Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/20/16

Featured Post

Charter school bill calls for accountability - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools - Initiatives & Programs (CA Dept of Education)

by mike simpson / 6min

Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools - Initiatives & Programs (CA Dept of Education) : Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools Recognizing the important role of public schools in preparing students for participation in our democracy. What's New The application deadline for the 2016-17 Civic Learning Award for Public Schools is now open. Applications are due on January 9, 2017. A comm

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights'

by mike simpson / 18min

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights' : The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights' Created with consent of the governed. Chicago Tribune editors are calling for a "Schoolchild's Bill of Rights." As anyone familiar with the Trib might guess, Sunday's editorial has little to do with schoolchildren or their rights--except, t

The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington | Seattle Education

by mike simpson / 20min

The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington | Seattle Education : The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington WA State Supreme Court Judge Barbara Madsen The Network for Public Education Action is proud to announc

Making Education Great Again - a rally in the Valley

by mike simpson / 4h

Making Education Great Again - a rally in the Valley : "Making education great again!" Oh, edu-friends! Sometimes I can hardly keep a straight face at the forces trying to destroy public education. So, this time, I didn't even try. I hope you'll laugh, too I wish you could have been in LA LA Land with me last weekend! I made a video for you in case you missed the charter rally in the va

“It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” – Cloaking Inequity

by mike simpson / 6h

“It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” – Cloaking Inequity : “It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” Will I see you in New York next week? I’ll be trekking to the East Coast for a day to attend the Journey for Justice conference at SUNY Old Westbury. After the conference at SUNY, thousands are expected to demonstrate at the Sept. 26th president

Thanks Gov. Snyder: Mother of Four Scammed in Flint Water Disaster

by mike simpson / 7h

Thanks Gov. Snyder: Mother of Four Scammed in Flint Water Disaster FLINT WOMAN Scammed: Mother of 4, Tammy Loren has only a few years to live because of Flint's water disaster. Governor Snyder switched the source of tap water for Flint residents to the polluted Flint River, which caused many citizens to become ill. But, that didn't stop one company from tricking Tammy Loren to promote their water

CURMUDGUCATION: USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans

by mike simpson / 8h

CURMUDGUCATION: USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans : USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans The United States Department of (Privatizing) education is touting another boneheaded idea , this time aimed at preschool and using yet one more unproven approach-- pay for success. What is that, exactly? Here's the explanation from the USED FAQ page : Pay for success (PFS) is an innovative

Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance - The Hechinger Report

by mike simpson / 8h

Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance - The Hechinger Report : Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance Don’t blame high school football players for desecrating our secular religion Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams in their NFL ga

Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us | EdSource

by mike simpson / 8h

Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us | EdSource : Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us Linda Darling-Hammond Leib Sutcher When the new Smarter Balanced test scores (part of California’s new assessment system known as CAASPP ) came out last month, Californians engaged in what is now a time-honored routine — noting that scores inched up but large equity g

Louisiana Educator: Louisiana Accountability System Changes to Reflect Political Goals

by mike simpson / 8h

Louisiana Educator: Louisiana Accountability System Changes to Reflect Political Goals : Louisiana Accountability System Changes to Reflect Political Goals Note to Readers: The following post by Herb Bassett traces the history of test-based accountability in Louisiana from 1999 to the present. Mr Bassett's analysis demonstrates that the grading and ranking of our schools and teachers based on stu

U.S. Department of Education Finally Begins to Regulate Charters: Thank You Sen. Sherrod Brown | janresseger

by mike simpson / 9h

U.S. Department of Education Finally Begins to Regulate Charters: Thank You Sen. Sherrod Brown | janresseger : U.S. Department of Education Finally Begins to Regulate Charters: Thank You Sen. Sherrod Brown Charter Schools are defined by their freedom from regulation and oversight, but that freedom has been so regularly abused by unscrupulous operators that it seems the U.S. Department of Educatio

Teaching Advanced Placement Composition: Technology Integration | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by mike simpson / 9h

Teaching Advanced Placement Composition: Technology Integration | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Teaching Advanced Placement Composition: Technology Integration Room 409 at Los Altos High School in the south San Francisco Bay area is one of the most spacious for an academic subject —nearly the size of two regular classrooms–I have ever seen in the many schools I have visite

Business groups warn Regents on Common Core | Crain's New York Business

by mike simpson / 9h

Business groups warn Regents on Common Core | Crain's New York Business : Business groups warn Regents on Common Core Opponents of tougher education standards cannot be placated, so state education officials should not bother trying, a letter to the Board of Regents argues As the state Board of Regents prepares to tweak New York's version of Common Core, business groups and other supporters of th

Audio: Envisioning a 'leaner' LA Unified HQ, superintendent asks for plan to cut central office by 30 percent | 89.3 KPCC

by mike simpson / 9h

Audio: Envisioning a 'leaner' LA Unified HQ, superintendent asks for plan to cut central office by 30 percent | 89.3 KPCC : Envisioning a 'leaner' LA Unified HQ, superintendent asks for plan to cut central office by 30 percent Superintendent Michelle King has asked managers in the Los Angeles Unified School District's central offices to submit plans outlining how they would slash their department

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools: Part 9 (TFA)

by mike simpson / 9h

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools: Part 9 (TFA) : Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools: Part 9 (TFA) Teacher attrition is high enough that "No Excuses" charter schools could not keep their doors open without a constant infusion of new blood from Teach for America and penal preparation programs like Relay . In the chapter below from Work Hard, Be Hard . . . con

Special Ed. Irony: CT Gov. Malloy and Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher

by mike simpson / 9h

Special Ed. Irony: CT Gov. Malloy and Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher : Special Ed. Irony: CT Gov. Malloy and Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher In every state we see an erasing of services for students with disabilities. Consider how Texas managed to omit an appropriate education for students with special needs . My guess is that in whatever state you live, special education is in trouble. How many children

No charter schools, lots of play: the secrets of Europe’s top education system | Education | The Guardian

by mike simpson / 9h

No grammar schools, lots of play: the secrets of Europe’s top education system | Education | The Guardian : No grammar schools, lots of play: the secrets of Europe’s top education system In Finland children don’t start school until they are seven, but what happens before that is even more important Gaining on the swings: Franzenia daycare centre, Helsinki, where the emphasis is on creative play.

As if being 12-years-old wasn't hard enough, a new study confirms many schools make it even harder because of the theory of top dog, bottom dog — Quartz

by mike simpson / 10h

As if being 12-years-old wasn't hard enough, a new study confirms many schools make it even harder because of the theory of top dog, bottom dog — Quartz : As if being 12-years-old wasn’t hard enough, a new study confirms many schools make it even harder The transition from elementary school at about age 11, to middle school, is notoriously hard, and researchers have documented that a lot of kids

What rights does a disabled child have at school?

by mike simpson / 10h

What rights does a disabled child have at school? : What rights does a disabled child have at school? Lyle Denniston, Constitution Daily’s Supreme Court correspondent, looks at a case under consideration for the Supreme Court that could clarify national educational standards for disabled children in the public school system. Over a period of more than four decades, the national government has mov

White House Looks to Battle Sexual Trauma in K-12 Schools | US News

by mike simpson / 10h

White House Looks to Battle Sexual Trauma in K-12 Schools | US News : Battling Sexual Trauma in K-12 Schools As researchers study why girls of color are disproportionately suspended, one issue stands out: sexual trauma. Her mother had just dropped her off at school when second-grader Irma Lopez turned to see law enforcement agents take her into custody for having expired immigration documents – a

Will school libraries soon be gone?

by mike simpson / 10h

Will school libraries soon be gone? : Will school libraries soon be gone? Teachers and librarians from across the state gathered in Howell Township over the weekend to discuss how to advocate funding for a new legislation that could affect the future of school libraries. Over the past 15 years, school libraries have suffered due to the No Child Left Behind Act. School library funding was left out

Want to be able to buy a house in California? Don’t become a teacher. - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 10h

Want to be able to buy a house in California? Don’t become a teacher. - The Washington Post : Want to be able to buy a house in California? Don’t become a teacher. Teachers’ salaries have been rising in California, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with soaring housing prices, according to a new analysis that could shed some light on one reason why the Golden State is having trouble finding e

Michigan teachers demoralized, union survey says

by mike simpson / 10h

Michigan teachers demoralized, union survey says : Michigan teachers demoralized, union survey says A first-time combined survey by the state’s two teachers unions reveals widespread disappointment, demoralization and discontent among their members. The results were consistent from Detroit to Grand Rapids and the Upper Peninsula. The presidents of AFT Michigan and the Michigan Education Associati

Livermore charter schools, school district trade barbs over rumors

by mike simpson / 10h

Livermore charter schools, school district trade barbs over rumors : Livermore charter schools, school district battle over rumors LIVERMORE — The Tri-Valley Learning Corp. and the Livermore school district have begun a back-and-forth battle as each claims the other is spreading false rumors. Earlier this month, TVLC, via its Menlo Park-based Procopio law firm, sent a cease-and-desist order to th

YESTERDAY

Yohuru Williams: Why The NAACP Moratorium On Charters Really Matters To Our Public Schools | Huffington Post

by mike simpson / 22h

Why The NAACP Moratorium On Charters Really Matters To Our Public Schools | Huffington Post : Why The NAACP Moratorium On Charters Really Matters To Our Public Schools While one might be tempted to laugh off Donald Trump’s recent efforts to craft a “ Civil Rights Agenda ,” his labors punctuate a long history of attempted appropriation. Politicians and others have tried to assume the mantle of the

Trump Selects Two People for His Education Transition Team | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 22h

Trump Selects Two People for His Education Transition Team | deutsch29 : Trump Selects Two People for His Education Transition Team According to a September 19, 2016, article written by Andrew Ujifusa of Education Week , according to “multiple sources,” Donald Trump has two individuals in line to lead his transition team in education if Trump becomes president. The first is Williamson “Bill” Ever

The Bridgegate trial’s six biggest shockers |

by mike simpson / 22h

The Bridgegate trial’s six biggest shockers | : The Bridgegate trial’s six biggest shockers Political corruption trials—even those with high-profile defendants—rarely produce genuine surprises. But the opening day of the Bridgegate trial generated at least a half-dozen shockers, some of which may change both the political landscape and similar trials in New Jersey for a long time to come. Here’s

Audio: Court rejects California teacher evaluation lawsuit AGAIN | 89.3 KPCC

by mike simpson / 22h

Audio: Court rejects California teacher evaluation lawsuit | 89.3 KPCC : Audio: Court rejects California teacher evaluation lawsuit AGAIN On Monday Northern California Judge Barry Goode denied the claims in the Doe v. Antioch Unified lawsuit – the second legal setback in recent months to education advocates who believe ineffective teacher have too many job protections. Lawyers who filed the suit

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/19/16

by mike simpson / 1d

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/19/16 Featured Post After court threat, Fearless Leader removed Flint's power to sue Tom Torlakson Honors Latino Heritage Month - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education) by mike simpson /

Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools

Recognizing the important role of public schools in preparing students for participation in our democracy.

What's New

The application deadline for the 2016-17 Civic Learning Award for Public Schools is now open. Applications are due on January 9, 2017. A committee comprised of representatives from the California Department of Education, Judicial Branch, and other business and education leaders will review the applications. Recipients will be announced in February 2017.

About the Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools

The Civic Learning Award for public schools is co-sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye. We recognize and value the important role of public schools in preparing students for participation in our democracy, and have a partnership to support civic education in California. The awards are designed to both celebrate successful efforts to engage students in civic learning and to identify successful models that can be replicated in other schools.

The Civic Learning Award program has three levels: Awards of Excellence, Distinction, and Merit. Winners will be selected by a panel of experts based on the depth and breadth of their civic learning classes, clubs, and programs. Award of Excellence winners will receive a personal visit from Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye; Award of Distinction winners will be visited by an appellate court justice; and superior court judicial officers will provide recognition to schools receiving the Award of Merit. Each winner in the top two categories will receive a plaque and be invited to a California Gold Ribbon Award Banquet hosted by the California Department of Education.

We hope that you will take this opportunity to recognize the civic educators at your school and share this information with them.

These resources are also available on the California Courts Civics Education Web page

Civic Learning Award For CA Public Schools - Initiatives & Programs (CA Dept of Education):

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights':

The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights'

Created with consent of the governed.

Chicago Tribune editors are calling for a "Schoolchild's Bill of Rights." As anyone familiar with the Trib might guess, Sunday's editorial has little to do with schoolchildren or their rights--except, that is, for their right to have their schools closed or privatized and their teachers debased.

The Trib's Bill of Rights includes not a single right for students, but instead includes things like:

Merit Pay for teachers, a oft-tried initiative which, according to researchers, produced no gains in measurable learning outcomes.
Using student test scores to evaluate teachers. Already the law in IL.
Widespread school "choice," the Trib's code word for school vouchers and privately-run charters. Trib editors write: "The public education industry should view ethnic, parochial or other private schools not as threats but as alternatives that enrich and diversify a community's educational offerings."
An end to collective bargaining, including the right to strike.
Parent Trigger Laws which enable a small and temporary group of parents to take over a school and hand it over to a private, for-profit company to operate. As you might expect, there's nothing about parents' right to opt-out of the plague of standardized testing.
Mass closing of black and Latino neighborhood schools and leaving boarded-up buildings to further blight communities or sell them off to condo developers. Again, too late. They're already doing it.

In other words, there's not much on this list that hasn't been going on for years in Chicago, without any positive results.

Trib editors' ideal schools chief.

The only thing surprising here is the Trib editors' use ofBill of Rights lingo to promote their extreme right-wing reform agenda. Remember it was the same board members who, in a previous editorial, called for CPS to be taken over by an autocrat with "Mussolini-like powers" to execute and implement that agenda.

I'm afraid that would leave Chicago kids with little more Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Tribune's so-called 'Schoolchildren's Bill of Rights':

The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington | Seattle Education

The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington | Seattle Education:

The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington

WA State Supreme Court Judge Barbara Madsen

The Network for Public Education Action is proud to announce its support for Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington. Madsen was first elected to the Washington State Supreme Court in 1992, and she has been re-elected every four years since then.

Barbara Madsen was unanimously elected Chief Justice twice by her peers. Yet, this election there is a strong movement to defeat her. That movement has drawn huge contributions from charter school supporters because Madsen authored the court’s 6-3 decision that found that charter schools were not entitled to public monies because they were directed by private boards instead of representatives elected by the community. Stand for Children, Reed Hastings and other proponents of charters have contributed to the campaign to defeat her and support her opponent, Republican Greg Zempel.

Although it is unusual for the Network for Public Education Action to endorse a judicial candidate, we believe that in this case an endorsement is warranted.

According to NPE Action Board President, Diane Ravitch, “Madsen is a judge of great integrity who cares deeply about justice and equity. As an organization devoted to strengthening and improving our nation’s public schools, we are grateful for Judge Madsen’s defense of the right of every child in Washington to an ample public education.”

Madsen will face her opponent, Zempel, on November 8.The Network for Public Education Action and Seattle Education endorse Barbara A. Madsen for the Supreme Court of the State of Washington | Seattle Education:

Karen Wolfe: Making Education Great Again - a rally in the Valley

Making Education Great Again - a rally in the Valley:

"Making education great again!"

Oh, edu-friends! Sometimes I can hardly keep a straight face at the forces trying to destroy public education. So, this time, I didn't even try. I hope you'll laugh, too

I wish you could have been in LA LA Land with me last weekend! I made a video for you in case you missed the charter rally in the valley!

Now that headlines from across the nation, of the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, the Network for Public Education, and the ACLU have all made clear—and John Oliver made hilarious—that the charter emperor has no clothes, the California charter lobby took its carnival to its favorite corporate reform playground, Los Angeles. Pacoima to be exact. The last bastion of that little inconvenience of democracy, the largest school district in the country that still holds school board elections, LAUSD.
Edu-friends, I thought I had stumbled into a Trump rally. It really made me feel like these folks are our only chance at making education great again.

“When I say ‘parent’ you say ‘power’!” Corporate reform champion and LAUSD board member Monica Garcia shouted.

There were t-shirts with catchy phrases like “Fierce Learner”. Although I don’t know who let the guy slip in with an off-message t-shirt that read, “Public education is not for sale”. Ha!

There were t-shirts with metaphors like Phoenix! I could almost smell the smoke rising from the ashes. Although, let’s face it, that might have been the fresh aroma of bull****. Some hoped you’d forget they were any metaphor at all. Could the M.I.T. t-shirts actually, officially, almost be connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Oh, who cares? Details, details!

The point is, these kids have a great shot at getting into a school like that because they received extra credit for attending this rally! Several of them told me so.

There were other ways to tell this was no ordinary rally. It was literally on—wait for it—AstroTurf! That’s right, edu-friends. Mere grass isn’t good enough for these disrupters!

It was like a carnival!

Just listen to this charter school principal shriek--I mean lead-- the crowd.

“You have MORE accountability for MORE student learning! Can we do it? YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! SI, SE PUEDES [sic],” she cheered.

Only 5% of California’s students attend charters, but this rally looked like the whole world had descended to celebrate charters! They boasted 3000 attendees. The cop I asked estimated 900-1000.

So how did these folks get here? Nothing is left to chance by the charter lobby. They had buses! But it was billed as a march, so a march it will be! Buses Making Education Great Again - a rally in the Valley:

“It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” – Cloaking Inequity

“It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” – Cloaking Inequity:

“It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…”

Will I see you in New York next week? I’ll be trekking to the East Coast for a day to attend the Journey for Justice conference at SUNY Old Westbury.

After the conference at SUNY, thousands are expected to demonstrate at the Sept. 26th presidential debate in protest of public education cuts in African American and Latino communities across the nation.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to watch the march and debate on my five hour flight back to Sacramento on Jetblue.

The Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J) is a national network of inter-generational, grassroots community organizations led primarily by Black and Brown people in 24 U.S. cities. With more than 40,000 active members, we assert that the lack of equity is one of the major failures of the American education system. Current U.S. education policies have led to states’ policies that lead to school privatization through school closings and charter school expansion which has energized school segregation, the school-to-prison pipeline; and has subjected children to mediocre education interventions that over the past 15 years have not resulted in sustained, improved education outcomes in urban communities.

This from Journey for Justice and Jitu Brown.

CHICAGO – A national coalition of parents, students, teachers and activists have vowed to travel to Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Monday, September 26th, and join with thousands of other people who will protest the first presidential debate due to cuts in public education and the impact on students of color. Activists, led by the Journey for Justice Alliance, have demanded Democratic nominee Sec. Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump release their respective K-thru-12 education platforms and meet with school leaders prior squaring off.

A coalition led by the Journey for Justice Alliance (J4JA) with more than 40,000 members from 24 cities across the US is galvanizing. Organizers say they will release a seven-point platform that tackles school privatization, the school-to-prison pipeline, standardized testing and a myriad of other failed education interventions that have led to massive school closings, charter proliferation and other schemes that have not improved education outcomes in urban communities.

“Our voices have been locked out of any discussion about public education during the race to the White House,” said Jitu Brown, national director J4JA. “Both Clinton and Trump have closed their ears to those of us who have protested, boycotted, waged hunger and teacher “It matters to me who becomes the next U.S. Education Secretary…” – Cloaking Inequity:

Thanks Gov. Snyder: Mother of Four Scammed in Flint Water Disaster

Thanks Gov. Snyder: Mother of Four Scammed in Flint Water Disaster

FLINT WOMAN Scammed: Mother of 4, Tammy Loren has only a few years to live because of Flint's water disaster. Governor Snyder switched the source of tap water for Flint residents to the polluted Flint River, which caused many citizens to become ill. But, that didn't stop one company from tricking Tammy Loren to promote their water purifier company. One New Jersey woman, Ginny LaConte Caroselli, who markets water systems, allegedly opened a Go Fund Me Account and surprised Tammy Loren with a promise to deliver a water purifier to her family to remove excess lead and other contaminants from the dying woman's body. Donations were requested to buy water purifiers for Flint. Tammy Loren shared the GoFundMe account with everyone. The purifier never came. The company says they did donate a machine to the community, and that the Go Fund Me money was used for airfare and hotel for the company representatives.

From Tammy Loren's Facebook page:

It's absolutely carzy how a person can become so evil! Knowing I have less then 5 years to live and my entire family is sick! We were promised a donation of the Kangen Water Machine but apparently we salvaged the#ClearWater4Flint event! But yet where is the go fund money raised? They slipped and admitted it all went to their airfare hotel stay and food and transportation. Ginny LaConte Caroselli Syrah Scott with The Be You Campaign Jenni Marie and Umi of brookland advantages and Michele Dudley Evans apparently would rather continue to see our children suffer in pain daily and Ken as well and see me die since I only have less then years anyway. Karma is a BITCH!! Thank god my hands are 100% clean! Come in Flint and commit fraud how dare you!!

Pictures provided along with original post

https://m.facebook.com/story.php…

CURMUDGUCATION: USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans

CURMUDGUCATION: USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans:

USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans

The United States Department of (Privatizing) education is touting another boneheaded idea, this time aimed at preschool and using yet one more unproven approach-- pay for success.

What is that, exactly? Here's the explanation from the USED FAQ page:

Pay for success (PFS) is an innovative contracting and financing model that aims to test and advance promising and proven interventions while paying only for successful outcomes or impacts for families, individuals, and communities. Through a PFS project, a government (or other) entity enters into a contract with an Investor to pay for the achievement of concrete, measurable outcomes for specific people or communities. Service providers deliver interventions to achieve these outcomes. Payments, known as Outcomes Payments, are made only if the intervention achieves those outcomes agreed upon in advance. The government (or other) entity makes Outcomes Payments to repay Investors for the costs of services (and sometimes other projects costs) plus a modest return. Ideally, Outcomes Payments amount to a fraction of the short- and long-term cost savings to the government (or other) entity resulting from the successful outcomes.

Pay for Success is the zippier nom de guerre of Social Impact Bonds. If you want my "for dummies" explanation, you can look here. If you want a grown-up's fully detailed explanation, complete with sad history, I recommend this piece by Tim Scott.

The basic idea is this. The government gets an investor to foot the bill for what's supposed to be a government program. Then if the task is completed successfully for less than the government had set aside to do the task, the government reimburses the investor for the program costs and as a bonus, the taxpayers' "savings" are magically transformed into the private investor's "earnings." It is this big time version of telling the babysitter, "Here's ten bucks to get supper. You can keep whatever change there is."

Let me rattle off just a quick list of why this is a dumb way to do business in the-- well, it's actually a dumb way to do just about any sort of business, but let's stick to why it's a dumb way to do business in the education sector.

1) It literally sets the interests of the contractor against the interests of the children. Every dollar that the contractor spends on children is a dollar the contractor doesn't get to keep.

2) It builds a system around doing the absolute least we can get away with. "Spend the least you can get away with," say Social Impact Bonds, "to get the lowest acceptable results." Nobody tells their CURMUDGUCATION: USED, Pay for Success and Stupid Pre-K Plans:

Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance - The Hechinger Report

Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance - The Hechinger Report:

Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance

Don’t blame high school football players for desecrating our secular religion

Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams in their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 12, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

It’s not too much to sit out a national anthem when members your ethnic group can be shot dead in the street.

Many who have been critical of high school football players representing NFL quarterback Colin Kaeperneck’s protest would rather have blacks and other marginalized groups observe the United States flag as second-class citizens than for us to demand the unalienable rights we’re allegedly afforded.

Famous football players, writers and armchair critics argue that Kaeperneck-style protests to state sanctioned murder at the expense of our national rituals are counterproductive. To be “patriotic” by way of observance of national rituals is the most principled and effective way to bring attention to police brutality and build community. The flag and its associated rituals of observance allow everyone to protest, and that allowance is the community glue that binds us all. Herein lies the belief in the mother country – patriotism – that keeps us together.

Those who criticize high school players’ modest gestures of protest fail to recognize that second-class citizenry degrades real patriotism. When life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can be taken away because you’re not considered an authentic member of America, the ritual of pledges are purely symbolic. A reasonable amount of justice is required for authentic patriotism. Protesters are simply demanding America to do its part.

Most often, detractors wield patriotism to delay or deny the just allocation of unalienable rights and other political goods that black people are owed.

Now, flag waving decriers are facing their worst nightmare: Disaffected young people are demanding receipts for revering the flag.

Join the conversation later on Andre Perry’s radio show, “Free College,” hosted Tuesdays on WBOK1230 in New Orleans at 3pm Central/4pm Eastern 504.260.9265.

Black people can’t eat, learn from, be housed by or be protected by American symbolism. Just economic, educational and housing Students have the right to demand receipts for pledging allegiance - The Hechinger Report:

Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us | EdSource

Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us | EdSource:

Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us

Linda Darling-Hammond Leib Sutcher

When the new Smarter Balanced test scores (part of California’s new assessment system known as CAASPP) came out last month, Californians engaged in what is now a time-honored routine — noting that scores inched up but large equity gaps remain.

Differentials by race, ethnicity, income, language background and disability status have become a common feature of the landscape, like our dry riverbeds and brush fires in the summertime — worrisome but not really viewed as solvable.

Thus, we typically have a “Home Alone” moment when we register wide-eyed shock as test score gaps are announced and then go about our business for another year without a purposeful analysis and determination to change the status quo

We believe it is important to dive into the data and take stock of what we can learn in order to identify the implications for educational improvement in the state and think carefully about next steps. This takes some doing, however. The state currently reports trends in terms of the proportion of students who “meet the standard,” a cut point set for each grade level, but does not focus on trends in the actual scores the students receive. (These scores are on a scale from 2000 to 3000 on the tests.) Users must go into the data set to calculate these trends themselves across test areas, years, and student subgroups.

Analyzing these trends in actual scores is especially important for understanding the performance of groups scoring well below or well above the “standards met” cut point used for reporting the data.

The Learning Policy Institute looked more closely at these data, tallying scale scores for student subgroups for each year while weighting scores from each grade level and year by the number of test takers to measure how much “growth” this year’s test scores showed compared to last year. We found some surprises offering both good news and bad news — and some clear indicators of where the state needs to dig in and work harder.

First the bad news: As the graphs below show, students with disabilities score low and show little growth. And many historically underserved racial/ethnic groups score well below white and Asian students and are gaining less rapidly, which contributes to a widening achievement gap. This includes African-American students, where the news is the worst, followed by Native American and Pacific Islander students.

Graph showing growth in scale score by subgroup in English. — SOURCE: LEARNING POLICY INSTITUTE
Note: Average scale scores are calculated by taking a weighted average of mean scales scores at each grade level according to the number of students with test scores. The numbers on the growth axis refer to the average gain in the number of scale score points for that group between 2015 and 2016.

And all of the news is worse in mathematics than in English language arts where both average scores and average growth are lower overall and for each Equity gap in California: what the new test scores tell us | EdSource:

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