When Arne Duncan visited Boston recently, he lamented the sorry state of public education in Massachusetts–the highest scoring state in the nation on NAEP, a state whose students have been ranked at the top of international tests—and he praised privately managed charter schools for their excellence. For reasons he has never publicly explained, he wants to see more public dollars and students turned over to unaccountable corporations. He is a cheerleader for privately managed charters and the nation’s chief critic of public education. He aids and abets the movement to privatize public education. As public policy, this is irresponsible. To call this bizarre is an understatement.
When Duncan spoke with a columnist from the Boston Globe, he alleged that 40% of the high school graduates in the state require remediation when they get to college.
In this post, Carol Burris demonstrates that Duncan was confused, misinformed, or worse.
Duncan told the columnist that 40%–a”staggering” number of students—need college remediation.
Burris writes:
” What is “staggering” is the gross inaccuracy of the claim. Here are the facts:
“Twenty-two percent of the students who attend four-year state universities in Massachusetts and 10 percent of the students who attend the University of Massachusetts take at least one remedial course. That group (students who attend four-year public colleges) comprises 28 percent of all high school graduates in the Commonwealth.
“Thirty percent of all Massachusetts graduates attend private four-year colleges. Although I could not find remediation rates for such students, we know that nationally 15 percent of students who attend not-for-profit four-year colleges or universities take remedial courses.
“Using the above, I estimate that the percentage of students in Massachusetts who attend four-year colleges and take remedial courses is roughly 17 percent, not the 40 percent that Duncan claimed.”
It is also staggering that the U.S. Secretary of Education does not have accurate data about our nation’s highest-performing state.
And it is staggering that the columnist feels no need to fact-check the data.
And most staggering of all is that Duncan wants to harm our nation’s public education system, which is part of the fabric of our democracy.
What is his goal?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Forty percent does seem very high. At my institution about sixteen percent of students take remedial mathmatics.
How can you say you are ‘data driven’ in your policies and get the data so wrong?
hornsinhaifa: easy.
First, as a CEO-type kiss up-kick down “education reformer” you leave all that ‘technical stuff’ to your accountabully underlings. If you’re ever called on it, just blame anyone under you; in extreme cases, fire your way to data excellence by getting rid of the miscreant.
Second, take a humorous admonition as serious advice to be followed:
“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.” [Mark Twain]
Third and most important, keep firmly in mind the revolving door between government and the private sector. Prove you’ve got the right stuff for the charter/private sector while serving as the ostensible lead advocate for public education, and there’s lots of $tudent $ucce$$ in your future.
Really!
And really!
😎
Arne’s goal is very clear. He wants to be able to land a puff job at some private corporation once his term expires at USDOE. He won’t get many offers if he touts the line that public education is doing a good job. As the chief spokesperson for education, he is a clown, not an educator. What an embarrassment.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In the comment thread at The Answer Sheet, a poster pointed out that when he attended college in the ’60’s, there were two tiers of entry-level classes to accommodate differences in high school achievement (I too remember, at my Ivy League, ‘Freshman English’ vs jumping right into adv comp & lit)– the difference being that nothing was designated ‘remedial’. The poster also noted that in that day only 15% of Americans attended college. I added: “for the US to go from 15% attending college to 42% graduating college in a span of 45 yrs suggests that ‘remedial’ courses for a quarter of entering students has been a successful strategy.”
What is Arne Duncan’s goal? It is the same goal of all politicians: privatization of public schools and all public services. It is increasingly evident that elected officials want public employees to experience the same diminishment of wages and benefits that private employees have experienced over the past decades… and it seems that the public is all too willing to watch it happen…. That’s because the current wages and benefits of public employees were put in place in the 60s and 70s at a time when they mirrored the benefits and wages of the work force and at that time the public was, for the most part, willing to pay for them.
So true.
For someone who calls public school leaders “liars” constantly, he’s really not very honest.
Arne Duncan @arneduncan Mar 15
Union City (NJ) is a nat’l leader in preK. They started investing in #ece 15yrs ago & are seeing results. We need more to follow their lead.
That’s Arne, last week. I thought I recognized the name “Union City” and I did. It’s a NJ school district that didn’t follow Duncan’s dogmatic scheme for privatization, and it’s a strong public school system:
“What makes Union City remarkable is, paradoxically, the absence of pizazz. It hasn’t followed the herd by closing “underperforming” schools or giving the boot to hordes of teachers. No Teach for America recruits toil in its classrooms, and there are no charter schools.
A quarter-century ago, fear of a state takeover catalyzed a transformation. The district’s best educators were asked to design a curriculum based on evidence, not hunch. Learning by doing replaced learning by rote. Kids who came to school speaking only Spanish became truly bilingual, taught how to read and write in their native tongue before tackling English. Parents were enlisted in the cause. Teachers were urged to work together, the superstars mentoring the stragglers and coaches recruited to add expertise. Principals were expected to become educational leaders, not just disciplinarians and paper-shufflers.
From a loose confederacy, the schools gradually morphed into a coherent system that marries high expectations with a “we can do it” attitude. “The real story of Union City is that it didn’t fall back,” says Fred Carrigg, a key architect of the reform. “It stabilized and has continued to improve.”
Union City is evidence that doesn’t conform with the ed reform playbook, so Mr. Duncan focuses completely on preschool, rather than the fact that they improved their public schools over 25 years of hard careful work instead of using the quickie ed reform template.
Pre K serves his political agenda. A public school that remained public and improved without the ed reform recipe does not.
Union City doesn’t fit the Bush/Obama script for ed reform so Duncan focuses on pre K.
Duncan is so far from an “agnostic” it’s laughable. He prefers privatization. If he didn’t, he’d be holding Union City up as a model for public schools, not attributing their success to pre K.
It’s also worth mentioning that the journalist didn’t question this claim, at all. He simply swallowed it whole.
Which isn’t surprising, since the whole column was a advertisement for charter schools.
We should have higher expectations for journalists. We all get that they’re charter cheerleaders, but come on.
Do your job. Ask a question.
I don’t know how many people require remediation but the number caught Burris’ attention: way too high. Why didn’t the columnist for the Boston Globe question it? Will he issue a correction and do his job now?
Honest news reporting is well…who owns the news outlets?
The journalist needs remediation. They should know better than to rely on figures that are based on an appeal to authority. When someone in authority makes a claim, write it down and then verify!!!
This columnist, not a reporter, has been attacking the public schools for probably the last 20 years or so. He ignores facts that don’t support his opinions. He is a mouthpiece for privatization and charterization and has the use of the Boston Globe to that end.
“There are three explanations that come to mind when I consider what Duncan said. Either the reporter did not accurately report what was stated (it was written as a direct quote), the secretary deliberately deceived the reporter in order to promote charter schools and influence the legislature’s vote on the charter cap, or the secretary has no idea what he is talking about.”
I pick number two. I think he went there to influence the fight over the charter cap.
I love the claim that ed reform isn’t “political”. It’s ALL politics. Once again Duncan is weighing in a local issue. It’s like when he went out campaigning for Michelle Rhee, or how he promotes the ed reformers in DC and TN constantly. According to the US DOE, there are two places in this country: DC and TN.
Why doesn’t the Secretary of Education ever lobby for PUBLIC schools? Public schools aren’t doing so hot under his “leadership”. Their funding has been gutted in 36 states under “ed reform” governors. They could really use an advocate in government.
I resent paying for this, where public school kids are treated like second class citizens. I think he should get off my payroll and onto a charter company payroll.
You have to keep in mind, when you listen to Arne, that words have different meanings in the Rheeformish tongue:
data-driven decision making. Rheeformish numerology.
research. Process by which one gathers and manipulates numerical information to yield the outcomes one was looking for to begin with. See data-driven decision making or any report by Achieve, the CCSSO, Students First, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, or the USDE under Arne Duncan.
Via Race to the Top and his NCLB waivers, Mr. Duncan forced states to adopt the Common Core and VAM and the new national tests or lose their funding. Here’s what the ESEA says about that:
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Subpart 2, section 9527(c)(1):
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law, no State shall be required to have academic content or student academic achievement standards approved or certified by the Federal Government, in order to receive assistance under this Act.
But, hey, that’s just the law.
I am no apologist for Arne Duncan, and even less so for the Globe’s charter school cheerleader Scott Lehigh. However, I assume that the 40% referenced includes the considerable number of community college students who do take remedial courses. The only entrance requirement is a high school diploma which means that many students who squeaked by in high school may not pass the placement exams in math and English.
But, there is a caveat to the community college story. There is recent research that indicates that many students who do poorly on the placement exam, especially in math, can be successful in an entry level course if they receive some extra support at the start. Math procedures are easy to forget when you don’t use them for a while; sometimes it is just a quick refresher and practice that is needed.
When I wrote the above comment I hadn’t read Carol Burris’s whole post, only what Diane excerpted above. She indeed did account for the community college students in her analysis which supports her contention that he was misinformed or lied.
Arne lied. Color me shocked.
Anyway, whatever the number, what does it matter? A certain number of kids are going to graduate high school without having what it takes to make it through college for whatever reason. In the past those kids could expect to get reasonably decent factory or construction or whatever type jobs with decent pay and benefits. But now recent graduates are realizing that there’s not much you can do with just a high school diploma, at least if you enjoy things like eating and having a place to live. So more and more are trying to go on to college. I for one am glad that there is a system that allows those kids to get the remediation they need to continue their educations at whatever point they realize they need it.
The issue with remediation is not so much that students do not “have what it takes to make it through college”, but if they have what it takes to begin college.
Either way. Would it be better for that person not to even try to go to college and just spend their life stocking shelves at Wal-Mart? Personally, I think it’s great that there are supports that allow motivated people to go on to college whether they’re ready for it or not, at whatever age they decide to do it.
A cynical person might take a look at the incentive for colleges here. I’ve never seen that addressed, but it’s a good question, IMO.
They’re making money off sending everyone to a remedial course that doesn’t count towards graduation. They may be entirely on the up and up, but shouldn’t someone ask if this remediation craze is driven 100% by poor preparation in public K-12?
I’d ask.
I love how this whole “debate” is driven by the conclusion they reached before they started the debate, that public schools suck. It’s not rigorous at all. It seems to work backward from the “settled” premise.
I do agree with your point about the potential for abuse. If colleges are accepting people they know will never graduate just to get their money for remedial classes, that’s a big problem. Students looking to go to college who don’t necessarily have the prereqs should be directed to community colleges.
Certainly the mathematics department at my institution has no interest in teaching remedial courses. I think the upper level administration would much prefer students make progress towards graduation and give up the relatively small amount of money from remedial mathematics (for instate students about $900 for the three hours).
My institution, like many public schools, has no control over admission criteria. A 2.0 high school average over academic classes is one way to be automatically admitted.
“I do agree with your point about the potential for abuse. If colleges are accepting people they know will never graduate just to get their money for remedial classes, that’s a big problem.”
It’s just dumb (and politically manipulative) for Duncan to lump community college students in with the rest of the population. I went to a community college. Probably half of my class were returning students. I wasn’t surprised they didn’t recall their intro to algebra class from high school twenty years prior, and I don’t believe Duncan, who went to Harvard, should be surprised either.
Here’s Burris, stating the obvious:
“Where remedial rates are at their highest are in the state’s community colleges. According to this report by the Massachusetts Department of Education, 60 percent of community college students take at least one remedial course. This would be a far higher rate than reported for public community colleges by the National Center of Educational Statistics, which provides a national rate of 24 percent (down from 30 percent in 2000).
Now let’s examine the facts about the community colleges of Massachusetts:
Less than one-third of all community college students are first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students.
The other two-thirds belong to one or more of the following categories: part-time students, adult returning students, or students seeking a certificate.
The campuses are open-enrollment—students do not need SATs, good grades or even a high school diploma—a GED will suffice.
The smallest share of high school graduates attending college in Massachusetts choose community college (22 percent).”
I mean, come on. How long have they been lumping every 40 year old who goes to a community college in with the “underprepared” population? If that’s indeed what he’s doing, anyone who has been to a community college knows it’s BS. I have heard this trumpeted for the last ten years, and Burris is the first time I have seen anyone take it apart. They are misleading people if they are using this “40%” number.
This is one of the things that drives me crazy. Duncan claims 40% remediation ( whether that statistic is right or wrong) is unacceptable and horrifying. Yet Denver public schools has a remediation rate of 60.4%, yes you read that right, and a graduation rate of 61.3%, and because of the national reform agenda to pretend things are working here, these statistics are somehow overlooked or even worse portrayed as progress. This emperor truly has no clothes, but there is little press covereage to reveal the nakedness of so-called reform.
Well, I don’t know. Now. My faith has been shaken 🙂
Apparently they’re including every adult who goes to a community college to get a welding certificate or CAD training or a license to work in a nursing home, so we might want to hold off on these eye-popping “underprepared” claims.
I’m not sure they’re supposed to retain everything they ever learned for their entire lives, without a little brush-up 🙂
Well, in Denver these stats are just for recent high school grads. DPS is handing out high school diplomas without paying much attention to competency and standards. Statistics are more important than reality, although I must say after nine years of reform 61.3% is pretty pathetic. Students and families are bring mislead to believe students are ready for college work. This is very discouraging since part of the first year of post secondary is spent taking courses that should have been passed in high school. And this in turn often leads to dropping out and/or incurring debt. A high school diploma does not mean college or career ready.
The activity across the nation suggest that the goal is federal takeover of public education. I learned recently that the three steps Hitler took to take over Germany were as follows:
1. Partner with major corporations.
2. Destroy unions.
3. Gain control of public education (Nazi Youth Movement, Balilla Fascist Youth)
If I’m wrong about this, please someone, set me straight – I’d feel greater comfort if I were wrong.
As Obama is seeking a third term in office – I’d say we are on the verge of Dictatorship.
http://www.randpaulreview.com/2013/08/breaking-news-obama-will-seek-third-term/
3rd term as president? With his poll numbers and the fact that it is against the law it is very unlikely. Do you really believe our Congress would change the law considering they don’t like him and nothing ever gets done???????
Where is the NEA? What about all the state associations? It’s time people speak out and either Duncan pay attention to those that are actually with students or he gets replaced.
For use on Twitter: Just copy and paste then ReTweet as often as possible. The short link was created using Bitly to make more room for content in the Tweet. The link leads back to this post.
President Obama’s Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan
Spreads false facts and lies
To destroy democratic Pub Education
http://bit.ly/1iVnqTw
This is a stellar article. My hat is off to carol Burris.
this is how Duncan was presented in the Boston news; “lift the cap on charter schools”
quote: Education Arne Duncan has a message for Massachusetts: Yes, education reform has been a success here, but we still have a long way to go.
“By any objective measure, Massachusetts is at the top nationally, so there should be a huge sense of pride in that,” Duncan told me in an interview. Now the bad news: “Frankly Massachusetts is being out-competed by the majority of children in many other countries.”
—————————————-
So he comes in and tries to scare people with his social darwinism , racing to the “top” and “winner takes all”…. i am sick of this message….. We don’t feel that safe in Massachusetts , either, folks… this is a corporate driven message to “train” all students to be lackeys and that is not the purpose of education.
Is THE GLOBE going to correct this? Outrageous that being a mouthpeice for propaganda passes for journalism. What a shame.
I also am curious as to- Exactly what counts as ‘remediation’? I understand there would be some need for basic academic support, but are other things included as well, such as taking advantage of extra lectures, pursuing tutoring independently or logging extra hours in the paper-writing resource university web page?
Beth Bingham,
In addition, there are many adult students who go to community colleges in their late 20s or 30s or older. So what if they take a remedial course? Is that a stain on the state or sign of open doors to those who want help to complete a degree?
Beth: You are absolutely correct; I worked in the registrar’s office in an excellent community college and the average age for students was 28. We had a large group of bilingual and some trilingual students. This is how Romney treated us badly in Massachusetts — he would kill the goose that lays golden eggs… the public school and university system in MA…. also, A. Duncan and President Obama are on this same “war”path…. to destroy public education … I sign petitions and I call Ed Markey’s office every week…
Is why is it a crime against humanity that there are students taking remedial courses?????
Well said, Diane!
At my institution there is a specific course that is offered to mathematics students that does not count towards graduation. The two lowest level courses that counts towards graduation are College Algebra and Trigonometry.
Diane, can you devote a column to Obama’s ties to the Joyce Foundation? I think this will explain Duncan’s bizarre focus on charter schools.
As for Duncan’s Massachusetts trip, he was picketed in Worcester, MA when he spoke at Worcester Technical High School: http://worcestermag.com/2014/03/13/protests-common-core-greet-us-ed-secretary-duncans-visit-worcester/21691
How can parents file a lawsuit over the Common Core implementation? It violates federal law.
Someone needs to guide people on how they can fight the federal government. Right now, it feels impossible. But the Obama administration is breaking the law. It must be held accountable.
As someone previously posted in a different comment thread, here’s the federal law that Arne Duncan and the Obama administration have violated with the Common Core:
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Subpart 2, section 9527(c)(1):
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law, no State shall be required to have academic content or student academic achievement standards approved or certified by the Federal Government, in order to receive assistance under this Act.
The Boston Globe would never dare question a Democrat. If you expect that paper to ever question Obama, Duncan, and gang, forget it. Massachusetts blindly votes for anyone with a “D” next to their name. They will defend someone’s bad policies, or flat out not report it, if the politician is a Dem. If you dare to question a Dem, you’re labeled a crazy tin foil hat wearing Tea Partier. I live in Massachusetts, so I sadly know this to be true. I’m an Independent, BTW.
I sent Lehigh about 10 corrections to his article. this is what he wrote back on wednesday morning
quote: “Oh good lord, Jean. The guy misspoke. It wasn’t an intentional lie.
By the way, I actually did check what he said and was told it was true, but it turns out to have been overly broad. I am going to run a clarification. Don’t be a crazy conspiracy theorist. ”
So Lehigh asked one other person who knows there is a Santa Clause so he is convinced. Kind of like call a friend is investigative journalism? I wrote back and asked him to not use epithets when he writes. So Duncan can “misspeak” like george bush or paul ryan because there is no harm in telling lies????
wednesday: 2:00 pm
reply from S. Lehigh at Boston Globe\
quote: “Jean,
I’m sorry, I don’t have time to make my way through, much less respond to, a half-dozen emails, but let me recommend this. Readers usually have a lively and interesting discussion of my column topics in the comments section under the on-line version. You’re more than welcome to offer your thoughts there.”