Casey Barduhn, superintendent of the Westhill Central School District, warns New York Commissioner John King that his reliance on high-stakes testing is destroying the promise of the Common Core standards.
Barduhn wrote to King that he was intrigued by the standards when they were unveiled and hopeful that they would lead to creative and innovative teaching and learning.
But with the advent of the high-stakes testing, that sense of joyful anticipation was replaced by an undue emphasis on testing, test prep, and misallocated time and resources.
The rebellion against Common Core testing continues to grow. At some point, John King will have to listen to experienced educators nd change course. One cannot lead without followers.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great letter!
Despite party affiliation or arguing over right or left issues, this is interesting to view:
“You don’t pass the most significant law in decades without breaking a few in the process.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fU4S-YymK8
Thank you for posting this link. I look forward to the movie.
When you ask teachers, I find, about Common Core, they tend to actually answer about the standards themselves. I find, though, that in conversation with the general public or activists etc, the Common Core implies the standards, the assesments, the agreements to get it going, the strings attached, the process of implementing it. I think conversations need to be specific about which parts are being discussed IF the conversations are going to lead to any real actions.
I also think that because they represent the Federal government controlling too much, they are definitely a national conversation. When I consider my own state and what I can affect in it, Common Core is so large an issue, I have largely turned my attention from it in order to focus on what can be fixed within the state. I am interested in seeing where the conversation of CCSS leads on a national level.
I still think if more people would read A Singular Woman by Janny Scott, which is about Obama’s mother, they will understand why he thinks the way he does regarding schooling. The Ford Foundation funded schools in the regions of their philanthropic projects (which seemed to center around research of indigenous industry etc). So I suppose in Obama’s mind, if a corporate provided school gave his sister an excellent education in Indonesia, then it ought to work here (and clean up some slums to boot, he might think). The problem is we are not Indonesia and the Ford Foundation is not the Gates Foundation.
But mostly I think he probably just doesn’t put that much thought into it and trusted Arne too much.
I can’t wait to see the movie.
The forums the Commissioner is attending are becoming more and more of a sham. The forum that is going to be held in Buffalo this Thursday is by invitation and advanced registration. Superintendents are allowed to invite 2 individuals if they attend– meaning only 3 people per district. Questions must be pre-submitted. What does that say : Control; Control; Control! Will the panelists be wearing brown shirts?
Marge
Hi Marge,
The Commissioner and the New York Board of Regents are afraid to face public scrutiny of their policies which benefit the privatization schemes of the few, rather than serve the larger interest of the public and our children.
They must be really scared. They realize the Buffalo suburbs are up in arms by the harm they’ve witnessed with their children. Their outrage is not based on myth, but on the reality they live on a daily basis. Three people, IF the superintendent attends? That’s one teacher, one principal, one parent. This is a large metropolitan area. Three reps per district is insane. The Williamsville School District, has three middle and three high schools plus at least eight elementary schools. Three reps? Ridiculous! A demonstration in downtown Buffalo is currently being organized – right outside City Hall.
Watch out. If they were raucous in rural Jamestown, imagine the meeting Buffalo style. We like our wings hot, spicy, and fried. Remember that King.
Westhill is a jewel of a district- incredible supportive community and a fantastic group of dedicated educators. At every level, the degree of professionalism in the schools and in the district is evident and it shows in actual learning- more than test scores, more than ‘college and career’. My own kids are testimony to their excellence- the ability to edit, write, calculate, appreciate music and foreign languages, pursue the arts and listen with deeper appreciation to a wonderful piece of music. All of that and more made possible by every one at Walberta, Cherry Rd and Onondaga Hill Middle. Miss it very much but very proud that the Westhill District is part of the outcry against this travesty. The retirement letter from a true professional AP teacher last year was the clarion call- I am glad to hear that the drill and kill is being called out as a travesty by a district that really knows how to educate student.
I am reflecting on the last sentence in regards to John King ..”one cannot lead without followers…”. I wish this were true and hope that my pessimism is proven wrong. Here goes… Unfortunately, career teachers who have invested many years in teaching, who are passionate about what teaching once was and could be, who have families that depend on them for things that require money like shelter, food, medical care, college, who cannot just up and leave teaching in a downturned economy, stay because of hope and passion for the profession as well as the financial need. So, sadly John King has many captive followers who are on the defense – being thinned out by King disciples overseeing the testing data results in one hand and carrying the axe in the other!
