Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, September 22, 2011

No Child Left Behind Waivers Announced - Chicago News Cooperative

No Child Left Behind Waivers Announced - Chicago News Cooperative:

No Child Left Behind Waivers Announced

In a move that could give Illinois more flexibility over how it holds schools accountable, the Obama administration announced Thursday that it will waive key portions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act for states that commit to certain reform efforts.

In recent years, state superintendents, educators and critics of the law have argued that it does not provide an adequate picture of a school’s success, relies too heavily on testing and sets an unrealistic goal by mandating that 100 percent of students meet basic skills requirements by 2014.

“This is not a step back from accountability,” a senior official at the U.S. Department of Education said. “Our role is to simply get out of the way as best we can.”

Under No Child Left Behind, states are required to test students in certain grades on basic math and reading

Jersey Jazzman: A Pilot Off Course

Jersey Jazzman: A Pilot Off Course:

A Pilot Off Course

There is an important point to be made about New Jersey's "pilot" program for teacher evaluation:

Against the recommendations of many researchers, and in contradiction to the evidence, the Department of Education is insisting on basing 45% of a teacher's evaluation on test scores. Let's leave aside the completelyunworkable timeline and lack of oversight of the tests themselves and look at something that is, admittedly, a little technical but critical to understand.

There are two ways to evaluate a teacher's impact on a student's test scores. First, we can try to adjust for factors that are beyond a teacher's control: all of the things that happen outside of the classroom in a student's life, and the characteristics of the student himself. Value-Added Modeling (VAM) is an attempt to do just this. Essentially, we make a prediction about how well a student will do on a test by looking at a student's previous performance. We then compare that prediction to the actual score: if a student does better, or worse, we

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 2nd Top 10


Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's Top 10


Dancing the Dialectic: For Troy

Dancing the Dialectic: For Troy:For TroyI feel numb. I feel defeated. I don't want to read any more stories or news reports or even any more calls to action. Then I feel ashamed. I want to be strong. I want to know what the right thing to say is at this moment for this moment."There is nothing to say," Ronnie Kitchen said when we talked on the phone this morning. Ronnie was the twentieth death row prisoner to be exonerated ... more »

The Waiver Wire: Deal or No Deal?

The Waiver Wire: Deal or No Deal?:The Waiver Wire: Deal or No Deal?by Anne HyslopIn my last post and in others on this blog, we have commented that requiring states to adopt more rigorous teacher evaluation systems in exchange for getting off the hook on the Highly Qualified Teacher provisions in NCLB is a pretty lousy deal. States will be much more enticed to submit a waiver proposal to escape the 100% proficiency cliff that is looming before them. However, ... more »

Education Research Report

Education Research Report:Allowing Native Language in School Benefits Mexican-American Students Ω A new University of Missouri study shows that Mexican-American students who identify and practice speaking their native language have higher grades than those who are put in English-only environments in their schools. David Aguayo, a doctoral ...Little concrete evidence that single-sex schools are a better learning environment Ω But there is strong evidence for negative consequences of segregating by sex -- the collateral damage of segregating by sex. Students ... more »

Scathing report blasts Archie, Evans on King charter deal | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Scathing report blasts Archie, Evans on King charter deal | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:Scathing report blasts Archie, Evans on King charter dealby Benjamin Herold on Sep 22 2011COMMENTS (7)PRINTEMAILTags:charter schools King High Schoolhigh schools leadershipRenaissance Schools School Reform Commission politicsUpdated 4:10 pmFormer School Reform Commission Chairman Robert Archie has fired back with a statement"emphatically rejecting" Markman's findings.Updated 2:26 pmThe mayor's chief integrity officer has come down hard on state Rep. Dwight Evans and recently-resigned Scho... more »

Wastes of Time in Education: Do I Need an Accreditation Attitude Adjustment? | IDEA

Wastes of Time in Education: Do I Need an Accreditation Attitude Adjustment? | IDEA:Wastes of Time in Education: Do I Need an Accreditation Attitude Adjustment?Posted in Standards and Evaluation on Sep 22, 2011 - 01:26 PMWhat does the phrase “waste of time” mean to you? To me, it is when I spend time doing something that seems to serve no majorly useful purpose. The “seems to” is a subjective qualifier here - what one person views as a waste of ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Schools for sale

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Schools for sale:Schools for saleby Mike KlonskyChicago leads the nation in privatizationChicago leads all other U.S. cities when it comes to the erosion of public space. If it's not nailed down, Mayor Emanuel wants to sell it off or lease it to private corporations.Chicago has been the most aggressive city in the United States in the privatization of public infrastructure. Since 2004, the city has privatized the Chicago Skyway toll road, four downtown parking garages, ... more »

All Education Matters: Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Responds To An Indentured Educated Constituent

All Education Matters: Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Responds To An Indentured Educated Constituent:Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Responds To An Indentured Educated Constituentby Cryn JohannsenAEM sent a letter to the President on August 10, 2011. I am presently drafting another letter that will praise the president for his work on the American Jobs Act. I urged many of you to send this letter to the President and also to your Senators and Representatives. So many of you got involved and did ... more »

Account. Ability.Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

Account. Ability.Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action:Account. Ability.by NancyFlanaganThere’s nothing I hate more than a semantic argument between educators. I invested way too many excruciating hours in ed school in the 1970s listening to people argue about whether some bit of knowledge was a goal or an objective, only to go forth, fully trained, into a real school and discover that nobody there had either goals or objectives. Nor did they have standards, targets or grade level ... more »

The Achievement Gap and its Discontents: Thoughts on Rick Hess' New Essay - Dana Goldstein

The Achievement Gap and its Discontents: Thoughts on Rick Hess' New Essay - Dana Goldstein:The Achievement Gap and its Discontents: Thoughts on Rick Hess' New Essayby Dana GoldsteinAmerican Enterprise Institute education expert Rick Hess has written a characteristically thought-provoking essay arguing that education reformers focus too single-mindedly on the "achievement gap" -- the difference between the test scores of low-income students of color and their white, middle-class peers. There's a lot to chew on in the piece, but here's my ... more »

Day One Protests at Berkeley Kick Off the New Year « Student Activism

Day One Protests at Berkeley Kick Off the New Year « Student Activism:Day One Protests at Berkeley Kick Off the New Yearby Angus JohnstonToday is the first day of classes for most of the University of California system, and student activists at UC Berkeley are marking the day with their first student protests of 2011-12.UC generally, and Berkeley in particular, have been a center of American student organizing in the last few years, though administrative crackdowns have quieted the campuses ...more »

Seattle School Board Meeting TFA Testimony-September 21, 2001

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Seattle School Board Meeting Testimony-September 21, 2001:

Seattle School Board Meeting Testimony-September 21, 2001

Last night was interesting because the Board meeting was split into halves; one half the shiny and prepped TFA folks and the other side ...the rest of us. What was interesting is that TFA seemed to only want to clap when TFA folks spoke while the rest of us knew the (polite) drill and clapped for everyone. You notice these things when you've been to a lot of these meetings.

I'll just go over the speaker testimony and do a separate thread on the latter half of the meeting.
The first speaker, as always, was a group from one our high schools, this time Franklin. The young man gave an impassioned rap/poem (and I'll contrast this "passion" later with the "passion" that was alleged to have been shown by Kenneth Maldonado, a TFA sub at South Shore). This young man was not emotional but allowed his feelings to show through his words and tempo and expression in his voice. He spoke about being a student and

Wish I had a nickle for every CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS



New Orleans Charter Science & Mathematics High School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 5 hours ago
*“Oprah-Backed Charter School Denying Disabled Collides with Law.” *Bloomberg News, Sep 20, 2011 When talk-show host Oprah Winfrey handed a $1 million check last September to the principal of New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy, 200 students watched the broadcast from a church and celebrated with a brass band. Lawrence Melrose, a ninth-grader with learning and emotional disabilities, sat next door in a school office. The staff was concerned his fighting and cursing could be an embarrassment, said Shelton Joseph, his great uncle. Because he has trouble communicating, Lawre... more »

Gulen charter schools in Missouri

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 6 hours ago
*STATE* *# ACTIVE* *# PENDING * *# INACTIVE* * *TOTAL* MO 3 0 0 3 * Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status ================================================================== *SCHOOLS* ================================================================== *FRONTIER** SCHOOL** OF EXCELLENCE* (formerly Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School) *Status* *ACTIVE*, opened 2007-2008 *Management* Millenium Education Foundation, in partnership with the Cosmos Foundation *Authorizer* University of Missouri – Kansas City *Location* 5605 Troost Ave., Kansas City *Website* http://www.kcfse.o... more »

Career Academic Technical Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 6 hours ago
*“APS board revokes charter school's license." *KOB.com (NM), 9/21/2011 Albuquerque Public Schools school board voted Wednesday evening to revoke a charter school's license after an audit showed the principal violated policy by hiring family members. The audit said Career Academic and Technology Academy Charter School Principal Glee Hare hired her brother and son and said the governing board contracted a deal with another one of her sons. Attorneys for the Career Academic and Technology Academy charter school defended the hires and said certain nepotism regulations were not in ef... more »

Balere Language Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 3 days ago
*“Charter school in adult-club scandal has money woes; A party promoterthat has been scheduling boozy bashes at a troubled Miami-Dade charter schoolhas ties to the school’s principal, records show.”* The Miami Herald (FL), 0/13/2011 The “Push It To Da Limit: The Flossin Edition” late-night party is still scheduled to go off Saturday night — but it won’t be at a South Miami-Dade charter school, as previously advertised. Miami-Dade School District officials on Friday were still trying to determine whether the Balere Language Academy — a charter school already facing financial free-... more »

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS WEBSITE

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS
A compilation of news articles about charter schools which have been charged with, or are highly suspected of, tampering with admissions, grades, attendance and testing; misuse of funds and embezzlement; engaging in nepotism and conflicts of interest; engaging in complicated and shady real estate deals; and/or have been engaging in other questionable, unethical, borderline-legal, or illegal activities. This is also a record of charter school instability and other unsavory tidbits.
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CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

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CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

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BIG EDUCATION APE PARENT HERO OF THE MONTH


Sharon Higgins has been a public school parent in Oakland, California since 1993, where she has watched her daughters’ schools cope with NCLB’s stigmatizing label of ‘failing’ for many years. In addition, her school district was subjected to six years of the ‘business model’ of education reform as implemented by graduates of the Broad Superintendents Academy during a state takeover. These two negative experiences provoked Sharon’s involvement in education issues. Previously, she worked as a critical care nurse, stay-at-home mom, and parent coordinator at her local middle school. Today, Sharon volunteers at school, serves on a district-level committee, conducts independent research about school issues, and blogs at thePerimeter PrimateCharter School Scandals, and The Broad ReportEmail Sharon

Big Education Ape: 9-22-11 PM Media nails Mayor union-buster EDition

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TODAYonline | Singapore | Taking the stress out of school

todayonline.com - Taking the stress out of school MOE will review practices to give kids 'holistic, balanced' education: Education Minister Heng by Tan Weizhen 12:54 PM Sep 22, 2011 SINGAPORE - In a move to steer sc...

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Global Effort to Recruit Teachers Expands

nytimes.com - Teach for All, an international network of educational nonprofit groups modeled on Teach for America, has grown rapidly since its founding four years ago and now has some 1,500 teachers heading cla...

DianeRavitch

Mayor union-buster | Ben Joravsky on Politics

chicagoreader.com - At last month's budget hearing at Kennedy-King College, Mayor Emanuel let it be known he's got nothing but love for public school teachers. In fact, he thinks they're "really good."I guess he's jus...

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‘Unfailing’ ignorance - NYPOST.com

nypost.com - On the scale of dumb and dumber, it is hard to top this one: a football player, his team losing by 50 points, scores a TD and spikes the ball in the end zone in macho triumph. Or this one: New York...

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Rick Perry's Florida Co-Chair: Gays Cause Tornadoes

motherjones.com - In fairness, that tornado seems pretty gay. Fadil Basymeleh/FlickrEarlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his leadership team for the "Presidency 5" straw poll in Florida, scheduled for ...

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My Family’s Experiment in Extreme Schooling

nytimes.com - The phone rang, and my stomach clenched when I heard her voice. “Daddy? I want to go home,” said my 8-year-old daughter, Arden. Two hours earlier, I dropped Arden and her two siblings off at their ...

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CrimeSee all

Bronx DA seek indictments for 17 cops

nydailynews.com - Getty "It's going to be the biggest scandal this department has seen in a long time," said one source said of the ticket-fixing investigation. Prosecutors will ask a grand jury Tuesday to indict 17...

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The Killing of Troy Davis | The Nation

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - The Killing of Troy Davis | The Nation:The Killing of Troy DavisThe Editors September 21, 2011 Share1895|||Recommended by 0|Text Size A | A | AEmail|Print|Share|Single Page|Web Letter (0)|Write a ...

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Troy Davis Executed | Troy Davis Death | Video

mediaite.com - Video Troy Davis was executed today by the state of Georgia despite the mounting controversy surrounding his case. Davis’ attorneys had filed an appeal challenging evidence and witness testimony th...

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For Troy

dancingthedialectic.blogspot.com - I feel numb. I feel defeated. I don't want to read any more stories or news reports or even any more calls to action. Then I feel ashamed. I want to be strong. I want to know what the right thing t...

mikeklonsky

Dancing the Dialectic: For Troy For Troy

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Dancing the Dialectic: For Troy:For TroyI feel numb. I feel defeated. I don't want to read any more stories or news reports or even any more calls to action. Then I feel ashamed. I want to be stron...

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Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's Top 10

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's Top 10 Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: TFA Fights Back Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 minutes ago Save Seattle Schools Community B...

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Indiana vouchers siphon public school students, funding

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Indiana vouchers siphon public school students, funding | United Federation of Teachers:Indiana vouchers siphon public school students, fundingBY MICHAEL HIRSCH | PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 22, 2011Indian...

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