President Obama and Secretary Duncan frequently say that the Common Core was “state-led,” perhaps because it is illegal for the U.S. Department of Education to interfere with curriculum or instruction. Maybe it would be best to say that Common Core was hatched inside the Beltway and paid for by the Gates Foundation.
Here is an interesting infographic. Mercedes Schneider calls it “an intricate plot.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Some week sago, when Mercedes sent this to her listserve, I was blown away.
Obviously, in her comments section, I am the same Ellen.
I am talking with some documentary film makers in LA to see if they would work on this project pro bono. This would be a great project for film students in tandem with public policy students. I do not want to duplicate this effort if it already taking place, so please Mercedes, let us know.
What is needed is the research with citations for each organization so that the finished product is totally credible. If anyone wants to work on this, and it would not be that difficult to break it into small segments so it is not onerous for one person, may we volunteer either here or at Mercedes site???
I offer time, Diane and Mercedes, to work on this project.
addendum…the project also needs a good cartographer to make it an easily understood finished product.
Ellen, I appreciate your work toward a documentary on the CCSS web.
Diane, Please take a look at this description of the report on charter schools in Massachusetts. Charter Schools and the Road to College Readiness ·http://www.tbf.org/~/media/TBFOrg/Files/Reports/Charters%20and%20College%20Readiness%202013.pdf
The world of charter schools is quite intriguing and as conversations about transforming the landscape of public education continue, scholars and policy advisors continue to weigh in on their value. This 54-page report from The Boston Foundation and NewSchools Venture Fund takes a look at the way charter schools prepare their students for college. Published in May 2013, this report was researched by the Foundation’s colleagues at the School and Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative at MIT and notes that the charter schools in Massachusetts appear to have a long term positive effect on student outcomes and educational attainment. The report contains seven chapters detailing the group’s findings, along with two appendices, a bibliography, and endnotes. It’s a work that warrants c lose consideration and education scholars and journalists reporting on these issues will want to give it their close attention.
I copied this from a weekly email
The Scout Report August 9, 2013 — Volume 19, Number 32 A Publication of Internet Scout Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Alicia Wayland, Lebanon, CT aliciawayland@charter.net
Alicia,
There are good charters and bad charters. There are good public schools and bad public schools. What is the virtue of having a dual system of publicly funded schools, one of which is free to choose its enrollment and kick out disruptive students, while the other is required to accept everyone?
Thank you. Well said. Also there should be clear oversight to all charter schools, like public schools. Taxpayers should be able to track their money.
Dear Diane,
I have been reading your flurry of blog posts and the excellent comments from teachers and other concerned citizens all at once this morning, and while I must say, they are very cathartic, my stomach is all in knots because they so hit home with my present situation, and clearly of so many other teachers. What you say about charter schools being “free to choose its enrollment and kick out disruptive students while we must accept everyone” is one of the kernels of truth at the center of this whole mess.
I teach 7/8 social studies in one of the “lowest performing” schools (read highest poverty and crime neighborhoods), in a large CT urban district (name withheld to protect the guilty…). According to the new teacher evaluation system tied to test scores, I have been labelled as ineffective, and am being terminated by the district after 10 years.
My school is not a magnet, and so we must accept students who are “kicked out” of charters and magnets from around the city at all times during the school year, and I actually had 6 students transfer in after March! These are often children with severe emotional disturbances, but they are almost always children who are very low-skilled, and by middle school, very turned off by the “Brave New World” of being tested more than they are being taught. Just the change in the classroom dynamic when new students like these are brought in is enough to throw all learning out of kilter as my current students feel the need to establish themselves in the pecking order of their new classmates. This makes any of my cooperative grouping plans go right out the window until I can try to form relationships with the new students, which sometimes is next to impossible, and this is only one of a myriad of problems like 10 year-old computers, no librarian, huge school wide disciplinary problems, lack of parental involvement, etc., etc.
However, all these challenges for me and other teachers in schools like mine might be overcome if it were not for the pressure of district and school administrators constantly harping on deficient test scores, not enough “higher order thinking” questions, (very hard to do when many of my students can barely read) and not perfect classroom management. I have always believed that good teachers teach the “whole student” and that before any of those higher order thinking goals can be achieved, I need to meet the students at their level, and try to build on their strengths to give them the confidence they need to succeed, let alone survive the many traumas they face from their home situations. It is cruel to give them tests that just confirm their feelings of inadequacy, and yet, sadly, that is the future for my students with the CCSS Smarter Balance testing on the way.
Of course I am not trying to claim that I have all the answers, but I don’t think that the powers that be do either. Every weekend of the past two years I have spent countless hours online looking at excellent websites like teachingchannel.org or edutopia.org among many others, and all have been very helpful for me in improving my practice and finding methods to increase student-directed learning. I have attended workshops and served on school reform committees in my district, but still, according to my district, I am not effective because my children are deficient according to these “standards.” I came to teaching 10 years ago after having had another career because I really thought I could make a difference for children in a school like mine, and judging from the number of kids who come back to say hello after they graduate and have written me thank you letters, I think I probably have. I am 57 and have been sending applications to other districts, but this may be the end of my teaching career because of my age and my poor rating.
Thank you, Diane, for making me feel that at least I am not alone in this tragedy that is occurring in public education, although it is a small comfort considering that the welfare of our most at-risk children is at stake.
From the NewSchools Venture Fund site:
Donors
NewSchools Venture Fund is grateful for the support of our investors.
Founding Investors
Jim Barksdale, Mississippi Common Trust Fund
The Byers Family
Jean and Steve Case
John and Elaine Chambers
Jim and Nancy Clark
Ann and John Doerr
Reed Hastings
Beth and Mike Hunkapiller
Gilman Louie and Amy Chan
Doug Mackenzie
Roger McNamee
Steven Merrill
Deb and Halsey Minor
Steve Poizner, Poizner Family Foundation
David and Lisa Whorton
Investment Partners
Anonymous
Josh Bekenstein
Joan Belden
Larry Berger
The Byers Family
Susan Colby
John Danner
DeNovo Ventures, LLC
Ann and John Doerr
Ann Doppke
Erin Doppke
Steve Dostart
Lauren Dutton
John and Tawni Farmer
John Fisher
Nathan Gaylinn
Grousbeck Family Foundation
David Harris
Reed Hastings
Anne Hecht
Hosanna Johnson
Steve Jurvetson
Deepak Kamra
Dan Katzir
Ellen Koskinas
Laura and Gary Lauder
Martinson Family Foundation
Marc Mazur
Lenny and Christine Mendonca
The Steven L. Merrill Family Foundation
Mitch Kapor
Kurt and Tamra Mobley
Daniel Murphy
Edmund Novak
Mark Nunnelly
James Pace
Ali Partovi and Gina Tega
Hadi Partovi
Phil Perkins (Perkins Malo Hunter Foundation)
Peter and Margaret Perrone
John and Jen Pleasants
Mark Rankovic
Michael and Paula Rantz
Joanna Rees and John Hamm
Nayla Rizk
Jonathan Sackler and Mary Corson
Scott and Jennifer Sandell
Andrew Schwab
Jonathan Sotsky
Joanne Weiss
Dave Whorton
Wireless Generation
Heidi and Dave Welch
Institutional Investors
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Banyan Tree Foundation
BelleJAR Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Boeing Company
The Boston Foundation
The Broad Foundation
California Community Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Chicago Community Foundation
CityBridge Foundation
Columbia Capital, LLC
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Doris & Donald Fisher Fund
Edison International
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Google, Inc.
The James Irvine Foundation
James J. Ludwig Foundation
The Joyce Foundation
KIPP New Orleans
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Microsoft Matching Gifts Program
Network For Good
Nonprofit Knowledge Networks
Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, Inc.
The Riordan Foundation
Robertson Foundation
The Sherry Lansing Foundation
The Wallace Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
As always, there are some very legit folks listed, and also some important institutional donors such as Annie Casey, and the Hewlett and the Packard Foundations, which also fund public schools grant proposals, but also some who are on the Board of the LAWAC and other organizations who actually are owners and/or Board members of, and major contributors to, charter schools.
And of course, the Waltons who want us to live in the Dark Ages while they crack the whip.
Ellen,
Just put it out there for all to see. I don’t know all the “players” so I have not point of view one way or the other.
Duane
I find it interesting that Sal Khan has a hedge fund background, and that Ann Doerr introduced him to Gates (as a friend). Makes me really suspicious of his story. But why is Anonymous funding education reform?
Had a similar thought about Anonymous. He/She pops his/her head up all the time.
Consider what occurred this past June when Arne Duncan chose to speak to the American Society of News Editors convention in Washington, DC, the editorial writers, the people who form opinions in newspapers across the country!
This was not a random audience or a random topic, Common Core. It was deliberate and with a single objective, beat back the responsible questioning of the largest intrusion on the authority of states in our history.
What better audience than one which believes in government to promote greater government authority.
Duncan did not mince words, he told the media to listen to what he had to say, absorb it, and ‘report’ on editorial pages to counter growing opposition. Duncan was blunt enough to say, “And your role in sorting out truth from nonsense is really important.” THIS is why Duncan spoke to this group, knowing these editors would not examine Common Core as closely as concerned parents and teachers are doing.
Their own bias and laziness assured Duncan this would not occur.
Now to the topic of his speech. Duncan may have second thoughts about the message he delivered in the 3600 word response to critics of the national education standard, Common Core. As I read it, Duncan was clearly attacking the public education system of our country.
Sprinkled with cliques, such as “real word”, “Critical Thinkers “, and other words meant to capture the importance of his message Duncan simply stated that public education in America has failed. Using persuasive statistics to make his point he unwittingly told the hundreds of school systems, thousands of administrators and millions of teachers they have failed our children.
Duncan even accused the current public education system with the harshest of statements as he promoted Common Core…”We are no longer lying to kids about whether they are ready. Finally, we are telling them the truth, telling their parents the truth, and telling their future employers the truth. Finally, we are holding ourselves accountable to giving our children a true college and career-ready education.”
I must ask, who are WE? (the unidentified target)
And, despite his acknowledgement America’s public schools do not measure up Duncan attempts to sell the audience that a government driven solution will cure the ills he described. Duncan believes only government can fix a problem “government” schools have caused, which is not surprising.
It was disappointing Duncan failed to mention private schools. With such a concern for public education he acknowledged has failed our children I would expect the Secy of Education to look at more than “one size fits all” alternative that Common Core will bring to public education. Either Duncan is unaware of the growing interest in private schools or he simply refuses to acknowledge it.
Duncan tells the audience the adoption of a not-yet-created national education standard by more than forty state governors is what is needed. A “product” created by select private enterprises, not professional educators from each state’s own university system.
When Duncan mentions Common Core provides “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to bring our public schools up to levels of our high-performing international competitors, he fails to mention a single country’s curriculum we have bench-marked against.
In fact, upon examination there is little substance which can be found, only rosy projections of a better education standard without evidence to support this statement.
Duncan also neglected to list the names of these companies, the amount we are paying them and whether the final “product” will be owned by the states which adopted Common Core standard or will these curriculum be copyrighted by these unknown businesses.
When Duncan states “a child in Mississippi will face the same expectations as a child in Massachusetts” he does not paint a portrait of a dynamic education process, rather, a rigidly designed “assembly line”. This may be fine in a presentation but in practice it has never been successful in a free society. Perhaps it would be found in an authoritarian nation.
And, before such an educational environment could produce better educated students teachers must be trained. Yet, no where in his speech does Duncan mention what our universities must do to prepare the next generation of teachers.
As is typical of most top down initiatives cost goes unmentioned. Duncan does not say what full implementation will cost each state or his own Dept. of Education. He only lays out stark warning if we do not move forward.
I won’t address the entire 3600 speech, you can read it yourself
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/duncan-pushes-back-attacks-common-core-standards
I’d like to close with something everyone needs to ask. Since the creation of the Dept of Education are public schools better than they were? And, if not…shouldn’t we look at the DOE rather than how fifty individual states are teaching their children.
Couldn’t it be possible the requirement to comply with DOE dictates for the past forty years to receive Federal funds are contributors to whatever failures schools across the country are having?
All you need to do is look at the myriad of programs run by the DOE to see the expanse of its authority goes well beyond its mission…and the “medicine” it provides public education seem to have worsen its condition.
Look at the wide array developed and administered by the USDOE. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/policy-by-program.html
And, judging from the history of the DOE I don’t think Common Core is what our public system needs.
As always, your comments welcome… ajbruno14 gmail.com
I am so glad i stumbled upon this blog…… Thanks Diane for the forum. It’s comforting to be sitting here nodding my head as i read. A sad commentary from “No child left behind” to “Race to the Top.”
I continue to see more students present with mental health issues(anxiety/depression) as they “Race to Nowhere!” This movement,(“race to nowhere”) came and disappeared just in time for
“the answer” to all of our problems in public education: “The Common core.” I think people are desperately grabbing at straws, seeking an antidote to what ills our system. Forcing one solution via standardization from east coast to west coast is misguided and unrealistic.
My heart goes out to the educator who posted the following:
“new teacher evaluation system tied to test scores, I have been labelled as ineffective, and am being terminated by the district after 10 years.”
Of course, this was/is predictable….. The system needs to blame someone, something, somehow, for why it is falling short of servicing our kids. and so i’ve come up with a rationale I’ve freely shared with colleagues. 20 years ago moms were told by the American Pediatrics Association to put their baby on their stomach’s to assure safer sleeping. 10 years later moms were then told to put their baby on their side as that was the safer sleep mode. 5 years later moms were directed to place their baby on their back. I was sharing my observation regarding safe sleep positions for infants and how it continues to change. Fast forward, 5 years from now: my hope is that
(as was mentioned) “this too shall pass…..”
“Perhaps it would be found in an authoritarian nation.”
That really gets to the heart of the matter. We are heading that way.
My “evidence” that the public schools have failed the nation is that its products elected Obama, twice no less.
The state of Texas was asked to sign off on Common Core without ever seeing it. The education commissioner refused. We have our issues in this state, with the STAAR test, but this travesty isn’t one of them. I wonder how many of the other 48 states that signed off on CC did so without ever seeing the standards?
Many of them, Rick. It’s mind-blowing that that should be so, but it is. But then again, most of the Senators and Congressmen who voted for the Patriot Act didn’t read that, either. Denis Kucinich waxes eloquent on that topic.
They had to sign on in order to apply for either a RTTT grant or a NCLB waiver.
Are you talking about the other states or Texas?
Any state wishing to escape NCLB. Texas did not go the RTTT route:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/education/14texas.html?_r=0
The video is a MUST SEE! I saw it last night when I was exploring the Opt Out site. Thanks for providing the link, Linda. Anyway, I’d LOVE send the video to my principal, superintendent, etc.! Maybe I can find someone who is not a teacher to send it!
AT,
In regards to your last statement: bullying works, keep the workers in fear of their jobs and livelihoods so that they are compliant. Tis a sad day when a teacher can’t honestly and openly use their first amendment rights.
Duane
Other states. Texas has not adopted the Common Core.
I can’t stand the common core many parents and teacher feel that this is way too much for our children. Children are failing and stressing out over this so how dose this help out children this is just another form of child abuse on our children and it needs to stop