Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Schools for the corporate era - Colorlines.com - Salon.com: Schools for the corporate eraGov. Jindal has reshaped Louisiana's public education system based on ALEC's blueprintsBYJULIANNE HING,COLORLINES.COM9 more Gov. Bobby Jindal(Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster)This piece originally appeared onColorlines.com.Gov. Bobby Jindal has remade the Louisiana public schools system with impressive speed over the past legislative session. Last week, he signed into law a suite of landmark reform bills that will likely change the direction of public education in Louisiana forever. But not all ... more »

Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » Mass Localism for Improving America’s Education

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Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » Mass Localism for Improving America’s Education: Mass Localism for Improving America’s EducationbyYongZhaoA version of this post is published inKappa Delta Pi Record, 48(1), p. 17-22in Feb. 2012.To build a better education system, America must build on what we have—differentiation, uniqueness, and diversity.It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without ... more »

LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3) - Perdaily.com

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LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3) - Perdaily.com: LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3)byLeonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)The failure to follow LAUSD's own bulletins, the LAUSD/UTLA Collective Bargaining, and state and federal are only part of the reason that LAUSD remains such an unmitigated failure when it comes to educating predominantly minority students that make up the ... more »

Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the Year - LA Daily News

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Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the Year - LA Daily News: Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the YearByBarbara Jones, Staff WriterPosted: 04/24/2012 07:52:43 AM PDTUpdated: 04/24/2012 08:15:45 AM PDTPresident Barack Obama congratulates the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Mieliwocki, who teaches at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, April 24, 2012, during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak)CLICK PHOTO ... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH: How stupid items get onto standardized tests « Diane Ravitch's blog

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How stupid items get onto standardized tests « Diane Ravitch's blog: How stupid items get onto standardized tests Many people have wondered how the New York State Education Department permitted the nonsensical story about the pineapple and the hare to get onto the state test.This is not the first time a really bad reading passage got onto the test and it won’t be the last.State Commissioner John King was quick to issue a defensive statement saying that people were reading ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pineapple Rebellion in full swing

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pineapple Rebellion in full swing: Pineapple Rebellion in full swingbyMike Klonsky Sometimes it happens that way. A single insipid test question has sparked a rebellion and shone a light, not only on current standardized testing practices, but on the whole testing industry and its leading profiteer,Pearson Publishing.TheN.Y. Times reports:Anti-testing activists have taken up the cudgel, saying that the passage and the multiple-choice questions associated with it perfectly illustrate the absurdity of standardized testing. And by Friday ... more »

NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education Reform - Wait, What?

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NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education Reform - Wait, What?: NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education ReformOne story in today’sHartford Courantis about Governor Malloy’s visit last night to the Faith Congregational Church where he explained that if the 81 state representatives and 27 or 28 senators from the poorest (and most minority) districts voted for his version of the “Education Reform” bill – it would pass. ... more »

A Sociological Eye on Education | Aaron’s fable

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A Sociological Eye on Education | Aaron’s fable: Aaron’s fablePineapple (courtesy of Alvesgaspar)(The fable below will make more sense if you know the following: Last week, New York eighth-graders taking the state’s English Language Arts assessment were subjected to six exam questions based on abizarre and incomprehensible passage featuring a talking pineapple. State Education Commissioner John King Jr.defended the passage, but said that these questions wouldn’t count. Also last week,New York Timescolumnist David Brooks wrote acolumn calling for value-added assessment ... more »

COMMUNITY KILLER? Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings planned | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

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Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings planned | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings plannedbyDale Mezzacappaon Apr 24 2012 Posted inLatest newsCOMMENTS (3)PRINTEMAILTags:District budget INN feedThomas Knudsen Penny Nixon leadership school closingDistrict staff and consultants are recommending asweeping overhaulof how public schools in Philadelphia operate, planning to close 64 schools over the next five years and divvy up those that remain among “achievement networks” led by teams of educators or nonprofit institutio... more »

Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform? - Wait, What?

