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Louisiana Educator Explains Why He Opposes Common Core Standards

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2014 //
14

This statement was delivered to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2014/06/statement-to-bese-on-ccss-and-parcc.html

Monday, June 30, 2014

Statement to BESE on CCSS and PARCC

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has scheduled a special meeting On July 1, at 11:30 A.M., to respond to the executive orders by Governor Jindal that would stop the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the related PARCC testing. Assuming that BESE allows the public to comment before taking action, the following is the statement I plan to make before BESE:

My name is Michael Deshotels, and I am a retired Louisiana educator who writes a blog for educators and for parents. I am here to request that BESE consider at least a suspension of Common Core and the related PARCC testing in Louisiana until Louisiana educators can revise and improve our present Louisiana standards. I am talking about the standards that were rated second in the nation by Education Weekly just over 2 years ago. I believe there are several good reasons for a change in policy on CCSS and there is nothing more appropriate than correcting a policy that we have come to understand is wrong and harmful to our students.

There is growing evidence that the CCSS are poorly designed and the implementation of them is a boondoggle. Why would we want to subject our Louisiana students to this unnecessary experiment? Let other states use their children as guinea pigs while we in Louisiana continue and improve our own system.

In January of this year, I asked the readers of my blog to give their opinion on Common Core and PARCC. I have asked that each BESE member be provided with a copy of my post describing the results of the survey, but I will briefly summarize results of that survey here:

2,724 persons responded to the survey which was available on my blog for a 10 day period near the end of January of this year. My estimate is that the majority of persons who answered the survey were educators (because the majority of my readers are educators), but there were a significant number of school board members and parents who found the survey and responded to it also.

A total of 1954 respondents or 72% chose the option that stated the following: “Do away with both CCSS and PARCC and substitute an improved version of GLEs as the standards for all the basic core subjects. Louisiana would implement its own testing as has been done in the past.”

Only 61 respondents, or just 2% chose the option that stated the following: “Implement the CCSS just as has been prescribed by Superintendent John White with the approval of BESE.”

Based on these survey results I believe it is incorrect to say that most educators in our schools are enthusiastic about Common Core and PARCC testing. I believe it would be much more accurate to say that our teachers and school principals, because they are professionals, will do their best to implement the education policy of this state even if they have serious misgivings about the value of such policies. I believe that BESE owes them the respect of coming up with a policy that is more effective and more appropriate for our students than the Common Core and the PARCC testing.

In addition to conducting this survey on CC, I have studied the CC standards in detail and tried to understand how they will actually work in the classroom. It is my best judgment as an educator for over 40 years in this state that the CCSS are not appropriate for the majority of the students in our schools and that continued implementation of these standards and the PARCC testing will do more harm than good to our students. Many of the standards are not age appropriate as has been confirmed by more than 500 early childhood educators, and many of the standards are not practical enough for the majority of our students who pursue technical careers. I believe these standards are a one-size-fits all approach that will not give most Louisiana students the education they need to be successful in their careers and as citizens of Louisiana and the United States.

I have also carefully studied the development of the CCSS and found that no effort whatsoever was made to field test the standards and to modify them to adjust for any deficiencies or weaknesses. We now know that the standards were not developed according to accepted practices for the development and implementation of standards. The Common Core standards were developed mostly by persons who have never set foot in a regular classroom. The standards are not practical. These standards have already failed miserably in New York state where 70% of all students failed the testing related to CCSS.

The creators of Common Core, have claimed that the CCSS will prepare all students (every single one of them) for college and careers, yet there have been no scientific studies whatsoever to determine the truth of this statement. The developers also claim that the CCSS will help reduce the achievement gap between privileged and underprivileged, wealthy and poor, students. But most of the millions of dollars spent on Common Core have been spent promoting the standards and almost nothing to determine if they actually do what is being claimed. On the issue of closing the achievement gap, we now know, based on the first round of testing, that the achievement gap was actually widened instead of narrowed in New York state.

Not one penny of the billions Bill Gates money or the Race to the top money has been spent on finding out if the CCSS actually worked before they were implemented. All of that money has been spent on just selling us and various influential groups on the Common Core . . . . sight unseen. In fact BESE adopted Common Core sight unseen in 2010. Yes BESE adopted the standards before they were even written!

There were no discussions held by BESE for parents and teachers to review the actual CCSS because the specific standards did not exist when they were adopted. So don’t blame the parents who now are complaining about what they have recently seen their children bringing home from school.

I am here as an experienced educator to ask that you do the right thing by listening to the parents and teachers who are telling you that we in Louisiana can do better than the CCSS. We do not need a one-size-fits-all set of standards. We need standards that respect the individual differences among our students and does not attempt to standardize our students. We need standards that respect our teachers and stop dictating every thing they do with a single state test. We need to start reducing the time spent on expensive state testing and endless test prep. Our teachers love to teach and inspire children, not rehearse them for tests!

Education will not come to a halt in Louisiana if this board is willing to take a pause in the rush to these standards and adopt standards that are more appropriate to our state and our students. It was only a few years ago that the LEAP tests did not even exist, and yet our teachers were still educating students even though they were not being forced to prepare students for state tests. Our children are in good hands. They will be better off if we listen to those who have dedicated their careers to educating our children instead of implementing the latest education reform fad promoted by young Bill Gates employees or by persons hired to make standardized tests for the Pearson company.

Thank you.

Categories Common Core, Louisiana

Schneider: Will the Courts in New Mexico Decide Louisiana’s Tests?

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2014 //
0

Mercedes Schneider tells a strange tale about PARCC testing, John White, Bobby Jindal, AIR, and Pearson.

Will AIR’s lawsuit against Pearson in the Arizona courts affect Louisiana’s choice of tests?

Categories Common Core, Louisiana, New Mexico, Testing

Jeb Bush’s Ardent Advocacy for Common Core

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2014 //
18

Conservatives are backing away from Common Core in response to angry parents who see it as a federal takeover of their local schools. Several states have dropped the Common Core assessments or the Common Core standards.

But one conservative is not backing down: Jeb Bush. He has become the flag-bearer for the Common Core. He and Arne Duncan are the most ardent proponents for the embattled national standards.

The Wall Street Journal reports that his gamble is risky in Republican primaries but would be a plus in general elections.

Critics note that the Gates Foundation, which paid to develop the standards, is one of Jeb Bush’s biggest donors, but foundation spokesmen scoff at the suggestion:

“No one doubted that Mr. Bush governed Florida from 1999 to 2007 as a conservative. He cut individual and corporate taxes, signed the “Stand Your Ground” law pushed by gun owners and ended affirmative action in university admissions and state contracting. On education, he spearheaded a law that assigned schools letter grades based on their test scores and required third-graders who couldn’t read to be held back. He also pushed for taxpayer-funded vouchers to let students in failing schools attend private schools, a program that courts struck down.

“As the GOP has shifted to the right, it is tea-party activists who are now among Mr. Bush’s most ardent opponents. In addition to unhappiness with the federal role in education, conservative activists see a corporate connection to the initiative.

“Since 2010, Mr. Bush’s foundation has received $5 million from the Gates Foundation, and it gets donations from companies in the education industry, including Pearson U.K.:Common Core. (News Corp publishes The Wall Street Journal.)

“All Common Core roads lead to K Street,” wrote commentator and activist Michelle Malkin, one of Mr. Bush’s biggest antagonists, referring to the Washington turf of many lobbyists.

“A spokeswoman for the foundation, Jaryn Emhof, rejected criticism over corporate funding. “We have a firewall,” she said. “They don’t get any say over our reform agenda.”

Categories Bush, Jeb, Common Core

PTA Mom: Who Bought the National PTA?

By dianeravitch
June 30, 2014 //
29

In response to a post by Peter Greene (“The Arne Duncan Drinking Game“), this reader describes the National PTA convention in Texas. The National PTA has received $2.5 million from the Gates Foundation, including $500,000 specifically for Common Core. Also, the National PTA provided a screening of the anti-public school “Waiting for Superman” at its annual convention in 2011. Odd.

She writes:

“I was at that PTA convention in Texas and I bit my tongue through his entire speech. I wanted to throw up. I have lost faith in the PTA. While I love what PTA does at a local level for our schools, I am sickened by what I see at the state and National PTA levels. Our voices as members have been sold out to corporate interests, and the top leadership is out of touch with parents today. Most of the top leaders dont even have children in public schools anymore so they think we are overreacting about the excessive testing and problems with common core. The leaders enjoy the power and prestige of their office and won’t listen to parents and teachers.

“Even more alarming, the general meetings at the national PTA convention were sponsored by Discover Card, Microsoft, and Pearson. During the general meetings, attendees were forced to sit through 15 minute commercials about their corporations and hear about their “partnerships” with PTA. The week before the convention, delegates received emails from PTA with advertisements for Pearson, telling us to be sure to stop by Pearson’s booth in the exhibit hall. How much did PTA get to spam our inboxes with marketing? We paid a lot of money to attend that convention, I don’t appreciate my email address being sold like that, especially to Pearson.”

Categories Common Core, Education Industry, For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Parent Groups, Parents, Pearson

Common Core Testing Is No “Game-Changer”

By dianeravitch
June 30, 2014 //
13

Arne Duncan is one of the most fervent advocates of the Common Core standards and testing. As Valerie Strauss explained in this article, Duncan said:

“I am convinced that this new generation of state assessments will be an absolute game-changer in public education. For the first time, millions of schoolchildren, parents, and teachers will know if students are on-track for colleges and careers — and if they are ready to enter college without the need for remedial instruction.”

Nope, the new tests will not be a “game-changer.” States keep pulling out, and more are thinking about following suit.

Strauss writes:

“With Tennessee’s recent departure from PARCC, that consortia is now down to 15 members, 14 states plus D.C. public schools, and Smarter Balance has 22 members.

“An Education Week analysis found that in the next school year, 19 different accountability tests will be given in various states in which, collectively, more than half of America’s students go to school.”

Reminder: there is still NAEP, which has been comparing states’ academic performance since 1992.

Categories Common Core, Duncan, Arne, Testing

Lucy Calkins Vs. David Coleman

By dianeravitch
June 30, 2014 //
166

New York City and Néw York State have enthusiastically embraced the Common Core standards.

In the background, however, is a simmering–one might say boiling battle between literacy guru Lucy Calkins of Teachers College and Common Core architect David Coleman about teaching reading. Calkins supports balanced literacy, Coleman supports close reading.

The city and state adopted materials based on Coleman’s model lesson about teaching the Getysburg Address by analyzing the text.

Calkins described Coleman’s model as “a horrible lesson.” She called him “an expert in branding.” She points out that Coleman is not an educator and has never taught.

NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina has experience with balanced literacy. Her support may tilt the balance to Calkins, who has a devoted following and whose work was in favor during the Klein administration when Farina was deputy chancellor.

Categories Coleman, David, Common Core, Farina, Carmen, New York City

Peter Greene: The Arne Duncan Drinking Game

By dianeravitch
June 29, 2014 //
32

Peter Greene proves himself a man of infinite patience. In this post, he analyzes and deconstructs a speech that Arne Duncan gave to the annual meeting of the PTA.

He writes:

“Arne opens up his speech as pretty much anybody would (Glad to be here! Your organization is great! Let’s here it for your leaders!) and then moves on to tales of his children’s schooling. Their experience was not the typical 25-30 desks in a row. His son got to work ahead in math because, technology. His daughter got to attend a constitutional convention and Civil War day.

[Duncan says]: “But it’s those kinds of opportunities that I think are so special. And why are those experiences so important? Because I think all of us – all of us as parents – want our children to be inspired, to be challenged, to be active participants in their own learning.

“This is not the last time that Arne will say something that is true, but also completely disconnected from the kind of schooling promoted by his department’s policies. I’m pretty sure we can make it a drinking game; every time Arne says something that would make a great basis for educational policy, but US DOE actually does the opposite–drink! Do I need to point out that Arne’s kids attend a school that remains untouched by the policies that are being inflicted on the rest of us?”

See if you can actually wade through this speech.

Categories Common Core, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, U.S. Department of Education

Schneider: What Bill Gates Told the Washington Post About Common Core

By dianeravitch
June 28, 2014 //
20

On June 7, Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post wrote a blockbuster article about how Bill Gates pulled off the Common Core coup, which the headline calls “the swift Common Core revolution.” In a short period of time, less time than it takes a state to write standards in one subject, the U.S. suddenly had “national standards,” written and then adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia. The secret, revealed in Layton’s article: Gates paid for everything, and the U.S. Department of Education used Race to the Top funding as an incentive for states to adopt CCSS. Layton credits Gates with spending some $200 million for the writing, implementation, and advocacy of CCSS, but others believe that Gates’ investment was $2.3 billion. Whether $200 million or $2.3 billion, Gates bought control of standards, curriculum, and assessment in the vast majority of American public schools. Almost every major national organization and education policy group accepted Gates funding to promote CCSS. The Common Core standards were Gates-led, not state-led.

Layton interviewed many people for the article. Her interview with Gates was attached to the article as a video.

Mercedes Schneider transcribed the interview and posted it here. Schneider is writing a book about the origins of the Common Core.

Categories Common Core, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates

Breaking News: Jindal’s Lawyer Says Governor Has Right to Drop Common Core and PARCC

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2014 //
13

Stephanie Simon reports at politico.com that Governor Bobby Jindal’s lawyer advised him he has the right to withdraw Louisiana from the Common Core and the federally-funded PARCC tests.

State Superintendent John White said in an interview that Jindal was wrong. He went even further and accused the governor of breaking the law: “State Superintendent John White has accused the governor of breaking the law, trampling the state constitution and crushing the dreams of low-income minority students by rejecting the Common Core and scrapping plans to give students new exams aligned to the standards.”

“White said his attorneys are reviewing the legal memo. His team is also working to compile reams of documentation about the state’s contacts with PARCC and its plans to administer the PARCC test — including invoices, contracts, meeting minutes, calendar entries, memos and emails.”

Jindal can’t fire White. White works for the state board of education. This is one of the most startling developments in the saga of the Common Core: a governor who signed the memorandum to adopt the Common Core and now wants out vs. the state superintendent, who is fighting to keep the Common Core and tests.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/jindal-ally-blasts-common-core-illegal-108321.html#ixzz35mTvI6H1

Categories Common Core, Jindal, Bobby, Louisiana, Testing

Politico Reports: John White Blasts Governor Jindal

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2014 //
15

Stephanie Simon interviewed State Superintendent John White, who blasted Governor Bobby Jindal for dropping Common Core and PARCC testing. White said that Jindal was denying children their “civil rights.” Isn’t it weird how these privatizers like to use “civil rights” as a rhetorical weapon without any meaning? It used to refer to the right to attend a desegregated school, the right to vote, the right to be equal before the law, now it is allegedly means the right to take the same standardized test? Since it is a well-demonstrated fact that standardized tests favor those whose family income and family education are high, one could easily argue that a concern for civil rights requires an education in which standardized tests are minimized or completely absent.

Here is the summary of the Simon interview. It links to politico.pro, a website with a big paywall. I inquired about subscribing and was told it costs $3,400. [Breaking: Stephanie Simon informed that the story about the interview is now available free, not behind a paywall. It is here.]

“JINDAL TAKING FIRE: Louisiana State Superintendent John White told POLITICO in an interview that Gov. Bobby Jindal is breaking the law, trampling the state constitution and crushing the dreams of low-income and minority students by trying to scrap the Common Core and PARCC exams. The two state leaders previously worked hand-in-hand on far-reaching education reforms, expanding the state’s school voucher program and standing together during a federal investigation into the program. Jindal and White lambasted the Obama administration for investigating the voucher program, saying the federal government was violating the civil rights of the mostly black, low-income students in the program. But now White is turning that rhetoric on Jindal. “It is high irony,” White said, “that people who support the civil right to choose a school don’t support the civil right to have all students take the same test.” He added pointedly: “Lowering expectations comes in many forms.” Stephanie Simon has the story: http://politico.pro/1wzkUoY”

“- Jindal spokesman Mike Reed dismissed White’s allegations. White’s education department is violating the law, he said. “These accusations are silly,” Reed said. “Under Louisiana law, the Louisiana Department of Education is required to issue a request for a proposal for an assessment, and the department has not done that. The department needs to abide by Louisiana law, do its job and issue an RFP.”

Categories Common Core, Jindal, Bobby, Louisiana, Testing
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