THE Trump administration selected a pro-choice researcher for a job that is supposed to be non-political: Head of the National Center on Education Statistics. During my time working for George HW Bush, the position was held by Emerson Elliott, a career civil servant of unquestionable integrity.
And now, reports Politico:
TRUMP TAPS CREDO RESEARCHER TO LEAD ED DATA ARM: Late Thursday, Trump tapped James Lynn Woodworth to serve as the the next commissioner of education statistics for the remainder of a six-year term expiring in June 2021. Woodworth comes from Stanford University’s Center for Research on Educational Outcomes, or CREDO, where he worked as a quantitative research analyst.
– While at CREDO, Woodworth authored several studies on charter school management and outcomes. One recent study, released in June, found that non-profit charter schools show significantly higher student academic gains than for-profit charters. The study also found that for-profit operators have results that are comparable to traditional public schools in reading, and worse in math.
– Woodworth previously worked as a distinguished doctoral fellow in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas.
See the links here:
*Title changed by popular request.
Trump administration is pro-school Choice.
Anti-woman’s right to choose.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
SAD! Let’s hope the public catches on to the truth.
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pro-choice sounds so…liberal. can we come up with a better term?
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The term “Pro-Choice” is the perfect advertisement for this “ME, ME, ME” time of this country. Sad.
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I agree…When I first saw the title of this entry I thought, “Oh, good.” Then I read it and realized it was “school-choice.”
How about “pro-privatization,” or “pro-DPE” (Destroy Public Education), or something like that…
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But pro-school-choice has been the accepted norm in the Department of Education since at least GWB’s reign, from the Secretary of Education all the way down. This does not mark a major change of course from any recent president.
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Never so blatantly as this one.
Like going from Duncan to DeVos
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Even before this announcement, I got this in my mailbox from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) two days ago. IES is a branch of NCES. This study has no credibility. It uses discredited “value added” measures on old data, among other flaws (see link to Mercedes Schneider below)
Begin quote.
Characteristics of New Orleans Charter Schools Associated with Student Achievement Growth
Charter schools have the flexibility to be distinctive and innovate in ways that may affect their performance. This study from Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest explored organizational, operational, and instructional features of New Orleans charter schools that are potential indicators of student achievement growth in English language arts, math, and science.
This exploratory study examined the associations of potential indicators of open-enrollment public charter schools serving grades 3–8 in New Orleans with school-level value-added measures of student achievement growth in the 2012/13 school year. Six features emerged as potential indicators of charter school effectiveness, particularly for school-level student achievement growth in English language arts. Student achievement growth was positively associated with having kindergarten as an entry grade, an extended school year, and more experienced teachers.
It was negatively associated with having a higher percentage of teachers with a graduate degree, a higher student–teacher ratio, and more student supports offered at the school.
The exploratory results are a first step in identifying charter school conditions that could be studied through more rigorous research to determine whether they are valid indicators of student success. End Quote
Read the report at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=446
Fortunately, Mercedes Schneider is among those especially qualified to examine and critique this study. See her post at
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Research is great if it is used to inform instruction. For example, we know that smaller classes are better for students. Yet, states continue to ignore evidence. Many of the states deliberately underfund public schools with the hope of creating conditions that will result in their demise.
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The Trump administration favors business choice. He doesn’t want women, or parents, or students, or workers, or voters to choose anything. Not Pro Choice. Not Pro Women. Not Pro School Choice. Not Pro Schools. —
Pro Big Business.
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By popular demand, I changed the title
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School choice is more clearly delineated as having nothing to do with abortion. I don’t mean to be overly finicky about semantics, but there is simply no word to describe charters and vouchers other than privatization or destruction. It’s not choice. It’s not reform. It’s not liberty. It’s not liberal. It’s not progressive. It’s not conservative. It’s just the hostile, private takeover of a public service. Privatization.
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It’s obvious that tRump doesn’t know enough people to appoint to positions so he takes suggestions from his mostly ALEC cabinet and they recommend other members of ALEC.
ALEC (basically the Koch brothers) revealed years ago that they want to control the message so putting this pro-choice minion in charge of the NCES, they now control the messages going out from that department just like they are doing in the CDC, NASA, and other agencies.
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One of my children went to a “charter school” that was basically a computer lab. My other child “goes to” a virtual charter school, State accredited, but without a physical location & all online. Charter schools are not the answer & whether they are for profit or not, they skew the data to their own benefit.
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Thank you for your comment, janice.
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What is not noted is that CREDO is embedded in the Hoover Institute at Stanford…it’s not part of the Graduate School of Education there. In their website, there is no mention of their affiliation with Hoover….See below to get the full picture.
The Top Education Articles Of The Year: Our 17 Most Popular (And Shared) School Stories Of 2017
featuring Condoleezza Ricevia The 74 Million
Monday, January 1, 2018
Now that was a busy news year. We published hundreds of education features in 2017 — from breaking news to research analyses in our Big Picture series, memorable educator profiles, eye-opening reports on innovative education practices, state-by-state ESSA coverage, new commentaries on the year’s heated political debates, and, of course, our two daily headline roundups: national news at TopSheet.com and developments from the 12 biggest school districts at EduClips.
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Hannah, the clip you stated does not shed light on your point. The director of CREDO os Macke Raymond, wife of Hoover economist Eric Hanushek. Raymond may also be a faculty member of Hoover.
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“Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas”.
Isn’t that the department entirely established and funded by the Waltons to promote privatization and charters?
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NYC PSP,
Yes. The Department of Educational Reform at the University of Arkansas is wholly devoted to generating academic papers that favor school choice. It is funded by the Walton family, possibly others who share their political agenda.
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