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Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform? - Wait, What?: Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform?byjonpeltoporcupine backs into a cactus -Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformersporcupine backs into a cactusOn April 19, 2012, 60 college students held a rally at the State Capitol demanding that the Legislature pass Governor Malloy “Education Reform” bill.Students For Education Reform’s Connecticut director claimed that students were coming from a dozen different Connecticut campuses and that the ... more »

PSAT for 4-24-12: Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 4-24-12: Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing: PSAT for 4-24-12: Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testingbyadmin Please sign onhere(as individuals and, where appropriate, as organizations such as Local School Councils, etc.) Here’s what and why:Advancement Project – Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund – FairTest – Forum for Education and Democracy – NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund – National Education Association – Parents ... more »

The Innovative Educator: Inform Others of the Harm of Standardized Tests with This Flyer

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The Innovative Educator: Inform Others of the Harm of Standardized Tests with This Flyer: Inform Others of the Harm of Standardized Tests with This Flyerbynoreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)We are finally reaching a time when parents are standing up for the rights of their children and opting out of tests. Social media has played a great role in this where parents are able tofind others from their statewho are doing the same thing they are and also discover and share information and ...more »

A new teacher evaluation system being tested at two OUSD schools - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

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A new teacher evaluation system being tested at two OUSD schools - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: A new teacher evaluation system being tested at two OUSD schoolsMonday, April 23rd, 2012 at 4:04 pm inteachersNo CommentsDave Orphal, a teacher at Skyline High School in Oakland, will write a series of blog posts for The Education Report about teacher evaluations — including a pilot program that two middle schools are using this year. He serves as ... more »

‘Mr. President, public education in the U.S. is on the wrong track’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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‘Mr. President, public education in the U.S. is on the wrong track’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: ‘Mr. President, public education in the U.S. is on the wrong track’byValerie StraussThis is the text ofan open letterwritten to President Obama by Mary Broderick, president of the Arlington, Va.,-basedNational Schools Boards Association,a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their member districts. The letter, sent earlier this month to the president, asks for a national dialogue about ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda Profile

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda Profile: Banda ProfilebyMelissa WestbrookThe Times has a goodprofileof the work that superintendent finalist, Jose Banda, has done in Anaheim.Banda was born in Texas, the son of migrant farmworkers who had little formal education. His first language was Spanish.When he was 2, the family moved to California, where he has stayed. His father began picking cotton at a ranch outside Bakersfield and eventually was promoted to supervisor. During breaks and summers, Banda and his six siblings ... more »

Today in DC: Occupy The Justice Department! | OccupyWallSt.org #OWS

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Today in DC: Occupy The Justice Department! | OccupyWallSt.org: Today in DC: Occupy The Justice Department!Posted 6 hours ago on April 24, 2012, 1:28 a.m. EST byOccupyWallStToday @ 11AM!950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC -- at the Dept of Justice (DOJ)viaOccupy The Justice Department:On April 24, 2012, Mumia Abu-Jamal’s 58th birthday, we will gather at the Department of Justice in Washington D.C and amplify our formal request that Attorney General Eric Holder meet with a delegation to discuss police corruption ... more »

Chris Hedges: Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System | Seattle Education

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Chris Hedges: Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System | Seattle Education: Chris Hedges: Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education Systembyseattleducation2011Posted originally on April 11, 2012 ontruthdig.Chris HedgesA nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral ... more »

It’s almost too juicy Parents United for Responsible Education

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » It’s almost too juicy: It’s almost too juicybyadminPineapplegate. Just the kind of incredibly stupid, embarrassing testing scandal that President Obama and other candidates need to take seriously as they head into the summer campaign season.Don’t be on the wrong side of the pineapple, folks.I’ll have to admit that it was a lot of fun watching this story roll out with my friend and PAA co-founder Leonie Haimson when we were in ... more »

ED News Worth Reading April 2012

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ED News Worth Reading April 2012:ED News Worth Reading April 2012

AIN'T THIS A CRYING SHAME? Beaverton School District may consider fund-raising for teachers | OregonLive.com

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Beaverton School District may consider fund-raising for teachers | OregonLive.com: Beaverton School District may consider fund-raising for teachersBeavertonstudents and parents have raised funds for new playground equipment, sports gear, laptop computers and other items, but fund-raising for teachers has never been allowed.That may change as the school district faces the reduction of 344 jobs -- all staff -- next school year. The 39,000-student district has about 3,300 staff.The school board is contemplating the idea, which it has forbidden previously because ... more »

Fresh off “pineapple” episode, state identifies math exam errors | GothamSchools

Fresh off “pineapple” episode, state identifies math exam errors | GothamSchools:

Fresh off “pineapple” episode, state identifies math exam errors

by Philissa Cramer

Two of the state math exams that students are set to start taking on Wednesday have errors, the State Education Department advised principals today.
On the fourth-grade exam, one question has two correct answers, the department warned. The eighth-grade test contains one question with no correct answer at all.
The admission comes on top of the embarrassing revelation that the state’s eighth-grade reading test included a revised and seemingly nonsensical literary passage whose moral was “pineapples don’t wear sleeves.” Together, the episodes have raised concerns about Pearson, the company that is in the first year of a five-year, $32 million contract to produce tests for New York State.
A spokesman for the department said the mistakes amounted only to typographical errors. But critics of the

Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT

Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT:

Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience

by David B. Cohen

Bruce Springsteen (image by GabboT, used by permission, via Flickr)

Tonight, I’ll be among the thousands of fans attending the Bruce Springsteen show at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. As often happens before I go to a concert, I’ve been listening to the latest release, familiarizing myself with the new stuff and getting psyched up to sing along and enjoy the show.
Springsteen’s new album, Wrecking Ball, opens with “We Take Care of Our Own,” a song with a driving rhythm and bright tone. It brings to mind one of the Boss’s greatest hits from my high school days, “Born in the U.S.A.” - not so much for musical reasons, though that’s part of it.
“Born in the U.S.A.” had a certain anthemic pulse and passionate insistence that belied the cynicism, doubt

RheeFirst! » When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”

RheeFirst! » When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”:

When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”

by admin

Dated but highly relevant to the text fixation of corporate reformers like Rhee

Written by Laura Clawson for the DailyKos. Read the entire article here.
“Data from 2009 and 2010 show that scores dropped at most schools the year after they were flagged for excessive erasures, raising questions about whether heightened security curbed abuses,” and results were flat in 2011, after Rhee had left but with her program still in place.
Rhee’s reputation, in other words, was built on gains that were underway when she became chancellor, demographic shifts, shifts in what students took tests and how those who didn’t take tests were counted, cheating, and teaching to the test so aggressively that teachers were not only teaching what might be on the test but what was on the test. Mirage is the kind word for it.“

Rhee’s well-funded corp. reform invades Seattle

by admin

From the Seattle Education blog, read the entire post here.
“I come from a long line of proud African-American female teachers. At one time, teaching was the only profession that African-American women could participate in so that was the chosen profession of my grandmother and my aunts. I remember the first time that I heard about Ms. Rhee and how she said that she had fired teachers in DC for abusing children. I found this shocking but once I looked into it, I found that she had lied. This woman had maligned the good name and reputation of many proud, many times female and mostly African-American teachers. How dare this woman who knows nothing about educating children and has no respect for children who she continually refers to as “kids”, and has no respect for the culture of the people who she pretends to be championing, tell us what she thinks that we need to know about educating our own children.“

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cuts in Salem-Keier District by Husk

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cuts in Salem-Keier District by Husk:

Cuts in Salem-Keier District by Husk

by Melissa Westbrook

News from the Statesman-Journal in mid-April in Oregon (via one of our readers). I would link to the story but you can't unless you pay.

Here's the lead storyline:

All library and media jobs at Salem-Keizer elementary and middle schools would be cut under a proposal by Superintendent Sandy Husk. The 48 library and media instructors were notified Thursday of the plan, part of the district's attempt to deal with a $55M shortfall.

District officials have said they will need to lay off 9-16 administrators, 2500-400 teachers and 130-230 support staff members to close the budget gap.

There were no quotes from Superintendent Husk.

Boy, and we thought it was bad here with our budget.

Another interesting story (not to do with Husk) is that a charter school is being investigated by the Department of

Old superintendents. « Fred Klonsky

Old superintendents. « Fred Klonsky:

Old superintendents.

by Fred Klonsky

I got a call yesterday from Dr. Fred.
About ten years ago and for about ten years before that he was our district’s superintendent.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a great fan of administrators.
But every once in a while one comes along that makes me think twice.
Dr. Fred called to apologize for missing my retirement party (write me for details about time and place). He retired and is living out west now. He told me he would have come but his niece is getting married that same weekend in some little town 100 miles south of Chicago.
I know the place. It’s a farming town founded by German immigrants over 100 years ago. I know the place

NYC Public School Parents: Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management fees

NYC Public School Parents: Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management fees:

Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management fees

by Leonie Haimson

Eva Moskowitz credit: NY Post

UPDATE: Just heard that today, the SUNY committee tabled the proposed hike in fees.

April 24, 2012

Dear Chairman McCall, SUNY board of trustees and members of the SUNY charter committee:

I hope you have seen Juan Gonzalez’ article in today’s Daily News; “Public kept in dark about sweet deals for Success Charter Network schools.”

If not, it is reprinted in full below. I urge you to disallow the proposed egregious hikes in the management fees of Success charters, and the abuse of public process involved in this rushed and secretive deal.

A 15% management fee is twice the average for a NYC CMO (7%) and close to the average of a for-profit Educational Management Organization (17%). New charters run by EMOS are now banned, as I’m sure you are aware. Some CMOs, including the Harlem Children Zone, charge no management fees at all. The independent study that shows this is

EDUCATING OUR WAY TO AN ECONOMY BUILT TO LAST: Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike | The White House

EDUCATING OUR WAY TO AN ECONOMY BUILT TO LAST: Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike | The White House:

Educating Our Way to an Economy Built to Last:

Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike

986,494 Hispanic students would be affected

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an economy built to last—an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

The President has worked tirelessly to get our economy growing again, but he knows there’s much more we can and must do, and that includes making smart investments in education that lead to better jobs and a stronger middle class. The strength of the American economy is inextricably linked to the strength of America’s education system: particularly at this make-or-break moment for the middle class we must continue to invest in creating an American workforce that has the skills for success in the global economy. At a time when the average earnings of college graduates is twice that of workers with only a high school diploma, higher education is the clearest pathway into the middle class.

However, the cost of college is putting an affordable education out of reach for too many Americans. Access to higher education today has become increasingly expensive for families:

America is home to the best colleges and universities in the world, yet tuition and fees measured in constant dollars have more than doubled over the past two decades.
In 2010, graduates who took out loans left college owing an average of more than $25,000.
Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever.

Reductions in state funding and support for institutions are making the college cost problem even more challenging, forcing students to absorb cuts through higher tuition prices and significantly increasing the extent to which students must rely on loans to finance postsecondary education.

In order to ensure more hard working and responsible students have a fair shot at an affordable higher education, President Obama is calling on states, colleges and universities, and Congress to act to curb rising prices and make higher education more affordable for all Americans.

President Obama is Calling on Congress to Stop Interest Rates

From Doubling on Student Loans:

Americans now owe more tuition debt than credit card debt, and student loan borrowing is more common now than it was a decade ago. At a time when the average student loan debt is $25,000 and tuition prices continue to rise, students are borrowing more than ever to complete their degrees.

On July 1, 2012, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans are slated to double from 3.4% to 6.8%.To out-educate our global competitors and make college more affordable, Congress needs to stop the interest rate on these student loans from doubling.

If Congress doesn’t act before July 1, 2012, interest rates on loans for over 7.4 million students, including 986,494 Hispanic students, will double. And for each year that Congress doesn’t act, students rack up anadditional $1,000 in debt over the life of their loans.

As he did in his State of the Union address, President Obama is calling on Congress to put forward legislation to stop interest rates from doubling. The President is calling on Congress to reward hard work and responsibility by keeping interest rates on student loans low so more Americans get a fair shot at an affordable college education, the skills they need to find a good job, and a clear path to the middle class.

Ensuring American Students have a Fair Shot at an Affordable Higher Education

Higher education is not a luxury: it is an economic imperative that every hard working and responsible student should be able to afford. President Obama has emphasized that the federal government, states, colleges, and universities all have a role to play in making in making higher education more affordable, by reining in college costs, providing value for American families, and preparing students with a solid education to succeed in their careers. The President is calling on Congress to advance new reforms to give more hard working students a fair shot at pursuing higher education:

Reforming student aid to promote affordability and value: To keep tuition from spiraling too high and drive greater value, the President has proposed reforms to federalcampus-based aid programs to shift aid away from colleges that fail to keep net tuition down, and toward those colleges and universities that do their fair share to keep tuition affordable, provide good value, and serve needy students well. These changes in federal aid to campuses will leverage $10 billion annually to help keep tuition down.

Creating a Race to the Top for college affordability and completion: The President has proposed incentives for states to maintain their commitments to higher education through a new $1 billion investment. The Race to the Top: College Affordability and Completion challenge aims to increase the number of college graduates and contain the cost of tuition by rewarding states that are willing to systematically change their higher education policies and practices.

Kicking off a First in the World competition to model innovation and quality on college campuses: The President is proposing an investment of $55 million in a new First in the World competition, to support public and private colleges and non-profit organizations as they work to develop and test the next breakthrough strategy that will boost higher education attainment and student outcome, while leading to reduced costs.

Providing better data for families to choose the right college for them: The President is calling for a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions, designed to provide essential information about college costs, graduation rates, and potential earnings, all in an easy-to-read format that will help students and families choose a college that is well suited to their needs, priced affordably, and consistent with their career and educational goals.

Redoubling federal support to tackle college costs: The President has already made the biggest investments in student aid since the G.I. Bill through increases to the Pell grant, and by shoring up the direct loan and income-based repayment programs. In his State of the Union Address, the President also called on Congress to make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent and double the number of work-study jobs over the next 5 years to better assist college students who are working their way through school.

