What's next for PARCC? — Is PARCC member Louisiana next? — Buckle up for the budget showdown — What does this mean for education? - POLITICO Morning Education - POLITICO.com

What's next for PARCC? — Is PARCC member Louisiana next? — Buckle up for the budget showdown — What does this mean for education? - POLITICO Morning Education - POLITICO.com:

What's next for PARCC? — Is PARCC member Louisiana next? — Buckle up for the budget showdown — What does this mean for education?

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By LIBBY A. NELSON | 09/24/13 9:40 AM EDT

With help from Caitlin Emma

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PARCC? — Fla. Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order Monday saying he wanted out of the Common Core testing consortium his state helped bring together. Scott is under pressure from tea party conservatives who oppose the common standards. “While the debate surrounding Common Core Standards has become polarized into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ discussion, we heard during the Education Summit that most education leaders agreed on two things,” Scott said in a statement. “We agree that we should say ‘yes’ to high standards for Florida students and ‘no’ to the federal government’s overreach into our education system. Therefore, I notified the federal government that Florida would be withdrawing from PARCC, and at the same time we will hold public comment sessions to receive input on any alterations that should be made to the current Common Core Standards.”

If Florida departs, that leaves PARCC with about 17 members. Experts say that could drive up test costs further and prompt other state departures. New York and Arizona are considering developing their own tests. But Tennessee, Ohio, New Mexico and Illinois say they’re in it for the long haul. Caitlin Emma has the story for Pros: http://politico.pro/17YaJyu

— Is PARCC member Louisiana next? From The Advocate: "Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday that he is concerned Louisiana public school classrooms would be saddled with a 'federalized curriculum' sparked by a series of tougher standards called Common Core. Jindal, in his most expansive comments on the issue, also said he wants state Superintendent of Education John White and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to answer questions raised by a state lawmaker, who said Monday he wants the state to drop the standards." And if Louisiana doesn't hang onto the standards, presumably the state doesn't need the associated 

Shanker Blog » Selection Versus Program Effects In Teacher Prep Value-Added

Shanker Blog » Selection Versus Program Effects In Teacher Prep Value-Added:

Selection Versus Program Effects In Teacher Prep Value-Added

Posted by Matthew Di Carlo on September 24, 2013

There is currently a push to evaluate teacher preparation programs based in part on the value-added of their graduates. Predictably, this is a highly controversial issue, and the research supporting it is, to be charitable, still underdeveloped. At present, the evidence suggests that the differences in effectiveness between teachers trained by different prep programs may not be particularly large (see here, here, and here), though there may be exceptions (see this paper).

In the meantime, there’s an interesting little conflict underlying the debate about measuring preparation programs’ effectiveness, one that’s worth pointing out. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s put aside the very important issue of whether the models are able to account fully for where teaching candidates end up working (i.e., bias in the estimates based on school assignments/preferences), as well as (valid) concerns about judging teachers and preparation programs based solely on testing outcomes. All that aside, any assessment of preparation programs using the test-based effectiveness of their graduates is picking up on two separate factors: How well they prepare their candidates; and who applies to their programs in the first place.

In other words, programs that attract and enroll highly talented candidates might look good even if they don’t do a particularly good job preparing teachers for their eventual assignments. But does that really matter?

Put differently, should we judge the effectiveness of preparation programs despite knowledge that we are most likely doing so based in part on the candidates they attract, and not just how well the programs actually “work?”

The first point I would make is that these two factors are unlikely to be completely independent – i.e., perhaps 

Choice, Schools, & Taking Democracy Seriously - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Choice, Schools, & Taking Democracy Seriously - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Choice, Schools, & Taking Democracy Seriously

By Deborah Meier on September 24, 2013 8:46 AM

Deborah Meier continues her conversation with Michael J. Petrilli today.

Dear Mike,

Maybe you are right that we share a kind of cynicism. Or maybe a close cousin—healthy skepticism.  Especially about politics.   

Dilemma:  One can have politics without democracy, but one can't have democracy without politics.  Ditto for self-interest—if  power is fairly equally distributed.  Democracy and equality are inextricably connected!  Furthermore, unions, equality, and democracy are closely linked.

The idea, you suggest, that the 5 to 10 percent of the public that belong to unions could outweigh the 5 to 10 percent at the top of the wealth ladder seems ... unlikely.  Mike,  quit worrying about the power of unions—alas.  Especially since the unions that remain (predominantly public employee unions) are constrained in their ability to use the most powerful tool they might have—collectively refusing to go to work.  It's much easier for private corporations to close their shops (and move elsewhere, for example) than for working people to create a union that can "close the shop."  Public employee unions that dare strike can (in liberal New York, for example) pay a heavy price.

Yet I still hold on to the naïve belief that my bogeyman—the very rich—won't always win. But having nearly half the wealth of the nation in its hands is formidable.   And indeed, ideology closely relates to one's wealth, power, and social status.   Yes,  a scoundrel worth millions is a lot more dangerous than one earning $42,000 (the average income of the other 90 percent). 

How do you explain why children were, as you put it, "chained" to failing schools long before there were teachers' unions with contracts of any sort, or in those states today without 

'Priority' plan is latest to remake failing L.A. Unified schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

'Priority' plan is latest to remake failing L.A. Unified schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

'Priority' plan is latest to remake failing L.A. Unified schools

Annie Gilbertson | September 24th, 2013, 6:00am

Annie GIlbertson/KPCC

Jordan High School in Watts is under massive construction. Administrators hope improvement to academics will be equally as dramatic.

On a recent Friday morning at David Starr Jordan High School, students wander in from their Watts neighborhood one and two hours after the morning bell. Some show up for a class or two, then head back out to the streets.

Even in class, it can be hard to stay on track, said freshman Matica Marcel, who blames her classmates.

“There are like a couple of them – two or three, you could say – that don’t really do their work," she said. "But they are boys, you know."

Freshman Cody Brown points the finger at school leaders for Jordan's poor performance.

"They don’t have good teachers, and it’s in the ghetto," Brown said as he wandered in to school late one recent morning. "We live in the housing projects.”

It’s hard to remember a time when officials weren’t trying to resuscitate Jordan high. Fewer than 60% of its students are able to read and do math well enough to pass the high school exit exam. Even fewer graduate.

For decades, veteran educators have seen turnaround teams come and go from the campus, next-door to the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts.

As the Los Angeles Unified School District starts a new school year with a new contract with the federal government to fix persistently failing schools, 27 of its most poorl

9-24-13 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.:

The in box. Voters support teacher pensions. By a mile.

IEA Website: A survey of Illinois voters shows that, by a margin of 2-1, the people who will be casting ballots in the November 2014 election believe that teachers and college faculty should receive the pensions they were promised despite state deficits. That’s one of the findings in a new public opinion survey conducted on behalf of the Illinois Education Association (IEA), the state’s largest u

5 by Fred Klonsky / 39min 

Ten minute drawing. Karl Marx explains his plays.

  Klick image to enlarge.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

Pension bombing bill. Illinois Democrats will own it.

Democrat State Senator Kwame Raoul chairs the joint pension committee. It appears that if there is going to be a bill coming from the Gang of Ten joint committee on pensions, it will be wholly owned by the legislature’s Democrats. I received this communication from the Illinois Retired Teachers Association this morning. Many rumors have been bantered about in the recent weeks concerning pension r

1 by Fred Klonsky / 43min 

The impact of lifting special education caps on Illinois classrooms.

Last Thursday the ISBE was to consider doing away with the current cap on the number of special eduction students that could be enrolled in a regular education classroom. This was not a vote on inclusion, which I zealously support. In spite of testimony from administrators that lifting the cap would provide flexibility, many of us suspected that cost-saving was the driver. In any case, over 5,000

1 by Fred Klonsky / 2min 

The impact on classrooms if special education class size limits are removed.

Last Thursday the ISBE was to consider doing away with caps on the number of special eduction students that could be enrolled in a regular education classroom. This was not a vote on inclusion, which I zealously support. In spite of testimony from administrators that lifting the cap would provide flexibility, many of us suspected that cost-saving was the driver. In any case, over 5,000 teachers a

by Fred Klonsky / 3min 

9-23-13 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.: Thinking about learning styles.  Third grade mask-making. I once had a fifth grade student who was, let us say, not fully engaged in the activities I had provided in the art room. He goofed around a lot. One day, following a request to settle down, he turned to me and said, “Mr. K. Your teaching is no

by mike simpson / 7h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

A Letter to John Merrow

Since I started this blog, I have periodically named people as heroes of American education because they have been courageous in standing up for the rights of children, for good education, and against powerful and misguided policies that do harm to children and public education. Some have risked their careers and liivelihoods. They deserve recognition. Now along comes John Merrow, whose work I hav

9 by dianerav / 1h 

Diane Ravitch Is More than a Writer of Books

On Diane Ravitch: A Brief EssayJim HornOn September 18,  Joe Bowers listed 33 reviews of Diane Ravitch’s new book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.  Since then, many other reviews have appeared, including a very substantial one by George Schmidt at Substance News.  Please see Joe’s list for some very good play-by-play reviews. 

by Jim Horn / 3h 

What Albert Einstein Said About Standardizing

Thanks to Robert Shepherd for sharing this great quote: “I believe in standardizing automobiles. I do not believe in standardizing human beings. Standardization is a great peril which threatens American culture.” —— Albert Einstein, Saturday Evening Post interview, 10/26/1929″

6 by dianerav / 14min 

A Young Teacher-in-Training, Making Sense

The author of this email requested anonymity, for obvious reasons.   I started reading your blog recently and it has been a lifesaver. I was a participant in the (as I learned) corporate-reform-driven Teaching Fellows program in XXXXX, and I was cut at the end of the their pre-service training. This was, as it turned out, a good thing, since I wasn’t ready to teach (nor was anyone in the progra

1 by dianerav / 15min 

DC Insiders See Bleak Future for CCSS

This poll of DC insiders shows a deep pessimism about the prospects for Common Core and reauthorization of NCLB. Most interesting observations: • “Any bandwidth Congress has seems to be devoted to re‐litigating the health care act.” • “There’s no sense of compromise and no incentive on either side to try to compromise.” • “Arne Duncan has so mangled federal education at this point that it’s going

2 by dianerav / 7min 

US DOE Suspends Research Website on “What Works”

This is truly astonishing news. Valerie Strauss reports today that the U.S. Department of Education sent out an email announcing the suspension of the “What Works Clearinghouse,” a site where the Department publishes reports about research and shows “what works.” Valerie Strauss notes: “I won’t mention the irony in the fact that department spends millions on school reform that has no proven record

by dianerav / 2min mark as read  //  save

Florida Will Drop Common Core Tests

The architects of the Common Core standards wanted to rush them into implementation, and Arne Duncan used the federal government’s billions to coerce states to “voluntarily” adopt the standards, if necessary, sight unseen. Now they are paying the price of their haste. There is very little buy-in. The Tea Party on one side, and critics of standardization and scripted curricula on the other, are att

6 by dianerav / 7min 

Major Corporations Fighting Common Core Backlash

I am not happy with the way that Common Core was developed. Very few people were involved in this effort to develop national standards. Once a document was in hand, the Obama administration made adoption of the standards a condition of eligibility for participation in its $4.35 billion Race to the Top. Since then, adoption of the CCSS has become a condition to receive waivers from Arne Duncan from

1 by dianerav / 11min 

Here is a Good Turnaround Story

Murkland Elementary School in Lowell, Massachusetts, has seen a remarkable improvement in its test scores. The local newspaper reported the story. Nothing was said about firing the principal, firing the teachers, firing the entire staff. Nothing was said about turning the school over to the state or giving it to private entrepreneurs. Something else happened. Teamwork, collaboration. What a fresh

2 by dianerav / 15min 

Perdido Street Reviews “Reign of Error”

Blogger Perdido Street School reviewed “Reign of Error” and said that he would be giving it to his friends and family who got their views from Oprah and the Today Show. He might have added NBC’s “Education Nation” and many other outlets in the mainstream media that spread misinformation about our nation’s public schools.   He writes: Those are the people we want to read this book and to become fam

by dianerav / 4min 

The Failure of Charter Schools in Ohio, $7 Billion Later

This is an important summary of the failure of the charter school movement in Ohio, from the Ohio Coalition for Education and Adequacy: A “noble” experiment to force the improvement of the public common school: Fifteen years and $7 billion dollars later the charter school gamble has not made the grade. 9/24/2013 The Department of Education’s ranking of schools and districts reveals that 83 out of

by dianerav / 6min mark as read  //  save

Latest Census Shows Poverty Remains at High Point of Past Half Century

So many reformers tell us that charter schools will end poverty, or that we should “fix” the schools before we even attempt to “fix” poverty. We have a lot of fixing to do, even without thousands more of those miracle charter schools staffed by TFA ingenues. The latest figures from the U.S. Census show that poverty remains stuck at 15%, about 46.5 million Americans. In the past half-century, the p

2 by dianerav / 26min 

Why Does the Chicago Tribune Want Vouchers?

Paul Horton, a history teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School, is a strong supporter of public education. Surprisingly, the Lab School is private but has a teachers’ union. That is the school where the children of Barack Obama and Arne Duncan were enrolled, as are the children of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Horton here tries to figure out why the Chicago Tribune is so eager to promote vouchers in

by dianerav / 12min mark as read  //  save

Does “College-and-Career Readiness” Begin in Pre-K?

When should children get on track for college and careers? Is third grade too late? How about kindergarten? Or pre-kindergarten? Or in the womb? It is never too soon, according to those with products you must buy now. This teacher describes the latest sales pitch: “The other day I received an email from Pearson promoting their PreK curriculum: OWL: Opening the World of Learning (2011). While the

by dianerav / 12min 

Gary Rubinstein Reviews “Reign of Error”

Gary Rubinstein has written a wonderful, thoughtful review of “Reign of Error.” There are many highly quotable observations in his review, I liked this one best, because it goes to the heart of why we educate. If you get that wrong, then you can’t get anything else right. He writes: “For me, my favorite section was an eight page chapter, chapter 24, called ‘The Essentials of a Good Education.’

3 by dianerav / 1h mark as read  //  save

Bruce Baker Demolishes Hanushek’s Latest Crisis

Bruce Baker is really ticked about Erik Hanushek’s new video promoting the “education crisis” and asserting that money is definitely not the answer. Hanushek holds up Florida as a model and points to Wyoming and New York to make his point that money doesn’t matter. Baker doesn’t agree, and he assembles data to make the following points: *States with weaker unions (higher number in ranking, meaning

4 by dianerav / 1h  

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-23-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Tests Are Loaded with ErrorsHeather Vogell, a stellar reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has done in-depth investigative reporting on the standardized tests that now are used to determine the fate of students, teachers, principals, and schools. She has found a surprising number of error

by mike simpson / 10h