Tuesday, January 8, 2013

by darciecima

I have seriously had it with these reformers. The sheer hubris and arrogance they display on a regular basis is simply astounding.

I was dragged into this ed reform cesspool almost 2 years ago now, when a group of people with little to no connection to the schools of my community attempted to open a charter school. Despite the lack of community support, they were able to get the backing of a demi-billionaire, the NJDOE and the USDOE. We had to fight like hell to keep "reforms" the majority of our parents and educators didn't want OUT of our district.

Ours was just one example of people with little or no connection to public schools, often with little or no education background, coming into a town to take away local autonomy. These reformers are inevitably backed by BIG money, which brings with it not only power but access to the press. And the reformers use their power and the press to attempt to mold the public schools into what THEY want, the little people be damned.

This pattern is found all across this state, and all across this nation. It is what keeps me writing this blog and

Diane in the Evening 1-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Petrilli: What’s Wrong With Skimming the Best Students?

by dianerav

Mike Petrilli at the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute has an interesting post about the high expulsion rate in DC charters (72 students are expelled from DC charters for every one expelled from the public schools). Be sure to read the story in the Washington Post that he refers to as well as the short video, in which Mike Petrilli appears).
Usually, corporate reformers insist that charter schools enroll exactly the same kids as the public schools. They even insist that attrition rates from charters are no different from public schools. They claim that if they could get high scores with “exactly the same kids,” why can’t public schools.
Petrilli disagrees. In effect, he says that charters are not for all kids. Charters are for strivers. So what if they kick out the lazy kids and the troublemakers. He thinks that’s a good thing because it rids the charter of the kids

Do Public School Students in Florida Get Art and Music?

by dianerav

A reader in Florida saw the description of the Rocketship charters, where students get no art or music. She was not surprised because her child’s school has neither art nor music, just testing:
“My children attend a Title I school in Florida called Triangle Elementary in Mount Dora. They have no art class, no music class, and no recess (my children are 6 and 8). Florida puts all its emphasis on high-stakes testing,

Local School Board Hijacked in Winston-Salem?

by dianerav

A reader writes to alert us to developments in Winston-Salem:
Diane:
Another School Board Scandal is developing in Winston-Salem, NC. The recent long-time chair has been elected to the General Assembly, and the handling of vacancies has been outrageous, particularly in light of the fact that the elections are supposed to be non-partisan!
Once a new chair was named for the Board, the Vice-Chair selected was an official that was appointed (not

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] What Did Rhee’s Report Card Actually Measure? by dianerav G.F. Brandenburg, retired math teacher, has done a close analysis of Michelle Rhee’s. state report card. He calls it a “Brave New World-type Orwellian fantasy,” in which words mean the opposite of what they say. Her ranking does not measure whether states have high test scores or high graduation rates. it does not measure whether states have laws and policies that have encouraged better teaching and successful schools. It des not measure anything t... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee responds to federal investigation of alleged DCPS cheating - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee responds to federal investigation of alleged DCPS cheating - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee responds to federal investigation of alleged DCPS cheating

By Emma Brown

Federal investigators announced Monday that they found no evidence of widespread cheating in D.C. Public Schools, despite detailed allegations of systematic cheating laid out in a whistleblower complaintby former Noyes Education Campus principal Adell Cothorne.

Now former D.C. Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has released a statement in response to the federal investigators’ findings. She doesn’t comment on Cothorne’s complaint, which alleged that school employees

Former D.C. Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. (Sarah L. Voisin - TWP)may have been driven to cheat by the promise of substantial cash bonuses.

Cothorne tells some details of the problems she saw at Noyes in aFrontline television documentaryto be broadcast at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Test scores rose in Washington during Rhee’s tenure as chancellor, but the District still has among the widest achievement gaps and lowest graduation rates in the country.

Rhee is now head of Students First, the lobbying organization she

Noa Rosinplotz- The Little Datapoint & The Big Bad Test | Student Voice

Noa Rosinplotz- The Little Datapoint & The Big Bad Test | Student Voice:

Noa Rosinplotz- The Little Datapoint & The Big Bad Test

by admin

The following Article was originally posted here:http://dianeravitch.net/2012/12/31/secretary-duncan-please-read-noa-rosinplotzs-letter/
The Little Datapoint and the Big Bad Test
Once upon a time, there was a little datapoint named Rosin Plotz, Noa. Her friends called her by her ID number, 9——, or 9 for short. She liked her job-most of the time. But 6 times a year, or 19 days in total, came the Big Bad Test. The Little Datapoint completed the test dutifully each time, mulling the possibilities of Paul Revere’s horse’s emotions and checking her work not once, but twice. She and the other Datapoints together formed a Chart, which was their Job. The Little Datapoint felt very proud at having been a part of such a great endeavor. Then one day, the Little Datapoint felt a different emotion. The Little Datapoint felt ANGRY. The Little Datapoint thought: Is this all I am good for? Providing data on tests? That can’t be all there is to life, can it? These questions are dumb, thought the Little Datapoint. I should not spend my life answering these questions. Paul

Self-Serving v. Service: Teaching in a Celebrity Culture | the becoming radical

Self-Serving v. Service: Teaching in a Celebrity Culture | the becoming radical:

Self-Serving v. Service: Teaching in a Celebrity Culture

Posted on January 8, 2013 by plthomasedd

I taught high school English for eighteen years in rural upstate South Carolina, and two students remain with me.

One student on his year-end final exam his junior year proceeded to ignore the exam and write a profanity-laced criticism of me and my course. He turned it in and calmly returned to his seat to wait out the exam period. Once I realized what he had written, I asked him to step across the hall with me where I asked him for an explanation. His anger soon rose up in his throat and he began to cry as he explained how he had felt ignored and unfairly criticized to the point that he gave up during the year.

I told him I wished he had come to me earlier with those feelings, but also said I was sorry. I then met with my principal and arranged for that student to have a little more time to make up some work so he could pass that year. Instead of failing junior English, he was able to enter his senior year, where he joined my soccer team, graduated, and eventually entered college.

Another student in his junior year essentially skirted by all year, barely completing

The Role of 'Educators' | RealClearPolitics

The Role of 'Educators' | RealClearPolitics:

The Role of 'Educators'

By Thomas Sowell - January 8, 2013

108

Comments

Many years ago, as a young man, I read a very interesting book about the rise of the Communists to power in China. In the last chapter, the author tried to explain why and how this had happened.

Among the factors he cited were the country's educators. That struck me as odd, and not very plausible, at the time. But the passing years have made that seem less and less odd, and more and more plausible. Today, I see our own educators playing a similar role in creating a mindset that undermines American society.

Schools were once thought of as places where a society's knowledge and experience were passed on to the younger generation. But, about a hundred years ago, Professor John Dewey of Columbia University came up with a very different conception of education -- one that has spread through American schools of education, and even influenced education in countries overseas.

John Dewey saw the role of the teacher, not as a transmitter of a society's culture to the young, but as an agent of change -- someone strategically placed, with an opportunity to condition students to want a

SI&A Cabinet Report – One year cap on teacher prep programs up for debate

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

One year cap on teacher prep programs up for debate
By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Growing demands on teacher preparation programs to cover all the necessary topics and issues needed to produce world-class educators have drawn new attention to the state law that restricts the training time to just one year.

There are expectations that new teachers will not only graduate with some mastery of the latest and most effective instructional methods, but also that they will have developed some skills for dealing with California’s mushrooming English learner population as well as students with special needs.

But the state’s existing Education Code requires candidates for either a single or multiple subject credential to successfully complete an accredited preparation program in one year, or the equivalent of one-fifth of a five-year program.

In response, state officials are looking at two legislative options: One would be to eliminate the cap on time for preparation altogether. The other, as framed in a bill already submitted in the state Senate, would provide preparation programs two years or the equivalent of two-fifths of a five-year professional preparation program.

SB 5 by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would also delete a provision that prohibits baccalaureate degrees in

CDE names linked learning program winners

A group of 20 districts, consortiums and offices of education – from Lancaster’s Antelope Valley USD to West Contra Costa USD – were named late last week by the California Department of Education to pilot linked learning programs that combine academic coursework, technical training and real-world applications.

Duncan makes NCLB waiver rejection official

The much anticipated official announcement from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan rejecting California’s request for a waiver from No Child Left Behind mandates was released Monday.

Statewide Pupil Assessment System - Assessment Information (CA Dept of Education)

Statewide Pupil Assessment System - Assessment Information (CA Dept of Education):

Statewide Pupil Assessment System

Latest information about the reauthorization of California's assessment system.