Building on Landmark Federal Investments to Make Higher Education More Affordable

The President has set the goal for the U.S. to be first in the world in college attainment by 2020. To achieve this bold goal for our nation’s future and to prepare students to compete in the 21st century global economy, the Obama Administration has championed landmark investments in student financial to make college more affordable for all American families:

Increasing Pell Grants: The President has raised the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,635 for the 2013-14 award year – a $905 increase since 2008. The number of Pell Grant recipients has increased over that same time by 50 percent, providing college access to millions of additional students across the country.

Helping Responsible Students Manage Student Loan Debt: The Administration’s “Pay as You Earn” plan expands income-based repayment to enable 1.6 million responsible students who are current on their payments to take advantage of a new option to cap repayment of student loans at 10% of monthly income. These changes will reduce the burden of student loans in a fiscally responsible way.

Expanding Education Tax Credits: President Obama established the American Opportunity Tax Credit in 2009 to assist families with the costs of college, providing up to $10,000 for four years of college, university, or community college tuition for families earning up to $180,000. Over 9.4 million students and families benefit from the American Opportunity Tax Credit each year. President Obama has called on Congress to make this tax credit permanent and prevent it from expiring in 2012.

Subsidized Stafford Loan Interest Rates: Estimated Borrower Savings for Hispanics


Demographic	Estimated Number of Borrowers	Estimated Average Savings Per Borrower Over Life of Loan	Total Savings of Collective Group
Hispanic Americans	986,494	$1,027	$1,012,862,160

Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayers « Bill Ayers

Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayers « Bill Ayers:

Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayers

by billayers

The day after the 9/11 attacks the Bush administration took dozens of extreme, transformative actions, including invoking Article 5, the right to collective self-defense, of NATO’s founding charter—a first in NATO’s 50-year history.

This marked the fateful expansion of NATO’s mission into new geographical regions (such as Afghanistan) and novel functions, such as the initiation and rationalization of the use of pre-emptive attacks on sovereign states. All of this was codified and consolidated over the next months in support of the US “war on terror:” crimes committed by non-nation state actors were reframed as “acts of war,” and NATO nations were now expected to join together and respond in kind, opening a door onto war without end, world-wide conflict, and the “long war.” This is why groups of citizens in virtually every NATO nation have come together to press their governments to leave this deadly enterprise.

NATO has become part of the background noise that over time and with repetition we simply take for granted, an

Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America

Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America:

My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America

by YongZhao

The Solutions magazine (print version volume 2, issue 2, page 38-43) published my article about China’s education reform in April. Below is the abstract. The entire article is online at: Reforming Chinese Education.

When Shanghai, China, was awarded the number one spot for educational achievement by the Program for International Student Assessment, a number of Western countries began to ask what had sparked the country’s rise. One answer is five years of education reforms that began with the Chinese government’s recognition that it needs to improve its teaching system as the population ages and the country’s pool of cheap labor runs out. The plan, called the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium- and Long-term Education Reform and Development, aims to significantly increase government investment in education,

NYC Public School Parents: More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this week

NYC Public School Parents: More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this week:

More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this week

by Leonie Haimson

Given reports today of more errors in this week's 4^thgrade and 8^thgrade NYS math exams (see below), added to the absurd passage and questions on the 8^thgrade ELA exam, now known as Pineapplegate, we say three strikes and you’re out. Pearson should be made to forfeit their $32 million contract.

If our children make errors on these high-stakes exams, this will have negative consequences for them, as well as for their teachers and schools. So why should Pearson, which had nearly $2 billion in profits last year, be left off the hook for their sloppy mistakes? Where's the accountability for them? Leave a comment about what you think about this.

Message from NYSED to NYS principals last night:

Re 4^th grade math: “Question 58 on all test forms has two correct answers. If during this test any

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?:

The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?

by Anngie

There's an old saying about the inmates running the asylum that comes to mind with this story from a science educator in Florida who looked into the science portion of Florida's standardized assessment. Robert Krampf was developing some science test prep questions for 5th graders preparing to take that state's high-stakes FCAT test. Using the FL DOE's own site as a guide, he found many flaws in what was presented as science.

A few weeks ago, I started developing FCAT practice questions to help students review concepts and prepare for the test. To develop those questions I used FLDOE's FCAT 2.0 Science Test Item Specifications. These documents are used as:

"a resource that defines the content and format of the test and test items for item writers and reviewers."

I expected the Test Item Specifications to be a tremendous help in writing simulated FCAT

Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I hope you have seen Juan Gonzalez’ article in today’s Daily News; “Public kept in dark about sweet deals for Success Charter Network schools.”

If not, it is reprinted in full below. I urge you to disallow the proposed egregious hikes in the management fees of Success charters, and the abuse of public process involved in this rushed and secretive deal.