My website is dianeravitch.com. I write about two interconnected topics: education and democracy. I am a historian of education.
Diane Ravitch’s Blog by Diane Ravitch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at dianeravitch.net.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Dear Editor (Boston Revew)
Re: What are academic thinkers for?
The Boston Review is a good place to look for evidence that academic scholarship can very intelligently miss the point of any given subject. In the March 2013 issue Rob Reich asks “What are foundations for?” He points out that they are unaccountable and opaque play things of the very rich subsidized by tax payers but concludes that they should be measured by their challenge to government orthodoxy and contribution to pluralistic thinking. In her critique of his argument, Diane Ravitch points out that the mega foundations owned by Bill Gates and the Walton Family are using their vast sums to drive both public opinion and government policy and in so doing undermining public education. Reich’s response is to dismiss her argument as simply being a difference of opinion with those foundations and therefore not a legitimate measure of their role in American life.
What Reich and many of the other responders in the article to his piece appear to miss is the role of big money in shaping public opinion and controlling government behavior. Government orthodoxy is therefore created by the very people who benefit from the tax benefits of charitable foundations and their vast resources drown out the ordinary people who are theoretically supposed to guide a pluralistic democracy.
Or it may be more accurate to say that these academics don’t miss the main point because they often do a fine job of describing it. Rather it is the disregard for the main point in favor of abstract niceties that allow the serious ills of our society remain comfortably out of view.
Tim Mungavan Executive Director
West Bank Community Development Corporation
Minneapolis, MN 55454 tmungavan@wbcdc.org
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John Taylor Gatto’s “I Quit, I think” published in the Wallstreet Journal in 1991 . He quit teaching on the op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal in 1991 while still New York State Teacher of the Year, claiming that he was no longer willing to hurt children. To me this letter is as relevant and moving as ever. http://www.educationrevolution.org/blog/i-quit-i-think/ Have you ever posted his letter in your blog ? He knew all this was coming. Thanks for your amazing and admirable work.
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I wonder how it could happen that a critical mass of education leaders such as Dr. Teresa Thayer Snyder of Voorheesville Central School District might come together to direct educational “reform” in a more productive and effective direction.
With regards to the 10 week testing “marathon” in this New York state district, Dr. Snyder writes in her district blog, “I am posting this in order to articulate as clearly as I can that this is not sound practice for school children—it is politically driven, not educationally driven.”
http://vcsd.neric.org/superintendent/superintendent.htm
Howard Kellogg
Science Teacher
Brawley Union High School District
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I’m attaching a link to a local news report on the renewal of a charter school in a neighboring district. The Imagine School is an independent charter providing a two-way Spanish/English immersion curriculum for it’s students. It is a laudable concept for our border region here in rural southeast California.
In the new report, the point is made that the school is underperforming on its Academic Performance Index, the lowest in the district, and some elements of the special education services were not sufficiently provided for. I have observed that points such as these are targets for the bashing of charter schools, and I would say legitimately so for those who promote charters as a means to increase scores on academic indices.
In this case, I would applaud the district and the superintendent for de-emphasizing test scores and that “(Superintendent) LeDoux also pointed out that the school’s climate is “outstanding,” that students feel safe and that the school has brought staff dedicated solely to improving instruction.”
“He further noted that ECESD understands Imagine and its dual-immersion program in English and Spanish means it takes longer to improve achievement levels in English.”
“And before recommending the charter be renewed LeDoux also said there is “genuine desire to improve the school. We found that teachers are very dedicated in what they are doing” and that they are eager for training and guidance to improve.”
http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/ivp-imagine-school-charter-renewed-20130410,0,6368610.story
Howard Kellogg
Science Teacher
Brawley Union High School District
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Howard, is this Imagine charter part of the for-profit Imagine chain?
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I did not know it at the time, but I find that yes, it is. Here is the school website http://imagineimperialvalley.com/home/ and some more news http://www.thedesertreview.com/imagine-schools-a-team-joins-imperial-valley-campus/
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An extraordinary blog post by a charter school teacher bemoaning the lack of mentor teachers at charter schools. The teacher notices that everyone around him has only a few years experience. We must get more experienced teachers into the charters! he proclaims.
The supreme irony? HE IS WRITING THIS FOR A COLUMN ON THE TEACH FOR AMERICA WEBSITE! How clueless can a person be?
http://www.teachforamerica.org/blog/where-are-veteran-charter-school-teachers
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empathy is cultivated and learned through play
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In this, I believe.
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Diane,
Is there a way that I can contact you privately, other than this blog?
I have something I want to inform you about but I’m not sure I want to post it publicly.
My e-mail address is ronzpoirier@cox.net if you remove the “z”.
Thanks!
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Perhaps MSNBC is finally getting it. Nice MHP piece on the cheating in 37 states and DCPS.
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/04/10/test-and-punish-sabotages-quality-of-childrens-education/
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I sent a letter and a couple of essays to you via snail mail at New York University, 82 Washington Square East, New York, New York 10003. Was that a valid address? I can be reached at sward2020@gmail.com
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Snail mail is truly snail mail.
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From the LA Times… who is paying for the privatization of pubic schools?
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-lausd-money-20130415,0,6947986.story
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The Reduction in Breadth of Content in high school Social Studies courses
Submitted by Jim Buxton: URI Political Science Dept./ Salve Regina Education Dept.
Before I begin with my arguments regarding my concerns in relation to breadth of content covered in high school Social Studies classes, let me apprise you of my background, which will help you appreciate the perspective I feel that I have on this topic.
For 32 years, I was a Social Studies teacher at South Kingstown HS, Rhode Island. I taught Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, “American Citizen in a Changing World,” AP Comparative Politics, Honors International Relations, 2 levels of US History and 2 levels of Global Studies.
(No, not all at the same time!)
Since retiring in 2009, I have taught as an Adjunct in the University of RI Political Science Department, and as an Adjunct in the Education Department of Salve Regina University. In this capacity, I have supervised Social Studies student teachers, and through this experience I have been exposed to Social Studies teaching at 6 different RI high schools. Hence, I feel like I have a good sense for what Social Studies student teachers are learning, what high school teachers are teaching and what college professors are expecting.
The crux of my argument is that there is a major disconnect between what high school Social Studies students are being exposed to and what university History and Political Science professors may be expecting in their incoming students, and that this disconnect shows itself in many ways. The area I will be focusing on is the breadth of content disconnect, that would lead university professors to be shocked by the reduction in prior knowledge in their 2013 students as compared to their 2002 students. As I am primarily an International Politics teacher at URI, I will be focusing on Global Studies / International Politics illiteracy.
For the past two years, I have done a polling of my URI students. I polled 157 URI students. They ranged from Freshman to Juniors, and approximately a third of them were Political Science or History majors. I teach a 100 level course in International Politics at URI, and I was curious as to their prior knowledge in this area. The poll was simple. It was a list of 36 historical figures or locations. The students had to write in what country they were from. The results were alarming. I’ll share a bit of the results. Hopefully, you are as alarmed as I was.
54% correctly answered that Nelson Mandela was from South Africa.
11% correctly answered that Mecca was in Saudi Arabia.
59% got Iraq for Baghdad
52% Mao Zedong
13% Ayatollah Khomeini
53% Vladimir Lenin
60% the Taliban (either Afghanistan or Pakistan were correct answers)
11% Yasser Arafat
4% Mohammed (a variety of answers were acceptable for the last 2)
18% correctly cited Iran for Ahmadinejad
68% Fidel Castro
62% Joseph Stalin
32% answered correctly for apartheid
13% Kabul or Hamid Karzai
16% Hutus and Tutsis
75% Gandhi
37% Kim il Sung
3% Ho Chi Minh (not much studying of the Vietnam War these days??)
83% Cairo
10% the Sandinistas
50% where Osama was killed
14% Darfur (no wonder why it is so long lasting!)
47% Saddam Hussein – most common miss was Afghanistan
Now, I cannot contend that the sample size was sufficient. The poll would not pass validity and reliability expectations. However, I hope it brings up some serious questions, and perhaps a more official polling might be initiated.
A separate section of the polling asked students to approximate how many class periods they had learned about topics such as S African apartheid, Indian independence, Islam or the Arab-Israeli conflict. Predictably, there was not very much coverage of global topics.
Does this matter? Following are some of the campaign gaffes made by a variety of candidates for the Presidency in 2012. My concern is in regard to whether or not most American college students would pick up the mistakes.
Sarah Palin, mistakenly declared that the US should stand by its “North Korean allies”. (NOTE: THE US IS ALLIES WITH SOUTH KOREA, NOT COMMUNIST NORTH KOREA!)
Michele Bachman said: “What people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward….” (NOTE: THE SOVIET UNION DISSOLVED IN 1991)
Herman Cain said that China does not have nuclear weapons (“Yes, they’re a military threat. They’ve indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability”), and Michele Bachman said that Iran already had one. (NOTE: CHINA HAS HAD NUCLEAR WEAPONS SINCE 1964, AND IRAN HAS NOT DEVELOPED NUCLEAR WEAPONS………….YET???)
If you’d prefer a non-Global Studies example, how about when Michele Bachmann told the crowd in Concord, New Hampshire that they were “the state where the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord.”
Rick Perry stated there were 8 Supreme Court justices, couldn’t remember many of their names and said that the voting age was 21.
The question I would ask is whether there is a certain amount of historic literacy expected in our citizenry if we are to have a functioning democracy. The assertion I would make is that the breadth of content covered in high school Social Studies is diminishing, and this reduction has significant implications for our democracy. I will focus, however, on the implications for university professors of History and Political Science.
The following is a list of 16 reasons why university History and Political Science professors might be seeing a reduction in the relevant prior knowledge of their students. I list benefits as well as costs. You decide whether the costs outweigh the benefits.
1) In high schools, generally, there is less lecturing /less teacher presentations/less direct instruction
Benefits: The old days of lecturing from bell to bell are thankfully over. Research studies have found that the attention spans of most students are out of synch with 45 minute lectures.
There are many alternatives to the old presentation method. Cooperative learning, problem based learning, classroom discussions and more can enhance the student’s interest in the subject being taught.
Costs: As much as the above is true, the question we must ask is “are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater?” Have we reduced presentation time so much that we have significantly reduced attention span. Add to that the instant gratification of computers, smart phones, Facebook, twittering and more, and is there any surprise that after 5 minutes of instruction, the eyes of the students are glazing over.
High school teachers then accommodate this phenomenon, massively reducing their lecture time and one of the results is less content coverage.
2) Student presentations are more common
Benefits: The ability to communicate is crucial in this information age.
Costs: If you have 25 students in class, and each one of them does a ten minute presentation (including processing time), that’s over 4 hours of content that has been forfeited. Please don’t tell me that students will learn equally well from the content presented by their classmates, vis-à-vis that of their teachers. If this is true, then why do we pay teachers?
3) Alternative assessments are being used more frequently
Benefits: Students can demonstrate what they have learned in a variety of non-traditional ways. They can create a poster, write a poem, do a power point or create a skit, as opposed to taking a test or writing an essay.
Costs: Certainly, we would all support the above, but if it’s done too much, does the student get the impression that specific factual information is unimportant. Does it matter who’s in the opposing trenches, or is the only thing that matters the idea that World War 1 fighting was hell? Also, is it OK if the student does a power point on one aspect of World War 1, for example trench warfare, as opposed to being asked to know alliances, causes, Versailles Treaty, etc. on an objective test? If this is OK, will he attend fully when we review the causes of World War 2?
4) Cooperative learning in small groups is being used to a much greater extent.
Benefits: The cooperative learning model involves student cooperation and interdependence to promote tolerance, acceptance of diversity, development of social skills, as well as academic achievement.
Costs: Certainly, we all would support the benefits listed above. However, one could argue that the more students teach each other in small groups, the less content you will inevitably cover. Also, there is much less quality control in regard to cooperative learning; the group you are in may be very dysfunctional.
5) Heterogeneous grouping
Benefits: Homogeneous grouping implies dividing students up by ability, such that you might have 4 levels of US History. Each level of USH would be taught differently. One of the major problems with that is that the lowest group is stigmatized. They feel they are labeled as stupid, and as a result they may not try very hard. Often, the major behavior problems would be all grouped together, increasing the levels of distraction in these classrooms. By creating heterogeneous classrooms, you spread out the educationally and behaviorally challenged. These students are then in classrooms with students who will more likely pay attention, do their homework and are generally respectful, responsible and curious.
Costs: If the teacher teaches all 25 kids, with very diverse ability levels, with the same lesson plan, then she will either leave some students behind, or she will be going too slowly for the more advanced students. Defenders of heterogeneous grouping, will often say that the more advanced can help the less advanced which will help the leadership skills of the more advanced.
Concern # 1: If this happens frequently, will the more advanced student be exposed to less content than he would be in a US History A class?
Concern # 2: If this happens frequently, should the student “tutor” be paid?
Anecdote: I know of a student who was a very good high school Spanish student. Her love for Spanish was augmented by a couple trips to Latin America. As much as she loved Spanish class, she would often complain about the slow pace of the heterogeneous class. She would be driven crazy by Spanish 3 students who still could not pronounce Jose and Juan correctly. However, it was an easy A, which she appreciated since she was loaded down with AP and Honors classes.
In preparation for college, she took the SAT 2 in Spanish, and her essay on her standard college application was about how trips to Latin America sparked her love of Spanish. She was very shocked and disappointed when she saw her SAT 2 result, feeling that her score of 500 delegitimized her “love for Spanish” essay, and that it may compromise her college application. The bottom line question is whether her heterogeneous Spanish class could compete with AP Spanish classes (which her high school did not have). Some argue that heterogeneous classes are a benefit for all students. If that is true, then why do we have Honors and AP classes?
6) Differentiated instruction: Teachers are learning to differentiate instruction in order to teach students with diverse learning styles in the same classroom.
Benefits: The goal of differentiation is to challenge students of all abilities in the same classroom. If possible, this would enable the educationally challenged student to be in the same classroom with gifted students, while at the same time challenging the gifted students to reach their highest levels.
Costs: This would involve many different lesson plans for each class, and would necessitate a considerable amount of independent and cooperative learning, and would involve much less teacher presentation. See above for concerns about this. There may be considerable learning experiences using these methods, however the amount of content covered would logically be reduced.
Important note: The trend toward heterogeneous grouping and differentiated instruction does not affect Honors and AP classes. AP classes, in particular, have externally imposed curricula, and student success is measured by national standardized tests. Any attempt to fully move toward heterogeneous groupings across the board, thereby eliminating AP classes, would be met headlong by the parents of AP eligible students, who would provide the necessary political pressure to head off that movement. The students who are more likely to be compromised by many of these educational reforms are the “upper middle” students who are not quite capable of success in AP courses. They are mixed in with the “educationally challenged,” but the AP students are not.
7) Graduation by Proficiency in many schools involves the production of a Portfolio
Benefits: In many RI school districts, students are asked to produce a portfolio to fulfill one of their diploma requirements. According to the RI Department of Education (RIDE), the portfolio would be a “collection of work that documents a student’s academic performance over time and demonstrates deep content knowledge and applied learning skills.” For many students who are poor test takers, the portfolio affords them the option of showing their proficiency on Science labs, Math projects or persuasive essays. This process also ensures that every student will, at some point, produce a lab report that met the standard. Falling through the cracks would theoretically be less likely.
Costs: For a significant amount of students, more or less depending on the school system, portfolio is seen as a time consuming, mindless task which does not promote significant learning. At one RI high school, students take a semester course in portfolio during each of their 4 years in high school. That amount of time may be needed for some, but for others it is a study hall. For the more advanced student it may be a lost educational opportunity. Additionally, one might question the degree to which the portfolio represents “deep content knowledge” considering that the assessment is supposedly the same for all levels of students in the school.
8) Re-writes, and flexible deadlines
Benefits: There is a greater emphasis on allowing the student re-write opportunities. Additionally, 50% of the end of course exam involves applied learning, and students must be afforded re-writes. The first effort is considered a first draft. Those who defend flexible deadlines would argue that students learn at different speeds, and teachers must be sensitive to this.
Costs: The time spent doing a second draft, or waiting for “late” homework, is time lost from other educational opportunities. Perhaps this is needed for some students, however is it needed by all students?
9) The introduction of Advisory period into the school day.
Benefits: The idea of Advisory period took off after the Columbine massacre. In the attempt to help certain students to feel less anonymous, it was decided that students would spend a certain amount of time each week in an Advisory period with the same teacher and students for their 4 years of high school. There would be lots of discussion and bonding. There would be no grades. It would provide a haven for the lost child. Advisories might be every day for 20 minutes, or three times a week for 30 minutes each or twice a week for 45 minutes each time. According to RIDE, there would be “time and opportunity to support student achievement in the academic, career and personal/social domains.”
Costs: We can all appreciate the need for more personalization in high school, especially in schools of 4000 students. However, anything you add must be taken from somewhere else. Clearly, for better or for worse, advisory reduces classroom time and therefore the breadth of content delivered.
10) Less is more!!?????
Benefits: When too much content is presented to students, they often learn it for the test, and forget it immediately afterwards. Immersing in a topic provides a much better learning environment. There is so much to know about World War 1. Wouldn’t it be better if students delved into some aspect which they were interested in, for example trench warfare, chemical weapons or the sinking of the Lusitania. Some argue that it doesn’t matter what you learn, the important thing is that you learn how to learn. It’s not important that high school students learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rather, if they learn how to research, they can learn about the Arab-Israeli Conflict when they want to know about it.
Costs: When students immerse too much, they are deprived of crucial content because they don’t get to many other topics. (Ex: They spend 3 weeks on the War of 1812, but they never study the Civil Rights Movement in US History class.) They also don’t get enough context to fully appreciate the topic they are immersing in. For example, can a student really understand an article they might read about Israel, if they don’t know what Zionism, the West Bank or the 1947 Partition mean?
11) For a variety of reasons, there are no national or state content standards that have been approved by Rhode Island.
Benefits: Instead, the Common Core has actually already released skills standards for Social Studies. There are a set of 10 literacy standards and 10 writing standards that all involve higher-order thinking skills and college and career readiness skills in Social Studies. (Examples include being able to analyze primary sources, construct arguments when presented with conflicting viewpoints, etc.) Some argue that these standards will serve as a major push for Social Studies teachers to transcend basic-level facts instruction and embrace a skills-based pedagogy
Costs: As a result of the focus on skills, teachers will be assessed on their transmission of these skills, and not on their transmission of content. Certainly, critical analysis skills are absolutely important, but can you critically analyze the gaffes of Michele Bachmann if you don’t have the background knowledge to do so?
12) Common Planning Time
Benefits: According to RIDE, common planning time shall be used by teams of teachers, administrators and other educators for the substantive planning of instruction, looking at student work, addressing student needs, and group professional development. In RI, high schools systems had to integrate one hour per week of common planning time by 2011.
Costs: One hour less of student-teacher contact time.
13) As a result of the increasing emphasis on testing, there is a reduction in teaching periods available.
Benefits: There are many obvious benefits which have been discussed fully.
Costs: As is commonly heard, “we’re testing more and more, and teaching less and less!”
14) Block scheduling
Benefits: Having classes of 90 minutes, rather than 50 minutes, allows for greater depth, and more variation in pedagogy.
Costs: Greater depth may very likely reduce breadth.
15) Teachers are not evaluated in regard to their own breadth of knowledge
16) University Education professors are not as concerned with loss of content in Math, or Science, or in this case, Global Studies because they probably have not studied these topics beyond high school. The focus of their post high school education was Education. Therefore, they may not fully appreciate the loss of content time in the other disciplines.
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Whether the reforms are mostly positive or mostly negative, I believe that there are significant implications for URI History and Poly. Sci. professors. There are many. I’ll list 5:
1) Students will not have as much note-taking experience as students of the past.
2) Students will have shorter attention spans. If professors employ a good amount of lecturing, they may have to reduce the length, or make some adjustments in the way that they lecture.
3) Students may have less prior knowledge, and therefore the texts you used in the past may assume prior knowledge that is just not there.
4) Students will expect a greater degree of active engagement.
5) Students may expect alternative assessments, and may not appreciate the amount of traditional assessments used in a class.
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Jim, I’m so glad I read your post. I have been looking for information online regarding the percentage of Rhode Island districts that have moved completely to heterogeneous groupings. I also am preparing to discuss this locally and am new to these concepts as a parent. So it’s interesting to find an educator from RI who’s been through this and experienced all aspects of the issues involved. I wonder if you have worked in Woonsocket or a similar district where the use of heterogeneous groupings fails due to the low number of students at the higher end combined by the bizarre practice of stripping the top NECAP scorers from the heterogeneous classrooms and placing them in one class of 28 kids thereby leaving the remaining classes with only, if your lucky, about 14 proficient kids, 8 partially proficient kids and 5 kids Needing improvement. Not exactly what the Detracking movement was all about, right? And you know as an educator the wide range of abilities in that proficient group as well! It’s a complete mess here and the kids who are average to above average suffer. The ratio of higher end kids to lower end is further thrown out of whack in the public schools by decades of parents relying on the local catholic schools for a better education so we further lose those kids who otherwise might help make heterogeneous groupings work.
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Good things happening in NC schools, despite any policy, tests, federal grants. . .
http://wlos.com/shared/community/features/learning/#.UWwihkqC_qW
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Dear Diane,
I am an as-of-yet, untenured teacher in New York State. Recently, NYSUT disseminated a memo that reads,
“A local speaking as a union or an individual member speaking as a parent or citizen about educational concerns over standardized testing for instance, in a letter to the editor or in a statement to the Board of Education is protected as long as they are not encouraging parents or students to opt out from a scheduled test.”
What I am interpreting this to mean is that, even in my private speech, as a concerned parent, I am not able to speak my mind and my conscience without fear of reprisal or job loss. I thought that it was the union’s job to stand up for the right’s of teachers, not to collude with NYSED to trample our 1st amendment rights.
I have been very active in the anti-high stakes testing movement but now I am afraid to speak out because apparently, there is no one to protect the little guy.
-Anonymous
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(I’ve sent this through both email and Facebook, as well as posting it here, since I wasn’t sure the best place to reach you. Apologies in advance for the triplication)
Hi Diane. I’m a high school English teacher in Reno, NV, who has been influenced by your books, blogs, and various media appearances throughout the years. You have both shaped my views, and helped me articulate and flesh out ones that were only half formed. For that, I cannot thank you enough.
That being said, I’m currently writing to ask for a favor.
I recently was selected as one of the 30 national finalists for the Hilton Hhonors Teacher Treks competition. The 30 finalists were selected based on the merit of their proposals by teachers and education experts at the Institute of International Education (the group that aides in the selection of Fulbright Scholars–http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are).
However, the final 15 are determined by the number of votes each person receives. Being in the final 15 means that:
1. My high school would receive $2500 to use on “cultural experiences.”
2. Hilton Hotels would fund my “trip of a lifetime” during the summer of 2013 to Tokyo, Moscow, Prague, London, and finally Stratford to see Shakespeare productions from a variety of cultural approaches. During this trip I would also be able to take a class at the Royal Shakespeare Company taught by actors and academics associated with the plays they are currently producing.
Specifics on my proposal can be found at https://hiltonhhonors.promo.eprize.com/teachertreks/:b=firefox19/ (I’m fourth down in the middle)
Here’s an excerpt from the proposal:
“The reason that Shakespeare is popular throughout the world is that he writes about the human condition, and the human condition is the same whether one lives in the fast-paced megalopolis of Tokyo, or the glacial outreaches of the Arctic Circle.
My belief is that by placing Shakespeare in a global context, students will not only understand the plays in greater depth, but also be better equipped to push past the stereotypes and misconceptions that too often characterize our understandings of other cultures. Ultimately, that’s my goal—to help students learn to think broadly and deeply about the world in which they live.”
Although my proposal/essay/photo for the grant is fairly solid, my social media skills are not.
This is where I’m hoping you will be willing to help–by posting my proposal on your twitter feed, Facebook page, blog, etc. My hope is that your readers will, after reading my entry, be willing to vote for my proposal.
Any help you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you in advance for the consideration.
Brent Busboom
Reno High School
2007 Northern Nevada High School Teacher of the Year (http://www.newsreview.com/reno/personalities/content?oid=589029)
P.S. here’s a quick two minute video which gives a small glimpse of the work students do in my class in relation to Shakespeare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Np4cmS98w&feature=youtu.be
P.P.S. Voting is at the following web address: https://hiltonhhonors.promo.eprize.com/teachertreks/:b=firefox20/?WT.mc_id=zCBWAJM0US1HN2OLF4DoubleYourHHonors7GW841364
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Dear Diane,
Below is a quote from the Education Pioneers website.
“Whether it’s managing a $600,000 charter school facility renovation, conducting teacher retention analysis, developing strategic plans and curriculum, or performing financial and student achievement data analyses, Education Pioneers’ Fellows and Alumni drive significant change across the education sector. More than 70% of our Alumni work in education following graduation, and more than half of these leaders didn’t work in education prior to graduate school.”
They are proud of the fact that “more than half of these leaders didn’t work in education prior to graduate school” and they also state that their “Pioneers” work to “develop strategic plans and curriculum.” They have no business working on curriculum.
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Any chance of you tutoring MCPS BOE President Chris Barclay at NSBA on your refutation of NCLB and Bush I education reforms? The man seems confused. I emailed him earlier today. Awaiting and curious about his response.
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Mark, I spoke on Monday at NSBA. I delivered the message loud and clear. Diane
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/17/2831492/committee-passes-nc-bill-ending.html
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Not good for NC.
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Dear Dian Ravitch
We are an advisory class group in Sunset Park High School, and we have created a website called http://www.cutdowntesting.com/. It’s a blog page about students opinions and stories of their testing experiences. We are contacting you to help spread the word about the site, so that students, parents and teachers can post their stories. With all of the changes to testing in schools, we want to have the voices of those people most affected heard.
Please send out our website to your group’s followers and/or post on to your website and let us know if you’ve been able to help us share our site with more people.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Students of Sunset Park High School
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ELA teachers in my district were bullied into teaching persuasive essay writing. The entire curriculum centered around persuasive essay writing. We even were forced to teach new terminology used by no one who speaks eastern standard English. We were forced to have students say that they are stating a claim, when giving their opinion would make a lot more sense in the real world.
Today, students across three middle school grades were forced to take tests that had nothing to do with persuasive essay writing. On the seventh grade test, students were given stories about the Gold Rush, where people, “Staked their claim.” Was this for spite? Malice? Hatred? Additionally, it would be nice if the directions didn’t have grammatical errors.
We were also forced to use Kaplan test prep books that were based on the OLD test model. They had pages and pages of prep lessons for the “listening section” of the test. However, that section does not exist. Did someone have a warehouse full of outdated materials that needed to be dumped on some poor unsuspecting NYC children?
Whose idea was it to give students two test booklets at a time, and only an hour and a half to get through them?
Finally, I was chosen to work per session grading these “tests.” The email that I received was obviously written by an ELA specialist who is only semi-literate. I was appalled at the horrific misuse of the English language that my superiors used to communicate with me. Is accountability only for teachers?
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This is my one snarky comment for the day. (I hope!) While it is test-taking and test-prep season throughout the land, here are some test-cheating tips courtesy of DCPS. 47 pages of docs. Sit back. Read. Relax. Enjoy. Learn.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/14/how-they-cheated-on-d-c-tests-excerpts-from-new-report/
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Only one member of the DC Council (Kenyan McDuffie) has any courage to follow-up on the DC-CAS cheating scandal. All others are still in denial or want to finish the sweep up and cover-up.
McDuffie presses inspector general for more information on D.C. schools cheating probe
“D.C. Council Member Kenyan McDuffie on Wednesday renewed his criticism of the city’s inspector general for conducting an “anemic” investigation of test-cheating allegations in D.C. Public Schools.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/mcduffie-presses-inspector-general-for-more-information-on-dc-schools-cheating-probe/2013/04/17/995f9168-a7a9-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html
D.C. test-security discussions focus on current and future school exam policy (In DC and DCPS they are still in denial – Council hearings and focus is on test security)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-test-security-discussions-focus-on-current-and-future-school-exam-policy/2013/04/18/36a2a8d2-a856-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html
“Chancellor Kaya Henderson and members of the D.C. Council’s education committee agreed Thursday that no one knows for sure whether D.C. schools’ 2008 test scores were inflated because of cheating.” (Another example of Mayoral and council oversight that was rammed down our throats by Adrian Fenty in 2007.)
Henderson said under oath Thursday that she first became aware of that memo in January. The document — prepared by a consultant based on an analysis of wrong-to-right erasures on answer sheets — was based on incomplete information, she said.
Officials of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education told school officials not to investigate the 2008 scores further because the erasure analysis was inconclusive, Henderson said. Since then, the school system has taken additional steps to tighten security each year, she added, and multiple investigations have found no evidence of systematic cheating.
The document has raised questions about whether D.C. officials, including Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby, adequately investigated long-standing suspicions of cheating.
Council Member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) questioned the inspector general Thursday about why he had limited his investigation to Noyes.
“We weren’t going on a fishing expedition,” Willoughby said, explaining that his investigators found no evidence of cheating at other schools while interviewing Noyes teachers, parents and students.
“I don’t think anybody expects you to go on a fishing expedition, but I do think folks expect you to conduct a thorough investigation,” McDuffie said. “Your investigation was woefully limited and relied too heavily on people who had an interest in not discovering cheating.”
McDuffie has requested permission to review Willoughby’s investigative file. The council member said in an interview that he does not intend to call for a new investigation, but he wants to ensure that future probes are thorough enough to inspire public confidence.
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NYC Students Panic and Cry while Rushing to Finish New Standardized Tests on Time
“When such a great increase in complexity is being implemented for the first time — 90 minutes is in no way sufficient.”
http://www.alternet.org/education/nyc-students-panic-and-cry-while-rushing-finish-new-standardized-tests-time?akid=10346.1073613.BCRbe1&rd=1&src=newsletter827574&t=16
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Time’s List – a plutocrat’s guide to friends and family
http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/david-coleman/
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I wasn’t invited to review them. Were you?
As the architect of the Common Core State Standards, David Coleman has shown us what this country can accomplish when our leaders work together. An unprecedented initiative that “drew on the expertise of teachers, parents, administrators and researchers”,
(really?- I didn’t know. I thought it was just a one man show from a non-educator)
the Common Core defines a set of learning goals in literacy and mathematics for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Read more: http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/david-coleman/#ixzz2RC4g7fKA
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The latest travesty in Michigan re: the corporate takeover of public schools
yesterday’s news:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130419/SCHOOLS/304190361/1026/Education-reform-group-forges-voucher-like-plan-Michigan
today’s news:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130420/SCHOOLS/304200345/1026/Snyder-defends-secret-project-reform-education-system
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Diane. Have any states talked about trying to get out from under RtTT? Would it take paying the money back? Are states who did not “win it” standing out now as exemplary models? I am still wondering who has it going on, as they say, in education in their states? Surely some state is navigating along without the damage RtTT has caused others?
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I was wondering that, too.
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NY Times OP-ED now endorsing the C2 mentality without any critical analysis. More corporate cronyism at work supporting a mis-use of public funds to pay the educational-industrial complex to dismantle public education as we know it.
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Wow. They really have no idea, do they?
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Hi Diane,
I am an elementary school music teacher in LAUSD., spread out among five different schools (different one each weekday), teaching both general vocal music (at some schools) and instrumental music at other schools.
The testing mania at LAUSD (going on now) is worse than ever before.
In the testing period we music teachers of course do not teach when the testing is going on in the morning. The testing is usually done by recess, sometimes somewhat later.. We rearrange our schedules to try to fit everyone in after the testing time.
This year though, I was flabbergasted by what I heard from two principals where I teach instrumental music. One told me that he did not want music to be taught at all during the two week testing period. The other one said the same, but only concerning fifth grade. They said this by e-mail in a very definitive way, as if I better not question it. I tried to speak to one on the day I was there, and he avoided speaking to me, but sent an even stronger e-mail that night.
I only have a couple short periods left to work with the students before concerts in May, and want to teach them what I can before the year is over.
What could those principals be thinking? Test mania gone totally insane? Do they think that students going to music class after finishing testing for the day, will cause the students to not perform as well on the testing the next day? That doesn’t make any sense at all, and in fact all the research shows the opposite–that students who study music get higher test scores, better grades, etc.
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I have noticed instances where ESL kids are kept out of music due to “assessments.” The teachers always send their apologies. I suppose it is the child who needs that apology, as they are the ones missing their music time. I won’t blame classroom teachers for that, as they are trying to get the assessments in that they have to because of RtTT, but I also see how the testing mania negatively affects the child’s exposure to all that we have to offer. Our school is getting a dual language kindergarten next year and I will reserve judgement until after I see that implemented. Then again, not every child’s parents will be signing them up to be in that program.
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The argument Algebra 2 described by Mr. Stanford is eerily similar to what occurred here in Michigan back in 2006, when a “stacked” task force authored new graduation requirements which were later adopted. I happened to be in a grad-level school law class at the time and studied the origins of the requirements. The argument for the inclusion of Algebra 2 was equally thin:
“A centerpiece of the Michigan Merit Core is the inclusion of Algebra 2 as a requirement for graduation for everyone (though students may opt out by chopping down the largest tree in the forest with a herring). And where did this masterstroke come from? If you can’t guess by now, you haven’t been paying attention (and you’re not going to do very well on the quiz either).
Achieve, Inc. of course.
Pointing to a 1999 study by Department of Education researcher Clifford Adelman (www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/toolbox.pdf), Achieve, Inc. claimed that students who took math classes beyond Algebra 2 were more successful at earning college degrees. On paper this appears to be true. What the data does not show is whether or not it was the higher math they had taken that caused these students to be more successful. Stop and think for a moment. In my experience, Algebra 2 and the math beyond it are generally elective classes. Students who voluntarily enroll in these challenging courses, I have observed, tend to be stronger, more motivated students to begin with and likely to do well in college because of innate qualities they already possess (e.g intelligence, perseverance) prior to taking trigonometry or calculus.
Both Adelman and Achieve were careful not to make the claim that higher math caused students to be more successful in college. They didn’t have to. All they had to do was point to the (simplified) numbers and imply that such was the case, then let the easily fooled stumble to the desired, but unfounded, conclusion. Of course, there’s also the allure of requiring Algebra 2 for everyone. It just sounds so rigorous, doesn’t it?”
If you read the entire article, “In Michigan, It’s All Business, As Usual,” you will find the same disdain for parental rights and local control that we’ve seen from the corporate ed reform crowd for the past two (or more) decades. There’s also a fine example of “feathering one’s nest” much like Mr. Kress appears to be involved in.
It looks like the flood of corporate ed reform may have crested in Texas thanks to savvy bloggers and activist parents. Pray for us up here in Michigan. I don’t think stupid has hit the high water mark yet.
Godspeed.
Scott Baker
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I just read a Fast Company ( a magazine I’ve always enjoyed) glowing profile of Cami Anderson, Newark Superintendent of schools. The pull quote says, ” EDUCATION IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE GOOD ON THE PROMISE OF AMERICA, TO STOP BEING A COUNTRY WHERE RACE AND POVERTY DETERMINE YOUR LIFE OUTCOMES.” Sounds good. But if you read deeper you quickly find the anti-teacher rhetoric, The writer, Anna Kamenetz, hints that the Anderson school visits that she witnessed is normal and as is the failure of office staff to answer a ringing phone at 8:59. Closing schools and firing experienced prinicipals and teachers is shown as badge of toughness and a willngness to do the right thing. Then you find out about the Teach For America background, the Joel Klein connection, the push for merit pay.
How did this happen to public education in the U.S.A?
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I think the Newark superintendent is a trifecta: TFA, Broad (unaccredited) Academy, and Klein alumna.
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In Michigan the teachers seem to be coming up with their own Common Core standards. Can anyone explain this to me? This post continuously states the standards were pre-set by a committee with no educators on it. Can anyone explain this to me?
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Say It Ain’t So: RheeReforms “Harmed DC Schools”
Usually it’s my students that keep me going, today it’s this report.
Bolder Approach to Education report conducted by The Economic Policy Institute
http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2527997#.UXfL671lW2s.facebook
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No sports for you next year if you don’t take the DC-CAS this year. Scholars can enter a raffle for prizes galore. Out of control testing? Made me nauseous. Will probably do the same to you.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/22/school-warns-students-no-test-no-sports/
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It’s testing season in DCPS and the charters. Seems that it is also “cheatin’ time” too according to this article. Nice piece on large scale cheating (2012) and test fraud at a DC charters and other DCPS schools. Test tampering and fraud- oh my! I’m shocked. Just truly shocked at this.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/evidence-of-widespread-cheating-leads-to-probe-at-d.c.-charter-school/article/2527891
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Next comes Pearson with an offer to administer all tests on-site by their own personnel — for a reasonable charge, of course.
“We can help you with that!”
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I just knew you were going to type “next comes Pearson with the baby carriage.”
Testing and Pearson sittin in a tree. . .k-i-s-s-i-n-g
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Seriously, thought — you DO know that’s the next step, right? Testing security will be big business.
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Nice read and article, Diane and Leonie.
The Education of Michael Bloomberg. (Ironic title?)
http://www.thenation.com/article/173896/education-michael-bloomberg
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Diane:
DCPS is partnering with this group. Have you heard anything about them?
http://naate.org/
http://dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Ensuring+Teacher+Success/Leadership+Initiative+For+Teachers+(LIFT)/Leadership+Opportunities/Leadership+Development+Programs
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Mark, never heard of them.
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Neither have I. H/B I might just open my own academy or teacher training program. I’ve mentored six student teachers, have a BA+30, 20+ years of city teaching experience, certifications in Social Studies, and passed the SE Praxis and SLLA exam. I probably have more to offer than they do. I never thought I’d see the day when teacher training and prep was so degraded. I’m hoping that we can turn the tide very soon.
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Mark, great idea!
The Collins academy of excellence!
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Thank you.
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The way to check out an organization such as this one is to look at its board of directors. Here’s the one for New Leaders http://www.newleaders.org/about/board-of-directors/
It won’t take but a second to spot the Rheeformers here. It’s another effort of the billionaires.
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Hi Diane,
My principal forwarded us this newsletter. She also encouraged the whole staff to contact our senators. I did…but not with the message she intended! According to my principal’s sources, SB 1630 will go to a vote in the coming days. Please help spread the word!
FLORIDA CHARTER SCHOOL ALLIANCE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Contact:
Visit Our Website
Email:
info@flcharteralliance.org
Phone:
954-881-5792
Support Our Vendors:
Click here for Alliance-reviewed vendors who support the charter school movement.
Dear Charter School Supporters,
In an effort to keep you updated, I have provided a link to SB 1630 below which passed this afternoon in the Florida Senate. SB 1630 has several provisions in it; the following are the main items the bill addresses:
1) Requires a model charter contract.
2) Provides charter schools significant flexibility in implementing pay for teachers.
3) Improves flow of federal dollars to charter schools.
4) Prevents potential conflict of interest by defining who may or may not serve on a Charter school governing board.
5) Allows charter schools more flexibility in increasing enrollment.
The next stop for the bill is the floor of the Senate. As the bill progresses, we will keep you up to date.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2013/1630/Amendment/640620/HTML
Thank you,
John Sullivan
Charter School Grassroots Coordinator
john@ralpharza.com
305-338-2916
Connect With Us
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Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
More Kaya and Rheeform Hijinks in DCPS.
http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6332
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Interesting Common Core development in Georgia: http://bit.ly/12N0rPU
Cobb County, one of the largest districts in the state, rejects the Common Core.
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Here is a letter from a Chicago Suburban school district:
District 200 Families,
We are asking for your help in communicating with our state leaders.
In recent weeks, 18 area school districts, including District 200, reviewed and rejected a proposal from Virtual Learning Solutions to operate an online charter school. This proposal was rejected based on a number of criteria, including questions about the rigor of the academic program, student results on achievement exams, and lack of compliance with current laws governing charter schools. Virtual Learning Solutions is seeking an appeal of the decision made by local school boards to the Illinois Charter School Commission.
Funding for the online school would come directly from local taxpayer dollars that normally go to OURschool District, Wheaton Warrenville CUSD 200. The proposal calls for Virtual Learning Solutions to receive $8,000 for every District 200 student who enrolls in the online school. If the student drops out of the online school and wants to return to District 200, the funds remain with Virtual Learning Solutions. We find this problematic at time when state funding for education is challenging at best.
In addition to the funding issues, there are also serious concerns about K12 Inc., the for-profit company that is contracted to run the online charter school. Based on K12 Inc.’s performance, we have concerns about the online school’s curriculum, quality of teachers, teacher-student ratios, support for students with special needs, low test scores, lack of extra-curricular opportunities and graduation rate. When a student enrolls in a virtual, online charter school, the student is ineligible for participation in any District 200 co-curricular activities or athletics. At an age when support for the needs of the whole student is so crucial, there is no plan to address these needs in the virtual school environment. When questions to all of the above concerns were raised to a representative from K12 Inc. during a public hearing, he was unable and unprepared to respond to them, and subsequent requests for answers to follow-up questions were not forthcoming.
In Illinois, charter schools must be approved by local school boards. If they are not approved, the charter school can appeal to the Illinois Charter School Commission, which is operated by the Illinois State Board of Education. The Commission may supersede local control and overturn the local school boards’ decisions. Virtual Learning Solutions has said they are going to seek to overturn our Board’s decision to reject their proposal.
The basis of their claim is that traditional educational systems are not ready to embrace alternative forms of education. As you well know, our District is committed to providing a 21st Century learning environment that meet the needs of the individual learner.
Legislators in Springfield have already started the process of placing a one year moratorium on the establishment of new virtual schools. This would allow Springfield to study and gather as much information as possible before approving these controversial online schools.
The bill has already passed the House and is expected to be voted on by the Senate possibly this week. This is where we need your help. We are asking parents to call Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and your state senator to ask them to support HB 494. If you decide to email your senator, a suggested message is below.
We are asking parents to contact Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and your state senator to ask them to support Senate Bill 494. You can find your state senator’s contact information online athttps://www.voteguide.com. You can call Senate President John Cullerton at 217-782-2728.
It’s not that our school district doesn’t see benefits in some online education programs. But we also know that the community has high expectations for the quality of education in its public schools. We have no evidence that the model presented by Virtual Learning Solutions and the for-profit K12 Inc. provide a better educational opportunity for Wheaton Warrenville CUSD 200 students.
Sample message to send to your Illinois State Senator:
As a constituent in your district, I’m asking that you support HB 494, which proposes a one year moratorium on creating new virtual charter schools in Illinois. Time is needed to investigate the effect of virtual charter schools, including evaluating student performance, online charter school costs, and regulation governing virtual charter schools. As a taxpayer, I’m concerned about state funding being diverted from my local school district to pay for students to attend a virtual charter school. I’m also concerned about the quality of the education and level of support provided to students who would attend a virtual charter school. Please support HB 494 so that we can assure students in our community are best served.
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Another reason to dislike Rhee
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/26/1204987/-StudentsFirst-s-Tennessee-reformer-of-the-year-coauthored-anti-gay-bill#
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I have been shouting from the rooftops to friends in my affluent area about the problems with Texas’ high-stakes testing for months. Day 3 of testing this week I posted a photo on my FB with “The Top 10 things you didn’t know about STAAR Tests.” In only 2 days it has been shared 1,887 times (however, most of my area I heard crickets).
What is the trick to keeping the public informed and active? We have a lot to do for next legislative session and I’m afraid it is going to fall on deaf ears.
https://www.facebook.com/kristi.s.hassett?ref=tn_tnmn#!/photo.php?fbid=10201176134428801&set=a.1105501521095.2017396.1333485809&type=1&theater
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Kristi, join the Network for Public Education and work with allies.
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Don’t know if this is the appropriate place for this or not… but hope you laugh as hard as I did when I saw it… share if it makes you laugh 🙂
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In New York we have created an online petition to have New York withdraw from common core. We are asking all New York to please sign the petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/565/297/356/new-york-to-withdraw-from-the-common-core
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The hijacking of charter Schools – good read. Appeared today in Raleigh, NC’s N & ) (4/28/13). http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/27/2852853/the-hijacking-of-charter-schools.html
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I keep reading references in blog entries about leaders being “bought.” Is there “buying off” involved with backing Common Core? (other than the RttT money which requires common core)– I would like to know what other type of possible “buy out” happens in backing common core. Does Pearson give kick backs? How can that be researched? Are these two issues (common core and Pearson) related in terms of “buying off?”
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Joanna, among other methods, it is possible to purchase a politician with campaign contributions. It doesn’t take too much research to connect the dots between the moneyed interests who back Common Core and the politicians they finance.
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Well, except I don’t get where one party blends into the other because of common core being brought about by dems and reformers typically being GOP. I don’t see it as simple at all from my view. I think there are a lot of unknowns from my perspective.
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Diane,
Not sure how to contact you, but I thought you should know that it seems that there were a lot of glitches in Indiana today in giving the state accountability test, the ISTEP+, online today. Now, some schools that were unable to save their results will need to increase the amount of daily testing for their students in order to fit it all in before the window closes. It doesn’t take a StudentsFirst rocket surgeon to realize that their performance on these tests could be adversely affected by this, a performance upon which their teacher’s livelihood is based.
Thank you for all you do for teachers!
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Failure by distance learning providers to engage each student on her or his own merits
and according to individual needs is ‘ in part ‘ one of the reasons why some students drop out of
the online classroom in the first place, therefore resulting in high
overall attrition rates in the industry. They have not been able to decide where to focus
their energies on parenting solutions. You might be anxious or scared or confused about setting limits and ultimately end
up losing control.
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Slowly but surely the word is getting out.
Exposed: The Billionaire-Backed Group Strong-Arming Parents into Destroying Their Kids’ Public Schools
You won’t believe the predatory behavior of this education “reform” outfit, Parent Revolution.
http://www.alternet.org/education/xposed-billionaire-backed-group-strong-arming-parents-destroying-their-kids-public-schools?akid=10378.1073613.Bpyu4r&rd=1&src=newsletter832576&t=5
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Dear Diane,
As a teacher and a parent, I am appalled at the secrecy surrounding the NYS Common Core Exams. While I do not believe that these tests benefit students in anyway, I do believe that allowing public access to the exams while the current school year is in session will give them a small (very smalll) measure of educational relevance. This week I will begin scoring the math exam and I will likely be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement that essentially bars me from speaking about the test in anyway. According to NYS, speaking about the test even in general terms may result in the loss of my teaching license and misdemeanor charges. Here is what I wrote to our Commissioner of Education:
Dear Commissioner King,
I am a concerned citizen, and parent writing to you on behalf of the thousands of students who were recently forced to submit to the NYS ELA and Math exams. My hard-earned tax dollars helped fund the creation of these tests. The children and students of my community sat for hours of testing, enduring anxiety and stress in the days leading up to the exams. They expended mental energy answering field test questions that are of no value to them, but which represent significant financial gain to those who make the tests. I am one of your stakeholders, and I have a vested interest in these exams being made available for objective and un-biased public scrutiny. Furthermore, I object to my tax dollars being used to fund educational mandates that do not benefit students. Therefore, I demand that these tests be made public once they are scored.
