Saturday Morning with Diane Ravitch

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

Saturday Morning with Diane Ravitch

John Merrow: Revisiting the Brutal Trail of the Freedom Riders of the 1960s

by dianeravitch / 55min

John Merrow and his wife joined a group to tour historic sites of the civil rights movement in Mississippi. His post contains the stories and photographs of those frightening times when people put their lives at risk for the right to vote, the right to equal treatment before the law. He recounts history that must not be forgotten: the story of Medger Evers, brutally assassinated; the story of the

Nate Silver: Education, Not Income, Predicts Trump Voters

4by dianeravitch / 1h

I attended a lecture recently at the New York Public Library and heard Paul Krugman speak. The general atmosphere was somber, as it was clear that he was depressed about the election, as were the 1,500 or so people in the audience. To all the pundits who extract lessons for the Democrats, Krugman pointed out that Hillary now has a lead of 2.7 million votes. But she lost because of the Electoral C

Mike Konzcal: The Brilliance of Trump’s Rhetoric

11by dianeravitch / 2h

Mike Konzcal of the Roosevelt Institute sat down and watched Donald Trump’s campaign speeches in search of the rhetoric that turned out to be effective. Contrary to common belief, working people are not turned off by the rich; if anything, they admired Trump’s opulence and outrageous displays of ostentation. He had made it; they could too. Sort of like Trump University, where the Master of Money

YESTERDAY Too!

Betsy DeVos Gave Trump $1.8 Million for Campaign

42by dianeravitch / 10h

Newly elected presidents often reward big donors an ambassadorship. Thanks for your $3 million, how about the ambassadorship to Sweden? Too cold? How about Jamaica? But Donald Trump has given major posts to six of his big donors . One of them them is Betsy DeVos, who gave $1.8 million. The fact that most of his cabinet consists of generals and billionaires can only be seen as his love of winners.

Trump Will Continue as Executive Producer of TV Show After Inauguration

13by dianeravitch / 10h

Donald Trump will continue as executive producer of ” The New Celebrity Apprentice,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, after his inauguration. The role nets him hundreds of thousands annually, and he is not giving it up. He is not releasing his tax returns. Ivanka’s product line is now featured in Walmart. Who knew that winning the presidency would open the door to so many lucrative deals? Vladimir

CIA: Russia Hacked E-Mails to Help Trump

15by dianeravitch / 12h

The Washington Post reported that the CIA concluded that agents of the Russian government intervened in the presidential election to help elect Donald Trump. This is the first time that a foreign government played an active role in an American presidential election. Thus, we have a nativist, nationalistic president who defends Vladimir Putin and appoints right wing extremists, generals, and billi

Politico: Michigan is a Horrible Model for U.S. Education

24by dianeravitch / 21h

Caitlin Emma, Benjamin Wermund, and Kimberly Hefling, staff writers at politico.com, took a close look at Michigan and answered the question, what hath Betsy DeVos’s obsession with choice done to the schools of Michigan? Unless you are a choice fanatic like DeVos, the answer is not encouraging. Despite two decades of charter-school growth, the state’s overall academic progress has failed to keep

Andre Perry: Reformers Should Not Criticize Trump When They Support His Policies

2by dianeravitch / 22h

Andre Perry was one of the earliest charter school leaders in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and one of the few leaders of color. He became disillusioned with some parts of the reforms, especially the marginalization of local community voices. In this article, he calls out reformers who feel they must distance themselves from Trump because of his comments that stirred racism. Perry said the

My Valentine Came Early

7by dianeravitch / 23h

This weekend there will be a dinner hosted by the Network for Public Education in New York City, and I am the guest of honor. Steven Singer can’t make it to the dinner but he used the occasion to write a beautiful tribute, and I can’t decide if it is an early Xmas gift or an early Valentine. I replied and said, “I love you too, Steven. “For your courage, your wisdom, your strength, your kindness.

