A reader in New Orleans responded to the post about the failure of the school-closing strategy in New York City with the following comments. Despite the constant repetition of the story about the “miracle in New Orleans” by Arne Duncan and the media, the New Orleans district continues to be one of the lowest performing in a low-performing state. You may recall that Secretary of Education said that Hurricane Katrina was the best thing that ever happened to the education system of New Orleans. It’s hard to produce a hurricane to wipe away public education, as happened in New Orleans. Next best to accomplish that goal is a national strategy of closing schools and opening new schools, especially charters, supported by many foundations and the U.S. Department of Education.
Message: Don’t believe the hype:
While the New York story played out differently because of the players. local and state politics the script for the wrong-headed school reformers is basically the same. In New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina we changed the criteria for failing schools thus declaring more than 100 public schools as failing and turned it over to the free market (charters). Just like New York the reforms created a failure, seven years later the New Orleans reformed school district ranked 69 out of 70 of all the school districts in the state taking mandated standardized tests last spring. Equally as disturbing, the high poverty schools in the reformed school district in New Orleans scored lower than the high poverty schools in several cities across Louisiana in 11 of 12 areas tested. The bottom line is that despite the billions of dollars from the federal government and foundations, firing of all those old bad teachers, no teacher union and no local elected school board the New Orleans reforms failed miserably.
But despite their failure, the Governor and the state department of education is taking its failed model to school districts across the state and have recently passed a ill fated voucher program that will take put more state funds in the private sector and fail more children.
Unbelievable but True!!!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is off topic, but Diane, I’m looking for some good historical accounts of the use of standardized testing in the U.S. Both a broad survey-type overview, and also stuff that focuses on the recent convergence of testing, common-core curricula, and state/city executive “accountability” for school performance. Thanks.
“The Big Test” by Nicholas Lehmann
Sorry, to be clear, what sources would you recommend?
When it comes to wreaking education, I don’t know why Georgia must copy another state. Can’t we come up with our own plan?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/georgia_senate_head_chip_rogers_pushes_vouchers.php
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/07/18/is-louisiana-the-future-of-georgias-education-system/?cp=6
(Local rants at no extra charge.)
Sorry! that should be “wrecking.” Or maybe I was thinking “reeking.”
Actually, you just made up a fantastic new word (Sarah Palin does it all the time! “Just like Shakespeare”, she said!):
wreaking: to ruin something and make it smell bad at the same time.
So I guess the message here is that we should’ve just stuck with the status quo in New Orleans? Because it was working so well for the kids there before the Katrina….
Nope.
I didn’t see anywhere in the blog that suggested that.
Try again. We teachers give students multiple opportunities to correct their own learning.
No, not true, but don’t sell it as reform when it’s all about privatization and profiteering. Don’t come riding in on your white horse and then congratulate yourself when you leave with a boatload of money for yourself and your cronies and you have left the system in shambles. They are very good at scamming the poor people while boasting and lying….it is all for the children BS.
Can someone PLEASE explain to me how a reformer, such as Paul Vallas (Chicago, Philly, NOLA and now Bridgeport, CT) gets a reputation as a successful refomer?
Every place he has been is now a disaster. When does his reform circus act end?
What’s even sadder is the reform is not just being instituted across the state of Louisiana, but thought to be the model to follow in other states. Former State Supt. Paul Pastorek, who has just been placed on the Board of Directors of the Broad Center, brought in Paul Vallas to New Orleans after Katrina. Now we have the young former Deputy Chancellor of NYC and Broad alum, John White, as the state’s superintendent. He too was recommended by Paul Pastorek. Not only do we need to follow the money, but there is a need to follow who is scratching one another’s back.
Here is an interview where Wendy Kopp is boasting about the success in NO. I knew it she was misrepresenting the facts when Malcolm asked her about the “statistical proof”…I am with you Linda- when will this circus of lies, inaccuracies, and harmful practices on “other people’s children” end?!
http://fora.tv/2011/02/08/Wendy_Kopp_and_Malcolm_Gladwell_Talk_Education_Reform#fullprogram
It ends when my next book is published, next year.
I hope the book contains a chapter on the invalidities involved in educational standards, standardized testing and grading and the harms caused to many of not most children by those practices
Title of chapter: Quality is not Quantity.
I hope it has pictures of all these people so everyone will know what they look like when they try moving across the country or across the globe to set up shop again. I hope when they go out in public people turn away and shun them like the Amish do or point and laugh like my 8th graders do.
I am often torn by the excitement I feel about your next book vs hurrying home to see what you have shared today knowing that: the more you share the less time to write and the more you write the less time to share…..you are eating and sleeping right? We need to take better care of you; but I can tell you draw energy from each and every victory on here no matter how small.
You give me strength. But every minute I spend on the blog is time taken away dro writing the book. I enjoy it too much to stop. I enjoy the community and the sharing and learning. And what I learn here will inform the book.
Diane