Hi, my name is Bob and I’m a Test Writer - Wait, What?

Hi, my name is Bob and I’m a Test Writer - Wait, What?:

Hi, my name is Bob and I’m a Test Writer

by jonpelto

Of course, in this age of “education reform,” where teaching is passé and testing is the key to success, a new profession would arise…Test Writers.

Among today’s employment advertisements is a job opening for a “Test Writer,” which is part of the Department of Data and Accountability (D&A), at the Charter Management Company, known as Academy Charter Schools.

No really, I’m serious.  The position is listed as being part of the Department of Data and Accountability (D&A).

Academy Charter Schools bills itself as a fast growing Charter Management Organization (CMO), “that operates 14 public charter elementary and middle schools throughout New 

Daily Kos: Why you should care about what happens to the poor

Daily Kos: Why you should care about what happens to the poor:

Why you should care about what happens to the poor

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is because increasingly Americans are slipping down the economic scale, headed in that direction.
There were several segments on Morning Joe that addressed this - remarks by Mike Barnicle, the segment with Cornel West and Tavis Smiley.
As Smiley put it, "the former middle class who are now the new educated poor."
Yesterday I went to a book event at the AFL-CIO headquarters here in DC.  The author was Hedrick Smith, who was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, and who approached his latest book, the just-released Who Stole the American Dream?, as a reporter.
Joe Scarborough pointed out that, not including his show this morning, a study released yesterday said that 0.2% of the stories on the current campaign dealt in any way with the poor.
I have just begun the Smith book.  He has pulled together a lot of important material, and had the assistance of the likes of people at the AFL-CIO and Larry Mishel and those at the Economic Policy Institute.
I am going to ask you to continue below the fold where I will share a bit from the beginning of the book and from my notes from yesterday's author sesssion.

Celena Rodriguez: A Student's Perspective on the Chicago Strike - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Celena Rodriguez: A Student's Perspective on the Chicago Strike - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Celena Rodriguez: A Student's Perspective on the Chicago Strike

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by Celena Rodriguez.
As a student in CPS, I would like to share the student perspective on the ongoing Chicago strike. Some may say I don't fully understand why CPS teachers are on strike but actually, I do.
I may not understand everything to its fullest extent but I do know that our teachers are fighting for a good cause. They want us to succeed, but how can we do that when we attend a school "like Gage Park High School"? At Gage Park, there are brilliant teachers there who dedicate and devote all of their time to us, but the environment that is offered to us isn't what we deserve.
We are a low-income school; we have to be hot during several months during the year because there are few fans and air conditioners, and no central cooling like the other fancy schools that Rahm Emanuel keeps naming during his news conferences. Why doesn't he name Gage Park? Why doesn't he name Kelly, Curie, Hubbard, Hancock, Tonti, Sawyer or other neighborhood schools? Do we not count? Are we not important? Does Rahm not want us to have a good 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Fraud: It's Another Avenue to Make Money Via Education "Reform"

Missouri Education Watchdog: Fraud: It's Another Avenue to Make Money Via Education "Reform":

Fraud: It's Another Avenue to Make Money Via Education "Reform"

by stlgretchen

Catching fraudsters.  Is the answer to give up your freedom to privacy via international databases?

Fraudsters have jumped in the education reform money making machine on the international level. FromInsideHigherEd and Catch Them If You Can:

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Fraud in international higher education is a $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion business, an expert said Thursday here at the European Association for International Education annual conference.

Daniel J. Guhr, managing director for Illuminate Consulting Group, which advises governments, universities and foundations on higher education strategy, stressed that the estimate is necessarily 

Rethinking Principal Evaluation | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Rethinking Principal Evaluation | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Rethinking Principal Evaluation

by obriena

Leadership matters. Principals set the tone of a school and can inspire students and teachers alike to reach new heights. They are second only to teachers among the in-school influences on student success.
Yet we don’t hear much about how to measure a principal’s performance. And the little research that exists on principal evaluation suggests that current systems do not accurately judge performance, do not provide information that is useful for professional growth, and often aren’t even used.
The federal government has begun to take note, making changes to principal evaluations a condition of Race to the Top funds, School Improvement Grants, and waivers to some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Unfortunately, they are often requiring that the evaluations be based in significant part on student performance on standardized assessments. As we all know, test scores represent a very narrow definition of
read more

Chicago Teachers Strike a Critical Moment in the Future of Public Education | FDL News Desk

Chicago Teachers Strike a Critical Moment in the Future of Public Education | FDL News Desk:

Chicago Teachers Strike a Critical Moment in the Future of Public Education

by David Dayen

(photo: Kevin Gosztola)

The Chicago teachers strike could end by Monday, CTU President Karen Lewis now projects. It’s hard to get a handle on where the concessions have been made. We know that raises would be restructured as per union policy and health insurance rates would remain the same, pending union participation in wellness programs. In addition, the city would be unable to rescind raises in a time of economic emergency, as Rahm Emanuel did last year.
The big stumbling block in negotiations was teacher evaluations, and what we know right now is that tenured teachers in the first year could not be fired because of evaluations, and that evaluations in later years could be appealed. It’s unclear how much testing evaluations will factor into overall teacher assessments.
Chicago wants to use a value-added assessment for teacher evaluations, which has been seriously questionedas a legitimate tool. The ultimate goal is to fire so-called “bad” teachers, though it’s completely unclear that this 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Day 5

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Day 5:

Day 5

by Mike Klonsky

"Stand up, sit down. Chicago is a union town!"

Chicago teachers continue to hang tough despite a negative media barrage orchestrated by the mayor and his big-money outside supporters. Hopefully, an agreement will be announced today with the union's House of Delegates scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. Minus some last-minute shenanigans by Vitale, Byrd-Bennett and the rest of Rahm's crew, students could be back in class on Monday.

Yesterday's rally by thousands of strikers at the Hyatt made all the necessary connections between Rahm's hand-picked board, which includes Hyatt billionaire heiress Penny Pritzker, and his union busting policies. A strong case is being made for an end to mayoral control of the schools and for an elected school board.

All this wasn't lost on political analyst Don Rose who called the mayor out for "posing himself as a democratic version of Scott Walker." It wasn't lost nationally on Republican politicians either who also see Rahm as their 

Teachers For Social Justice: Statement of Solidarity from the Graduate Employees Organization at UIC: CTU’s fight is our fight!

Teachers For Social Justice: Statement of Solidarity from the Graduate Employees Organization at UIC: CTU’s fight is our fight!:

Statement of Solidarity from the Graduate Employees Organization at UIC: CTU’s fight is our fight!

by sarah atlas

I am writing to you as a Co-president of GEO and a family member of a Chicago Public School teacher. My spouse, John, is a member of CTU and an elementary music teacher at Dominguez Elementary in Little Village. John has been a teacher in the public schools for 12 years. He has worked inmany different classrooms with kindergartners who never went to preschool, cannot read (much less tie their own shoe), and cannot speak English. When Mayor Rahm Emanuel was pushing for a longer school day and advocates for school “reform” were decrying Chicago’s short school day, John was working from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm and only had a 20 minute break to eat his lunch. Often he was not scheduled time to prepare his lessons during the day, so most of the preparation for his lessons happened outside of the school day—the work he does cannot be measured only by the time he spends in front of his students.

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, City Fail To Reach Contract Deal

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, City Fail To Reach Contract Deal:

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, City Fail To Reach Contract Deal

by Joy Resmovits

After a marathon session in Chicago's Hilton hotel, rank and file members of the Chicago Teachers Union spilled into the street at midnight central time with no contract agreement -- only the promise of a continued strike.

"No deal," a source close to the negotiations told The Huffington Post seven minutes before midnight.

"We came in very optimistic and we left very disappointed," the source later said.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) spokesperson Marielle Sainvilus confirmed that no deal was reached. She added that both sides planned to meet again on Friday morning. 

On Setting Expectations In Your Classroom [For The Student You Once Were] | The Jose Vilson

On Setting Expectations In Your Classroom [For The Student You Once Were] | The Jose Vilson:

On Setting Expectations In Your Classroom [For The Student You Once Were]

by Jose

“You’re not old now. You’re old when you start teaching your former students’ kids. THAT’S when you know!”
We laughed. Mr. Herrera is the type of teacher who had a way of reminding people that we should laugh at the process of aging as teachers, especially those of us who love our jobs.
This year, I have the privilege of teaching three students whose siblings I’ve taught. While I absolutely knew two of them since they first waddled in with their older siblings for parent-teacher conference, I had to dig up some information on the third. After checking his facial features and mannerisms, I threw him a lob:
“So … did you ever have any brothers or sisters who came here?”
“Yeah, ummm, my one brother came in 2001 and my other brother Alex came a couple of years after.”

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education Leadership Team meets tomorrow

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education Leadership Team meets tomorrow:

Education Leadership Team meets tomorrow

by Charlie Mas

We saw some emails or meeting notes about an Education Leadership Team formed by the mayor. It looked like some kind of dark cabal. I wrote to Jerry DeGrieck about it and asked him what the deal was.

Jerry is a great guy who has been working for the city on early education for at least ten years and probably longer. I see him from time to time at education events and I know that he's a straight shooter. He wrote back to me answering all of my questions about the group.

"Education Leadership Team (ELT) is an informal leadership group convened by Mayor Mike McGinn. It has no 

Seattle Times Live Chat Flops

by Charlie Mas

The Seattle Times Opinion page hosted a live chat today on Education and their latest brainstorm slogan "3to23". How nice to have another slogan.

The live event was at noon on a Thursday, a time that makes it difficult for working people to participate. Teachers, in particular, had no real opportunity to be part of the big event.

You can read the transcript on the Times web site, but it's hard to follow. Things seem to come out of order and people seem to be answering questions before the questions are asked. The moderator asks one person to 

NYC Educator: People Forget

NYC Educator: People Forget:

People Forget

by NYC Educator

It's easy to condemn the Chicago teachers for walking out. All the papers are doing it. If they cared about the kids, they'd go to work. They'd settle. They'd be happy they had jobs. It's certainly true that plenty of people do not.

Not only that, but teachers are role models. What sort of example do they set when they don't go to work?

But no one seems to ask--why did Rahm Emanuel unilaterally renege on a collectively bargained 4% pay increase? Does anyone think there would be a strike if he hadn't done that?

And why did Mayor Emanuel think the teachers would 

NJ Spotlight | Fine Print: Proposed Teacher Professional Development Rules

NJ Spotlight | Fine Print: Proposed Teacher Professional Development Rules:

Fine Print: Proposed Teacher Professional Development Rules

No more 100-hours requirement, more flexibility for districts and teachers

 print | email | share

By John Mooney, September 14, 2012 in Education |Post a Comment

What it is: The Christie administration last week presented its Education Transformation Task Force report, with more than 400 recommendations for streamlining and eliminating requirements on school districts. Among the changes is a rewriting of the state’s rule that every teacher have 100 hours of professional development every five years, instead proposing more individualized plans less driven by clock hours.

Related Links

Professional Licensure Code Proposal

What it means: The development of the state’s existing rules a decade ago was months, if not years, in the making. Among the first of the code changes that the administration is proposing this time around, revisions are sure to take some time -- and considerable debate.

What is specifically proposed: The report presented last week calls for a series of changes in the requirement and even the definition of professional development. For instance, it places much 

Chicago Teachers’ Strike, Performance Evaluation, and School Reform (Jack Schneider and Ethan Hutt) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Chicago Teachers’ Strike, Performance Evaluation, and School Reform (Jack Schneider and Ethan Hutt) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Chicago Teachers’ Strike, Performance Evaluation, and School Reform (Jack Schneider and Ethan Hutt)

by larrycuban

For the fifth consecutive day in Chicago, nearly 30,000 teachers are out on strike. At issue are many of the contractual details that typically complicate collective bargaining—pay, benefits, and the length of the work day. But the heart of the dispute roiling the Windy City is something relatively new in contract talks: a complicated statistical algorithm.
District leaders in Chicago, following the lead of reformers in cities nationwide, are pushing for a “value-added” evaluation system. Unlike traditional forms of evaluation, which rely primarily on classroom observations, policymakers in Chicago propose to quantify teacher quality through the analysis of student achievement data. Using cutting-edge statistical methodologies to analyze standardized test scores, the district would determine 

Jersey Jazzman: Everyone's An "Expert" On Education

Jersey Jazzman: Everyone's An "Expert" On Education:

Everyone's An "Expert" On Education

by Duke

A consequence of the Chicago teachers strike is that we're finally seeing how truly clueless our political and media elites are about education. Digby gives us a spectacular example:

Wagner: It's worth noting what the chicago is proposing, student performance on standardized tests count toward 25% of teacher assessment would go to 40% in five years. It's hard to say look, we don't want to be evaluated. You just need to keep paying us what you're paying us.

John Heileman: A shockingly untenable position. There really are at this point in the world of 

As Perth Amboy Turns

by Duke

Ruh-roh:

A state administrative law judge has upheld the Perth Amboy Board of Education's vote last May to place Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janine Walker Caffrey on paid administrative leave. 

Administrative Law Judge Ellen Bass ruled Tuesday that the board could place Caffrey on leave based on the May 7, 2012 vote in which board members invoked the doctrine of necessity which allowed all board members, including those with relatives working for the district and other 

The Difference Between Wall Street & P.S. #1

by Duke

Just to be clear:

Putting money into a "broken" school system (even though more money leads to better educational results): BAD.

Putting money into a broken financial system (that's unquestionably broken): GOOD.

Glad we got that straight...

Totally Clueless Education Punditry: Star-Ledger Style

by Duke

Dear lord; the Star-Ledger Editorial Board continues to embarrass itself on education:

There are three major problems in Chicago’s school system.

Basic skills: Seventy-nine percent of the Chicago Public Schools eighth-graders don’t read at grade-level proficiency, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and 80 percent aren’t up to grade-level in math.

[...]

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools, Consortium on Chicago School Research

 Here, again, are the results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for Chicago

Rahm Emanuel’s Privatize Chicago Plan | Dailycensored.com

Rahm Emanuel’s Privatize Chicago Plan | Dailycensored.com:

Rahm Emanuel’s Privatize Chicago Plan

by stephenl

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel spent years waging war on progressive politics. He’s a corporate predator turned politician. 

As White House strategist and senior advisor, he represented the worst of the Clinton years. His abrasive style earned him the nickname “Rahmbo.” 

From 1999 – 2002, he earned a reported $18 million as managing director for Chicago investment bank firm Kleinwort, Wasserstein. 

From January 2003 – January 2009, he represented Illinois’ 5th congressional district. From January 2005 – January 2007, he chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 

From January 2009 – October 2010, he was Obama’s White House Chief of Staff. He left to run for mayor of Chicago. On May 16, 2011, he won easily. Doing so fulfilled his longtime ambition. 

He’s known for saying “winning is everything,” and “You never want to let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is that’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.” He didn’t mean popular ones. 

Emanuel is notoriously pro-war, pro-Israel, neoliberal, and anti-populist/now button-down rogue Chicago mayor. He believes anything government does business does better so let it.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Kozol's letter of support

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Kozol's letter of support:

Kozol's letter of support

by Mike Klonsky

Kozol will sign copies of "Fire in the Ashes"

Author Jonathan Kozol has sent a message of support to Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers Union.

In the current climate, where teachers are being blamed for the dire state of our inner-city schools, and where large chunks of our school system are being privatized, it is refreshing to see teachers find their voices. I support the Chicago teachers because they are standing up for quality public education, with more art, music, critical thinking, and with the dignity of educators properly respected. American kids don't need more rhetoric about social justice; they need smaller class sizes, and they need to 

DISPLACED, "RIFed" or SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS - LAUSD PLAYS BY ITS OWN RULES - Perdaily.com

DISPLACED, "RIFed" or SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS - LAUSD PLAYS BY ITS OWN RULES - Perdaily.com:

DISPLACED, "RIFed" or SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS - LAUSD PLAYS BY ITS OWN RULES

by Leonard Isenberg

PRINCIPAL'S PET???

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

As thousands lose their teaching positions, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is supposed to make teacher cuts while abiding by its Collective Bargaining Agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). These decisions are supposed to be made exclusively based on the credential you have and your seniority determined by date-of-hire lists. So why is Central High School  Emergency Credentialed, maximum 30-day substitute Jesse Williams still working? Is this a mere oversight OR an easily documented phenomenon throughout the District, where 

Time For "Testing As Child Abuse Suits" to Fill the Nation's Courts | California Progress Report

Time For "Testing As Child Abuse Suits" to Fill the Nation's Courts | California Progress Report:

Time For "Testing As Child Abuse Suits" to Fill the Nation's Courts

by callen

By Mark Naison

A tragedy is quietly taking place in America's public schools that represent an important opportunity for America's lawyers to advance the cause of equity and justice. All over the nation, with the support of both major parties, schools systems are now requiring that teachers and administrators be evaluated on the basis of student test scores, with their jobs placed in jeopardy if the scores do not reach a certain level.

To implement these protocols, the number of standardized tests being administered in schools is being ratcheted up to unprecedented proportions, with some systems testing student in every grade and every subject. Worse yet, these tests are being applied across the board, with no exemptions given to special needs students and English Language 

An Urban Teacher's Education: Renton School Board Unanimously Approves TFA

An Urban Teacher's Education: Renton School Board Unanimously Approves TFA:

Renton School Board Unanimously Approves TFA

by James Boutin

After hearing nearly an hour of public testimony, the Renton School Board voted on an agreement to bring Teach for America to the Renton School District (oddly, after one had already been hired).

The board room was packed with educators wearing red. Every commenter (teachers, community members, and business leaders) spoke about TFA. And every commenter spoke against it.

Amy Hepburn asked the board a simple question: "Who are the students and parents in your district who will have a teacher with five weeks of training in front of them?

Julianna Dauble (a Renton teacher) called TFA a tragic distraction from the real issues facing the district.

Becca Ritchie laid out the interests and goals of the corporate reform movement, and explained why TFA, as a 

After AB5: Trust, Consensus, Mutual Responsibility « InterACT

After AB5: Trust, Consensus, Mutual Responsibility « InterACT:

After AB5: Trust, Consensus, Mutual Responsibility

by David B. Cohen

The blog post below is, in a slightly extended version, cross-posted from a piece I wrote for EdSource Today.  I’m grateful for the chance to reach some different readers, and now want to bring the discussion over to InterACT.  With the upheaval in Chicago as a backdrop, I’m hopeful that California stakeholders and policy makers are in the mood to look for common ground with teachers.  One good starting point would be to study the recommendations in the soon-to-be-released ACT report, “Promoting Quality Teaching: New Approaches to Compensation and Career Pathways” – along with  the new report from the state’s Educator Excellence Task Force, “Greatness by Design.” Here are some ideas about productive approaches to teacher evaluation reform after AB5.

Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, Sacramento, Jan. 2012 (photo by the author)

Last month’s legislative drama involving a teacher evaluation reform bill, Assembly Bill 5 (Fuentes) provided a 

Gates foundation solicits remedial MOOCs | Inside Higher Ed

Gates foundation solicits remedial MOOCs | Inside Higher Ed:

Gates, MOOCs and Remediation

September 14, 2012 - 3:00am

By

Paul Fain

Early returns show that massive open online courses (MOOCs) work best for motivated and academically prepared students. But could high-quality MOOCs benefit a broader range of learners, like those who get tripped up by remedial classes?

That’s the question the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wants to answer with a newly announced round of 10 grants for the creation of MOOCs for remedial coursework.

“We’re trying to seed the conversation and seed the experimentation,” said Josh Jarrett, the foundation's deputy director for education and postsecondary education.

MOOCs tend to provoke strong feelings in the academy, and in the wake of Gates's announcement this week, some observers questioned whether free, widely available online courses could be tailored to students with remedial needs. But others, including experts on developmental learning, welcomed the attempt to tackle one of higher education’s most vexing problems.

“This has the potential for raising the quality of instruction in

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/14/gates-foundation-solicits-remedial-moocs#ixzz26RcK5jxH
Inside Higher Ed