Ohio: Charter School Advocate Selected to Run Charter School Agency

11by dianeravitch / 1d

If anyone thought that the frequent scandals in the charter sector in Ohio would bring about a new era of accountability and oversight for charter schools, think again. The Ohio Department of Education has hired a charter school activist to run the state’s charter school office. The Ohio Department of Education has hired charter school advocate RaShaun Holliman, the head of the Ohio Alliance for

The Dangers of Addiction to Video Gaming

35by dianeravitch / 1d

The Washington Post ran a deeply disturbing story about a boy who became addicted to multi-player video gaming on the Internet. His life was consumed with gaming. His parents were distraught. When they tried to get him to turn off the computer, he had outbursts of rage. His mother asked him, please, turn off the computer. It’s late. Their voices got louder. She doesn’t remember exactly what made

William Doyle: Please, Mr. Trump, Put Betsy DeVos on a Plane to Finland ASAP

61by dianeravitch / 1d

William Doyle is living in Finland as a scholar-in-residence at the University of Eastern Finland. In this post, he describes what Betsy DeVos would learn if she visited Finland. He writes: Donald Trump is promoting “school choice” as he vows to improve the American education system. To achieve this vision, he 

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

Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core - The Washington Post

Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core - The Washington Post:

Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core

When Donald Trump was running for president, he said that should he win, he would “get rid” of the Common Core State Standards — as if the initiative had been mandated by the federal government. It actually was approved by individual state legislatures. No president can simply order it gone.

Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire whom the president-elect tapped to serve as education secretary, is now making the same pledge that Trump did. Appearing with Trump on Friday night at his “thank you to voters” rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., she said she will work to put “an end to the federal Common Core” and let states set their own standards. Apparently nobody told her that states already can.

The Washington Examiner reported what DeVos said at the rally:

“In deference to the U.S. Senate confirmation, I’m not giving interviews, but just between us let me share this,” DeVos told the crowd gathered in Grand Rapids. “It’s time to make education great again in this country.”

“This means putting kids first,” she said to cheers. “This means expanding choices and options to give every child the opportunity for a quality education regardless of their Zip code or family circumstances. This means letting states set their own standards and finally putting an end to the federal Common Core.”

The Core is a set of math and English language arts standards that were initially adopted fully by 45 states and the District of Columbia, with bipartisan support. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, was a big Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core - The Washington Post:

What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson | deutsch29

What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson | deutsch29:

What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson

On December 05, 2016, retired DC teacher Erich Martel sent an investigation request to DC’s Attorney General Karl Racine. In short, Martel is asking Racine to investigate two issues: 1) the failure of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser to follow procedure in nominating Antwan Wilson as the next chancellor of schools (Kaya Henderson left effective October 01, 2016), and 2) inconsistencies in reporting DC’s NAEP improvement from 2007 to 2015 and the failure to report a more thorough picture of DC’s NAEP story by excluding info from 1998 to 2007.

Martel has painstakingly compiled his evidence and explanations in his December 05, 2016, letter to Racine, which can be accessed here: dc-ag-investigation-request-dc-chancellor-search-16-1205

(Martel also includes the following supplemental documents: dcps-naep-tuda-2007-to-2015-11-district-comp, dcps-weberp-discov-email-1352-54, and naep_2015_sped_ell_exclusion_district-1.)

In this post, I focus on issues related to DC’s NAEP results and the shaping and selectively reporting (and outright misrepresenting) of said results in order for former DC Chancellor Kaya Henderson to be credited with making DC “the fastest improving urban school district in the country.”

NAEP is primarily a state-level assessment; however, in 2002, NAEP began administering a “Trial Urban District Assessment” (TUDA). NAEP TUDA was administered to six districts in 2002 in reading and writing and has grown to include 21 districts in math and reading by 2015. DC has participated in NAEP TUDA since 2002. However, DC is both a “district” and a “state” as far as NAEP is concerned; therefore, DC has scores for reading that go back to 1992 (grade 4) and 1998 (grade 8) and scores for math that begin in 1992 (grade 4) and 1990 (grade 8). (Those scores can be accessed using this NAEP search engine.)

One major issue with the sale of DC as “the fastest improving school district in the country” is that the 2015 NAEP results reported on DC Public Schools (DCPS) website have been misreported in a manner that makes two of the four 2007 scores appear lower than they actually were. Thus, the 2015 scores falsely show What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson | deutsch29:

Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?

Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?:

Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?

I’m not sure I can be a productive member of this group at this point.”

– Mónica García, 12/6/16

In the months leading up to the March 7, 2017, LAUSD election, incumbent Mónica García has made some questionable comments about the children that she is supposed to represent. For example, in March she suggested that students requiring special education services are not “our own kids”, excluding 12.7% of the LAUSD’s population. Then in September she said that “our biggest problem is that most of our kids, all of our kids, can’t read.” If this statement is true, then García has little to show for the ten years that she has spent on the Board. More likely, this represents her disdain for the teachers of the District and their ability to succeed despite the obstacles that she has put in their way.

