1-17-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Does the Gates Foundation’s MET Address Real-World Issues for Using High-Stakes Value-Added?

I the first three posts of this series (see Diane Ravitch’s summary of them here), I argue that Matt DiCarlo’s retrospective analysis of market-driven reform research in 2013, “The Year in Research on Market-Based Education Reforms: 2013,” gives short shrift to practical realities. DiCarlo complains, however, that the Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study was […]

1 by John Thompson / 1h hide  //  save

Teacher Effect v. Measurable Teacher “Value”: Some Clarifications

At Peter DeWitt’s Finding Common Ground blog, Angel L. Cintron Jr. offers a guest post, Poverty & Education: Meaningful Discussions or Misguided Diatribes?, confronting the often contentious debate about teacher effect, poverty, and student learning. Cintron offers two points, which he then examines: The proponents of the “poverty is not an excuse” motto are correct in stating that […]

6 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save

Student Slang 101

Slang has been around for decades. Although it’s common among teenagers, it has evolved since my generation. As a teacher, I hear student slang throughout the entire school day. As a result, I’ve complied a short list of high frequency words and phrases used this year:   bob: Although it’s real name, in the traditional sense, it’s a […]

1 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 3h 

1-16-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Comparing CC Support with Evidence AgainstAFT president Randi Weingarten has recently changed positions on value-added methods (VAM) for teacher evaluation, but maintains support for Common Core (CC). With that shift to rejecting VAM, based on the solid evidence base that shows high-stakes implementation of VAM is at least complicated if not misleading, I would like to request th

by mike simpson / 8h 

1-17-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

Teacher Effect v. Measurable Teacher “Value”: Some Clarifications

Teacher Effect v. Measurable Teacher “Value”: Some Clarifications via Teacher Effect v. Measurable Teacher “Value”: Some Clarifications.

1 by plthomasedd / 1h 

 

1-16-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Writing Is More than Structure (1957)Writing Is More than Structure (1957).1 by plthomasedd / 2min hide  //  saveWalking and Talking with Secretary DuncanWalking and Talking with Secretary Duncan2 by plthomasedd / 57min Comparing CC Support with Evidence AgainstComparing

by mike simpson / 8h 

1-17-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Cuomo Says There Will Be NO Changes To The APPR Teacher Evaluation System

From Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY:Addressing other education-related questions, Cuomo said he has heard widespread concerns about the state's implementation of the rigorous Common Core standards, and he expects lawmakers will discuss legislative action this session. “The Common Core has really raised concerns, and I've heard them all across this state,” Cuomo said. “And this is upstate-downstate,

by reality-based edu... / 3h hide  //  save

Norm Scott: UFT's Mulgrew Waging Guerilla War Against NYSUT's Iannuzzi

Norm Scott writes that Mulgrew and his UFT allies have the knives out for NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi over a 2014 Cuomo endorsement, Iannuzzi's call for a "no confidence" vote on NYSED Commissioner King and NYSUT criticism over APPR, the CCSS iomplementation and other elements of the SED/Regents reform agenda:Word is that Mulgrew is backing a slate to run against Iannuzzi and all the V

by reality-based edu... / 31min

State Senate Greg Ball Calls For State To Get Rid Of Common Core

Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY:The Senate Education Committee on Tuesday passed the four bills introduced by its chair, State Senator John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican. The measures would ban testing in early grades, require the state to redesign exams so they're more closely aligned with what students are learning, eliminate excess testing from teacher evaluation plans and increase penalties

by reality-based edu... / 48min hide  //  save

Fifth Grader Reads Letter Addressed To NYSED Commissioner King

At a Common Core forum organized by State Senator Greg Ball:Olivia Vataj, a fifth-grade student at Austin Road Elementary School in Mahopac, read out a letter addressed to King.“Are you the musher and are the students just dogs pulling the sled, trying to get to the finish line of knowledge which we will never cross?” she asked. “We are too tired of the Common Core to keep pulling.”“I have so many

by reality-based edu... / 6h

1-16-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Why The UFT Will Probably Back CuomoJames Eterno at ICEUFT today:Michael Bloomberg, the anti-public education mayor, has left office after twelve years where he almost destroyed our public schools.  An anti-public education, anti-worker governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, is up for reelection later this year.  On Wednesday at the UFT Delegate Assembly, I introduced a r

by mike simpson / 8h 

Harold, William, Victor, and Me (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Harold, William, Victor, and Me (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Harold, William, Victor, and Me (Part 2)

I saved Victor for last.

Neatly dressed, carrying a large notebook and a couple of bulky textbooks, Victor would smile at my “good morning,” walk to the rear of the room and sit down. He would put aside a ruler, open a book, take out paper and begin writing. He often wrote steadily  and intensely for 10 or 15 minutes. If we were in the midst of a discussion or group work, I would quietly ease over to him and ask what he was writing. He would smile, close the book and put away the paper. Victor, you see, could not read above the fourth grade level.

He could copy page after page of a textbook–and repeatedly did so– but did not understand what he was writing. Victor was a junior and nearly 20 years of age. His tested IQ was 63 and he had been in a special class in elementary school but had been mainstreamed since then.

High school was very different for Victor. He had learned to survive by keeping his mouth shut, acting studious, and turning in work that was incomprehensible. He would get As in citizenship and Ds and Fs in academic achievement. What he 

New York Wants To Give Special Education Kids Easier Tests Like 'The Old South,' Advocate Says:

New York Wants To Give Special Education Kids Easier Tests Like 'The Old South,' Advocate Says

Should students with disabilities be held to the same academic standards and tests as other kids their age?

That decades-old question is being revived by a debate in New York. Some advocates charge that a proposed tweak to the state's No Child Left Behind update may shortchange vulnerable students -- and, if approved, could spread to other states. They want these kids tested alongside their peers, so that they won't fall behind as each grade passes them by. Others, though, say tougher testing for kids with disabilities can have its own detrimental effects.

New York Education Commissioner John King has proposed allowing up to 2 percent of the state's students with "severe disabilities ineligible for the alternate assessment" to be tested at their instructional ability -- not their chronological grade year -- up to two full grade levels below a student's current grade level. The tweak would, for example, allow an 8th grader with autism to be tested on exams written for sixth graders.

"When we take students and test them two levels below their enrolled grade and say 

UPDATE: News Flash – John Mcdonogh reported to be closing at the end of this school year! | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

News Flash – John Mcdonogh reported to be closing at the end of this school year! | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

Common Core Information Forum February 20th, 6PM

Please consider attending this event if you are curious about the reasons many folks are opposed to the Common Core State Standards initiative. Common Core is not just something that impacts public schools; most private schools have already adopted Common Core, have plans to, or will be forced to in the coming years. Many of the claims made by Common Core supporters will be addressed by this Forum

by crazycrawfish / 28min

Crazy Crawfish's Blog

Zesty Louisiana Education Politics

News Flash – John Mcdonogh reported to be closing at the end of this school year!

Posted on January 17, 2014

1

I’ve just gotten reports that John McDonogh, run by Future is Now and Steve Barr, is being closed at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. My source claims John White is reported to have notified the teachers at John Mcdonogh Thursday, January 16^th. The following year John McDonogh is going to be closed for renovations that White had previously allocated 35 million dollars for, almost 2 years ago. The RSD had reported that the school did not want to move to a temporary site, because they feared such a move at the beginning of the program could disrupt the school culture they were trying to foster.

On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 10:12 AM, Zoey Reed <Zoey.Reed@rsdla.net> wrote:

“Also, as far as timeline, the charter schools work with the RSD on timing, FIN of John McDonogh asked the RSD not to start renovations because students would have to move and they were building school culture and didn’t want the disruption. “

This culture produced a 9.3 out of 150 on the state’s SPS scores last year. Last year Steve Barr also infamously contacted Oprah Winfrey to have his charter school filmed as part of the ill-conceivedBlackBoard Wars that promoted John McDonogh as the “Most Dangerous School in the Country.”

On this season of Blackboard Wars, we saw the students, staff and teachers at John MacDonogh High make their way through a challenging yet rewarding school year. Though the school was faced with the effects of violence, homelessness, mental illness and’ ’community opposition,’ ’the rough patches also brought to light inspiring moments of courage, dedication and perseverance.

Student Slang 101 | Ward 8 DC Teacher

Student Slang 101 | Ward 8 DC Teacher:

Student Slang 101

• Leave a comment

Slang has been around for decades. Although it’s common among teenagers, it has evolved since my generation. As a teacher, I hear student slang throughout the entire school day. As a result, I’ve complied a short list of high frequency words and phrases used this year:

bob: Although it’s real name, in the traditional sense, it’s a generic term used to address anyone – male or female.

Examples:

Student-to-student: “Come on bob, we’re gonna be late,” or “bob, let me borrow that pencil.”

guh: This term is an “adjective.” It’s often used to describe “frustration or embarrassment.”

Example:

Student-to-teacher: “Do we have school next _________________?”

Teacher-to-student: “Yes.”

Student-to-student: “Ha, you(‘re) guh.”

kill: This term describes

Lynell Hancock Re-Visits J. Anthony Lukas’s Powerful Book about Boston’s Busing | janresseger

Lynell Hancock Re-Visits J. Anthony Lukas’s Powerful Book about Boston’s Busing | janresseger:

Lynell Hancock Re-Visits J. Anthony Lukas’s Powerful Book about Boston’s Busing

Posted on January 17, 2014 by janresseger

I have read hundreds of books on education, many of them about racial injustice and segregation.  But I confess that I have never read J. Anthony Lukas’s Common Ground, the story of Boston’s violent and acrimonious fight from 1968 to 1978 about school desegregration and busing.

