4-16-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Governor Quinn. Veto Rahm’s pension bill.

by Fred Klonsky / 23min 

Aware of awareness.

My post this morning has prompted readers to share their experiences, both with evaluation and Special Needs. I’m interested in hearing more. Fred, I saw similar demonstrations of administrative incompetence many times. Before SB7, it was bad enough, but at least there was some protection. I heard of one bilingual math teacher getting one of those evaluations. The 3rd grade students came in, the c

by Fred Klonsky / 1min 

Ben Joravsky tells us where the pension money went. And who spent it.

- Ben Joravsky The year was 2004—and what a glorious time it was! We were in the midst of a fabulous real estate bubble that sent property taxes flowing into the city’s coffers like champagne at an Emanuel fund-raiser. Amid the good times, a few wealthy friends of then mayor Richard Daley threw a lavish party in the Pritzker Pavilion at the recently completed Millennium Park. “Women wearing serio

6 by Fred Klonsky / 53min 

Jannike Johnson. More Awareness.

Fred, I teach students with Autism at my middle school. It was a brand new program this year. I am still waiting for the district to fully fund it with the supplies I ordered a year ago June on the supply form they gave me. And that fully engaged part was funny. I have found that administrators that were not SPED teachers have no idea of what autism is or what it looks like. I have had students si

by Fred Klonsky / 31min 

Awareness.

Banners went up and banners came down. Some were professionally printed. Some were hand-made by students on long white sheets of butcher paper. April was a busy month for banners. Shoe-horned in around Spring Break was Poetry Appreciation month and Autism Awareness month. This is about Autism Awareness month. Our school had lots of kids with Autism. For reasons of cost and efficiency, for years w

by Fred Klonsky / 11min hide  //  save

Ten minute drawing. Hank Aaron.

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

4-15-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Union Democracy. Part II.The microphone is missing. A symbol of democracy in the IEA. Photo: Jerry Mulvihill. Jerry Mulvihill, a fifth grade teacher and IEA RA delegate tried to bring up the issue of the NEA and IEA’s support for the Common Core. But IEA President Cinda Klickna shut off the debate. Th

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-16-14 Wait What?

Wait What?:

How can we tell if we’re moving forward if our eyes are closed? (by Ed McKeon)

Ed McKeon is a member of the Middletown Board of Education. The following letter to the editor was published in the Middletown Press and related papers. (See: http://www.middletownpress.com/opinion/20140327/ed-mckeon-how-can-we-tell-if-were-moving-forward-if-our-eyes-are-closed.) It is another “MUST READ” for the students, parents, teachers and public school advocates fighting to take by out publi

by jonpelto / 0min 

Even more students lose as the “cost” of the Common Core Testing grows

The Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test of a test means more testing and less learning. The Common Core test will cost Connecticut’s students and teachers hundreds of hours of lost instructional time. The Common Core test will cost schools and taxpayers tens of millions in computer and internet upgrades so that students can […] The post Even more students lose as the “cost” of the C

16 by jonpelto / 2h 

4-15-14 Wait What?

Wait What?: Foul shots in the classroom: A Fable (By Ann Policelli Cronin)As we celebrate UCONN’S [Remember it is not UConn] double national championships, it seems particularly appropriate to look back on a great commentary piece written by fellow columnist and pro-education advocate, Ann Policelli Cronin.  Here piece entitle, “Foul shots in the Classroom:  A Fable” first appeared in the CT Mirro

by mike simpson / 8h 

The Answer Sheet 4-16-14

The Answer Sheet:

What is the SAT good for?

The College Board released new details on Wednesday about how the SAT will change in early 2016. My colleague Nick Anderson wrote about the changes in this story, explaining how the test, once billed as evaluating “aptitude,” is now being marketed as a measure of high school achievement. But does it even do that? Bob Schaeffer, public […]

by Valerie Strauss / 5min 

Students don’t need a ‘voice.’ Here’s what they really need.

Sam Levin was a student when, in 2011, he founded the Independent Project at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Massachusetts. He had thrown out an idea to administrations about allowing students to create a learning environment in which teachers serve as mentors and coaches while students post questions and design ways to answer them in unorthodox […]

1 by Valerie Strauss / 23min 

Live online chat at 1 p.m. today

I’ll be doing a live chat on washingtonpost.com at 1 p.m. today, so if you have any questions or comments about anything in education (or even marginally related), send them in here: http://live.washingtonpost.com/the-answer-sheet-20140409.html#submit-question Here’s a transcript of the first chat, and here is the transcript of last week’s.

by Valerie Strauss / 12min  

The Answer Sheet 4-15-14

The Answer Sheet: Testing resistance movement exploding around countryThe testing resistance movement is growing rapidly around the country and parents are opting out their children from high-stakes standardized tests in most states. What do test reformers want to accomplish? Monty Neill, executive director of  FairTest, explains in this post. FairTest, or the National Center for Fair and Open Tes

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-16-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

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

Dockery: Senate Should Let Voucher Expansion Die

Writing in her hometown newspaper, the Lakeland Ledger, former republican  state senator Paula Dockery makes the clear case why voucher expansion cannot be intellectually be defended: Opponents of voucher expansion make a valid argument. Students attending private schools are not subjected to high-stakes tests. The schools are not required to hire certified teachers or to comply with the overabun

by Bob Sikes / 2h  

4-13-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Rick Scott’s 2012 FCAT Rankings Show Poverty MattersOcala Star-Banner editor Brad Rogers remind his readers of Rick Scott’s ill-fated 2012 release of FCAT rankings by district, and he’s not attempted that stunt since. Scathing Purple Musings speculated that the decision

by mike simpson / 9h 

Pencils Out - Linda Darling-Hammond about standardized testing in the implementation of Common Core

Pencils Out:

Pencils Out

GAVIN BADE

APRIL 8, 2014

The Prospect speaks with an education-policy expert Linda Darling-Hammond about standardized testing in the implementation of Common Core, a national set of guidelines on math and reading.

Courtesy of Stanford University

Linda Darling-Hammond

One of the most contentious debates racking state houses this year isn't about Obamacare, inequality, or even jobs. It's the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, which set benchmarks for what students should know in math and language arts at each grade level. At the current count, 44 states and the District of Columbia have signed on.

Some conservative legislators have objected to what they see as a step toward federalizing education; Indiana has withdrawn from the initiative and 11 states are considering bills to slow or derail Common Core implementation. Another source of friction is the adoption of standardized testing to measure students' knowledge of Common Core standards and, in some cases, evaluate teachers. The assessments have been designed by two state groups—the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium—but a growing number of states are opting out and instead coming up with their own. Many education scholars also contend the tests don't assess students’ multiple intelligences and connect to real-world skills and tasks.

Stanford education professor Linda Darling-Hammond, who led President Obama’s education-policy transition team after his election in 2008, is one such figure. She is also a member of the Gordon Commission for the Future of Assessment and Education, a group of scholars overseeing the implementation of the Common Core. The Prospect sat down with Darling-Hammond to discuss Pencils Out:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-16-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

1st ANNUAL FERNANDO JONES’ BLUES CAMP LOS ANGELES COMES TO LAUSD!

by smf for 4LAKidsNews At the risk of taking credit where other people did all the work I am pleased to forward this info along on a project I helped set up by introducing my friend Chiara Tellini to my friend Tony White. We also serve who say "Chiara, meet Tony" ...and then just stand back! Your job - and you have no other choice but to accept - is to pass this word on to every music te

1 by smf / 1h 

DISTRICTS FACE CHALENGE OF PRIORITIZING PUBLIC INPUT ON SCHOOL SPENDING + smf’s 2¢

By Louis Freedberg | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/1iZj3lv April 15th, 2014 | California’s school funding reform law has triggered a burst of outreach efforts to solicit parent and community input in at least some districts – along with a plethora of suggestions about how to spend the additional education funds they will receive from the state. But what is not clear is how these

by smf / 1h hide  //  save

API SUSPENDED …BUT NOT ACCOUNTABILITY MANDATES + smf’s 2¢

by Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report :: http://bit.ly/1qImMZL APRIL 16, 2014  ::  (Calif.) With scores for the annual Academic Performance Index suspended for the next two years, school districts will still be required to meet accountability mandates set out in the Gov. Jerry Brown’s new Local Control Funding Formula. Under a plan detailed Tuesday, districts will be allowed to use one of

by smf / 2h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-15-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Compare+Contrast: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IS OVERRATED + TEACHERS OFTEN BLAME PARENTS FOR PROBLEM STUDENTS + smf’s 2¢Parental Involvement Is Overrated By KEITH ROBINSON and ANGEL L. HARRIS, OpEd in the New York Times |  http://nyti.ms/1ilF0xt April 12, 2014, 2:32 pm ::  Most people, asked whether parental involvement benefits children academically, would s

by mike simpson / 6h 

4-16-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

How Will NYSED Defend These Lawsuits Against APPR?

