LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Paul Karrer: Will Technology Widen the Achievement Gaps?

Paul Karrer teaches elementary school in Southern California, where many of his students are English language learners. Karrer worries that the demand for more expensive tools will not be a panacea. Instead, he fears, it will widen achievement gaps and reduce the schools’ budget for art, music, and other essential studies. Two years ago, Karrer wrote an open letter to President Obama that prescien

1 by dianerav / 1min 

Is This the Future of Urban Districts?

This teacher describes a series of moves in Philadelphia to save money by hiring uncertified nurses and replacing experienced teachers with TFA. Superintendent Hite is a Broad Academy graduate. She writes: “It is a discouraging day for Philadelphia teachers. The school district has been scrambling/fighting to find $50 million to call back laid off employees in order to open schools. “The mayor f

by dianerav / 3min mark as read  //  save

What Chile Must Do to Improve Education

Chilean researcher Alberto Gonzalez Torrez has read the posts about Chile and thinks the solutions are too timid. Here are his suggestions for what is needed to get free of free-market ideology: “I’ve been following the series of three blog posts about Chile, being a Chilean ed researcher myself. I believe Waissbluth’s contribution to the blog opens a debate of international relevance by showcasi

by dianerav / 15min 

Best Quote of the Day

In a front page story in the New York Times about the budget crisis in Philadelphia, parent leader Helen Gym said this: “The concept is just jaw-dropping,” said Helen Gym, who has three children in the city’s public schools. “Nobody is talking about what it takes to get a child educated. It’s just about what the lowest number is needed to get the bare minimum. That’s what we’re talking about here

by dianerav / 0min 

Will School Accountability Crash Like Wall Street?

Jason Stanford, Texas blogger, notes the growing number of scandals associated with “accountability,” and wonders whether school accountability will blow up like Wall Street did in 2008. He writes: “Just like AAA ratings on mortgage-backed securities led to Wall Street’s 2008 disaster, a rash of accountability scandals might be precursors to a similar public school crash. After years of promises

by dianerav / 15min 

Mysterious Disappearance: Gail Robinson’s Story about Test Prep

Earlier today I posted about a fine article by veteran journalist Gail Robinson, explaining that intense test prep was not enough to help many students. She wrote specifically about the Young Women’s Leadership School in Brooklyn and included a link to a video where the girls were chanting about how test prep would make them succeed. The story is still listed on the insideschools.org website but t

by dianerav / 5min 

When Test Prep Isn’t Enough

Gail Robinson has written a stunning article about the impact of the test score collapse in New York City. She begins by reminding us that students in New York City have been told for a decade that what matters most for their future and their schools is their test scores. They have done test prep, test prep, test prep, because the scores are so important. Nothing else matters so much to their futu

1 by dianerav / 9min 

The Tortoise and the Hare in School Reform

Rachel Levy, education blogger and essayist, reflects on the reformy love of urgent change and disruption. When you read the reformy tracts, there is always appeals to act without delay or even pausing to think. We must act now, they say, the situation is desperate. Well, the situation may indeed be desperate but none of the reformy solutions actually work, and they usually make matters worse. If

by dianerav / 2min 

Jan Resseger: Is School Closure About “Underutilization” or Punishment?

Jan Resseger here examines the shifting rationales for school closures. Please be sure to read her blog. School closures are a signature issue of the corporate reform movement. When schools close, the students are dispersed, usually to equally low-performing schools. When schools close, communities are shattered. Closing schools is a classic strategy of corporate reform, because it is disruptive,

by dianerav / 5min mark as read  //  save

My Advice to the Next Mayor of New York City

In November, New Yorkers will elect a new mayor. It matters a lot for the future of public education in the city. The mayor has complete control of the city school system. The mayor appoints 8 of 13 members of the city school board, who serve at his pleasure. If one of his appointees dares to disagree with him, the mayor may fire him or her on the spot. Mayor Bloomberg has closed more than 100 sch

8 by dianerav / 1h 

Amy Prime: Some Good Ideas for Billionaires and Corporations

Amy Prime teaches second grade in Iowa. She has some excellent ideas for billionaires, millionaires, heads of corporations, and politicians who want to reform schools. If you really want to help, listen to Amy

by dianerav / 17min 

Diane in the Evening 8-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: How Albany Hurts ELLsState Commissioner John King, Regents’ Chancellor Merryl Tisch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Chancellor Dennis Walcott are proud of the Common Core tests that failed 70% of the children of New York State. They say it is “”very good news” that the tests got much harder. They don’t care that the achievement gaps

2 by mike simpson / 2h 

8-16-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

The Move To End The Common Core And Race To The Top Mandates In New York

NYC Educator posted that 25 Republicans have co-sponsored an interesting bill in the New York State Assembly:After having written my local Assembly person, Brian Curran, to fire Reformy John King, he wrote back the following:Thank you for your recent email.  I appreciate and encourage your initiative and participation in the legislative process. The Assembly Bill A.7994 was referred to the educati

1 by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Bloomberg Plans To Lease NYCHA Land To Private Developers To Get Money For "Repairs" In The Projects

In between his rants about stop-and-frisk and his belief that all NYCHA people should be fingerprinted, the mayor said he's going forward with NYCHA privatization plans:During his radio show today, Mr. Bloomberg also announced this morning that the city plans to move forward today with a controversial plan to open NYCHA land for private housing development to raise extra money for repairs.“We have

by reality-based edu... / 9min 

NY Times Poll: 2/3rds Of New Yorkers Say School System Same Or Worse after 12 Years Of Bloomberg's Control

This poll is a clear repudiation of Bloomberg's education "legacy"In a stinging assessment of the mayor’s priorities and effectiveness, however, two-thirds of New Yorkers say they believe that the quality of the city’s long-troubled school system has stayed the same or become worse since he took office in 2002, despite his vigorous pledges to improve it....There is equally strong opposition to the

by reality-based edu... / 38min

Bloomberg: People Living In Housing Projects Need To Be Fingerprinted

As he gets closer to the end of his reign of error, he gets more and more authoritarian:In a bid to boost security at public housing complexes, Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning suggested fingerprinting residents so they can access their homes. “What we really should have is fingerprinting to get in. And of course there’s an allegation that some of these apartments aren’t occupied by the people

by reality-based edu... / 4min 

What's Wrong With Bill Thompson That So Few People Know Him?

The NY Times looks at Bill Thompson's struggle to get noticed in the mayor's race:There were a lot of reasons to believe that this would be the year for Mr. Thompson. He was the Democratic nominee in 2009, when he stunned many by coming within five percentage points of unseating Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, despite being outspent by more than $100 million. He is the only African-American candidate

by reality-based edu... / 4min 

Obama Administration Warns Three States To Tie Teacher Evaluations To Test Scores Or Lose NCLB Waivers

The Obama administration threatens three states who they say are not complying with their teacher evaluations tied to test scores dictates:The Education Department said Thursday that three of 40 states granted waivers from the No Child Left Behind law were at high risk of losing them, because they either have been slow to link teacher evaluations with student achievement or had adopted programs th

by reality-based edu... / 8min

  Allegations That Anthony Weiner Had Relationship With Congressional Staffer

Inevitable - more allegations involving Anthony Weiner:Before he married his wife, Anthony Weiner had a previously undisclosed relationship with an on-again-off-again congressional and campaign aide nearly two decades his junior. In pushing back against the publication of this story, the spokeswoman for his current mayoral campaign, Barbara Morgan, phoned The New York Observer‘s editor in chief. P

by reality-based edu... / 7h 

8-15-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:  Why Is Obama So Desperate To Improve Internet Access In Schools?President Obama has decided to tack on a $5 a year fee to every cell phone account for the next five years in order to raise funds to increase high speed internet access in schools around the country.The fees are expected to generate $6 billion dollars in three years and sunset in 2017.The move has generated a

by mike simpson / 8h

8-16-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

AFT Drops Hammer on Dearborn Federation of School Employees

If I could Photoshop guess whose face you'd see?Randi must think she is Lincoln after the Fort Sumpter attack. Are you surprised that our wonderful national union leaders in the AFT would resort to goon tactics when questions of secession arise within a local? These AFT people showed up at 1107 Washington , the DFSE office on Monday, July 22 at 9:00 a.m. demanding the keys, files, passwords, home

1 by ed notes online / 2h 

 

8-15-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Neo-liberalism and Ed Deform and Krugman on Rand Paul's "Better Dead than Fed"Ed Deform's connection to neo-liberalism can be defined in one dirty word: CHOICE CORE in Chicago began with 8 people reading Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" to try to make sense of what was being done to the schools because so much of it didn't make sense educationally or even rationally, the idea of a g

by mike simpson / 10h 

8-16-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Extremely Speculative Use of NAEP Data by “Reformers”

As much as I respect Steve Sawchuk, his “When Bad Things Happen to Good NAEP Data” is an example of When Good Reporters Face Bad Spin. He recounted examples of “misnaepery” or the misuse of NAEP data. In doing so, Sawchuk demonstrated a false equivalency between egregious violations of scholarship by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee’s […]

by John Thompson / 15min 

Memphis Commercial Appeal Picks Black Scapegoat to Blame for Charter School Cash Drain

The Gates plan for consolidating Memphis and Shelby County Schools has resulted in the kind of community fragmentation that has not been seen anywhere before.  At the poor core of Memphis are now almost forty charter chain gangs set up to segregate and contain black children, and they will complement the remaining public schools of […]

by Jim Horn / 6min 

Common Core Gravy Train: Profit for Coleman, College Board, and Testing Mania

Along with Michelle Rhee’s gravy train of hypocrisy, public education in the U.S. is under assault from the gravy train of profit driven by Common Core: The College Board is redesigning four of its testing programs so they reflect the Common Core State Standards and can be used for accountability, a project that adds yet […]

6 by plthomasedd / 4min 

Does @PeterMDeWitt like macaroni and cheese?

You never know what might be said on @the chalkface radio.  Last night we interviewed the PRINCIPLED PRINCIPALS’ PRINCIPAL—Peter DeWitt.  How is it possible to talk about macaroni and cheese, AC/DC, “getting off”, data, common core, and ANGER?  Listen for yourself.  And if you actually learn how to kick a little reformer butt by the […]

6 by Timothy D. Slekar / 7h 

8-15-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: The myth of failing schools and the unforgiven sins of wealth and powerThere are no failed or failing schools! But there are plenty of buildings that serve as museums to display the failed social policies and economic disparities inflicted by politicians and their wealthy financiers. A kindergarten class overcrowded with 35 children who lack basic healthcare, nutri

by mike simpson / 11h 

Governor Andy Writes Education Policy Erotica southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Governor Andy Writes Education Policy Erotica

 Dear Forum;

Just to let the readers know, I am a governor of a major Northeast state and dabble in educational matters. For reasons that are obvious I can’t really say who I am.

I know the following might seem like a funny coincidence, but rest assured, everything is true.

One day as I was working in the backyard of the Executive Mansion, I noticed my next door neighbor, a young man with a goatee and glasses, gardening in his backyard without a shirt. Intrigued, I said a quick hello and introduced myself to him from the fence separating our two properties.

“Hi, I am Andy, the governor of this state,” I said slyly.

My neighbor gave me the once over and told me his name is John, a former charter school leader and that he had degrees from 3 Ivy League schools and was looking for a new challenge. I thought to myself, “Boy, do I have something for him.”

 We decided to have a drink in the outdoor hot tub of the Executive Mansion.  John and I were in bliss as we jumped into the hot tub together. But strangely, something inside 

Louisiana Educator: Good News! EBR Drops Teacher Firing Quota; Decimation Still Looms

Louisiana Educator: Good News! EBR Drops Teacher Firing Quota; Decimation Still Looms:

Good News! EBR Drops Teacher Firing Quota; Decimation Still Looms

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board revised its strategic plan last night and dropped its 25% teacher firing quota. This was a sensible action that will remove a misguided threat that would have really damaged the morale of teachers in this large school system.

 I had stated that such a policy would have decimated the teaching force for EBR. But there is still an intentional decimation of teachers coming from our state level. My friend Herb Bassett informed me that the term "decimation" is really a Latin term that comes from a practice of the Roman army of punishing an entire unit (you really need to read this Wikipedia account of decimation) of mutinied or disobedient solders by executing one tenth of the group using a lottery system. I guess this is sort of like what White and his DOE are doing with the imposition of the 10% VAM quota. Sadly VAM is almost as indiscriminate as the execution lottery used by the Romans.

I want to remind everyone that this 10% teacher "ineffective" 

How students are being set up to fail:

How students are being set up to fail

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 16 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

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Are school children being set up to fail? Jeff Bryant, an associate fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, thinks so and explains in this post. Bryant is the owner of a marketing and communications consultancy that serves organizations including Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, PBS, and International Planned Parenthood Foundation. He writes extensively about public education policy at The Education Opportunity Network. Follow Jeff on Twitter: jeffbcdm

By Jeff Bryant

I have this recurring nightmare – one that, I fear, is about to become reality for most of America’s school children.

In my dream, I’m back in elementary school. It’s testing day and I’m struggling to remember my locker combination and get to class on time. My backpack implausibly opens and spills its contents into the hallway. Indifferent schoolmates rush by.

Finally I’m seated in class. The other students are already busily filling out their tests. An unfriendly proctor passes out the exam, and as I scan down the page, my stomach seizes into knots. I can’t answer a single question. The math problems are a confusion of numbers and symbols. The readings are worded with vocabulary totally foreign to me.

Oh, and did I mention I’m not wearing any pants?

Why do I fear my recurring nightmare – except the part about not wearing any pants – 

An Idiot’s Guide to the Common Core The Santa Barbara Independent

An Idiot’s Guide to the Common Core The Santa Barbara Independent:

An Idiot’s Guide to the Common Core

California Schools Adopt New Standards

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Thursday, August 15, 2013

by BRANDON FASTMAN (CONTACT)

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This school year, teachers will begin to implement the most significant changes to classroom instruction since California first adopted standards in 1998. Along with 45 other states, three territories, and Washington, D.C., the Golden State is betting its kids’ futures on new guidelines called the Common Core State Standards. This new touchstone is largely the result of pressure from the federal government, which told states they would be ineligible for Race to the Top funds if they did not adopt internationally vetted standards. (Ironically, California will not be eligible in the near future anyway because both the governor and the California Teachers Association refuse to adopt statewide teacher evaluations based on standardized test scores.)

Common Core does not dictate curricula, but it sets goals for K-12 classrooms that emphasize depth over breadth. The new standards are supposed to be fully implemented by 2015, but that means