Archives for category: New York
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New York: The Mysterious Decline of Graduation Rates, Five Years Afer Start of Common Core

By dianeravitch
January 18, 2019 //
27

An article in The Hechinger Report puzzles over the mysterious decline of graduation rates in New York, after five years of Common Core.


A student in a high school just outside of New York City. Jackie Mader/The Hechinger Report
Back in 2013, when New York was one of the first states in the nation to adopt Common Core standards and administer tougher tests, children’s test scores initially plummeted. Then, as teachers had time to develop lesson plans and adjust to new curricula, student performance began to improve. A similar pattern seemed to be emerging among the state’s high school students, who are required to pass a series of exams, called Regents, to earn a diploma. After an initial drop in pass rates among eighth and ninth graders on a Common Core algebra exam in 2014-15, scores improved.

But now, after five years of high schools teaching to the Common Core standards (now slightly revamped and called Next Generation Learning Standards in New York), there’s a sudden spike in the high-school failure rate. More than 13,000 more students failed the algebra Regents exam in the most recent 2017-18 school year compared to the previous year, pushing the failure rate up from 25 percent to 30 percent, according to a December 2018 report by education policy consultant David Rubel. In the English Language Arts or reading exam, the number of failing students grew by more than 12,000 students, increasing the failure rate from 16 percent to 21 percent.

“It’s odd that there would be a decline at this point,” said Morgan Polikoff, a professor at the University of Southern California’s school of education and an expert in assessments. “Most often the trend is that a new exam is implemented, there’s a ‘dip’ in performance. I don’t like calling it a dip because it’s a different test so it’s not really comparable. And then scores gradually increase over time.”

A puzzle indeed. It can’t possibly be anything wrong with Common Core or the Tests. It must be the kids. Too many ELLs.

Or there’s always this hope:

Low-achieving children who are exposed to Common Core instruction from the start in kindergarten may test better in high school in the years to come. Perhaps this problem will be a transitional one that will work itself through the system in the next five years.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Education Reform, Graduation rates, New York, Testing

New York: Will Elia Punish Opt Out Schools?Will Legislature Return Teacher Evaluation to Districts?

By dianeravitch
January 17, 2019 //
5

Peter Goodman has been covering New York State and city education politics for many years.

In this post, he reports that Commissioner MaryEllen Elia is planning to punish schools that have high opt out numbers, treating them as”failing schools” even though they include some of the highest performing schools in the state.

Elia is out of control. She doesn’t know how to listen but she sure knows how to crack the whip.

On the teacher evaluation front,Goodman reports that the Legislature is prepared to turn the issue back to districts. It’s fair to say that the Legislature’s efforts to base teacher evaluation on test scores and computer algorithms has been a disaster.

Uncertain: even as teacher evaluation is returned to districts, Will it still be based on test scores, a measure proven to be flawed and inaccurate?

Categories Accountability, Education Reform, Failure, New York, Opt Out, Parent Groups, Teacher Evaluations, Testing

New York: State May Punish Districts with High Opt Out Rates as “Low Performers”

By dianeravitch
January 14, 2019 //
26

The desperation of the New York State Education Department to stop the Opt Out movement is boundless.

Newsday reports that the state may lower the rankings of schools with high numbers of opt out students, even though it knows that the schools are high performing schools.

There is nothing that State Commissioner MaryEllen Elia won’t do to force parents to sit their children down and make them take the state tests.

Shameless!

The state believes it must “deal with” these recalcitrant parents. It has never crossed Commissioner Elia’s mind that she should listen to the parents and find out why they won’t let their children take these pointless tests, that provide no diagnostic information to teachers or parents or students.

A statewide effort to deal with massive student test boycotts has sparked debate in the Island Park school district, where officials contend that one of their schools could face academic sanctions because of opt-outs there.

Island Park’s school superintendent, Rosmarie Bovino, recently posted a letter on the district’s website advising residents that Lincoln Orens Middle School was in danger of being placed on an upcoming state list of schools regarded as low academic performers.

Under a new state rating system that is based largely on test performance, such schools will be designated as requiring comprehensive support and improvement, or CSI. The state Education Department is expected to release names of the first group of schools as early as next week.

A note to the parents who opt out their children. Please remember that Commissioner Elia works for YOU. You do not work for her. Please remember that you pay her salary. She is not your boss. Please remember that the Pierce Decision of 1925 by the Supreme Court declared that your children belong to you, not the State, and the State has no power to standardize them.

Categories New York, Opt Out, Parents, Resistance

New York: Is This the Worst Government Statement of Intent Ever?

By dianeravitch
January 12, 2019 //
38

Having worked for nearly two years in the federal bureaucracy, I have learned to decipher government documents (most of the time).

But this one, written under the name of New York Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia, is the worst tripe I have ever encountered.

I don’t understand it but it doesn’t sound good.

It sounds threatening and ominous. I hear the sound of punishment. Missing is any sign of hope or support.

Please let me know if you know what the plan is here.

Categories Accountability, Closing schools, New York

New York: Dear Board of Regents, Please Say NO to the Gates Grant!

By dianeravitch
January 3, 2019 //
17

The New York State Allies of Parents and Education issued this “action alert”:


Dear Allies,

URGENT – PLEASE TAKE ACTION and DEMAND the Board of Regents and NY State Education Department RETURN the MISGUIDED Gates Foundation Grant.

Last month, NY Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia asked the Board of Regents to approve a new $225,000 grant from the Gates Foundation for enhanced communication efforts around the standards, testing and data collection — to convince parents that State Ed is on the right track in all these areas. The Board voted 14 -2 to approve this grant, with only Regents Cashin and Ouderkirk voting no and Regent Johnson was absent.

The Gates Foundation has been behind some of the most controversial — and unsuccessful — education policies in history, including persuading states to adopt the Common Core standards, evaluate teachers based on test scores, and expand the collection and disclosure of highly personal student information as part of its $100 million dollar inBloom project. .

Luckily, New York parents and educators across the state defeated inBloom, but the state is still planning to expand its collection of student data from early childhood through college. The new standards that NYSED has developed are still developmentally inappropriate and little different from the Common Core and there is still too much emphasis on flawed high-stakes testing. Moreover, NYSED has failed to enforce the state student privacy law, passed in 2014 in the wake of the controversy over inBloom — though the legal deadline for implementation was more than four years ago. Meanwhile, NYSED’s own data system has been audited twice by the NYS Comptroller, and found to be highly insecure and vulnerable to breaches.

PLEASE CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION and DEMAND that the Regents give back the Gates funds and instead of trying to hoodwink us into accepting State Ed’s flawed policies, include parents in authentic decision-making on all issues affecting our children, including standards, teacher evaluation, and privacy. The State Education Department should also be barred from any effort to expand student data collection until the 2014 student privacy law has been fully enforced and the SED’s own data system made secure.

Thank you,
NYSAPE.org

Categories Accountability, Data and Data Mining, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, New York, Privacy and Privacy Rights

Robert Rendo Calls On NY Regents to Oust Elia

By dianeravitch
December 26, 2018 //
19

Robert Rendo, educator and citizen, sent the following email to the New York Board of Regents:

Dear Honorable Regents,

As a private citizen and taxpayer, I urgently call upon you to reconsider Mary Ellen Elia’s position and to demand her resignation with a replacement that will truly advocate for children, families, taxpayers, and do what is right empirically and non-politicized for public education; that includes promulgating strict laws to prevent data mining and to protect student privacy, as well as increased funding to reduce class sizes and supplement far more greatly populations at risk.

As it stands to date, Commissioner Elia:

1. Has ignored parents: Even though more than 1 in 5 NYS parents have refused the state’s tests, the tests and the standards on which they are based remain largely unchanged.

2. Has deceived parents: Under her guidance, the state education department has misrepresented minor changes in the standards and tests as more significant than they really are.

3. Has formulated and implemented polices that are damaging to children and teachers: Rather than championing developmentally-appropriate practices based in research, Elia’s State Education Department has pushed policies like untimed testing (which may actually be illegal as well as abusive) and canned curriculum (which stifles creativity and engagement for students and teachers alike).

4. Has misplaced priorities: The state should be focused on insuring equity of resources, not on punishing schools.

5. Has not shown the will to forcefully protect all children–whether from racist school board members, data-mining corporations, or indefensible assignments (like the one where students were asked to make arguments in defense of the Holocaust).

I, along with dramatically and rapidly growing numbers other state residents and taxpayers, vehemently call for Ms. Elia’s immediate removal and replacement, and I hold you, along with our state legislators, accountable and will continue to watch hawkishly your governance as you continue in your noble and critical path for public education and our precious children and families of NY State.

Thank you for taking this under your careful review.

Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
Ossining, NY

cc: NYS Allies for Public Education Steering Committee
Jamaal Bowman
Deborah Abramson-Brooks
Chris Cerrone
Jeanette Deutermann
Amy Gropp Forbes
Johanna Garcia
Kevin Glynn
Eileen Graham
Leonie Haimson
Michael Hynes, Ed.D
Jake Jacobs
Kemala Karmen
Marla Kilfoyle
Jessica McNair
Lisa Rudley
Janine Sopp
Bianca Tanis
Katie Zahedi, Ph.D

cc:
Diane Ravitch
Carol Burris
Susan Lee Schwartz
Leonie Haimson
Assembly Woman Sandra Galef
State Senator David Carlucci

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Education Reform, Failure, New York

New York: SUNY Gives Charters to Faith-Based Schools, Despite State Constitution Ban

By dianeravitch
December 18, 2018 //
28

Hey, Yeshivas and Muslim religious schools. Stop struggling to raise money. Rename yourself and get a charter from the State University of New York Charter Committee. Then the public will pay for your religious activities. True, the state constitution bans public money for religious schools, but so what?

