Two important points about test-based accountability:

The new Answer Sheet

by Valerie Strauss

If The Answer Sheet looks different than it did yesterday, you are right. We’ve moved to a new publishing platform, which, hopefully, will make it easier for you to read and see more written and multimedia material. Engaging in an online discussion should be simpler too. At least that’s the hope.
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Two important points about test-based accountability

Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 5, 2012 at 6:30 am

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This post is an excellent look at the consequences to society of using standardized tests scores to evaluate students and educators. It was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. , and it originallyappeared on the institute’s blog.

 By Matthew Di Carlo

I have two points to make. The first is something that I think everyone knows: Educational outcomes, such as graduation and test scores, are signals of or proxies for the traits that lead to success in life, not the cause of that success.

For example, it is well-documented that high school graduates earn more, on average, than non-graduates. Thus, one often hears arguments that increasing graduation rates will drastically improve students’ future prospects, and the performance of the economy overall. Well, not exactly.

The piece of paper, of course, only goes so far. Rather, the benefits of graduation arise 

Beating ‘Compliance Acquiescence Disorder’ in school

by Valerie Strauss

The first piece I published by David Bernstein, in which he talked about how schools fail kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, obviously tapped a nerve out there because it got a lot of response. Here’s another post from Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., and has two sons, ages 7 and 15, who have ADHD.
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Modern School: Let Them Eat Bed Pans! Jerry Brown Vetoes Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Modern School: Let Them Eat Bed Pans! Jerry Brown Vetoes Domestic Workers Bill of Rights:

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Let Them Eat Bed Pans! Jerry Brown Vetoes Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

by Michael Dunn

Jerry Brown's Buffet for Domestic Workers (Image from Flickr, by dirty black chucks)

California’s “pro-labor” governor Jerry Brown has vetoed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (AB 889), authored by Tom Ammiano (San Francisco) and Fiona Ma (Oakland). The law would have allowed nannies, maids, home health care workers and other full-time domestic workers to cook their own meals in their employers’ kitchens and entitled them to the same overtime pay, guaranteed breaks, sick leave and workers compensation privileges already granted to most other workers.

According to a report by the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, 90% of 

Students Last: Invisibility Cloak For All Your Testing Needs

Students Last: Invisibility Cloak For All Your Testing Needs:

Invisibility Cloak For All Your Testing Needs

by Students Last

Need to hide a few students for upcoming exams? Afraid your school's test scores will be dragged down by low-performing special education students? Certain the English Language Learners will fail to make annual yearly progress?  Will students with poor attendance impact your whole school with their lousy test performance?

Invisibility Cloak (IC) can help.

IC uses a two-prong approach to optimize your student testing population. With our first approach, undesirable test-takers will be encouraged through a series of pre-written letters, engaging videos and scripted counseling sessions to leave your school. Package A urges students to pursue their GED; Package B gently suggests 

Must See TV « PWC Education Reform Blog

Must See TV « PWC Education Reform Blog:

Must See TV

by pwceducationreform

School Board Report for October 3, 2012 Meeting

In case you were otherwise occupied, last night the PWC School Board had a meeting and it was rather interesting.  If you only want to watch the exciting parts,  you can fast forward to the last 15 minutes for the board member comments.   As an administrative note, we are scrambling to catch up on our work and will be issuing reports on the school board meetings on September 5 and 19 as soon as possible.  We understand those meetings were long, but highly entertaining.

Here is a link to the Agenda for the Oct 3 2012 school board meeting from the PWCS web site.  The agenda is a useful guide when watching or attending board meetings as many of the line items are links that will take you to explanations of the item.

The meeting began a little late but

Louisiana Educator: Serious Flaws in VAM

Louisiana Educator: Serious Flaws in VAM:

Serious Flaws in VAM

by Michael Deshotels

I really hate to post this story because it is so negative. What we need most of all in Louisiana education today is some good news for a change. But it seems like our education hierarchy at the state level comprised as it is of rank amateurs, is destined to make one blunder after another. For now we will just need to keep exposing the truth and keep insisting on accountability at the top so the experienced and qualified professionals in the trenches can do their jobs of educating children without this constant harassment and demoralization.

I mentioned in one of my recent emails that there was ample evidence coming directly from Dr George Noell (the father of VAM in Louisiana) that the value added model is erratic and unreliable in measuring good and bad 

Do Schools Reform Society? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Do Schools Reform Society? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Do Schools Reform Society?

by larrycuban

In an article on Joe Giradi (nyer-jgirardi), manager of the New York Yankees baseball team, Gay Talese said: “Like religion, the game of baseball is founded on aspirations rarely met. It generates far more failure than fulfillment” (p.41). Insert “public schools” in place of “the game of baseball” and you have concisely summarized the history of school reform in the U.S.
The similarity between religion, baseball, and public schooling of “aspirations rarely met” is apt since in the U.S. going to school and acquiring credentials is, indeed, a secular catechism invoked daily by parents with their children, teachers with students, and reform-minded U.S. Presidents in debates with opponents.
And “aspirations rarely met” also applies to school reform. Here i

UPDATE: IEA rewards pension killers with massive campaign contributions. « Fred Klonsky

IEA rewards pension killers with massive campaign contributions. « Fred Klonsky:

If TRS Director Ingram went rogue on COLAs, why has their been silence from the TRS board?

by Fred Klonsky

Several days ago I reported on the interview that TRS Director Richard Ingram gave to Crain’s. He called for an end or reduction to retiree cost of living adjustments.
This is the second time Ingram seems to have gone rogue in his role as an employee of the Teacher Retirement System. He is work for the TRS Board of Trustees.
It is not Ingram’s job to involve himself in specific solutions to a crisis, which even he says in not an immediate one.
And in any case, we have said time and time again that cutting benefits, including cost of living adjustments, will not make up for the billions of dollars that the system is owed nor can it solve the problem of future funding.

IEA rewards pension killers with massive campaign contributions.

by Fred Klonsky

No Illinois legislator who was not running for higher office received more money from IPACE over the past decade than GOP Leader Tom Cross.
I recently encouraged IEA members to send a letter asking for an IPACE rebate. IPACE is the political action committee of the IEA.
This followed receipt of this year’s IPACE recommendations for the November 6th election.
The emails have not stopped coming in on member outrage over a number of the legislative recommendations.

Ten minute drawing. Rahm’s approval ratings sink.

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

Oakland, Alameda teachers named Alameda County Teacher of the Year - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Oakland, Alameda teachers named Alameda County Teacher of the Year - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

Oakland, Alameda teachers named Alameda County Teacher of the Year

Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 12:02 am in No Comments

Congratulations to the two Alameda County teachers of the year: I’Asha Warfield, from Oakland’s Frick Middle School, and Chris Hansen, from Alameda’s Lincoln Middle School.
They learned of the distinction last night, at an awards night organized by the Alameda County Office of Education. Now, they go on to compete for California Teacher of the Year.
In this video of Warfield, she talks about the conversations and debates that take place in her classroom. “I

Report: School turnarounds are based on faulty evidence

Thursday, October 4th, 2012 at 1:06 pm in No Comments

A policy brief on school turnarounds published this week — authored by Tina Trujillo of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education and Michelle Renée of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University — sharply criticizes a federal approach to improving schools, used in a number of Bay Area schools, that’s based on principles of competition and accountability.
It notes that School Improvement Grants, a program designed to “turn around” 5,000 of the nation’s lowest-scoring schools, offers schools only short-term financial support.
I’d love to hear what employees and families at Oakland’s four School Improvement Grant schools — Roots International, United for Success, Alliance Academy and Elmhurst Community School — think about the report, and the SIG program, itself.
Another excerpt: Read the rest of this entry »

NYC Educator: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

NYC Educator: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.:

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

by NYC Educator

Actually, in the case of unions, it probably doesn't matter whether the deed was good, bad or otherwise. The editorial pages made up their minds long ago.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew wrote an opinion piecein the Daily News, explaining that it is, in fact, Bloomberg who's blocking the much-vaunted evaluation system that we've all been reading about. Mulgrew correctly points out that there is a framework, and that he was instrumental in establishing it.

UFT sources have told me that Bloomberg is still angry 

All Things Education: In Virginia, the Bigotry of Crude Expectations

All Things Education: In Virginia, the Bigotry of Crude Expectations:

The Bigotry of Crude Expectations

by Rachel Levy

Recently (or not so recently by the time I'm posting this), the state of Virginia was granted a waiver from NCLB requirements. This has been a relief for many, but it's also caused further stress, in that it exchanges one yoke for another. Fairfax County, for example, had no plans to evaluate their teachers according to the standardized test scores of their students, but now is being required to due to conditions of the waiver.

However, because the goals in the waiver application for some children are lower than for others, there have also been cries of low expectations and racism. Virginia has since re-written their goals. Certainly, we should not have one set of expectations for one set of children and a lower one for another set simply based on their socio-economic status or race--the outcry is understandable. 

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 10-4-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

LAUSD & NO ON PROPOSITION 32 - CONNECTING THE DOTS

by Leonard Isenberg

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)There was a No On Proposition 32concert by Tom Morello and The Nightwatchmen opening forCrosby, Stills, & Nash last night at Nokia Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. On its face Proposition 32 purports to change state 

Romney Tax Cut: What's The Point?!

by Duke

This is out of my usual wheelhouse, but...

Romney says he will close a bunch of "loopholes" (most favor the rich) and get rid of tax deductions - that will bring in about $5 trillion.

He then wants to cut tax rates by that same $5 trillion (most of that would go to the rich). He says this plan is "revenue neutral."

OK...

What the hell is the point?!

He'll be taking in just as much money in taxes after his plan as before. So it doesn't provide more money to 

America's Invisible Poor Children

by Duke

I can't claim to have read all of the reporting and punditry following the debate. But it's remarkable that Diane Ravitch seems to be one of the very few people who noticed that childhood poverty is not a topic worthy of a presidential candidate's notice:

The Word Not Mentioned in the Debate

Poverty.

Lots of talk about the middle class. Tax cuts for the middle class. Saving the middle class. Doing more 

Americans for Prosperity Blasts Common Core

by Shane Vander Hart

I had a brief conversation with Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity Foundation about the Common Core at RightOnline in Las Vegas, but I don’t know if I’m the one who put it on their radar.  The Common Core State Standards was the focus of their August 2012 “Need to Know” newsletter.  I’m just glad they focused on it because it seems like it would be a good fit for them to take on as an issue.

An excerpt:

Common Core’s catch is that the federal government has a long history of mismanaging education, 

What Newt Gingrich told us about Mitt Romney

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is perhaps relevant to what was saw last night
Popout

Somebody who will lie to you to get to you get to be president will lie to you when they are President.

He is asked "are you calling Mitt Romney a liar?And Gingrich's answer is simple:  Yes.
What do you think?

The goal of the war against teachers: A conjecture

by skrashen

VILIFY and PUSH OUT TEACHERS, replace with temps and technology, make a lot of money for the .01%.
S. Krashen

"No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up." - Lily Tomlin,


The goal of the war against teachers is to eliminate the concept of teaching as a profession, to be replaced by temps (Teach for America, or TFAs) and eventually be replaced altogether by technology (ultimate goal of flipped 

Stealing wheelbarrows and the move to digital texts

by skrashen

Comment on “Arne Duncan calls for textbooks to become obsolete in favor of digital,” Huffington Post, Oct 2.
S. Krashen
Posted on:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/education-chief-wants-tex_0_n_1933469.html#postComment


Remember the old joke about the worker who left the factory everyday with a wheelbarrow full of sand? The 

On Stuyvesant High School and Having One Cocoa Puff In A Bowl of Milk [Why We Write]

by Jose

Bowl of Cocoa Puffs

In high school, my family used to get assorted flavors of high-sugar cereals. Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Corn Pops frequented the top of my fridge, and every morning, my brother and I would have a huge bowl of them just because. We’d pour so much milk into our bowls that we bought a gallon of milk every week (I later learned this wasn’t considered normal). When we found the magical crunch of chocolate cocoa puffs, we dug in. We’d have a bowl for breakfast, and a bowl on Friday and Saturday nights, just to hold us over during our midnight 

The in box. Glen Brown writes to Diane Ravitch on teacher pensions. Update. Ravitch responds.

by Fred Klonsky

Dear Diane Ravitch:

You are a powerful, reasonable, and articulate voice and an invaluable resource and forum for teachers in this country. Your blog offers rebuttals to many injustices, including educational reform, corporate privatization of public schools, and the denigration of teachers. Teachers need 

Ed Week’s: Bridging Differences

by debmeier

A reminder that Pedro Noguerra and I are just starting to figure out how to deal with our differences–and the prospect really excites me. Precisely because we agree on so much, the sharp disagreements we also have raise for me (and hopefully readers too) important further exploration!
Meanwhile keep your eyes out for Diane Ravitch’s many posted blogs. Terrific resource for us all.
And finally, if you have trouble finding Bridging Differences, look for my home page: deborahmeier.com

I'm So Tired of UNO

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I know Juan Rangel is this huge unstoppable force, but Gott in himmel I'm tired of his shtick.

This the heart of one of the most irksome things:

I mention that because charter supporters usually whine that it's unfair to compare them with higher-scoring schools whose students come from wealthier families. Which is the exact argument they disdain 

Two Things You Could Do

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Looks like Glen Brown has convinced Diane Ravitch to wade into the pension-raid crisis, and that's a good thing. I'm not sure exactly how the pension category is going to work within the architecture of her blog, but this is a good step.

It's weird that a 74 year-old historian in New York has such rock star power, but she does, and everyone knows it.

Please at least go leave a comment so that we can get some momentum over there. And definitely participate in 

Has attorney general confused charter school question? As Nancy Grace says, bring in the lawyers.

by Maureen Downey

As I noted yesterday, the charter school amendment battle has turned into a legal minefield, with charges and counter charges flying back and forth.
Olens was approached by pro-amendment interests, who haven’t been identified by their attorney Glenn Delk. They were aghast at the public opposition to the amendment by GOP school chief John Barge and by many school boards around the state. They thought it crossed a line.

The Invisible Children, Left Out of the Obama-Romney Debate

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman wonders how our two candidates for President spent two hours discussing domestic issues without noticing our nation’s greatest scandal: the nearly one in four children who live in poverty.

Perth Amboy Insanity

by Duke

I didn't think the madness in Perth Amboy could get worse. I was wrong:

State education officials today ordered Perth Amboy Schools Superintendent Janine Caffrey reinstated, overturning a city school board decision to place her on administrative leave, and marking the third time Caffrey was removed and then returned to office.

Assistant Commissioner Barrier Erlichson ordered the superintendent be returned to 

Parent-teacher communication

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Communication between K-12 teachers and parents has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Parent-teacher communication represents a primary form of parental support or involvement, elements which have recently received much attention given the connections between parental support and academic achievement. In fact, parental involvement at the K-12 level represents a major component in recent education policies at the 

What Makes Self-Directed Learning Effective?

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

In recent years, educators have come to focus more and more on the importance of lab-based experimentation, hands-on participation, student-led inquiry, and the use of “manipulables” in the classroom. The underlying rationale seems to be that students are better able to learn when they can control the flow of their experience, o

Factors to Help Parents and Professionals Recognize Teens in Distress

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, a University of Missouri public health expert has identified factors that will help parents, 

South LA Schools team up to fight reconsitution

by By Vanessa Romo

The conflict between activists and LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy over the district’s reconstitution of Dorsey High School is coming to a head. Just as the final deadline to prevent a school takeover looms for Dorsey (it has until Oct. 31 to submit a school reform plan), Crenshaw High School faces a similar process.
That’s why the two South LA schools joined forces and organized a public meeting tonight to inform Crenshaw 

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg? Parent/Teacher Communication!

by Oldschoolteach

I attend the same church as one of  my students’ parents. I know her mom very well.  After service she made, I guess what she thought was a joke, and said, “I have never had a teacher email the parents as much as you do! I asked my mom if you have a life?” I [...]