Some guy who works for StudentsFirst–the organization that promotes vouchers and charters and wants to strip teacher of all due process–wrote a criticism of me on Huffington Post because he doesn’t like the way I interpret NAEP data. This is silly because I served on the NAEP board for seven years and know its strengths and limitations. NAEP was designed to serve an audit function, never to be used for high stakes. Like every other standardized test, NAEP reflects socioeconomic status. The kids with the most advantages score at the top, and those with the fewest advantages cluster at the bottom. NAEP is generally known as “the gold standard” because no one knows who will take it, no student takes the whole test, and no one knows how to prepare for it. NAEP scores may reflect demographic changes or other factors.
Here Mercedes Schneider takes him to task for his misinterpretation of what I wrote.
The release of the 2013 NAEP results set off cheering among advocates of corporate reform because DC and Tennessee showed big gains. But, I pointed out, states following exactltly the same formula showed small gains, no gains, or losses.
He missed the point.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope Melissa Harris Perry reads this point and counterpoint, and refrains for awarding Kaya Henderson again for ‘gains’ that in reality never materialized…
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“Wonder how DC and Tennessee are doing with promoting art, dance, theater, music, team sports, and citizenship?”
Just speaking from my personal experience in Tennessee…everything in the above list is in rapid decline or already dead, with the exception of team sports. Additional casualties?recess, physical education, subject areas other than math and English-language arts.
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I found the whole thing silly as well. He said you were contradicting yourself, when he works for the queen of self-contradiction: Michelle Rhee
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Well, I guess Lerum guy might probably be in delirium as he lost track of cherry-picking.
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Diane, as if you didn’t know it already, the deceptions and diversions in Lerums parrot cage liner are what you can expect from Rhee and whatever other liars and dissemblers she has chosen to help her when your team debates hers in Feb. Don’t waste time by taking the bait, just point out whichever logical fallacy is being employed by them and make your point, sometimes asking the Rhee-voltings why they can’t be honest about the facts.
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CitizensArrest: the piece Diane refers to was written by no less than the VP of National Policy of StudentsFirst.
If this reflects the intellectual caliber and moral character of those leading StudentsFirst—how can it not, given his high position?—don’t hold your breath waiting for Michelle Rhee to debate the owner of this blog or Dr. Mercedes Schneider or Mr. Gary Rubinstein or Dr. Bruce Baker [you get the idea] any time soon.
I am not being sarcastic: Eric Lerum owes Diane Ravitch a very public apology.
And whatever they’re paying him…
Or rather, I guess that’s what they’re paying him for.
Shameful.
😒
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I wholeheartedly agree that “the policy conclusions” that can be drawn from NAEP are very limited. Looking back at your November 8 post, I noticed that you described Wisconsin as “reformy.” There are policy changes occurring in Wisconsin like almost every other state. What do you feel makes Wisconsin particularly “reformy?” Thanks in advance.
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Stiles, any state that attacks collective bargaining, that promotes and expand charters and vouchers, that attacks the teaching profession, claims to be part of the “reform movement.” This is actually a movement to privatize public education. Wisconsin is a leader in the privatization movement. I sometimes call them corporate reformers. Others, like Bruce Baker of Rutgers, call them “reformy.”
I wrote a book about it called “Reign of Error.”
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Diane, thanks for the reply. I have started “Reign of Error” and am enjoying it. Privatization has been pushed for a long time in Wisconsin and unfortunately seems to be made gains in the last two years. It seems to me that in Wisconsin we have two reform camps that are in competition. There is the corporate reform movement that is pushing privatization and supports Act 10, which essentially eliminated collective bargaining for all public employees not only teachers. Then there is an institutional reform movement within DPI and the schools that tends to support Common Core and more moderate versions of assessment, accountability, and evaluation reforms. I suppose other states may have their own versions of contesting reform visions, but it is pronounced in the Badgerland.
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Another awesome piece from Mercedes! Neither she nor Diane Ravitch suffers mean-spirited fools gladly. 🙂
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