Archives for category: Indiana

Glenda Ritz was elected State Superintendent in Indiana last fall. She won more votes than Governor Mike Pence.

She was elected by a bipartisan group of citizens who rejected the policies of Tony Bennett, who outspent her 10-1.

Since her election, Governor Pence and the state board appointed by him and his predecessor have whittled away the powers of the State Education Department.

They created a parallel agency and shifted some of the Department’s powers to it.

The state board voted to strip itself (and its chairperson, Glenda Ritz) of the power to revise the failed A-F grading system.

In short, the governor and his allies are trying their best to reverse the will of the voters, so clearly expressed last November.

They are trying to win by stealth what they lost at the ballot box.

They are attacking not just Glenda Ritz but democracy itself.

Ironically, the local media said that Ritz and the board and governor should stop squabbling.

Ritz felt compelled to reply. Here is what she wrote.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Indiana

Indiana Researcher on NAEP: Results No Different from Past

By dianeravitch

November 9, 2013 //

While Arne Duncan and ex-Superintendent Tony Bennett were celebrating Indiana’s gains on the 2013 NAEP, researchers at Indiana University said the gains were no different from the state’s performance in past years on NAEP.

“Relative to the 1-point gains in mathematics and reading for the nation as a whole, the 5- and 4-point gains for Indiana fourth-graders appear impressive,” said Peter Kloosterman, the Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Chair for Teacher Education and a professor of mathematics education. “However, state samples are relatively small, and thus scores tend to fluctuate more than national scores. In 2000, Indiana was 9 points above the national average in math, but that dropped to 4 points above in 2007 and 2009 before going back to 9. In reading, Indiana has fluctuated from 2 to 5 points above the national average since 2000.”

In addition:

“Regarding the latest Grade 8 results, Kloosterman said gains for Indiana students are comparable to recent years.

“Indiana is now 4 points above the national average in mathematics as compared to 2 points in 2011,” he said. “Since 2000, however, Indiana has been as high as 9 points above and as low as 2 points above. In reading, Indiana eighth-graders are now 1 point above the national average, the same as 2011 and within the window of 1 to 4 points above the national average for Indiana since 2000.”

Although Indiana remains above the national average, it is not in the top tier of U.S. students. “In brief, we see substantial gains in mathematics across the nation with fourth- and eighth-graders in 2013 achieving about two grade levels above their counterparts in 1990,” Kloosterman said. “There have been gains in reading at both levels, but they are much less than a grade level. Indiana is consistently above the national average, but not at the level of the highest-performing states. These trends have held throughout all the state and national education policy changes over this period.”

Kloosterman is available to respond to questions about how to interpret the latest NAEP results. He can be reached at 812-855-9715 or klooster@indiana.edu.

Categories Duncan, Arne, Indiana, NAEP

Indiana: GOP Plan to Privatizatize Public Schools Revealed

By dianeravitch

November 6, 2013 //

There is a pattern on the rug.

First, you silence the teachers’ unions.

Then, you strip teachers of tenure, ie, any job protection, to keep them fearful.

Along the way, you keep saying that the public schools are broken, failing, obsolete.

Keep demonizing teachers.

Destroy public confidence in public schools.

That clears the way to hand public money to private corporations. That opens the door to for- profit schools.

As Randi says in this article, “Follow the Money.”

Here is how it happened in Indiana.

There was a snag in the plan when the voters turned out privatizer-in-chief Tony Bennett and elected Glenda Ritz, who polled more votes than the governor.

Since then, Tony Bennett was hired by Florida but resigned because of a grade-fixing scandal back home in Indiana. And Governor Mike Pence has set out to strip the job of Commissioner of Education of all its powers, to sneer at the voters and keep the destruction of public education on track.

Categories Charter Schools, Indiana, Privatization, Unions

A High-Stakes Exam for the People of Indiana

By dianeravitch

November 2, 2013 //

Cindi Pastore created this multiple-choice exam for the people of Infiana.

It illustrates the current crazy situation there. Glenda Ritz won a startling upset victory last fall, winning more votes than Governor Pence. Yet Governor Pence has worked unceasingly to dilute Ritz’s authority and render her powerless to carry out her official duties. He and the unelected state board are thwarting her so they can continue to privatize education in the state of Indiana.

Here is the test:

An Eight Question High Stakes Test for Governor Pence, Brian Bosma, David Long, and Members of the State Board of Education

1. Who was elected by an overwhelming majority (roughly 1,300,000) of the voters (many of whom crossed their party lines) of this state to be the Indiana Superintendent of Public Schools?