Randi Weingarten tweeted good news in a lawsuit in New Mexico against the state’s test-based teacher evaluation system:
“Breaking!!!! @AFTNM @atfunion win preliminary injunction against New Mexico #vam -Huge step 4 teaching & learning & the end of blame& shame”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I don’t quite know what Weingarten & AFT support anymore. She’s opposed to NM test based evaluation system that is the same system she supported in Race to the Top.
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And who, pray tell, was the union leader busy collaborating (her term, not mine) with the so-called reformers during this period of “shame and blame,” and who even went so far as to have Bill Gates be the keynote speaker at the 2010 national union convention (and who attacked our pensions immediately thereafter), and who STILL supports the Common Core curriculum and high stakes exams used to judge (and close) public schools?
Some people have no shame, and deserve a fair measure of the blame.
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Union leader aside, it was encouraging news to New Mexican educators who have been pummeled by this punitive and unfair evaluation system. We have lost many wonderful special education teachers and others due to the 50% VAM. Skandera intends to use the “baseline” year of PARCC scores to evaluate teachers. Btw, Jeb Bush is seriously considering selecting our governor for VP running mate. Skandera came from FLA and guess who would be his chose for Sec. of Ed?
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Don’t worry, Jeb has the chance of a snowball in the Sahara….The casinos here in Las Vegas won’t even give odds on Jeb! going anywhere but home.
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A huge problem in New Mexico education comes from the rampant educational corruption here. Rampant, accepted and institutionalized. Couple that with the corruption at every level of investigative, law enforcement and political element of government here and an equally corrupt cowardly and lazy press and you have all the makings of an educational desaster.
Susanna Martinez has turned out to be every bit as corrupt as Bill Richardson and her noneducator Sec Ed Hanna Skandera has done very well at moving good teachers out and moving less qualifed but less expensive teachers in.
Often do we hear the crys of “We need more money”. That is patent BS! There is plenty of money devoted to New Mexico education. the problem being, it ends up in the pockets of crooked administrators.
The money never makes it to the classroom, This is known throughout the state Administration at all levels, and yet nothing happens.
When whistle blowers report corruption, they are outed and investigations are shuffleled around and parted out until they are “lost”.
Sadly until such time as integrety is restored, New Mexico education will remain of the third world quality that it is and teachers will continue to flee the state.
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