Archives for the month of: May, 2013
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Florida: Once Again, Test Results Are Over-hyped

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
11

Matthew Di Carlo takes a close look at the latest test scores released in Florida.

His bottom line: don’t believe the press release.

For one thing, the test specifications have changed, and the scores are not really comparable to prior years.

Di Carlo points out:

“Accordingly, the technical documentation for the FCAT notes (in bold-faced type) that “caution should be used when comparing 2013 FCAT 2.0 Writing data to FCAT writing data from previous years.”

But that kind of caution is in short supply when state officials want bragging rights.

Categories Florida

Was I Unfair to Ben Austin?

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
79

You may recall the story about Irma Cobian, the elementary school principal who was forced out after Parent Revolution collected signatures from parents, employing the “parent trigger” law that it (Parent Revolution) had sponsored in 2010.

The headline in the LA Times read:  “Popular Principal’s Dismissal Leaves a South L.A. School Divided.”

The story began thus:

“Third-grade teacher Kate Lewis said Irma Cobian is the best principal she’s had in nine years at Weigand Avenue Elementary School in Watts.

“Joseph Shamel called Cobian a “godsend” who has used her mastery of special education to show him how to craft effective learning plans for his students.

“Los Angeles Unified Supt. John Deasy praised a plan developed by Cobian and her team to turn around the struggling campus — where most students test below grade level in reading and math — calling it a “well-organized program for accelerated student achievement.” He thanked Cobian for her commitment and hard work.”

But Parent Revolution decided she had to go. They collected enough parent signatures to force her out.

In a show of solidarity with the principal Irma Cobian, 21 members of her staff of 22 people asked to transfer to another school.

As most educators understand, one important ingredient of a successful school is a strong sense of teamwork. Cobian had created that. But that was not good enough for Parent Revolution.

I wrote about these events here.

The more I thought about Parent Revolution targeting this principal, the angrier I got.

Somehow it felt like bullying.

 

Parent Revolution is funded with millions from the Walton Family Foundation, the Broad Foundation, and the Gates Foundation. Irma Cobian is a hardworking school principal who is doing her best to help children and to support her teachers. It really bothered me that this powerful and wealthy organization decided that she had to go because the school’s test scores were too low. It made me angry.

I know I should never show anger, but this sure looked like an injustice to me. It looked like a super-rich organization decided to pick off a woman who was doing her best and had no super-rich organization to defend her.

So I wrote a column titled “Wondering About Ben Austin,” (Austin is the leader of Parent Revolution), in which I wondered how he could live with himself knowing he had harmed the reputation and career of a good person.

I don’t know Irma Cobain, but from what I read about her, it didn’t seem she deserved to be subjected to public humiliation.

Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute did not share my sense that Cobian had been victimized. He did not see the injustice that I saw. Instead, he said my criticism of Ben Austin was “abhorrent.” Suddenly it was Austin who was the victim, though he did not lose his job or his reputation.

I believe in due process. If Irma Cobian was a bad principal, Superintendent Deasy should have brought her up on charges. He didn’t. The fact that Cobain built a supportive staff says something good about her leadership skills.

I am sorry if I hurt Ben Austin’s feelings. I wish he would say that he was sorry for the pain and suffering that he inflicted on Irma Cobain, on her staff, and on the school community.

Every school leader and staff must wonder if they will be next in line to be targeted by Parent Revolution. Instilling fear and anxiety in educators is not a good way to improve schools.

 

Categories California, Education Reform, Parent trigger

Rhode Island: Teachers Oppose Gist, Business Leaders Support Her

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
16

This is the kind of result you expect to read in a red state.

85% of teachers voted to show their opposition to Commissioner Gist.

The business community supports her.

The students oppose her.

Civil rights groups oppose her.

How do you improve schools when the people who work in them don’t support or respect you?

This is like a general heading into battle without the support of his troops.

Categories Teachers, Testing, Unions

Pelto: It Is Never Too Soon to Prepare Little Children for College

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
17

Jonathan Pelto here follows up on his report about the high rate of suspensions of children in kindergarten.

The clincher is the closing lines, where the regional superintendent of Achievement First explains why so many children are suspended:

“The most telling remark came from Marc Michaelson, who works as the regional superintendent for Achievement First, Inc.  He told the Courant that Achievement First, has “a very high bar for the conduct of our students and that’s because we’ve made a promise to our scholars and our families that we are going to prepare them for college.”

“The “prepare them for college” statement seems more than a bit gratuitous considering the statistics he is trying to rationalize relate exclusively to children aged 6 and under.”

You can read the Hartford Courant story here:http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-kindergarten-suspensions-20130525,0,6059434.story

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Childhood, Pre-K, K, Connecticut

Yertle the Turtle and the Common Core

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
6

This post reminds us that literature speaks to us about life in ways that informational text can never do. That is why a story like Yertle the Turtle resonates with us long after we first read it and long after the informational text has been forgotten.

The post is about a kindergarten teacher. He is worried about how the Common Core will affect the children with the greatest needs.

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, Common Core, Special Education

Teaching in a World of Noise, Disruption, and Distraction

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
51

High school teacher Frank Breslin explains how the constant distractions of our society undermine students’ ability to concentrate or even pay attention to what happens in school.

Breslin reminds me of Diana Senechal’s wonderful book “The Republic of Noise.” If you haven’t read it, you should.

Breslin writes:

“A factor over which teachers have no control and that plays an enormous role in making it hard for children to learn is the restlessness of American society itself, its lack of self-discipline, its inability to sit still, its constant dashing about, its hatred of silence, its disregard for rules, its absence of manners, its inability to engage in civilized discourse and the public’s blithe acceptance of such boorishness as a matter of course. These habits of mind infect children even before they enter school.”

The schools must struggle to capture the attention of students who are accustomed to nonstop entertainment and noise: “The classroom today is in a losing battle for the attention of noise-addicted, distraction-ridden, pumped-up poseurs and video-gamers in an America that breaks down all sense of boundaries, decorum and self-restraint. This overstimulated culture makes students virtually incapable of being receptive to the deeper substance and structures of learning, which assume inner calm, monastic silence, attention to nuance, sustained concentration, Job-like patience and endless hard work. Very few students are equal to this, while many cannot even sit still and listen.”

The legislators demand high test scores, but teachers must deal with the reality of our society:

“The essential problem teachers are up against today is a form of national schizophrenia, a radical disconnect between what the public wants of its schools and an American culture of bedlam and bluster, which does all in its power to undermine students’ ability to focus and learn.”

In effect, the public expects the schools to create the conditions of a different world, a world that is fast disappearing, in large part due to the combination of commercial avarice and public indifference. And the policymakers are all too willing to blame teachers for the disconnect.

Categories Teachers and Teaching

Please Attend the Skinny Awards in NYC

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
3

If you are within driving distance of New York City, please come to the Skinny Awards.

I will be there, along with many other friends of public education.

The Skinny Awards are the opposite of the Broad Awards, which are given to urban districts and charter schools that raise test scores. The Skinny Awards recognize character, courage, valor, and integrity in support of sound education ideas.

Leonie Haimson is the genius behind the Skinny Awards.

Benefits go to Class Size Matters, which advocates for reduced class size, opposes invasion of student privacy, and supports teachers and public schools. Leonie runs Class Size Matters on something less than a shoestring.

Here is the announcement:

Please attend our Fifth annual “Skinny Awards” Class Size Matters fundraiser

And enjoy a four-course dinner with wine

When: Tuesday June 18 at 6 PM

Where: FAGIOLINI ON 40TH, 120 E. 40th St. (betw. Lexington and 3rd Ave.)

Purchase your tickets here.

Each year we give an award to the individuals who provide the real “Skinny” on NYC schools. Past recipients of the award include Diane Ravitch and Juan Gonzalez. This year, our “Skinny” award will go to two brilliant teacher/bloggers:

Arthur Goldstein, who writes the NYC Educator blog and is an ESL teacher

at Francis Lewis High School in Queens

Gary Rubinstein, who blogs at Teach for Us and is a math teacher

at Stuyvesant HS in lower Manhattan

This dinner is always a highlight of the year, with delicious food, good wine, and great company.

This year, it is especially important to attend and/or contribute to our work. As always, Class Size Matters relies on your donations to keep our organization going. We have continued to advocate for smaller classes and an end to school overcrowding, as class sizes swell throughout the country. We also have become leaders in the fight against high-stakes testing, privatization, and the violation of student privacy.

Nationally, we spearheaded the battle against the sharing of confidential student data with a corporation called inBloom Inc. inBloom Inc. plans to put children’s personal information on a vulnerable data cloud, and share it with private vendors without parental notification or consent.

For the last few months, the tabloids and corporate reform blogs have featured attacks against me personally, evidence of the prominent role that Class Size Matters plays in the debate over education policy. One of the best ways to show your support for our work is to contribute whatever you can to keep our organization alive.

If you believe that class size matters, and that it is important to keep our public schools and children’s personal information out of the hands of private corporations, please make tax-deductible contribution now to Class Size Matters and/or purchase a seat at our fundraiser dinner June 18 by clicking here or here: http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=6292 .

Please forward to others who care and hope to see you there, Leonie

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320

leonie@classsizematters.org
http://www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson

Follow me on twitter @leoniehaimson

Make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

Subscribe to Class Size Matters news by emailing classsizematters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe to NYC education news by emailing nyceducationnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Categories Honor Roll

How to Lower Standards for Teacher Preparation

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
53

Anthony Cody reports on legislation prepared by Colorado Senator Michael Bennet that would decimate teacher professionalism. He wants federal funding for new teacher and principal academies that would lower standards for entry into education.

There is the usual blather about “excellence,” “great teachers,” standards and accountability, but the heart of the legislation is what it does not require:

“(B) shall not have unnecessary restrictions on the methods or inputs the teacher preparation academy will use to train teacher candidates or teachers teaching on alternative certificates, licenses, or credentials, including restrictions or requirements–

(i) obligating the faculty of the teacher preparation academy to hold advanced degrees;

(ii) obligating such faculty to conduct academic research;

(iii) related to the physical infrastructure of the teacher preparation academy;

(iv) related to the number of course credits required as part of the program of study;

(v) related to the undergraduate coursework completed by teachers teaching on alternative certificates, licenses, or credentials, as long as such teachers have successfully passed all relevant State-approved content area examinations…”

Cody concludes,

“So anyone with a bachelor’s degree – actually it does not even specify that – can open a teacher preparation “academy.” They need no building, no trained faculty. The credential candidates need have no preparation whatsoever – all that matters is that they pass the state content exams.”

These federal academies might not have a single faculty member who held an advanced degree or had ever conducted research. There might not be a physical campus. The prep academies would eventually be judged–someday–by the test scores of their graduates.

This approach would eliminate professional training for teachers.

Contrast this with Finland, where only eight universities award teacher degrees, and competition to get into these institutions is highly competitive. Only 1 of every 10 applicants is accepted into them, and they are expected to conduct research, study academic and pedagogical courses, and practice teach.

Finland has very high standards, but Senator Bennett’s bill would eliminate all standards for students and faculty.

Need I add that the bill is supported by a veritable “Who’s Who” of the corporate reform world, including TFA, Stand for Children, and a multitude of charter schools, all of whom are committed via this document to lower standards for teachers..

Categories Charter Schools, Colorado, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform

Lightning Struck Twice in L.A.

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2013 //
2

The Red Queen in LA offers a brief tutorial on the meaning of the astonishing electoral victory of Monica Ratliff—and before that, the remarkable upset win of Steve Zimmer.

Both ran against a barrage of out-of-state millions. Zimmer had the support of UTLA, Ratliff did not.

No one thought that either had a chance. Ratliff raised about $50,000 in small donations. Her opponent had millions.

Both won by the same 52-48 margin.

What does it mean?

It means the board has a majority that will rein in John Deasy. It may mean the board will slow down or stop the wildfire growth of unaccountable charters. It may mean a careful review of teacher evaluation methods.

It certainly means that the board will slow down the rush to privatize public education in LA.

That’s great news.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Los Angeles, Teacher Evaluations

Katie Lapham’s Data Analysis: 26% of Her Time Not Teaching

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2013 //
36

In a guest post for Anthony Cody, Katie Lapham calculated that 26% of her school year is spent NOT teaching.

Data inquiry, data analysis, professional development, etc. took time away from teaching.

If you teach, what proportion of your time is spent not teaching?

How much time is devoted to test prep, testing, and data analysis?

Categories Teachers and Teaching
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