My website is dianeravitch.com.
I am a historian of education and Research Professor of Education at New York University.
I was born in Houston, Texas, attended the Houston public schools from kindergarten through high school, and graduated from Wellesley College in 1960. I received my Ph.D. in the history of American education in 1975.
I am the mother of two sons. They went to private schools in New York City. I have three grandsons: two went to religious schools and the third goes to public school in New York City.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
Diane Ravitch's Blog by Diane Ravitch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at dianeravitch.net.
Hope you can spread the word and join us at this great event this Thursday. I tried to post before, but I’m not sure it worked and somehow a website I know nothing about inserted its name in the third box.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 6th, 2013
NYC public school children sign John Hancocks to their own “Declaration of Education” on Chancellor’s Day
City Hall Park gathering injects a positive message into the standardized testing debate, favors giving administrators room to create learning communities and giving teachers time to do what they do best: teach!
MANHATTAN—Parents, New York City public schoolchildren and community members will gather in City Hall Park on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 am for a Chancellor’s Day event that will feature music, giant puppets and a participatory social studies lesson inspired by the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
“We’re coming together in support of our amazing public school teams,” said Jody Drezner Alperin, one of the event’s organizers. “The high-stakes testing culture handcuffs our teachers and administrators and keeps them from doing what they do best. We want to see the tests return to being just one valid measure of success among many.”
Vicky Finney Crouch, another event organizer, said “This isn’t about opting out, it’s about redressing the balance. We don’t send our kids to school to just take tests and do endless test prep; we send our kids to school to learn. We don’t want our schools turned into test-taking factories; we want them to be nurturing communities of learning again.”
At the gathering, as part of an interactive lesson, kids will offer suggestions for what they believe are the fundamental ingredients every school should have, and their ideas will be inscribed on an enormous scroll, the “Declaration of Education”. Candidates for mayor and City Council have been invited to attend.
The scroll, which the kids will sign, will be delivered later to New York State Education Commissioner John King. Copies will go to Mayor Mike Bloomberg, NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, NY State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, NYC City Councilmembers, city members of the NY State Legislature, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
“We’re helping New York City Public School children share their strong and important voices with the powers that be,” said Drezner Alperin. Added Finney Crouch, “This will remind decision-makers how fantastic kids can be when they’re encouraged to think for themselves. And it will show them that when kids are actively engaged, real learning happens – the kind of learning can’t happen during test prep and isn’t valued by standardized tests.”
Media Contacts: Jody Drezner Alperin: 917.902.0944. jd.alperin@gmail.com
Vicky Finney Crouch: 917.608.4321. vickyfinney@mac.com
Robin Epstein: 917.658.8803. robinepsteindesign@gmail.com
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Hope you can join us and spread the word!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 6th, 2013
NYC public school children sign John Hancocks to their own “Declaration of Education” on Chancellor’s Day
City Hall Park gathering injects a positive message into the standardized testing debate, favors giving administrators room to create learning communities and giving teachers time to do what they do best: teach!
MANHATTAN—Parents, New York City public schoolchildren and community members will gather in City Hall Park on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 am for a Chancellor’s Day event that will feature music, giant puppets and a participatory social studies lesson inspired by the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
“We’re coming together in support of our amazing public school teams,” said Jody Drezner Alperin, one of the event’s organizers. “The high-stakes testing culture handcuffs our teachers and administrators and keeps them from doing what they do best. We want to see the tests return to being just one valid measure of success among many.”
Vicky Finney Crouch, another event organizer, said “This isn’t about opting out, it’s about redressing the balance. We don’t send our kids to school to just take tests and do endless test prep; we send our kids to school to learn. We don’t want our schools turned into test-taking factories; we want them to be nurturing communities of learning again.”
At the gathering, as part of an interactive lesson, kids will offer suggestions for what they believe are the fundamental ingredients every school should have, and their ideas will be inscribed on an enormous scroll, the “Declaration of Education”. Candidates for mayor and City Council have been invited to attend.
The scroll, which the kids will sign, will be delivered later to New York State Education Commissioner John King. Copies will go to Mayor Mike Bloomberg, NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, NY State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, NYC City Councilmembers, city members of the NY State Legislature, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
“We’re helping New York City Public School children share their strong and important voices with the powers that be,” said Drezner Alperin. Added Finney Crouch, “This will remind decision-makers how fantastic kids can be when they’re encouraged to think for themselves. And it will show them that when kids are actively engaged, real learning happens – the kind of learning can’t happen during test prep and isn’t valued by standardized tests.”
Media Contacts: Jody Drezner Alperin: 917.902.0944. jd.alperin@gmail.com
Vicky Finney Crouch: 917.608.4321. vickyfinney@mac.com
Robin Epstein: 917.658.8803. robinepsteindesign@gmail.com
####
I need guidance from someone who knows New York Law and the protection of children and their privacy in public schools here in NYC…today,my daughter’s third grade class (gifted and talented) was told by their teacher to empty their desks in order to reveal who might be a thief in the class. Three students claimed that some of their “trading”cards were missing and one child claimed that he was missing ten dollars. I find this to be absolutely outrageous. She told her students that it was pathetic that she was spending her time searching instead of teaching. In my opinion it was pathetic on her behalf. Things go missing all of the time. Why must their be an assumption of thievery. It is impossible and I believe unlawful for a teacher to put themselves in an adversary position with the children in their class. At the end, nothing was discovered. This was a “fishing expedition” and in my limited knowledge of privacy laws but my gut reaction as a mother and fierce advocate for all of the children in this class…this was an abuse of our children’s Fourth Amendment Rights. No one was in any danger…no drugs were involved…no weapons of any kind….If you are or know of a lawyer, please advise…..
Educators in Minnesota respond to a Star Tribune of Minneapolis editorial criticizing the governor’s veto of a $1.5 million earmark for TFA. http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/210324801.html
So, as I have worked to compartmentalize all the aspects to Ed Reform (to get a clear understanding of everything), I keep coming back to this being like the opera Hansel and Gretel. Humperdink’s sister adapted the libretto from the Grimms’ tale: the parents have fallen on hard times (like our current generation of working-age Americans)—they are broom makers and they go into the surrounding villages to try and sell brooms (like efforts are being made to get our economy back to a pleasant level); in doing so they leave Hansel and Gretel (the children) doing measurable tasks (a la testing) so that they will be contributing to the welfare in general (working on a broom and fixing a sock); a neighbor gives them some milk which leads Hansel and Gretel to abandon their measurable tasks and frolick as they dream about the milk. When mother discovers they are not working (like those who think the schools must measure and measure), in the shuffle of disgruntlement the milk is spilled (NCLB). So the children are sent into the enchanted forest to find berries (RttT). There are some good breaks for them (the sandman lures them to sleep–they have each other—and they pray quite a bit). Meanwhile mother also prays (those of us in teaching realizing that we have in fact sent our children into the enchanted forest), and realizes she has over-reacted. Father, who has had a good day in the villages, brings home lots of food (those of us finally getting a break in the economy, or finding excitement in how can we better the children’s lives), but it is too late. The children are already out there.
Meanwhile a tasty candy and gingerbread house pops up (a solution to the children’s fear and hunger!!! charters, vouchers, TFA). The children nibble and are then set under the spell of the witch (those who do not have children’s best interest in mind, but just want to plump them up to devour them or line them up in the fence of gingerbread children already captured)!!
For a while, the children are at her mercy. But clever Gretel outsmarts the witch and the children then set all the other captured gingerbread children free—and they become real boys and girls again. The spell is broken. And mother and father appear, after having searched the enchanted forest throughout the night to find them. There is prayer and celebrating and the family is reunited, the witch ousted.
I am sure the analogy doesn’t fit directly, but it is where my musical brain has taken me this week when reading this blog. Here’s hoping all witches with candy houses can be outsmarted by the Gretels of the world—and Hansel can be freed. And the family can get about their business of enjoying what father and mother are able to provide from their business and the children can frolick and be children, as they learn.
Stunning and sad news from Washington, DC and the DC City Council:
“Two separate proposals were offered by District of Columbia officials this past week to put public tax money into private hands, waive the District’s own statutory regulations, and exempt schools from operating under collective bargaining agreements: Mayor Vincent Gray proposed a bill to expand charter authority. The DC Council’s Education Committee Chair, meanwhile, proposed “Innovation Schools,” another concept promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Citizens in- and outside the District are encouraged to read these proposals and examine their origins.”
http://weacted.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/two-branches-of-dc-government-propose-privatizing-schools/
Thought you should see this, Diane! Awesome article on salon.com. They go after the “reformers.”
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/03/instead_of_a_war_on_teachers_how_about_one_on_poverty/
Diane,
Please consider sharing this article on your blog. I am resigning from my teaching position because I can no longer cooperate with the standardized testing regime that is destroying creativity and imagination in education.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/26/award-winning-virginia-teacher-i-can-no-longer-cooperate-with-testing-regime/
Thanks and keep up the great work!
News from the White House: A National “Show and Tell” today at 3:30.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/show-and-tell?utm_source=email214&utm_medium=text2&utm_campaign=education
A must read for anyone who doubts that its all about the money.
It was firing day at the charter school. I’ve never seen a faculty with sooo many ineffective teachers (REALLY?!). I’ve seen a number of teacher’s identities crushed under the weight of the new evaluations that leave no room for individuality. Did an informal survey… 50% of the teachers are on meds for anxiety and depression. What’s wrong with this picture?
Churn and burn is alive and well.
Teachers in Lebanon, Oregon have voted to do away with grant money from the Chalkboard Project, because it requires VAM and merit pay.
http://democratherald.com/news/local/education/lebanon-teachers-vote-to-opt-out-of-grant-program/article_8077eb06-cd2d-11e2-83b9-001a4bcf887a.html?mobile_touch=true
I wanted to share with you this truthful and well-researched article about 4 issues relating to education reform.
It talks about school closings esp. in Chicago, lack of funding, corporate involvement, and all the issues most of us on this blog are so concerned about.
t also discredits Michelle Rhee’s reform movement.
http://www.nationofchange.org/forces-driving-america-s-education-spring-1369577132
Diane:
You asked for the address for the Governor of Mississippi:
Governor Phil Bryant
300 E Capitol St
Jackson, MS 39201
Nice summary on the latest privatization shenanigans of ALEC and Republican Govs.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/06/10/month-state-level-republicans-steps-privatize-schools.html
Diane on June 10th you asked, in a post: “Is there a right way to do something wrong?”
Here is my experience with that question.
I’ve been thinking about testing too. A lot. I teach first grade. My students arrive at the tender age of 5 or 6 and exit at 6 or 7. I give my students 6 benchmark tests a year, 3 in literacy and 3 in math. This past year, 4 more tests were added to the roster – this time on computer. That adds up to 10 – yes 10 -multiple choice tests every year for children who still cry for their moms, pee on the carpet, fall asleep spread eagle on the floor, and poke, prod, tease, and growl at each other. Oh –did I say that the children can’t read, at least for the first third of the year –the first 3 or 4 tests?
I am told the tests are to help inform my instruction. But I know the truth. The tests are there in first grade to get the kids ready for the tests in second grade –the tests that really matter – the tests that will count on the schools’ API and AYP reports. (California tests 2nd grade).
As a pragmatist, I’m efficient, organized, hold traditional values, and like rules and order. I know how to do what is expected of me and how to show results. So I reasoned I could use these structural strengths to get the tests over with, show the expected results, meet the smart goals, so that I could move on to the creative part of teaching –the part that cannot be quantified– the part of teaching where I get to interact with the children I am charged with developing academically, I get to know their passions, fears, ideas, the part of teaching that educates children – where there are no borders between painting and reading and playing basketball and building towers and writing , the part of teaching that is magical, that combines knowledge of standards, expertise, and passion on the part of the teacher with excitement, willingness, surprise, and vision from children.
But that is not what happened. Every breathing space I created for myself and my students by my efficiency got filled up with another expectation. More students – 18 one year, 20 the next, 24 for a few years, then 26; a new policy of all-day, full inclusion of special needs children in the general education classroom; a neighborhood impacted by the housing market decline and its resultant mobile population – causing more to move in and out of my classroom during the year; a school in program improvement – in effect designated as failing, and the resultant punishments – more administrative scrutiny, narrowing of curriculum to math and reading, canceling of arts programs during the school day; flight of families to school with better scores; and noisy classrooms in buildings without connecting walls.
So I got tired. I got beaten down. I got discouraged. And if you think I had it bad, think of the kids. Imagine a teacher for them who is always cross, always serious, harps about the test, never takes the time to ask them how they are doing, is too busy to tie a shoe lace or rub a boo-boo. That is me. I cringe as I write this.
Standardized tests don’t just stop my students from thinking, they teach them not to think. Imagine a 5 year old child who doesn’t read, and may not even speak English. They look at an 8 by 11 inch white paper devoid of all but one or two sketches. They listen as I read the question to them. Then I read the 3 or 4 choices. They pick the choice and fill in the bubble. Imagine the time I spend teaching them how to find the question, scroll with their eyes through the 4 choices, all while listening to me drone on and repeat the question and the choices until all 26 of them have bubbled something in. Imagine that this one test has 8 pages of questions – 15 or 20 questions in all. No wonder I’m cross. No wonder their eyes are glazed and they are growling.
But it gets worse. I am complicit in this next part. Standardized tests actually make students stupid. Yes, stupid. Not only are the kids not thinking, they are losing the ability to think. In my zeal to get administrative scrutiny off me and my students, I mistakenly thought that if I give them the test results they want, then I could do what I know was best for my students. To that end I trained my students to do well in these tests. I taught them to look for loopholes; to eliminate and guess; to find key words; to look for clues; in short, to exchange the process of thinking for the process of manipulation. I capitalized on my knowledge of young children, and the fact that they want to please adults and like to get the answer “right”. I justified my actions by saying that I had no choice, that the consequences of low test scores at my school were too dire to contemplate, and I wasn’t willing to put myself in professional or financial jeopardy. Clearly, testing made me stupid too.
I can’t speak for all my fellow teachers at my school, but I suspect many of them would, at the very least, recognize similar behaviors in their test-teaching practices. So, when despite our best collective efforts at raising test scores failed and my school entered 2nd year program improvement, I surrendered my stupidity and started speaking up, and eventually speaking out. I read research, blogs, government publications, and journals. I read widely from educational, historical, economic, pediatric, and psychological literature. I challenged administrative authority at my school to do the same – read, think, debate, discuss, and much to my surprise, did not get rebuffed. Astonishingly, I got ignored.
At about the same time I woke up out of my testing-induced nightmare , I started to notice the monster I had helped create. My students were only happy when they got the answer right. For many years my colleagues and I had noticed a trend in young children – a trend toward passivity in learning. We had theories – all the kids had TV’s in the bedrooms, they had far too much screen time – computer, games, cells, TV’s in cars, lack of adult supervision and interaction, lack of conversational models at home, lack of social models at home, the list went on. But what wasn’t on the list was what I was culpable for – I had become about the right answer. They wanted to please me. They knew that if they waited long enough I would help them find the right answer. And I did.
One day, during small group math rotation, I put up privacy boards during the practice part of a lesson on math reasoning. The story problem went like this: There are 10 buttons on my coat. 6 are red and the rest are blue. How many are blue? We have worked on these kind of problems frequently, and the children has seen in test format. Using connecting cubes as buttons, the children had to make a model of the problem. Three kids cried that day. The stress of thinking for and by themselves got to them. You see, many of the children had become expert at copying – watching what other children did in the group to get an answer and then providing “their” answer a nanosecond later. The children did not trust themselves enough to even attempt an answer. Their discomfort was palpable, and I was appalled.
Crying notwithstanding, I continued to use privacy boards. I also started to coach the kids about my belief in their abilities. I found that as they worked out a math problem using manipulatives to represent objects, I could lean in and coach them, one to one. Then, when they all had their answers, we pushed down the privacy boards to explore what we had all done. Ever so slowly, over many weeks, they started to regain their confidence.
You might wonder why I had not been doing this kind of teaching all along. I had, 11 years ago, pre-NCLB. Testing, along with the breadth of the standards and the resulting mountain of material to cover, much of it developmentally inappropriate, slowly eroded my professional judgement. Pressure to produce results through collaboration and mind-numbing analysis sapped my energy. A constant barrage of media stories about the ineffectiveness of teachers, some of it supported by leaders at my own school, drowned my spirit. Then I heard you, Diane, speak as a guest of my district and union. I started to read your work and have never looked back.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are truly brave. You inspire me to speak up and speak out. You remind me that knowledge is power –I had forgotten. Now I get my ducks in a row, collect my facts, back up my intuition and experience with research, and speak up without fear or rancor. And in the process of speaking up for myself, I speak up for my students. And ever so slowly I start to rebuild my confidence too.
And the march to privatization continues…and questions are raised? Really? I wonder why?
“Only 13 percent of students from closing D.C. schools have signed up to stay in the traditional school system next year, Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Tuesday, raising questions about whether the school closures are driving families into charter schools.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/small-percentage-of-displaced-students-enrolling-in-dc-schools/2013/06/11/ebe818fc-d2b4-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html
I am writing a book on K-12 education titled, “Unleashing America’s Greatest Natural Resource, the Minds of our children”, subtitled, “Education is not the total solution to anything, but it’s a part of the solution to everything”. I am seeking permission to quote several of Diane’s blog posts. How do I get permission
I am writing a book about transforming K-12 education titled, “Unleashing America’s Greatest Natural Resource:The Minds of Our Children” and subtitled, “Education is not the total solution to anything, but it’s a part of the solution to everything.” In the book I would like to use quotes from a number of Diane’s blog-posts or newspaper columns. How do I get permission?
Dear Allan Jones,
Contact me toast for permission to quote blogs.
Familiarize yourself with the fair use doctrine.
Hello Diane, Thanks for responding. I am trying to contact you, but having difficulty in doing so. This exchange is the closest I have come. I am a big fan of your recent work and find myself tempted to include your comments a few times in the book. Some are blog posts, but more are from your articles in Huffington Post and Washington Post. What is the best way to contact you?
Allan
My address is on my website
You must think I’m a total dunce by now. I’m beginning to doubt myself. I have been in the technology business and education for about 40 years now, but I can’t find an email address for you at either this site or at http://dianeravitch.com/. All I could find under the contact link was a connection to the speaker’s bureau. Where do I go from here?
Gardendr@gmail.com
This may be the beginning of the endgame here in Rhode Island: Vouchers!
http://www.providencejournal.com/politics/content/20130612-rhode-island-school-choice-bill-draws-lively-debate.ece
True reform will not come from the top down, it must start from the grassroots which the teachers of Madison and Chicago have learned all to well. Eventually, we must be willing to walk the line to challenge the school yard bullies in our midsts:
http://deconstructingmyths.com/2013/06/13/they-walk-the-line-2/
Thank you Diane for helping to give us a voice and a mic.
I saw this tweet and thought you might be interested: “In under an hour, 1300+ people liked this; you will, too: ow.ly/1Xv5zF #HB2386 #staar #txed #txlege Thks @JasStanford” HB 2386 was passed unanimously in both house and senate.
Gov. Perry vetoed testing relief for 3rd-8th and a day later confused LIbya and Lebenon. Texas kids deserve better! Thanks for joining us at the Save Texas Schools Rally and for helping get the word out through your blog.