SSPI’s Recommendations Report for Transitioning to a Future
Assessment System

California Education Code Section 60604.5 required the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) to consult with specific stakeholder groups in developing recommendations for the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment system, including a plan for transitioning to a system of high-quality assessments. The law directed the SSPI to report the recommendations to the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of both houses of the Legislature.

The following report fulfills the legislative requirement for the SSPI to provide recommendations and a plan for transitioning California to a new statewide student assessment system. It reflects the extensive measures taken by the SSPI to gather and thoroughly consider feedback from stakeholders to form the recommendations and plan. California’s goal through this process is to provide the best and most efficient assessments possible for its teachers and students.

SSPI's Recommendations Report (PDF; 3MB; New 08-Jan-2013)

Reauthorization Outreach Plan

The following Outreach Plan guided the California Department of Education’s efforts to obtain public input on the reauthorization of the statewide assessment system. The plan includes details about the Work Group meetings, regional public meetings, reauthorization e-mail account, focus groups, and a feedback survey.

Reauthorization Outreach Plan

Resources

Assembly Bill No. 250

(PDF)

California Department of Education Assessment Information

Schools Matter: For Rhee and Corporate Reform Schools, the Gig Is Up

Schools Matter: For Rhee and Corporate Reform Schools, the Gig Is Up:

For Rhee and Corporate Reform Schools, the Gig Is Up

by Jim Horn

The Face of Corporate Reform Schooling

From Stan Karp:
Former Washington, DC Superintendent Michelle Rhee and her organization, Students First, will be the subject of a PBS documentary tonight. Despite misrepresenting her own teaching career, presiding over an extensive cheating scandal, and getting poor results during her tenure as Supt., Rhee has become the media face of corporate education reform. She recently released a “state report card” grading states on the basis of how thoroughly they have adopted proposals for test-based teacher evaluation, charters, and privatization. States with more funding equity and better academic performance generally received lower

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Back in the News in a Big Way - Dana Goldstein

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Back in the News in a Big Way - Dana Goldstein:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Back in the News in a Big Way

by Dana Goldstein

I'm looking forward to this evening's episode of FRONTLINE, which will explore evidence of adult tampering with children's tests in certain Washington, DC public schools during the chancellorship of Michelle Rhee, who is perhaps the nation's most controversial school reformer. The allegations are not new. They were first revealednearly two years ago by my colleague Greg Toppo and his crack reporting team at USA Today, which used a computer algorithim to comb through reams of data, and found a national pattern of manipulated standardized test scores in the wake of No Child Left Behind, which greatly increased test-score pressure on schools and districts. Tonight's documentary, however, reported by John Merrow, will delve more deeply into Rhee's efforts to evade a thorough investigation of statistically implausible test score gains. In a preview interview with the Education Writers' Association, Merrow judges Rhee harshly. "The record is pretty clear that D.C. schools are not better because she was there," he says. "They’re still at the bottom, with the lowest graduation rate in the country."

The FRONTLINE report is especially timely as it comes just a day after Rhee's national advocacy organization,Students First, released a "report card" grading states on how closely they align with Rhee's agenda of tying teacher evaluation and pay to student test scores; weakening teacher tenure; transitioning teachers from traditional pension to 401(k) plans; funding charter schools and private school vouchers; instituting mayoral and

ALEC INSPIRED

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee:

If you can't buy it, Bad Mouth it!

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: If you can't buy it, Bad Mouth it!

Frontline: D.C. schools downplayed cheating allegations

Frontline: D.C. schools downplayed cheating allegations:

Frontline: D.C. schools downplayed cheating allegations

GREG TOPPO

Greg Toppo is USA Today's national K-12 education writer. He's interested in tech & how video games are changing school.

A new documentary raises questions about whether Washington, D.C., school officials downplayed allegations that educators were cheating to improve students' scores on high-stakes skills tests — even after a principal came forward with her own eyewitness account.

Washington's Noyes Education Campus was the subject of a 2011 investigative series by USA TODAY, which first reported on unusually high numbers of wrong-to-right pencil erasures on standardized test papers going back to 2008.

The erasures weren't direct evidence of cheating by staff members, but strongly suggested tampering, experts told USA TODAY.

Administered citywide each spring, the math and reading exams gained new prominence in 2007, afte