids themselves are failures because of the epidemic of “learning loss.” As usual, the disaster experts blame teachers, but now they say the kids are failures too. But the other part of chicken littling about education is the constant declaration that Kids These Days suck. T
Laura Chapman: When Bankers Lead Education “Reform”
Our brilliant reader Laura Chapman, retired educator, decided to dig deep into the politics of education reform in Minnesota in response to a post about a dubious constitutional amendment sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank. Chapman, who lives in Ohio, writes: I am not from Minnesota, but this post sent me deep into some policies there. The idea is to frame education as a fundamental right to “

FEB 20

Good News from New Hampshire: Legislature Postpones Voucher Bill to Next Year
As a result of strong opposition, Republicans who control the New Hampshire legislature decided to postpone consideration of their “number one priority,” school vouchers. Under consideration was the most sweeping voucher bill in the nation. Thousands of people signed up to testify against the legislation. A bill to create a school voucher-like system in New Hampshire is poised to be kicked to 202
Texas: The Mayor Who Told People in His Town to Fend for Themselves
This story has justifiably gotten a lot of national attention. Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, resigned after posting the following message on his Facebook page. He has a philosophy of sink or swim. That Government has no responsibility to help you when the power goes out and the temperature goes below freezing. Surviving is your problem. That worldview sounds like it derives from th

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