Archives for category: For-Profit
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Brilliant! Opposite Day in Ohio with StudentsFirst

By dianeravitch
December 12, 2012 //
16

This may be the best blog post of the year. Read it. It is priceless!

Welcome to Opposite Day in Ohio!

Veteran educator Maureen Reedy explains what “education reform” meant on Opposite Day.

This is the day when StudentsFirst came to the Ohio Legislature to tout the virtues of charter schools, even though public schools in Ohio far outperform charters. The bottom performing 111 schools in the state of Ohio last year were all charter schools. Opposite Day!

And when StudentsFirst claimed that great teachers could teach 100 or more children online, even though Ohio already has poorly performing online charters. Opposite Day!

And when an employee of StudentsFirst boldly claimed that teaching is not a profession. Opposite Day!

Please read. This story should be on Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow and the Newshour. John Merrow, are you there?

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Ohio, On-Line Education, Privatization, Rhee, Michelle, StudentsFirst

The Financial Benefits of the Crisis in Education

By dianeravitch
December 11, 2012 //
19

Jeff Bryant writes here of the uses of a crisis.

When everything is terrible, terrible, and getting worse, the public can be convinced to go along with any crazy idea, even to hand their children over to for-profit entrepreneurs.

The next crisis, he predicts, will occur when the results of Common Core testing come in, as they already have in Kentucky. There, the proportion of students meeting proficiency levels dropped by nearly one-third and the achievement gaps grew larger. This is a crisis! More proof that our schools are failing!

As Rick Hess pointed out in an earlier post, many reformers expect the Common Core standards and assessments to convince suburban parents to abandon their public schools.

There will be mass demand for privatization, for online charter schools, for vouchers, for new hardware and new software.

Cui bono?

Categories Accountability, Common Core, For-Profit, Privatization

When Sabrina Stevens Crashed the ALEC Meeting

By dianeravitch
December 9, 2012 //
11

Sabrina Stevens wanted to tell the ALEC education task force what she thought of their plans to privatize American education and destroy unions. At first, she planned to protest. Instead, she walked right in, sat quietly, fumed, and then spoke out.

Categories ALEC, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Unions, Vouchers

EduShyster: The Solution to Our National Security Crisis

By dianeravitch
December 8, 2012 //
3

Here it is, folks. When your nation is in the midst of a grave–no, make that “a very grave” national security crisis, what can you do?

Do it the American way: Go shopping.

Buy lots of shiny new technology and soon all those threats to our future will disappear.

Just be sure to buy from Rupert Murdoch or the threats won’t go away.

Categories Education Industry, For-Profit, On-Line Education, Technology, Computers

Why Is Pennsylvania Mad for Cybercharters?

By dianeravitch
December 8, 2012 //
5

Pennsylvania is on its way to becoming the Wild West for Cybercharters, where anything goes, so long as it’s online.

The state already has 16 Cybercharters. Now it is considering another 8 of them. The only states with more students enrolled in virtual charters are Ohio and Arizona.

This likely expansion will occur despite repeated evidence that the academic quality of these virtual schools is inferior and that the costs are inflated. Also, the money to fund their bloated budgets comes out of the budget of public schools, so its a lose-lose proposition.

The fact that the state’s largest Cybercharter is under investigation by the FBI is unlikely to have any bearing on the state’s decision.

Categories Charter Schools, For-Profit, On-Line Education, Pennsylvania, Privatization

A Radical Right-Wing Idea: The A La Carte School

By dianeravitch
December 7, 2012 //
43

Stephanie Simon of Reuters continues to be the most industrious investigative education journalist in the nation.

Here she reveals the outline of the free-market model of school, where students learn what they want, where they want, when they want, and pay for it with taxpayer dollars.

She calls it “a la carte” schooling.

It eliminates public schools as we have known them. It opens the door to private, for-profit vendors and anyone who hangs out a shingle.

Remember the old Hollywood movies where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland said, “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show?”

Now, it’s “Hey, kids, let’s open a school and make money.”

Categories ALEC, Education Industry, For-Profit, Idaho, Jindal, Bobby, Michigan, On-Line Education, Vouchers

State Board in Louisiana Approves Contracts Without Funding

By dianeravitch
December 7, 2012 //
6

The Louisiana state board of education approved contracts for 45 private vendors, many of them for-profit online companies that had made campaign contributions to some state board members.

The board acted despite the court decision last week declaring that it was unconstitutional to take money dedicated specifically for public elementary and secondary schools and spend it on vouchers or other providers.

Two board members asked for a delay–Lottie Beebe and Carolyn Hill–but the board approved the vendors without funding. Both Beebe and Hill are on our honor roll as heroes of public education.

The state board is controlled by allies of Governor Jindal, who is committed to privatization.

Beebe said that five members of the board should have recused themselves because they received campaign contributions from some of the providers. Here is her Facebook comment on the board meeting:

“Lottie Polozola Beebe (Facebook)

BESE adjourned its meeting at 9:00 P. M. last night with a record time-wise—the longest meeting of my tenure on BESE. BESE approved 45 Course Providers despite my objections and Ms. Hill’s. Our objection was due to Judge Kelley’s ruling that public dollars should support public schools. Recognizing some have vowed to appeal this ruling, I pointed out BESE’s approval of Course Choice Providers would be irresponsible. Nevertheless, Mr. White was successful in communicating we are merely putting a process in place. I pointed out that I would be remiss if I did not point out that at least 5 BESE members should consider recusing themselves from the vote, particularly, if they received political contributions from any. Well, that recommendation yielded “fireworks”! I received an earful from Chas Roemer and Ms. Boffy defending their campaign contributions and the perceived conflict of interest. I wonder why this would be such a sensitive issue. Despite my attempt to encourage them to do the honorable thing, they voted favorably regarding the choice providers. For the record, one approved entity’s PAC contributed approximately $50,000 to five BESE members. (And to think, public school employees are mandated by law to participate in one hour of Ethics training annually.”

A spokesperson for the state ethics board saw no conflict if a board member votes to award a contract to a campaign contributor:

“State ethics laws mandate that political candidates publish a list of contributors to their campaigns; both Boffy and Garvey did so:

The Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., one of the groups the state board approved as a course provider, gave $5,000 to board member Holly Boffy’s campaign in 2011.
Boffy got $1,000 from K12 Inc. and $1,000 from Acadian Companies, two other approved providers.
James Garvey, who represents parts of New Orleans, also got $5,000 from the Pelican Chapter.
Boffy, who represents District 7 (which includes Calcasieu, Vermilion and six other parishes), responded to Hill’s accusations, saying that she makes decisions in the best interest of students. Garvey was not at the meeting.

“Anyone can contribute to my campaign if I decide to run,” she said. “I just want you to know, that I act with integrity, and when someone on the board questions that, I find that very troubling.”

Louisiana Board of Ethics spokeswoman Alainna Giacone said that it’s not improper for Boffy and Garvey to vote on the issue. “It’s not an issue because it’s a campaign contribution,” she said. It would become a legal issue, however, if Boffy or Garvey were employed by one of the course providers, and then voted on the contract with the course provider, Giacone advised.”

Categories For-Profit, Louisiana, Privatization, Vouchers

Joel Klein’s Plan to Spin Education into Gold for Murdoch

By dianeravitch
December 7, 2012 //
5

Earlier this year, Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice chaired a task force at the Council on Foreign Relations, which issued a scathing indictment of public education, calling our public schools “a very grave threat to national security.”

Klein works for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, where he is in charge of selling technology. The latest report from his division repeats the gloomy (and inaccurate statistics) about US education and says there is a way to fix all these dire problems: Buy the technology he is selling!

Here, Jersey Jazzman deconstructs Klein’s snappy visual claims.

Just for the record. Klein’s (and the task force’s) assertion that test scores have been flat for 20 years is flat out wrong. Reading scores on NAEP have increased slowly and significantly for blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asians since 1992. Math scores have increased dramatically for the same groups.

Categories Corporate Reformers, For-Profit, Klein, Joel, Privatization, Technology, Computers

“A Systematic Assault on Public Education in Michigan”

By dianeravitch
December 3, 2012 //
13

Below is a message that Sen. Rebekah Warren (MI-18) asked us to pass along in response to the petition “Stop the Takeover of Public Education in Michigan” (http://signon.org/sign/stop-the-takeover-of-1).

——————————————–

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to legislation that would transfer control from some of our public school districts to the newly created Education Achievement Authority (EAA).

House Bill 6004, along with House Bill 5923 and Senate Bill 1358, seeks to expand the scope of the EAA and allow unregulated school choice in Michigan. As you may know, the EAA was recently established to assume control of underperforming schools in the city of Detroit. This new package of bills broaden that power to allow the EAA to oversee schools deemed to be in the lowest performing 5% of schools statewide.

This hastily crafted legislation has already had several hearings in the House Education Committee and appears to be on the fast-track for passage in lame duck, despite the fact that the EAA has only been in place since the beginning of this school year, and has not yet been fully evaluated, much less vetted for statewide implementation. This legislation also allows for the unfettered proliferation of new schools, without regard for educational quality or outcomes, or the financial implications of further stretching increasingly scarce public resources.

I do not have to tell you that this sweeping legislation comes on the heels of a $500 million cut to the School Aid Fund and the passage of key elements of the “Parental Empowerment Package,” which most notably lifted the cap on charter and cyber schools. As these bills came before me on the Senate floor last year, I opposed all of them for a number of reasons, but largely because I remain deeply concerned about the far-reaching impact they stand to have on our children and the future of our public schools.

Here in Michigan this legislation is particularly alarming as 80% of our charter schools are operated by private, for-profit education management companies (EMOs), more than any other state in the nation. In response to growing concern about this astounding number, I am pleased to let you know that I have introduced Senate Joint Resolution R, which seeks to amend the state constitution to prohibit the operation of a public school on a for-profit basis.

Make no mistake – we are confronting a systematic and unrelenting assault on public education in Michigan. While House Bills 5923 and 6004 and Senate Bill 1358 have yet to come before the Senate, please rest assured that I will continue to fight for our public schools and work to ensure that all of our children have access to the top-notch education necessary to compete in our increasingly global economy.

As always, thank you for your advocacy on this important issue. Should you have any questions or need any further information, do not hesitate to contact me at (517) 373-2406 or senrwarren@senate.michigan.gov.

Sincerely,

Rebekah Warren
State Senator
18th District

RLW/wh

Categories Charter Schools, For-Profit, Michigan, Privatization

Wireless Generation Wins Common Core Contract

By dianeravitch
November 30, 2012 //
27

From NYC Parent blog (by Leonie Haimson):

Wireless Generation, owned by Murdoch/run by Joel Klein, Wins the $4.9M Contract to develop the software that will be used to report & analyze results for the new #CommonCore Assessments – both the interim and “summative” exams being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for 25 states (blue states in map below.)

Wireless is also developing the software/ infrastructure for the Gates-funded Shared Learning Collaborative, which is collecting confidential student & teacher data in states throughout the country, including NYS, & planning to turn this information over to for-profit commercial ventures, without parental consent, to help companies develop and market their “learning products.” The information will include among other things, names, addresses, grades, test scores, disciplinary and attendance records, and learning disability status.

The SLC has now named a new CEO, Iwan Streichenberger, who is going to direct SLC’s transition from a project to a nonprofit enterprise; to “ manage the technology and related services.”

Streichenberger was formerly the Chief Marketing Officer of a for-profit company called Promethean, where he was “responsible for product development, marketing, and sales strategy for the education technology company’s newest division.

He says he will “look forward to telling the story about the transformative technology we are building and how we are working with our industry partners to help education technology achieve its potential for students” and will be speaking about this at the SXSW Edu conference in Austin Texas March 4-7.

Here we go.

http://shar.es/6uSxE

Wireless Generation Wins Contract for Common Assessments

By Jason Tomassini on November 29, 2012 12:00 PM | No comments

As the two consortia developing assessments around the Common Core State Standards move closer to the tests’ adoption, for the 2014-15 school year, they are starting to award contracts that will shape how the assessments look and operate. On Wednesday, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium announced that the software used to report and analyze results from its assessments will be developed by Wireless Generation, the education software company.

Wireless Generation will partner with Educational Testing Service (ETS) on the contract. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the Request for Proposal stipulated the project could not exceed $4.9 million. Smarter Balanced’s projects are funded through a four-year, $175 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The reporting system will be used for the common assessments students will take in Smarter Balanced’s 25 member states (you can view those states in the map below). The system will collect data from interim and summative assessments given to students and also track their progress toward college and career readiness, as determined by the individual standards. The data will be available to administrators and teachers as well as parents, according to a news release from Smarter Balanced. Schoolwide and districtwide reports will also be available.

The entire system will be open source, which means other computer programmers can build applications using the software’s source code. For instance, Moodle is an open source learning management platform that is used as the framework for companies like Moodlerooms.

Early next year, the public will have a chance to provide input on the system requirements. You can read the Request for Proposal here, and Wireless Generation’s winning proposal here, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Some important notes regarding Wireless Generation. News Corporation, the international media conglomerate implicated in a widespread phone hacking scandal last year, owns 90 percent of Wireless Generation, which is part of the company’s new Amplify education business. Since the acquisition, for $360 million in November 2010, concerns over possible connections between Wireless Generation’s data operations and its parent company have arose. In response, Wireless Generation has pointed out that its data operations are independent from News Corp. and the company has always complied with the many laws governing student data, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. In August 2011, the company did lose a $27 million contract to develop assessment tracking software for New York state education department because of the scandal embroiling News Corp.’s newspaper division.

(Larry Berger, a co-founder and executive chairman of Wireless Generation, serves on the board of Editorial Projects in Education, the nonprofit corporation that publishes Education Week.)

In somewhat related news, the Brown Center on Education Policy, at the Brookings Institution, released a report Wednesday on the cost of state assessments around the country, including a recommendation for states to join testing consortia in order to lower costs. Read more about it here.

Leonie Haimson

Executive Director

Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011

212-674-7320

leonie@classsizematters.org

http://www.classsizematters.org

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson

Follow me on twitter @leoniehaimson

Make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

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Categories Common Core, For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Klein, Joel, Race to the Top, Testing
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