Stephen Krashen Blog 3-8-14

SKrashen:

No Unnecessary Testing, Not No Testing

Submitted to the Indy Star, March 8, 2014Tim Swarens writes that "Diane Ravitch’s opposition to accountability isn’t realistic," (March 7) because we need to "identify those who excel and those who lag behind."Agreed. But we don't need to test every child every year on every subject to find this out.  The NAEP test, a zero-stakes standardized test, is given to samples of studen

by skrashen / 4min 

Let's do some critical thinking

Let's do some critical thinkingSent to the Denver Post, March 7.The Douglas County school superintendent says that students should not just "compare and contrast" but "create and evaluate" and engage in critical thinking ("Educators to state: Let's go above common core," March 6).Agreed. Let's start by evaluating whether we should have common core standards and tests

8 by skrashen / 21h 

MAR 06

Do we need the SAT?

Sent to USA Today, March 6, 2014Not mentioned in the discussion of changes in the SAT ("Sharpen those pencils: The SAT test is getting harder," March 6) is the question of whether we need SAT-type examinations. In two different studies, researchers from UC Berkeley, Harvard and Princeton reported that high school grades were a good predictor of college success, and that adding SAT scores

6 by skrashen / 1d hide  //  save

MAR 05

Bilingual education: What does the research say?

Sent to Education Week, March 5, 2014  There are two crucial research findings related to the Sen. Lara's proposal to repeal Proposition 227 ("Calif. Bill Would Repeal Bilingual-Education Restrictions," March 4).The first: study after study has shown that students in bilingual programs outperform similar students on tests of English reading.The second: As noted by Prof. McField in the Ed

3 by skrashen / 2d 

FEB 24

Invest in libraries and librarians

Sent to Los Angeles Times, Feb 24.Research and common sense tell us that we get better at reading (and writing, spelling, grammar and vocabulary) when we read a lot.  But we can only read a lot if we have access to books. Most students in LAUSD are without access to books: they have nowhere to turn. Eighty percent of LAUSD students live in poverty, which means, among others things, very few books

3 by skrashen / 11d 

3-8-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:

With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

America's Top Colleges and Teach for America

i wonder what future historians will say about the nation's top colleges- especially the Ivies,  Duke and Stanford,and the top public univerisites- enthusiastically welcoming a program that systematically undermines the teaching profession and provides replacement labor for cities trying to weaken, if not destroy teachers unions and fire veteran union teachers. That organization is Teach for Ameri

by Mark Naison / 6h 

MAR 06

Why People Who Are Disillusioned With BATS Won't Make a Complete Break

I have been thinking about why so many people who claim to be completely disillusioned with BATS and it leaders won't make a complete break and remain in the main group, or our state groups, while reserving their most bitter attacks against us for sites where we don't have the power to delete. And it's for this reason: It's not only the number of members that BATS has, it's that the structure wh

1 by Mark Naison / 1d 

MAR 05

3 Principles That Should Guide Testing in the Public Schools

Three Principles That Should Guide Testing in Public Schools ( to be presented at PS 8 Testing Forum in Brooklyn)1. Test Transparency. No tests should be given which do not guide instruction. All tests must be returned to teachers and parents after they are taken so their results can be reviewed with those who have taken them2. No Data Sharing: Not test results should ever be sold to private vendo

13 by Mark Naison / 2d 

MAR 04

My "Aha" Moment at the NPE Conference in Austin.

There were many great presentations at the Network for Public Education Conference in Austin, but the piece of information that made the biggest impression on me was about something I should have already known about- The New York State ELA and Math tests in grades 3-8. And here it is ( I don't remember who said it) The New York State ELA and Math Tests are given in April, taking up to 6 full da

2 by Mark Naison / 4d hide  //  save

Bats Remains As Anti-Common Core As It Is Pro-Union- A Response To The Randi Weingartern Shirt Controversy

I posted the statement below yesterday in response to the complaints that BATS giving a tee shirt to Randy Weingarten at the Network For Public Education Conference in Austin was undermining the struggle against Common Core and selling out America's children. BATS remains PRO-UNION and ANTI-COMMON CORE. We work within the unions to make them more aggressive and parent friendly on issues important

7 by Mark Naison / 4d 

3-8-14 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education This Week - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4081: To prohibit funds made available to the Department of Education or the Department of Justice from being used to provide postsecondary courses in prisons.

To prohibit funds made available to the Department of Education or the Department of Justice from being used to provide postsecondary courses in prisons.

2d 

MAR 05

Bill Introduced: S. 2030: National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2014

A bill to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes.

