Archives for category: For-Profit
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

NPR Lauds Pitbull’s Charter Money Pit

By dianeravitch
October 16, 2013 //
9

I never thought I would see the day when NPR ran a story complimenting a misogynist rapper for opening a charter school. This rapper, who calls himself Pitbull, writes lyrics that are too filthy to repeat on NPR or on this blog.

But there is Claudio Sanchez, reporting on the charming phenomenon that celebrities who are not educators and who apparently have no education themselves are opening charter schools! Isn’t that wonderful! Shouldn’t we all be impresssed!

Well, no, it is not that Mr. Pitbull has a heart overflowing with love of children or love of learning. He is making a lot of money. Fortunately for the readers of this blog, we have read Jersey Jazzman and Mother Crusader, both of whom did the sort of research that NPR did not do. Mr. Pitbull has another name: Armando Perez. In Jersey Jazzman’s article, you will see Mr. Pitbull-Perez has hired Academica, a for-profit charter chain with revenues of $158 million, to run his new charter school. Academica is owned by Mr. Fernando Zulueta, who controls some $115 million in real estate in Miami, all exempt from property taxes because his for-profit schools are “public.”

The story–and the money trail–gets way more complicated, but NPR did not see fit to discover any of the backers of Mr. Pitbull’s school.

The story gets entangled in Florida Republican politics, as Mother Crusader shows.

As always, it is a good thing to follow the money. Who is putting up the money, who is getting the money, who is making out like bandits?

But there is a lingering question: Why does anyone think it is a good idea for celebrities to open their own schools and to get public dollars for their profitable vanity project? How are we supposed to “outcompete” the globe by turning our children over to uneducated sports stars and rappers?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Privatization

Arne Duncan Blasts Critics of His Reforms as “Armchair Pundits”

By dianeravitch
October 1, 2013 //
85

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan blasted critics of Race to the Top and his “reforms” as “armchair pundits.”

Anthony Cody writes about his remarks here and reproduces part of his remarks (not the part where he boasts of his many “accomplishments” as Secretary of Education). I expect he made no reference to the high levels of demoralization among teachers and principals documented by the annual MetLife survey. But, hey, disruption is part of the plan, right? Pushing out the veterans is not counted a bad thing in Arne’s play book. He likes the nimble kids who stay two years, then leave.

Does Duncan think that teachers and principals are armchair pundits?

Does he think that researchers who have demonstrated the futility of value-added assessments like Linda Darling-Hammond (candidate Obama’s education advisor in 2008) are armchair pundits?

Does he think that researchers like David Berliner, who has studied the effects of poverty on academic achievement for decades, is an armchair pundit?

I guess he means me. I have studied the history and politics of American education for more than forty years. It is true that I believe what Duncan calls “reform” is a disaster that is demoralizing teachers and principals, harming communities, and doing incalculable damage to American education. I explain why I believe this in my new book, “Reign of Error.” I document everything I write.

I would like Secretary Duncan to explain why he thinks that more testing and more standardization and more charter schools is better than placing his bets on the research-based recommendations in my book.

I would like him to explain why the Obama administration’s education policies are so closely aligned–nearly identical–to the failed NCLB policies.

Looking for common ground.

Categories Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, For-Profit, Poverty, Privatization, Race to the Top

Charter School Scandal in DC at Expense of Kids with Disabilities

By dianeravitch
October 1, 2013 //
22

Emma Brown of The Washington Post reports on an outrageous scandal at the city’s oldest charter school:

“Former senior managers and the board chairwoman of the Options Public Charter School for at-risk youths diverted millions of taxpayer dollars that were meant to fund programs for students, according to a lawsuit District authorities filed Tuesday.

“The lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court claims that three former managers, the school’s board chairwoman — Channel 9 news personality J.C. Hayward — and a senior official at the D.C. Public Charter School Board concocted an elaborate contracting scam that led to improper payments of more than $3 million since 2012. It alleges that the group of school leaders engaged in a “pattern of self-dealing” that included large payments to for-profit companies that the managers founded while running the school.”

And more from the story:

“The city’s charter board launched an investigation of Options on Aug. 19, days after The Washington Post submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking contracts between the school and two for-profit companies founded and controlled by its senior managers: Exceptional Education Management Corp. (EEMC) and Exceptional Education Services (EES).

“Those contracts and other payments to the companies — including a $2.8 million contract for management services during the 2013-2014 school year — are at the heart of the District’s case against Options.

“The senior managers who allegedly co-founded the two companies are the former executive director, Donna Montgomery, who was paid an annual salary of $254,679, according to the school’s 2011 tax return; former clinical director David Cranford, who made $202,443; and former general counsel Paul S. Dalton, who was paid $146,372.”

The school enrolled 400 students in middle- or high school, most of whom have disabilities.

The apparent misuse of public funds was a pattern.

“Jeremy L. Williams, who was the chief financial officer of the D.C. Public Charter School Board until August, also allegedly aided the scheme. He “regularly forwarded confidential, internal PCSB e-mails” to the three managers, including e-mails alerting them to a planned inspection of Options that was meant to be a surprise.

“Williams, who also served on Options’s board of trustees, also allegedly maneuvered to ensure that EEMC’s largest contract, for $2.8 million, would not be reviewed by PCSB staff. He is now the company’s chief financial officer.”

This is a sickening story.

Categories Charter Schools, For-Profit, Scandals Fraud and Hoaxes

Forbes: All Aboard the Charter School Gravy Train!

By dianeravitch
September 25, 2013 //
8

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.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, For-Profit

Evidence: The Tide Is Turning!

By dianeravitch
September 25, 2013 //
19

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:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130905/OPINION05/309050100/mark-schauer-education-charter-schools-reform

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.”

Categories Education Industry, For-Profit, Michigan

The Failure of Charter Schools in Ohio, $7 Billion Later

By dianeravitch
September 24, 2013 //
20

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

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Ohio

FAIRTEST: Pearson’s History of Test Foul Ups

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2013 //
29

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

Categories Education Industry, For-Profit, Pearson, Testing

How For-Profit Prisons Rip Off The Public

By dianeravitch
September 18, 2013 //
20

Media Advisory: September 19, 2013
Contact: Richard Allen Smith / rasmith@inthepublicinterest.org / (202) 327-8435
** MEDIA ADVISORY **

New Report: Shocking 65 PERCENT of For-Profit Prison Contracts Include “Lockup Quotas” and “Low-Crime Taxes” to Guarantee Profits

In the Public Interest report will expose contract language guaranteeing 80-100 percent prison occupancy and forcing taxpayers to pay a penalty for empty beds.

(Washington, DC) – On Thursday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. EDT, In the Public Interest (ITPI) will host a tele-briefing to unveil a new report titled “Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and Low-Crime Taxes Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations.” The study will document the shocking prevalence of contract language between private prison companies and state and local governments that either guarantee prison occupancy rates (“lockup quotas”) or force taxpayers to pay for empty beds if the prison population falls due to lower crime rates or other factors (“low-crime taxes”).

Major findings of the ITPI study include:

Of the 62 private prison contracts ITPI received and analyzed, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) include occupancy guarantees and force taxpayers to pay for empty prison beds if the lockup quota is not met.
Lockup quotas in private prison contracts range between 80 and 100 percent; 90 percent is the most frequent occupancy guarantee requirement.
Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Virginia have the highest occupancy guarantee requirements, with quotas requiring between 95 and 100 percent occupancy.
WHAT: Tele-briefing to unveil “Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and ‘Low-Crime Taxes’ Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations”

WHO: Shar Habibi, Research and Policy Director, In the Public Interest

Justin Jones, Former Director, Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Alex Friedman, Managing Editor of Prison Legal News, a project of the Human Rights Defense Center

Reverend Michael McBride, Director, Urban Strategies and Lifelines to Healing, PICO National Network

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013 – 1 p.m. EDT
DIAL: 866-952-1907
Conference ID is “PRISONS”

###

In the Public Interest is a comprehensive resource center on outsourcing and responsible contracting. It is committed to equipping citizens, public officials, advocacy groups, and researchers with the information, ideas, and other resources they need to ensure that public contracts with private entities are transparent, fair, well-managed, and effectively monitored, and that those contracts meet the long-term needs of communities.

In the Public Interest, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20006

Categories For-Profit, Privatization

K12 Gets Hefty Profit to Run Newark Virtual Charter School

By dianeravitch
September 17, 2013 //
21

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.”

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, For-Profit, New Jersey

Amanda Ripley Vs. Joel Klein

By dianeravitch
September 14, 2013 //
44

In the article in Sunday’s New York Times magazine about the introduction of Joel Klein/Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify tablet, Klein asserts that those who oppose his views on technology are ideological, not evidence-based.

Klein asserts that we can’t hope to compete with Korea and other nations with high test scores unless we put kids on his tablets.

But here is a contrary view, forwarded to me by Will Fitzhugh of The Concord Review.

It is an excerpt from Amanda Ripley’s new book, The Smartest Kids in the World:

 

...But the anecdotal evidence suggests that Americans waste an extraordinary 
amount of tax money on high-tech toys for teachers and students, most of which 
have no proven learning value whatsoever....“In most of the highest-performing 
systems, technology is remarkably absent from classrooms.”

ignore shiny objects 

Old-school can be good school. Eric’s high school in Busan, South Korea, had 
austere classrooms with bare-bones computer labs. Out front, kids played soccer 
on a dirt field. From certain angles, the place looked like an American school 
from the 1950s. Most of Kim’s classrooms in Finland looked the same way: rows of 
desks in front of a simple chalkboard or an old-fashioned white board, the kind 
that was not connected to anything but the wall. 

Tom’s school in Poland didn’t even have a cafeteria, let alone a 
state-of-the-art theater, like his public school back home in Pennsylvania. In 
his American school, every classroom had an interactive white board, the kind 
that had become ubiquitous in so many American schools. (In fact, when I visited 
Tom’s American high school in 2012, these boards were already being swapped for 
next-generation replacements.) None of the classrooms in his Polish school had 
interactive white boards. 

Little data exists to compare investments in technology across countries, 
unfortunately. But the anecdotal evidence suggests that Americans waste an 
extraordinary amount of tax money on high-tech toys for teachers and students, 
most of which have no proven learning value whatsoever. As in all other 
industries, computers are most helpful when they save time or money, by helping 
to sort out what kids know and who needs help. Conversely, giving kids 
expensive, individual wireless clickers so that they can vote in class would be 
unthinkable in most countries worldwide. (In most of the world, kids just raise 
their hands and that works out fine.) 

“In most of the highest-performing systems, technology is remarkably absent from 
classrooms,” Andreas Schleicher, the OECD international education guru, told me. 
“I have no explanation why that is the case, but it does seem that those systems 
place their efforts primarily on pedagogical practice rather than digital 
gadgets.” In the survey conducted for this book, seven out of ten international 
and American exchange students agreed that U.S. schools had more technology. Not 
one American student surveyed said there was significantly less technology in 
U.S. schools. The smartest countries prioritize teacher pay and equity 
(channeling more resources to the neediest students). When looking for a 
world-class education, remember that people always matter more than props.

Ripley, Amanda (2013-08-13). The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got 
That Way (pp. 214-215). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Technology, Computers
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »