Aaron Pallas, one of our best sociologists of education, looks at the terrible scores of teachers in Syracuse.
“The summary evaluations reported by Superintendent Contreras [of Syracuse] were striking: Just two percent of Syracuse teachers were rated highly effective, and an additional 58 percent were deemed effective. Seven percent were classified as ineffective, and 33 percent as developing, categories that suggest low levels of teaching performance, the need for teacher improvement plans, and the threat of eventual dismissal. Not a single elementary or middle-school teacher in the entire district was rated highly effective.”
Pallas writes:
“I wonder how State Commissioner John King, Jr. would like it if his performance evaluation were based on the same criteria applied to teachers in Syracuse. The percentage-point increase in students statewide scoring at level 3 and 4 in ELA from 2012 to 2013? Well, that actually fell from 55 percent to 31 percent. The Commissioner gets a zero. The percentage-point increase in students scoring at level 3 and 4 in math? That fell from 65 percent to 31 percent. The Commissioner gets a zero. The percentage-point decrease in students statewide scoring at level 1 in ELA from 2012 to 2013? That actually increased from 10 percent to 32 percent. The Commissioner gets a zero. And the percentage-point decrease in students scoring at level 1 in math? That rose from eight percent to 33 percent. The Commissioner gets a zero.
Just for the heck of it, let’s also allow the Commissioner to score some points if the average teacher growth percentile across the state increased from 2012 to 2013. But because that’s constrained by definition to be 50 each year, there’s no growth there, either. Sorry, Commish! Another zero.”
Judged by the same metric, the leaders of New York State have failed.
Who will hold them accountable for imposing tests and standards for which no one was prepared?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We need to go beyond the failed SED Commsh John King, and demand Meryl Tisch’s resignation as well. Maybe then our corporate governor will stop blaming schools, teachers and children for THEIR failure!
A little humor to lighten things…
What occurred backstage with John
King and his advisors after King fled
the stage:
So, is there the same type: this is good news! mentality as there was about the drop in student scores? or is anybody saying anything this time?
If this is simply the planned out clearing house approach to make way for the “new normal,” it just feels mean. Did the Michele Rhee type thinking get hold of everyone? Or is it just the result of poorly planned new standards not aligned with expectations or tests, etc. In other words. . .conspiracy, or just bad growing season after stormy weather? (I feel like I know the answer, but I want to know what people in New York are saying).
In NC the new law is that after next year 25% of teachers are to be recommended for four year contracts and they get a $500 bonus for each of those years (insulting, yes, but we are getting used to that). The problem is, the law does not define who “teachers” are (does that include media, music, Title I etc) and where in the world did they come up with the 25% number? Is it the Perato principle plus a lagniappe? Is it based on a projection or sliding scale to make way for more TFA? Is it an assumption that 75% of teachers are not that great? What is it?
I am very much looking forward to the day when all this madness collapses under its own weight and we put our public schools back on track (the workers, the philosophies, the mission, the purpose, the leadership, the objective, the students). From 1978-1991 (my years in school), things seemed fine. I am so sad this is all happening.
Joanna, I would guess that the 25% figure is some variation of the Gates stack ranking policy that has decimated Microsoft and been rejected by most healthy, thriving companies. Just what American public education needs: failed, asinine business voodoo theories. We need an exorcism STAT!
There were several town halls
scheduled to sell Common Core to
the parents of New York state
schoolchildren. N.Y. State Education
Commissioner King was the presenter,
with the events organized and
presented by the N.Y. State PTA.
However, after yesterday’s first
such town hall, N.Y. State
Education Commissioner King
strong-armed the N.Y, State PTA
into cancelling the remaining town
halls with the following statement:
https://www.facebook.com/nyspta
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“While our goal was to provide
an opportunity to learn and share,
based on review of the initial
October 10 meeting, the
Commissioner concluded the
outcome was not constructive
for those taking the time to
attend.
“Please know that NYS PTA
will continue to work with all
education and child advocacy
partners to keep our members
updated andinformed on
education, health, safety and
welfare issues affecting children
and families.
“We apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause
and express our sincere
appreciation to those who have
given their time to assist with
organizing this initiative.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Well, you can “review” for yourself
the crucial final 20 minutes of
yesterday’s town hall here—
the colorfully titled YouTube video
“Commissioner King Gets Spanked”:
This meeting was a Rhee-like
farce where King spoke for 1 hour
and 40 minutes straight, and was
scheduled to to be followed by 1
hour of public comments and
questions.
Note that… ***was scheduled to
be followed…***
The best laid plans…
Indeed, 20 minutes in, neither
King nor the NYS PTA
moderator “could stand the
heat, so they got outta the
kitchen.”
They were totally unprepared by
how well-informed and
confrontational these parents were.
At about the 10 minute mark, one
parent brought up the fact that King
sends his own kids to a Montessori
School which has a curriculum that
is the antithesis of Common Core
as a Montessori school is…
(to quote its wikipedia entry)
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
“… characterized by an emphasis on
independence, freedom within limits,
and respect for a child’s natural
psychological, physical, and social
development….
“… and has these elements
as essential:[1][2]
” — Mixed age classrooms, with
classrooms for children aged
2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the
most common
“— Student choice of activity
from within a prescribed range of
options
“— Uninterrupted blocks of work
time, ideally three hours
“— A Constructivist or ‘discovery’
model, where students learn
concepts from working with
materials, rather than by direct
instruction.
“Specialized educational materials
developed by Montessori and her
collaborators
“— Freedom of movement within
the classroom
” — A trained Montessori teacher
“In addition, many Montessori
schools design their programs
with reference to Montessori’s
model of human development
from her published works, and
use pedagogy, lessons, and
materials introduced in teacher
training derived from courses
presented by Montessori
during her lifetime… ”
– – – – – – – – – – – –
This disclosure and implied attack
on King pretty much ended things.
King made the dubious claim that
his Montessori school scrupulously
follows “Common Core”
“This totally enraged the audience
of parents as it was and is a
ludicrous and demonstrably false
claim that was rightly met with
skepticism and loud booing,
enraging the crowd… if for
no other reason that folks
don’t like to be lied to or have
their intelligences insulted.
The flustered moderator then
quickly wrapped it up, “We’re going
to allow two more people to speak.”
At which point people began
screaming even louder:
“WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘ONE
HOUR’ ?!!!”
This is absolutely riveting video.
Again, you can see that crucial
final 20 minutes at:
direct accountability rests in the hands of the governor, but flows from citizens to legislature.
how about a thousand or so parents picketing in albany ( especially) before the weather gets cold. how about a massive petition and/or letter writing campaign sent to legislaters and governor. time for direct action.
Is there anyone out there who is
a current/former teacher or parent
at the Montessori school where
King sends his kids who can
shed light on the accuracy of King’s
claim that his kids’ Montessori
school strictly adheres to
Common Core?
King makes this dubious claim at
about 17:00 on the video:
I was hoping that someone had
actual information about the Montessori
school where King sends his kids.
So far, I’ve yet to find out exactly
what occurs during a typical
school day at that specific Montessori
school—schedule, curriculum,
activities, subjects taught, etc.
(without naming the school, of
course, less King try again to hide
behind his kids… “My kids are
out-of-bounds! How dare you
attack my kids!” No, no one is
attacking your children, John;
millions of NY state parents
are rightfully questioning your
choice to keep them as far
away from the questionable
curriculum and testing that
you’re demanding millions of
other NY state children must
endure.)
Thankfully, both Montessori’s
official site and its Wikipedia
page details what happens at
almost all Montessori
schools—i.e. the ones that are
functioning in a way consistent
with the Montessori educational
philosophy and methods. If
the Montessori to which King
sends his children does not
operate this way, they are an
exception, and not a true
Montessori school—sort of like
a restaurant purporting be a
McDonald’s and uses the name
McDonald’s, but instead that
sells hot dogs instead of
hamburgers.
However, I was able to discover
a blog post from Carol Burris
who DOES have information about
the Montessori school to which
King sends his kids. It’s at the
top of the COMMENTS section:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/when_the_ny_state_education_dept_complained_about_this_blog.html
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
CAROL BURRIS (regarding the
Montessori school where King
sends his kids):
“A friend whose employee attends
the Montessori School (and
therefore knows that the children
attend it) informed me that the
school does not give all of the
tests at all of the grade levels.
“Teachers are not evaluated by
the scores, nor is the school
evaluated by the scores.
“That has been confirmed.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In the video, King described
his children’s Montessori school
being part of NY state’s
“community of schools”.
Apparently, not all of NYS’s
educational institutions
are in sync with the policies that
King demands that the public
schools follow—i.e. the
non-public school where he
sends his own children.
The article that this COMMENT
is responding to is pretty
incendiary as well. It’s from
the “FINDING COMMON
GROUND” blog, written by
elementary school principal
Peter DeWitt.
According to the webpage,
DeWitt “writes about students’
social and emotional health,
and how educators can help
young people find common
ground. He was selected as
the 2013 New York State
Outstanding Educator of the
Year by the School
Administrators Association
of New York State.”
The story is about how
officials from the N.Y. State
Education Dept. harassed
him at his school office in
response to comments he
wrote about… you guessed it…
the subject of King’s sending
his children to a Montessori
school.
The attempts to intimidate,
censor, and implicitly threaten
DeWitt are as creepy as
anything to do with the recent
Town Hall fiasco.
For example, Tom Dunn,
King’s Director of Communications,
volunteered to DeWitt…
“It’s not like I’m going to call your
superintendent … ”
… to complain about DeWitt,
should DeWitt refuse to cooperate
and do what he says—i.e. edit out
the stuff about King’s kids
attending a Montessori school.
That remark has a very mafioso-ish
type ring to it—along the lines of…
“It’s not like we’re going to go
and harm your wife and kids if
you don’t play ball with us. We
wouldn’t want anything to happen
to them, now. Would we?”
C’mon. If you’re not going to
do something, and you’re not
actually threatening to do so,
then why even bring it up?
These are the final paragraphs
of DeWitt’s article in their entirety:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
PETER DEWITT:
“(Ed. Commissioner King’s)
communications director should
spend less time trying to coerce
and intimidate educational
bloggers who are trying to get
out the truth, and spend more
time listening to the voices of
teachers, parents, students and
principals.
“Collectively, there were thousands
of them who converged on Albany,
NY yesterday for the June 8th Rally.
I hope some leaders from State
Ed were in the crowd because
one thing is for sure…our voices
won’t be stifled. ”
“My concern over the phone call
is ‘what’s next?’ One phone call
for an error. A second one
because I used strong language
or criticized the commissioner?
“What will be the next thing I
write that State Ed does not like?
If there is something untrue about
my blog, post a comment at the
end or send an e-mail like everyone
else.
“My secretary is too busy to take
calls about my blog, nor should
she have to. I don’t post blogs at
school, and my students and staff
are my first priority. We are trying
to meet the deadline of getting
through our End of the Year SLO’s.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Dunn’s phone
call seemed less about correcting
an error (which may or may not be
true) and more about flexing his
NY State Education muscles. We
have about as much time for State
Ed phone calls as they do for
ours.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Again, you can read the whole
thing at:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/when_the_ny_state_education_dept_complained_about_this_blog.html
We need to recognize that we have a “SHAM” disguised as “government for the people, of the people, and by the people.” Instead….We have BIG $$$$$ folks who purchase politicians. This country is up for sale to the highest bidder. It’s this simple.
Where’s King’s offshore account?
http://thedailybanter.com/2012/05/exclusive-failing-up-with-dick-parsons/
Johnny is just a puppet. When he is gone another puppet will follow.
Check out these links. There are many that have to go!!
There is a club and we ain’t in it!
http://www.governor.ny.gov/puttingstudentsfirst/bios
When the reformers DEMAND that they themselves (and their political supporters) be held to the same level of accountability as teachers and principals THEN we can take them seriously.
When John King and Meryl Tisch and Governor Rick Scott and all the Gates-funded, Broad-trained reformers receive Value Added Measures based upon the test scores of students in their districts THEN they will have some veracity and respect.
Instead they know that they have created a two-tier system where the actual workers are held to one level of accountability and they themselves are held to no level of accountability at all.
Americans have traditionally rejected this kind of stacked deck system and I am confident that they will do so when they see and understand that that is what the reformers have created.
I challenge all of them to walk the walk that support their talk: demand your OWN VAM rating based upon student test scores and insist that you yourself be held accountable in the same way you insist teachers should be held accountable.
Otherwise you need to scurry back into the dark crevices and hide in shame.
Can we apply this to Arne Duncan and JUST DUMP HIM BY HIS OWN STATS????????
“What is good for the goose is good for the gander,”.
EXACTLY Who cancelled the
remaining meetings?
King or the PTA leaders? Gates?
If it’s a PTA event, can’t they carry
on without King participating?
Everything’s booked and paid for,
and people have set aside time
to attend.
Since the PTA took a boatload
of Gates money, does the
cancellation of the town halls mean
the PTA is not an independent voice
and representative of the parents, and
instead just puppets of Gates? Or
King? Or whomever?
King’s latest statement is that the
truth is the opposite of this. No,
his latest claim is that those
loudmouth parents who spoke out
at the town hall (in the video) were
phony agents of “special interests”
out to disrupt the event, and deny
“the real parents” an opportunity to
learn and dialogue about Common
Core and school reform. (Is King’s
thought process here the kind of
critical thinking he wants taught in
Common Core?)
A MESSAGE TO ANY OF THOSE
WHO SPOKE ON CAMERA:
Were any of you actual parents?
OR
Were you just pretending to be
parents so you could then disrupt
the town hall event on orders from
your “special interest” masters?
OR
Were you perhaps actual parents
as well as “special interest”
provocateurs out to sabotage
the event, and thus deny
the non-special interest parents
the benefits of the town hall?
Inquiring minds want to know.
And to Commissioner King…
exactly WHO are these nefarious
“special interest” puppeteers who
masterminded the destruction
of the Common Core town hall
event?
Whoever they are, they need
to be rooted out at once, and
exposed for these destructive
forces—the enemies of true
school reform—that they are!
Tell the world!
Let’s study the video once again,
so we can start the process
of identifying and exposing them:
Once those speaking on the
video are subjected to a thorough
interrogation, we can get them all
to “flip”—as they say on THE
WIRE—and give up the names of
those “special interest” bastards who
put them up behave and say what
they did at the town hall!
On another humorous note, I just found
this over at STUDENTS LAST:
————————————————
THE KING’S DICTIONARY:
New York – The reigning Commissioner of Education for the State of New York, John King, has released the following dictionary of terms that he would like distributed at any other town hall meetings he deigns to attend.
accountability — fireability, what the King is above
child — learning unit available for sale to corporations (notable exceptions include: King’s child(ren))
critical voices — that to which the King is deaf
democracy — a form of government in which people choose their leaders and their leaders choose not to listen to them because it is time-consuming and inconvenient
dissent — that to which the King is impervious
education — marketplace
educators — pawns
experience — overblown requirement for teaching
evidence — that which does not exist to support the use of Common Core Standards
knowledge — facts, information and skills not necessarily required before implementing state-wide learning standards
money — short cut around democratic process
parent — easily manipulated adult unit in charge of child (see above)
Ravitch — she who must not be named
respect — what silent acquiescence shows
rigor — developmentally inappropriate
schooled — what the King got on October 10, 2013 in Poughkeepsie, NY
special interests — those who disagree with the King’s policies
Town Hall meeting — gathering at which the King speaks and you listen
——————————————–
This is at:
http://studentslast.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-kings-dictionary.html