Archives for the month of: August, 2013
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Jason Stanford: Accountability for All But Pearson: LINK ADDED!

By dianeravitch
August 3, 2013 //
7

Jason Stanford watches Texas politics closely and has become fascinated with the state’s devotion to high-stakes testing. As he shows in this post, there is plenty of accountability for kids, but none at all for Pearson.

In 2010, Pearson won a $468 million contract to test Texas students. When the legislature decided to reduce mandated high school testing by 67% this year, Pearson cut its budget by less than 2%.

A state audit showed that no one is monitoring what Pearson does or how it spends the state’s money. There is no accountability for Pearson.

As Stanford says, the new state motto might be “Don’t mess with ethics.”

Categories Accountability, Pearson, Texas

How Tony Bennett Raised the C to an A

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
10

Since Tony Bennett got caught fixing the grade of his favorite charter school, he has loudly defended his actions and described the claims against him as vicious and unfounded.

In this post, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg of the University of Wisconsin explains how Bennett tried to protect his favorite school and how he distorted the truth afterwards.

Ellenberg writes:

“This was an act of astonishing statistical chutzpah. Suppose the syllabus for my math class said that the final grade would be determined by averaging the homework grade and the exam grade, and that the exam grade was itself the average of the grades on the three tests I gave. Now imagine a student gets a B on the homework, gets a D-minus on the first two tests, and misses the third. She then comes to me and says, “Professor, your syllabus says the exam component of the grade is the average of my grade on the three tests—but I only took two tests, so that line of the syllabus doesn’t apply to my special case, and the only fair thing is to drop the entire exam component and give me a B for the course.”

No excuses!

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Florida, Indiana

NC Governor: Phony Claims About Education

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
22

Governor Pat McCrory presented his budget and boasted it was the largest education budget ever.

But it isn’t true. Adjusted for inflation, North Carolina is spending half a billion dollars less than in 2008.

The fibs just kept on coming at a news conference.

“Gov. McCrory also repeated a claim he made as he signed his tax reform package into law that teachers making between $40,000 and $45,000 annually will actually get 1% of their earnings back, thanks to tax reform.

“But according to tables that accompanied the tax reform bill, citizens don’t get a 1% tax break until they have a household income of $250,000.

“McCrory also said that teachers are not able to get raises in this budget because of high Medicaid costs. He did not address the fact, however, that state revenue availability was reduced by $684 million over the biennium as the result of tax cut package he signed into law.

“When talking about the state of teacher pay, McCrory said that North Carolina ranked “in the 40′s” in 2010, just as we do now.

“Again, however, this does not comport with the facts. North Carolina actually ranked 27th in teacher pay in 2005-06 and has dropped to 46th in the nation in less than 10 years.

“Governor McCrory took no questions at the conclusion of his remarks.”

– See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/08/01/mccrory-claims-nc-education-budget-largest-in-history/#sthash.VTz1cy2t.dpuf

Categories Budget Cuts, North Carolina

NC: Teachers Get No Pay Raises for Masters

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
35

North Carolina legislators, ever on the hunt for ways to demoralize teachers, decided there would be no extra pay for masters’ degrees.

This is their way of showing their contempt for education. They don’t see the return on investment for a masters’ degree in history or science or special education.

Teachers with existing masters are grandfathered in, and those enrolled in masters programs now may be out if luck.

Expect the education level of teachers in NC to decline. A victory for ignorance.

Categories North Carolina, Teachers and Teaching

A Really Cool Reformy Event

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
20

Here they are, folks, the “classics” of the reform movement, devoted to the privatization of American public education. The lead event is when Tony Bennett, the ex-Commissioner of Education in Florida, presents an award for education reform to William J. Bennett, the Secretary of Education during the Reagan administration.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2013
Contact: James A. Boyle
571-213-3979
jim@boylepublicaffairs.com

CENTER FOR EDUCATION REFORM GALA ON OCTOBER 9 WILL HONOR SIX ED REFORM “CLASSICS,” INDIVIDUALS– AND FAMILY FOUNDATION– WHO’VE MADE UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS TO MOVEMENT

William Bennett, Yvonne Chan, Barbara Dreyer, The Gleason Family Foundation (James, Janis and Tracy Gleason), Deborah McGriff and Michael Moe to Receive Awards in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC – The Center for Education Reform turns 20-years-old this fall and, as part of its Anniversary Celebration, the organization will host “CER at 20,” an October 9th conference and gala in Washington, DC where the group will honor five individuals and one family foundation who have been the “classics” of the education reform movement.

These accomplished people, whose contributions to the enormous progress made on education reform are both unique and path breaking, will be presented EdReformies at the gala that evening by presenters who themselves are leaders in the movement.

The announcement of the EdReformies awards was made by Jeanne Allen, founder and president, CER, who announced in February that she is stepping down from the CER presidency at the end of October to pursue other opportunities advancing the cause of meaningful education reform benefitting all children. Allen will remain a CER Board member and serve as a senior fellow of the organization. Kara Kerwin, currently vice president, external affairs, CER, will assume the role of president, CER, on November 1st.

The EdReformie awardees (and their presenters) are:

WILLIAM J. BENNETT

Former U.S. Secretary of Education, author and radio personality
Presented by Tony Bennett, Florida Commissioner of Education

YVONNE CHAN

Founder and Principal, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, former California State board member and charter school activist
Co-Presented by Building Excellent Schools Fellows Jane Henzerling, founder the Mission Preparatory Charter School, San Francisco, CA and David Singer, Head of School University Prep, Denver, CO

BARBARA DREYER

Co-founder and CEO, Connections Education and pioneer in virtual learning
Presented by Jonathan Hage, President & CEO, Charter Schools USA

JAMES, JANIS AND TRACY GLEASON OF THE GLEASON FAMILY FOUNDATION

Principals of The Gleason Family Foundation, and leaders in the battle for school choice
Presented by Michelle Bernard, Founder & CEO, Bernard Center and noted journalist, columnist and author.

DEBORAH MCGRIFF

Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund, founding member of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, former superintendent, education leader and activist
Presented by Alisha Thomas-Morgan, Georgia House of Representatives

MICHAEL MOE

Co-Founder & Partner, GSV Asset Management, and the leader in making education the prominent factor in business and financial sectors
Presented by Michael Horn, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

“Each of these awardees has made an incredible contribution to the education reform movement over the course of the past two decades, and that’s why we call them EdReform ‘classics’,” said CER’s Allen. “But more important than what they have accomplished as individuals is how the legacy of their work will live on. They are being honored now because their work today and in the past has set the stage for even more successful school reform in the future.”

Sponsors of CER at 20 include Charter Schools USA, K12 Inc., Connections Education, GSV Advisors, Educational Ventures Inc., Friendship Public Charter Schools, National Heritage Academies, Imagine Schools, The Klinsky Family Charitable Fund, National Charter School Institute, Michael R. and Ellen C. Sandler Family Foundation. Information on sponsoring or attending the October 9, 2013 CER 20th Anniversary Conference and Gala at the Washington Hilton is available at events@edreform.com. Registration is available online via PayPal at http://www.edreform.com/about/events/20th-anniversary/tickets/

###

CER, since 1993, is the leading voice and advocate for lasting, substantive, and structural education reform in the U.S. Additional information about the Center and its activities can be found at http://www.edreform.com.

The Center for Education Reform
(tel) 800-521-2118 • 301-986-8088 • (fax) 301-986-1826
cer@edreform.com • http://www.edreform.com
Center for Education Reform 1 | 910 17th St NW | Washington, DC 20036 United States

Categories Education Reform

Brian Page: How We Failed the Class of 2013

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
17

Teacher Brian Page is passionate about financial literacy.

In this post, he explains how we failed to teach the Class of 2013 about the hard financial realities of life.

They graduate knowing little about income inequality or wealth inequality or the financial consequences of the decisions they make.

“So while they have attended school through a time when our public education system has had it’s funding gutted, European nations have made a dedicated effort to improve financial education. A matter of fact, financial literacy has now been added to the PISA.”
And more:
“So as the student debt bubble has grown to one trillion dollars, guidance departments are overwhelmed and understaffed with students who have never taken a basic personal finance course that introduces resources such as the CFPB’s Paying For College. Most students may not understand the maximum amount of student debt to take on, or that student debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Yet we are expecting teenagers to make one of the most important financial decisions of their lives and have failed to provide them with the preparation they deserve to make wise and informed choices.”

 

Categories Education Reform

Test Defenders Feeling the Heat from Test Critics

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
25

The Washington Post has an opinion piece today by Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, defending the regime of standardized testing and high stakes that has created a vigorous opt-out movement among parents, teachers, and school board members.

This is actually a victory for the critics of high-stakes testing because it shows that those in power now find it necessary to defend their harmful policies.

And defend he does, with a varied assortment of cherry-picked and obsolete data.

He quotes Dan Ariely of Duke, for example, to defend the measurement-matters-most claim, but doesn’t realize that Ariely was a member of a panel at the National Research Council that issued a report critical of test-based accountability. In his writings, Ariely emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation, not rewards and punishments. He opposes merit pay. He said that test-based accountability fails because it treats people like “rats in a cage.”

Augustine chooses to cite the 2009 PISA test results but ignores the 2012 TIMSS results, where American students did very well indeed. In fact, eighth-grade black students in Massachusetts performed as well on TIMSS 2012 in math as students in high-performing Finland. But you won’t read that in Augustine’s column.

Why don’t American schools copy the examples of our own top-performing schools, like Sidwell Friends and Lakeside Academy and other elite schools that never give standardized tests? Or copy our top suburban schools where the tests are minimized, and all students have the arts, history, civics, physical education, foreign languages, experienced teachers, and small classes?

Categories Accountability, International, Testing

Why Did CPS Award a $20 Million No-Bid Contract?

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
26

How many times have we heard that the a Chicago Public Schools are broke? Isn’t that why CPS laid off thousands of teachers and closed 50 elementary schools?

But wait: this week, CPS gave a $20 million no-bid contract to a for-profit corporation called Supes Academy to train principals.

CPS Superintendent Barbara Byrd-Bennett worked for Supes Academy until April 2012.

“The size and the circumstances surrounding the contract have raised eyebrows among some outside observers. The contract with Wilmette-based Supes Academy is by far the largest no-bid contract awarded in at least the past three years, according to a Catalyst Chicago analysis of board documents. In addition, CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett worked for the company as a coach up until the time she came on board at CPS as a consultant.

“There’s also conflicting information about Byrd-Bennett’s involvement with another company owned by the same individuals who run the Supes Academy.

“Andy Shaw, president and CEO of the Better Government Association, says that a large, no-bid contract such as this one deserves scrutiny.”

Scrutiny? I’ll say. Chicago has several excellent institutions of higher education that could have done the same job for far less money. Was this a necessary expenditure at a time when the schools don’t have enough teachers and at being closed, allegedly to save money?

Categories Chicago, Education Industry, For-Profit, Principals

Is the A-F Grading System Fatally Flawed?

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
43

Politico.com has a valuable new education blog in the morning, written by experienced education journalists.

This morning’s report by Nirvi Shah ponders whether the departure of Tony Bennett will show that his (and Jeb Bush’s) beloved A-F grading system is damaged goods. The discovery that Bennett toyed with the system to protect a school owned (and named for) a major GOP donor is reason enough to doubt its validity.

In fact, if you read the article closely, you will understand that the A-F system is intended to facilitate privatization. It sets up schools to fail and to be privatized. Once a school is labeled D or F, it goes into a cycle of decline that is usually irreversible as families leave, good teachers leave, funds and programs are cut, and the school dies, a victim of failed policies and malign neglect.

Unfortunately no critics of accountability like Bob Schaeffer of Fairtest or Paul Thomas of Furman University are quoted. There is a quote from a Néw America Foundation analyst but she seems to say, one, Bennett really did rig the numbers, but two, let’s not give up on test-based accountability.

I disagree. The evidence is now overwhelming that test-based accountability encourages a slew of negative behaviors, including teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum, cheating, and gaming the system.

Bennett tried to game the system and got caught. New York State rigged the system to inflate scores but stopped after it was revealed in 2010. Beverly Hall gamed the system and will be tried for cheating. Schools across the nation have abandoned the arts or cut back on recess. The superintendent in El Paso is in jail for gaming the aystem.

How much more fraud and miseducation will be tolerated until thinkers and leaders step forward and admit that test-based accountability IS the problem

Categories Accountability, Education Industry, Florida, Indiana

Pasi Sahlberg: Testing and Choice Don’t Work

By dianeravitch
August 2, 2013 //
84

Pasi Sahlberg, Finland’s education ambassador to the world, recently warned the British government that high-stakes testing would not improve student achievement and that choice would undermine equity.

Pasi’s excellent book “Finnish Lessons” has been translated into 15 languages.

Finnish education is the reverse of everything we do, yet their students excel on international tests.

When asked what advice he would give England’s education secretary, he said:

“‘I am afraid, Mr Secretary, that the evidence is clear. If you rely on prescription, testing and external control over schools, they are not likely to improve. The GCSE proposals are a step backwards’.”

Pasi was equally dismissive of the minister’s enthusiasm for academies (similar to our charters). He said:

“He is similarly dismissive about Gove’s enthusiasm for academies and free schools, largely modelled on those in Finland’s neighbour, Sweden. “In Sweden,” Sahlberg says, “everybody now agrees free schools were a mistake. The quality has not improved and equity has disappeared. If that is what Mr Gove wants, that is what he will get.”

Categories Education Industry, International, Testing
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