Archives for category: U.S. education
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When Your Best Is Never Enough

By dianeravitch
February 6, 2013 //
12

Diana Rogers, a regular reader of the blog, writes about her experience and her school:

I’ve worked for twenty years in a district that has a wonderful staff. There have been a few unsuitable teachers throughout the years, and the administration had no trouble identifying them and getting rid of them; a few others who just needed a bit of guidance were mentored and became better teachers.

I know I have become a better teacher each year, and I have worked hard at becoming better–taken 65 semester hours of post-graduate work, attended numerous workshops and seminars, read professional books and journals. But more important, I learned from my students and their parents, and from my colleagues. I did not “peak” after a few years, but got better and better each year at understanding my students, being able to explain material to them in ways they could grasp and retain, and at knowing how to bring parents into the teaching team as their children’s biggest supporters.

I have done everything I have been asked to do. And so have the other teachers I know. I don’t see all these “bad” teachers that are always being talked about in the media. But in recent years we have been asked to do not only the stupid, but the downright impossible, and even the harmful. Yes we are getting demoralized, attacked from all sides by non-educators who think they understand education better than professional educators. On the whole, teachers are idealistic strivers who try to do everything they can to help their students succeed. I see this every day.

And now we have to waste time on endless testing, data compilation, test preparation, and changing our curriculum to align to the Common Core.

We have to worry about our contracted pensions being taken away from us.

We have to spend enormous amounts of time assembling a portfolio of evidence to prove that we are good teachers, and are even told not to expect to be rated as excellent as we were in the past and as our administrators know we are.

This time could certainly be better spent polishing and improving our lessons, researching materials and methods, or giving feedback to students. Even though I take stacks of work home nightly and spend a huge chunk of the weekend and much of my vacation time on grading, preparation, and other school-related work, there are still only so many hours in a day, and they are not enough to do what I am required to do without adequate resources or support.

The conditions teachers work under are not the fault of school administrators any more than that of the teachers. Administrators endure the same unreasonable pressures of impossible demands, unfair evaluations and limited resources as teachers do. They are caught up in the same effort to do what is being asked of them when what is being asked is not reasonable or right.

Schools will not become better if people like me and the many fine, experienced teachers I know are driven out by impossible demands, abuse, and loss of job and retirement security.

I want to believe that sensible thinkers will prevail and that the tide in this insidious madness of false “reform” will turn.

I cannot understand why there is not recognition and enormous public outcry against the dismantling of public education in our country.

I’m hoping that the harm being done by those whose interests are not the welfare of our country and its children will finally be understood and that people of good faith in the general public and in our government (if there are any left there who are not controlled by big money) will do what is needed to save public education before it is too late.

Categories Pensions, Privatization, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure, Teachers and Teaching, Testing, U.S. education

When Is Federal Intervention OK?

By dianeravitch
January 31, 2013 //
24

This reader says that federal intervention is appropriate on behalf of social justice: civil rights and gender equity. But it’s wrong when employed to close public schools and privatize them (charters and vouchers) or to impose curriculum (that orohibition is in federal law).

WEIRD CIRCLE
That is sort of unfair, to complain that only 2% of the Federal budget goes to Education. After all, education is a responsibility that, under our Constitution, has been delegated to the states and is under local control.

Also unfair, however, is leveraging that 2% of the federal budget — about 7% of education outlays overall — and forcing states to comply with unproven methods to transform our schools.

It is hardly a new thing — Title I and Title IX both do this and the Civil Rights acts passed in the mid-60s also used forms of leverage. But that was in the name of social justice, eliminating some of the most blatant forms of discrimination and at least reducing inequity.

But with the Bushes (and we have to include Jeb in this, since Florida pree 2000 was one of the prototypes for labeling a school as failing) this changed. There was talk of social equity — remember ‘the soft bigotry of low expectations”? — but the action was in testing and accountability presumably, once you looked at how difficult it was to not be a failing school, as a pathway to privatization via the dismantling of public education.

Never understood why Ted Kennedy was such a fan of NCLB, but at least at the beginning there was the promise of more money. And lest we forget, early in the W administration the Senate switched from Republican to Democratic control when Jim Jeffords did the same because of a lack of federal funding for special education programs. So you would think those Senators had figured out a way to make sure education would get funding. You’d be thinking wrong.

Of course, Ted supported Barrack, but is absolutely beyond me why the Obama administration has given lip service to criticizing NCLB and then continued with its substance. In some ways I think it is to show people how smart Arne Duncan is. Really. While we may not like the content of his plans, the way he has used that 2% — and esp. that 5 billion of RttT money as a lever to pry reforms from governor’s and state legislatures is perversely brilliant.

By the way, future DOE heads will never forget that.

Categories U.S. Department of Education, U.S. education

Is the Tide Turning?

By dianeravitch
January 31, 2013 //
11

The Journey for Justice brought civil rights activists from across the nation to Washington, D.C., where they presented their demands to Secretary Duncan.

This is an important development because until now the leaders of the corporate reform movement have called themselves leaders of the “civil rights issue of our times.” This phrase has been bandied about by Joel Klein, Condoleeza Rice, Mitt Romney, Michelle Rhee, Michael Bloomberg, and Arne Duncan, as they applaud the closing of schools in minority communities, attack unions, and privatize public schools.

Now grassroots activists are speaking out in defense of their schools and communities. They are reclaiming the leadership of the civil rights from the 1%. Add to this the determination of the Garfield teachers in Seattle, the student protests in Portland, Oregon, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Something is in the air. Teachers, students. school boards, and parents are beginning to see what is happening, to understand that what is happening in their community is not a local issue but a determined, coordinated effort to privatize their schools.

Spring is coming.

Here is a first-hand account of the events associated with the Journey for Justice:

1/30/13
Dear SOS,
Many activists went to Washington, DC on a “Journey for Justice” to protest the school closings that are targeting our minority students living in impoverished communities.
Hear what transpired and be inspired.

This email came from Jaisal Noor- his coverage of the day

“Parents and Students Demand Nationwide Moratorium on Schools Closings
//”Journey for Justice” activists rally in DC to DOE investigate alleged Civil Rights violations in school closings
link: http://youtu.be/pCGrkb1qc7o

Chicago Parent and Activist Jitu Brown at “Journey for Justice” Hearing in DC
//Part 2 of TRN’s coverage of the “Journey for Justice” DOE Hearing on School Closings
link: http://youtu.be/1PX7y9-GWzI

New Orleans Parent and Activist Karran Harper Royal at “Journey for Justice” Hearing in DC
//Part 3 of TRN’s coverage of the “Journey for Justice” DOE Hearing on School Closings
link: http://youtu.be/c00PWQl8wLk

JAISAL NOOR: PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS AND STUDENTS FROM 18 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY GATHERED IN WASHINGTON, DC THIS WEEK TO DEMAND A NATIONWIDE MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS.
FEDERAL PROGRAMS LIKE RACE TO THE TOP OFFERED FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO CITIES AND STATES FOR RADICALLY CHANGING THEIR SCHOOLS, INCLUDING FIRING STAFF AND SHUTTING SCHOOLS DOWN. WHILE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TOUTED THE COMPETITIVE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROGRAM AS A WAY TO IMPROVE EDUCATION AND BETTER PREPARE STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE AND THE WORKFORCE, MANY PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SAY THE CHANGES ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.

(CLIP HELEN MOORE) “I came here to demand, I am demanding an education for our children. We pay the money, we have a right to have our kids educated”

THAT’S HELEN MOORE, A DETROIT EDUCATION ACTIVIST. SHE WAS ONE OF HUNDREDS WHO ATTENDED A HEARING TUESDAY IN WASHINGTON DC CALLING FOR A NATIONAL MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS. BROWN WAS PART OF A GROUP THAT FILED A TITLE VI CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT LAST SUMMER CHALLENGING THE POLICIES. SHE SAYS SCHOOL CLOSINGS IN DETROIT, A CITY ALREADY MARKED BY HIGH RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT, VACANT HOUSES AND FORECLOSURES, ARE DESTABILIZING THE COMMUNITY.

(CLIP HELEN MOORE) “The neighborhood start going down as the families start moving out. They don;t want to be told what school to go to because there is no other school.

WHEN A SCHOOL IS CLOSED, THE STUDENT POPULATION OFTEN HAS TO TRAVEL TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL BUILDING OR RE-APPLY TO GO BACK TO THEIR SCHOOL. ADDITIONALLY, THE STAFF IS OFTEN REPLACED AND RESOURCES ARE REGULARLY CUT, SOMETIMES IN FAVOR OF A CHARTER SCHOOL THAT IS OPENED IN THE SAME BUILDING.

SETH GALANTER IS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS. HE SAID THEY ARE INVESTIGATING PEOPLE’S CONCERNS AND THE 6 TITLE VI COMPLAINTS THAT WERE FILED:

(CLIP SETH GALANTER)” When we look at these things, i need to emphasize, we cannot deal with every harmful decision that happens. sometimes people are negatively affected, but that doesn’t mean civil rights violation. THe question we are asking is if there’s an intent to discriminate or decision to make an illegal closing. Not only investigate weather to close schools, which schools to close, and how these decision impacted and affect on students. ”

AFTER THE HEARING, HUNDREDS OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS MARCHED TO THE MARTIN LUTHER KING MEMORIAL FOR A RALLY, CONTINUING THEIR CALL FOR JUSTICE. JOEL VELASQUEZ , A PARENT FROM OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA SAYS HE FOUGHT PLANS TO SHUT HIS SON’S SCHOOL BY LEADING A 3-WEEK LONG SIT-IN AT LAKEVIEW ELEMENTARY.

(CLIP JOEL VELASQUEZ) “After a year of trying to meet with officials, superintendent, we were left with no options, we took our school back. ”

HE WAS JOINED AT THE RALLY BY OAKLAND EDUCATOR AND ACTIVIST MIKE HUTCHINSON WHO SAYS SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND INCREASED CHARTER SCHOOLS ONLY TARGET THE CITY’S LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES

(CLIP HUTCHINSON) “If you look at a map of Oakland, we have the flatlands and the hills. In the flatlands, which are less affluent, that’s where all the school closures have happened, thats where all the charters are. There are no school closures and charters in the hills. If charter schools and school closures are the best option I would expect them to be applied across the board, but I haven’t seen that happen”

A DELEGATION FROM NEW ORLEANS, THE CITY WITH THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY, ALSO TRAVELED TO DC. STUDENT TERREL MAJOR SAYS HIS PUBLIC SCHOOL GETS LESS RESOURCES THAN THE CHARTER SCHOOL THAT SHARES THE SAME BUILDING.

(CLIP TERREL MAJOR)”Like when the storm Issac came, after we came back from the storm, – their side of the cafeteria- we sit on different sides, their side of the cafeteria and our side was damaged for weeks. It made me feel lesser than, that I didn’t really matter in our own school.”

MAJOR CALLS THAT DISCRIMINATION. DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, SOME ARE ENCOURAGED BY THE GROWING GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT AGAINST SCHOOL CLOSINGS, INCLUDING NEW ORLEANS PARENT AND ACTIVIST KARRAN HARPER ROYAL.

(CLIP KARRAN HARPER ROYAL) I think we are at a turning point because there are people organizing around the country. In Seattle its testing, we are organizing around school closures, there are teachers organizing around evaluation systems. We are at a critical point because we are not getting the desired outcomes. ”

IN ADDITION TO A NATIONWIDE MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS, ACTIVISTS ARE CALLING FOR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION, INCREASED RESOURCES AND A COMMUNITY-BASED INPUT PROCESS . ORGANIZERS HAVE VOWED TO RETURN TO WASHINGTON IF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DOES NOT TAKE ACTION. REPORTING FOR THE REAL NEWS AND FSRN, THIS IS JAISAL NOOR IN WASHINGTON.”

—

Melody
Colorado Information Coordinator
Save Our Schools
saveourschoolsmarch.org
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/285175064843594/

Categories Charter Schools, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Parents, Privatization, Students, Testing, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. education, Unions

If I Were Secretary of Education…..(1)

By dianeravitch
January 30, 2013 //
37

In response to another post, asking what would you do if you were Secretary of Education:

If I were the Secretary of Education, I would take all the
money being spent on testing and use a good portion of it to hire
aids, reading specialists, nurses, librarians, and all the other
support staff needed to truly serve the needs of a school.

