Arne Duncan reminded us In his speech at the Democratic National Convention that President Obama opposes teaching to tests. Duncan didn’t say whether he agrees. It’s hard to take this sentiment seriously now that so many states are evaluating teachers by student test scores, at Duncan’s urging.
When this practice is one day acknowledged to be bogus, we will remember who imposed it.
Meanwhile Governor Dannel Malloy, who has specifically endorsed teaching to the tests, was made chairman of the National Governors Association’s education and the workforce committee.
As someone once said,, hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From WSJ: Mayor Mike believes in teaching to the test as well:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10000872396390443819404577635813500239068-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwNzAwODc3Wj.html
“On Thursday, the first day of schools in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed the issue of test prep in response to a question about the city’s work toward new teacher evaluations.
“That’s exactly what people should be doing,” he said. “They teach to the test in math. Yes. If you can’t add two and two, and come up with four, then you haven’t learned what you’re supposed to learn. The tests reflect the real world. Not perfectly, but they’re the best we have.” “
“The tests reflect the real world. Not perfectly, but they’re the best we have.”
Man o man, one might have fun with that statement. “Tests reflect the real world” Can I have some of the fine pharmaceuticals that mayormike is taking so that I may have my own reality also??? Oh, but they do “not [fit] perfectly”. Perfectly into what? That’s what she said. (sorry, that comes from the “My principal is a douche bag” blog referenced in a prior post). “They’re the best we have”-allow me to laugh in Spanish, je je je, jha jha jha, je je je.
Someone on the Pelto’s blog suggested that if Romney wins and edu-reform hits rock bottom, then perhaps the democrats would wake up and resume the staunch support of unions and public education again. While it makes me cringe, there is some sense to that.
True. We have gotten to this point precisely because it was a “Democrat” pushing through this corporate agenda. A Republican would have been met with resistance.
In the early decades of the 20th century Dewey and Terman had competing visions of education: Dewey wanted to have a high quality liberal arts education for all students and Terman wanted to sort and select students to help the armed forces and businesses. Educators and many parents loved Dewey’s ideas. The business community loved Terman’s thinking. We know who won that debate…. it doesn’t appear that things will change from the top-down… but things COULD change from the bottom up…
What a joke! Malloy knows nothing about what it takes to be a teacher. He can memorize five or six talking points given to him by Stefan Pryor and repeat them ad nauseum. But it all ends there. He cannot sustain a substantial conversation about the education of children. What does this committee actually do? Repeat the talking points given to them by the Chiefs of Change…..a parrot could do that.
Nevada’s new state superintendent of schools, in his 70’s, and from the George W. Bush institute is on my news bloviating on the myths of 3 bad teachers in a row and we must rid ourselves of the bottom 5 percent of teachers. He swears Student Growth Percentiles are best and are capable of doing this. I need to find Bruce Baker’s work on this and send it to some people. This just adds to a wonderful weak.
What you need to know: the 3 bad teachers in a row is myth, firing bottom 5% is absurd. Speculation, not research. Never happened.
Diane
I’m aware of that, I have an M.A. in Psychology and Sociology, and another one in Quantitative Analysis, as well as education. It is an extrapolation from bad Economic research. I live in Nevada, it seems more like Alice’s Wonderland, completely upside down and insane. Thanks for the reassurance I haven’t lost my mind, now i”m just depressed. I’ll eventually get mad by Monday and fight on.
Thanks for all you do as a tireless advocate for the public good that is the school system. Speaking for myself, your blog and your words encourage. I can’t wait to buy your next book.