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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Diane in the Evening 12-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

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Teacher Ratings: Charters say “No, Thanks!”

Students for Education Reform and StudentsFirst have brought pressure on the New York City teachers’ union to agree to a deal withe the state to rate teachers by their students’ test scores.
But what these groups have overlooked is that the


Michael Winerip Slips In an Education Column

I used to wait with great anticipation every Sunday night to read Michael Winerip’s education column. They were always informative and on the cutting edge of important issues.
But a few months ago, for no discernible reason, the newspaper of record canceled his invaluable column and gave him the assignment of writing about “Boomers.”
I was tempted to scream and curse (in private) at the loss of this great voice, this beacon of sanity in a world 


Tony Bennett Lands on his Feet in Florida

Tony Bennett, the defeated state superintendent from Indiana, has landed the job as state commissioner in Florida.
Bennett is the hero to the rightwing “reform” sector, a champion of privatization, vouchers, charters, online for-profit schools, and the Common Core. His last action in Indiana was to lower standards for new trackers and 


Pennsylvania Should Veto Every Virtual Proposal

Pennsylvania has 16 online charter schools for K-12. They all get terrible results. Some are for profit, some are nonprofit. The state auditor issued a scathing report earlier this year finding that they overcharge the state by many millions of dollars.
Rhonda Brownstein of the Education Law Center urges the state education board to reject all of the applications. The state has proven that it can’t monitor those it already has.
She writes:
“The Pennsylvania Department of Education is considering eight new cyber charter school applications, including


LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Scholar Joins the Honor Roll by dianerav Bruce Baker of Rutgers joins the honor roll, not as a champion of public education, but as a champion of honesty, accuracy and integrity. Scholars must go where the evidence takes them, not where it is popular or politically expedient, Today, Baker is outraged that the Néw York state education department continues to press for adoption of its The Good News on TIMSS Tests by dianerav GF Brandenburg has a great post on the latest TIMSS test. It puts paid to the cus... more »