Archives for the month of: February, 2014
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Teach Plus Corrects Errors in Last Week’s Report About Testing Time

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
38

Last week, the Gates-funded group Teach Plus put out a report saying that state testing didn’t take up all that much time, despite the loud complaints of parents and teachers.

The howls of outrage on the Education Week site caused the researchers at Teach Plus to take another look, and they discovered they were wrong.

Reporter Catherine Gewertz follows the story here.

She begins:

Remember that study last week that showed how district-mandated tests take far more time away from students’ and teachers’ schedules than state tests do? It turns out that it had a major error.

As soon as “The Student & The Stopwatch” came out Feb. 5, critics pounced on it for posting far too low a figure for the amount of time students have to spend on states tests in Illinois. You can see some of these attacks in the comments section of the blog post I wrote about it.

You might recall that the report examined a dozen urban districts, and some surrounding suburban districts, focusing on their relative burdens of state testing time and district-imposed testing time.

Gewertz pressed Teach Plus to make corrections.

Categories Testing

A Balanced, Sane Explanation of the Issues in the Vergara Case

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
5

Ben Spielberg here explains the issues in the Vergara case, the litigation attempting to eliminate due process and seniority for teachers in Los Angles, and likely, for California. This is a big case for those trying to destroy unions and any rights for teachers.

Ben’s analysis is the best I have seen to date. He includes recommendations for improving the laws.

Categories Accountability, Los Angeles, Teacher Tenure

What School Grades Measure Best: Family Income

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
124

A reader forwarded this excellent article that appeared in the Denver Post.

The author Robert Zubrin scanned the state’s tables ranking schools based in large part on test scores. And this was his amazing discovery:

“So, does this testing data, acquired at great expense in both money and class time, tell us which schools are doing their job and which are performing poorly? Not at all. Rather, what really jumps out of the data is the extremely strong relationship between school rank and student family income. This correlation is so strong that it is possible to predict the rank of the school in advance with fair accuracy just by using a simple formula that multiples its percentage of low-income students by 4 and subtracts 20….

“In short, what we have managed to learn is that the children of doctors and lawyers do better on standardized tests than the children of day laborers and welfare recipients. This raises an interesting question: Why are we funding this program?

“At a time when school funds are scarce, why are we wasting tens of millions of dollars per year statewide, and close to 20 percent of classroom time, on a testing program, only to find out nothing that we didn’t know before? Does anyone actually believe that Evergreen students do better than Jefferson students because of the superior quality of the staff? If we switched school staffs, but kept the students in place, would the high scores move with the staffs or stay with the students? So, do we punish the teachers at the lower ranked schools because they are willing to take on the tougher jobs?”

Categories Colorado, Testing

Carol Burris: How the NY Regents Fooled the Public on Common Core

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
13

Carol Burris explains here how the New York Board of Regents hoaxed the public into thinking they had agreed to major changes when they actually changed nothing.

She writes:

“The press was led to believe the Regents pulled back the passing scores on the Common Core English Language Arts and math exams for the Class of 2017 from 75 and 80 to a score of 65 on both exams. The State Education Department claims that scores of 75 and 80 indicate “college readiness”—a metric they created.
Here is the reality. They had no intention of raising the scores from 65 to 75/80 in three years. Back in the fall, the Regents made it clear that for graduation purposes, students would still be able to earn a 65 on new standardized tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards in order to graduate……

“King and the Regents know that raising the passing scores will result in a precipitous drop in graduation rates. Based on last year’s results, the graduation rate would drop from 74 percent to 35 percent. If you believe that they had any intention of letting that happen in three years, I can sell you a bridge to nowhere in Alaska.
What the Regents did on Monday was actually set a date for when students would have to meet these “aspirational” scores (75/80). The long-term plan, however, is that the Regents exams, as we know them, will be long gone by 2022, replaced by computer based PARCC tests.

“In short, the Regents are “rolling back” what they never did in the first place. Right now, ninth-grade students, the Class of 2017, are mandated to take the Common Core Algebra Regents. The passing score on this exam is 65.”

Two members of the Regents–both experienced educators–opposed the changes because they wanted the standards to be reviewed by New York teachers, not sent back to the original writers (who have dispersed and no longer exist as a writing committee), and they sought a moratorium on the testing, which the Regents did not agree to.

Categories Common Core

What Do a Law Professor and a Kindergarten Teacher Have in Common?

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
27

Ty Alper is a law professor at The University of California in Berkeley, one of the nation’s most prestigious law schools. He is running for school board in Berkeley. As he thought about the challenges of teaching today, he realized that his child’s kindergarten teacher was teaching some of the same skills he was teaching:

“Brook Pessin-Whedbee teaches five-year-olds at Rosa Parks. I teach law students in their mid-20s. As a kindergarten teacher, Brook teaches her students how to collaborate in the telling of stories, so they develop not only oral language and story writing skills but also the ability to form partnerships and work together. As a clinical law professor training and supervising law students in the complex representation of clients facing the death penalty, I teach my students how to collaborate in the telling of stories — stories of our clients’ lives, of unfair trials, of prosecutorial misconduct, etc. Brook and I have the same goals: to improve our students’ oral and written skills, and to teach them what it means to work productively as part of a team.”

He doesn’t think that the work they do can be measured by standardized tests. He is right.

Ty is a graduate of the public schools in Berkeley, so is his wife. Both his parents worked in public schools.

I bet he would be a great addition to the Berkeley school board.

Categories California, Childhood, Pre-K, K, Testing

League of Women Voters in Florida Studying Charter Schools

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
10

When I lectured at the University of Florida, I met Sue Legg of the League of Women Voters. She informed me that the League has undertaken a county-by-county study of charter schools across the state.

Florida has nearly 600 charters, including for-profit charter chains and non-profit charter chains. (Vice-President Biden’s brother Frank runs one of the for-profit chains.)

These schools draw money away from public schools, and their record is spotty, at best.

When preparing for my lecture at the University, I idly googled the terms “Florida charter schools failing,” and up popped more than 200,000 stories about schools that had been closed for financial mismanagement, fraud, low performance, or other reasons.

Someone should conduct an impartial investigation, and the League of Women Voters is ideally suited to do it.

Since so many charter advocates and board members hold key positions in the State Legislature, funneling public money to charters instead of public schools, it is for sure that the Legislature won’t conduct any investigation of the use and misuse of public funds by charters. (Those connections and conflicts of interest should be examined and disclosed.)

Here is the League’s first report, covering the charter schools of Alachua County.

Here are some of the background reports: Alachua County League of Women Voters Study on School Choice 2011-12 research articles:

1. Understanding School Choice: Funding School Choice in Florida http://www.lwv-alachua.org/pdfs/LWV_EdFunding.pdf

2. Understanding School Choice: Standards and Accountability http://www.lwv-alachua.org/pdfs/LWV_EdStandards.pdf

3. Understanding School Choice: Social Impact http://www.lwv-alachua.org/pdfs/LWV_EdImpact.pdf

Can’t wait until they get to Dade County, Broward County, and other charter hotspots.

Hopefully the League will take a close look at the charter empires in south Florida, like Academica, the one owned by the Zulueta family. Jersey Jazzman reported on this chain (and see here), but it should be of special interest to Floridians, who pay for its operations.

Categories Charter Schools, Florida

Whitehurst of Brookings Supports Vouchers for Pre-K, Doubts Need for It

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
30

Grover (Russ) Whitehurst,who served as director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences during the administration of George W. Bush, testified before a Congressional committee in opposition to federal support for universal pre-kindergarten, except as a voucher for families to use for the setting of their choice. Whitehurst is now at the Brookings Institution, once considered a liberal think-tank in D.C.

Whitehurst looked skeptically on plans to create a federally funded preschool program. He said that the federal programs like Headstart and Even Start had failed, and that the “gold standard” programs like the Perry Preschool Project and the Abecedarian Project were outdated and “slender reeds” on which to base federal policy. He questioned the value and necessity of early childhood education, pointing out that back in the good old days, not many children were enrolled in pre-kindergarten:

He said:

So far as my staff has been able to determine by reading published biographies, none of the 44 presidents of the United States attended a pre-K or nursery school program. I’m sure many people in this room did not have pre-K. This is not to say that children can’t derive some benefit from being in organized pre-K setting. And who can say that presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Carter wouldn’t have been better presidents if only they had gone to preschool. But somehow we’ve gotten to the point as a society of thinking that pre-K is essential to normal child development and should be universal. That’s bunk.

I was reminded of something that the famous psychologist G. Stanley Hall wrote. He said that it was not necessary for all children to learn to read. After all, he wrote, “Very many men have lived and died and been great, even the leaders of their age, without any acquaintance with letters.” He was not concerned at all about illiteracy, because after all, the great men of the world could “neither read nor write,” and “even the blessed mother of our Lord knew nothing of letters.” (See my book Left Back, pp. 73, 358.) Whitehurst might also have pointed out that many of our presidents did not graduate from high school or college; think Abraham Lincoln!

It would have been worthwhile for Whitehurst to refer to the 2012 study reported by The Economist about preschool education. It ranked 45 nations according to availability, affordability, and quality. The U.S. ranked 24th of 45 nations, tied with the United Arab Emirates. The top-ranked nations were Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Part of the quality issue had to do with high standards for teachers, which of course would be difficult to assure if families chose a low-quality program conducted in a church basement with untrained teachers or a home-school run by a neighborhood mom with no particular training.

The 2012 study gave these rationales for investing in early childhood education:

“…preschools can help ensure that all children get a strong start in life, especially those from low-income or disadvantaged households. “The data are really incontrovertible,” explains Sharon Kagan, a professor of early childhood and family policy at Columbia University in the US. “Three strands of research combine to support the importance of the early years. From neuro-scientific research, we understand the criticality of early brain development; from social science research, we know that high quality programmes improve children’s readiness for school and life; and from econometric research, we know that high quality programs save society significant amounts of money over time. Early childhood contributes to creating the kinds of workforces that are going to be needed in the twenty-first century.”

There are also broader reasons to invest in preschool. At one level, it helps facilitate greater female participation in the workforce, which bolsters economic growth. Early childhood development is also a major force in helping overcome issues relating to child poverty and educational disadvantage. “It is about those very young children who are going to grow up as successful lifelong learners and citizens making an economic contribution to society,” says Christine Pascal, director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), an independent research organisation. “This is especially so in very unequal societies where you get generational and cyclical repetition of poverty and low achievement.”

Categories Education Reform

EduShyster: A Soap Opera in Boston: As the School Turns

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2014 //
10

It is hard to be sure who first had the idea that the way to improve schools was to fire the staff and start all over again.

When No Child Left Behind was written, it set an impossible goal of 100% proficiency, then set out a series of escalating sanctions for schools that were unable to do the impossible. The ultimate sanction–based on no research, experience, or wisdom–was to close the school. Fire everybody and close the school. Throw in the towel.

Then along came Arne Duncan, who gave the throw-up-your-hands routine a nice euphemistic name. He called it a “turnaround.” Sounds sweet and fun, not brutal. So now we have companies that specialize in turnarounds, and consultants who will show you how to do it.

In this post, EduShyster tells the stirring tale of two Boston schools that are being turned around for the second time! But this time, the state officials won’t make the same mistake. They won’t just bring in a whole new staff. No, indeed, they will hire “proven providers.” You can guess what that means. I bet it is a corporation that will make a whole lot of money and has a slender track record.

And so goes “reform.”

Categories Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Massachusetts

News Flash! NC County School Board Will Defy State Law

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2014 //
43

The school board in Guilford County, North Carolina, voted unanimously tonight to defy state legislation denying “tenure” (career status) to experienced teachers.

According to the latest news reports:

“GREENSBORO — The Guilford County School Board unanimously supported a resolution challenging the state’s new tenure law and asking for relief from laws requiring them to offer contracts to certain teachers in exchange for their tenure.

Teachers in the audience stood and clapped as the board’s vote appeared on a TV screen. Then board members and district staff stood and clapped for teachers.

Board members said the law is unconstitutional, its wording unclear. They also said the legislation “represents yet another thinly veiled attack on public education and educators.

Updated 7:11 p.m.

GREENSBORO — Senate leader Phil Berger said he is “deeply troubled” by reports that the Guilford County Board of Education will vote tonight not to follow provisions of the state teacher tenure law.

In a letter sent to Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green, Berger said that by ignoring the law, board members are failing to “recognize and reward excellent teachers.”

Board members are expected to vote to not choose certain teachers to award new contracts, as required by law.

About six of the 11 board members already have indicated they support that vote.

Tonight, teachers wearing red for public education, packed the board room and central office. About an hour before the meeting started, teachers — some from out of state — chanted and held signs protesting recent legislation affecting education.

Several teachers spoke during the public comment period of the meeting, thanking board members for their expected voted.

“Right now educators are facing a death of a thousand cuts,” said teacher Todd Warren, who has spoken out about raising pay for all teachers.

Amy Harrison, a special education teacher at Reedy Fork Elementary, thanked the board and told them every teacher at her school has signed a petition pledging to decline the new contracts.

Categories North Carolina, Teacher Tenure

A Message from North Carolina Representative Rick Glazier

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2014 //
20

This just in, following my speech at the Emerging Issues Forum in North Carolina, whose extremist Governor Pat McCrory and General Assembly have passed laws diminishing the status of teachers and promoting vouchers and charters.

“Your speech to the IEI Forum was extraordinary and really sparked immense discussion on the floor of the Forum and later this afternoon. It cogently summarized the dramatic and destructive effect of the Republican policies of this last session, which has led us to 49 th in the nation in teacher pay, 46th in state spending on education, the abrogation of career status for teachers while offering only 25% of teachers a long term contract no matter how many on merit deserve them, elimination of mentor pay and all professional development funds, termination of our nationally recognized Teaching Fellows Program, massive cuts to teacher assistant positions, student support services, administrative capacity, textbooks and supplies; and the creation of a new voucher system and all but unregulated charters, unmoored from their original purpose and accountable supervision, soon to litter every corner of the state. Five years ago our commitment to public education was the envy of most of the nation; today, we are the example of all that is wrong with the term “reform” of public education by those who, in reality, too often seek to abandon it, and a betrayal of our children and their educators in the process. Thank you for your inspiring words and being a part of moving our state’s citizens to reconsider the ideological overreach that has imperiled public education in North Carolina.”

Representative Rick Glazier.

Categories Charter Schools, North Carolina, Teachers and Teaching, Vouchers
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