Archives for category: Students
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

A Shocking Display of Candor in Bridgeport

By dianeravitch
July 18, 2013 //
27

Ann Evans de Bernard is retiring as principal of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, K-8 school. She decided it was time to tell the truth about urban education.

She explained that rises and falls on average test scores mean nothing because of the high mobility rate of her students. They move in and move out with stunning frequency. What do the scores mean? Nothing.

The kids persevere despite many obstacles. Yes, being poor makes life very hard for them and their families.

And she wonders: what if we could overcome all those obstacles; what if our children were really well prepared? Would those corporate leaders, who love to bash the schools, have good jobs for those well-educated youngsters?

Categories Connecticut, Poverty, Students

Katie Osgood: CPS Is Hurting Children

By dianeravitch
July 9, 2013 //
11

Katie Osgood spoke at a rally on July 4 outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home.

This is part of what she said:

“My name is Katie Osgood and I am a teacher. I teach at a psychiatric hospital here in the city, working with students from all over the Chicagoland area and of all ages including hundreds of CPS students. And in my hospital, I have seen directly the impact of Rahm Emanuel’s terrible school policies. We are seeing higher rates of depression, suicide attempts, school refusal, family conflict, anxiety, and aggressive behaviors all directly related to current school policies in this city.

“To put it bluntly, CPS’s policies are hurting children. When you viciously close schools, slash budgets-including taking money for social workers, smaller classes, arts, music, and gym, when you fire trusted teachers and staff, all these things hurt kids. And in the middle of all this, our mayor has the gall to cut mental health services and close mental health facilities. But you see, the chaos of our system is intentional. The people in charge call it “creative disruption,” a business term…..

“This is madness. Children need stability, they need connection, they need strong ties to their neighborhoods and communities. They need schools that are funded to work and be successful. They need fully certified, experienced teachers! ”

Read it all.

Categories Chicago, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Students

David Foster Wallace in 2005: “This Is Water”

By dianeravitch
July 7, 2013 //
24

David Foster Wallace gave the commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. In this speech, called “This Is Water,” Wallace tried to explain to the graduates what really matters most in life.

Wallace was a gifted and successful novelist.

He contrasted “the default setting” in which most of us live, reacting with frustration, anger, greed, me-first, to a conscious choice about leading a different life with different choices and values.

It is a strangely moving speech, not least because Wallace committed suicide in 2008.

Categories Students

The Empire Strikes Back Against Kids Who Opt Out Of State Tests

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
32

The New York City Department of Education is treating students who boycott state tests as failures and requiring them to go to summer school if they hope to be promoted. Even if their teacher recommends them for promotion, they will be punished. There are consequences for those who defy the DOE.

Categories New York City, Students, Testing

Letter from a Pennsylvania Student: Stop the Keystones!

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
27

A reader sent this letter written by her 14-year-old daughter. She should become active in the opt-out movement. She should contact Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson “At the Chalkface.”

Mother and daughter: resist. Join with others. Don’t let them destroy your education in the name of “accountability.” Hold the Mindless Testing Fanatics accountable.

She writes:

“Thank you for speaking up about these high stakes graduation exams. My 14 year-old daughter was required to take Algebra 1 this year (in 8th grade) and to take a first attempt at passing the new Pennsylvania, Keystone Exam. We live in the high achieving, suburban Philadelphia school district of Lower Merion, and have been extremely happy with our district until the Common Core Sate Standards and Keystone exams affected her this year. We know other children & families who feel much the same way.

“After day 1 of the exam, she came home a ball of stress. As a way of letting out her feelings, she wrote the essay below. At the end, she writes that she will never take a Keystone again, but unfortunately, that may be impossible. As I am sure you are aware, districts need to create projects for students who opt out or fail repeatedly. We have no idea what these projects entail. She is hoping that her essay will be published as a post. Thank you for considering giving her a voice.”

STOP KEYSTONES ONCE AND FOR ALL

My Story

By Jordyn Schwartz

Today I have experienced one of the most confidence breaking and mind troubling obstacles in my entire life; the Algebra 1 Keystone exam for the State of Pennsylvania. When I sat down to take this standardized test, I did not know what I was getting myself into. My math teacher had been preparing us for this test, but even with all that drill and practice, my mind could not take it all in. The first 14 questions took me over 10 minutes each when I was trying to solve the unfamiliar equations, long word problems, and words I didn’t even know how to pronounce. I was telling myself that I was going to be fine until all of the stress overwhelmed my body. I was frustrated. “I should know this,” I thought. I wasn’t even half way done when they announced that there were only 10 minutes remaining. I only completed my first set of grueling questions, and still had another set of them and 2 short answer sections containing at least 6 more questions each. I wouldn’t get help from a,b,c or d with these.

At that moment, my mind broke down. I was telling myself that I was stupid, and that these kinds of tests make me feel like I don’t know anything. After hours of work, I still had so much more. It is extremely difficult to continue concentrating at the same intense level as you did when you first started. I was sick and tired of looking at those same boring Algebra problems.

I am an A average student all around, and score advanced on PSSA’s. But I couldn’t even read the next problem without all of those discouraging thoughts spiraling in my mind. I tried telling myself to pull through, but I found myself not caring anymore, and just wanting to circle some letter. I did that for two or three questions and stopped. I dropped my pencil on my desk, tried taking some deep breaths, and thought of ripping my booklet into shreds. I poked holes in my booklet with my pencil, and started squeezing my hands tightly as if I was going to explode. I was that angry, outraged, fuming. I felt so incredibly frustrated that these stupid test companies don’t care what they are doing to the students of our country. All they want is the money, and the worst part is, nothing is being done to stop them. Why don’t the politicians making my generation the most over tested in history try the tests for themselves? I bet most of them would fail or do poorly. I mean, if smart, educated people don’t do well on these tests, than what do they show?

These Keystone tests are breaking kids down, making us feel dumb and not want to learn, instead of making us want to enjoy the wonders and greatness of education. I know that when most people in my grade hear the words, standardized testing, no one is jumping up and down with excitement. I am an 8th grade student in the Lower Merion School District: a district known for their excellent education. When kids here are complaining about how difficult it is for us to take these tests, who knows what kids in struggling school districts are experiencing. Why should these tests be a graduation requirement for high school?

After my big meltdown from the frustration of not knowing how in the world to do these problems, I didn’t continue my test. I told the guidance counselor I couldn’t take it any more, and how it made me feel horrible inside. Although I kept calm on the outside, on the inside I was bomb about to explode. I was holding back my tears. I bet many other kids felt this same way, even if it wasn’t as strongly as I felt. I will tell you one thing, I am never taking one of those tests again. No test shall ever make me feel as low and deflated as I did today. I don’t care what alternative project I have to do in exchange for the Keystone test. Let me be exempted. No one should experience what I have experienced today. Standardized testing needs to be stopped.

Categories Pennsylvania, Students, Testing

Teacher: Why Is New York Manipulating Passing Mark?

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2013 //
32

Chris Webster, a high school English teacher in New York, wrote an outraged letter to State Commissioner John King. Why is the state manipulating the passing mark? Are they making the scores lower to make public education look bad?

Here is Chris’ letter:

Dear Commissioner King:

You often tell the story of a teacher who had a positive influence on your life. We all remember a teacher who acknowledged who we are; one who valued our talents and dreams. That is why I became a teacher. I wanted to have an influence on the next generation; I wanted to help mold and guide young adults and show them their value. And, of course, I wanted to express and share my love of literature. Therefore, I have enjoyed spending the last 16 years as an English Language Arts teacher. And so it is with a heavy heart that I watch the New York State Education Department blatantly manipulate data for their own agenda, the true victims being the children they purport to represent.

I will not nor can I speak to politics and what goes on behind the scenes. I am, however, right there on the front line, not in educational theory but in the classroom. My students completed the New York State Comprehensive Exam in English (the “Regents Exam”) this past Tuesday, and I am shocked and appalled by what the State is doing. I am not a statistician but I can speak in real terms of what I’ve noticed.

On the English Regents Exam, a student can score a maximum of 25 points on the multiple choice questions, and a maximum of 10 points on the three written components. These “raw scores” are then converted into a score out of 100. When one looks at the score conversion chart, one looks at the multiple choice responses along the y-axis, and the essay score along the x-axis, finds the convergence point, and within that box there is a converted score on a 100 point scale. With 25 points along the y-axis and 10 points along the x-axis, there are a total of 250 “boxes” within the chart, each with a score out of 100.

The June 2013 scores introduced a disturbing change. In the last three administrations of this exam, June 2012, August 2012, and January 2013, a passing score of 65 or higher was available in 70 of the boxes. This represented 28% of the possible scores. In the most recent administration, June, 2013, this number was reduced. The 70 boxes with passing scores were reduced to 57 boxes. This represents 23% of the possible scores. Looking at it in this manner – the state is using the same chart with the same raw data, but reduced the passing score possibilities by 5%. Another way of looking at the same data is to look at the passing score numbers. The State went from 70 boxes of passing scores to 57. This is a reduction by almost 20%.

These same numbers work when one looks at Mastery (score 85 or higher) rates on the exam. Again, using the June 2012, August 2012, and January 2013, Mastery scores were available in 15 of the boxes, representing 6% of the scores. In the most recent administration, June 2013, this number was reduced. The 15 boxes with Mastery scores were reduced to 12. This represents approximately 5% of the possible scores. Again, the State reduced this by 1%. Nevertheless, look at the same data in another light. The State went from 15 boxes of Mastery scores to 12. This is a reduction of 20%.

There are yet other concerns. Across the board, with all scores, the scores in the corresponding boxes have been reduced. For example, in the June 2012 administration, a student who scored a 17 on the multiple choice and a 7 on the essays earned a grade of 66. In August 2012 the score was 67. In January 2013 the score was 67. In June 2013 the score was 63, a failing grade, despite the raw scores being exactly the same as the 3 previous administrations. A second example: using the last 3 administrations of the test once again, if a student’s raw score was 24 on the multiple choice and an 8 on the written responses, the grade earned was an 85 (considered Mastery level). However, in the June 2013 administration, these same raw scores converted to an 83, a drop of two points, and, more importantly, failure to achieve Mastery.

It is only a matter of time before we see the newspaper headlines saying “Regents Scores Drop Across the State.” The test has NOT become more difficult or easier; it is similar to recent exams. The State has simply made it more difficult to pass. In my opinion, this feels like one more attempt to prove that public education is not working.

In an effort to push your reform agenda, the students are the victims. New York State’s high school students deserve better. If an 11th grade student took the exam last year, statistically speaking, he or she had a 20% higher chance of meeting with success. The “high stakes” testing agenda is shameful.

Sincerely,

Christopher A. Webster

English Department

South Side High School

Rockville Centre, NY

Categories Accountability, New York, Students, Testing

David Greene: Repeal Race to the Top

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2013 //
17

David C. Greene says it is time
to restore common sense and sanity to education. Remember common sense and sanity?

He writes the following on his blog (http://t.co/WSUIlWARVk):

Support State Bills to repeal acceptance of Race to The Top in your state.

I am almost 64 years old. I have spent all but 4 of those in NYS public schools either as a student, teacher for 38 years, coach, or teacher mentor.

This was on the front page of my local newspaper…. I bet it is not unlike yours. STATE FAULTS GRAD PREP. According to the state, and what they have given the ridiculous name of The Aspirational Performance measure… to be college and career ready, a high school graduate must score at least a 75 on their English Regents and at least an 80 on an Algebra Regents.

I went to the Bronx High School of Science, one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation because I passed a test in the 9th grade. I received a BA (cum Laude) from Fordham University, an MA from CCNY, and have earned an additional 90 graduate credits….

However, according to the State’s APM, I was neither college nor career ready because I never got higher than an 80 on ANY math Regents…. even at the Bx HS of Science.

How many of you are HS graduates? How many, like me would not have been “C&C ready”?

——————————————————————————————-

I met 16 year-old Tyree 2 years ago while mentoring his TFA semi trained teacher in the Bronx. He was still in the 8th grade. He was on the verge of being tossed out of his Bronx middle school even though everyone knew he was one of the brightest kids there.

He and I connected. When I asked him why he was failing, he said… “I can’t stand this. Why should I be doing the same “frckn” thing since I was in 3rd grade?

He is typical. They took his passion, his curiosity, and his humanity and replaced it with boredom.

——————————————————

When did we lose our way? The founding fathers knew that in a democracy public schools were necessary to have an informed citizenry.

Public schools are not just to develop reading and math scores. Public schools are meant for the development of well-rounded adults able to contribute to their communities in whatever way they can, as college professors and auto mechanics, computer scientists and sanitation engineers.

Public schools are meant to teach not just academics, but citizenship, and humanity.

Public schools, next to family, are the most important institution in the socialization process of developing mature capable adults in our society.

When did they turn into factories creating test scores, not adults?

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Many of you see your boys and girls, little and big, hating and getting stressed in school precisely because of what schools are increasingly forced to do in this DOE controlled prescribed manner.

But why is there a prescribed manner?

I taught American History for years. One extremely important era was the post Civil War Gilded Age when US Congress was owned lock, stock, and barrel by the powerful Trusts of that era.

A very famous political cartoon of the time depicted a legislative chamber watched over by HUGE figures of trusts represented by the FAT INDUSTRIALISTS of the era, like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie.

——————————————————————————————————-

Similarly, education bills all over the country today are being guided by our version of these Fat Cats: Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, the Koch brothers, Eli Broad, and the Walton Family….

Today they are profiting from the education of our children by buying politicians from DC to Albany and indoctrinated them with their pseudo-science and their INADEQUATE $700 million BIG BUCKS!!!

George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee and countless other so-called educational reformers have hijacked our education system. They provide corporations like Pearson profit at the cost of our children!

They “embrace science whenever it supports their sacred values, but they’ll ditch it or distort it as soon as it threatens a sacred value.”

…Like the Common Core and Standardized testing.

———————————————————————————————-

NYS, for better and worse, has had K-12 syllabi and curricula for decades that other states hoped to emulate. It wasn’t perfect, but it was not prescribed. It wasn’t forced down the throats of schools, teachers, and children. They replaced it with Race to The Top formulas and The Common Core.

We have to make our political leaders regret that decision to be bought off, bribed, and blackmailed by Arne Duncan’s and the Federal DOE.

—————————————————————————————————-

I went to elementary school in a poor working class integrated South Bronx neighborhood. I learned to love school in 2nd grade because I was encouraged to learn by Ms. Rita Stafford, a teacher who thoroughly engaged all of us… We learned astronomy by hanging a solar system from the ceiling. We learned how to help our parents in neighborhood stores by learning long division. We learned how to fight for civil rights and for what is right by writing letters to President Eisenhower during the Little Rock crisis. We were published in the NYT.

SHE is why I am here today.

I am the SEED she planted!

Because we love our children we must fight for their right to have a teacher like my Ms. Stafford, and perhaps many of yours who planted the seed of who you are today.

Because we love our children, we must fight for the education they and the future of this country deserve.

We must be sure we allow our children to flower as we have.

Fight to repeal RTTT in NYS.

Fight to get Assembly Bill A7994 passed.

———————————————————————————————————

With apologies to Quentin Taratino, and the movie Inglourious Basterds..

“Ed deformers ain’t got no humanity. They’re the foot soldiers of a teacher hating, kid smothering maniac and they need to be dee-stroyed.

“…But I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When we joined this command, we took on a debit. A debit we owe our children personally. “

Categories Privatization, Race to the Top, Students, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

Hillsborough County: A Culture of Fear

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2013 //
36

Many years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that students have First Amendment rights.

In 1969, in a decision called Tinker V. Des Moines Community School District, the High Court voted 7-2 that the school could not prevent students from wearing black armbands to protest the war in Vietnam.

Hillsborough County, Florida, never heard of that decision. At the high school graduation ceremonies, the principal of a high school cut off the salutatorian mid-speech and withheld his diploma. This was not a response to anything he said, but apparently retaliation against him for posting a YouTube video criticizing the condition of the boys’ bathrooms. Even the local media noticed.

Teachers responded by saying that they too had experienced the same top-down, heavy-handed approach. “All across the country, teachers are afraid to speak up. No where is that more true than in Hillsborough county, the countries 8th largest district. With 15,000 teachers, Hillsborough is home to the Gates Foundation’s EET teacher evaluation system. This system may look good on paper, but it has been overwhelmingly unpopular with teachers, More than anything, it has established a culture of fear that has effectively silenced teacher expression.”

Apparently, when Bill and Melinda Gates show up to check on their investment, they get smiles and adulation from the teachers at Potemkin Village High. But when they leave, business as usual means “shut up. “

Categories Florida, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Students

Michael Weston: Teacher Evaluation Will Not Change the BIG Problem

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2013 //
15

Michal Weston, a teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida (at least for now), is running for the local school board. Regular readers know that he was recently fired by his principal for speaking out too much. Since Hillsborough County was one of the few that received a big Gates grant, it is heretical to question the idea that teacher evaluation is the very biggest problem in the world and that the right model will make all students proficient and college bound. Weston displays his heretical views here:

He writes:

Don’t get me wrong – teaching can and should be practiced and improved. My point is that teachers are not the BIG problem. We are not a mid-sized problem. Some of us are a small problem. The BIG problem is what we are doing about the “achievement gap”. I quote “achievement gap” because it is really an income gap. Neither gap is the problem.

The BIG problem is:

*Dumbing down the curriculum so everyone can succeed.
*Increasing rigor so everyone will be challenged.
*Testing kids until they cry. This is the name of holding accountable those who do not make them excel.
*Punishing schools and teachers who cannot magically make the “achievement gap” go away – in spite of all the excellent support being provided.
*Teaching the test to avoid punishment (teachers) or to amass treasure (administrators).
*Re-writing the textbooks so there are more balloons, insets, practice tests, pictures and web links than information.
*Encouraging EDUIndustry to create the next magic curriculum to sell us.
*Encouraging the notion of failing schools so as to sell them off (read give away) to for-profit institutions.
*Eliminating the arts in favor of STEM.

The list goes on.

What should we be doing. Easy. First, do no harm. Stop all of the above.

Next – get to work on the income gap. How? Graduate employable kids. We have to abandon the notion of one-size-fits-all education. We must abandon the requirement that all kids be prepared for college. We have to place kids in educational settings where they can succeed. For some that means AP Physics. For some that means Creative Writing. For others that may mean auto shop. For some it is carpentry.

99 times out of 100, you will not succeed in taking a high school freshman (a 16 year old freshman), with fourth grade math skills, and get that kid into AP Physics. It seems like 100 times out of 100, that is our goal however. Most of these kids drop out; never to pay a dime of income-tax in their often short lives.

We must redefine high school, and what we intend to do with kids for four years of their lives. College is grand; we must provide a high quality path; one where 50% of kids do not require remediation. Trades are grand; a graduate with a career in masonry will earn a good living; provide for his children; and provide a a greater respect for education. His son may go into trades, or may choose the college route. They are both available because mom and dad will not allow him to be left behind in fourth grade. This family WILL have a college graduate someday.

Just not tomorrow.

That is the piece we refuse to accept, That it will not be tomorrow. Instead, we seek the Holy Grail, the silver bullet, the magic elixir, SOMEONE TO BLAME!

The achievement gap will be closed with the income gap. It will take generations, because there is no silver bullet. The BIG problem with education is that as long as we are hunting the Holy Grail, we have yet to begin the real work.

Categories Students, Teacher Evaluations

The Shame of Providence

By dianeravitch
June 14, 2013 //
6

Providence and the state of Rhode Island allowed a school to use developmentally disabled students to do manual labor for little or no pay.

Both the city and state received a stern letter from the Civil Rights Division of the U. S. Department of Justice.

“Both Providence and the state allowed the Harold H. Birch Vocational School to operate a “sheltered workshop” that segregated kids with disabilities from other students and denied them the opportunity for integrated employment when they completed their schooling, according to a letter from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Birch obtains contracts with private businesses to perform work, such as bagging, labeling, collating, and assembling jewelry,” the letter stated.

“One former student stated that she was required to spend a much greater portion of her school day in the workshop, including full days, when the workshop had important production deadlines.”

Categories Special Education, Students
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »