Andrew Delbanco of Columbia University contrasts the recent books
by Michelle Rhee and me in the New York Review of Books.
Read it and let me know what you think.
Archives for category: Education Industry
Yes, there are charter schools that serve all kids. Yes, there are good charter schools that are not trying to drive the public schools out of existence.
But then there are the profiteers, who have spotted the charter industry as a chance to make money.
Surprise of surprises, this critical review of the profiteers appears in Forbes magazine. Fat City, indeed!
Regular readers of this blog know some of these stories. They know about green cards for foreign nationals who invest in charter schools. They know about the New Market Tax Credits. They know that sports figures without any educational qualifications are opening charter schools instead of summer camps. They know that the online corporation K12 pays its CEO$5 million, but did you know his pay is tied to recruitment, not to academic performance?
A few more new items:
“Charter schools are frequently a way for politicians to reward their cronies. In Ohio, two firms operate 9% of the state’s charter schools and are collecting 38% of the state’s charter school funding increase this year. The operators of both firms donate generously to elected Republicans.”
And:
“The history of publicly traded charter school firms is limited and ugly. Edison Schools traded publicly from 1999-2003. During that period, it reported one profitable quarter. Shares reached nearly $40 in early 2001… only to crash to 14 cents.”
And this:
“For now, the big money in charter schools is confined to those on the inside. In late 2010, Goldman Sachs announced it would lend $25 million to develop 16 charter schools in New York and New Jersey. The news release said the loans would be “credit-enhanced by funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.” Of course.”
And this:
“In Florida, the for-profit school industry flooded legislative candidates with $1.8 million in donations last year. “Most of the money,” reports The Miami Herald, “went to Republicans, whose support of charter schools, vouchers, online education and private colleges has put public education dollars in private-sector pockets.”
But, as the article says, both Democrats and Republicans have joined the game.
Chiara sends this good news from Michigan, where more than 80% of charters operate for profit and entire districts have been given to for-profit chains.
We will awaken the public, we will organize, the politicians will follow, and we will win.
Chair a writes:
“Challenger in Michigan governor’s race calls for transparency and accountability in charter schools:
He’s the first I’ve seen using this issue in a campaign. Michigan has a big for-profit K-12 industry at this point, they have whole districts that are completely privatized, so I’m not surprised it started there. It’s great to see that he’s talking about what they’re spending on advertising.
Should be interesting to see if this spreads to the neighboring big for-profit K-12 ed state, Ohio.”
This is an important summary of the failure of the charter school movement in Ohio, from the Ohio Coalition for Education and Adequacy:
A “noble” experiment to force the improvement of the public common school: Fifteen years and $7 billion dollars later the charter school gamble has not made the grade.
9/24/2013
The Department of Education’s ranking of schools and districts reveals that 83 out of the bottom 84 schools are charter schools. Of course, the head of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools cautions against placing too much importance on the DOE ranking. The reality is that, on the average, charter schools preform less well on the state’s accountability criteria than traditional public schools.
Persons who were involved in public education in the late 1990s will recall the rhetoric from charter school advocates. The charter schools, they said, being free of many state regulations and school district bureaucracies, would advance innovation and creativity which would produce exemplary results. These schools would then inform the traditional public schools on how to improve education programs and services.
Later the charter school rhetoric changed to platitudes about the efficacy of competition, choice and market forces. But none of these threadbare reform notions produced, except in very rare cases, charter school results that outperform traditional public schools. Hence, traditional public schools are drained of much needed funds, and students in charter schools suffer from less favorable educational opportunities.
One of the reasons that the charter school movement has played out this way is that management companies have hijacked this endeavor. Ohio is considered a great “cash cow” environment by the folks who view education as a money making enterprise. No doubt, at this moment in time, there are entrepreneurial groups plotting how to profit from Ohio taxes set aside for public education.
27 management companies operate charter schools in Ohio. Of those 27, 19 are for-profit companies. Of the 19 for-profit companies, half of them are out-of-state corporations; hence, they take a Brink’s truckload of school district money out of Ohio in the form of profits each year.
Charter schools, on the average, have higher pupil-teacher ratios and pay teachers about half as much as traditional public schools. This most likely has a negative impact on the retirement systems.
Many in the public education community believe nothing can be done to stop this non-transparent, non-accountable movement. If the citizens of Ohio had the facts about charter school operations and results, politicians would have to make them more accountable and transparent or they would be voted out of office. It is imperative that the public school community make the facts about charter schools available to school patrons and the general public.
William Phillis
Ohio E & A
When should children get on track for college and careers? Is third grade too late? How about kindergarten? Or pre-kindergarten? Or in the womb? It is never too soon, according to those with products you must buy now.
This teacher describes the latest sales pitch:
“The other day I received an email from Pearson promoting their PreK curriculum: OWL: Opening the World of Learning (2011). While the program may be good (I have not seen it to review it), the promotional materials on the website just set me off: “College and Career Readiness Starts in Pre-K”. That section heading infuriated me.
“I am so sick of hearing how we preschool teachers have to prepare kids for Common Core in kindergarten. All of my students need intensive support for their developmental delays in communication, motor, readiness, and/or behavior.
“I am more focused on assisting them in their play explorations, language and counting development. The LAST thing I need to be reminded of is that they are on the track to college and career readiness!”
[Forgive the posting of the headline with no text. I am at NY1, our local all-news station. No sooner did I put in the headline when I was called in to be interviewed by Sam Roberts of the New York Times. I closed my iPad, and the blank post flew into cyberspace. ]
The Atlantic has a comprehensive article about the education wars in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The Democratic machine was shocked by the victory of the insurgent slate, which made clear that they are not fans of Paul Vallas. Of course, there is a fascinating backstory, and the article represents it fairly.
Most fascinating is that the article speculates that the Bridgeport election may indicate that the tide is turning against the corporate style of testing-accountability-privatization-teacher-bashing. Not just in Bridgeport. The public is catching on.
When the public catches on and demands change, the politicians follow.
With the election of Bill de Blasio in New York City, the discrediting of the grading system in Indiana, the resignation of Tony Bennett, the defeat of the deceptive parent trigger in Florida twice by Florida parents, the voter rejection of vouchers last fall in Florida, the indictment of the biggest virtual charter operator in Pennsylvania, the rejection of the Luna laws in Idaho……drip, drip, drip, drip.
I know a mole inside the New York City Department of Education. He/she knows how the DOE manipulates data to burnish the mayor’s image. This is a good reason to oppose mayoral control of the schools. He/she says the mayor’s small schools close with regularity; that the data cannot be trusted; that the Department has shown preference to charter schools but they got lower scores on the Common Core tests than the public schools.
Most shocking: the DOE intends to delete all the emails on its computers.
Quick, someone file a FOIL before it’s too late.
The mole writes:
“A Bad Business: The Bankruptcy of Education Policy”
Mike Bloomberg, in his recent interview with the magazine New York, admitted to following the companies run by his friends as economic barometers of New York City’s conditions. According to his website, “Mike has made education reform the focal point of his agenda,” an agenda dominated by applying business ideas to New York City’s schools.
Are the profit margins of huge corporations truly “indicators,” as Bloomberg claims, of how the citizens of New York City are doing? Does his application of business ideas actually improve schools for children? Let’s examine the evidence to see how the next mayor can do better.
Day trader versus business owner. Under Bloomberg, the bureaucrats at Tweed see themselves as “portfolio managers.” Just like day traders, they take no responsibility for the success or failure of the shares in their portfolio. They close and open schools, just like a day trader flips stocks. They refuse to take ownership of the schools under their charge and decline to commit to ensuring their success. Of course, in this case, the stock shares are schools with roots in a community and tens of thousands of children. What do the numbers say is the end result all this? The schools opened under Bloomberg are shuttered at the same rate as older schools, leading to an overall profit of zero. What should the next mayor do? Like a small-business owner who works as hard as possible to ensure her business succeeds, he must put children first and hold the education bureaucrats accountable for the success of each and every school in New York City.
Enron-like accounting practices versus independent auditor. Under Bloomberg, the Department of Education fudges and manipulates numbers to serve their political ends. They refuse to open up their complete data sets to independent researchers at universities who publish results in peer-reviewed journals. Sometimes they release limited data to friendly “think” tanks or to organizations that need to maintain their good will. These paid advertisers publish favorable “reports” in order to continue to have access to the seemingly top secret data.
Now they plan on deleting all emails from the Department of Education right before Bloomberg leaves office, just like Arthur Anderson and Enron.
What is the end result of all this? Bloomberg touts false numbers as “evidence” of “success” while the voices of independent researchers are silenced. For example, Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, was refused access to data after finding that the achievement gap did not close under Bloomberg.
What should the next mayor do? Just like an honest business has its results audited by an independent accounting firm, he must put children first and create an independent panel of researchers who are guaranteed full access to all DOE data. The reports of the panel should be made public and should inform education policy decisions in the city.
Crony capitalism versus fair business practices. Under Bloomberg, select schools are favored and granted unfair financial advantages over other schools. New schools that opened under Bloomberg are given more money per student than other schools. Charter schools are given more money per student, including free-of-charge public school space, than other schools. Favored schools are granted extra money through mysterious appeals and special grants. This is similar to business practices in corrupt countries where relatives and friends of the ruling family are granted monopolies and other unfair advantages in business.
What should the next mayor do? He should put children first and institute a set of fair business practices under which all schools receive the full share of funding they are entitled to based on the students they serve.
Buyer beware versus fiduciary duty. For years credit card companies and other financial firms used small print and legalese to rip-off customers. Companies are now required to abide by consumer rights laws. Under Bloomberg, a complicated and frustrating high school application process has been deceptively advertised as choice for students. While some parents and students have the time and patience to navigate the process others do not.
What is the end result? Vast differences in student enrollment patterns between schools. The 10% of schools with the highest special education enrollment rates average 27.4% students with special needs. The 10% of schools with the lowest special education enrollment rates average 4.5% students with special needs. The 10% of schools with the highest English Language Learner enrollment rates average 40.8% (not including specialized schools for new immigrants). The 10% of schools with the lowest English Language Learner enrollment rates average 1%. Screened and specialized schools have a student body that is extremely unrepresentative of New York City’s children.
What should the next mayor do? He must put children first and ensure that every student has the opportunity to attend a quality school with a diverse student body that allows students to build the skills needed to function in our global economy and international city.
False advertising versus truth in advertising. Under Bloomberg, schools were supposedly being run along the lines of a business. It is now clear that this was false advertising and the “business” practices employed have bankrupted many a corporation. Ideology has determined policy rather than data and evidence.
Charter schools were touted as putting public schools to shame while the data showing that charters do not serve similar student populations and get rid of underperforming students was ignored. Then the test scores of the new common core exams were released and charter schools performed significantly worse than public schools. This data was ignored.
If Coca Cola had followed a similar “business” approach they would have continued to market “New Coke” and bankrupted the entire company. What should the next mayor do? He must put children first and ensure that all children have access to a quality early childhood education program. The economic data shows such programs have very high returns on investment and more than pay for themselves over time. We need a mayor who is willing to employ honest business practices such as ownership, honest accounting, fairness, and responsibility to the consumer in improving our schools.
FAIRTEST has warned about the misuse of standardized testing for
years. As an organization, it serves an invaluable purpose and
exists on a shoe string. It should be funded by Gates, Broad, and
Walton. Instead it is funded by you. Here is FAIRTEST’s chronology
of Pearson’s testing errors over the years.
PEARSON’S HISTORY OF TESTING
PROBLEMS
compiled by Bob Schaeffer, Public
Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair
& Open Testing
Update August 14,
2013
1998
California – test score delivery
delayed 1999-2000
Arizona – 12,000 tests misgraded due to flawed
answer key 2000
Florida – test score delivery delayed resulting
in $4 million fine 2000
Minnesota – misgraded 45,739 graduation tests
leads to lawsuit with $11 million settlement – judge found “years
of quality control problems” and a “culture emphasizing
profitability and cost-cutting.”http://www.news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200211/25_pugmiret_testsettle/
FairTest consulted with plaintiffs’ attorneys)
2000 Washington
– 204,000 writing WASL exams rescored
2002 Florida — dozens of
school districts received no state grades for their 2002 scores
because of a “programming error” at the DOE. One Montessori school
never received scores because NCS Pearson claimed not to have
received the tests.
2005 Michigan — scores delayed and
fines levied per contract
2005 Virginia — computerized test
misgraded – five students awarded $5,000 scholarships http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8014/is_20051015/ai_n41291590/
2005-2006 SAT college
admissions test – 4400 tests wrongly scored; $3 million
settlement after lawsuit (note FairTest was an expert witness for
plaintiffs)
2008
South Carolina –“Scoring Error Delays School
Report Cards” The State, November 14, 2008
2008-2009 Arkansas —
first graders forced to retake exam because real test used for
practice 2009-2010
Wyoming – Pearson’s new computer adaptive PAWS
flops; state declares company in “complete default of the
contract;” $5.1 million fine accepted after negotiations but not
pursued by state governor http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_d7fae426-7358-5000-a86b-aefcae258a2a.html
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_263ceb44-833a-11e0-911d-001cc4c002e0.html
2010 Florida –
test score delivery delayed by more than a month – nearly $15
million in fines imposed and paid. School superintendents still
question score accuracy —
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-hits-fcat-contractor-pearson-with-another-12-million-in-penalties/1110688
2010 Minnesota
–– results from online science tests taken by 180,000
students delayed due to scoring error http://www.twincities.com/ci_15533234?nclick_check=1#
2011 Florida –
some writing exams delivered to districts without cover sheets,
revealing subject students would be asked to write about http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/testing/testmaker-pearson-replaces-faulty-fcats-missing-cover-sheets/1153508
2011 Florida –
new computerized algebra end-of-course exam delivery system crashes
on first day of administration http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-05-17/features/os-algebra-test-pearson-problems-20110517_1_tests-algebra-high-schools
2011 Oklahoma –
“data quality issues” cause “unacceptable” delay in score delivery
— http://newsok.com/errors-in-testing-data-hold-up-results-for-oklahoma-districts-students/article/3597297
Pearson ultimately replaced by CTB/McGraw Hill
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120714_19_A1_Afters391504
2011 Guam –
score release delayed because results based on flawed
comparison data; government seeks reimbursement — http://www.guampdn.com/article/20111021/NEWS01/110210303
2011 Iowa –
State Ethics and Campaign Finance Disclosure Board opens
investigation of Iowa Education Department director Jason Glass for
participating in all-expenses-paid trip to Brazil sponsored by
Pearson Foundation — http://news.yahoo.com/formal-complaint-against-iowa-education-chief-190455698.html
2011 New York –
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenas financial records from
Pearson Education and Pearson Foundation concerning their
sponsorship of global junkets for dozens of state education leaders
— http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/education/new-york-attorney-general-is-investigating-pearson-education.html
2011 Wyoming –
Board of Education replaces Pearson as state’s test vendor after
widespread technical problems with online exam
(http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/state-education-officials-choose-new-paws-vendor/article_6ba18e9f-858c-5846-8274-db31c13494c1.html)
2012 New York –
“Pineapple and the Hare” nonsense test question removed from exams
after bloggers demonstrate that it was previously administered in
at least half a dozen other states – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/nyregion/standardized-testing-is-blamed-for-question-about-a-sleeveless-pineapple.html
2012 New York –
More than two dozen additional errors found in New York State tests
developed by Pearson — http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304203604577394492500145150.html
2012 Florida –
After percentage of fourth grades found “proficient” plunges from
81% to 27% in one year, state Board of Education emergency meeting
“fixes” scores on FCAT Writing Test by changing definition of
proficiency. http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Passing-score-lowered-for-FCAT-Writing-exam/-/1637132/13396234/-/k1ckc2z/-/index.html
2012 Virginia –
Error on computerized 3rd and
6th grade SOL tests causes state to offer
free retakes. http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Error_on_SOL_Reading_Test_Gives_Students_Option_to_Retake_154191285.html
2012 New York –
Parents have their children boycott “field test” of new exam
questions because of concerns about Pearson’s process http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=322122
2012 Oklahoma –
After major test delivery delays, state replaces Pearson
as its testing contractor http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20120714_19_A1_Afters391504
2012 New York –
More than 7,000 New York City elementary and middle school students
wrongly blocked from graduation by inaccurate “preliminary scores”
on Pearson tests http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ed_blunder_mad_grads_JI2z8N6tA6Td0FGiwYSraP
2012 New York –
State officials warn Pearson about potential fines if tests have
more errors http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/fines-bad-questions-state-tests-article-1.1187220
2012
Mississippi – Pearson pays $623,000 for scoring
error repeated over four years that blocked graduation for five
students and wrongly lowered scores for 121 others http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121025/NEWS01/310240052/Pearson-North-America-scoring-error-prevented-5-Mississippi-students-from-graduating-affected-121-others
2012 Texas –
Pearson computer failure blocks thousands of students from taking
state-mandated exam by displaying error message at log on http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-education/computer-glitch-prevents-some-texas-students-from-/nTMCP/
2013 New York –
Passages from Pearson textbooks appear in Pearson-designed
statewide test, giving unfair advantage to students who used those
materials http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/practice-material-found-upstate-exams-article-1.1321448
2013 New York –
Pearson makes three test scoring mistakes blocking nearly 5,000
students from gifted-and-talented program eligibility http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/education/score-corrections-qualify-nearly-2700-more-pupils-for-gifted-programs.html
2013 Worldwide
– Pearson VUE testing centers around the globe experience major
technical problems, leaving thousands unable to take scheduled
exams or register for new ones http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/26/pearson-vue-test-centers-experience-major-problems
2013 New York –
Second error found in New York City gifted-and-talented test
scoring makes 300 more students eligible for special programs http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/education/new-error-found-in-test-scoring-for-gifted-programs.html
2013 England, Wales and
Northern Ireland – General Certificate of Secondary
Education exam in math leaves out questions and duplicates some
others http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10118879/Exam-board-apologises-over-GCSE-test-paper-blunder.html
2013 Texas –
State Auditor finds inadequate monitoring of Pearson’s contract:
vendor determined costs of assessment changes without sufficient
oversight and failed to disclose hiring nearly a dozen former state
testing agency staff http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/16/state-auditor-finds-testing-contract-oversight-lac/
2013 Virginia –
4,000 parents receive inaccurate test scorecards due to Pearson
error in converting scores to proficiency levels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/pearson-miscalculates-scorecards-for-more-than-4000-va-students/2013/08/13/5620cc42-042d-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html
Thank goodness for reporters like Jessica Califati of the Star-Ledger in New Jersey!
In this report, she shows how the for-profit K12 corporation has a sweet deal running the Newark Prep Charter School. With only 150 students, the school is paying K12 nearly $500,000 in taxpayer dollars for its services.
The deal is very favorable to K12. If the school wants to cancel the contract, it must give 18 months notice. If K12 wants to cancel, it need give only 60 days notice.
A teacher who left the school complained that she was assigned to “help” 60 students, which was too many.
K12 made profits of $30 million last year. It’s CEO, from McKinsey and Gpldman Sachs, was paid. $5 million, based not on academic results but enrollment.
K12 is under investigation for inflating enrollments to collect higher reimbursements from the state:
“A preliminary report by the Florida Education Department’s inspector general found the company asked employees to teach subjects not covered by their certification and inflated its enrollment. An online charter school in Colorado recently severed its relationship with the company after state auditors found K12 Inc. overcharged the state for students whose enrollment could not be verified.”
In an article in the New York Times magazine, Joel Klein asserted that his company’s products were needed because spending on education had doubled in recent decades had doubled but achievement remained flat. This assertion was wrong but went unchallenged.
In this article, Richard Rothstein of the Economic Policy Institute sets the record straight.
