Campbell Brown announced she was holding a televised debate on education issues for Democratic candidates, and no one accepted her invitation. She blames the teachers’ unions, and the media are parroting her.
Are they shunning her because they know she is a far-right Republican, and Dems don’t participate in debates organized by the other party?
Peter Greene explains the real reason.
She is just not that important.
Frankly, I have been trying to interest public education groups to organize a forum for Democratic candidates on education. There are many tough questions we need to ask them about equity, testing, privatization, strengthening the teaching profession, resources, and many other issues.
Now, that would be a newsworthy forum, and I hope to find a leader among public education advocates to make it happen.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The following commentary appears in the October 8 edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser under the headline, “New testing regime at public schools is a recipe for disaster.” The byline follows the piece:
Testing obviously plays an important role in educating children — particularly tests designed to help teachers identify the needs of individual students.
The state’s new testing regime, called the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), is quite different. It is not just unhelpful, but counterproductive.
First, SBA test results are not available until long after the test-takers have moved on from their current teachers’ classrooms and, in many instances, from their current school.
Second, SBA tests and the entire battery of tests administered cost more money to buy and consume more time to prepare for and administer than most members of the public would ever imagine possible.
These resources should instead be spent educating the children.
Third, test-takers perceive these tests as inconsequential and have little incentive to take them seriously, yet teaching careers are on the line, including those of teachers in subject areas not even covered by these tests.
Fourth, subject areas not covered by the SBA tests, such as art, music, history and science, tend to be de-emphasized by school communities seeking higher test scores, and individual teachers have a strong incentive to “teach to the test” in the areas that are tested.
The superintendent has long contended that the SBA test results would be helpful in evaluating teachers.
Ironically, the combination of these flawed tests and their role in an equally flawed teacher-evaluation system has already adversely affected a principal’s ability to deal effectively with teachers who require their attention and support.
Such unintended consequences can be expected when non-educators like the superintendent take it upon themselves to dramatically alter the way schools work without first seeking the meaningful involvement of school-level personnel.
Businessmen Terrence George and Harry Saunders recently expressed enthusiastic support for the new testing regime in Hawaii’s public schools (“Students did well on challenging exams,” Island Voices, Sept. 27).
They described recently released test scores as “encouraging,” not because the scores were high — they were not — but because the scores had been expected to be even lower.
After acknowledging that making sense of all this is “admittedly confusing,” these businessmen concluded that senior members of Hawaii’s Department of Education should be commended.
With all due respect, we strongly disagree.
And Hawaii’s public school principals overwhelmingly disagree.
According to our 2015 survey of public school principals, approximately nine out of 10 believe that the DOE has performed poorly in this area of implementing the SBA.
There is an inherent risk in harmful unintended consequences as a result of top-down decisions such as these decisions about the recent testing.
Such risks can be minimized or eliminated by seeking involvement and using the meaningful feedback of students, parents, teachers, and principals.
Such consequences can be avoided if DOE leadership has a deep understanding of what works and what does not.
We can’t help but wonder if the superintendent has ever asked herself why no private schools in Hawaii have adopted anything remotely close to the new SBA testing regime currently being forced on every public school in Hawaii.
Darrel Galera is executive director of the Education Institute of Hawaii (EIH) and former principal of Moanalua High School, and Roberta Mayor is EIH president and former principal of Waianae High School and education superintendent in Oakland, Calif. This commentary was also signed by EIH board members Marsha Alegre, John Sosa and Randall Roth.
The commentary can be found at http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorialspremium/20151008_new_testing_regime_at_public_schools_is_a_recipe_for_disaster.html?id=331193142&c=n (registration required)
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Agreed but why limit it to Democratic candidates. Include all who are running for political office.
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All Republicans already submitted to the debate. Only the Democrats are failing to attend.
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Read Peter Greene’s article. Only six Republicans went to Campbell Brown’s debate.
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Don’t feed the trolls
As soon as one leaves, another pops up.
I wonder if StudentsFirst hires them, or if it is the same person with different names
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The G.O.P. is one big fat horror story for most issues.
They are a spooky gallery of creepy, bloated narcissists woukd sell their mothers into slavery if it meant preserving their reelections and networked plutocracy.
But why waste one’s breath defending the democrats, as in general, their policies are a slightly watered down G.O.P. version with some Splenda thrown in to artificially sweeten the policies. Of course, Barack Obama and wife are pure viruses, as are the DFERs.
Both parties hate teachers and public education, save for a few decent people on both sides of the aisle. This is true on federal and state levels.
The two party system is anathema to the American way: Market driven choice.
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Cx.
. . . . who would sell . . . .
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I don’t know that Democrats are ready to return to being the party of labor, unions, and the middle class…education being the example at the forefront. Not any candidates that hope to get the party’s nomination, anyway. It would take an undeniable amount of leverage from average citizens (much like the “opt out” movement) to get practical movement-and the most you’d likely see is a press conference or two…Little citizen engagement. That would present a risk of marginalizing a candidate as being far left (remember when “far left” was radical…not merely responsible?).
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Campbell Brown sits on the board of the Eva Moskowitz’ SUCCESS ACADEMY schools.
My favorite video about Eva Moskowitz and her SUCCESS ACADEMY schools was produced by the BAT’s (Bad Ass Teachers) Association… it’s called “Unknowable”, and has Eva and charter spokesperson Jeremiah Kittredge responding to allegations of cherry picking:
Here’s BATs’ description of the video:
“UNKNOWABLE?” Charter Schools’ Biggest Voices Unclear About Cherry Picking
Eva Moskowitz asked whether her Charter schools admit the highest needs kids in NYC, she says she thinks the jury is still out, she doesn’t have the information to answer the question in all her travels.
Just as tongue tied is Jeremiah Kittredge, top spokesman for a non-profit that is funded by the Waltons, Moskowitz’ husbands’ group, and hedge-funder backed PACs. Hear him twist up a word-pretzel when asked the same simple question: don’t the children whose parents apply to charters them have major home support advantages?
To date, no one seems to have asked the teachers in the rooms with the highest-needs kids everyday, but we’re still hopeful.
—————–
My favorite part is when asked about how few special ed kids attend charters, Kittredge tries to change the focus to the public schools with the following condemnation:
(at 4:30)
(at 4:30)
KITTREDGE: “Over 50% of New York City public schools serve a less-than-average number of Special Ed. and ELL students.”
Well… uhh… yeah. That’s sort of the definition of “average.” That’s a totally nonsensical and meaningless statement, but said authoritatively by Kittredge, may fool people into thinking he actually made a convincing argument countering charter schools’ dismal record regarding special ed students.
Or the video’s initial Q & A that inspired the video’s title.
In this friendly interview—from Reason TV, a libertarian, anti-union org—the interviewer asks Eva about the selection process
(0:00 – )
(0:00 – )
INTERVIEWER: “Critics of charters argue that schools like SUCCESS ACADEMY are excelling in part because they serve kids that come from more stable homes, with more involved parents than their public school counterparts. Those parents that are willing to take the effort to enter their kids into a lottery, critics say, are more likely to have children who are motivated to get ahead.
“Is there a difference between the parents who decide to go into a lottery? So, you know 18,000 kids apply for your spaces… are the parents of those 18,000 kids somehow radically different than, ya know, the parents who either don’t care or don’t know about lottery schools?”
Why the answer to that question is just “unknowable”, Eva dodges, then blathers about her outreach, then talks about how much parents love their students…. the question being asked of her now left behind in the dust of her obfuscations.
Actually, Eva, it’s quite “knowable”. It’s basic common sense, actually… that requiring multiple steps and applications for a parent to jump through will weed out those parents means you will self-select for a group of kids with parents will be more involved, and whose kids will be easier to educate, and produce your beloved higher test scores.
Eva then defends her “marketing”… … it’s benign and harmless… she just likes informing people about her schools, you know… not mentioning that SHE IS SPENDING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO POACH STUDENTS… that’s an amount of money that the increasingly de-funded public schools do not possess, and thus, cannot counter with their own multi-million-dollar marketing campaign.
To make this poaching happen, Eva is also using money from NYC citizens and taxpayers… some of whom do not want their public schools wiped out and replaced with Eva’s charters…and who object to the insanely unlevel playing field that this marketing enables in favor of Eva’s privatization of NYC schools.
One more thing: “1-in-9” NYC students are classified as “homeless”.
At Eva’s schools, what fraction are homeless?
Try “0-in-9.’
How did this happen?
Why that’s just “unknowable.”
—–
New York City School parent added this:
“Jack, this is such an interesting video. It’s actually scary to see how she doesn’t miss a step when she claims she educates exactly the same students as in failing public schools and how her attrition rates aren’t high at all. If you just take one of their schools like Success Academy Bed Stuy 1, you find the number of economically disadvantaged students declined by 40% between 2nd and 3rd grade.
“The 2nd grade class in 2013-2014 was 103 students, and only 76 were tested in the 2014-2015 3rd grade cohort. That’s over 25% of the class missing. And what’s worse, if you look at the number of economically disadvantaged 2nd graders who were missing for the 3rd grade test, it’s nearly 40% of the at-risk kids!
“There are ways for a truly ethical charter operator to try to figure out why their attrition rates are so high and how to help lower them. With all those millions in donations, why not spend it to make sure the struggling students are made to feel welcome. If you are simply denying there is any problem — that your school is a model for all public schools – then how can you ever improve your school’s ability to teach those at-risk kids? And why the desperation to deny what even the parents at the schools acknowledge is true — they like the school because the difficult to educate kids aren’t there?
“t’s not just that parents seek the school out. I agree that Success Academy has a built in advantage since they are already getting more motivated parents: “if you cannot commit to all that we ask, this is not the place for you” as Eva Moskowitz tells parents! But Success Academy also has a built in advantage in how much they encourage or discourage that motivated parent to enroll their child. NY 1 just ran a piece about a parent whose child won the lottery for SA Williamsburg and she was “tested” and told she’d have to repeat 1st grade instead of going into 2nd. So she didn’t use her lottery win to attend. What kind of test is this and how advanced does a 1st grade graduate need to be to join the class? That’s up to Success Academy.
“No one really knows what the attrition rate at Success Academy is because they DO backfill with students who test at grade level in 1st and 2nd grade. It hides those numbers. Not to mention that the comparison “averages” they use to rationalize that so many elementary school age kids go missing almost always includes failing high schools (which obviously have high drop out rates) and never just elementary schools.
“But there is something off about the Bed Stuy 1 numbers last year — where were the 40% of 2nd graders from 2013-2014 who were “economically disadvantaged”? Were they all held back and that’s why they were missing from the 2014-2015 3rd grade testing cohort? It’s a shame that the SUNY Charter Institute has such a deplorable lack of curiosity about that.
“Backfilling with kids who are tested and only allowed to enter their rightful grade if Success Academy thinks they will test well on the standardized tests isn’t exactly a “best practice” that Eva Moskowitz ever talks about.
“Holding back 40% or more of a grade because it takes your inexperienced teachers 2 years to teach them the material isn’t exactly a “best practice” that Eva Moskowitz talks about. Nor does the press. It’s all about joyful rigor but if 40% of the at-risk students aren’t moving ahead each year after joyful rigor, why isn’t SUNY demanding that the school address it?”
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You and the teachers unions are acting shamefully. All Republican candidates had the debate and the DesMoines register is a valid newspaper. Get a life and try opening your minds for an honest discussion.
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Ah! This week’s troll. Only SIX Republican candidates participated in the debate, when there were sixteen or seventeen Republican candidates at the time. Read Peter Greene’s column before you bloviate.
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Threatened Out West: ah, but that would require “rigor” and “grit” and they’re all of it at the Rheephorm 99¢ Store in that place specially marked for the enablers and enforcers and “thought leaders” of the self-styled “education reform” movement—
Aisle 666 “Shills & Trolls.”
😎
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TAGO!!!
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Frankly, it doesn’t matter who Campbell Brown is or what her cred is. If the Dems thought appearing on her show would benefit them, they would do it. But no matter who organizes a debate on education, the Dems will be no-shows because they can’t talk honestly (or even dishonestly very well) about education. You run out of things to say after “I love teachers” and “I love kids”. But if you try to say more, you’re going to get yourself in trouble with one side or the other of your “base”.
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Campbell Brown’s chintzy website is really just an embarrassment. Fawning “coverage” of charter school types and the privatization movement, but there’s so much editorial control the writers there can’t add any nuance whatsoever so far as I can tell.
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am I wrong? are people ignoring the most important thing Peter Greene said? “Frankly, I have been trying to interest public education groups to organize a forum for Democratic candidates on education”. start naming names. I will start: Diane Ravitch. Sarah Reckhow. (author of Follow the Money). Get it up to 6 or 12 or whatever, and start publicizing it and pressuring candidates. Say it bluntly…..the national medial is not treating education as the important issue it should be.
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Actually, that was my comment, not Peter’s.
If all the alphabet soup groups representing educators and parents were to join together, we could have a forum to interview candidates about K-12 education issues, which have been forgotten so far in the campaign
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sorry I was so carelessly wrong….my heart was in the right place. Good luck.
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