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Saturday, July 15, 2017

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/15/17



Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/15/17


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CURMUDGUCATION: Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing
by mike simpson / 16min
CURMUDGUCATION: Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing : Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing Every so often the OECD throws a big fat standardized test ( the PISA ) at fifteen-year-olds from a bunch of nations that have different cultures and speak different languages and then use the results to stack rank those nations, leading to a paroxysm of pearl clutching and teeth gnashing over the results. And it's always goo
Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? - The Washington Post
by mike simpson / 7min
Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? - The Washington Post : Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? Congress dedicates $15 million a year to a program that helps low-income D.C. students pay tuition at private schools, but it’s impossible for taxpayers to find ou
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Conversation on HCC, Part Two
by mike simpson / 15min
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Conversation on HCC, Part Two : Conversation on HCC, Part Two For this part of the discussion, I want to reiterate a few things I said in Part One. There are some parents don't believe that there could be that many children who are highly capable. To that I can only say that the feds, the state and the district all believe it is true and have allocated resources a
Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION Rural Schools and Phauxlanthropy
by mike simpson / 5h
CURMUDGUCATION : Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION Rural Schools and Phauxlanthropy 9 by Peter Greene / 1h Over at Philanthropy Roundtable, Andy Smarick has contributed a piece entitled "Don't Forget Rural Schools." which immediately attracted my attention because forgetting rural schools is something that pretty much everybody does, except for those of us who live and work in those areas. While I dis
California Can't Duck Hindu Students' Claim of Educational Bias
by mike simpson / 6h
California Can't Duck Hindu Students' Claim of Educational Bias : California Can’t Duck Hindu Students’ Claim of Educational Bias SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – A federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming California treats Hinduism unfavorably compared to other religions in its public education standards and framework. In refusing to dismiss one of four claims against the state, U.S.
McCleary: Changes for teachers, students in new schools budget plan | The News Tribune
by mike simpson / 6h
McCleary: Changes for teachers, students in new schools budget plan | The News Tribune : What teachers and students get out of the state’s school overhaul Much of the discussion about Washington’s new K-12 school reform has focused on how it might affect taxpayers . But the state’s plan to pour about $7.3 billion of new state money into public schools over the next four years will also bring big
Pennsylvania Charter Schools - The Morning Call
by mike simpson / 6h
Pennsylvania Charter Schools - The Morning Call : Pennsylvania Charter Schools My column Thursday pointed out some shortcomings of state House Bill 97, a purported charter school reform bill that has passed the House and the Senate in slightly different forms and now awaits House action to reconcile the differences. As I wrote in the column, the bill has been heavily criticized by various statewi
DeVos’ New Cause: The Rights of Those Accused of Raping Women on Campus | Alternet
by mike simpson / 6h
DeVos’ New Cause: The Rights of Those Accused of Raping Women on Campus | Alternet : DeVos’ New Cause: The Rights of Those Accused of Raping Women on Campus The alleged perpetrators of rape, according to the Trump administration, are the real victims. DeVos’ world gets stranger by the day. After hearing from rape victims, DeVos and her top civil rights official have decided to champion the rights
Franken introduces bill to fight teacher shortage | Brainerd Dispatch
by mike simpson / 7h
Franken introduces bill to fight teacher shortage | Brainerd Dispatch : Franken introduces bill to fight teacher shortage WASHINGTON—In what he called a major push to ensure children receive the best possible education, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., introduced new legislation to address nationwide teacher shortages. The Supporting Future Educators Act would help to prepare and retain outstanding
Registration still open for 3rd annual Better Together: California Teachers Summit on July 28 - InlandEmpire.us
by mike simpson / 7h
Registration still open for 3rd annual Better Together: California Teachers Summit on July 28 - InlandEmpire.us : Registration still open for 3rd annual Better Together: California Teachers Summit on July 28 Palm Desert, CA – Registration is open for the third annual Better Together: California Teachers Summit, set for Friday, July 28 at Cal State San Bernardino, the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus and
New indictment yields white collar crime, fraud, theft chargers for charter school companies | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment
by mike simpson / 7h
New indictment yields white collar crime, fraud, theft chargers for charter school companies | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com : New indictment yields white collar crime, fraud, theft chargers for charter school companies A charter school management company and two of its vendor companies face newly filed white collar crime charges, based on three indictments a gran
Betsy DeVos’ plan to sell out public schools is a Koch Brothers dream come true - Salon.com
by mike simpson / 7h
Betsy DeVos’ plan to sell out public schools is a Koch Brothers dream come true - Salon.com : Betsy DeVos’ plan to sell out public schools is a Koch Brothers dream come true The plutocratic policies pushed by DeVos and the Kochs reject our country's one-for-all, all-for-one egalitarianism Where are Charlie and Dave, Mrs. Koch’s two mischievous boys? While the Koch brothers have stayed out of the
Uproar Over Education Department Officials' Approach To Campus Sexual Assault : NPR Ed : NPR
by mike simpson / 8h
Uproar Over Education Department Officials' Approach To Campus Sexual Assault : NPR Ed : NPR : Uproar Over Education Department Officials' Approach To Campus Sexual Assault Hello! No shortage of education headlines even in the height of summer for our weekly roundup. DeVos meets with "men's rights" groups on campus sexual assault Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has indicated that she will loosen
Sleep In Saturday Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
by mike simpson / 8h
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Sleep In Saturday Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all “Democracy”: The New, For-Profit High School Rankings 5 by dianeravitch / 47min A regular reader uses the pseudonym. He/she posted this comment about high school rankings: “It isn’t just the US News & World Report school rankings that are dubious. I
A teacher’s anti-solution to a big problem - The Washington Post
by mike simpson / 8h
A teacher’s anti-solution to a big problem - The Washington Post : A teacher’s anti-solution to a big problem It’s no secret that teachers don’t get enough quality professional development — or even the kinds of development — that can help them grow as educators. That has been a particular frustration to Ashley Lamb-Sinclair, the 2016 Kentucky Teacher of the Year who teaches high school English a
Every Student Deserves to Be Heard - Lily's Blackboard
by mike simpson / 8h
Every Student Deserves to Be Heard - Lily's Blackboard : Every Student Deserves to Be Heard Students who are victims of sexual assault or harassment are often afraid they won’t be believed or taken seriously, and terrified they’ll be victimized in a different way by people who refuse to investigate their claims and even insinuate that they “asked for it” based on what they wore, said, or did. Rat

YESTERDAY

School Reform’s Hot Air Balloon | The Merrow Report
by mike simpson / 19h
School Reform’s Hot Air Balloon | The Merrow Report : School Reform’s Hot Air Balloon The current issue of The Washington Monthly contains an article by former journalist Thomas Toch, “Hot for Teachers,” the latest in continuing string of pieces designed to prove the “truth” of the school reform movement’s four Commandments: top-down management, high stakes testing, more money for teachers and pr
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/14/17
by mike simpson / 1d
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/14/17 Featured Post Author shelves teacher tenure bill; surprise alternative emerges | EdSource Betsy DeVos Calls for New Way Forward on Sexual Assault, But No Specifics - Politics K-12 - Education 

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CURMUDGUCATION: Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing

CURMUDGUCATION: Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing:

Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing

Image result for Kiddie PIzzA


Every so often the OECD throws a big fat standardized test (the PISA) at fifteen-year-olds from a bunch of nations that have different cultures and speak different languages and then use the results to stack rank those nations, leading to a paroxysm of pearl clutching and teeth gnashing over the results. And it's always good for some trauma because as long as the test has existed, the United States has ranked, to be generous, in the mediocre middle.

What could possibly make the whole PISA business even better?

How about giving a computer-based PISA to five year olds!


That'll be quite enough of that, you little slacker.

Over in the UK they're about to attempt a 300-student pilot of this extraordinarily hare-brained idea. And the US is supposedly also in on this, though Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium (among others) have said they will not be participating. Other reports are that the OECD is looking for three to six countries to play along.

The pilot will involve around 300 children, and uses games and stories on tablet computers to map pupils’ early capabilities – which will then be linked to educational performance at 15 through the international PISA tests given to teenagers across the globe every four years.

Is there some good reason to do this? Officials have tried to make a case for it. 

Researchers say the study will give countries an in-depth insight into children’s learning at a critical age enabling them to share best practice. 

The Early Learning and Child Well-being Study will be run on 3,000 students internationally in CURMUDGUCATION: Why Is Kiddie PISA a Thing:

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Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? - The Washington Post

Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? - The Washington Post:

Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent?




Congress dedicates $15 million a year to a program that helps low-income D.C. students pay tuition at private schools, but it’s impossible for taxpayers to find out where their money goes: The administrator of the D.C. voucher program refuses to say how many students attend each school or how many public dollars they receive.
It’s also not clear how students are performing in each school. When Congress created the program in 2004, it did not require individual private schools to disclose anything about student performance. And private schools can continue receiving voucher dollars no matter how poorly their students fare.
President Trump has said the D.C. voucher program is “what winning for young children and kids from all over the country looks like,” and he has freed up millions of dollars in federal funds to expand it, allowing nearly triple the number of students to participate by next school year.
He and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have also pledged to expand private-school choice programs across the country, many of which now make it difficult to track how tax dollars are Trump wants to spend millions more on school vouchers. But what’s happened to the millions already spent? - The Washington Post:
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Conversation on HCC, Part Two

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Conversation on HCC, Part Two:

Conversation on HCC, Part Two


For this part of the discussion, I want to reiterate a few things I said in Part One.

There are some parents don't believe that there could be that many children who are highly capable.  To that I can only say that the feds, the state and the district all believe it is true and have allocated resources and services to that end.  I note that the new McCleary budget includes extra dollars for programs like Sped, ELL and yes, highly capable. 

There are some parents believe it's all based on a single test score in order to get into the program.  That is not true and you can examine the application process and how the district's own committee decides on admission.

There are some teachers/administrators don't like HCC because some of their best learners leave the school after they are admitted into the program.  One reason could be the loss of test scores.  Another reason is the loss of students who help teachers drive the classroom by being generally engaged. 

I can understand their unhappiness but it is not the right of a teacher or principal to decide what program parents want their children to be in for the best academic outcomes.

If your belief system on highly capable students falls into either of those two groups, you probably won't be interested in what follows. 

This discussion is about changes to make the Highly Capable Cohort program more equitable and stronger.  In Part Three, we can discuss the other two parts of Advanced Learning, Spectrum and ALOs.

I will base most of this discussion not around what is currently provided in HCC but around how to find and serve as many students who could benefit from the program.  That's where the equity deficiency is and that's what needs the most attention.

That brings me to the Work Session in late spring called "Equity in Highly Seattle Schools Community Forum: Conversation on HCC, Part Two:


by Melissa Westbrook / 3h
I forgot to post this on the Friday Open Thread but Director Leslie Harris is having a community meeting today. It's from 3-5 pm at the Southwest Branch of Seattle Public Library, 9010 35th Ave SW. Don't let her sit there alone; it is the 
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