2d hide  //  save

MAR 01

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4086: Afterschool for America's Children Act

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

7d 

Bill Introduced: H.Res. 498: Expressing support for designation of the week of March 2, 2014, through March 8, 2014, as "School Social Work Week".

Expressing support for designation of the week of March 2, 2014, through March 8, 2014, as "School Social Work Week".

6h 

Bill Introduced: H.Res. 495: Encouraging people in the United States to recognize March 3, 2014, as Read Across America Day.

Encouraging people in the United States to recognize March 3, 2014, as Read Across America Day.

6h 

YESTERDAY

Bill Introduced: H.Res. 484: Expressing support for designation of the week of March 16, 2014, through March 22, 2014, as National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week.

Expressing support for designation of the week of March 16, 2014, through March 22, 2014, as National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week.

1d 

MAR 06

Bill Introduced: S.Res. 367: A resolution designating March 3, 2014, as "Read Across America Day".

A resolution designating March 3, 2014, as "Read Across America Day".

2d 

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4081: To prohibit funds made available to the Department of Education or the Department of Justice from being used to provide postsecondary courses in prisons.

To prohibit funds made available to the Department of Education or the Department of Justice from being used to provide postsecondary courses in prisons.

2d 

MAR 01

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4086: Afterschool for America's Children Act

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

7d hide  //  save

3-8-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

Scathing Purple Musings 

 Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Charter Schools USA Blinks, Pulls Appeal for Controversial MacDill AFB School

Fresh off the denial of their appeal by the state Charter School Appeals Commission, Charter Schools USA through it’s Florida Charter Educational Foundation, decided to pull their flawed application for a facility on MacDill AFB. From redefinED: The Florida Charter Educational Foundation, Inc. met today to discuss the best course of action in serving the needs of military families at MacDill Air F

by Bob Sikes / 2h 

YESTERDAY

The Lakeland Ledger: Halt Voucher Expansion Until Public Schools Are Adequately Funded

From the editors of the Lakeland Ledger: Now, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, is calling for sales tax revenue to also be diverted to pay for the program. In addition, he wants to expand the pool of eligible students to include families whose incomes rise beyond required levels. About 83 percent of students using vouchers end up at religious schools, the state reports. However, th

by Bob Sikes / 1d 

MAR 06

How John Kirtley’s Push for Voucher in Florida Benefits John Kirtley

Miami Herald reporter Kathleen McGrory has the latest on expansion of  Florida’s voucher program: TALLAHASSEE — Nearly 200 schoolchildren greeted Senate President Don Gaetz last month when he visited a Catholic school in Pensacola to get a first-hand look at the impact of Florida’s controversial school voucher program. Gaetz said he left St. John the Evangelist Catholic School convinced that the F

23 by Bob Sikes / 2d 

MAR 05

Fact-Checking Rick Scott’s Sketchy Education Claims

It didn’t take long for the media call Rick Scott on one of his education claims from his State of the State address yesterday. In his attempt to take credit for “four schools in the nation’s top ten” PolitiFact responds: We sent Scott’s claim to several education experts to ask their opinion on the Newsweek and U.S. News rankings. None of them embraced these rankings, and they offered several cri

by Bob Sikes / 3d 

Just About Everything Jeb Bush Says About Common Core is “Untrue”

d Jeb Bush’s Common Core problem continues. Writing in conservative website Breitbart News, Dr. Susan Berry analyzes the credibility and political problems that Bush has with his unwavering support of Common Core Standards: The problem for Bush is that just about everything he says about the standards is untrue. Common Core is a federally promoted, not state-led, initiative introduced in the Obama

57 by Bob Sikes / 3d 

MAR 04

Florida Senate Republicans Ignore Superintendts, Jeb Bush Abandons College Readiness in First Passage of New School Grade Bill

It comes as no surprise the republican-dominated Senate Education Committee didn’t listen to the recommendations of two school superintendents in passing through the new and improved school grade formula. Nor is it any surprise Jeb Bush’s mouthpiece finds it just swell. Reports Miami Herald reporter Kathleen McGrory: The Senate Education Committee got right to work Tuesday morning, approving a pro

34 by Bob Sikes / 3d hide  //  save

MAR 01

Fort Myers News-Press: For Teachers, VAM Doesn’t Add Up

From the editors of the News-Press: Think back to a schoolteacher who had a positive impact on your life. Chances are, your choice wasn’t based on explanations of quadratic equations or whether she helped advance your reading skills a full grade level. Certainly, teachers teach. But great teachers also inspire students to look beyond the lesson plan, to see learning as adventure, not a chore. Yet,

by Bob Sikes / 7d