I have hoped that this is where the power of ‘collective action” would kick in. Not happening, though. Our union leaders, Weingarten, Iannuzzi, are part of the problem and have been supporting common core, high stakes testing, and punitive teacher evaluations since the beginning. Notice that now suburban superintendents are feeling the pain but most of our large urban districts have been devastated by education “deform”. Most of our urban districts are fighting futilely against ‘deform’, all without much union support. It’s not just teacher who are afraid of losing their jobs, it is also most of our highly paid union leaders. Their mantra has been “Don’t make waves, don’t talk back.”
Connecticut is approaching these destructive initiatives by forming a “task force” to look at mandates that impact not only high-performing schools, but ALL schools! This could be a start toward chipping away at the flawed reforms that are untested, not based on any research and are downright destructive:
“…the group agreed unanimously to expand its recommendations for mandate relief options to all school districts.”
http://cthousegop.com/2013/12/lavielle-attends-first-meeting-of-education-mandate-relief-task-force/
“The rebellion against Common Core testing continues to grow. At some point, John King will have to listen to experienced educators and change course. One cannot lead without followers.”
I miss that was true.
John King does not have an inkling of understanding about ‘leading’. King is the follower; and he carries the water for those who fill the buckets. King’s demeanor and public behaviors aptly speaks without pause to his bankruptcy. Yet, he will continue to haul water until his porous bucket is yanked from his hands.
When will his liabilities outstrip his bucket carrying skills? Who will have the gumption, the moral and pedagogical perspicacity and clarity, to do what must be done. This is the only question.
Our district will be using the CC testing this year. From what I have heard from others about the format of the test let alone the rigor of the test, I was appalled. We have also adopted EngageNY math to make matter worse. There are teachers whom embraced the curriculum while I listen with disgust to their admiration of an aligned curriculum–more like direct instruction. Who has the nerve to script lesson by lesson what teacher must say and do? I’d like the developers to teach it to kids not only in low SES schools but to kids who think differently. We’ve been taught how kids come with different styles of learning and thinking. How do we fit circles in square pegs? That should be a mathematical question I’d like the CC developers to answer.
Separate the funding, the big money, the motives of the reform, and testing tied to the curriculum. If you can look beyond that (which, I know, is hard to do right now), you will see the “Good Math” that has come out of what many perceive as an “evil” implementation.
I would like to speak to the scripting of the lessons that NYS requested. The scripting of lessons was intended to help teachers (who may not have a firm understanding of how to teach math conceptually). Think of it as “embedded PD” for teachers who are not content specialists (or even for those who are, but only understand how to teach math “rotely”). I dare say most of us only understand math rotely, which makes it even more difficult for many people to see the “good math” in the Modules. Yes, they are not perfect. But the Modules are much better than any approach we have ever used in K-12 (and better than the “text book” mathematics that many folks still believe is the Common Core — cheaper too and without ties to Pearson)! Even with the scripting, I will argue that Administrators and Teachers need more PD. If you would like to learn more about the REAL Common Core Math, and how to empower teachers AND students with a deep understanding of math (and cut your ties from “textbook mathematics” which for the most part, is rebadged old standards and still very much non-integrated and rote) then look closely at the Modules. Do you understand the rich, conceptually cohesive approach, that serves as a thread from Kindergarten through High School? Read through each “scripted” lesson, so you know what a typical lesson delivery and dialogue would look like. Then adapt each lesson to make it fit your learners’ needs. The math is very deep, very good, and very conceptual. Many people do not understand it; but that does not make it bad. The districts who are using the Modules have empowered teachers and students. I have visited classrooms and seen students’ improved understanding and motivation about math. I witness it first-hand in helping districts implement the Modules, and hear it second-hand when Administrators tell me about the deep understanding they have seen students demonstrate in such a short amount of time already! Hurray!! Now is time for all Educators to learn to recognize best practice in the teaching and learning of Mathematics; before they voice their opinions. We have waited a long time for this moment for all math students….this stands to level the playing field for all math learners. I am advocating for more PD — yes, the State needs to provide more than just the NTI’s. Districts who send representatives to the NTI’s have been speaking very highly about how much better their students are understanding math now. In addition to helping districts see the best practices in Math, I set up a free website to help educate the public on “Good Math”: http://understandingcoremath.pbworks.com.
PS: When I was a Math Teacher, I wish someone had given me math lessons already written. I would have spent time analyzing them and tweaking them to best meet the needs of my learners.
