Archives for the month of: January, 2016
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Gary Rubinstein: Please DON’T Translate Test Scores into “Days of Learning”

By dianeravitch
January 16, 2016 //
20

How many times have you read in a report or in the newspaper that X method or Y school was able to produce an extra 40 days or extra weeks of learning in reading or math?

 

How do gains in test scores get converted into days or weeks or months?

 

The answer, according to Gary Rubinstein, is that they don’t. Or they shouldn’t. It is nonsense.

 

I recently read a Mathematica Policy Research report on the Teacher Incentive Fund (merit pay), which claimed that a 1% increase in test scores was equivalent to an additional three weeks of learning. See here (study snapshot) and here (executive summary) and here (full report).

 
Performance Bonuses for Educators Led to Small Improvements in
Student Achievement

 

Educators’ understanding of bonus program improved, but challenges remain

 

New findings from Mathematica Policy Research show that a federal program providing bonuses to educators based on their performance had a small, positive impact on student achievement. In the first report to describe the effects of pay-for-performance bonuses within the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program on student achievement, researchers found that student scores on standardized reading tests rose by 1 percentile point—the equivalent of about three weeks of additional learning. The study also showed similarly positive, but statistically insignificant, improvements in math.

 

I asked Gary if it made sense to translate a one-point gain into three weeks of learning, and he replied:

 

Mathematica should stop using that ‘weeks of learning’ metric. They use a calculation that says that average teachers don’t teach very much so that they maybe get the kids to increase their scores from 24 percent passing (if they did not teach anything) to 34 percent in the entire year. So each ‘point’, by that logic, amounts to about a sixth of the year. A teacher with merit pay, then who gets that extra ‘point’ would be teaching 10% more in that year which is an extra three weeks. I wish they would just give the raw score which people could relate to, like there were 50 questions on the test and students of people without merit pay got 25 correct and students of people with merit pay got 26 correct. Then people would be able to put these numbers into perspective and realize that they are not a big deal.

 

 

 

 

Categories Data, Research, Testing

Jeff Bryant: 2015 Was a Very Bad Year for Phony Reformers and Scammers

By dianeravitch
January 16, 2016 //
8

Jeff Bryant has an excellent article in Salon about the year that the out-of-touch Establishment reformers saw their narrative of failure collapse. 

 

He writes:

 

A well-funded elite has labeled public education as generally a failed enterprise and insisted that only a regime of standardized testing and charter schools can make schools and educators more “accountable.” Politicians and pundits across the political spectrum have adopted this narrative of “reform” and now easily slip into the rhetoric that supports it without hesitation.

 

But in 2013 a grassroots rebellion growing out of inner city neighborhoods from Newark to Chicago and suburban boroughs from Long Island to Denver began to counter the education aristocracy and tell an alternative tale about schools.

 

The education counter-narrative is that public schools are not as much the perpetrators of failure as they are victims of resource deprivation, inequity in the system and undermining forces driven by corruption and greed. In other words, it wasn’t schools that needed to be made more accountable; it was the failed leadership of those in the business and government establishment that needed more accountability.

 

The uprising has been steadily growing into an Education Spring unifying diverse factions across the nation in efforts to reverse education policy mandates and bolster public schools instead of punishing them and closing them down.

 

2015 became the year the uprising reached a level where it forever transformed the hegemonic control the reformers have had on education policy.

 

NCLB is gone, and the battle for control of children’s education now shifts to the states, where parents and educators have a shot at taking back their schools. Hillary Clinton let slip her skepticism about charter schools and her recognition that teachers should not be evaluated by test scores.

 

The bigger, more important story emerging from 2015 is that the American public is increasingly at odds with a reform movement that seeks to remake schools into an image promoted by wealthy private foundations, influential think tanks and well-financed political operations such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

 

The evidence against the education establishment’s case piled up as the year rolled on, and the narrative of public education policy will never be the same.

 

The reformers are not about to give up and go away–yet. But as it becomes clearer that their goal is to destroy public education, their claims of “good intentions” ring hollow and the mask of reform falls away. As some point, the big money propping up this hoax will pull out. Wise investors don’t like to throw good money after bad. The Status Quo is failing, and the reformers own it now.

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Unions Pin Their Hopes on Scalia in Friedrichs Case

By dianeravitch
January 16, 2016 //
39

This is a clear and direct explanation of the Friedrichs v. CTA case. Many observers think the unions will lose because of the conservative majority in the Court. Ironically, unions hope that Scalia might decide in their favor. The article explains why. 
Somehow it doesn’t seem especially “conservative” to issue a ruling that not only overturns precedent but disrupts labor relations. 
One important issue is free riders, people who don’t pay dues but get benefits. Friedrichs’ lawyers say a ruling in their favor wouldn’t hurt unions, but it is demonstrable that it will.

“The free-rider problem is real and significant. In California and most other jurisdictions, even in right-to-work states where unions operate, unions have a duty to represent and enforce the contractual rights of all employees in a bargaining unit, both members and nonmembers alike.
“Such services don’t come cheap. The fair-share fee for the estimated 9.7 percent of California teachers who, like Rebecca Friedrichs and her co-plaintiffs, have opted not to join their union comprises about 68 percent of full membership dues.
“There is little question that in return they receive a handsome payout. According to figures compiled by The Century Foundation, unionized teachers on average earn an hourly wage 24.7 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts.
“Should Friedrichs and her cohorts prevail in their quest to topple the fair-share system, more teachers no doubt would leave the CTA, reasoning that they could retain the gains of union contracts without paying a dime for them. Public employees in other occupations probably would do the same, believing that they too could free ride without adverse consequences.
“During the oral arguments, attorney Carvin sought to assure the justices that the loss of fair-share fees would have a minimal impact on union membership. The evidence, however, shows that he is dead wrong.
“If the recent labor strife in Wisconsin is any bellwether, a plaintiffs’ victory in Friedrichs could be disastrous for unions and the benefits they deliver. In the aftermath of Gov. Scott Walker’s 2011 assault on public unions and the state’s subsequent implementation of right-to-work policies, for example, the declines in public union membership and dues collected have been monumental.
“The Madison local of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employeeshas lost 18,000 of its previous 32,000 members and has seen its annual revenue fall from $10 million to $5.5 million. The state’s largest teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, has lost more than a third of its members. As the Wisconsin experience shows, free riding isn’t free.”
In the past, Scalia has expressed distaste for free riders, but there is no way of knowing how he will rule now. 
What we can say with some certainty about this case is that it will cripple unions if Friedrichs wins. It will be a blow to a hurting middle class. And it will deepen the economic inequality that is deepening class divisions and harming millions. 

Categories Economy

Michigan: The Emergency Managers=Austerity Minus Democracy

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
16

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez interview Curt Guyette of the ACLU about the effects of the Emergency Manager law in Michigan. They note that the Emergency Manager who poisoned the water in Flint is now the Emergency Manager of the crumbling Detroit public schools.

 

 

Guyette, an investigative reporter explains how it works:

 

 

“Well, one of the things about the emergency manager law is that these managers were given extreme unchecked authority. And the thinking was, the reason for doing that is they were given the ability to come in, clean up the problems and get out. And so there was an 18-month time limit put on their terms. Except that this governor is exploiting what amounts to a loophole in that law. So what happens is that these emergency managers serve for 17 months and 29 days, and the day before their term expires, they resign. A new emergency manager is put in place, and the clock starts ticking all over again. And they just shuffle them from one place to another. So Earley goes from Flint to run DPS. And it just perpetuates this control. It can go on, really, forever, if they want it to, denying people of their democratically elected representation, because the school board, which has been fighting emergency management every step of the way, gets completely marginalized. They have zero authority whatsoever. And that goes to the heart of the problem of this law. It eliminates the democratic checks and balances that make a democracy functional.

 

“And the other thing is, what we’re seeing here is really the imposition of austerity. This is what austerity looks like. So you have all the problems in these schools that you just reported on, because they’re treating it like a managerial problem rather than a structural problem. I’ve used before the analogy: It’s like being the captain of the Titanic, and you hit an iceberg. It doesn’t matter who’s at the helm; the ship is going down unless you plug the hole. And they haven’t plugged the holes. They haven’t fixed the structural problems.”

 

 

Categories Democracy, Michigan

Walmart Will Close 269 Stores

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
48

Amidst a faltering economy, Walmart announced it would close 269 stores. That’s only a small portion of its 11,000 stores. About 10,000 workers will lose their low-wage jobs.

 

The Walton family won’t suffer. Every one of them is a billionaire.

 

But many towns will suffer. When Walmart arrives in a town, the mom-and-pop stores close. They can’t beat Walmart’s prices. The local businesses are shuttered. When Walmart closes, the town is left without an economy, its Main Street desolate.

 

 

Categories Education Reform

What Made Rebecca Friedrichs Angry

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
33

Rebecca Friedrichs, the lead plaintiff in the case before the U.S. Supreme Court that would allow non-members to receive benefits without paying union dues, was recently interviewed for Campbell Brown’s website. She described how thrilled she is to be the name and face of the lawsuit to curb Union power. She explained that she was a union rep but no one listened to her. She opposes tenure. She wanted a classroom aide but the union got her a raise instead.

 

If her side prevails, she will get neither a raise nor a classroom aide.

 

 

Behind the Scenes with Rebecca Friedrichs: Teacher Details a Surreal Day at the Supreme Court

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Unions

Congratulations, Joyce Foreman, DISD Trustee

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
7

Joyce Foreman, vigilant Trustee of the Dallas Independent School District, stood up and said “no” to yet another charter school in her district. She persuaded the City Council member representing her district to say no. The charter was not approved. Foreman wants better public schools in her district, not a marketplace of schools. For her courage and foresight, she was blasted by the Dallas Morning News, one of the most conservative editorial boards in Texas.

 

You would think that an elected representative of the district would know more about its needs than the editorial board of a corporate-friendly newspaper. Joyce Foreman understands that a great city needs a great public school system, not a marketplace of choices. That may work for shoes and toothpaste, but not for children.

 

Joyce Foreman speaks for the people of her district. Stay fearless, Joyce. Ignore the editorial writer at the Dallas Morning News, who probably went to prep school.

Categories Charter Schools, Dallas, Education Reform, Resistance

Edweek on the Future of Opt Out Movement

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
6

This article by Andrew Ujifusa in Education Week is a good summary of where the opt out movement stands today. In addition, it describes the Network for Public Education’s 50-state report card, which will be released in D.C. on February 2 at the National Press Club at 1:30 pm. If you are in the area, plan to attend and learn which states support and value public education.

 

 

Ujifusa writes:

 

 

Activists driving the resistance to state exams are attempting to build on their state-level momentum over the past year, while also venturing into a new political landscape that will test whether the energy behind their initial victories will last.

 
And they say they’re forging ahead with their plans regardless of how much support they get from traditional education advocacy groups, including teachers’ unions.

 
Several leaders within the so-called testing opt-out movement, which has gained considerable traction in New York and also found a foothold in states like Colorado and Connecticut, say they will continue to push parents to refuse to allow their children to take standardized exams, particularly state tests, for as long as it’s necessary.

 
They’ll stop, they say, when states adopt accountability policies that prevent tests from being used to rank, sort, and impose what opponents consider unfair consequences on students, teachers, and schools.

 
Some groups also are looking to extend their influence beyond testing fights to push in states for higher and more equitable levels of school funding and changes to K-12 governance to increase what they say is more local and more democratic control.

Categories Education Reform, Network for Public Education, Opt Out, Parents, Testing

More Ohio Districts Bill State for Cost of Charters

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
12

Ohio school districts have found an innovative way to express their opposition to their loss of funding to pay for charters. Ohio has a large number of failing charters. The district’s are sending the bill to the state.

        

“Boards of education continue to pass resolutions to invoice the state for charter school deductions

 

“A note from Fairborn board member Andy Wilson indicates that the Fairborn Board will vote on a resolution to invoice the state on January 14. The title of the resolution, “Resolution to authorize the Treasurer to invoice the Ohio Department of Education for money paid by Fairborn City School’s Taxpayers that has been sent to charter schools without voter approval”. The words “without voter approval” put emphasis on a very germane point.

 

“The state has enacted laws that rip local funds away from school districts to support a failed $7 billion experiment that harms students and wastes tax money, including dollars from local tax levies.

 

“Districts should not hesitate to invoice the state.”

William Phillis

Ohio E & A 
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Ohio E & A

100 S. 3rd Street

 Columbus OH 43215
Sent by ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform

Mercedes Schneider on That Infamous “Got to Go” List at Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2016 //
13

Mercedes Schneider dug into the records of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy in Fort Greene (Brooklyn). This is the school where the principal prepared a “Got to Go” list of the students that would be pushed out one way or another.

 

The school was opened in 2013. Its first principal, Kate Cunningham, had a Teach for America background. She had earned her “master’s degree” at the fake Relay “graduate school of education,” where charter teachers teach other charter teachers and give each other degrees without any reference to scholarship. She ran Success Academy’s special education program, although her resume doesn’t mention any credentials for doing so.

 

She didn’t last long–not even a year.

 

She was succeeded by Candido Brown, who had been with SA since 2009. It was Brown who compiled the “Got to Go” list. As Schneider points out, SA in FG needed to be “turned around” less than two years after it opened. Brown has recently taken a leave of absence.

 

Her post includes the details of a lawsuit filed by parents of some of the children who were pushed out. Their complaint goes into detail about the strict disciplinary policies at Success Academy schools. They are suing the principal, Success Academy Charter Schools, the city Department of Education, and the New York State Education Department.

 

This should be interesting.

 

 

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Discipline and Suspensions, Education Industry, Harlem Success Academy, Privatization
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