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Are You As Smart As a First-Grader?

By dianeravitch
August 23, 2013 //
166

This is only a portion of the English language arts curriculum
for first grade in New York State, aligned to the Common Core standards.

Many children in first grade have not yet learned to read, but they will be expected to understand and explain facts and concepts that belong in sixth or seventh or
eighth or ninth or tenth or eleventh or twelfth grades.

Six-year-olds may have trouble pronouncing some of the words, let
alone developing a historical sense of why these facts matter or
how they relate to one another. When I read this curriculum, the first thought
that occurred was that this is developmentally
inappropriate. I am a strong believer in knowledge and content. But
knowledge must be taught when children are mature
enough to understand and absorb and reflect on what they are
learning. Otherwise, all this content is a circus trick, an effort to prove that a
six-year-old can do mental gymnastics.

“Early World Civilizations” is one of 10 units for the Listening and Learning strand of
the English Language Arts domain of first grade. Keep in mind that
Listening and Learning strand is one of three areas of instruction
for ELA, and ELA is only half of the prepared curriculum.

This is how it is described by the state:

“Tell It Again! Read-Aloud Anthology

This Tell It Again! Read-Aloud Anthology for Early World Civilizations contains background information and resources that the teacher will need to implement Domain 4, including an alignment chart for the domain to the Common Core State Standards; an introduction to the domain including necessary background information for teachers, a list of domain components, a core vocabulary list for the domain, and planning aids and resources; 16 lessons including objectives, read-alouds, discussion questions, and extension activities; a Pausing Point; a domain review; a domain assessment; culminating activities; and teacher resources. By the end of this domain, students will be able to:

“Locate the area known as Mesopotamia on
a world map or globe and identify it as part
of Asia;

Explain the
importance of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the use of
canals to support farming and the development
of the city of Babylon;

Describe the city of
Babylon and the Hanging Gardens;

Identify cuneiform as the system of writing used in
Mesopotamia;

Explain why a written
language is important to the development of a
civilization;

Explain the significance of the
Code of Hammurabi;

Explain why rules and laws
are important to the development of a
civilization;

Explain the ways in which a
leader is important to the development of a
civilization;

Explain the significance
of gods/goddesses, ziggurats, temples, and
priests in Mesopotamia;

Describe key
components of a civilization;

Identify Mesopotamia as
the “Cradle of Civilization”;

Describe how a civilization evolves
and changes over time;

Locate Egypt on a world
map or globe and identify it as a part of
Africa;

Explain the importance of the
Nile River and how its floods were important
for farming;

Identify hieroglyphics as the
system of writing used in ancient Egypt;

Explain the significance of gods/goddesses in ancient
Egypt; Identify pyramids and explain their
significance in ancient Egypt;

Describe how
the pyramids were built; Explain that much of
Egypt is in the Sahara Desert;

Identify the Sphinx and explain its
significance in ancient Egypt;

Identify Hatshepsut as a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and
explain her significance as pharaoh;

Identify Tutankhamun as a pharaoh of ancient Egypt
and explain his significance;

Explain that much of what we know about ancient
Egypt is because of the work of
archaeologists;

Identify
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as major monotheistic world
religions;

Locate Jerusalem, Israel, and the
area known as the Middle East on a
map;

Define monotheism as the belief in one
God;

Identify the Western Wall (or the
Wailing Wall) as associated with Judaism, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre with Christianity, and the Dome of
the Rock with Islam;

Identify the Hebrews as the ancient people who
were descendants of Abraham;

Explain that followers of Judaism are called Jewish
people and the term Jewish is used to describe practices or
objects associated with Judaism;

Identify the Star of
David as a six-pointed star and a symbol of
Judaism; Identify the
Torah as an important part of the Hebrew scriptures;

Identify that a Jewish house of
worship is called a synagogue or temple;
Identify Moses as a teacher who
long ago led the Jewish people out of Egypt
in an event referred to as the Exodus;

Explain that, according to an important story in the
Torah, Moses received the Ten Commandments
from God and that the Ten Commandments are rules that
tell people how to behave or live their
lives;

Identify important
Jewish holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom
Kippur, and Hanukkah;

Explain that Christianity developed after
Judaism; Explain that followers of
Christianity are called Christians;

Recognize the cross as a symbol of Christianity;

Identify the Bible as the Christian
holy book;

Identify that a Christian house
of worship is called a church;

Identify that Christians believe Jesus
to be the Messiah and the son of God;

Identify important Christian
holidays, such as Easter and Christmas;
Recognize that both Christians and
Jewish people follow the Ten Commandments;

Explain that Islam originated in Arabia;
Explain that followers of Islam are
called Muslims;

Identify the crescent and star
as symbols of Islam;

Identify the Qur’an as the holy book of Islam,
containing laws for daily living and many
stories that appear in Jewish and Christian
holy books;

Identify that a Muslim place of
worship is called a mosque;

Identify that Muslims believe that Moses and
Jesus were prophets but believe that Muhammad
was the last and greatest of the
prophets;

Identify important Muslim holidays,
such as Ramadan and Eid-ul-fitr;

Use narrative language to describe (orally or in
writing) characters, setting, things, events, actions, a
scene, or facts from a fiction read-aloud;

Identify who is telling the story
at various points in a fiction read-aloud;

Ask and answer questions (e.g., who, what, where,
when), orally or in writing, requiring
literal recall and understanding of the details and/or
facts of a nonfiction/informational
read-aloud;

Answer questions
that require making interpretations, judgments, or
giving opinions about what is heard in a
nonfiction/informational read-aloud,
including answering why questions that require
recognizing cause/effect
relationships;

Identify the main topic and
retell key details of a
nonfiction/informational read-aloud;

Describe the
connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or
pieces of information in a
nonfiction/informational read-aloud;

Ask and answer questions about unknown words and
phrases in nonfiction/informational
read-alouds and discussions;

Use illustrations and details in a nonfiction/informational
read-aloud to describe its key
ideas;

Compare and contrast (orally or
in writing) similarities and differences
within a single nonfiction/informational
read-aloud or between two or more
nonfiction/informational read-alouds;

Listen to and demonstrate understanding of
nonfiction/informational read-alouds of
appropriate complexity for grades 1–3;

With guidance and support from adults, focus on a
topic, respond to questions and suggestions
from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as
needed;

Make personal
connections (orally or in writing) to events or
experiences in a fiction or nonfiction/informational
read-aloud, and/or make connections among
several read-alouds;

With assistance, categorize and organize facts and
information within a given domain to answer
questions;

Use agreed-upon rules for group
discussion (e.g., look at and listen to the
speaker, raise hand to speak, take turns, say
“excuse me” or “please,” etc.);

Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least
six turns, staying on topic, initiating
comments or responding to a partner’s comments, with
either an adult or another child of the same
age;

Ask questions to
clarify information about the topic in a fiction or
nonfiction/informational read-aloud;

Ask and answer questions (e.g.,
who, what, where, when), orally or in writing, requiring
literal recall and understanding of the details and/or
facts of a fiction or
nonfiction/informational read-aloud;

Ask questions to clarify directions, exercises,
classroom routines, and/or what a speaker
says about a topic;

Describe people, places,
things, and events with relevant details,
expressing ideas and feelings
clearly;

Add drawing or other visual displays
to oral or written descriptions when
appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and
feelings;

Produce complete sentences when
appropriate to task and situation;
Identify real-life connections between words and
their use (e.g., note places at home that are
cozy);

Learn the meaning of
common sayings and phrases;

Use words and phrases acquired through
conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to
texts, including using frequently occurring
conjunctions to signal simple relationships
(e.g., because) Identify new meanings for
familiar words and apply them
accurately;

Prior to listening to
an informational read-aloud, identify what
they know about a given topic;

Share writing with others;

With assistance, create and interpret timelines
and lifelines related to an informational
read-aloud;

Demonstrate understanding of
literary language such as setting;

While listening to an informational read-aloud,
orally predict what will happen next in the
read-aloud based on the text heard thus far,
and then compare the actual outcome to the
prediction; and Use personal pronouns
orally.

This material is aligned with E.D. Hirsch’s Core
Knowledge curriculum. Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify division (run by
Joel Klein) paid an unspecified amount for a 20-year right to the
professional development resources and curriculum
materials for Core Knowledge from K-3, with the intention
of building out resources for grades 4 and 5. Thus, all curriculum
resources purchased to teach these grades will be paid to
Amplify.

Categories Common Core, New York

The New York Times Hearts Common Core: Susan Ohanian Calls Foul

By dianeravitch
August 19, 2013 //
34

This morning the New York Times published a lengthy defense of the Common Core standards by Bill Keller, previously executive editor of the paper.

Keller asserts that opposition to the Common Core comes from extremists on the far-right fringe. (He does say that there are critics on the left, and adds a link to my blog, but not to the post explaining my reasons for not supporting the Common Core.  My main reason: They have never been field tested and we have no evidence how they will work and whether they will do what they claim, and what their effects will be on real children in real classrooms).

Please take the time to read Keller’s article and add a comment, if you are so moved.

Susan Ohanian went postal when she read Keller’s article.

She titles her response: “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire: War on the New York Times Embrace of the Common Core.”

She begins thus:

“Well, at least New York Times editorial remains consistent, proving once again that you can lead a reporter to evidence but can’t make him think. Keller was executive editor at the New York Times from 2003–2011, where he was a leading supporter of the Iraq invasion. Although he has since returned to his status as writer, he remains infected by the Times editorial bias on education policy. It seems significant that Keller’s father was chairman and chief executive of the Chevron Corporation. 

Keller employs a deliberate strategy of welding opponents of the Common Core with the lunatic fringe. Note that no progressive who opposes the Common Core is mentioned. No superintendent of schools opposing the Common Core is mentioned. No researcher opposing the Common Core is mentioned. No parent opposing the Common Core is mentioned.”

Keller says that the Common Core implies no curriculum, just standards. He quotes E.D. Hirsch, Jr., whose K-3 curriculum has been adopted by New York state as its official Common Core curriculum. Keller obviously didn’t know that Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify division (run by Joel Klein) bought the rights to the Core Knowledge curriculum for 20 years, meaning that every school in the state will pay a royalty to Rupert Murdoch whenever they buy the resources to teach the state curriculum.  Amplify and Core Knowledge plan to expand the curriculum to cover grades four and five. So this is quite a goldmine!

Categories Common Core, Klein, Joel, New York

Anti-Testing Movement Grows in NY Suburbs and Towns

By dianeravitch
August 19, 2013 //
44

The collapse of test scores in New York following the first
tests of the Common Core standards is fueling the growth of the
anti-testing movement. A huge protest took
place in Port Jefferson Station on Long Island on Saturday.

Fifteen hundred people turned out to denounce the Common
Core and the tests that labeled most children as “failures.” To get a turnout of this size on a Saturday in August in a small town signals big trouble for Common Core and its cheerleaders in the State Education Department.

Hero educator Dr. Joseph Rella was one of the speakers.

Newsday, the most widely read newspaper on populous and politically
powerful Long Island, published a vivid photograph of the rally
(open the link) and wrote as follows: “Protesters carried signs and
cheered as they waited to hear from Comsewogue Superintendent
Joseph Rella, a vocal curriculum critic.

“All of us have been passengers on a plane being built in midair,” Rella said to the
crowd. “Today, we are canceling our flight reservations.” “He urged
the group to use social media to spread the word and demand that
state legislators re-evaluate the potential effects of Common Core
standards. “Stop it, fix it or scrap it,” Rella chanted with the
crowd.”

A blogger noticed this great sign held by a child: “I should be blowing bubbles, not filling them in.”

Meanwhile, the Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review, the
main newspaper for the North Fork of Long Island, ran
a blistering editorial denouncing the Common Core and the
tests, predicting that state officials would end up
dropping them and admitting their error.

The victims of the Common Core, he warned, “will likely be the poorest among us.”

Michael White, editor of the Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review,
understands that the engineers of the standards and tests are
detached from reality.

He wrote: “Consider that many children in
poverty-stricken areas will still be living in single-parent or
no-parent households in our new, Common Core world. They still
won’t be eating or sleeping properly. They won’t be getting proper
medical attention for physical or emotional issues that interfere
with school. They won’t be getting help with homework, or even
having their homework checked at home. In fact, extra attention for
such students will be increasingly funneled away from them, as the
focus shifts to teaching to the Common Core assessments.

“For these kids, school’s simply getting harder, with no significant amount of
funding set aside to provide them better access to school supplies,
computers and internet access, or any plans to expand the school
day or school year or bulk up after-school enrichment programs.
With higher test failure rates, there’s also sure to be a huge
spike in students in need of additional support through mandated
programs such as academic intervention services. Where does that
money come from?

“State officials keep arguing that we must adopt
Common Core because America’s education system lags behind those of
other industrialized nations. But they never acknowledge that much
of the disparity is accounted for by the performance of students in
poor and non-English-speaking immigrant communities, which aren’t
as prevalent in more homogeneous nations like Finland and South
Korea.”

White sagely concluded: “Locally, it was revealed by the
state last week that for the 2012-13 year, 74.7 percent of
Riverhead School District students in grades 3 through 8 failed to
meet the state’s math proficiency standard and 73.8 percent failed
to meet the ELA standard. “Those numbers will change very little
moving forward (at least not after some initial curriculum
adjustments). Here’s why. In Riverhead, scores will increase
somewhat for wealthier students but will fall at about the same
rate, with potentially disastrous results, for those who don’t have
the same support systems at home. Those in the middle will break
one way or the other. “When these disparate results between
wealthier districts and the rest of the state become apparent —
especially in New York City — the backtracking on these
numbers-driven policies will begin.

“Yes, it’s my prediction Common Core will be reversed. But it’s also my hope. My fear is that so
much money will be tied up in pricey books, testing materials and
other increasingly entrenched funding sources for this initiative
that the politicians and policymakers won’t ever budge. Meanwhile,
our teachers will remain handcuffed and will continue teaching to
tests, and more and more students who lack either a natural
aptitude for learning or parental support will disengage from the
classroom and the educational process in general.

“Eventually, we’ll be wondering how we slipped even further behind Finland and
South Korea.”

Wow.

When suburban parents have the visionary
leadership of men like Joseph Rella and Michael White, they will
not fall for the lie that three-quarters of their children are
failures. They will catch on: the kids did not fail. The tests were
designed to label them as failures. Suburban parents will see this,
rightly, as an assault on their children, not “reform.” And they
will tell their elected officials to stop these crazy policies that
hurt children.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, New York, Testing

How Albany Hurts ELLs

By dianeravitch
August 15, 2013 //
47

State Commissioner John King, Regents’ Chancellor Merryl Tisch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Chancellor Dennis Walcott are proud of the Common Core tests that failed 70% of the children of New York State. They say it is “”very good news” that the tests got much harder. They don’t care that the achievement gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged grew larger. They bask in children’s defeats.

El Diario/La Prensa newspaper, written primarily for the Hispanic population in New York City, ran the following editorial, which reported the devastation to children who are not fluent in English, mostly Spanish-speaking. Only 11.4% of the English language learners were proficient in math. Only 3.4% were proficient in English.

Why are the state’s policymakers so pleased with these terrible results? Are they serial child abusers?

Here is the editorial:

The mayoral candidates have participated in many debates and forums and campaigned all over New York City. But to date, most of them have not discussed or offered plans to improve bilingual education.

In New York City’s public school system, there are 159,162 students who are known as English-language learners (ELL’s). Of them, 100,933 are Latinos.

Among ELL high school students the four-year graduation rate is below 50%, well below the average rate of 62% for non ELL students.

While all results were expected to be low, the outcomes of the most recent student testing under the new Common Core standards paint a bleaker picture. ELLs had proficiency rates of 11.4% and 3.4% in math and English, respectively.

These wide gaps in academic achievement need to be closed, for the sake of these students and the future of this city’s workforce. When strong leadership, teaching and adequate resources are in place, ELL’s are more successful and score higher.

The next mayor must make bilingual education a top priority. And this is a mission not only for the incoming chief executive but also for elected officials, community groups and state government. Among the critical steps needed:

The state must monitor and ensure that the city meets the requirements tied to the funds it receives. There are resources for ELL’s, but distribution is up to the city and whether they are reaching students in need is a big question.

The city’s Department of Education must properly train and qualify teachers and principals to meet the needs of ELL students.

Taking into account that 50% of ELL children in pre-K and kindergarten don’t speak English fluently, bilingual early childhood programs should be created.

The language of tests must match the educational level of the students. Currently, English-language learners must take standardized tests in English, which doesn’t allow for a real gauge of their academic progress. A transition process that is adjusted according to the student’s skills should be considered.

For too long, the challenge of delivering a quality education to ELL’s has been inadequately addressed and put on a backburner. The next mayor must ensure that New York City rises to a first-class public educational system and that begins with making sure all of our kids have access to excellent learning and support

Categories Common Core, New York, Testing

Teacher in New York: It’s Time to Fire John King

By dianeravitch
August 15, 2013 //
17

Yesterday I called for John King’s resignation.

This teacher says John King should be fired.

Here are her reasons:

“A New York Teachers Letter on the Failed Leadership of John King

I am dismayed by the leadership provided by John King, Education Commissioner of the State of New York. He is deliberately creating a testing and curriculum that penalizes children – especially children with emotional illnesses and learning disabilities. I have spent my summer working with students who cannot graduate because they have not passed one of the five required Regents or RCT exams. These students have met all other local requirements and have passed the other four required Regents/RCTs – and would have passed the last remaining exam had the cut scores not been raised recently.

“Certainly, it is a lofty goal to want all HS graduates in NY State to achieve superior academic performance at the A+ level. I have been teaching HS English for 30 years and each year I hope that this will be the year that each of my students achieves an A in my course. It has never happened. Until we can eliminate emotional illness, learning disabilities, poverty, and other sources of family strife, this is unrealistic.

“I am dismayed by the changes made to the current HS Regents exams and the proposed Common Core Regents exams. Labeling 70% of our elementary students as failing is atrocious. BUT, preventing students from earning a HS diploma is shameful. This spring, the cut scores were raised on the Comprehensive English Regents. This shift resulted in failing grades for a number of students who would have passed the exam a year earlier.

“Simultaneously, the questions were more difficult and the readings were more complex than on previous exams. This shift was unannounced and therefore unfairly penalized hundreds of children and also prevented many of them from earning a diploma. In addition, the US History and Global Studies readings have also increased in difficulty. I might not object if the tests were more difficult in Social Studies content, but the tests are more difficult in reading complexity. The result is that students who have passed the English Regents or RCTs are failing the US History and/or Global Studies Regents or RCTs because they do not read well enough – not because they don’t understand Social Studies concepts. One of the first things I learned in my education courses is to determine what it is I am trying to assess and then to create a question that assess the appropriate learning. My students are weak in vocabulary and reading comprehension – yet they have all passed the Regents and/or RCTs in HS English. Why must their score on the US History exams be based on their documented disability in reading?

“The newest proposed version of the English Comprehensive Regents will be given in June of 2014. John King proudly announced that this exam is modeled after the AP exam in English Language and Composition. Really? The AP test is our new benchmark for college and career readiness? The AP test is the bar for our graduation requirements? Why?

“I used to believe in the integrity of the Regents exams. I no longer believe that the NY State exams are valuable, worthwhile, or educationally appropriate. The new Common Core curriculum – along with the modules and activities crafted by Odell Learning (promised – but not delivered) – is not a curricular improvement. None of this is best practice. None of it relies on current research. None of it has been field tested. None of it is proven. It is all snake oil. I am ashamed to be part of this sham. Commissioner King is not only overseeing this disaster; he is proud of the fact that 70% of our students will be labeled failures.

“I am no longer interested in “building a plane in mid-air.” I want to teach children. I want to expose them to fiction. I want them to be creative and engaged. I want them to fall in love with learning (preferably through literature) the way that I love learning. I, however, do not love this new way of learning (and teaching.) I do not love watching kids cry. I do not love hearing them as they call themselves stupid after failing a Regents for the third time. I will not love making the phone calls later today that inform children and parents that they have failed a Regents – again”

Susan Murphy Oneonta, NY

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Common Core, New York, Testing

NY Regents: Release the Test Questions!

By dianeravitch
August 14, 2013 //
45

The best use of tests is for diagnostic purposes, to help teachers learn what students got wrong and where they need more instruction. Students learn too from their errors. But if the results take months to score, they arrive too late to matter. And if the questions and answers are never released, and students never see their errors, then the tests are used only for ranking, not for helping kids.

This NY teacher calls out state officials for their failure to release the tests:

“Why we will never be permitted to see those tests? I always tell my students and even my own child, “go over the question – look at what you got wrong and try to understand why you got it wrong.” And when my own students do poorly on a test I created, I take a closer look at the test items and try to understand why they got the questions wrong – perhaps I made a bogus test – it’s happened to every educator out there. We won’t be able to do that here. Could it be that these kids didn’t really get all that much wrong? Or is it that the construction of the test items were so riddled with ambiguity and multiple correct responses that they don’t want us to see what a poorly crafted instrument it was? Or, perhaps it is because they tested 4th graders with 7th grade materials? Or that the Commissioner of Education in the state of New York doesn’t have any experience teaching (I’m not sure many of us in the trenches would consider 3 years in a private charter school without open-enrollment “teaching experience”) OR at all as an administrator. Or…or…or… #Want2CtheTEST’

Categories New York, Testing

Principal: John King Hurt My Students

By dianeravitch
August 14, 2013 //
13

In response to my call for John King’s resignation, this principal in New York wrote:

“Thank you, Diane! Last night I finally had the heart to review my school’s test scores, child by child. As I read their names and numbers, I saw their little faces on the days of the testing, so many in tears, and I cried.

“This is so wrong for children.

“I have an excellent school, smart, hard-working kids and outstanding teachers. My students were not 30% smarter a year ago, but John King has deliberately turned many of them into “failures.”

“In the year ahead, the students will not miraculously get 50% smarter or the teachers suddenly better, yet I already know that the scores will go up – so that John King can look like a hero on the backs of little children. Mean-spirited is too kind a word.

“Should John King resign? No. He should be removed.”

Categories New York, Testing

NYC Teacher: The Common Core Standards Are Broken and Can’t Be Fixed

By dianeravitch
August 14, 2013 //
33

This letter was written by a New York City teacher to his union president.

“I am writing as a loyal union member and as a special education teacher in a middle class ethnically diverse neighborhood who knows a lot about testing because I spent nearly two decades assessing disabled children as part of a school assessment team.until this Mayor deemed my psychometric skills to be worthless Nevertheless, under my belt is a lot of graduate level coursework as well as thousands of hours of field experience in administering and analyzing valid and reliable norm-referenced educational assessments.

“Therefore, based upon a lot of research and reading, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement that the Common Core Standards were developed by educators and that these standards represent a valid instrument to determine if a student is college or career ready.. The Common Core Standards were not developed by educators. Many of those who developed these standards are deeply involved in the corporate educational reform movement. Many articles I have read about its development stated that the developers basically worked backwards and often disregarded some basic tenets of child development. Furthermore, we are taking on faith standards that have not even been longitudinally tested. We are basically taking on faith that these standards will make students college or career ready. We all know that so many reforms in the past half a century failed because, like the Common Core, research was lacking. Where are those “open classrooms” or the “New Math” of my childhood? Both were just fads, just as I believe the Common Core is a fad, that led to no significant educational achievement.

“I, and many others, could only accept the efficacy of the Common Core Standards if there were real research over a number of years showing that students who learned by a curriculum derived from these standards had higher achievement than those students taught by a more traditional curriculum. I have a sense that many of your rank and file teachers are unwilling to put their careers on the line based on standards that I feel was developed with a political agenda. The agenda is to convince the American people that our present public school system is a failure and that only a privatized charter-based system is the way to go. A system, that will in the end, destroy our progressive union movement.

“Any assessment in which only 25% to 35% of students can pass is invalid. A valid test is standardized in such a way that it creates a bell curve. These assessments do not come even close to creating a bell curve. Instead these assessments look more like cliffs. Many students are set to fall off such a cliff–especially students with disabilities. Special educators are taught that to help students with learning challenges, one must start where they are at. One does not start at the bottom of an unclimbable precipice. I work with many students who have, through no fault of their own, significant language impairments that make this curriculum impossible to master. What will become of many of these students when they reach 8th grade and modified promotional standards terminate? How many times are we willing to leave back such students and destroy their self esteem before we realize that what is really needed are many vocational programs that will serve the needs of a very diverse disabled population? There is a big difference between a high IQ child with minor sensory problems and one who may have a severe language impairment which results in a borderline IQ. Sadly, this curriculum will result in many special education teachers, like me, who are willing to work with the latter child, being punished by someday being rated ineffective because of an invalid assessment based upon invalid standards that work against the educational needs of such children.

“Every child needs to reach their potential. Unfortunately, I see these Common Core Standards setting up roadblocks based upon a student’s economic class, language proficiency and disability. Those born economically advantaged will either go to private schools or charters exempt from these standards or whose parents have the resources to get them the extra tutoring needed to pass these tests. Those children born to parents who do not have the resources will end up in schools that will not have the funds necessary to create the academic intervention services needed to compensate for their parent/guardian’s inability to afford the extra tutoring needed to pass from grade to grade.

“Our focus is completely wrong. These standards are broken and unrepairable. I fear, in the end, it will lead to the dismantling of our system of public education and social stratification in this great nation. In the 18th century, our founding fathers created a flawed constitution called the Articles of Confederation that they realized was unworkable. But they were smart. They scraped the document and started anew. Many of the best and brightest, at that time, got together, and through compromise and negotiation, came up with something workable. They came up with a constitution that was flexible enough to change with the times. These Common Core standards are unchangeable stone monoliths that block our way to creating a society and nation that has always believed in education as the great leveler as well as creator of economic opportunity and social mobility.

“Let us think before we jump!”

Categories Common Core, New York, New York City, Special Education, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

John King Should Resign

By dianeravitch
August 14, 2013 //
59

New York’s Commissioner of Education John King should resign.

The job of state commissioner is to support and strengthen education and educators, not to undermine them.

In his short tenure, King has used his position to wreak havoc on the state’s education system.

He has demoralized educators.

He has imposed an evaluation scheme that no one understands, but which he famously described as “building a plane in mid-air.” He doesn’t realize that no one wants to ride on a plane that is being built in mid-air—not students, not teachers, not principals, not parents, not superintendents.

More than one-third of the principals in the state bravely signed a letter warning King of the negative, punitive consequences of his ill-conceived evaluation plan. Typically, he didn’t listen.

But now he has gone too far.

He has hurt children.

In his zeal to inflict punishment on students across the state and prove what a tough guy he is, he imposed testing that was developmentally inappropriate, that did not provide enough time for many students to finish, and that had no curriculum to support it.

Many months ago, he predicted that proficiency rates would plummet across the state by at least 30%, and he engineered the result that he predicted. He made it happen by design.

Students and teachers across the state have been obsessed with testing and test prep in recent years. Now they learn that despite their best efforts, their test scores dropped precipitously.

The students and teachers didn’t fail.

John King failed.

King chose passing marks aligned to NAEP achievement levels, which was wrong. Students who are proficient on NAEP have demonstrated superior academic performance. NAEP proficient is not “grade level,” yet King is using it as a passing mark, dooming the majority of students to “fail” because of King’s inexperience and statistical ignorance.

If we are to judge teachers and principals by the rise or fall of student test scores, as King wishes, then so too should he be judged.

As the state’s highest education official, King is not above accountability. On his watch, he devised and caused a massive test score decline, causing unnecessary anguish and discouragement to students, parents, and teachers in every school in his care.

If he were a business CEO and his actions caused the stock price of his company to fall by 30% overnight, the shareholders would force him out at once.

By his actions, he abdicated his responsibilty to students and to the state’s education system.

He was hired to be the steward of the state’s children, not a mean-spirited boss of the state’s educators and students.

He should resign.

Contact the Néw York State Board of Regents if you agree. Will they have the courage and integrity to defend our state’s children?

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, New York, Testing

Honor Dr. Rella for Standing Strong This Saturday

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2013 //
10

If you live anywhere on Long Island or near it, you should show up to meet and greet Dr. Joseph Rella, a hero educator who spoke out against New York State’s nutty and abusive scoring system. The event is on Saturday at noon.

I received the following notice from his admirers:

Dr. Joseph Rella, superintendent of Comsewogue School District, has created an opportunity for everyone who wants to end high-stakes testing. It was not part of an elaborate plan to further his career in education. It is the result of a letter he wrote for the children he was entrusted to educate, but felt forced to protect. That letter resonated loudly in the hearts and minds of those who know the negative implications of high-stakes testing and it went viral in one day.

Today, Dr. Joseph Rella, was presented the first “Lace to the Top Certificate of Appreciation.” This is the inscription:

“This award is presented to Dr. Joseph Rella, Compassionate Superintendent, for selfless dedication to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and all other stake-holders in the State of New York through courageous actions against high-stakes tests and their destructive implications, the members of Lace to the Top celebrate your Leadership and Conscience that inspire the fight for Public Education.”

Kevin and I sat with Dr. Rella and his beautiful wife, Jackie for over 2 hours. Our conversation followed a common theme; these tests abuse children and they cannot continue. It was a pleasure to hear him speak passionately about teaching, learning, and the future of public education.

I did not think I could love Dr. Rella anymore than I did after I read his letter, but I was wrong. Dr. Rella accepted our award with teary-eyed gratitude, his wife by his side. He posed for some pictures and turned to his wall filled with diplomas. His wife asked where to hang his award. His response was, “Take down the doctorate.” I thought he was joking. He was not. He took his doctorate off the center of the wall and hung the Lace to the Top award in its place and even used his shoe to hammer in a new nail. Now, hanging behind the man who inspired a rally is a certificate draped with a fresh pair of bright green laces.

The opportunity he created is this weekend at 12:00 at Comsewogue High School, 545 Bicycle Path in Port Jefferson Station, NY. Make it a priority. Be a part of a rally for children and education. Wear your green laces and unite behind this inspirational leader.

Categories Honor Roll, New York
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