LynNell Hancock’s new review of Lukas’s book in the Columbia Journalism Review convinces me that I need to pull that 650 page book off my shelf as a reading project for this winter.  “Court-ordered busing that was meant to reverse stubborn de facto school segregation nearly ripped apart the social fabric of that historic city.  It exposed the raw residue of Yankee guilt, black anger, and Irish immigrant antipathy—the churning clash of cultures that defines America.  The country’s racial enmity showed its ugliest face not on the steps of an Arkansas high school this time, but in genteel Boston, the intellectual capital of the abolitionist movement, the ‘cradle of liberty.’”

Hancock is director of the Columbia School of Journalism’s Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism.  She describes Lukas’s respect for nuance and complexity as he tracked three Boston families in the years after Boston’s buses began to roll and the book’s original publication in 1985.

Hancock describes her own experience re-reading the book all these years later: “Reading it 

empathyeducates – Here’s Exactly How Much the Government Would Have to Spend to Make Public College Tuition-Free

empathyeducates – Here’s Exactly How Much the Government Would Have to Spend to Make Public College Tuition-Free:

• 

Here’s Exactly How Much the Government Would Have to Spend to Make Public College Tuition-Free

Mister President, we thank you for addressing the need to expand college opportunities. As you noted, currently, inequity and inequality are replete. “[T]he United States still has a long way to go to open the door to college for low-income Americans….We have to make sure there are new ladders of opportunity to the middle class.” While your words are sweet, the solutions you propose seem incomplete. We believe that it is not enough to suggest that we “ensure [that] lower-income students aren’t disadvantaged by lack of access to college advisers and [an] inability to prepare for entrance exams.” Remedial programs are fine, but these do nothing to ameliorate the financial bind that comes with pursuit of a college education. As you well know it is the money, honey.

The First Lady observed, “These kids are smart. They will notice if we’re not holding up our end of the bargain.” Millions of our young have noticed! We did not honor our commitment.

It is we who made a promise and posited the pledge; this is the land of opportunity. In American you can dream. Together we can do. Success is not solely for select philanthropic few and other “foundations.”. Nor, Mister Obama, are these individuals the answer to how we might expand college opportunities. There is asolution that honors the “bargain”…

Here’s Exactly How Much the Government Would Have to Spend to Make Public College Tuition-Free

By Jordan Weissmann | Originally Published at The Atlantic. January 3 2014, 2:15 PM ET | Updated January 16, 2014

A mere $62.6 billion dollars!

According to new Department of Education data, that’s how much tuition public colleges collected from undergraduates in 2012 across the entire United States. And I’m not being facetious with the word mere, either. The New America Foundation says that the federal government spent a whole $69 billion in 2013 on 

Seattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133 | Seattle Education

Seattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133 | Seattle Education:

Seattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133

Our first Meetup was a success with our guest, the newly elected School Board Director Sue Peters. We were also fortunate to have with us at the Meetup two previous board members Amy Hagopian and Sally Soriano.

It was a great discussion and we learned more about the history of our district and how the school board works along with Sue’s priorities as a new School Board Director.

The next Meetup will feature Seattle Schools Community Forum contributor Melissa Westbrook. The main topic will be on student privacy and House Bill 2133, “Maintaining privacy of student educational records”, that was dropped last week and will receive a hearing on Wednesday, January 15th.

Please join us for information and discussion on this topic.

Melissa is also well-informed about many other issues that affect Seattle Public Schools and you are invited to ask questions on other topics as well.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Noon to 1:00 PM

At Couth Buzzard Books

Couth Buzzard Books is located at 8310 Greenwood Avenue North in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood and serves a light lunch as well as hot and cold beverages.

If you have any questions, please add them to the comment section of this post.

Dora Taylor

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DATA ERRATA

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DATA ERRATA:

DATA ERRATA

Quote from CPS IG Jim Sullivan -- "The system has incentivized how performance is evaluated based on data, and much of that data is created and can be manipulated at the school level."  

Rahm & charter landlord Jenkins

SHOCKING!
I'm shocked, just shocked to hear that Rahm's pals are the landlords for the new proposed charter schools.

The Rev. Charles Jenkins, its pastor, touts on his church’s website how he “filled a key role” on Emanuel’s transition team when the mayor was elected in 2011. Jenkins gave the invocation at Emanuel’s swearing-in. He is an Emanuel appointee to the City Colleges of Chicago board and a board member of the private group New Schools for Chicago, which helps fund new charter schools.

BACKING QUINN?
How bad does Quinn have to be to offend AFL-CIO leaders? Gov. not only signed unconstitutional pension-busting bill, he bragged, "I was born for this."

And the nod for Quinn should put to rest the constant media speculation that all of organized labor is angry with him - although you gotta figure that AFSCME and the teachers weren’t too pleased with this move. -- Rich Miller, Capital Fax

They not only endorsed Quinn, they backed Republican  Judy Baar-Topinka for state