The SUNY charter board (appointed by Governor Cuomo) awarded charters to the Brilla Network, which teaches Catholic virtues and values. They call themselves “virtue-based” charter schoools. They are moving into the vacuum created by the closure of Catholic schools.

Here is the mission statement of Seton Partners:

Here is the charter chain they run. They plan to grow.

SETON EDUCATION PARTNERS is committed to expanding opportunities for underserved children in America to receive an academically excellent and vibrantly Catholic education. As a national non-profit and an instrument of the Church, Seton partners with (arch)dioceses and others across the country to implement innovative and sustainable new models that bridge the best of Catholic education’s rich tradition with new possibilities. Seton was born of the belief that a tremendous opportunity exists to revitalize urban Catholic schools in America and strengthen the education they provide. The challenges are significant, to be sure, but with an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, much can and should be done, not only to preserve this national treasure but also to build on its foundation for the benefit of thousands of children in America’s most underserved neighborhoods.

Step right up and charter your religious school!

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, New York, Privatization, Religion, Separation of church and state

Fred Smith: The Testing Expert Who Fights the Testing Combine

By dianeravitch
December 17, 2018 //
7

Fred Smith is a genuine Testing Expert. He has the technical expertise to dig deep into the numbers and understand what they mean and what they don’t mean. He spent most of his career at the New York City Board of Education. Now he is a valued consultant to the Opt Out Movement in New York. He knows fraud in testing and he’s not afraid to call it out.

Fred Smith is a hero of American education, and he here joins the honor roll.

Read this article about him, which contains links to his latest work.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Fraud, Honor Roll, New York, Opt Out, Parent Groups, Standardized Testing, Testing

NonProfit Quarterly: Is Bill Gates Ever Capable of Admitting He Was Wrong?

By dianeravitch
December 15, 2018 //
19

Ruth McCambridge, editor-in-chief of the NonProfit Quarterly, wonders why Bill Gates continues to pour new money into his failed initiatives. Is it because he can never say he was wrong? Actually, he did admit he was wrong in 2008, when he pulled the plug on his $2 billion bet on breaking up big high schools into small high schools. There may have been some positive results, but he wanted better test scores and when he didn’t get them, he deep-fixed the whole idea.

McCambridge was annoyed to see that Gates is still offering grants to anyone who might breathe life into the Common Core standards.

She read Nicholas Tampio’s book Common Core: National Education Standards and the Threat to Democracy, and she was convinced that the Common Core is beyond salvation. Despite the multiple rejections of the Common Core, Gates won’t let it go. He just gave $225,000 to the New York State Board of Regents to advertise the value of common standards (read: Common Core).

Getting a grant of $225,000 from Gates is like getting a tip of $10 from an ordinary person. It is small change, crumbs from his table. It won’t buy anything. It certainly won’t derail the parents who hate Common Core and the related testing.

Back when Common Core was first released, it was nearly impossible to find any organization that had not collected large sums from the Gates Foundation to promote the Common Core. Reporters commented that they couldn’t find anyone to interview who was not on the receiving end of Gates money.

There is an expression in Yiddish: Gournish helpf’em. That is not a literal transliteration but the idea is, “It won’t help.” “This dog won’t hunt.” It’s over and the only one that doesn’t know it is Bill Gates. Everyone is quite willing to take his money and pretend that they can breathe life into this dead fish. They can’t.

Tampio likens the situation to the heavy pre-selling of an expensive movie, in that “advertising can inflate opening day ticket sales, but then a movie sinks or swims based on word-of-mouth. The Common Core standards are a bomb, and no amount of advertising can make people enthusiastic about them. Making a few changes, primarily to the explanations, and renaming them as the Next Generation Learning Standards should not fool anyone.”

Tampio also accuses the foundation of trying to control the narrative with public relations grants. This is also far from a new charge about that institution, which has taken to serially apologizing for its anti-democratic behavior but is well known for its grants to media organizations covering topic areas in which Gates has major initiatives.

Gates is still under the illusion that he can buy respectability and acceptance for Common Core.

He can’t.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, New York, Testing

New York Post: Bring Back “Junk Science”!

By dianeravitch
December 13, 2018 //
18

Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post has an editorial chastising the New York Board of Regents for failing to reactivate the value-added method of evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students.

Whoever wrote the editorial is ignorant of the fact that the American Statistical Association warned against the use of this method or the RAND-AIR report that found zero benefit from the Gates Foundation’s investment in districts that used this method.

This teacher-blogger reminds readers that a New York Judge already labeled this method “junk Science.”

Categories New York, Teacher Evaluations, VAM (value-added modeling)
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