School boards would consist of teachers and parents.

Our education system would promote supporting a student’s strengths, instead of making
school a place of failure.

I would have industry work with ourschools to help train high school students for job readiness when
they leave school. I would fund higher education so people
graduating from college would not bestrapped with a great debt.

I would invite working education models like Finland to come and share
what works with us.

The NCLB and RTT would be disbanded.

I would sever all ties with Pearson.

There would be no Federal funding for
Charter or online schools.

I wish this could happen. I’m sick of
the reformers.

I can’t believe Obama is letting it go on and on.

Sincerely, Fed Up Fourth Grade Teacher
________________________________

Categories Support for public schools, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. education

Local School Boards to Duncan: Back Off!

By dianeravitch
January 29, 2013 //
42

The U.S. Department of Education is not supposed to control U.S. education.

It was created to serve schools, protect the rights of the neediest children, and coordinate funding programs, not to tell schools what to do.

One prong of the corporate reform movement seeks to strip local school boards of their responsibility, because they don’t like privatization.

The National School Boards Association listened to Secretary Duncan and a leading Republican member of Congress yesterday, then released this statement:

NSBA contact: Linda Embrey, Communications Office
703-838-6737; lembrey@nsba.org

School Board Leaders Advocate for Less Intrusive Role of the U.S. Department of Education

Alexandria, Va. (Jan. 29, 2013) – More than 700 school board members and state school boards association leaders will be meeting with their members of Congress and urging them to co-sponsor legislation, developed by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), to protect local school district governance from unnecessary and counter-productive federal intrusion from the U.S. Department of Education.

School board leaders are in Washington D.C. to take part in NSBA’s 40th annual Federal Relations Network Conference, being held Jan. 27-29, 2013.

The proposed legislation would ensure that the Department of Education’s actions are consistent with the specific intent of federal law and are educationally, operationally, and financially supportable at the local level. This would also establish several procedural steps that the Department of Education would need to take prior to initiating regulations, rules, grant requirements, guidance documents, and other regulatory materials.

“In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education has engaged in a variety of activities to reshape the educational delivery system,” said Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA’s Executive Director. “All too often these activities have impacted local school district policy and programs in ways that have been beyond the specific legislative intent. School board leaders are simply asking that local flexibility and decision-making not be eroded through regulatory actions.”

Additionally, this legislation is intended to provide the House of Representatives and Senate committees that oversee education with better information regarding the local impact of Department of Education’s activities. The legislation is also designed to more broadly underscore the role of Congress as the federal policy-maker in education and through its representative function.

“We must ensure that the decisions made at the federal level will best support the needs and goals of local school systems and the communities they serve,” said Gentzel. “Local school boards must have the ability to make on-the-ground decisions that serve the best interests of our school districts.”

###

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Education Reform, Federal Waiver, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. education

What If YOU Were Secretary of Education?

By dianeravitch
January 27, 2013 //
25

Brian Jones, elementary teacher and doctoral student in New York City, here presents what he would do if he were Secretary of Education.

Please read it. After you do, if you are so inclined, please explain what you would do if you were asked by President Obama to take the job.

Categories Education Reform, Obama, Privatization, U.S. education

NEA Supports Garfield High School Teachers’ Boycott

By dianeravitch
January 23, 2013 //
38

Will the Garfield High School teachers’ test boycott go national? They now have the support of both the AFT and their own union, the NEA. Will other Seattle high schools join them? Will teachers in other districts follow their lead?

One source reported that the superintendent of schools in Seattle has warned that he will dock their pay. If that is true, we will have to raise money to help these brave teachers.

Here is the NEA statement:

Subject: Press Release – NEA President supports Seattle educators who refuse to give flawed standardized test

NEA President supports Seattle educators who refuse to give flawed standardized test

Standardized test takes away from student learning

WASHINGTON—National Education Association (NEA) members at Garfield High School in Seattle, Wash., voted to not administer the district-mandated Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) standardized test that is not aligned with state standards or the district curriculum. NEA has long urged for the careful consideration of the fact that these tests are being used to make decisions about students’ and teachers’ futures, and have corrupted the pursuit of improving real learning and effective teaching.

A rally event organized by the Seattle Education Association in support of Garfield High School educators will be held in Seattle on Wednesday, January 23, 2013, at 4 p.m. PST at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence.

The following is a statement by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel:

“Today is a defining moment within the education profession as educators at Seattle’s Garfield High School take a heroic stand against using the MAP test as a basis for measuring academic performance and teacher effectiveness. I, along with 3 million educators across the country, proudly support their efforts in saying ‘no’ to giving their students a flawed test that takes away from learning and is not aligned with the curriculum. Garfield High School educators are receiving support from the parents of Garfield students. They have joined an ever-growing chorus committed to one of our nation’s most critical responsibilities—educating students in a manner that best serves the realization of their fullest potential.

“Educators across the country know what’s best for their students, and it’s no different for our members in Seattle. We know that having well-designed assessment tools can help students evaluate their own strengths and needs, and help teachers improve. This type of assessment isn’t done in one day or three times a year. It’s done daily, and educators need the flexibility to collaborate with their colleagues and the time to evaluate on-going data to make informed decisions about what’s best for students.

“If we want a system that is designed to help all students, we must allow educators, parents, students and communities to be a part of the process and have a stronger voice in this conversation as they demand high-quality assessments that support student learning. Off-the-shelf assessments that are not aligned with the curriculum or goals of the school are not the answer.”

Follow the Washington Education Association at http://www.washingtonea.org

Follow the Seattle Education Association at http://www.seattlewea.org

Follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/NEAMedia

###

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

***********************************************************

Categories Testing, U.S. education, Unions, Washington State

Jersey Jazzman Answers Another Teacher’s Question

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2013 //
6

This day on which we mark the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., is an appropriate time to think about our nation’s determination to revive a dual school system in urban districts: one for the “strivers” (the charters, as Mike Petrilli explained it in a post), and another for the kids unwilling or unable to enroll in a charter school (that is, those who are in public schools).

Yesterday, a teacher asked why parents would keep their children in public schools when charter schools are able to exclude the disruptive kids and provide homogeneous groups of well-behaved students.

Here, Jersey Jazzman adds his thoughts to the exchange on the blog:

An excellent discussion here. I wrote about this last week:

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/01/segregation-by-behavior-chartery-secret.html

The sad fact is that we already do segregate the students in our public schools: we segregate them by the ability and willingness of their families to pay high prices for housing. If you can afford to pay in the high six-digits for a house in the leafy ‘burbs, then you can send your kid to a fabulous school that will not segregate her from high-achieving children, even if she’s struggling academically or behaviorally. That school will be well-resourced and have a broad and rich curriculum; you’ll also have much more influence on its administration through democratically elected school boards that will be far more responsive to your concerns than autocratic urban school leaders.

These are rights and privileges that come from wealth. They are not available to parents living in urban areas where school resources are being drained by both regressive tax structures and the proliferation of charters, and where citizens are increasingly disenfranchised from having a say in how their schools are run. We currently have a two-tiered system of eduction in this country, and it has nothing to do with how “gifted” the students are in each tier.

Again, I give Petrilli credit for finally addressing all of this. But let’s take it to its logical conclusion:

If we are really saying the issue in urban education is that the “disruptors” need to be separated out, then charters are a terrible way to do so. Folks like Petrilli who want to segregate the children this way have an obligation to propose a fair, transparent, and broad-based system of evaluation at the developmentally appropriate time to track children not just by ability, but by classroom behavior. That system needs to be free of racial, ethnic, gender, and socio-economic bias.

But, perhaps most importantly, it needs to be applied uniformly across our society. There should be no more recourse for wealthy parents to buy their way into a public school district that mainstreams their disruptive, underachieving child with the high-flyers, while poor children in cities are separated into castes.

Good luck trying to sell that one to the PTO, Mike.

Until Petrilli is ready to roll out his system, let’s at least all agree on his premise: the secret to “successful” charters is that they serve different students than neighboring public schools. That’s a big step forward in the debate, and one I’d be happy to see many others take.

Categories Charter Schools, Poverty, Special Education, U.S. education

Milwaukee: No Model for America

By dianeravitch
January 19, 2013 //
30

Recently I wrote a post maintaining that choice had failed in Milwaukee, and that the city would be better off if it had a single public school system, doors open to all, receiving public support and public funding and civic energy. Uniting behind public education makes more sense than supporting three separate systems, none of which do well for studnts.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel published my post as an opinion piece. So far, my views have been critiqued by two other opinion pieces. One is by the research director of a free-market organization that advocates for vouchers, who says (ironically) that my call for unity around public schooling is “divisive.” This article gave me a hearty laugh.

The other article, by Patrick Wolf and John Witte also took exception to my blog post. They responded in an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and maintained that choice was a great success in Milwaukee and far better than public schooling.

This is my response to Wolf and Witte.

Milwaukee’s choice program is a failure. There are now three
separate systems—the public schools, with about 80,000 students; the
voucher schools, with about 23,000 students, and the charter schools,
with about 20,000 students.

There is very little difference among the three sectors in
terms of student achievement.

Patrick Wolf and John Witte do not agree. They think the
voucher and charter programs have been successful. They say that the
voucher schools have higher graduation rates, but critics who reviewed
their study say that about 75 percent of the original 9th graders were
not still enrolled in a voucher high school by the end of senior year.
With such high attrition from voucher schools, the graduation rates
are meaningless.

When the voucher and charter movements were first launched in the
early 1990s, advocates insisted that competition would cause the
public schools to improve. Governor Scott Walker still says so.

Advocates also said they wanted public funds to flow
to private and religious schools, because it would help minority
children.

But this has not happened. On the latest federal tests of math and reading, Milwaukee was one of the nation’s lowest performing urban school districts. Its performance was similar to the very lowest performing districts: Cleveland, D.C., and Detroit.

After twenty years of choice, the test scores of black
students in Milwaukee are similar to those of black students in
District of Columbia, Cleveland, Mississippi and Alabama.

Wolf and Witte claim that the choice schools do not skim the easiest
to educate students. When choice schools skim, it leaves the public schools worse off, with the most expensive students to educate

Wolf earlier admitted that 19% of the students in the Milwaukee
public schools have disabilities, compared to somewhere between 7 and
14.5 percent in the voucher schools. As Wolf told Education Week,
voucher schools typically accept students with mild to moderate
disabilities, which leaves the most severely disabled to the public
schools.

It is inefficient to run three separate school systems. Not only does
it triplicate costs, but it divides civic energy. All the people of
Milwaukee should work together to build a school system that meets the
needs of all the children.

Twenty years of experience with choice in Milwaukee demonstrates that
it is not effective or efficient to run three school systems. It does not meet the needs of children.

We should have learned that in 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared
a dual school system to be unconstitutional.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, U.S. education, Vouchers, Wisconsin

Will a Bar Exam Improve the Teaching Profession?

By dianeravitch
January 18, 2013 //
149

Randi Weingarten proposed a national bar exam for future teachers, and it stirred quite a reaction. Most worrisome is that the idea appeals to certain figures in the public eye who are known for making negative comments about teachers.

Some on this blog complained that Randi was echoing the corporate reformers’ complaint that teachers are the problem and must be blamed for the achievement gap, low scores, and every other issue.

But I’m inclined to agree with Randi that the profession needs higher entry standards or it will never get the respect it deserves.

One of the admirable aspects of Finnish education is that there are high standards for entry into teaching. Only 1 in 10 applicants is accepted into teacher education programs. Teachers have high prestige, as high as other professions. There is no Teach for Finland.

By contrast, many US states have low standards for entry into teaching and welcome teschers with little or no professional preparation. Growing numbers of teachers acquire their masters degree through dubious online “universities.”

I don’t think that a bar exam, by itself, will make much difference, although in the long run it may raise the prestige of the profession.

The question that must be faced is that any such exam is likely to have a disparate impact on minorities. The courts might even strike down an exam that excluded disproportionate numbers of black, Hispanic and Asian applicants. And there are unintended consequences; I am thinking of a story I read a year or two ago about a great music teacher, beloved by his students, who had to leave teaching because he could not pass the math section of the state test.

It’s always wise to look before you leap.

Categories Teachers and Teaching, Testing, U.S. education
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