Archives for the year of: 2013
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Arthur Camins: Why the Debate Over Standards Flounders

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
12

Arthur Camins has written an insightful critique of the current debate over standards. As he puts it, “the past gets in our eyes.”

Camins begins:

“The Common Core State Standards for Reading and Mathematics appear to be simultaneouslyunstoppable trains and under siege, making strange bedfellows of both supporters and opponents.

Two issues cloud the debate about their validity, value and efficacy: (1) The idea of standards
has been conflated with standardization; (2) Standards have become inextricably linked to highstakes assessments. This has superseded a deeper meaning of assessment- the daily cycle of
diagnosis and feedback to students that marks the practice of every effective teacher.
However, there is something deeper contributing the cloudiness. I am reminded of a classic
Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy laments upon missing a fly ball, “Sorry I missed that easy fly ball,
manager. I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I’ve missed. The past got in
my eyes!”

Camins notes a strange paradox: The supporters of “reform” says that the best schools (i.e., charters and vouchers) have autonomy, while the opponents of the Common Core say that teachers need autonomy.

He writes:

“Ironically, the critique of standards as unwarranted, creativity-stifling impositionsis grounded in many of the same autonomy assumptions about the power of unencumbered individuals to drive innovation and improvement. For example, many supporters and critics appear to share the idea that regulation stifles creativity. What separates the two perspectives is a different notion of size and characteristics of the group that can be trusted with autonomy. For supporters of standards, high-stakes assessments, charter schools, and privatization, the group to be counted upon is small: the really smart entrepreneurs. For some opponents, the number is large: virtually everyone.

Curious, this idea that schools should have autonomy, but teachers should not.

Read this provocative article.

 

Categories Charter Schools, Common Core, Education Reform, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

Letter from a Pennsylvania Student: Stop the Keystones!

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
27

A reader sent this letter written by her 14-year-old daughter. She should become active in the opt-out movement. She should contact Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson “At the Chalkface.”

Mother and daughter: resist. Join with others. Don’t let them destroy your education in the name of “accountability.” Hold the Mindless Testing Fanatics accountable.

She writes:

“Thank you for speaking up about these high stakes graduation exams. My 14 year-old daughter was required to take Algebra 1 this year (in 8th grade) and to take a first attempt at passing the new Pennsylvania, Keystone Exam. We live in the high achieving, suburban Philadelphia school district of Lower Merion, and have been extremely happy with our district until the Common Core Sate Standards and Keystone exams affected her this year. We know other children & families who feel much the same way.

“After day 1 of the exam, she came home a ball of stress. As a way of letting out her feelings, she wrote the essay below. At the end, she writes that she will never take a Keystone again, but unfortunately, that may be impossible. As I am sure you are aware, districts need to create projects for students who opt out or fail repeatedly. We have no idea what these projects entail. She is hoping that her essay will be published as a post. Thank you for considering giving her a voice.”

STOP KEYSTONES ONCE AND FOR ALL

My Story

By Jordyn Schwartz

Today I have experienced one of the most confidence breaking and mind troubling obstacles in my entire life; the Algebra 1 Keystone exam for the State of Pennsylvania. When I sat down to take this standardized test, I did not know what I was getting myself into. My math teacher had been preparing us for this test, but even with all that drill and practice, my mind could not take it all in. The first 14 questions took me over 10 minutes each when I was trying to solve the unfamiliar equations, long word problems, and words I didn’t even know how to pronounce. I was telling myself that I was going to be fine until all of the stress overwhelmed my body. I was frustrated. “I should know this,” I thought. I wasn’t even half way done when they announced that there were only 10 minutes remaining. I only completed my first set of grueling questions, and still had another set of them and 2 short answer sections containing at least 6 more questions each. I wouldn’t get help from a,b,c or d with these.

At that moment, my mind broke down. I was telling myself that I was stupid, and that these kinds of tests make me feel like I don’t know anything. After hours of work, I still had so much more. It is extremely difficult to continue concentrating at the same intense level as you did when you first started. I was sick and tired of looking at those same boring Algebra problems.

I am an A average student all around, and score advanced on PSSA’s. But I couldn’t even read the next problem without all of those discouraging thoughts spiraling in my mind. I tried telling myself to pull through, but I found myself not caring anymore, and just wanting to circle some letter. I did that for two or three questions and stopped. I dropped my pencil on my desk, tried taking some deep breaths, and thought of ripping my booklet into shreds. I poked holes in my booklet with my pencil, and started squeezing my hands tightly as if I was going to explode. I was that angry, outraged, fuming. I felt so incredibly frustrated that these stupid test companies don’t care what they are doing to the students of our country. All they want is the money, and the worst part is, nothing is being done to stop them. Why don’t the politicians making my generation the most over tested in history try the tests for themselves? I bet most of them would fail or do poorly. I mean, if smart, educated people don’t do well on these tests, than what do they show?

These Keystone tests are breaking kids down, making us feel dumb and not want to learn, instead of making us want to enjoy the wonders and greatness of education. I know that when most people in my grade hear the words, standardized testing, no one is jumping up and down with excitement. I am an 8th grade student in the Lower Merion School District: a district known for their excellent education. When kids here are complaining about how difficult it is for us to take these tests, who knows what kids in struggling school districts are experiencing. Why should these tests be a graduation requirement for high school?

After my big meltdown from the frustration of not knowing how in the world to do these problems, I didn’t continue my test. I told the guidance counselor I couldn’t take it any more, and how it made me feel horrible inside. Although I kept calm on the outside, on the inside I was bomb about to explode. I was holding back my tears. I bet many other kids felt this same way, even if it wasn’t as strongly as I felt. I will tell you one thing, I am never taking one of those tests again. No test shall ever make me feel as low and deflated as I did today. I don’t care what alternative project I have to do in exchange for the Keystone test. Let me be exempted. No one should experience what I have experienced today. Standardized testing needs to be stopped.

Categories Pennsylvania, Students, Testing

Susan Ohanian Joins the Honor Roll

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
9

Susan Ohanian has been speaking, blogging, and agitating against bad education ideas for many years. Her writing is informed by a finely tuned sense of humanism–that is, she cares about people, especially children, more than big ideas and grand policies that treat people like widgets.

She speaks with honesty, candor, courage, and integrity. She is tireless. She is the real deal. She has taught every grade in school. To Susan, every issue always comes down the same question: is it good for children?

Susan Ohanian is a fearless advocate for children and good education, grounded in reality, not abstractions.

She is truly a hero of American education, and I gladly add her name to the honor roll of this blog.

To get a sense of her work, read one of her latest posts.

I especially enjoyed this tribute to Mr. Rogers.

Susan regularly posts cartoons that lampoon the madness of the NCLB-Race to the Top regime.

See here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

Read her collection of Outrages.

And for more, read her running commentary on the Common Core.

Categories Common Core, Duncan, Arne, Honor Roll, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Race to the Top

TFA Wins Another $4.3 Million from Walton Family Foundation

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
19

Just when Teach for America was down to only $300 million in assets, the Walton Family Foundation awarded it another $4.3 million to send ill-trained young college graduates to spend two years teaching in the Delta.

It seems like only yesterday, maybe two years ago, that the foundation gave TFA $49.5 million.

Surely the brand new TFA recruits in the Delta will do no harm, and maybe do some good, helping to staff schools where teachers are hard to find. At least they are not taking the jobs of experienced teachers who were laid off by budget cuts.

However, it is difficult to see TFA as a systemic response to the needs of the nation’s poorest communities. Shouldn’t the neediest students have a corps of experienced, career educators who are committed to stay with them for many years?

The Walton foundation is one of the nation’s wealthiest and also the foundation most committed to privatization of public education.

Categories Teach for America TFA, Walton Foundation

Fairfax County Teacher: Why I Quit

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
14

Ron Maggiano taught history and social studies in the Fairfax County (Virginia) public schools for 33 years. Along the way, he picked up many awards for his excellent teaching.

Here he reflects on why he quit a career he loved.

“Now more than three decades later, I have just spent my last day as a teacher. I resigned my teaching position because I can no longer cooperate with the standardized testing regime that is destroying creativity and stifling imagination in the classroom. I am sad, angry, hurt, and dismayed by what has happened to education and to the teaching profession that I so dearly love.

“It was a difficult decision, but I am confident that it was the correct one. For me this was a moral choice. I believe that our current national obsession with high-stakes testing is wrong, because it hurts kids and deprives students of an education that is meaningful, imaginative, and relevant to the demands of the 21st century.”

And more,

“More significantly, critical thinking skills and analytical problem solving have now been replaced with rote memorization and simple recall of facts, figures, names, and dates. Educators have been forced to adopt a “drill and kill” model of teaching to ensure that their students pass the all-important end-of-course test. Teaching to the test, a practice once universally condemned administrators and educators alike, has now become the new normal in classrooms across the country.

“If teaching to the test was wrong 30 some years ago when I first entered the classroom, it is just as wrong today as I leave my classroom for the final time. The fact is that we are not really educating our students. We are merely teaching them how to pass a test.”

Categories Teachers and Teaching, Testing

The Onion: A Bold and Innovative Charter School

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
16

Please read this. THE ONION GETS IT!

When you become a joke in THE ONION, the end of school deform is in sight.

The article begins:

“ATLANTA—One year into its founding as the purported “bold next step in education reform,” administrators on Monday sang the praises of Forest Gates Academy, a progressive new charter school that practices an innovative philosophy of not admitting any students. “We’ve done something here at Forest Gates that is truly special, combining modern, cutting-edge pedagogical methods with a refreshingly non-pupil-centric approach,” said academy president Diane Blanchard, who claimed that the experimental school boasts state-of-the-art facilities, a diverse and challenging syllabus, absolutely zero students, a world-class library, and the highest faculty-student ratio in the nation. “Thanks to our groundbreaking methods, we’ve established a structured yet free-thinking environment where the student is taken out of the equation entirely, and in fact is not allowed on school property. And the results, we think, speak for themselves.”

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, For-Profit, Humor

A BAT Teacher’s Dream

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2013 //
19

Want to know why the Badass Association of Teachers were created.

It is because of stories like this one.

Amanda wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember. She loved teaching. She was laid off. Thousands of other teachers could tell the same story.

Does anyone care?

Teachers care. They know that they could be next. That’s why the BAT gathered more than 20,000 members in only two weeks.

There is poison in the air. It is toxic to teachers and to children. It is time to say no. It is time to join the resistance.

Categories Teachers and Teaching

Pelto: The Vallas Saga Continues

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2013 //
11

Jonathan Pelto reports that Paul Vallas and his allies are determined to fight the court ruling that ousted him from his job as superintendent of schools in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Ironically, the law he violated was written to make it easier to gain approval for him, despite his lack of the legally required qualifications.

As Pelto writes:

“The facts are simple enough;

Thanks to Governor Malloy, Commissioner Pryor and the Connecticut General Assembly, on July 1, 2012 Connecticut’s law concerning when the Commissioner of Education can waive a person’s need to be certified, in order to hold the title of superintendent of schools, was changed to make it easier for Paul Vallas to stay as Bridgeport’s superintendent of schools.

“The original law had been written to accommodate Steven Adamowski, who in 2007 had wanted to serve as Hartford’s superintendent of schools despite not having the necessary certification. At the time, a law was written to allow the state’s commissioner of education to waive the need for a superintendent to have certification if the individual was a certified superintendent in another state and met various other requirements.

“But Paul Vallas was never certified to hold any education position, in any state, so the Malloy administration proposed changing the law to allow the commissioner to waive Vallas’ certification requirement if he served for one year as an acting superintendent and successfully completed a “school leadership program” at a Connecticut institution of higher education.”

Vallas ignored these minimal requirements and patched together a quickie course. This proved unacceptable to the judge.

We will watch to see what happens on appeal.

Categories Connecticut, Vallas, Paul

Corbett to Philadelphia: Fix Your Own Schools

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2013 //
9

Governor Tom Corbett’s poll numbers have been sinking, and based on his latest budget, he doesn’t deserve another term as governor. His budget abandons the desperate Philadelphia public school system, which has been under state control for a decade.

The governor has no trouble building new prisons or cutting corporate taxes, but his message to Philadelphia is simple: Tough luck!

As Daniel Denvir reports:

“Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed public school “rescue package,” currently making its way through the legislature, is a destructive joke with troubling long-term implications. The $140 million, pledged just before the governor signed the state budget last night, falls far short of both the $304 million budget gap and the $180 million the School Reform Commission requested from city and state government.

“It’s also a shell game, so make sure to watch closely: the plan shifts the burden for funding city schools onto those who can least afford it. Much of the funding comes from optimistic projections of increased collections from city tax delinquents, and from an extension of the city’s “temporary” 1-percent sales tax hike. The latter is simply the state giving the city the power to further tax its own disproportionately low-income population. This is patently regressive taxation, meaning that it takes disproportionately from the poor — in a city that already has a regressive wage tax, and in a state that has one of the most regressive tax structures in the nation.

“There is only $47 million in new state funding for city schools (less than half of what adds up to just $127 million in new funding, according to this Notebook/NewsWorks analysis, since $13 million Corbett had proposed previously was already included in the school district budget). Critically, $45 million of that is a one-time-only expenditure — and it actually comes not from Corbett but from the Obama administration.”

Denvir writes that Corbett’s “brave new formula requires Philadelphians and teachers to pay more than we can afford while wealthy businesses and nonprofits contribute basically nothing to solve the crisis. This is supported by Corbett, the SRC, Superintendent William Hite, business leaders, “reform” advocacy groups and, apparently, city leaders.”

Let it be remembered and recorded by historians that Governor Corbett, the state legislature, the state-controlled School Reform Commission, the Broad-trained superintendent, the city’s foundations and its business leaders decided to walk away from their responsibility to the children and public schools of Philadelphia. They knowingly, consciously, callously turned their backs on the children. Remember their names.

Categories Budget Cuts, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Crenshaw High in Los Angeles: Deasy Targets Veteran Teachers

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2013 //
15

At Superintendent John Deasy’s urging, the Los Angeles school board last spring voted to restructure Crenshaw High because of its low test scores.

The school will be divided into magnets.

All of the staff had to reapply for their jobs.

Curiously, the veteran teachers who were most outspoken in their criticism of the restructuring were not rehired.

Categories Los Angeles
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »