Could things get worse in North Carolina? Here, a teacher describes the bills that are moving towards passage, all of which will undermine public schools and transfer public funds to private corporations.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, North Carolina, Vouchers

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gary chattman says:

May 30, 2013 at 10:51 am

PLEASE TAKE THIS POLL FOR MY BOOK “TEACHING IN 2013”. THANK YOU. I NEED 1000 PEOPLE AGAINST THESE RIDICULOUS TESTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH MY BOOK AND WITH THE PUBLICITY! PLEASE! THANK YOU!

DO YOU AGREE WITH STANDARDIZED TESTING FOR CHILDREN?

_______I’M A PARENT AND I DISAGREE

_______I’M A PARENT AND I AGREE

_______I’M A TEACHER AND I AGREE

_______I’M A TEACHER AND I DISAGREE

_______I AGREE

______I DISAGREE

Please send your answers to garychatty@aol.com, privately.
https://apps.facebook.com/polldaddy-polls/?view=poll&id=7053790

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neanderthal100 says:

May 30, 2013 at 12:35 pm

IF PRIVATE SCHOOLS GET ANY MONEY FROM THE STATE, WILL THEY HAVE TO GIVE THE TESTS???
ANYONE KNOW?

THIS COULD BE A WAY FOR THE STATE TO TAKE CONTROL OF PRIVATE SCHOOL TESTING ..IF SO….DO NOT TAKE THE STATE’S MONEY…

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- Iheartdurham says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 2:58 pm
  
  Don’t worry – there is a double standard in place so private schools can take taxpayers money and not have to administer the state tests t hat are required for all public school students. From what little I know of private schools, many, if not most, already administer a national test of their choosing so it will be business as usual for them. Also test results are not made public unless the total number of voucher students exceeds 25 students. But under NCLB, public schools must report every subcategory to the public when the number of students is at least five. (Also note the requirement that test results for schools with more than 25 students be a public record was an amendment to the original bill. The initial bill did not have that requirement.) This bill still has to go through the House Appropriations Committee.
  
  The state does not want to take over testing, what they want to do is privatize our public schools and make families that are least able to, pay out of pocket for a portion of their child’s education. Sounds the same as the high risk housing loans to me with the difference being these schools will take credit card payments for tuition and when people default on payments they can send them back to a public school. I hope people considering these vouchers look over their finances when the private schools come calling.
  
  below is pasted directly from HB944 in regards to the testing requirements for schools that take voucher money.
  
  “..Administer, at least once in each school year, a nationally standardized test
  or other nationally standardized equivalent measurement selected by the
  chief administrative officer of the nonpublic school, to all eligible students
  whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant
  enrolled in grades three and higher. The nationally standardized test or other
  equivalent measurement selected must measure achievement in the areas of
  English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics
  
  …A nonpublic school enrolling more than 25 students whose tuition and fees are paid
  in whole or in part with a scholarship grant shall report to the Authority on the aggregate
  standardized test performance of eligible students. Aggregate test performance data reported to
  the Authority which does not contain personally identifiable student data shall be a public
  record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. T”
  
  Reply
  - neanderthal100 says:
    
    May 31, 2013 at 4:00 am
    
    Thank you.
    Very helpful information!
  - LT says:
    
    May 31, 2013 at 9:00 am
    
    “The state doesn’t want to take over testing”
    Ummm…the state made most of its school legislation, thanks to RTT and state legislator initiatives, be all about testing. NC develops its testing. NC, like other states, finds it useful to make my 12 year old 6th grade since 3rd grade sit 4 hours a day for 4 days filling out bubble tests to call a school ‘excellent’ or ‘in need of improvement’ as its sole purpose to be in compliance with federal/state law.
    
    Not a teacher, administrator, or anyone has ever taken the time to use the standardized test results to do something for my son. He ‘passes’ (which means at least 50% of the questions right- woo hoo! we’re an honor school of excellence) and the data gets tossed as teachers focus on the ‘failures’ and the next set of tests…the state took over testing long ago- and the federal government assessments promise to take over next (smarterbalanced.org just released a sample test – i invite you to take the 6th grade language arts questions and tell me that didn’t feel like a four hour kiddie AP exam replete with questions that looked to trick you into most precise type answers).
  - Iheartdurham says:
    
    May 31, 2013 at 12:56 pm
    
    I meant the state doesn’t intend to take over testing for private schools and make the private schools administer the same tests as the public schools.
    
    I agree the amount of testing is too much, but so far the state has nothing in HB944 that shows it intends to make private schools to administer the exact tests all public schools must use. Private schools have more autonomy when it comes to choosing tests.
Chris says:

May 30, 2013 at 2:06 pm

In this day and age, those NC policies aren’t that bad, relatively speaking.

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- Duane Swacker says:
  
  May 31, 2013 at 6:08 am
  
  Getting your hands chopped off isn’t that bad compared to a bullet to the head, relatively speaking.
  
  Reply
  - Chris says:
    
    May 31, 2013 at 8:01 am
    
    Fix your sarcasm detector.
  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    May 31, 2013 at 12:47 pm
    
    I thought you were being sarcastic and I was trying to do the same!
Zak says:

May 31, 2013 at 9:07 am

Hey NC, you voted for these Republicans, who will single-handedly destroy public education as we know it. We are getting the government we deserve.

*Note: I sure as hell didn’t vote for these frauds.

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Iheartdurham says:

May 31, 2013 at 1:01 pm

Off-topic, but NC is also keen on privatizing water services.

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