Unless they are made public, these exams serve no pedagogical purpose other than to grade teachers and schools. The state has asserted that these tests indicate where our children stand on the road to career and college readiness. While we maintain varying view points on current education reform, we can all agree that the data collected is inconsequential if the scores are not available until after a student has advanced to the next grade, and engaged in a different curriculum.
Rather than engaging in sound pedagogical practice, and allowing teachers, parents, and students to access the tests for review and post-test analysis, and rather than allowing educators to use these exams to glean information that informs instruction and allows them to target areas of weakness, the state has empowered corporate interests to dictate policy, and sadly, they have put our children’s interests last. The state has asked teachers to sign confidentiality agreements that prohibit them from discussing the exams with parents, even in vague terms. This undermines the trust and collaborative partnership between educators and parents, and fosters an educational environment of fear, mistrust, and intimidation.
The secrecy and lack of access surrounding this year’s exams is unprecedented, and eliminates the system of checks and balances that characterizes a public education in a democratic and equitable society. As a taxpayer, I demand transparency in the testing process used to evaluate our students, teachers and schools. Send the message that NYS values democracy, children, education and accountability over corporate interests by allowing public access to the 2013 NYS Common Core exams.
Sincerely, Bianca Tanis
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I teach at, and my children attend, a small, rural school with a high poverty rate in Central New York State. We did not meet the 95% participation rate for this year’s 3-8 high stakes tests due to parents and students refusing the tests. SED intimidation aside, what does this realistically mean for our district? I need facts that I can share with parents and administrators. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Your writing has inspired many of us to look deeper and make a stand. Thank you.
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Excellent article in today’s Washington Post about schools, and how the US is led to believe our education is failing when compared to other countries:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/03/were-number-umpteenth-the-myth-of-lagging-u-s-schools/
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Hello,
With standardized testing going on in schools this week, I think it is time we start standing up for this abuse. I am a 21 year junior at Miami University in Oxford studying middle childhood education. I have launched a campaign to try and gain awareness that basing teachers pay on standardized test scores is wrong. My goal is to bring this issue nationwide. In order to achieve this, I started a petition on change.org and really want help in some way getting the word out. While I was able to get almost 200 signatures in less than a week, I need help with spreading the word. I think my campaign would be a great story as many people want to speak up on this issue but are afraid to.
Here is the link:
https://www.change.org/petitions/united-states-department-of-education-stop-linking-standardized-test-scores-to-teacher-salary?
Thank you so much,
Aaron
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May 3, 2013. It actually happened at Freedom High School today. The Unthinkable. Beyond the Pale. This afternoon, 7th period, we had an AP Testing pep rally. Yes, a testing pep rally. I had heard rumors of such things, but had a hard time believing them. Today I saw.
Hillsborough County Florida is one of those districts that has stuffed AP classes full with any student who a) wants to take one, b) can be cajoled to take one, c) is involuntarily signed up for one, or d) is placed under extreme pressure to take one.
This is all in the name of increased rigor of course. Apparently “increased rigor” is “New English” for Superintendent bonus. Yes, the number of AP tests taken is in her contract as a bonus provision.
Students lose instructional time taking these tests.
Students lose instructional time when their teachers have to proctor these tests.
Students lose instructional time when classes are under half full because OTHER kids are taking tests.
The list goes on.
For the last 4 weeks we have been FCATing. Two weeks ago started Florida End of Course Exams (they continue for some weeks) and Monday begins AP testing season.
Now – students lose learning time to a TESTING PEP RALLY??? REALLY?
Florida teachers should file a class action law suit or union grievances that this level of attention to testing creates a hostile environment for teaching.
Parents should likewise take action, as this level of attention to testing creates a hostile environment to learning.
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Oh brother. Is there a law that covers “Testees Harassment”?
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Harlan — The extreme testing of elementary children in grades 3-6 is Child ABUSE. Since when is good education practice to purposefully design tests that are developmentally inappropriate ? Since when do Americans set children up for failure? I went in to the field of education to serve and protect. To do no harm. To stand up for what I believe in. This testing is a fiasco of serious magnitude. It is abusive.
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I”m NOT supporting the testing. Even I’m not that stupid. I agree it is abusive, but it’s not illegal and thus not challengable on legal grounds. I wish it were. One simply MUST ignore it or get out of it.
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Ignore it or get out of it? What kind of response to injustice is that?
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I have small children, and recently I watched the new CGI “Lorax” movie with them. I know, it came out a while back, but we’re not always up to date on our movies.
For those of you who saw the film, I couldn’t help but think of the corporate education reformers throughout it, especially during the Once-ler’s song, “How Bad Can I Be?”
Probably at least some of the corporate reformers are thinking along much the same lines.
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Diane, I thought you might be interested in a bit of data from the Spring 2013 report from Hillsborough County (FL) Schools to their masters. Here is the link to the graphic,
and my Facebook comments.
The latest report from Hillsborough County Schools to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is out.
Five of your current School Board members voted to spend 200 million dollars, on a new teacher evaluation program. $100 million of this was a grant from the Gates Foundation.
Look at the results. The graph plots VAM score (student performance on standardized tests) vs. observation based evaluations.
This is that data that will rank teachers. Do you see any correlation between the two measurements? Was this worth 200 million dollars? Would you want your job to depend on this data? For your child’s teacher, it does.
I think Bill Gates should leave our schools alone.
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Wrong link: Try
http://michaelweston.org/wp-content/uploads/scatter.bmp
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Diane, George Kaiser is getting some good publicity for early childhood and edu-care programs he pays for in Tulsa.He was on the national news this evening.
There was another program,,,,,on a hedge fund guy. I learned my best lessons from Jack Shonkoff, after I did Oklahoma’s early childhood enactment when I was in the Okla. House of Representatives. Thank you for what you are doing. Joe Eddins Vinita Oklahoma
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The free entertainment paper LA Weekly has run some horrificly idiotic articles about education, Following are links to some recent ones:
http://www.laweekly.com/2013-04-11/news/dance-of-lemons-lausd-firing-jumps/full/
http://www.laweekly.com/2012-07-05/news/Students-matter-ted-olson-boutrous-lawsuit-LAUSD-lemons/
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/04/democratic_schism_gloria_romero_bad_schools.php
People should write them and complain.
One wonders whether the writers Matthew Mullins and Hillel Aron have ever spent any time in a school since they were children? Do they or have they had kids in school? Did all the teachers seem like terrible “lemons”? Where did they get their information? Why do they just believe nonsense without any fact-checking? Does LA Weekly think that will sell more advertising? (Interestingly enough, most of their ads are for pot and whores, I kid you not.)
Invite those writers to spend a day at a school, and see if they show up. (They may not want facts to interfere with their fantasy.)
We should insist that the paper carry an article by Diane to rebut that nonsense!
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Hmmm? Grade fixing folly?
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Grade-fixing-alleged-4490326.php
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Is Bill Gates having a change of heart?
http://4lakidsnews.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-gates-fairer-way-to-evaluate.html
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Hi Diane, I recently posted two Pearson Education comprehension exams that my 3rd grader was given on my “small time” blog (http://gemutah.blogspot.com/). Do you know if anyone is collecting information about the new Reading Street common core materials? I called my principal and the curriculum department about these testing articles. One has stereotyping of a red headed child and the other is a biased opinion piece on the value of computer games for kids. I felt that both of these articles should not have been given as tests. I am just curious if other parents are unhappy with this program or if I am ultra critical?
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Shame MS owns so many of our little or no choice software choices that we need to function. Perhaps it is time to bring back the old Boycott System of Social Justice? Nobody buy any new OS, Software Packages or computers unless totally necessary for a few months and watch the Vendors and Gates Poop a Brick…. Make do with that old machine or OS a few extra months longer and send a letter to Gates telling him exactly why you are doing so…
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Paul — I agree. I am already boycotting Amazon , Walmart, Toys R Us, & G & P products. It feels wonderful to support small local businesses. I am totally disgusted that the greedy billionaires are looking to make even more money through their support of Pearson Publishing, MS software for teacher evaluations & remedial products at the exploitation of American children. It feels great to ” stand up” for what I believe in—- the American children, & Freedom of Speech & the right to a public education.
Let’s all join in in a boycott. We can make a difference. My husband assures me that Amazon will miss my business. I enjoy supporting The Liftbridge Bookstore in Brockport, New York. That little bookstore supports local authors!!!!
Marge
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Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Federal constitution’s Bill of Rights, but the “right to a public education” is not a constitutional right. Each state has that right in its state constitution, but that is a different matter. Why is this important? Because if every child has a “right” to a public education that someone else must have a “duty” to supply it. Whom do you believe has the absolute duty to provide that education?
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To compel a duty takes away someone else’s freedom. Do you really want to do that?
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I came across an article on student cheating with a relevant reference to students’ and teachers’ perception of high stakes testing.
In an article in Science Daily with a dateline of August 12, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810025249.htm
“We know when kids cheat, why kids cheat and how kids cheat,” said Eric Anderman, a recognized expert on student cheating and professor of educational policy and leadership at Ohio State University.
Research has consistently shown that cheating is more likely to occur in classrooms that focus on performance – getting the best possible grades, doing the best on tests.
Cheating is less likely to occur when the goal for students is “personal mastery” of the material – in other words, learning and understanding what is being taught.
Federal mandates under “No Child Left Behind,” with its emphasis on test scores, send exactly the wrong message to students and teachers and actually encourage cheating, Anderman said.
“These standardized tests aren’t going to go away, but we don’t have to talk about them in the classroom as the ultimate outcome and goal,” he said.
“This produces anxiety and stress in both teachers and students, and that’s what leads to cheating.”
Apparently another “dark” side to high stakes testing.
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StudentsFirstNY funds candidates in Buffalo and Carl Paladino gets elected to the Board.
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130508/CITYANDREGION/130509295/1002
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Off topic? Maybe. But… Another reason I’m not fond of Florida’s governor: https://webmail.east.cox.net/do/mail/message/view?msgId=INBOXDELIM102923
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Whoops, that link should be: http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/enews/cv/enews-20130509.html
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Diane – Great blog and I really enjoyed your book.
Would love to have your thoughts on the fundamental logic of “continuous improvement” which underlies the business methodologies that are being shifted to drive school changes.
As a businessman, I find the idea defies logic. It is not physically, logically possible to always improve… As a result, using the concept in the wrong areas leads to bureaucratic corruption in business (as we are seeing in the abuses of customer satisfaction surveys http://dsgarnett.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/at-walgreens-an-amazing-abuse-of-the-customer-satisfaction-survey/).
Would enjoy your thoughts on the topic.
…Doug
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Doug Garnett,
Thank you for your good question. More than I can answer in this format. It seems to me the height of absurdity–may I say Panglossian–to expect that everyone will get better every day until one day we reach the magic goal of 100%. On that blessed, everyone will be college- and career-ready , and we will all live happily ever in the Emerald City.
Life is not like that. Perfection is always beyond our grasp.
If you are so moved, feel free to write something on this subject, based on your experience.
Diane
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Thanks. That attempt to reach 100% will always be frustrated by the exponential cost problem… Halving the remaining error will increase cost a factor of 4. So eventually, if you were to halve error 4 years in a row it would cost 250 times as much.
