Archives for the month of: June, 2013
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The Girls at Catherine Ferguson Academy Fight Back!

By dianeravitch
June 7, 2013 //
25

This is an unbelievable story. I first learned about the Catherine Ferguson Academy from the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC. It is (or was) a school for pregnant girls in Detroit, with an innovative curriculum, for example, the girls learned to garden and tend farm animals and engage in projects and activities.

But the future of the school was in doubt because of the city’s financial crisis. Someone, perhaps the financial manager, decided to “save” the school by turning it over to a charter operator.

Next chapter: the school is now a harsh, tightly disciplined “no excuses” school where the girls get an inferior education. The students are now suing the city of Detroit and the charter operator, called Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy, for giving them a substandard education.

Listen to this from their egalitarian complaint:

“The defendants have terminated many state mandated courses, done away with all classes, ordered teachers not to teach classes, failed to employ certified teachers in math, physical education computing, health education and music and stamped an additional badge of inferiority on these girls through unjustly casting their entire school as a strict discipline academy for students with serious criminal and discipline problems, and have failed even to provide a student code of conduct, leaving all students subject to arbitrary discipline.”

And:

“There are no certified teachers in foreign language, physical education or computer science at the Catherine Ferguson Academy. In addition, according to the suit, “CFA students were told that none of their math work for the school year would be given credit because BKBA laid off the two certified math teachers. Since then, an uncertified math teacher has been assigned to ‘teach’ math and has received all students’ work and graded it.”

What a disgrace!

Calling Rachel Maddow! The girls of Catherine Ferguson Academy need you!

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Detroit

A Suggestion for the President

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
19

A reader (Mom/Speducator) has an idea for President Obama. Instead of going to Mooresville, North Carolina, to talk up the high-tech classroom, she says, how about this:

“Shouldn’t he have instead traveled to Chicago to offer support to the thousands of families whose lives will be in upheaval in a matter of months.”

Categories Chicago, Closing schools, Emanuel, Rahm, Obama, Technology, Computers

Iowa’s “Sweeping” School Reform Bill

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
3

Governor Terry Branstad pushed through school reform in Iowa that is supposedly sweeping, but I fail to see the sweep in the bill.

It creates new leadership positions for teachers within schools, and that is supposed to be huge, but I am not sure why.

It does not mandate that teacher evaluations be tied to test scores, and that means the state dodged a bullet by doing the right thing. The state will study the issue, much to the disappointment of StudentsFirst.

I was sad to see that former Massachusetts Commissioner David Driscoll told Iowans that Massachusetts achieved high performance because of high-stakes exams.

He knows the improvement of Massachusetts’ public schools involved a huge new public investment, more than $1 billion, equalizing funding across the state; tough new exams for new teachers; a heavy investment in early childhood education; and strong curriculum standards (which have since been abandoned for the Common Core standards). To pick out only testing as the cause of the state’s improvement is misleading.

Homeschooling parents will be pleased to know that they will be allowed to teach driver education.

 

 

 

Categories Accountability, Education Reform, Massachusetts, Teacher Evaluations

Great Neck, NY, School Board Passes Anti-High-Stakes Testing Resolution

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
24

Great Neck, New York, is a suburban community outside New York City that has long been renowned for its excellent public schools. About 95% of its students graduate high school, and many are admitted to our nation’s finest colleges and universities.

At its meeting last Monday, the Great Neck school board unanimously passed a resolution opposing the state’s over reliance on standardized testing.

For their clarity of vision and their willingness to stand up for their students and for good education, I place the Great Neck Board of Education on the honor roll as champions of good public education.

Here is the resolution, which was read aloud in its entirety at the meeting and sent to the Governor, legislators, the Commissioner of Education, the Chancellor of the Board of Regents, and shared with the media:

June 3, 2013

RESOLUTION REGARDING OVERRELIANCE ON STANDARDIZED TESTING
A CALL TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, THE NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, THE NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF REGENTS AND OTHER POLICYMAKERS TO STOP THE OVERRELIANCE ON STANDARDIZED TESTS AS A MEASURE OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND PRINCIPAL/TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS.

WHEREAS, every student deserves a quality public education dedicated to preparing engaged citizens, creative and critical thinkers and lifelong learners ready for college and careers; and

WHEREAS, the decline in state aid and support for public schools has forced our district to reduce programs and limited our ability to fully implement new programs mandated by the State such as the Common Core standards thereby creating an uneven rollout of the standards among school districts around the State; and

WHEREAS, while the implementation of the Common Core standards will ultimately help students, teachers and the teaching and learning process, the growing reliance on, and mismanagement of, standardized testing is eroding student learning time, narrowing the curriculum and jeopardizing the rich, meaningful education our students need and deserve; and

WHEREAS, there has been a reliance upon the Common Core standards in the development of state testing despite the fact that students have not been exposed to these standards for a sufficient amount of their school experience; and

WHEREAS, despite the fact that research recommends the use of multiple measures to gauge student performance and teacher effectiveness, the State’s growing reliance on standardized testing is adversely affecting students across all spectrums and the morale of our educators and is further draining already scarce resources; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s testing policies fail to appropriately accommodate the unique needs of students with disabilities and English language learners in assessing their academic achievements which results in test scores that do not accurately represent a true measure of the impact of teachers and schools; and

WHEREAS, it is time for policymakers to reconsider the number, duration and appropriate use of standardized tests so that our schools can refocus their efforts on improving student learning outcomes; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that we call upon Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, State Education Department Commissioner John B. King, Chancellor of the Board of Regents Merryl Tisch, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education John Flanagan, Senator Jack Martins, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education Catherine Nolan, Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel and other policymakers to reduce the use of, and overreliance on, standardized testing.

Categories Honor Roll, New York, Students, Support for public schools, Testing

Michael Fiorillo’s EdTech Plan

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
15

In response to President Obama’s proposal to connect every classroom and use software that will enable every teacher to know what every student is thinking at all times, Michael Fiorillo has another idea:

“I applaud President Obama’s desire for oversight of young people’s brains, but his proposal doesn’t go nearly far enough.

“My edu-venture will remedy the shortcomings of bio-exterior technology, and guarantee a miraculous solution to the achievement gap.

“My super-miniaturized wifi receivers, combined with my patented KiddieChipsFirst technology, will allow Pearson to download its tests and product placements directly into the cerebrums of our most valuable assets, and allow our developing human capital to upload their responses, so that remotely-sited “teachers know what is going on in the student’s brains.”

Categories Obama, Technology, Computers

Paul Thomas: When Innovation Looks Like the Status Quo

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
3

Paul Thomas analyzes the latest plan to save the D.C. Public schools, this one prepared by a law firm on behalf of City Councilmember David Catania. Thomas finds that it is just as innovative, perhaps even more innovative, than past innovations. On the other hand, it might be somewhat less innovative than past innovations. But what is clear is that it uses all the same tools, the same carrots and sticks, as past innovations. At least, the Councilman says, he is trying. That’s innovative too. Or is it?

Categories Charter Schools, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry

PARCC Common Core Tests Will Take Ten Hours: New Link

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
13

I posted this story last night but for some reason, I didn’t get the link right.

I think I have it now. Here it is.

The ten hours is the time projected for the Common Core tests developed by PARCC, one of the two testing consortia funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

It does not include time spent on interim assessments or test prep.

Categories Common Core

Seattle Teachers: What Our Victory Over MAP Testing Means

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
6

Seattle teachers Jesse Hagopian and Liza Campbell explain here what happened when the teachers at Garfield High School decided to boycott MAP testing. Their courageous action inspired teachers and parents across the nation. The MAP tests were suspended for the high schools but not for K-8.

But the teachers were not acting simply in opposition to this particular test or to all testing. They want something better that will help them help students.

And that is why they are working together to find later natives to the status quo:

“…..it’s not enough to be against the abuses of standardized testing. Parents, students and teachers who want the school system our students deserve must advance a vision of assessment that would actually improve education.

“That is why educators in Seattle established a Teacher Work Group on Assessment of more than 20 teachers to supplement the district’s task force formed to review the MAP. The work group engaged in months of research and recommended “Markers of Quality Assessment” to develop assessments that: reflect actual student knowledge and learning, not just test taking skills; are educational in and of themselves; are free of gender, class and racial bias; are differentiated to meet students’ needs; allow opportunities to go back and improve; undergo regular evaluation and revision by educators.

“The work group on assessment concluded that quality assessments, at their base, must integrate with classroom curriculum, measure student growth toward standards achievement, and take the form of performance tasks. These tasks, taken as a whole, should replace the MAP because they grow from classroom work, are rigorously evaluated and respect true learning.”

Categories Testing, Washington State

Obama: Every Classroom Should Be Digitized

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
67

President Obama will unveil his technology plan for American education today in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Joy Resmovits reports on Huffington Post:

“President Barack Obama imagines a country where teachers know what’s happening in their students’ brains.

“He wants “teachers to have an ability to assess learning hour by hour and day by day,” a senior White House official said Wednesday. “That vision … is really not possible with the connectivity we have today.”

“That’s why on Thursday Obama will speak at a school in Mooresville, N.C., to unveil an initiative that aims to give 99 percent of America’s public schools high-speed connectivity over the next five years.”

Mooresville has won national attention because it provided laptop computers to every student in fourth grade and above, and its graduation rate shot up. The superintendent says there were other reasons for the increased graduation rate.

A few things about North Carolina: the Democratic Party held its 2012 National Convention there. It is a right-to-work state. The state spending on public education is 48th in the nation. Teachers’ salaries are 46th in the nation. Legislation introduced this spring by the president pro tem of the state senate would strip teachers of all tenure rights. At the same time that the legislature is attacking the pay and tenure of career educators, it allocated $6 million to hire inexperienced Teach for America teachers. The legislature also plans to expand the number of charters, free of conflict of interest regulations, free of diversity requirements, and free to hire uncertified teachers.

Technology is a wonderful thing, and all schools should be connected to the Internet.

But I would respectfully suggest to President Obama that there are far larger issues he should tackle right now, like defending the very existence of a teaching profession, defending academic freedom of educators, supporting the nation’s public schools, resisting privatization, and helping states provide equality of educational opportunity, with enough resources to meet the essential needs of students.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, On-Line Education, Technology, Computers

Why NJ School Reports Are Misleading and Useless

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2013 //
5

New Jersey has followed the trail blazed by Jeb Bush when he was governor of Florida: competition, data, accountability, choice. It is the classic formula for those who believe that competition and data are the best “drivers” of education.

Thus, New Jersey has created its own report cards to drive competition. Predictably the report cards are heavily weighted by test scores. As we have seen again and again, the pressure to raise scores creates negative consequences, such as teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum, gaming the system, and cheating.

Here Julia Sass Rubin explains that the state’s report cards are confusing, inaccurate, and flawed in many ways.

Every policymakers should be familiar with Campbell’s Law:

“The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.”

In plain English, the higher the stakes attached to testing, the more likely it is that the testing will corrupt education by becoming the goal to which all must aspire. Testing is a measure, not the goal of education.

Categories Accountability, Campbell's Law, New Jersey
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