A reader of the blog who uses the name Democracy posted a comment in response to a post about the Education Writers Association. The post by testing expert Richard Phelps documented the extraordinarily one-sided agenda of EWA when presenting the Common Core.
Democracy explains the reason:
“I’ve been saying for a while now that education reporting is generally abysmal.
“The Education Writers Association claims that it provides ” high-quality education coverage.” Sometimes, it probably does. Many times it doesn’t come close.
“Which begs the question, why not?
“Perhaps it’s because it’s “generous support” comes from The Gates Foundation, the Dell Foundation, the Kern Foundation and the Walton Foundation, among others.
“The Gates Foundation is neck deep in education “reform,” corporate-style. SO are the others.
“For example, the Dell Foundation (think Dell computers) invests in charter schools and “data-driven education.” Its a primary backer of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), along with ExxonMobil, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, the College Board, the Gates Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase. The NMSI tells us that “STEM education matters…our country’s student performance must improve in order for America to remain globally competitive.“ The problem, of course, is that it’s simply not true.
“The Kern Family Foundation is based on what it calls “the traditions of free enterprise…ordered liberty and good character.” The Kern Foundation applauds Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute for explaining in his book The Battle, that the “free enterprise is fundamentally a system of moral values such as honesty, courage, diligence, thrift and service to others.” Tell that to all of those who were hurt and cheated and swindled –– and left without homes and jobs –– because of the rampant fraud and corruption on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms.
“The Walton Foundation focuses on “competition”, “charter school choice,” “private school choice,” and teacher effectiveness. It funds groups like Teach for America, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and the Charter School Growth Fund. It is no friend of public education.
“If the EWA is to – in fact – provide “high quality education coverage” so that reporters can get the story “right” and help “to create a better-informed society,” then it may have to shed the money it rakes in from those who have a very different agenda.”
Follow the money.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So this is why they refused membership to Anthony Cody ( livingindialogue.com ) and others not part of the paid hacks brigade.
http://www.livingindialogue.com/education-writers-association-independent-bloggers-need-apply/
I also think those who have studied journalism are ideally prepared to believe tests matter. Have a couple friends who went to J-school. Both dropped out.
They left believing that perfection in punctuation outranked communication in J-schools (and they attended big, prominent ones). That memorizing the style manual was more important than digging into an issue to discover what’s important.
All I can say is that sounds a lot like standardized tests. Punctuation trumps meaning. Perfect math answers trump having the wherewithal to solve real world problems using math.
The result is that reporters are drawn to CCSS, SBAC, PARCC, SAT, and ACT like moths to a flame. They simply can’t resist the conveniently simple idea that education is testable. But since they all had to succeed in an education where simplistic perfection trumped meaning, it makes sense.
Problem is that the same education that gets a reporter hired and able to keep their job is exactly the wrong education for the vast majority of careers. No wonder education reports (with critically important exceptions) on average are pretty clueless about reform.
Doug,
When I was in college, journalism (or “communications’ as it was called) was a “gut” major — for people who didn’t want to do any work.
I knew people who were communication majors who spent the entire time “partying.” One fellow I knew had actually spent 6 years getting his undergrad degree in communications!
To me, it’s no surprise that we have such a pathetic corporate fawning media. These people never learned to think and would not know how to question — and investigate — what they are told if their life depended on it.
Usually journalism is different from communication. I agree the communication degree seems lightweight (but it shouldn’t be). But J-school is usually a professional school akin to law or engineering.
Shocking and hard to believe, but I think it’s much more than some sort of dumbing down of sectors of education. I think there’s a deep ongoing tension within many societies about ranking and equality, rights, justice, etc. Ranking is used often to point out the inequalities, then used to mitigate or ‘fix’ these injustices, and then ultimately it winds up perpetuating them. And then there’s a constant back and forth over doing away with rankings, revising them, and so on. It all becomes so politically loaded. Many see it as a given; the only question is how to finally rank and solve all problems of the world. Of course, this attitude is usually from those of highest rankings of some form, often including finances, and those who lack creative and analytical thought, or don’t want to strain themselves.
Rank rant over.
Common Core gone in North Dakota.
http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Common-Core-gone-for-good-in-North-Dakota-377977741.html
The tide does seem to be turning against corporate reform.
Another state that doesn’t want to wait the ten years suggested by Bill Gates. When will this man admit FAILURE?
“One-sided agenda”, like the hacks at Media Matters. Mercedes Schneider reviews the HIGHLY, HIGHLY selective list of people behind corporate ed reform, that a new Media Matters story identifies. Guess who M.M. left out? A clue, donors to HRC and Obama campaigns. Drumroll for those excluded… Walton, Gates, Broad and DFER. Unless, they want their identities hidden, why not expose their “noble” intentions, legitimized by a captured US. Dept. of Ed.? And therein, lies the answer.
Gates loves his “do gooder” press. Where’s AP, Vanity Fair, AARP, etc. on this story?
Education reporting is terrible because teachers are not doing the reporting. People assume that teaching is a simple thing to report on, and it’s much more complex than everyone thinks.