No Teacher Is An Island |:

No Teacher Is An Island

 This week in The Shanker Blog, authors lan Daly (Professor, University of California San Diego) and Kara Finnigan (Associate Professor, the University of Rochester) published a piece titled: No Teacher Is An Island: The Role Of Social Relations In Teacher Evaluation.

They discuss, as largely based on their research and expertise in social network analyses, the roles of social interactions when examining student outcomes (i.e., student outcomes that are to be directly attributed to teacher effects using value-added models).

They also discuss three major assumptions surrounding the use of value-added measures to assess teacher quality. The first assumption is that growth in student achievement is the result of (really only) interaction(s) among teacher knowledge/training/experience, teachers’ abilities to teach, students’ prior performance levels, and student demographics. Once that assumption is agreed to, the second assumption is that all of these variables can be captured (well), or controlled for (well), using a quantitative or numerical measure. It is then assumed, more generally, that “a teacher’s ability to ‘add-value’ [can be appropriately captured as] a very individualistic undertaking determined almost exclusively by the human capital (i.e., training, knowledge, and skills) of the individual teacher and some basic characteristics of the student.”

As they explain in this piece, these assumptions overlook recent research, as well as reality. They also provide two real-world examples (with graphics to help illustrate how these interactions really look in reality, which I also advise readers to examine here). The first real-world example captures a teacher who “enters a grade level or department in which trust is low and teachers do not share or collaborate around effective practices, No Teacher Is An Island |:

The Trouble With “The Trouble With Tenure” | InterACT

The Trouble With “The Trouble With Tenure” | InterACT:

The Trouble With “The Trouble With Tenure”

AUGUST 21, 2014

tags: Bruni, due process, Johnston, ny times, teaching quality,tenure

by David B. Cohen

Frank Bruni, writing in the New York Times on Aug. 18, 2014, cobbles together a series of assumptions and quotations to join the trendy but under-informed chorus speaking out regarding “The Trouble With Tenure.” You’ve heard this all before: too few teachers are fired because it’s too hard to fire them, and since they know they can’t effectively be fired, they don’t worry about their job performance. Those assumptions are, at best, difficult to support and to apply broadly – and at worst, they’re just wrong about teachers and organizational management.

First problem – it’s not tenure, in the sense that university professors have tenure. It is not a “job for life,” but rather, a due process protection that ensures teachers who need improvement or dismissal are given appropriate chances to address the issues raised. The details of that process may be worth revisiting and refining, depending on the state or system. And to be fair, I don’t see anything (in this column) to indicate that Bruni, or the main subject of his column, Colorado state Senator Mike Johnston, are suggesting the elimination of teachers’ due process rights. The problem I have is that the underlying assumptions in their arguments for reform are the same underlying assumptions for elimination of those rights, and so the assumptions need to be challenged.

I’m going to quote Bruni from nearer the conclusion than the introduction of his piece. He recognizes that the need for some caution in conversations about this issue: “There are perils to the current tenure [sic] talk: that it fails to address the intense strains on many teachers; that it lays too much fault on their doorsteps, distracting people from other necessary reforms.” That’s an important and appreciated caveat – but the problem is that Bruni, and Johnston, simply aren’t mindful enough of the peril. Their apparently shared viewpoint is one that fundamentally misdiagnoses the problems undermining our systems. Bruni, Johnston, and too many The Trouble With “The Trouble With Tenure” | InterACT:

8-21-14 Living in Dialogue - Starve the Testing Beast:

Home | Living in Dialogue:

Starve the Testing Beast: Chicago Teachers Show Us How to Organize a Test Boycott

By Michelle Gunderson. We have a saying in the testing resistance movement – don’t feed the beast, starve the data monster. When parents opt their children out of testing they are taking a strong stance against having their children’s data used as a mechanism to sort students, punish teachers, and privatize our schools. When teachers decide to boycott testing – completely refusing to administer te

by Anthony Cody / 1min hide  //  save

Administrator’s Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out

by Michelle Gunderson. Imagine you are 8 years old. Your parents respectfully requested that you not participate in standardized testing. Yet, your school system insists on putting the test in front of you, reading the directions, and making you sit quietly for the duration of the test. Now that over a thousand students have opted out of testing in Chicago this is the scenario facing many children

by Anthony Cody / 31min 

Part Three: The Attack on Teacher Tenure is an Attack on the Black Middle Class

By Paul Horton. Part three of three.  Perhaps even more alarming than the Obama administration is the recent campaign headed up by former CNN and CNBC talk show host Campbell Brown and former Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs against teacher tenure. Energized by the apparent success of the Vergara decision, the Partnership for Education Justice was recently launched to disparage teachers, teacher

by Anthony Cody / 1h 

Part Two: Why is the Obama Administration Waging War on Teachers? | Living in Dialogue

Part Two: Why is the Obama Administration Waging War on Teachers? | Living in Dialogue:   Tuesday, August 19, 2014 3:43 pm   Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Politics, Teachers Unions, Uncategorized   Anthony Cody   0   2 By Paul Horton. Part two of three.In the twenty-five years after the Civil Rights Act of 1868, most whites abandoned the Democrats in the South as white flight and the Southern

by mike simpson / 15h 

8-17-14 Living in Dialogue - Part One: Past as Prelude in the Still Troubled South

Home | Living in Dialogue: Part One: Past as Prelude in the Still Troubled Southby Paul Horton. Part one of three.  My son and I took our annual road trip last week. We listen to books on tape and blues as we travel. He is learning to drive so, for the first time, he was able to take the wheel for hours at a time while I bit my fingernails and chewed my gum. On the morning of our arrival to the De

by mike simpson / 10h 

School Reformers’ Pledge of Good Conduct | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

School Reformers’ Pledge of Good Conduct | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

School Reformers’ Pledge of Good Conduct

School reformers now (and in the past) are (and have been) divided among themselves. So often, they seek similar goals–students who are literate, can think clearly, have requisite skills and knowledge to enter and finish college or start a career,  and  contribute to the larger community– but split over which of the goals should have precedence and how to achieve the ones they prize.

 

 Reformers fighting among themselves, of course, is hardly new.  For generations, traditionalists have fought progressives over the purposes of schooling, what content and skills had to be taught, how teachers should teach, and how students should learn. Whether it was the 1890s, 1960s, or the 1980s, ruptures between school reformers occurred again and again (see here, here, and here). And so it is today over how best to educate poor white and minority children, whether Common Core state standards are a boon or bane, and do charter schools help or hinder children and youth.

Yet whether school reforms come from the political right, center, or left championing  particular changes often leads the most well-intentioned of reformers to commit mistakes again and again. It is those repeated mistakes, generation after generation, that have been so obvious to historians, lay School Reformers’ Pledge of Good Conduct | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Choosing Democracy: The U.S.'s Classist Educational System - And California's

Choosing Democracy: The U.S.'s Classist Educational System - And California's:

The U.S.'s Classist Educational System - And California's

America's education system is unequal and unfair. Students who live in wealthy communities have huge advantages that rig the system in their favor. They have more experienced teachers and a much lower student-teacher ratio. They have more modern facilities, more up-to-date computer and science equipment, and more up-to-date textbooks. They have more elective courses, more music and art offerings, and more extracurricular programs. They have better libraries, more guidance counselors and superior athletic facilities.

Not surprisingly, affluent students in well-off school districts have higher rates of high school graduation, college attendance and entry to the more selective colleges. This has little to do with intelligence or ability. For example, 82 percent of affluent students who had SAT scores over 1200 graduate from college. In contrast, only 44 percent of low-income students with the same high SAT scores graduate from college. This wide gap can't be explained by differences in motivation or smarts. It can, however, be explained by differences in money.

All parents want what is best for their children, but some parents -- and states and school districts -- have greater means to provide them with educational resources.

Last year, the average per-student expenditure for public K-12 schools in the United States was $10,938, but states varied greatly in how much they invested in students, from $19,752 in Vermont to $6,949 in Arizona. There are also huge disparities withinstates, between wealthy suburban school districts and poorer urban and rural school districts. Efforts by some states to equalize funding between affluent and poor school districts -- often prompted by law suits -- have not significantly narrowed the per-student spending gap in part because of loopholes in the laws and in part because of huge disparities in private fundraising for public schools.

*****

California reflects this embarrassing aspect of America's class system. Compared with other states, California ranks close to the bottom in per-student spending on public education as well as student-teacher ratios, librarians, guidance counselors, and other measures, even with the additional funding from Proposition 30. And withinCalifornia, there are still huge disparities in per-student spending between school districts, despite the new local control funding formula adopted by the state legislature.

Even if the state government allocated exactly the same amount per student to every school district, disparities would remain between the wealthiest and Choosing Democracy: The U.S.'s Classist Educational System - And California's:

Duncan Listens to Gates, Offers One Year Delay on New Test Consequences | Living in Dialogue

Duncan Listens to Gates, Offers One Year Delay on New Test Consequences | Living in Dialogue:



Duncan Listens to Gates, Offers One Year Delay on New Test Consequences

 After five years at his post, Secretary Duncan indicates he is now “listening to teachers on testing.” His statement, released this morning, offers a thorough repudiation of teaching to the test, but little substance regarding federal policies, beyond offering states the chance to request a year’s delay in the use of scores from new tests on teacher evaluations. [note: the headline on Duncan's post has been changed to "A Back to School Conversation with Teachers and School Leaders."]

This reflects, once again, that the Department of Ed is closely listening to the Gates Foundation, which called for such a moratorium just two months ago. It is an acknowledgement of the fast-growing rejection of Common Core and associated tests, and in particular, an effort to shore up support among teachers by providing some level of reassurance that they will not be punished immediately by these tests.

There was a shift in tone, however.

For the first time, instead of starting out complaining about how far behind our schools are, Duncan begins with praise.

America’s students have posted some unprecedented achievements in the last year – the highest high school graduation rate in the nation’s history, and sharp cuts in dropout rates and increases in college enrollment, especially for groups that in the past have lagged significantly. For these achievements, we should celebrate America’s teachers, principals, and students and their families.

He goes on to acknowledge the concerns he has heard about testing. These concerns have been raised loudly since he first arrived in office in 2009 – he has made similar statements in the past, condemning teaching to the test. But his policies have not changed.

We have the usual slippery language:

Federal policy rightly stays out of picking those individual measures, but ensures that in evaluating teachers, states and districts include student growth, and consider multiple measures.

To be clear, ever since Race to the Top and the NCLB waivers came along, federal policy has REQUIRED states to make test scores a significant part – which has been interpreted to mean at least 30% — of a teacher’s evaluation.

The news that educator support for Common Core is dropping like a stone has the Department of Education looking for ways to stem the tide. Being able to point to teacher support has been one of the most important lines of defense for the beleaguered project. And while this past year was supposed to be the time when educators would become more familiar and knowledgeable about the standards, that Duncan Listens to Gates, Offers One Year Delay on New Test Consequences | Living in Dialogue:

8-21-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?:

 Wait What?

 Pelto/Murphy 2014

Teacher “wins” appointment to State Board of Education

Congratulations to Erin Bernham, a Meriden teacher on her appointment to the State Board of Education! It is great news that a teacher will be added to counter-balance the cadre of corporate education reform industry advocates who have spent the last four years undermining public education. In an apparent move to show teachers, parents and […] The post Teacher “wins” appointment to State Board of

by jonpelto / 1min 

Malloy misleads teachers, parents, public school advocates and taxpayers – again!

Pelto Media Statement in Response to Governor Malloy’s Press Release:  GOV. MALLOY: MILLIONS IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING WILL ASSIST STRUGGLING SCHOOL DISTRICTS Malloy misleads teachers, parents, public school advocates and taxpayers – again! Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy and his Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, just issued a press release that began with the following: HARTFORD, CT) […] The post

1 by jonpelto / 19min 

8-20-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?:  Wait What? Pelto/Murphy 2014 Malloy promises to “stay the course” on education reform!It turns out that it took less than 24 hours for Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy to make it clear that Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor’s departure IS NOT a sign that Connecticut’s anti-teacher, pro-corporate education reform Democratic governor is going to use a second term to do a better job repres

by mike simpson / 22h 

Cami’s Newark enrollment plan collapses in the heat | Bob Braun's Ledger

Cami’s Newark enrollment plan collapses in the heat | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Cami’s Newark enrollment plan collapses in the heat

The implementation of the deeply flawed “One Newark” student-dispersal program all but collapsed yesterday as the state administration’s highly paid bureaucrats kept hundreds of angry and frustrated  parents and children waiting in un-airconditioned school rooms or outside in 90+ heat to register their children for the few remaining public school seats. Just hours into the chaos, Newark school officials locked the doors to Newark Vocational and told the men, women, and children waiting outside to come back at 5 a.m. the next morning.

Marisol Mendez who unsuccessfully tried to help her children, Emily, 9, and Carlos, 14.

The people in line outside shouted angrily at the bureaucrats and demanded a “number”–as shoppers do at meat markets–and the chance to get inside so they could plan for their children. Many said they could not return the next day because they had taken the day off from working and couldn’t take another day.

“The people downtown have no idea how the people of Newark work,” says Frankie Adao, the head of the Newark Parents Union, who witnessed the chaos. “They don’t understand they have to work, they have to be places and arrange for child care. I hope this wakes up many of the parents who didn’t think ‘One Newark’ had anything to do with them. Now they know.”

The “One Newark” plan was devised by Cami Anderson, the $300,000-a-year state-imposed superintendent who is consistently praised, despite her incompetence, by the man who appointed (and just reappointed) her, Gov. Chris Christie. It was developed in secret with the help of charter school operators and former Mayor Cory Booker using consltants who were paid millions in fees to devise the scheme. It empties and closes public schools and enhances the fortunes of private, charter school operators.

All the parents had stories to tell about the cruelty inflicted by the Anderson/Christie regime on the often poor and predominantly black and Hispanic residents of Cami’s Newark enrollment plan collapses in the heat | Bob Braun's Ledger:

8-21-14 Jersey Jazzman - The Myth of The Burned-Out Senior Teacher: Part II

Jersey Jazzman:

The Myth of The Burned-Out Senior Teacher: Part II

In my last post, I questioned the idea of the senior, burned-out teacher being a major policy concern, simply on the basis of the fact that there really aren't that many senior teachers to begin with.But what does the literature say about relative teacher effectiveness late in a career? What do we know about teachers who enter the late stages of their professions, and their effect on student outco

by Duke / 25min 

8-19-14 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman: The Myth of The Burned-Out Senior Teacher: Part INon-teacher David Boies is absolutely convinced that we are plagued by old, bad, burned-out teachers; that's why we need to get rid of tenure, see, and replace them with young, inexperienced, poorly-trained teachers, like the ones at TFA, the vast majority of whom will leave teaching after three years. Makes complete sense...Non-teac

by mike simpson / 21h 

ACT Report for 2014 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

ACT Report for 2014 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Issues Statement on 2014 ACT® Report

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement upon the release by ACT of its annual report, The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2014.

"It is heartening to see that today's ACT report shows California's graduating class of 2014 outperformed the nation in English, reading, math, and science," said Torlakson. "More and more of our students are becoming better prepared for college-level coursework as we help ensure they gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-changing and challenging world."

According to ACT, a curriculum-based measure of college readiness:

• Thirty-four percent of California's ACT-tested 2014 high school graduates met or surpassed all four of ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks (English, math, reading, and science) compared to 26 percent nationally.
• The average ACT score in California was 22.3 compared to 21 nationally.
• The number of California students taking the ACT has grown steadily over the past several years—from 15 percent of graduates in 2007 to 29 percent (113,732 students) of graduates in 2014.
• About 86 percent of California's 2014 ACT-tested graduates aspired to postsecondary education.

For more information on ACT and California's statistics, please contact ACT's Richard Moody at 319-333-9094 or visit ACT's2014 ACT National and State Scores | 2014 Condition of College & Career Readiness | ACT  Web page. California's disaggregated data by school will not be available for several months. For more information on college and career readiness, visit the California Department of Education's Career Readiness Campaign Web page.

Related Content

• Postsecondary Preparation - Provides standardized test results from the SAT Test, ACT Test, and the AP Tests which measure high school students' achievement.
• What is the ACT? - Description of the ACT test program developed by ACT, Inc.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Funding for Local Educational Agency Projects

SACRAMENTO—The State Allocation Board (SAB) today disbursed more than $93 million to be used for over 400 Emergency Repair Program  (ERP) projects statewide impacting 53 local educational agencies (LEAs), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced.

"Our students deserve the best opportunities for a successful future—to achieve that goal our youth need to learn in schools that are designed for the 21st century," Torlakson said. "These funds go a long way toward ensuring our schools overcome the challenges they face and boost California's investment in the next generation by strengthening school facilities to meet the growing demand of today's needs."

The ERP provides grant funding as well as funding to reimburse LEAs for the entire cost of repairing or replacing existing building systems, structural components, or equipment that are broken or not functioning properly and pose a health and safety risk to students and staff. Funds are made available annually through the State Budget.

The SAB, of which Torlakson is a member, meets monthly to allocate state matching funds for the construction of new classrooms, the modernization of existing schools, and other programs to improve learning environments, and adopts policies and regulations regarding SAB programs.

For the complete list of allocations, go to the SAB's online agenda  (PDF; 7MB), click on the "Consent" tab, and see Page 35.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

8-21-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Duncan Offers Olive Branch (to teachers), and Carrot (to states)

Secretary Arne Duncan issued a statement today as schools start up around the country.  Rather than saying how poorly our schools are doing, Duncan said this:First, the thanks. America’s students have posted some unprecedented achievements in the last year – the highest high school graduation rate in the nation’s history, and sharp cuts in dropout rates and increases in college enrollment, especia

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

My Plea to Superintendent Nyland

I spoke at last night's Board meeting.  My remarks were about the MOU with the Alliance for Education (more on that in another thread as the Board discussion with Charles Wright was telling) and to welcome Superintendent Nyland and ask for his help.My remarks to the Superintendent:I want to say welcome to Superintendent Nyland.  Please understand, you may truly be the guy in the white hat who just

by Melissa Westbrook / 39min 

Downtown School for Seattle Schools - Some New Twists

(This is going to be an excerpt from the Audit&Finance Committee meeting held on Tuesday.  I note that this information is likely to be again discussed at today's Operations Committee meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm.  Also at the Operations Ctm meeting, there will be a bell times analysis update, a Facilities Condition Assessment and Study and Survey by the group, MENG, 2015-2016 proposed growth bou

by Melissa Westbrook / 5min 

Gaps in the Garfield Case

This is a lengthy post and has new information so I urge you to read to the end. Gaps abound in the Garfield case.  You can see this just from the Times' story this morning on last night's School Board election.  (And welcome Times to this story - very late to it, no?)Some have suggested that the Times article is slanted?  I would say it is underwritten and has several parts wrong.  I can say that

by Melissa Westbrook / 16min 

8-20-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Common Core; Slip Slidin' AwayPoll results on public education including Common Core from two sources.Education Next - No Common Opinion on Common CoreFor example, the share of the public that say it favors the Common Core State Standards slipped noticeably between 2013 and 2014. Establishing a common set of standards across states is a new policy proposal that eme

by mike simpson / 18h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Schools play a big role in the Ferguson story. It's a teachable moment in time.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Schools play a big role in the Ferguson story. It's a teachable moment in time.:

Schools play a big role in the Ferguson story. It's a teachable moment in time.

Fergson teachers would rather be with their students in their classrooms. Instead, they spend the day picking up debris, including tear gas canisters, from local streets. 

SELMA, Alabama -- A sixth grade teacher at a Selma elementary was placed on administrative leave after having students reenact the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown that took place Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. -- AL.com 

Ferguson schools remain closed today, 11 days after the killing of a local student and the ensuing protests. Why? It seems that the district leadership has abandoned its students completely to the streets. For many Ferguson students, school is where they get their only hot meal of the day. The Washington Post reports that a teacher in North Carolina has raised more than $80,000 in order to pay for food for kids in shuttered schools.

Ferguson-Florissant is considered a high-poverty school district because many of its students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches — 68% of them last year, though it is likely that the real percentage is higher as some families never filled out the paperwork.

CLASS WARFARE...The police shooting of Michael Brown and the ensuing protest is but one dramatic chapter in a much larger story of the widening black/white, Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Schools play a big role in the Ferguson story. It's a teachable moment in time.: