Archives for category: US Education
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My Speaking Schedule Next Week

By dianeravitch
October 10, 2012 //
36

Next week I am traveling and lecturing in the Midwest.

I speak at the City Club in Chicago on Monday October 15 at 7:30 am.

Same day, I speak to the CREATE assessment conference at University of Illinois at 11:30 a.m.

Same day, I speak to members of CTU at 4 pm, not yet sure of location.

Fly to Columbus, Ohio, that night.

On October 16 at 9:00 am I speak to the Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, Bridgewater Banquet Facility in Powell, Ohio.

I leave immediately after I speak and fly to Lansing, Michigan. On October 17, I speak to the Tri-County Alliance for Public Education, 8:30am.

Then I leave and fly to St. Paul, where I speak on October 18 to the annual conference of Education Minnesota at 11:30 am.

I dash to make a flight home.

Collapse.

I hope you can do this when you are 74!

Categories Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Ravitch, Diane, US Education

The Next Targets of Corporate Reform

By dianeravitch
October 9, 2012 //
21

Mike Petrilli of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute summarizes “What’s Next” for reformers (some prefer to call them privatizers).

Race to the Top was a great coup for the privatizers/reformers.

Now they plan to follow up with a direct assault on schools of education, abetted by NCTQ’s forthcoming rankings, to be published by US News. NCTQ was created by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation a dozen years ago, and saved at the outset by a $5 million grant from Secretary of Education Rod Paige. In 2005, it got caught up in a federal investigation for taking money from the Department to speak well of NCLB. Read here to learn more about NCTQ.

The privatizers intend to move on principal evaluation, to make it more like teacher evaluation (test scores matter).

Pension reform will be high on their agenda.

Privatizers will promote digital learning by removing seat time requirements and following the guidance of former Governor Jeb Bush on this subject. No mention is made of the negative evaluations of cyber charters, both by Stanford’s CREDO and the National Education Policy Center, or of exposes that appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post about the awful performance of cyber charters.

Gird your loins, folks, the privatizers are flush with victories in Wisconsin, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Florida, and other states, and they are coming back to do some more reforming.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Alternate Route To Certification, Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Common Core, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Louisiana, Pensions, Principals, Privatization, Race to the Top, Teacher Evaluations, Technology, Computers, Testing, US Education

Creativity Declines as Testing Increases

By dianeravitch
October 8, 2012 //
16

An article in Psychology Today says that studies of creativity show it is on the decline.

The decline of creativity is concurrent with the rise of testing and accountability in American schools.

This is particularly disturbing because America’s trump card has always been creativity, ingenuity, wit, and innovation.

In our reckless pursuit to “race to the top” of test scores, we are sacrificing what matters most to our nation’s future economic success.

Categories Testing, US Education

Spread the Word about October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools!

By dianeravitch
October 6, 2012 //
77

I will write about this every single day from now until October 17.

Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.

You can write it now and follow instructions here.

Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.

We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.

Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.

Here are the instructions:

You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.

Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.

Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.

1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.

2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.

All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.

In ADDITION to this,

3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500

4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.

One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.

Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.

Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.

Let’s act. Start here. Start now.

Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.

Diane

Categories Accountability, Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Obama, Parents, Privatization, Race to the Top, Students, Teachers and Teaching, Testing, US Education

What Race to the Top Has Accomplished

By dianeravitch
October 6, 2012 //
65

Let’s give credit where credit is due.

Because of Race to the Top, most states are now evaluating teachers based in significant part on student test scores. The American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education say that the methodology for doing this is inaccurate and unstable. The ratings bounce around from year to year. Such ratings reflect which students were in the class, not teacher quality.

Because of Race to the Top, more states are permitting privatization of public schools.

Because of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, all schools are labeled by their test scores.

Because of Race to the Top, there is more teaching to the test, more fear and anxiety associated with testing, more narrowing of the curriculum, more cheating.

Because of Race to the Top, many schools in poor and minority neighborhoods will be closed.

Because of Race to the Top, many principals and teachers will be fired.

Is this what President Obama meant when he referred to the “results” of his Race to the Top? It explains why Romney applauded it and specifically hailed Arne Duncan.

This reader has a different view of Race to the Top:

In addition to the intimidation and demoralization of teachers, Race to the Top is having its intended results: the destabilization, fragmentation and privatization of the public schools.

In their public utterances on education, Obama and Duncan are frauds, but the education reform complex is being managed by very intelligent and far seeking -venal, but far-seeking – people. They know exactly what they are doing, and more often than not are getting their way.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Duncan, Arne, For-Profit, Obama, Privatization, Race to the Top, Romney, Mitt, Teacher Evaluations, Testing, US Education

Why Privatizers Don’t Care About Evidence

By dianeravitch
October 5, 2012 //
25

A reader writes:

This is the reason why no one listens to all the sound reasons presented so far.

“No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.” ~ Karl R. Popper

Categories ALEC, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization, Race to the Top, US Education

The Debate’s Education Blather

By dianeravitch
October 4, 2012 //
57

Education was mentioned several times in the debate, yet got very little attention.

President Obama mentioned Race to the Top three times (at the Democratic convention, neither he nor Arne Duncan mentioned it even once). He claimed it was already showing results. I wish Romney had asked him what the results are. The President seems to think that the fact that states have adopted the Common Core standards shows that reform is working, but it will be years before their effects will be known. Might be good, might not. No one knows.

The President has this strange belief that Race to the Top was not top down, but that’s simply not the case. To qualify for the $5 billion in federal funds, states had to agree to meet specific federal requirements, such as evaluating teachers by their students’ test scores and opening more privately managed charter schools.

Many teachers know Race to the Top as a singular disaster for children and for their profession. The Chicago strike was a revolt in part against Race to the Top’s punitive ideas.

Not surprising that Romney sort of praised both Arne Duncan and Race to the Top, since Duncan has made it his mission to placate the nation’s most conservative governors. But by the same token, large numbers of teachers dislike Duncan and may not vote because of this administration’s fondness for placating governors who are hostile to teachers, like Chris Christie.

Obama said nothing about the attacks on unions and on teachers. It seems both candidates love teachers as long as they compete for a bonus and don’t have tenure.

Romney boasted that Massachusetts has the best schools in the nation, but didn’t mention that he had nothing to do with their success.

The Massachusetts reforms were passed by the Legislature ten years before Romney became Governor in 2003. The reforms doubled state funding of public education from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $2.6 billion by 2000; provided a minimum foundation budget for every district; committed to develop strong curricula for subjects such as science, history, the arts, foreign languages, mathematics, and English; implemented a new testing program; expanded professional development for teachers; and tested would-be teachers. In the late 1990s, again before Romney assumed office, the state added new funds for early childhood education.

So, yes, the Massachusetts reforms were costly, but Romney has no plans to fund anything new other than charters and vouchers, which were not part of his state’s academic success.

All in all, the little that was said about education by the candidates was empty rhetoric, disconnected from reality and offering no real change from the failed policies of the past decade.

Categories Duncan, Arne, Obama, Romney, Mitt, US Education

My Candid Views about School Choice

By dianeravitch
October 3, 2012 //
1

This is part 2 of my interview by Abby Rappaport of the American Prospect. This came at the end of a long day in Austin, after I gave two speeches, one in the morning to the Texas School Boards Association and Texas Association of School Administrators, and another in the afternoon to parents and teachers. I was too tired to choose my words. I said what I think.

In part 1 of the interview, we talked about testing and accountability.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization, Texas, US Education, Vouchers

Bill Moyers on ALEC

By dianeravitch
October 3, 2012 //
4

Because I was traveling in Texas over the weekend, I didn’t see Bill Moyers’ report on ALEC. I watched it last night, and I hope you will too.

If you want to understand how we are losing our democracy, watch this program.

If you want to know why so many states are passing copycat legislation to suppress voters’ rights, to eliminate collective bargaining, to encourage online schooling, to privatize public education, watch this program.

ALEC brings together lobbyists for major corporations and elected state officials in luxurious resorts. In its seminars, the legislators learn how to advance corporate-sponsored, free-market ideas in their state. Its model legislation is introduced in state after state, often with minimal or no changes in the wording.

Watch Moyers show how Tennessee adopted ALEC’s online school bill and how Arizona is almost a wholly owned ALEC state. Watch how Scott Walker followed the ALEC template.

Moyers could do an entire special on ALEC’s education bills. ALEC promotes the parent trigger, so that parents can be tricked into handing their public schools over to charter chains. ALEC promotes gubernatorial commissions with the power to over-ride the decisions of local school boards to open more charters. ALEC promotes vouchers. ALEC, as he noted, promotes virtual charter schools (Pearson’s Connections Academy and K12 wrote the ALEC model law). ALEC has model legislations for vouchers for students with special needs. ALEC has a model law to allow people to teach without credentials. ALEC has legislation to eliminate tenure protection. ALEC has model legislation for educator evaluation.

It is all so familiar, isn’t it?

ALEC wants nothing less than to privatize public education, to eliminate unions, and to dismantle the education profession.

Categories ALEC, Education Industry, For-Profit, K12 Inc., On-Line Education, Parent trigger, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure, Tennessee, Testing, Unions, US Education

Putting a Stake in the Heart of the Vampire

By dianeravitch
October 2, 2012 //
14

On Sunday evening, after I spoke to the joint meeting of the Texas School Boards Association and the Texas Association of School Administrators, and after I spoke to parents and teachers at Eastside Memorial High School, I met Abby Rappaport, who writes for The American Prospect.

Abby knows Texas politics well. She asked me many good questions, and reprinted a slightly edited version of the interview. I boiled down everything I said to TSBA and TASA in the interview. I told her what I thought about high-stakes testing, about the Chicago strike, and about choice.

The only thing with which I disagree in her post is that I was not famous for promoting the “reform movement.” The so-called reform movement of today didn’t exist until about five years ago, and by then I was on my way out the door.

I don’t know if I was famous, but I’d like to think I got to be known among educators for the histories that I wrote, like The Great School Wars (a history of the NYC schools) in 1974; The Troubled Crusade (1983); Left Back (2000); and The Language Police (2003). Those books survive, and none is about testing/accountability/choice/competition.

Categories Accountability, Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Unions, US Education
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