Math lends itself to direct instruction, although a little manipulation of objects to conceptually reinforce the concept would be a nice addition. The lesson I saw demonstrated to kindergarteners was concise and short, though not fully engaging for the students. I was impressed with their knowledge and I could see how the lessons would progress into future grades. If they can get the basic concept down in the early grades, more difficult math concepts should be easier to grasp as the math gets harder.
However, that is Math. I don’t see this as a good technique in English or Social Studies. I’m not even sure it is appropriate for Science.
My objection isn’t so much to the concept of CC, it is to the way it is being implemented and the emphasis on testing. Some of the content also needs to be revised, plus the ties with Pearson have to end. Properly managed, CC could be a good thing, but the program’s advocates refuse to budge, instead of tweak, so now we have a war.
When you take a concept that is pure and pollute it with garbage, it becomes undrinkable.
Ann, are you familiar with “the Math Wars”? The battle between proponents of “reform math” and “traditional math”? There was a big battle in Seattle between the school board, which had adopted a reform math curriculum (I think it was Everyday Math or TURC Math) and STEM (techie) parents who thought the reform math was bogus and wanted a more traditional type of math curriculum; i.e. one that entailed memorizing times tables, etc. Your description of Common Core math reminds me of reform math. It sounds wonderful, but is there any EVIDENCE that it works, or are we using the entire nation to test a mere hypothesis?
Everyday Math was the worst. And as parents we had to live through it every day. However, there was an even worse program out there, but I can’t remember it’s name – maybe it was the TURC. Even the teachers had difficulty understanding the thought process. No, CC Math is a vast improvement over Reform Math.
So, is this module approach to teaching math what they are using at the elite schools? ( Sidwell, etc)
Surely the ultra rich, highly educated and hooked up insist on the best practices for their children.
Given the Gates-funding and promotion of the Standards, and the background of the man who led their development – a testing entrepreneur who never taught a day in his life – their only “promise” was high stakes testing as curriculum.
The CCSS = ARE JUST SO UNELIGHTENED and YES…COMMON. Is this what we want for our young and this country? Duh…folks. Don’t be fooled.
I think we need to coin a new phrase. Something like “common core corruption” or “covert oops”
Common Crap and Shit Standards.
Rude, crude, dirty and lowlife, yep that’s what they are.
Duanne- On Halloween, the students started using these words:
Common CORPSE
RIGOR – MORTIS
and State Ed —– State of Confusion
Kids Say the Darndest Things
History, geography, art, science, music and literature are dead or dying in most schools. Math and Text Processing are the only two subjects left now thanks to NCLB and NCLB 2.0 (CC). If kids learn any facts about the world, it will only be accidentally during their death march through test prep on random texts.
I’m not too surprised that many teachers are going along with this. Even before NCLB, education schools have been preaching that facts and knowledge don’t matter much. What counts is “engagement” and “skills”. Common Core dovetails nicely with the anti-content ideology that was already well-established in ed schools. Even before NCLB, we were starving our kids’ minds of knowledge.
But I think school’s primary mission is to teach kids “what the world is” (Hannah Arendt), not reading skills or writing skills (these are important, but secondary). If schools don’t fill kids’ souls with content, commercial media will have free rein there. What little knowledge they have will be engineered to make them nothing but acquisitive consumers.
One can lead without followers – called a Dictatorship! I thought we are there already. When this much pain is inflicted on children, teachers, parents and the amount of endless$$$ funded by the worlds’ richest men and foundations…sounds like a dictatorial system to me. Any way out? No end to the $$$ or Profit!
The new Math Standards and Modules stand to educate our students well beyond the math education most of us received in school. That is the unfortunate irony that many folks do not see. Those who decide not to follow what they perceive to be a dictatorship are denying their students a deep understanding of mathematics and a high quality math education (the kind that would allow them to recognize and rise above a dictatorship when they become adults). So the irony is, those who think they are fighting power, money and a dictatorship, are denying our students best practice in Mathematics, and so, the dictatorship lives on…..! Sad. You will empower teachers and students by adopting the new Standards and Math Modules AND you will cut the market for textbook companies ( or the “one company”) too. Has anyone sat down and truly compared the textbooks to the real Common Core Progression documents out of Arizona? I know the truth; and believe it or not, adopting and adapting the Math Modules are a win-win in every sense of the word. I cannot deny all math students this opportunity. Those who believe in “rough drafts” —- take the time to learn the deep conceptual approach that is balanced with skill/fluency and application in the Math Modules; and allow teachers to create classroom instruction based on best practice in Mathematics. We will then FINALLY banish the days of text-book mathematics and level the playing field for all learners in Mathematics! Check it out:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/the-stereotypes-about-math-that-hold-americans-back/281303/
Ann~ you are correct, Math education has been a problem for years.Math specialists have done a botch job and have typically not listened to educators when trying to advise them about how children learn and providing suggestions. Many Math folks also have difficulty comprehending that there are kids who just do not understand Math the way they are teaching it. Yes, generations have struggled in Math, but many have been successful. I spent my career working with kids who were not able to learn the traditional way, including Math. Especially, Math. Yes, there are kids who have significant learning disabilities in Math. With CCSS, the possibility for those kids to learn Math concepts, within the lock-step methods, language complexity and time, is frightening. High stakes testing and days lost to test
Prep is unreal!
Math educators have dabbled in ‘improving’ MathEd forever with limited success. Leaving millions behind. Those of us who know how kids learn, how they stumble, appropriate interventions, strategies….know that nothing will improve unless MathEd folks learn and listen to others. Having Gates and his posse pay off CCSS developers is not it!
Math concepts are incredibly hard to teach. I had to teach borrowing to second graders. I made up a song, we acted it out, we practiced on the board, we practiced on paper, daily Bellwood, homework – I’m not so sure they could do it on the standardized test.
Then I had to cover a fifth grade class and teach estimation. Sounds easy – you just estimate. If it’s five or more – go up, under five – go down. I must have done something wrong. I left it for their real teacher to sort out.
And in the library, I tried to teach the Dewey Decimal System to fourth graders. I made up cards and they physically had to put themselves in decimal order. (These were gifted students). We discussed their mistakes and had them put themselves in order again. You could tell who was confused. The teacher laughed. Did they remember enough to find a book if I gave them a number? Not really.
Hats off the Math Teachers!
Sorry Ann I still don’t see the value of the way Engage ny math script and the rigid way its being taught. The purpose is to teach to high stakes testing.
What it is also doing to new teachers is enabling them to rely on a script. Teachers should be effective before they get out of college. Beef up the cert process like finland. We should not be wasting time &.money during a school day studying a script.
Criticizing Common Core is problematic, because no one is ultimately accountable for it.
I watched one of King’s meetings with parents and his response to a lot of their specific complaints was “that’s not Common Core”; he’s kicking it back to local schools’ specific ADOPTION of CC. They of course will then pass it right back to him.
A lot of reformer policy seems to me bullet-proof in this same way. It’s how the defend on the ludicrous amount of testing, for example. “We never INTENDED testing to swallow teaching!” The implication there is that the dopes at the local level screwed up their Beautiful Plan.
The accountability movement seems to be engineered to produce a lack of accountability for those at the top of it.
Reform can’t fail, it can only BE failed by flawed people at the bottom who don’t have the requisite “grit” or aren’t “the best and the brightest” or are “coddling” or “special interests”.
If it doesn’t “work” at the local level, then it doesn’t WORK. It doesn’t really matter what the Grand Abstract Theory was.
Chiara Duggan: from what I can see, you are spot on.
Please allow me to expand a little on what you wrote.
The first is that you have described classic “kiss up kick down” management in practice. Failures are never the fault of the ‘inspirational visionary plan’ of the leaders but the botched execution of same by their incompetent obstructionist subordinates who don’t have the genius, high moral character, and determination of their superiors. The higher up on the management chain you are, the “better” this system works. *For just one example of the catastrophic results this entails, look at the Bush Jr. handlers who gave us the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.*
The second is an essential part of the philosophical basis of the so-called “education reform movement” in general and exemplified by CC in particular. Do you remember the deep thinking that went on in your elementary school’s lower grades when there was a dispute on the playground or in the classroom? “I’m rubber and you’re glue, everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Followed [at least in my experience] by various appropriately or inappropriately—and not well understood—scatological terms. Or as sometimes expressed: nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah! How else to explain the word salad expressed by such leading charterites/privatizers as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy?
No reason to guess why such luminaries of the rheephorm firmament as Michelle Rhee and David Coleman won’t engage in a public discussion with the owner of this blog—
They’ve already lost the argument. They’re just trying to keep the general public from realizing that.
😎
King’s saying “That’s not Common Core” when repeatedly confronted with evidence of endemic educational malpractice done in its name is akin to the old delusion (though in King’s case, it’s a transparent lie) that “If only the Czar knew what was being done in his name, things would change!”
The fact is that the malpractice and abuse that characterize the Standards are inseparable from the context – secretive, deceptive, self-interested, anti-democratic – of so-called education reform from which they emerged.
The authoritarianism, arbitrariness, student and teacher powerlessness, tedium, threats and intimidation that arise from their imposition are features of the Standards, not bugs.
After all, that’s what the overwhelming majority of young people fortunate enough to get jobs can look forward to in their future places of employment.
That’s what the touts mean when they talk about young people being College (debt) and (poverty-wage) Career Ready.
I understand completely that the public needs to become educated in “best practice” in Mathematics; hence, my website. Thank goodness I have an education and background that allow me to truly understand. Here is who I credit for that:
http://understandingcoremath.pbworks.com/w/page/71009223/Paying%20it%20Forward
There is no doubt in my mind that we all do need an enormous amount of “Best Practice in Mathematics” PD for parents and all educators. When we were taught Math, if we never learned “why”, (and only know how to do the math), it is difficult to help our students learn any other way, except that same rote way (both as parents and educators). Hence, my own effort is a website to help parents, teachers and administrators. I wish we could have done this first, before NYS released the modules.
From what I can see, the only people who are speaking out against the new Math curriculum are those who: 1) Are fighting against it for reasons, such as testing, implementation, or lack of PD, etc… but not against the math curriculum itself, or 2) Do not see the value in the curriculum because they have not had enough coursework or high quality education related to best practice in Teaching and Learning Mathematics and brain-based research. The best part is, I can honestly say, that not ONE educator who I have worked with has said they want to go back to the old standards or the old way of teaching math. Everyone I have helped (either directly in a classroom, or at group PD session) has said “thank you” — it’s working!!! One teacher told me she looked back at her “common core aligned textbook” from last year and realized it was way too easy…her kids are learning at a much higher level now! A principal said her 7th and 8th graders are doing very well! A former Assistant Superintendent told me “this is what I was waiting for in K-12 Mathematics for my whole career”. Yes and yes.
Try it….you’ll be hooked on the results. And by the way, it is conceptual understanding balanced with skill/fluency and application — the best of both worlds! It’s a gift we deny to all math learners.
Ann,
If I may so ask? Do you teach math? If so at what level(s) and for how long. If you do not teach, what do you do for a living? What is your “connection” to education? Are you an “implementer”, that is, making a living off of “the teaching of the teaching” of math?
Thanks in advance,
Duane
Duane,
Why are these kinds of questions ok to ask? Does the hostility of them completely escape you? It looks likes complete setup – “please justify to me your credentials so I can put you in my box that allows me to dismiss everything you say without engaging your argument”.
The 8th grade NYS Math Modules are awful. More students will be less prepared for high school level math if the modules are used to guide instruction. What a waste of taxpayer money!
Good Evening -The rebellion against the Common Core and High Stakes Testing is complicated.
Americans are concerned that the Gates Foundation , Bloomberg, Broad ; Murdoch; Tisch Foundation etc . are handing a US taxpayer-funded Monopoly to Pearson Publishing a UK based company.
The UK isn’t the right place for my tax dollars. Do you feel it’s the right place for your tax dollars?
Just so everyone knows “Ann” is Ann Netter of Common Core, Inc. who wrote the math modules. “No one is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator.”
This whole “deformable” situation reminds me of the fable “Belling the Cat.” It is easy to make a plan but the trick is in implementation. From Wikipedia: “The story is used to teach the wisdom of evaluating a plan not only on how desirable the outcome would be, but also on how it can be executed. It provides a moral lesson about the fundamental difference between ideas and their feasibility, and how this affects the value of a given plan.” Thank goodness for wise mice who speak up and spread their wisdom. 😉
As a result of this CC quagmire, I have resolved to never use these words/phrases in the new year: rigor, 21st century skills, engage, global community, college and career ready, and empower. I am sure that my list will grow. My hope for 2014 is that we can start speaking like real live people again.
I would like to invite John King to my elementary Montessori classroom so he can finally learn what he thought he knew about Common Core and Montessori. I have a bunch of first graders who are preoccupied with the holidays, their loose teeth, and rubber band bracelets. Maybe he should try to get them rigorously engaged in 21st century skills so they can be ready for college. There is nothing like a group of 1st graders to give you a dose of reality.
Marianne, I love your list of taboo words. I have abhorred the word rigor for years. The rationale that the children were failing because the curriculum wasn’t challenging them is the most bogus thing I’ve ever heard. Your analogy of Belling the Cat is apt. Perhaps we should give King a copy when he comes to visit your class. I’ve taught the lower grades – they are so real at that age. They love to learn, but they are also caught up in the “drama” of life. It is so easy to love them all. I miss being with them. I don’t miss the nonsense.
lellingw, I don’t think the the concept of common core is a bad thing. Children need a baseline of common knowledge – Fairy and Folk tales, Nursery Rhymes, Songs, Stories. It is all a part of our heritage. (All children should read Charlotte’s Web, all high school students should read To Kill a Mockingbird – and there are many other books they should know.)
History, too, is very important, and we should all learn the same history, not what The Texas Committee determines appropriate. There was a Hitler and a Holocaust. All kids need to know that. The Trail of Tears and the Japanese Internment need to be taught. I didn’t hear about them until I was an adult. It wasn’t in the curriculum for my school. It can’t be selective, it needs to be as truthful as we can determine.
They need to learn certain concepts in Math. Sometimes it’s the process which is important. Understanding math can lead to problem solving skills. And, of course, Science, which is the one subject I avoided. Yet I needed to know about the Animal Kingdom and the human body and the solar system (I’m still mad Pluto is no longer considered a planet), etc.
Add in literature, art, music, sports and you’ve got yourself a school.
Now promote Assemblies, Field Trips, School Plays and Talent Shows, and other enrichment activities and you are providing an education.
Notice I didn’t mention state or government assessments. They are superfluous. Unless they can be used to enhance instruction, they mean less than nothing. In fact their impact tends to be negative.
This should be our a Common Core.
Marianne — I love your mention of the Fable of Belling The Cat!! A statistics professor for whom I have great respect, kept asking who amongst you : “Will Bell The Cat?” His referral to the great fable, lead me to re-read it. The Council of Mice had it somewhat easier , if you will, they clearly had The Cat identified, and sought to bell it. We, educators have thought that King was The Cat. Clearly, he is not. He is the snake oil salesman who has been bought and sent out to do the dirty deeds of The Fat Foundation Cats. Cheshire cats hide behind the Gates.
I am so annoyed about this pretending that the Common Core standards are a good idea but the tests were bad. Standards drive standardized education and there is no reason for education to be so rigid and inflexible. Let’s stop pretending standardized education is good for learning and that it is only the test which are bad. Education is not a factory and the factories were never pleasant places to be anyway. They made people less human and took control over their lives.
It seems to me that titles for classes are in an important sense standards. If a student passes an algebra or geometry class, should not there be some well defined aspect of mathematics that the student has learned?
From attending a reent forum in Jamestown, I can tell you that John King is not listening. He has the support of the majority of the Regents so why should he?
It is ALL ABOUT THE $$$$!
Never has been about quality for our kids.
Gates’ BottomFeeders are circling around him and swimming along side of for every little $ falling their way. Willing to carry out anything this filthy rich undereducated man will throw their way. Only way to address this is to find a way to impact their financial Profit sources. Let’s get creative and put our problem solving hats on.
I think I love you!!! I agree and I am on it!!
Marge
King’s (and Cuomo’s) no. 1 priority in the early stages was to insist/pressure NY districts come to agreements to submit to test based eval (to obtain Fed Intrusuion RTTT funds withheld), even attempting to increase the weight of state tests in those evals AFTER agreements and funds had been obtained (despite the final form of state tests still not existing…an airplane being built in the sky, a work in progress…). There was little promotion of the promise of CCLS, more bad teacher/failing schools rhetoric. The private “research fellow” driven agenda of our state policy makers and enforcers was made clear very early on. Less about pedagogy and instruction, more about dismantle/destroy/takeover/rebuild to suit private interests instead of public commons.
Who funds the research fellows?? Which foundation??
What are the findings of the Attorney General’s investigation in to trips to Singapore, Helsinki; Rio de Janerio paid for by Pearson?? That investigation began 2 years ago — we are still waiting to hear the results . Ethics are a huge issue. Pearson pays large sums of money to lobbyists. Why are lobbyists entitled to free health care.
Check out how much Pearson has contributed to political campaigns — including Cuomo.