Is there any indication anywhere in US that a push against the expanding/expansive role of the Federal government in education will be fought or addressed in a formal sense? Will any kind of decisions come down to say that NCLB was too big, too vast and too sweeping so that it won’t continue to be the style of government we have regarding education? Are political platforms for future elections forming on this premise? (I know there is no crystal ball, but surely people recognize that this is the root of the problems)? What is the word on the political street from this viewpoint?
Diane… just so you know, on FB there is a new group called “Badass Teachers Association”… and you are in the process of being voted into the “Badass Hall of Fame” for being the most passionate fighter against “Corporate Education Deform!” LOL!!!
Diane, please call out NPR. Today’s Morning Edition featured a story demeaning university teacher training – featuring the NCTQ’s “study” without disclosing their funders or agenda.
http://www.npr.org/2013/06/18/192765776/study-teacher-prep-programs-get-failing-marks
Don’t listen to NPR anymore since it’s so much of its funding comes from Gates. Democracy Now with Amy Goodman is a better source of information.
You may be interested in that Michael Gilson– who developed the modern Libertarian movement and the privatization movement with Peter Drucker which was originally meant to legalize privately offered public services, not sell them off– has a very dim view of most ‘pseudo-privatization’ efforts by the extreme right GOP and other types including the recent Gates funded study.
See the thinkpieces on what the Libs are doing for education options worldwide and Gilson’s rejection of the STEM-mania at http://www.libertarianinternational.org
Soon the Regents scores will be coming out, with the usual comparisons of how this year’s scores compare with previous year’s scores. The media, NYSED, and school administrators will be all over this “data,” claiming it reveals something about what is going on in our classrooms. Most likely, at least when it comes to the English Regents, there will be concern about a decrease in mastery and passing rates. No one will mention that comparing this year’s scores to last year’s scores is invalid. As the state is pushing Common Core, more testing, and APPR teacher scores based on these tests, they are manipulating Regents scores in order to make it appear that students are doing worse year-to-year. Teachers will be labeled “unsatisfactory,” because their APPR scores are, in large part, contingent upon the Regents scores. The email I sent to Steven Katz, NYSED Director of Assessment, explains the problem here. I have yet to receive a reply as to my question re: the rationale of changing the scoring rubric in order to allow more students to fail.
Dear Mr. Katz,
I have few questions about the NYS English Regents scoring chart. In 2011, a student scoring 17 on the multiple choice and 7 points on questions 26-28 would earn a score of 71; in 2012, that student would earn a score of 66, and this year, that student would fail with a score of 63. In 2011, there were 77 boxes on the chart that allowed for passing scores; in 2012, there were 70; this year, there are 57. You get my point.
My questions:
What is the rationale behind making it more difficult for students to pass year-to-year? Why are these scoring changes not publicized, when you are well aware that when mastery and passing rates go down, the media and the public see it as a failure on the part of teachers? My students could earn the same number of points on the test as they did last year, yet it will be seen as a drop in performance. Comparing scores from year to year is invalid when the scores are manipulated in this way, yet year-to-year comparisons are made by NYSED, the media, the public, and school administrators.
This year’s test already had some Common Core influenced questions, such as question 3 in the listening section. First of all, this question requires close reading of a text; it does not belong in the listening section. My AP Language students know how to analyze diction and identify the purpose of words in a reading passage, but many got this question wrong, and it’s understandable. If they had the text in front of them, they would have easily answered the question. So, while you are increasing the difficulty of the test (and I would question the validity of this particular attempt), you are also increasing the difficulty of passing, or even earning mastery, by raising the bar on the scores.
I cannot understand why the State is manipulating the scoring chart in order to ensure that more students fail the test each year. Please convince me that this is not an attempt to make teachers appear to be failing so that you can justify the insane Common Core testing regime that you are shoving down our throats.
I plan on publicizing this information on various social media groups of which I am a part. In fact, as an activist, I plan on sharing it as widely as I can. I think it is important for students, parents, and the public to know that lower scores do not mean a drop in performance. Prior to doing that, I’d like to know your explanation for this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jennifer M. Fatone
English Teacher
The Wheatley School