Rochester teachers filed suit over the APPR teacher evaluation system last month, now Syracuse teachers file suit as well:The Syracuse Teachers Association sued the state Education Department today over its teacher evaluation system, arguing that the system unfairly penalizes teachers of disadvantaged students. The suit was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany by the STA and about 30 city teach

by reality-based edu... / 39min 

No Surprise - Study Says U.S. Is An Oligarchy

The more money you have, the more say you get in how things get run:A new study by researchers from Princeton and Northwestern Universities finds that America's government policies reflect the wishes of the rich and of powerful interest groups, rather than the wishes of the majority of citizens. The researchers examined close to 1,800 U.S. policy changes in the years between 1981 and 2002; then, t

by reality-based edu... / 31min 

Ravitch: Andrew Cuomo Had His Tentacles In The Paterson Administration

Richard Ravitch is publishing a memoir that says Cuomo's been running things longer than you think:In the summer of 2009, Republicans who lost their half-century control of the Senate mounted a coup with three dissident Democrats. That power struggle gridlocked the legislature for weeks until the dissidents struck deals for lucrative leadership posts in return for going back into the Democratic fo

by reality-based edu... / 48min 

Buffalo News: Opt-Out Movement Gains Steam, Notice Of State Educrats

On the margins no more:A boycott movement that has turned state standardized tests into a battleground is dividing school districts across the region and drawing the attention of state education leaders.Roughly 7 percent of students in third through eighth grade in Erie and Niagara counties refused to take a state English exam earlier this month.But in some districts, 15 to 28 percent of the stude

by reality-based edu... / 27min 

Wall Street Journal Covers ATR's

The Wall Street Journal reports that the ATR issue is a major part of the contract discussion:As negotiations drag on over a new contract for the city's teachers, one sticky issue involves how to handle teachers who lost permanent jobs during cutbacks but keep getting full paychecks as they bounce around schools for brief stints, filling in for absent staff.Hundreds spend years in limbo. A city De

by reality-based edu... / 1h hide  //  save

Bloomberg Still An Arrogant Ass

The NY Times publishes a puff piece on Bloomberg and his "philanthropy work" this morning and at the end, we get this statement from Mayor Mike:Mr. Bloomberg was introspective as he spoke, and seemed both restless and wistful. When he sat down for the interview, it was a few days before his 50th college reunion. His mortality has started dawning on him, at 72. And he admitted he was a bi

2 by reality-based edu... / 2h  

4-15-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: How Cuomo Meddled Into The Moreland Commission ReportAnother story about just how much meddling the governor's office did into the Moreland Commission work:An assistant counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who professed himself to be the author of the NY SAFE Act, was ultimately selected as the lead writer of the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption’s December 2013 report a

by mike simpson / 8h 

Pay-for-Performance for CEOs and Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Pay-for-Performance for CEOs and Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Pay-for-Performance for CEOs and Teachers

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison earns $37,692 an hour. No, that is not a typo or misplaced comma. Ellison’ annual salary ran $78.4 million, much of it in stock option awards. His salary was based on the annual performance of the company’s stock. Oracle’s Board of Directors set the pay scale (Ellison owns one-fourth of the company’s shares) to spur better management to increase profits and shareholders’ dividends.

They pay Ellison to perform well on the metric they have chosen (“company earnings before income taxes minus the costs of stock-based compensation, acquisitions, restructuring, and other items.” This CEO’s performance pay is not, however, a metric used by other major corporations for paying their top person. I return to the point of different measures used by companies to judge CEO performance later.

Switch now to the average U.S. public school teacher who earns an annual salary of over $55,000. That figure translates to around $27.00 for a 40-hour week. Like Ellison, hundreds of thousands of teachers are involved in pay-for-performance plans. In response to the federal Race To the Top competition, many states have mandated that teachers’ performance and salary be tied to students’ test scores to spur better teaching and student learning. Those test scores, as a factor in assessing effectiveness and determining salary (or Pay-for-Performance for CEOs and Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

API suspended but not accountability mandates :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

API suspended but not accountability mandates :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:



APRIL 16, 2014

API suspended but not accountability mandates

by Kimberly Beltran

(Calif.) With scores for the annual Academic Performance Index suspended for the next two years, school districts will still be required to meet accountability mandates set out in the Gov. Jerry Brown’s new Local Control Funding Formula.

Under a plan detailed Tuesday, districts will be allowed to use one of three options: last year’s API scores; an average of the last three years of scores; or a combination of several other scoring measures tied to the LCFF but still being refined.

“The state board did approve your recommendation to not to calculate an API for either elementary, middle or high schools this coming fall,” said Keric Ashley, director of accountability at the California Department of Education, during a meeting of the panel convened to make recommendations on restructuring the API.

“AB 484 did envision the possibility of not having an API and allows for the use of last year’s scores, so we will be rolling over last year’s scores and keeping them available for any purpose that’s needed, including for districts’ Local Control Accountability Plans,” he said, referring to legislation that ushered in state testing changes.

Up to now, the state’s API was used to measure student progress and to meet federal accountability requirements. Also until now, the API had been calculated using only student test scores – configured to give a school an overall score ranging between 200 and 1,000, with the state API suspended but not accountability mandates :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: