Sunday, September 8, 2013

9-8-13 Wait What?

Look Ma…. No hands! Another Charter School accused of doctoring the books…

So this time it is the “South Bronx Charter School Accused of Firing Whistleblower.” South Bronx Charter School: Enrollment of students with IEPs: 5.4 % compared to District average of 18.3 % Enrollment of English Language Learners: 7.7% compared to District average of 19%. South Bronx Charter School loses nearly 50 percent of the students […]The post Look Ma…. No hands! Another Charter School ac

3 by jonpelto / 34min

Commissioner’s Network Turnaround Plan: Strategy #1: “Increase fidelity”…

As if calling Steven Adamowski a “Special Master” wasn’t odd and disturbing enough, a recent document coming out of Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor’s office highlighted the bizarre, and quite frankly demeaning, approach taken by the corporate education reform industry when it comes to public education and public schools. An official document entitled “Commissioner’s Network […]The post Comm

3 by jonpelto / 40min

9-7-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Our Orwellian education policy, Part 2Two weeks ago, Wendy Lecker, Connecticut public education advocate and commentary writer for Hearst Media, Wendy Lecker, wrote Part 1 of a piece about George Orwell’s definition of “doublethink” explained Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s education reform strategy. (Part I can be found at: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/08/27/orwellian-education-policy-wendy-

by mike simpson / 20h

9-8-13 Jersey Jazzman: New Depths of Ignorance For the Star-Ledger

Jersey Jazzman: New Depths of Ignorance For the Star-Ledger:

New Depths of Ignorance For the Star-Ledger

ME (speaking with mouthful of muffin): Would it be wrong for me to write a post entitled: "Star-Ledger Editorial Board: the Stupidest People on Earth!" MRS. JAZZMAN (looking up from sipping smoothie): Yes, it would. Not only is it unnecessarily provocative, it's untrue. They're not the stupidest people on Earth. ME: But they wrote this! For perspective, know that the reforms [NJ Democratic gube

15 by Duke / 42min

9-7-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman: Why Does Anyone Listen To Mike Bloomberg?Only a few more months and we won't have to listen to Mike Bloomberg rattle off nonsense like this anymore: You’re a believer in the empirical, in data. But after all the changes in standards, is there any credibility in the test scores and graduation rates?It is very hard to explain complex numbers in a sound bite. But when the numbers wen

by mike simpson / 21h

UPDATE: Opt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out National

Opt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out National:

Portfolio Letter: Demand Authentic Assessment

Please consider adding this portfolio letter to your opt out/refusal letter this year. We are finding that report card grades for the 2013-2014 school year are increasingly based on corporate test scores. Student work is counting for less when determining … MORE

9 by admin / 0min

OPT-OUT/REFUSAL GUIDES FOR EACH STATE

All documents are for informational purposes only and do not substitute as legal advice or legal counsel. The information contained in these documents and this website may or may not reflect the most current developments in education policy within our nation or within each state. Information shared here is not guaranteed to be correct or complete and UOO disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all contents of this website.

Colorado Connecticut Delaware

Yes, You Can Opt Out of Common Core Tests 10 comments

Good news: after sending an opt out letter (seen below) I received three letters back, from my high school student’s principal, math teacher and English teacher.

Each letter said that my child may take a paper-and-pencil alternative to the Common Core tests without any academic penalty. The school is apparently not enforcing the absurd current state law which states that schools must punish the student who opts out with a non-proficient score. Hooray!

I’m sharing this, so that anyone may create or adapt this letter for their use, if they like.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Dear Principal and Teachers,

Thank you for all you do for our kids. I sincerely appreciate your hard work, dedication and caring.

I am writing to let you know that ___________ my 11th grade child, will not be participating in the state’s new AIR/SAGE tests this year or next year. These are the Common Core aligned tests that feed into the federally funded State Longitudinal Database System and measure not only math and English, but also nonacademic, personal information including behavioral indicators (according to recent state law) and are to be used in grading schools.

I would like my child to have a pencil and paper alternative that is to be used ONLY at the school level, and not sent to the district or state levels.

I believe that this choice may be hurting this high school’s “school grade” so I apologize. It is not my wish to harm this excellent school in any way. I am also aware that it may hurt my child’s academic grade. Rather than getting an opt-out score, a non-test taker may get a non-proficient score. This is a tragedy for students and schools.

Our state leaders have created this situation that punishes schools and students when parents opt out of the tests.

(–You can quit reading here. But if you are interested in why I am writing this letter to opt my child out of the tests, please read on.)

Attached are PDF copies of the original bill SB175 and the amended bill put forth by the USOE at the Aug 2. meeting. On line 164 of the amended bill is what the USOE added. This is the part of the bill I find morally wrong.

164 (2) the parent makes a written request consistent with 165 LEA administrative timelines and procedures that the parent’s
166 student not be tested. Students not tested due to parent 167 request shall receive a non-proficient score which shall be
168 used in school accountability calculations.

A parent should be able to opt their child out of the invasive computer adaptive testing without the child receiving a non-proficient score, after that child has spent an entire year in school and has received grades for the work that could easily determine proficiency.

A single test should not determine the success of a child’s school year in one swoop, any more than it should determine the grade for that school for the year. There are too many variables to consider yet testing is the only criteria by which a school (or student?) will be seriously graded. I realize there are other minor components that will factor into the grading of a school, but the main emphasis will be on the test scores.

There are many things wrong in education not the least of which are laws that tighten control over our children while telling parents what’s good for them. I should not have to pull my children out of school in order to protect them from invasive and experimental testing.

Signed…

—————————————————————————————————————

WHY DO PARENTS WANT TO OPT OUT OF COMMON CORE TESTING?

1. The AIR/SAGE/Utah Common Core tests, which test math and English, are nontransparent and secretive.

2. I don’t believe in the Common Core standards upon which these tests are based. They are experimental. They snub classic literature. They dilute classical math. They were developed and copyrighted by two D.C. private clubs who have no accountability to me as a teacher or as a voter– (the NGA and CCSSO). They give power to a centralized system that is contrary to the constitutional concept of separating powers and empowering local control.

3. The tests feed the national data collection beast via the 50 nationally interoperable State Longitudinal Database Systems (SLDS), feed the P-20 child tracking/surveillance program, and will gather nonacademic, private information on students, including “behavioral indicators” according to Utah state law HB5.

4. It’s nobody’s business, even in Utah, how my individual child does in math and English –except the teacher’s business, and mine. My child’s not to be counted as the government’s “human capital” and the government’s not an invited “stakeholder” in my child’s education, career, or life. Too bad for Governor Herbert’s darling, Prosperity 2020! Remember this: business leaders, governments and legislatures don’t have authority to use tests and data collection to snoop on any child (or adult) for “collective economic prosperity” or for any other reason.

5. Overemphasis on high-stakes testing hurts kids and wastes instructional time.

6. Overemphasis on high-stakes testing hurts teachers. They will be controlled by how students do on the tests; this limits teachers’ autonomy in the classroom and is an insult to teachers’ professional judgment.

More parents opting kids out of standardized tests

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2013, 1:06 PM

KATIE ZEZIMA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PAGES: 1 2 3 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAIL

DELAWARE TOWNSHIP — While his eighth-grade classmates took state standardized tests this spring, Tucker Richardson woke up late and played basketball in his Delaware Township driveway.
Tucker's parents, Wendy and Will, are part of a small but growing number of parents nationwide who are ensuring their children do not participate in standardized testing. They are opposed to the practice for myriad reasons, including the stress they believe it brings on young students, discomfort with tests being used to gauge teacher performance, fear that corporate influence is overriding education and concern that test prep is narrowing curricula down to the minimum needed to pass an exam.
"I'm just opposed to the way high-stakes testing is being used to evaluate teachers, the way it's being used to define what's happening in classrooms," said Will Richardson, an educational consultant and former teacher. "These tests are not meant to evaluate teachers. They're meant to find out what kids know."
The opt-out movement, as it is called, is small but growing. It has been brewing for several years via word of mouth and social media, especially through Facebook. The "Long Island opt-out info" Facebook page has more than 9,200 members, many of them rallying at a Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., high school last month after a group of principals called this year's state tests — and their low scores — a "debacle."
In Washington. D.C., a group of parents and students protested outside the Department of Education. Students and teachers at a Seattle high school boycotted a standardized test,

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/More_parents_opting_kids_out_of_standardized_tests.html#sthash.6SvbIE4g.dpuf

The Rising Costs of a 'Free' Public Education - WSJ.com

The Rising Costs of a 'Free' Public Education - WSJ.com:

The Rising Costs of a 'Free' Public Education

Schools are charging parents for programs and items that have traditionally come standard

Fat Profits May Be Cause...Privatization Sucks!

LINDSAY GELLMAN
CONNECT

The kids are back in school. And you've probably shelled out for pencil cases, notebooks, a new backpack—and AP French.

"Free public education" clauses are written into state constitutions nationwide. Yet at many public schools around the country it has become anything but. Schools are charging parents for programs and items that have traditionally come standard—including fees for course supplies, school-run extracurricular activities, transportation and even basic registration fees.

Schools Are Spending More Per Student

School districts have seen their budgets slashed over the past few years as states cut back funding amid the economic downturn. And this year is no exception, even as the economy continues to slowly improve. Thanks to the federal budget sequester earlier this year, schools nationwide have had to adjust to additional budget cuts of 5%, says Dan Domenech, executive director of the AASA, the School Superintendents Association, a nonprofit public-education advocacy group based in Alexandria, Va.

Parents aren't happy about having to cover some of the tab. And some are even fighting back.

When the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Public Schools district announced that it would require high-school students to pay a $100 fee to take a seventh class, parents Barton Polot and Chris Coombe took action. They enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties

Tony Mullen, Teacher of the Year, Offers Core Knowledge for Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Tony Mullen, Teacher of the Year, Offers Core Knowledge for Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Tony Mullen, Teacher of the Year, Offers Core Knowledge for Teaching

By Anthony Cody on September 8, 2013 11:07 AM

Guest post by Tony Mullen.

You may have read 2009 Teacher of the Year Tony Mullen's classic post from a few years ago, Teachers Should Be Seen and Not Heard. Today I am sharing a short essay heshared with his classmates at Mercy College.

Millions of teachers and students will be returning to school this week to begin another year of teaching and learning.

This year will be more challenging for both teachers and students because we have become a nation obsessed with standardized test scores. Curricula and lesson plans will be modified to accommodate Common Core Standards and the federal government will be hoping that U.S. students outperform Finnish students on math and science tests.

Academic standards are a critical component of quality teaching and student learning, and the adoption of a uniform set of national standards could transform American education. Sadly, America's teachers and parents and students had little input developing a common core of national standards, but they will be held accountable for the results of this latest federal education initiative. Politicians come and go and point the finger of blame at every point on the compass, but teachers are doers and know what is best for their students. That is why this generation of teachers will work harder to fulfill new federal education mandates but, unlike politicians and bureaucrats and policy makers, teachers will not forget what is most important to each and every child.

I tell our current and future teachers that whatever uniform set of academic standards eventually makes its way to their classroom doors the following set of core knowledge must be included:

Mission Statement
What I teach is not as important as whom I teach.

Math Standards
a2 + b2 = c2 is a useful math concept, but understanding that the sum of all a child's

9-8-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Jean Anyon. RIP

The “hidden curriculum” of schoolwork is tacit preparation for relating to the process of production in a particular way. Differing curricular, pedagogical, and pupil evaluation practices emphasize different cognitive and behavioral skills in each social setting and thus contribute to the development in the children of certain potential relationships to physical and symbolic capital,11 to authorit

by Fred Klonsky / 22min

Sunday reads. Don’t bomb Syria.

Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, 2002. “War is not an option.” Call your representatives. Concerned about Syrian children? Here is an alternative to bombs. Bernie Sanders is a skeptic on Syria. Protesters for peace. Skeptical? We don’t believe a word you say. General Petreaus backs Syria war. Well, there you go. With the support of him and Rumsfeld, Obama got himself a coalition of the will

1 by Fred Klonsky / 8min

9-7-13 Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee.Joseph Albers’ Homage to the Square. It is hard for me to believe it will get to 90 degrees today in Chicago. It is a beautiful comfortable morning on the back porch. Our neighbor’s chickens finished making their morning noise. Yes, our neighbors have two chickens. I have heard that Logan Square has the highest per capita chicken population in the c

by mike simpson / 23h

Diane Ravitch calls Yevonne Brannon "a hero of public education in North Carolina" | Under The Dome

Diane Ravitch calls Yevonne Brannon "a hero of public education in North Carolina" | Under The Dome:

Diane Ravitch calls Yevonne Brannon "a hero of public education in North Carolina"

Submitted by KeungHui on 2013-09-08 08:48

Education commentator Diane Ravitch is calling Yevonne Brannon "one of the heroes of public education in North Carolina" for fighting taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools and for her efforts to support busing for diversity in Wake County.

In a post today on her blog, Ravitch wrtes that "public education is under siege" in North Carolina" as the state "has enacted radical privatization measures, including charters and vouchers." Ravitch writes that "North Carolinians are not standing still," pointing to the Moral Monday rallies.

"One of the stalwarts of the effort to stop the destruction of public education is Dr. Yevonne Brannon," Ravitch writes. "She is one of the leaders of Public Schools First NC, which has encouraged resistance to the extremists. She has lived in Wake County for 40 years, and has been a steadfast supporter of racial integration and quality education for all."

On Wake County, Ravitch writes that Brannon "was one of those who pushed back against efforts to resegregate the schools in 2009." Brannon is chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, which formed after the 2009 school board elections brought in a Republican board majority.

Ravitch links to an August article from Women AdvaNCe, an institute funded by NARAL Pro-Choice NC

Read more here: http://projects.newsobserver.com/node/28335#storylink=cpy

9-8-143 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

A daughter of Auschwitz in Northern Virginia

there is an amazing story in the Washington Post, titled Hiding in N. Virginia, a daughter of Auschwitz. It is about Brigitt Höss (born Inge-Brigitt Höss in 1933), whose father was the Commandant of Auschwitz. The story is written by Thomas Alexander, who writes I discovered where she lived while doing research for “Hanns and Rudolf,” a book on how Höss was captured after the war by my great-un

2 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 2min

9-7-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: after two weeks of classes, another reflection on teachingIt does and does not feel like two weeks of classes: Monday the first week only freshmen were in the building, and this past week we were off for Labor Day and for Rosh Hashanah. Thus I have only been "teaching" for 7 days. But then, our classes are except on advisory days 90 minutes long, and on advisory days ov

by mike simpson / 21min

Who Benefits from Ignoring Poverty and Race? | the becoming radical

Who Benefits from Ignoring Poverty and Race? | the becoming radical:

Who Benefits from Ignoring Poverty and Race?

Posted on September 8, 2013 by plthomasedd

In his spring 2013 commencement address at Morehouse College, Barack Obama offered a compelling message:

Obama said he was lucky to have his mother and grandparents, who raised him, and said that under different circumstances, he could have ended up in prison or unemployed.
‘I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family — and that motivates me,’ he said.
While he urged graduates to not use race as an excuse for their failures, he acknowledged that the ‘bitter legacy’ of discrimination still exists in America.
‘At some point in life as an African American you have to work twice as hard as anyone else if you want to get by,’ he said.

Coming from the first African American president in the U.S., this call for personal grit and refusing to make excuses speaks to a central narrative

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