As the City Clerk verifies petition signatures and qualifies candidates Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?:

Big Education Ape: Broad's Billion dollar Babies rack up early fundraising leads in LA Unified school board race | 89.3 KPCC - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/12/broads-billion-dollar-babies-rack-up.html

Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils

Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils:

Trump and “higher national standards”

“The President-elect and Vice President-elect then met with Ms. Michelle Rhee and enjoyed an in-depth discussion about the future of public education in our country. This included the possibility for increasing competition through charter and choice schools. They also brought the idea of merit pay for teachers going above and beyond in their classrooms into the conversation. 

Their discussion with Ms. Betsy DeVos was focused on the Common Core mission, and setting higher national standards and promoting the growth of school choice across the nation.”

Higher national standards. Ah, anti-Common Core people who thought Trump was their answer- you just got as screwed as those who realized today that Social Security might be gone soon….

Source: Readout from Saturday, November 19 Meetings with President-Elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence and National Leaders

 Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils:

DeVos’ Michigan schools experiment gets poor grades

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 14h

More on the experiment that is the nuclear option for Western civilization. “Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Education Department, Betsy DeVos, has spent two decades successfully pushing “school choice” in her home state of Michigan — a policy that she and her husband vowed in 1999 would “fundamentally improve education.” Except the track record in that state shows that it hasn’t.” Read Politico’

A Nashville School Board Member Figures Out the Secret: How Charter SchoolsGet Rich Off Public Tax Dollars

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 23h

An excellent article. Even though it’s out of Tennessee, it’s spot-on true for anywhere. Share it with the pro-charter legislator you love to hate. “I explained that there are many ways non-profit charters make money, including: (1) a 39% federal tax credit that allows investors to double their money in seven years; (2) all sorts of land deals, including using taxpayer money to fund land investme

Trump, DeVos, Eugenics. Oh Yeah It’s that bad says @slekar.

BustED Pencils / by Tim Slekar / 23h

What’s in store for public education come January? Here’s my take. Is RESISTANCE FUTILE? The post Trump, DeVos, Eugenics. Oh Yeah It’s that bad says @slekar. appeared first on BustED Pencils .

DEC 04

Now is the time to talk about what we are actually talking about

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 5d

A fair statement to say that Chimamanda Negozi Adichie has become a voice that I turn to when I need my soul recharged. Her piece in the New Yorker on Friday needs to find its way on to everyone’s reading list. While the piece in its entirety speaks to our current shift in society towards instability, these words hit home as education activists gear up for an even bigger fight than the one which

DEC 03

Betsy Devos and Public Education: The Coming Storm

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 6d

In which blogger Michael Lambert summarizes all of the articles about Betsy DeVos that have been passed round the last week, and includes the wise warnings of Alison Hawver McDowell: “What’s so scary about DeVos is that she may fast forward and jump over charters by offering lean “value” private schools that rely on cyber education and Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs). The issue most people

DEC 02

Stop blaming teachers for falling results and give them the trust and time to actually teach

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 7d

I am so sick of this shit. I don’t really understand, I guess, how hard it is to understand: the more stupid crap I have to do to prove that I’m a good teacher takes away from my time to actually be one. I know, I know- it’s a political thing meant to frame the discussion around “accountability” and “bad teachers”. It’s 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington:

Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington

If you have ever wondered about the difference between the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts. I am very proud to have been a Brownie, Girl Scout and Cadette. 

Dear Girl Scouts,

 For the past month, I've struggled with what to say and do in the wake of the contentious election and all that's happened since. As a woman, as a mother, and as leader of a youth development organization, I'm saddened by the divisiveness in our country and I'm appalled by the hate that has come out in this political cycle. Racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other blatant forms of bigotry seem to be on full display.

We've felt that impact especially strongly at our King County Regional Office, where a particularly vile racial message was recently scrawled next to our building. This is not the kind of speech ANY girl should see as she walks into a Girl Scout building, let alone anywhere else.

I don't have a magic answer, but I do know that getting back to business as usual isn't an option.
Girl Scouts of the USA has some ideas for how we can all work with our girls to take action, promote inclusion, and build unity within our community. As Girl Scouts' developmental psychologist, Dr. Andrea Bastiani Archibald, puts it: "Unity doesn't mean standing by or looking the other way in the face of bigotry and hatred. Real unity is what you get when a lot of very diverse people come together to form one complex yet seamless whole. It's about equality, inclusiveness, and dignity."

At Girl Scouts of Western Washington, we've also pledged to stand up for Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington: