Diane Ravitch's blog
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG
DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Helen Zelon of “City Limits” wonders why teacher turnover is so high in nyc charter schools. She writes: “According to data from the New York State Department of Education, charter schools in New York City lose far more teachers every year than their traditional school counterparts. In some schools, more than half of faculty “turn over” from one school year to the next, according to NYSED school
Pennsylvania, like Michigan, is another state where the governor (Tom Corbett) and the legislature feel no responsibility to sustain public education. Philadelphia public education is under fire, as the privatization vultures circle. Now the York City, Pa., public schools are on the brink of privatization. Seven national charter management organizations made presentations to take over the distric
Arthur Camins understands the importance of public education. He understands that the very principle of public responsibility for the education of the children of the community is at risk. He doesn’t believe that it is sufficient to trade blows with those who do not value public education. In this post, he describes the necessity of framing a positive message, and he lays out a strategic plan to s
As Testing Frenzy Grows, So Does Opt-Out Movement
Here is the latest summary of testing news from FAIRTEST: Across the U.S., students are returning to classrooms where even more time will be devoted to standardized exam preparation and administration. Over the summer, some districts developed hundreds of new tests to comply with mandates from federal and state politicians who are still not listening to their constituents (http://www.naplesnews.c
David Greene: I Know Great Teaching When I See It
After David Greene, veteran teacher and mentor, read the review of Elizabeth Green’s new book (“Building a Better Teacher”)y esterday, he asked me to publish this excerpt from his new book, “Doing the Right Thing: A Teacher Speaks.” Here it is. It won’t get the publicity that Elizabeth Green’s book will get. But it is backed up by many years in the classroom. It begins like this: “Who remembers
YESTERDAY
Breaking News: L.A. Officials Met with Apple, Pearson a Year Before Taking Public Bids
Annie Gilbertson of KPCC in Los Angeles reports that internal emails show that district officials met and emailed Apple and Pearson a year before the bidding process for new technology and software began. “Emails obtained by KPCC show Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy personally began meeting with Pearson and Apple to discuss the eventual purchase of their products sta
Breaking News: Internal Report Says L.A. iPad Purchase Was Poorly Planned, Deeply Flawed
Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times reported today the leaked results of an investigation of the district’s plan to purchase $1 billion of iPads loaded with Pearson curriculum. It begins: “The groundbreaking effort to provide an iPad to every Los Angeles student, teacher and school administrator was beset by inadequate planning, a lack of transparency and a flawed bidding process, according to
Unfair to Cluster TFA Rookies in Schools with Needy Kids, Says NCTQ
Politico.com reports that “African-American students in Miami-Dade County are more likely than their peers to be assigned rookie teachers – and their teachers are also more likely to be uncertified or unlicensed, according to a study by the National Council on Teacher Quality.” This inequity is a result of “the district’s decision to cluster Teach For America recruits in low-performing, high-pover
Is Eva Moskowitz the Lance Armstrong of Education?
This commentary was written by an employee of the Néw York City Department of Education who specializes in data analysis. He/she requires anonymity. An opinion piece in the New York Daily News by Robert Pondiscio wondered, “Is Eva Moskowitz the Michael Jordan of education reform, or is she Mark McGwire?” To give some context- New York State recently released the results of the 2013-14 grades 3-8 e
How to Have a Racially Fair America
In an article in Dissent magazine, four authors argue that the notion of America as a “post-racial” society is wrong. The public and politicians tend to blame blacks for the conditions in which they live, as though racism were a thing of the past and the doors of opportunity are wide open for all. Even the election of a black President has not wiped out historic disadvantages that a significant pr
Andrea Gabor On Elizabeth Green’s New Book on Teaching
Elizabeth Green, one of our leading education journalists, has just published a book titled “Building a Better Teacher.” In this thoughtful post, Andrea Gabor points out the strengths and weaknesses of Green’s book. Gabor believes that Green makes a strong case for those who are doing a god job of teaching teachers. Gabor writes: “I picked up Elizabeth Green’s new book, Building a Better Teache
Cody and Greene Dissect Duncan’s Critique of His Own Policies
I apologize to you, dear readers, in advance, but I must ask you to read the latest balderdash written by someone who works for Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. From my days working in the U.S. Department of Education in 1991-93, I know full well that Cabinet Secretaries have several writers and don’t actually write anything themselves. Okay, so this latest statement from Duncan says that there
Nearly $1 Million from Gulen-related Charters Went to Firms Named in FBI Probe
The Chicago Sun-Times reports on FBI investigation of Gulen-related schools, which awarded large contracts to firms without competitive bidding. The firms as well as the schools appear to be related to the Turkish Gulen movement. “In June, the FBI raided 19 Concept Schools locations in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, including the group’s Des Plaines headquarters. Search warrants showed they were seek
AUG 21
Peter Greene: Another Poll showed Common Core Support Plummeting
Peter Greene notes that the two polls released this week were preceded by a Rasmussen poll in June, which showed Common Core losing support. Parents of school children were polled. “Once again, we can see the result of a year’s worth of direct exposure. In November of 2013, the Core was supported by an unimpressive 52% and specifically opposed by 32%. By the following June, the numbers had shifte
North Carolina Voucher Decision: The Crucial Details
Sharon McCloskey and Lindsay Wagner of NC Policy Watch here fill in the key details of today’s voucher decision. Judge Robert Hobgood pulled no punches: “In a stunning rebuke to state lawmakers’ efforts to bring school vouchers to North Carolina, Wake County Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood today found the recently-enacted “Opportunity Scholarship Program” unconstitutional and permanently enj
Austerity in Detroit: Teachers Get A 10% Pay Cut, 24 Schools Will Close
Governor Rick Snyder long ago made it clear that the state of Michigan has no intention of saving public education in Detroit or anywhere else. The city’s emergency manager announced a 10% pay cut for teachers, larger class size, and the closing of 24 schools. The schools have a deficit of $127 million. The wage concessions by teachers will save $13.3 million. “Parents, educators and community st
Julianna Mendelsohn, a Hero Teacher, Raising Money to Feed the Children of Ferguson
Ken Previti tells the story on his blog about Julianna Mendelsohn, a teacher. Julianna wanted to help the children of Ferguson. ““As a public school teacher, my first thought is always about the children involved in any tragic situation like this,” she writes. “When I found out school had been canceled for several days as a result of the civil unrest, I immediately became worried for the students
Breaking News; NC Judge Rules Vouchers Unconstitutional
A North Carolina judge ruled voucher legislation unconstitutional because it gives money intended for public schools to private and religious schools. He ordered an immediate halt to the program. Yvonne Brannan of PublicSchools First NC sent the following response, which included a video of Judge Robert Hobgood reading his decision: “PLEASE watch this– you will better understand why this is so cr
Ohio: Public Schools Forfeit $13.1 Million for Low-Performing Online Charter
A note from Bill Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy. White Hat is Ohio’s largest charter chain. It operates for profit. The owner of White Hat, industrialist David Brennan, is a major contributor to Republican politicians, including Governor John Kasich and legislators. Because it is a private company, White Hat does not permit public disclosure of its finances. Phillis writes:
Schneider: When Are Common Core Polls AstroTurf?
Mercedes Schneider analyzes the recent polls on Common Core and spies an effort to rescue the CCSS from the wreckage. The bottom-line, she says, is that the development of Common Core was top-down, not state-led. “Here’s the reality: CCSS was conceived, organized, produced, monitored, and promoted by “the few,” the most obvious CCSS “top downers” being the two organizations that drafted the CCSS
Teacher Arthur Goldstein Explains Why Frank Bruni Is Wrong
Arthur Goldstein teaches English to immigrant students in high school in New York City. He has taught for many years. He has written about the importance of tenure, which enables him to advocate for his students without fear of losing his job. He can be a whistle blower without fear of losing his job. He has academic freedom because he has tenure. Frank Bruni of the New York Times doesn’t like te
Mike Klonsky to Bill Gates: How to Solve the Problems of Malaria and Good Schools
Mike Klonsky of Chicago recently posted this item. Bill Gates said it was easier to solve the problems of public health than to fix American education. “Reader Rufus responds to Bill Gates with a comment on my Schooling in the Ownership Society Blog. This one is too good to leave in the comments section. “Rufus August 6, 2014 “Gates claims it’s easier to find cures for malaria and other diseases
AUG 20
NY Teacher: Why Teachers Became Disillusioned with the Common Core Standards
A comment on the blog today: “Common Core was imposed on teachers by non-educators. We were fed a lot of mistruths along the way, as well. However, there would be no backlash if the CC founders gave us an educationally sound reform package. We are rejecting CC primarily because the standards in ELA are un-teachable and un-testable, abstract and subjective thinking skills – essentially content fre
Controversial NJ Superintendent Leaves Post After One Year
Highland Park, New Jersey, bought out its controversial superintendent Timothy Capone for $112,766 (less than a year’s salary), although he had another three years to go on his contract. Jersey Jazzman had previously written about Capone and identified him as a “reformer” connected to Chris Cerf who was anti-union and focused solely on test scores. Among his first actions was to fire nine employe
Sara Stevenson Keeps Watch Over WSJ
Sara Stevenson, school librarian in Austin and a member of the blog honor roll, is intrepid. she reads the Wall Street Journal every day and responds promptly to every attack on public schools and teachers, one of WSJ’s major preoccupations. She wrote the letter below. She forgot to ask Peterson and Hanushek to give up their tenure at Harvard and Stanford to prove they don’t believe in tenure: F
Georgia: Time to Reform the Reformers
In this post, Jim Arnold and Peter Smagorinsky dissect the myths and baloney of the reformers. The “reformers” love to talk about the good old days and about how schools were so much better back then. As the authors demonstrate, those “good old days” weren’t good for everyone–especially when there were grown men running around in white gowns and pointy hats. And they demonstrate with solid facts t
Gallup-PDK Poll Shows “Common Core” Losing Support
As Stephanie Simon of politico.com put it, it’s been a bad week for the Common Core. Yesterday, The conservative journal Education Next showed a precipitous drop in support by teachers in only one year–from 76% to 46%. It seems that the more they learn about the standards, the less they like them. Then today the annual poll by the Gallup organization and Phi Delta Kappa revealed growing public op
Bruce Baker: How to Get Rid of Accountability, Transparency, and Student Rights
This may be the most important article you read this week, this month, or this year. It was published last year, and I missed it. But, wow, Bruce Baker nails what is wrong with “education reform.” Basically, the public has been sold a bill of goods. We have been told that charters, vouchers, tuition tax credits, and other means of removing governance from the public sector to the private sector w
Florida: State Will Close Rick Scott’s Star Charter School
In 2011, soon after his election, Florida’s new Governor Rick Scott took Michelle Rhee on a tour to show off what Florida was doing in education. He took her to visit a charter school in Miami/Dade County, a middle school called Florida International Academy. “We have to make sure our system does exactly what you are doing here at Florida International Academy,” Scott said. Sad news. The elementa
Peter Greene: Why So Many Teachers Turned Against Common Core
The conservative journal “Education Next” reported a poll showing that support for Common Core plummeted among teachers from 76% to 46%. Conservative supporters of Common Core think that teachers are afraid of accountability but that doesn’t explain why 76% thought it was a good idea last year. Peter Greene explains the teachers’ change of mind, which he is well-qualified to do since he is a teac
Network for Public Education on the Death of Michael Brown
Last night, the Network for Public Education issued this statement on the death of Michael Brown: The killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, is a national tragedy. The Network for Public Education sends our condolences to his family and community. We also decry the inequitable treatment that Michael and millions of other young people of color receive in the form of
AUG 19
Two Champs Charter Schools Won’t Open in Palm Beach County, Florida
Two Champs charter schools were supposed to open in Delray Beach and Riviera Beach, Florida, but they failed to enroll enough students. They told Palm Beach County school district officials they will never open. Each was supposed to enroll 112 students but enrolled only 2 or 3 students. Is the public wising up? Or is the market saturated?
No Charter School for Cheatham County, Tennessee
The school board of rural Cheatham County, Tennessee, voted 6-0 against opening a charter school.
Schneider: Why Jindal Lost in Court on Common Core and PARCC
A Louisiana judge ruled against Governor Jindal in his efforts to dump Common Core and PARCC. Mercedes Schneider read the court decision and concludes that Jindal lost in court against proponents of Common Core because his lawyer didn’t make a good case. She says he better get a better legal team or be prepared to lose again.
Democrats for Public Education Launches New Group to Support Public Schools
Readers of this blog are familiar with the many organizations that have been created to attack public schools and teachers’ rights, including groups like Democrats for Education Reform (hedge fund managers); Stand for Children (pro-charter); StudentsFirst (pro-charter, pro-voucher, anti-union, anti-teacher); Teach for America; ConnCAN and 50StateCAN (pro-charter); Students for Education Reform; Te
FAIRTEST: Flat ACT Scores Show Failure of NCLB, Race to the Top
Give it up, reformers. The scores on the ACT are flat from 2010-2014, despite the billions wasted on testing, test-based teacher evaluation, and merit pay. Your reforms have reformed nothing. They have failed. Pay attention. Improve the lives of children and families. Improve working conditions in the school. Demand equitable resources for schools. Reduce class sizes for needy children. Do what w
Common Core Support Eroding, Especially Among Teachers
A poll commissioned by “Education Next,” a conservative journal, finds that the public supports the idea of common standards but the support drops sharply when asked about Common Core. See the Edweek account here. The biggest declines from 2013 to 2014 were among teachers and Republicans. Support among Democrats remained steady at about 63-64%. The proportion of Republicans supporting Common Core
Utah: Common Core Tests Cause Proficiency Rates to Fall Below 50%
The first results of Utah’s Common Core tests are in, and they follow the pattern of other states: a sharp drop in the proportion of students who are “proficient.” “The percentage of Utah students who scored proficient or better in science ranged from 37 percent to 45 percent, depending on grade level. In math, anywhere from 29 percent to 47 percent of kids scored proficient. And in language arts
Florida Law Requires Multiple Tests for Kindergartners
Florida has gone bonkers. State law requires children in kindergarten to take tests for every subject taught in kindergarten. Some counties will develop as many as 15 different tests, ranging from physical education to art. Most children will be required to take seven tests. State Sen. David Simmons, a member of the education committee, said “For us to assure that schools do their jobs we can onl
Michelle Gunderson on the Ethical Use of Student Data
On Anthony Cody’s new independent blog site, “Living in Dialogue,” Chicago teacher Michelle Gunderson offers her views on the ethical use of student data. In her many years as an elementary school teacher, she has seen standardized tests evolve from a sorting instrument to a means of punishing children to an excuse for privatizing public schools. She will not be complicit in any of these uses
Texas: Latino Activists Declare Their Education Agenda
Next year, students of Hispanic descent will be a majority in the public schools of Texas. Yet the voices of Latino parents, educators, and advocates are seldom heard in legislative hearings. Instead, it is usually business leaders calling the shots. A new organization called the Latino Coalition for Educational Equality has emerged to express their views and to release the results of a survey. W
Florida: A Haven for Scams and Fraud
In a two-part article called “Florida’s Charter Schools: Unsupervised,” Karen Yi and Amy Shipley of the Sun-Sentinel describe how the state’s weak laws allows charter school operators in South Florida to profit while wasting taxpayers’ money and children’s lives. South Florida has more than 260 charter schools. Local districts are supposed to oversee them. The laws about who may open a charter sc
Meet Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Néw NEA President
This is a good article about Lily Eskelsen Garcia, who assumes the presidency of the NEA in September 1. She taught for many years in Utah, ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and was Utah’s Teacher of the Year. Read her interview with Valerie Strauss. She knows how stupid VAM is, and she has a few choice words for Campbell Brown. She thinks Arne Duncan is a nice man who is “wrong, wrong, wrong.” Li
AUG 18
Connecticut: Stefan Pryor Will Not Serve a Second Term as State Education Chief
State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor announced that he would not serve a second term and was seeking other opportunities. Jon Pelto, who hopes to run an independent campaign for governor, says that Governor Dannell Malloy is cutting his losses because of Pryor’s outspoken advocacy of charter schools. Also, says Pelto, Malloy realizes he has alienated teachers and is trying to win back their
As of 1 P.M. Today, More Than 14 Million Page Views on This Blog!
Shortly before 1 p.m., the blog passed 14 million page views! Although I am not afflicted with Triskaidekaphobia, I am nonetheless happy to move on to 14. I confess I am a wee bit superstitious. After all, this was the time that I crushed my knee, underwent two surgical procedures, and am still struggling to recover full mobility. Fourteen million page views doesn’t mean that the blog has that m
Paul Thomas Argues That Poverty IS Destiny and Education Is Not the Great Equalizer
Paul Thomas here takes on some of the most sacred beliefs of U.S. culture. He argues that poverty is destiny, and that education is not the great equalizer. He says that wishing it were so does not make it so. He writes: “In the U.S. both poverty and affluence are destiny, and those who shudder at that reality are confusing verbs: Yes, poverty should not be destiny, but false claims will never a
Schneider: Get Your Scorecard on Common Core Litigation in Louisiana Right Here
It is hard to remember who is suing whom in Louisiana. Fortunately we have Mercedes Schneider to keep us updated on the three different lawsuits, each of which is pursuing a different issue related to the Common Core and the PARCC tests. Try to remember this: as a high school teacher, Schneider is no fan of Common Core and PARCC. She is also no fan of Jindal or White. Jindal used to be a fan of C
New York: Common Core Tests Fail Our Students Again
Carol Burris and Biana Tanis take a close look at New York’s Common Core tests and find them deeply flawed. Burris is a high school principal on Long Island and Tanis is a public school parent and special education teacher in the Hudson Valley. State officials celebrated paltry results: the passing rates on the reading test were flat and increased in math by 4.6%. But nearly 2/3 of the state’s ch
EduShyster Interviews Owen Davis About Newark
Hopefully, you read Owen Davis’ story about what was driving charter expansion in Newark. It precedes this one in the queue. In this post, EduShyster interviews Owen Davis about his investigation of the Newark situation. What’s the story? Money and real estate. Gentrification. What used to be called “slum clearance.” $5 billion in bonds for charter construction. I have reached a point where I lon
Owen Davis: What Is Driving the Charter Movement in Newark?
The title of this article has a one-word answer: money. In this shocking article, journalist Owen Davis explains how the expansion of charters in Newark is driven by two factors: 1) the availability of millions of dollars in federal school construction bonds that have been showered on the charter schools but not the public schools; 2) the Chris Christie administration’s decision to withhold fund
AUG 17
Chatham County, Tennessee: Say No to Community Division
The research is clear: schools in rural and semi-rural districts work best when they have the support of the entire community. Cheatham County, Tennessee, doesn’t need competing schools–one that picks its students, the other legally required to accept all students. Stick together. Act as a community. Don’t divide your community. When your board meets on August 18, tell them you support public e
Washington State: An Example of NCLB Absurdity
Washington State declined to ask Arne Duncan for a waiver from NCLB because the legislature thought that the price was too high. In exchange for gaining freedom from NCLB’s demand that 100% of students would be proficient by 2014, the state would have to agree to endorse Arne Duncan’s inane idea that teachers should be evaluated by the test scores of their students. Apparently some wise policy mak
David Kirp: Why Teaching Is Not a Business
In a truly wonderful article in Sunday’s New York Times, David Kirp of the University of California at Berkeley lays waste the underpinnings of the current “education reform” movement. Kirp not only shows what doesn’t work, he gives numerous examples of what does work to help students. Kirp explains in plain language why teaching can never be replaced by a machine. Although the article just appear
Edward Berger on the Tenets of Education in a Democracy
I posted a blog by Edward F. Berger a few days ago, and as is my occasional failing, neglected to add the link. He said much that was wise and ended on a thoughtful and provocative note, which bears repeating. As you can readily tell from his writing and thinking, Ed is a veteran educator. These are the tried-and-true tenets of education in a democratic society: • We do not experiment on childre
Crazy Crawfish: Bait-and-Switch in New Orleans
Blogger Crazy Crawfish (aka Jason France) writes that the Recovery School District is a failure. Residents of New Orleans were promised that the RSD would improve schools and return them to their home parishes. It has not returned a single school. Why weren’t the reformers honest at the outset, he wonders? Why didn’t they say that their goal was to privatize the district, get rid of the union and
Peter Greene: How Conservatives Are Reacting to Loss of Public Support for Common Core
Remember when promoters of Common Core tried to present it as a done deal and said it was too late to stop it? Remember when they demonized the critics of Common Core as extremists who should be ridiculed or ignored? Peter Green writes that the age of realism is beginning to change the conservative tune. CATO never swallowed the belief that national standards were needed. Fordham, which ran from s
Ohio: As Charters Flourish, Accountability Disappears
A reader sent me to this article at The Daily Kos, which asked the simple question: when are students more important than free markets? The author’s argument is that the governor and the legislature are so head over heels in love with free markets that they have exempted charter schools from most of the state’s laws. Charters must follow the state curriculum and take the state tests but are freed
AUG 16
Connecticut: Charter Schools Are Feeling Defensive, and Should Be
Civil rights attorney Wendy Lecker chastises a charter advocate who says that all charters should not be smeared by the recent scandals involving Jumoke Academy, “Dr.” Michael Sharpe, and “Dr.” Terrence Carter. Her own charter, she says, has an open lottery and accepts all who win the lottery. Lecker offers a mini-history lesson about how “choice” schools served in the South to perpetuate segrega
Do You Want to Join “Lace to the Top”?
There is a secret society that was created by a couple of dads who are teachers on Long Island. They were worried about all the testing and the way that schools were misusing the test results to label kids. These dads wanted to protect their children–their own and the ones they teach and even the ones they don’t teach–from practices that they knew were harmful. But what to do? First they dressed u
Media Matters: Fox News Doesn’t Want Undocumented Children in Public Schools
Despite a Supreme Court ruling that immigrant children without citizenship status have the right to free public schooling, Fox News has taken a strong stand in opposition, according to Media Matters for America. Its researchers write: Fox News Decries Granting Undocumented Children Their Right To Access Public Education Fox News personalities criticized a plan allowing newly arrived child migrant
Why Did New York State Teachers Union Endorse Pro-Voucher, Pro-Charter Candidate?
In New York State, a small group of Democrats in the State Senate flipped their allegiance to the Republicans, giving Republicans control of the Senate. Republican control of the Senate worked to the benefit of the 1%. One of that group was State Senator Jeffrey Klein. He just won the endorsement of the New York State United Teachers. This is bizarre. According to this blogger, Perdido Street Sc
EduShyster Interviews Richard Whitmire about Rocketship Charters
EduShyster sat down with journalist Richard Whitmire to learn about his new book on Rocketship charters. Whitmire’s last book was an admiring portrait of Michelle Rhee. EduShyster asked about John Danner, the founder of Rocketship, who decided to change the instructional model in only one year. He likes the idea of disruptive change. When asked about this, Whitmire said: Whitmire: [Rocketship fou
Louisiana: Judge Denies Temporary Injunction to Stop Implementation of Common Core
In Louisiana, a judge turned back the appeal of 17 legislators who wanted to stop the implementation of Common Core and CC testing. The legislators claimed that the state had adopted this set of standards and tests without going through the proper procedures, including hearings. State Commissioner John White said that implementation would proceed. There are more legal challenges in the offing.
Art Seagal on the “Guru-ization” of American Education
Reader Art Seagal comments on the latest, most destructive fads in American education–destructive because they are mandatory and do not permit teacher judgment or professionalism. Seagal writes: I just read a telling article in an alumni magazine all about one man’s (Clayton Christensen) business concept – “disruptive innovation”. Sadly, our nation’s children and teachers have become pawns in a
Paul Thomas: Time for Phase 3 in the Resistance to the Corporate Takeover
Paul Thomas says that events are moving swiftly, and we must move with them. When the corporate reform movement started, educators were taken by surprise and treated like children. When did it start? Was it the accountability movement that began after “A Nation at Risk” in 1983? Was it the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001? Or the election of Michael Bloomberg in 2001 and years of pointing
The Onion: “Nothing But Tears” to Toughen Up Your Baby!
This is hilarious! The Onion reports that Johnson & Johnson will produce a new baby shampoo called “Nothing But Tears,” guaranteed to make babies cry. This will toughen them up. In Valerie Strauss’s blog, “Nothing But Tears” is Common Core infused and endorsed by Emperor Bill Gates. “Because it’s never too early to grow the hell up! Guaranteed kindergarten ready! Extra grit!”