Love the term Panglossian applied here. I just may write that post…
…Doug
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Hearing in Harrisburg on 5/15 at 1PM in regards to Common Core http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=23&CteeBody=S
and
COMMON CORE TOWNHALL AGENDA
Where: Grace Church, 300 Willow Valley Square (behind Darrenkamps) click here
When: May 10th, Friday
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Doors Open
6:30 – 6:35 p.m. Program Begins with opening prayer
6:35 – 6:40 p.m. Opening Remarks, Sharon Cherubin
UNITEPA, Executive Director
6:40 – 7:20 p.m. Emmett McGroarty, Esq.
The American Principles Project
7:20 – 7:30 p.m. 10 Minute Break
7:30 – 8:20 p.m. Dr. Peg Luksik
Founded on Truth
8:20 – 8:55 p.m. Questions from audience and Twitter
8:55 – 9:00 p.m. Closing Remarks, Sharon Cherubin
UNITEPA, Executive Director
and
Pennsylvania Responds to National Education Standards
Thank you for helping to stop Pennsylvania’s implementation of national education standards known as Common Core. Things are moving quickly and gaining speed across the Commonwealth. Just this week, Truth in American Education moved Pennsylvania into their “Rejection Pending” category and revised their map to show us as a state that is “Fighting Back” and that is solely due to your efforts in contacting your legislators.
An important state-wide Common Core townhall meeting will be held this Friday May 10th which you can watch live streamed. UNITEPA is hosting Emmett McGroarty of the American Principles Project and Dr. Peg Luksik of Founded on Truth to discuss Common Core at both the national and state levels.
If you are in the Lancaster area and would like to attend this meeting in person see details here, otherwise, click here to register to watch the event online. Once you register, an email will be sent to you two days prior to and again three hours prior to the actual broadcast with this Ustream channel link. Click here for more specific details.
New MUST READING to get you up-to-speed on the details concerning Common Core by Peg Luksik “Assessing the Common Core”. It is a bit long, but provides the details you need to get a deeper understanding of this dangerous imposition of the top-down, one-size-fits-all regulations.
Please check out this excellent article written by our friend and western Pennsylvania native Matt Shipley who also served as Assistant Platoon Commander at SEAL Team EIGHT. Read: “Rotten to the Common Core”
Action Item – contact your legislator and those below
Governor Tom Corbett (R) 717-787-2500 governor@pa.gov
Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley 717-787-3300 gciarrocchi@pa.gov
Rep. Paul Clymer (Educ. Chair) 717-783-3154 pclymer@pahousegop.com
House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Turzai 717-772-9943 mturzai@pahousegop.com
Senate Pres. Pro Tem Joseph Scarnati 717-787-7084 jscarnati@pasen.gov
Senate App. Comm. Jake Corman 717-787-1377 jcorman@pasen.gov
House App. Comm. William Adolph 717-787-1248 wadolph@pahousegop.com
Do you need a one page flyer? Try here and here.
Latest News
1. Some Fuzzy Research on Common Core Math Standards Achieve pointed out new research that links Common Core Math..
2. Choking on the Common Core Standards By Joanne Yatvin – Many things that are commonplace activities…
3. Common Core standards pose dilemmas for early childhood By Samuel J. Meisels – After a decade of concerns…
4. The Moral Importance of Common Core Standards by RiShawn Biddle – As your editor, one of my…
5. ALEC Can’t Seem To Make Decision on Common Core Standards [ALEC, which normally stands for “limited government, free markets, and…
6. Alabama school board to consider rescinding Common Core standards “We are opposed to Common Core,” said Betty Webster Hardin…
7. States’ Taxpayers Left To Pick up Tab on Common Core Standards Burke discussed the heavy costs of implementing the Common Core…
8. The Forces Behind Common Core Standards The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a non-governmental movement…
9. The Common Core State Standards Studies EPIC recently completed an alignment study on the…
10. LAUSD to begin phasing in Common Core curriculum standards The way that teachers teach and students learn is about…
Rotten to the Common Core
Exposed: How Murdoch, Bill Gates and Big Corporations are Data Mining our Schools
Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost?
Please continue to promote the Pennsylvanians Against Common Core on-line petition and Facebook page. We would like to be able to attend the May 15 Senate hearing with a petition with more than 10,000 signatures and we need your help in reaching out to your friends and contacts to make that happen.
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I (UTLA member) just wrote to UTLA leadership about their totally inane “dual endorsement” in the current school board election, and suggesting that they change it to a full endorsement of Monica Ratliff. I will post my letter below. If any UTLA members reading this agree, please express your sentiment to UTLA leadership also.
—————————
Dear UTLA Board of Directors (and other UTLA officers),
I have been a teacher (and UTLA member) in LAUSD since 2002. Thank you for your work on our behalf.
The composition of the LAUSD school board can make a lot of difference to both the quality of education in the district, as well as our rights as teachers, etc. It is good and correct that UTLA gets involved in school board races, makes endorsements, etc. Most of your endorsements make sense. (For instance, supporting Zimmer in the recent primary, and opposing Monica Garcia.)
However, I must honestly say, that I am totally befuddled by your current dual endorsement (for the same seat) in the current school board election of May 21. IMO that dual endorsement makes no sense at all, is a total waste of member’s union dues and/or PACE contributions (if either or both are being used in the race), is not at all helpful to the future of the district, and appears so inane, that it could only give UTLA a negative reputation.
First of all, it makes no sense to endorse both candidates in a two-way race, in which only one can win. One endorsement cancels out the other. (Did you hear of anyone endorsing both Obama and Romney in the 2012 presidential election? Endorse both Bush and Gore in 2000? I did not. That would not have made any sense, and neither does your dual endorsement.) Is UTLA member money being used to support both candidates, so that they can run negative ads against each other? Just imagine! (If any member money, whether dues or PACE, is being used to support both candidates running against each other, that is a very irresponsible waste of member’s money, and certainly will not encourage people to join PACE.) If you cannot make up your mind who to support in a two-way race, then the thing to do is to be neutral, to support neither. You cannot support both candidates in a two way race. That is simply ridiculous, I don’t know how else to put it.
That said, I don’t know why you would be undecided. The choice in the race seems very clear, just as clear as Zimmer vs Anderson in the primary, with the same forces at work. There should be no doubt who UTLA should support.
On the one hand there is a candidate who is a teacher and UTLA member, who seems to have many good ideas about education, Monica Ratliff. She is fully endorsed by the new PAC of Diane Ravitch, “Network for Public Education” , as their first endorsement. (Please read about that endorsement here.) (I would suggest too, that UTLA recommend to its membership to join and contribute to Diane Ravitch’s PAC, to help fight off the big money coming in from the likes of Bloomberg, Gates, Broad, etc.)
The other candidate, Antonio Sanchez, is a lawyer with no background in education. He is heavily supported by the exact same coalition that threw big money behind Kate Anderson and Monica Garcia in the primary, led by the likes of Michelle Rhee, Bloomberg, Gates, Broad, etc., as well as our nemesis John Deasy. They are now putting that same kind of money behind Sanchez. They must have a reason for doing so. He must have promised something to them in return for that kind of support. Please read this article about a $350,000 donation to Sanchez from Bloomberg, via Villaraigosa’s school PAC.) (In case anyone reading cannot access that article in the LA Times, I will paste the article at the bottom of this e-mail.)
There really should be no question who UTLA and teachers should support in this race—a teacher, on our side, and the side of the children of the district, supported by Diane Ravitch, or a lawyer heavily supported by our enemies, John Deasy and the corporate “reformers” who are destroying education in this country.
The make-up of the new LAUSD school board can make a lot of difference in what transpires in this district in upcoming years. UTLA has had a positive influence on the process in the past, supporting candidates like Bennett Kayser and Steve Zimmer, and opposing the likes of Monica Garcia. UTLA could really make a difference this time too, by immediately ending the totally absurd “dual endorsement”, and throwing its full weight and influence behind Monica Ratliff. There is only just over a week left in the race. Please make that change today, and do what is right to try to positively influence the future of LAUSD.
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Note: in looking at my letter as pasted in above, I see that ont only formatting such as bold and italic has been lost., but the hyperlinks as well. So I will paste the links below.
Diane’s new PAC (I hope that all readers here join, as I have):
http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/
Her endorsement of Monica Ratliff in the current LAUSD school board race:
http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/2013/05/our-first-endorsement-monica-ratliff-a-teacher-for-los-angeles-school-board/
LA Times article about big money from the corporate “reformers” going to Sanchez:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-school-board-money-20130425,0,6967603.story
(if anyone reading wants to read the LA times article but has trouble accessing it, let me know in a response here, and I will paste the text in a follow-up post.)
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I am also unhappy, that the LA County Democratic Party is supporting Sanchez in the school board race. I wonder why? (Likely some influence from Villaraigosa.)
If anyone reading has some contacts with that organization, complain about it.
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Today, I spoke briefly with a young woman who is a junior in college. She said that unions are on “the way out,” since times are “different” now. THIS from a college student. This is what’s being taught at the college level. She was quite blase about unions. I was shocked and dismayed. She’s going into human resources. THIS is scary… until her own humanity is stolen, she will have no empathy for folks whose voices have been lost in the echo chambers of those who labor compared to those who live in an ivory tower. Even then… who knows… perhaps she will believe that she’s not supposed to have a voice. College students are NOT being taught the importance of workers having human rights. They’re not being taught that there is something for which to fight. They’re being taught that “times are different.” Times may be different, but human beings are very much the same… with all of the virtues and vices therein. Without unions balancing the power, without people willing to fight for their rights, greed and dehumanization is free to flourish. THIS is the fight we’re up against.
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They are also being taught that they have a choice if they are going into ed: TFA or a teaching certificate — no difference between them.
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Is there any correlation between the education reform movement and the establishment of education lotteries? Ironically NC has a new Ed lottery game called the Star Trek game, and Star Trek is exactly how the Common Core and high stakes testing seems. To me the notion of an education lottery contradicts the values that underly building up a strong public school foundation. But I was raised a Calvinist (albeit not like the ones currently “reforming” in Scotland). Any link? Beginning of the end those lotteries?
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So NC apparently is trying to take a hard look at Common Core. Thank goodness.
http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/04/nc-is-agenda-21-behind-common-core-2620682.html
So there’s that, which is nice.
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This student may have picked up her anti-union prejudice from rightest sources, not a college or university course. Unfortunately many students today pursue so-called professional studies and never come near a course in history, literature, economics, or political science.
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http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2013/05/no_furloughs_at_department_of_.html
The plan for sequester impact on the Department of Education. No furloughs, but cuts to special education and Title I. Cuts to programs that directly impact students.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-fantasies-driving-school-reform-a-primer-for-education-graduates/2012/05/13/gIQA5vwzLU_blog.html
good speech; good to know what new teachers are being told before they get out in it
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Diane,
how might I get some info to you regarding high stakes testing for future teachers in the state of NY? The program is called edTPA and is authored and administered by Pearson. All future student teachers will need to pay, perform and submit the edTPA to Pearson in order be be certified to teach in NYS. I was part of a pilot program at my school and completed the edTPA and want to shed some light on this high stakes “test” for those entering education in NYS…and other states as well since this program will expand as time goes on.
Rudy
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I’ve heard about this. So now we’ll outsource teacher certification and licensing to a British MNC? Nothing surprises me anymore.
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Here’s an article about the first charter school union in Louisiana. Very interesting. Teacher input may be exactly what we need to reform schools.
http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/5996968-148/teachers-union-approved-for-no
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Diane, In this article ( http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/the-lingering-bill-gates-problem-in-school-reform/ ) , the last line asks if Bill Gates had no money, who would listen to him? I’m wondering if you already have (and I missed it), or if you would write a blog about NOT just Gates but all of the billionaires… that asks that question… when money is taken out of the equation, would ANY of them continue to make any sense at all to people? Perhaps you’ve already addressed this, but this is a new question to me, and one that everyone should be asking themselves.
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Always remember the Golden Rule — “He who has the gold makes the rules.”
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Which is why we have to pay attention and deliberately rebel against those rules… EVEN IN KINDERGARTEN… I tell my students that we shouldn’t break the rules… UNLESS they are bad rules… every January, when studying MLK Jr., the kids have a hard time wrapping their brains around the fact that he was a good man, but he went to jail… so I explain that HE wasn’t bad, but the RULE was bad…. we HAVE to analyze the rules put in place by those who have the “gold,” because they often do NOT have the best interests of the rest of us at heart.
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Anyone remember a NY Post article -maybe 5 years ago- claiming that Joel Klein was keeping secret files on politicians and community activists?
He said they were routine and inncouous and that was the last anyone heard of it.
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Jim, I don’t know whether the NYC Department of Education was monitoring anyone else, but they definitely watched me and compiled a file on me. On at least four occasions that I was aware of, someone from the communications office taped my lectures. Someone in the DOE wrote a dossier about my views of their policies, comparing it to my earlier views. Elizabeth Green, who was then a reporter for the New York Sun, wrote that the DOE circulated the dossier to reporters, trying to find someone in the press to write a negative story about me. When no one did, someone in the DOE wrote the story, it was sent out from a PR firm that represents the Mayor and other major political figures, and it was published in the NY Post under the name of the woman who heads the NYC business leaders’ “partnership.” The email chain from start to finish was sent to me by a friend in the press. Others may have been targeted and placed on their “enemies’ list,” but I don’t know if there were. When Chris Cerf, then Joel Klein’s deputy, was asked about the practice, he was unapologetic and saw nothing wrong with what had been done.
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Diane: according to the book she wrote entitled “Spoken From the Heart,” Laura Bush received a print of daffodils from Ted Kennedy just after NCLB was signed and it read”To the First Lady of Education, whose impressive leadership is enabling millions of Anerican children to dance with the daffodils.” I hope people can begin to consider what dancing with the daffodils means in light of all we have learned and are still struggling to learn since NCLB. I get tired of contentious one way or the other type banter. Where is the synergy? Surely the daffodils, a type of flower that willingly spreads itself, can bloom in many types of gardens. What did Kennedy mean by that?
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Joanna, very few high level officials write anything above their signatures. Assume it was written by a college intern and meant nothing.
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good to know. I’m glad I asked and didn’t spend too much time wondering the significance.
thanks. 🙂
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Perhaps it is an allusion to the Wordsworth poem.
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Diane
I am writing out of anxiety and fear .. I have been a bit down for a year, I realize I may have to switch careers or move to another state.
I could be wrong but I feel the greatest school reformation in the US is occurring in Miami-Dade county public schools.
Miami-Dade is the 4th largest district in the country (392 schools, 345,000 students and over 40,000 employees). Miami-Dade has a WEAK union (right to work state)… The union is so weak, it feels as if the union is part of the school system.
Miami insights
– teachers contribute 3% of our salary for retirement
– salary tied to Testing
– VAM
– weak union
– Eli Broad award
– Common Core
– $1.2 new technology bond (My fear, Bill Gates’ cameras will soon be in the classroom.)
– charter schools/ virtual schools
– 11,000 new immigrant students a year, 68,000 esol .
– financially, it is difficult for teachers to make ends meet … Miami is an expensive city, I wonder if some teachers are on Food Stamps and or have lost their homes — our salary scale is shocking
http://salary.dadeschools.net/Schd_Teachers/
***( I have been teaching 14 years but I am on step 11 due to frozen salaries ($42,128) , I just advanced a step, $300, which the school system considered a raise ( it was a step)….. No cost of living expense was factored in)
students
– the school system pays for teachers health insurance but high out of pocket expenses (Dr visits, prescriptions are VERY high, I pay an additional $2,400 a year with dental & vision) .
???What do you see happening in Miami Dade County public schools??
Are my fears a reality???
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I don’t want to get left in the dark 😦
Is there a workshop that teaches the craft of teaching online ?? A degree from a top tier College/University – will travel, and will find funding.
Lol – I don’t want to take an online class that teaches how to teach online.
Thanks 🙂
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Here are links sent by Achieve this week propping up CC. Would love to know what people think:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/05/15/legislators-try-to-combat-school-standards-rumors.html
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_23243368/core-standards-are-educations-best-hope
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1968336.html
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Check out this speech: Uri Treisman’s Magnificent Speech On Equity, Race, And The Opportunity To Learn http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=17047
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http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=17047 Check out this speech by Uri Treisman. Magnificent!
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Diane, you have to see this! PA delays Common Core implementation.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/corbett_orders_delay_in_common.html#incart_river_default
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You might be interested in this post called “A plain little thing”. You’ll find out about a pushy locomotive named Common Core, what happens when you mix ketchup and applesauce (hint: think nirvana) and hear about the burp heard ’round the world.
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Scott Walker and ALEC attempting to radically change Wisconsin education. Includes teaching licenses for people with no background or experience in education and limiting accountability and oversight for charters. Nauseating. Just plain nauseating!
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/05/12099/scott-walker-gop-slip-alec-education-agenda-wisconsin-budget
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Nice HuffPost piece on Rhee and her destructive policies.
Time to Stop Waiting for Superman
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-stanford/time-to-stop-waiting_b_3306637.html
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In the new are two “university studies” declaring MA and Boston charter schools a success. One is CREDO What is CREDO at Stanford? Part of Hoover Institute that you are or were part of? Is “at Stanford” the same as being Stanford?
The assumption is this is a peer reviewed research and a Standford University study.
The other study by School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative “at” the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was commissioned by two privately funded organizations whose stated mission agenda is to expand charter schools, the Boston Foundation and the NewSchools Venture Fund. Not really research but based almost exclusively on examining AP and SAT – College Board inc exam scores.
Center on Reinventing Public Education “at” University of Washington s clearly a charter advocacy group that does no original research but data mines old data and to produces studies to meet their policy goals. Many of these policy advocacy groups posing as research institutions are also part of PIE. (Policy Innovators in Education)
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The director of CREDO is Margaret Raymond, a political scientist affiliated with both Stanford and Hoover.
The question to ask about charters is not whether they get higher scores but whether it makes sense to have two public-funded school systems, one required to take all children, the other free to choose the students they want and to push out those they don’t want
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Here, indeed, is the essence of the debate:
“The question to ask about charters is not whether they get higher scores but whether it makes sense to have two public-funded school systems, one required to take all children, the other free to choose the students they want and to push out those they don’t want.” What is unstated is that Diane is willing to force capable students into schools where learning is not the priority. Her vision of “public education” is thus inherently coercive. Not the American way, you know. Doing good by compulsion. The standard progressive way.
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Diane, I don’t see how to contact you by email. You might like this post: http://www.anurbanteacherseducation.com/2013/05/test-teaching.html
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Dear Ms. Ravitch,
I live in Chicago, and one of the 50 neighborhood schools slated to close is an excellent school named Miriam Canter Middle School. I like to think I came into the process with an open mind– I’m not averse to school closing, if necessary–but I was so disgusted with the town hall meeting that I made a very short video concerning the process. I would appreciate it if you reposted the video on your blog.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Irami Osei-Frimpong
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There is No School Choice – Disenfranchising Children and Parents in District 15
School choice is hallmark of the Department of Education under the Bloomberg/Tweed regime in New York City. But last week with the arrival middle school placement letters in District 15, Brooklyn, it was made painfully clear to everyone, the choice is not ours, but theirs. My son, along with other boys from our high achieving elementary school was placed in a school that nobody chose. He was placed in a school where only 24% of the students read at grade level, in DOE parlance, a failing school. It is also a school without a rich curriculum of art and music. It is a school that has been forced to share space with other schools including the most recent encroachment of the Success Charter Chain. Other students from across the district met the same fate. Boys from one successful elementary school were placed in a middle school where 17% of the children read at grade level and whose mission is to serve at risk children – exactly not the child now being sent there. Does this sound like choice by anyone’s definition?
What does the newly appointed 27-year-old Chief Operating Officer of the DOE do to earn his $202,000 salary? Are we to believe this is all the result of incompetence on the part of Tweed or is it something worse – deliberate mismanagement? One would think that they were intent on driving away families. Indeed, some families of means have already jumped ship. There are plenty of private schools if you have the money.
There is a huge disparity between schools in the district. Some are more desirable than others for good reason – some have a comprehensive curriculum of art, music, dance; others offer little in the way of arts. Some have reputations of being safe, others for violence and bullying. These are not the schools where parents want to send their children. To be clear – I believe that all children deserve to go to safe schools where there is a comprehensive arts program. And I would hope that no child in any school would be bullied or intimidated, but sadly we know that is not the case. Children who come from crime-ridden neighborhoods and from families that suffer under the stresses of poverty, racism and discrimination, tend to need extra support, a fact that Tweed has yet to comprehend. They have yet to figure out that all this sorting and stacking of children has not improved schools, that we should not relegate low achieving students to one school and high achieving ones to another. Undoubtedly it would be better to have a mix of students with varying skills in a well-funded school with a comprehensive curriculum and a supported staff. This would go a long way towards bringing up those precious test scores. But perhaps it is a deeper problem. Are there too many children living in poverty? Too many children feeling the impact of discrimination and racism? Too many problems that the Tweed is ill-equipped to deal with and therefore chooses to ignore?
The dearth of successful schools for all children is a failure of leadership, vision and planning on the part of the men and women who run the New York City Department of Education. However, in this age of accountability, I suppose all the blame lies with the one man who has had twelve years to right all that was wrong with the system, Michael Bloomberg. No achievement gap has been closed. No high level of proficiency for all students has been reached. How can it be that 12 years into Bloomberg’s reform agenda we still have schools in which a mere 20% of students in read at grade level? And now we know the Bloomberg administration doesn’t know how to count. In one popular middle school 1,300 students applied for 320 seats, at another smaller school, 1,000 applied for 180 seats. Clearly we need more middle school seats in the district. This situation did not develop overnight. Bloomberg and his minions at Tweed had years to develop new schools or to expand existing successful elementary schools. And no, the two new charter schools in the district are not the answer.
Parents have been left out of this process as they are left out of all decisions Tweed makes on behalf of our children. They unilaterally decided to forgo matching students with suitable placements without bothering to consult the parents. We do not even know how this arduous process for ten-year olds works. It began way back in October with middle school fairs, open houses and tours that many of us took time off from work to attend. Neighborhood middle schools no longer exist; students must apply to district schools. The application process for these choice middle schools also involves interviews and tests. Focus on fourth and fifth grade report cards is intense. Scores of 3 or 4 on the Pearson standardized tests is a pre-requisite for one of the selective schools. We fill out an application and list schools in order of preference. And then we wait months for results. This year some students got their first choice, some got their second or third and some got none of their choices. No rhyme or reason, and certainly no explanation. This should be a transparent process.
Our public school system has been mangled under the reign of Bloomberg leaving behind many children from all neighborhoods across district 15, and the rest of the city. Children and their families who did everything they are supposed to do and were kept in line with the promise of gaining entry to a “good” school were left behind. And the children who attend those “failing” schools were left behind. We need to organize and make Tweed accountable to us. But how does that happen? Walcott puts in appearances from time to time for photo ops, Polakow-Suransky attends town hall meetings and forums when forced to, but how does a parent actually get to speak to someone in charge at Tweed? I would like them to explain to me how schools under their leadership are improving the education of my child, or anyone’s child.
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Wait — someone named Tweed is running the New York public school system? Seriously? That’s… perfect.
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When Bloomberg took over the schools, he shut down the central headquarters at 110 Livingston Street and sold it to a developer for luxury condos. At the same time, he turned the historic Tweed Courthouse, right next to City Hall, into the headquarters of his new Department of Education. Previously there was an independent Board of Education, but now the Mayor appoints a majority and they serve at his pleasure.
The Tweed Courthouse was built during the heyday of Boss Tweed. There was a lot of corruption and graft and bribes associated with that building. When Bloomberg took it over, it was slated to be the new home of the Museum of he City of New York. But that’ another story for another time.
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How awful for those students! It is criminal how they are profitting at the expense of children.
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Not as perfect, then. But still, pretty good!
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Diane, I haven’t yet read your blog. But I just heard you on Wisconsin Public Radio, and was entranced by your passionate, informed, and rational critique of the privatization agenda, and deceptions by its advocates. I’ll be buying your book and reading your blog, and hopefully participating more effectively in public discussion. Jim Papadopoulos
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Nice piece on Chicago school closures:
Chicago to Shutter 50 Public Schools: Is Historic Mass Closure an Experiment in Privatization?
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/28/chicago_to_shutter_50_public_schools
and Ed over at MSNBC had a nice 20 minute segment on Chicago, privatization and school closure this past Saturday on the Ed Show.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/52002058#52002058
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Just glad the year is winding down. Iris scans in Polk County, FL. They have lost their minds.
http://www.examiner.com/article/schools-conducted-iris-scans-on-students-as-young-as-six-without-permission
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My question is: Who got a kickback on that one?? It would be interesting to follow the money. I would think there will be lawsuits on that one—iris scans— REALLY???? The Ed tech world is spinning out of control. Robots.
Marge Borchert
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Diane,
You might be interested in this as an ed researcher: it’s an interactive motion graph that allows you to follow statewide trends in schools.
http://phameducation.blogspot.com/2013/05/schools-achievement-and-demographics.html
Vinh
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Common Core up for Disdcussion in Idaho. The Idaho Statesman has posted links to sample Common Core questions and will host a discussion with State Superintendent of Schools, Tom Luna on Monday, June 3. Additional information may be found at this link: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/05/31/2598791/common-core-will-reshape-idaho.html
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Despite state takeover, special education problems linger for Muskegon Heights schools
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By Lindsey Smith
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Credit Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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3:21
Listen to the on air version of this story.
New reports show special education students in Muskegon Heights didn’t get all the services they should have this year. The company that runs the state’s first all-charter public school district is working to correct the problems.
Problems with charter company’s handling of special ed services
Federal law and state regulations outline the rules that are supposed to make sure kids with special needs still get a fair education.
Michigan’s Department of Education found more than a dozen ways the new Muskegon Heights charter district violated those rules, affecting a couple hundred special education students.
“In my opinion this was probably the worst delivery of special education services I’ve seen in my career,” said Norm Kittleson, a former special education teacher at Muskegon Heights. He’s been teaching for 15 years.
Kittleson started teaching a small class of students with learning disabilities and emotional issues at Muskegon Heights last October.
“In the position I was in I was there to deliver academic instruction as well as a stable structured environment in which they could be more successful, but I’m not a trained social worker,” Kittleson said.
At first, there was no social worker provided for a number of kids who were supposed to get those services. Kittleson says some students had severe emotional impairment, lashing out, sometimes violently in his self-contained class that was kept separate from the general student population. Social workers help students cope with those emotions.
The MDE says in February, a parent (the names are redacted in the documents provided) filed a complaint. State investigators found school staff were told to say students didn’t need those services because the district couldn’t provide them.
“This was a real serious vacuum in the program that I was trying to run in my classroom,” Kittleson said.
It wasn’t just social workers that Muskegon Heights was missing. A different report from a separate complaint says special education students were not given speech and language, physical therapy, mobility and other services. It says teachers didn’t get help they needed for kids with autism, or with visual and hearing impairments. Students also lacked instructional materials they needed to make progress under Michigan’s Merit Curriculum.
Marcie Lipsitt filed that second complaint and she’s waiting on results from a third. Lipsitt heard rumors that there wasn’t any speech therapist in the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System (MHPSA).
“I thought ‘if (students) aren’t receiving speech, they’re clearly not receiving other related services’ and I can file a complaint,” Lipsitt said.
As an advocate for special education students based in Southeast Michigan, she frequently files complaints with the state.
“They deserve a free and appropriate public education as the Michigan Constitution requires for all children,” Lipsitt said.
“I’m not ‘complaint happy.’ I’m never happy about filing a complaint. I file them to fix problems for children,” Lipsitt said.
Lipsitt calls the level of noncompliance at Muskegon Heights schools “unspeakable.” She says she tried to contact Mosaica Education, the company that runs the district, before she filed the complaint. She says she didn’t get a response.
No one from Mosaica would agree to an interview for this story. Alena Zachery-Ross, the equivalent of the district’s superintendent, issued this written statement.
“Muskegon Heights Public School Academy is committed to providing a high quality education to all students. The Academy, along with the Muskegon Area ISD (MAISD), would like to get this complaint resolved and have some of the questionable findings and inconsistencies within it addressed to avoid these issues moving forward. MAISD has sent a letter to MDE to express concerns about the complaint and request a meeting to discuss this matter. We are awaiting a response from MDE and we expect that we will hear back soon.”
One of MDE’s investigations required the district to send letters home this month to parents whose children didn’t receive these services. MDE will require MHPSA to document contact made with these parents and work with those who “wish to develop a plan that addresses educational loss.” Building principals, service providers, and all special education teachers are to undergo training by September.
A history of special ed problems
To be clear, there’s a long history of problems with Muskegon Heights’ special education program.
Dave Sipka is the superintendent of Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, which has an oversight role in Muskegon Heights.
“Unfortunately in this case when a charter company comes into an existing school district with a lot of history you don’t know all the details and you may only find them out as time goes on,” Sipka said.
Sipka’s staff filed complaints against Muskegon Heights Public Schools, before it was taken over and made into a charter district. In one of those investigations, the state found the problems “so pervasive” that it declared the whole special education program systematically non-compliant. That report came out in April 2012, the same month Governor Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager to run the district. By that point MHPS was practically bankrupt.
“It got to the point that (MHPS) was in so much debt that they literally had to pick and choose what they could and couldn’t do,” Sipka said, “Mosaica underestimated the magnitude of the problems that existed previously.”
Lipsitt says the intermediate school district and MDE should have done more to prevent non-compliance from continuing as soon as they knew about violations.
“When I look at this complaint, I look at children who have lost a year of an educational life that no one can give them back. The district can’t give it back. I can’t give it back. The state can’t give it back,” Lispitt said.
Sipka says the solutions are as complicated as the history of problems, and people need to be patient with the process.
“Did we report that to the state immediately? No,” Sipka said, “What we did was try to process that with them first because again this is all new territory for everybody in the state of Michigan – having a charter school district.”
“Mosaica needed to have their act together sooner than they did but with that being said, they have done what I would call a remarkable job in trying to give the services to kids that are needed,” Sipka said.
Sipka says the company has brought in its national special education director. He says the district has been able to fill some vacant special education positions and brought in contractors to help with other services.
MDE Spokeswoman Jan Ellis says there were about 500 noncompliance issues identified in the state during the 2011-12 school year. She the vast majority of school districts involved implemented changes to come into compliance.
“When there are problems our goal is to get them fixed and identify with the district and the intermediate school district what supports are necessary to make that happen,” Ellis said.
Ellis said it’s difficult to say how this set of complaints stacks up against other districts because “each district is unique.” For example, some district have more active parent groups that are more likely to file complaints than others, Ellis said.
“It’s important that all districts are in compliance with state and federal laws, Ellis said, “This is an issue that’s important and needs to be corrected whenever non-compliance issues are found. And we work very diligently between districts and intermediate school districts to see that these issues are resolved.”
“The first emphasis is on kids, not on institutions,” Sipka said, “You have to realize that sometimes institutions do take a while to get it right and I think Mosaica is headed in that right direction.”
MHPS Emergency Manager Don Weatherspoon and the charter district’s board president did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
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I’m curious as to your thoughts on Boston’s upcoming mayoral election. It seems likely that we will end up with a pro-charter “reformer”.
http://www.wbur.org/2013/05/31/education-reform-mayor#comment-915944889
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11-year old takes on Michelle Rhee and Students First over endorsing “Don’t Say Gay” lawmaker endorsement.
“I am Marcel Neergaard, and I am 11 years old. This year I was homeschooled for sixth grade because of severe bullying. If I had gone back to public school, there is a great possibility that I would have taken my own life. That possibility would have grown if a certain bill introduced in my home state of Tennessee had passed into law. This bill was known as the “don’t say gay” bill. Though that bill never became a law, Oak Ridge’s own representative, John Ragan, introduced a new version of the Classroom Protection Act. It is the “don’t say gay” bill, just more homophobic. While he crafted this horrifying bill, he received an award. I wrote a petition to take a stand against this.”
READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcel-neergaard/taking-a-stand-against-anti-gay-bullying_b_3368922.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-studentsfirst-bullying?source=homepage
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An interesting looks at how Wendy Kopp still can’t defeat the expertise of Ravitch. http://phiguritowt.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/the-aspen-institute-wendy-kopps-alliance-against-diane-ravitch/
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Hi Dr. Ravitch – I thought you would be interested in this post about your discussion at The Aspen Institute: http://phiguritowt.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/the-aspen-institute-wendy-kopps-alliance-against-diane-ravitch/l
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I’m sorry, here is the link: http://phiguritowt.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/the-aspen-institute-wendy-kopps-alliance-against-diane-ravitch/
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CALL FOR ACTION: We have word that the president of the Parent Teacher Association is presenting and discussing concerns put forth to her about Common Core with the national board in Washington D.C. today. Currently, the PTA supports Common Core and receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We need all PTA members, parents, teachers, and community members to contact the national PTA office in the next several days. PTA is the nation’s largest volunteer children’s advocacy group and they need to hear from you about how Common Core harms our children. (800)307-4PTA(4782) info@pta.org or contact your state and national PTA leaders directly.
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Diane…I thought you may want to make public the new Draconian edict that was just passed on to science teachers in NYS. Students in NYS who are planning on taking a regents in science, such as Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry or Physics, are required to complete a minimum amount of lab hours to be eligible to take that tegents exam. All the science teachers I know have always gone to great lengths to make sure that their students complete those hours. Unfortunately, there are times where students, despite a teachers best efforts, are unwilling to comply with this requirement. This choice made by a student will now count against a teachers evaluation score. Please read the following:
The Science Teachers Association of New York State, Inc. (STANYS) has taken a position that students who fail to meet the laboratory requirement in science courses that have a Regents exam should not have their exam grade of zero factored into the teacher’s final summative SLO rating. The entire position statement presented on our official letterhead is attached and for your convenience it appears below.
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“NYSED Deputy Commissioner for the Office of P-12 Education, Ken Slentz, recently responded to an inquiry from NYSUT concerning a student who does not qualify to sit for a Regents exam in the sciences because of failing to meet the minimum number of required lab hours. Mr. Slentz stated that, “… the student would receive a 0 and would not meet the target set forth in the SLO. This score would then need to be factored into the teachers final summative SLO rating. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that all students meet lab requirements so that they are able to sit for the Regents exam.”
It is unreasonable for a teacher to be held accountable for a student’s delinquency in submitting satisfactory lab reports reflecting at least 1200 minutes of hands-on lab activities. Classroom teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators take measures to provide all students the maximum potential for satisfying this requirement. Students who are deficient in satisfactory written laboratory reports have reached this situation despite the best efforts of their teachers. Factors that are completely beyond the sphere of influence of classroom teachers are responsible for students who do not qualify to take a Regents exam in the sciences. It is unconscionable for teachers to bear the responsibility of ensuring that all of their students meet the laboratory requirement. This will unfairly penalize teachers and create significant equity issues throughout NY State. Teachers can provide all of the support necessary for their students to meet the lab requirement, but can not guarantee that all students will take ownership for their own academic responsibility to complete and submit satisfactory written lab reports that will permit them to sit for the Regents exam.
In summary, STANYS takes the position that students who fail to meet the laboratory requirement should not have their Regents exam grade of zero factored into the teacher’s final summative SLO rating.”
Lauren Schimko
Math Teacher… North Rockland Central School District
Secretary of The North Rockland Teachers’ Association
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