Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-11-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2




James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."


A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP


Daily Kos: thoughts on merit pay for teachers

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Daily Kos: thoughts on merit pay for teachers: thoughts on merit pay for teachers by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) or this one *which was written as a comment on this thread at Diane Ravitch's blog.*. The presumption of Merit pay for teachers is that the impact of the teacher can in some fashion be immediately measured, usually by utilizing scores on the atrocious tests upon which we rely way too much. I would remind people of the statement by Henry Adam in his autobiography, *The Education of Henry Adams*, A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ... more »

Lies, Lies and so on…. | Deborah Meier on Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Lies, Lies and so on…. | Deborah Meier on Education: Lies, Lies and so on…. by debmeier I cant get used to it! Skeptic that I am, the lies astound even me. Thank you Christopher Tienken for providing us with the Gerald Bracey info we always counted on! Everyone–get hold of his article in Kappa Delta Pi Record, current April-June issue, “For the Record: Conclusions from PISA and TIMSS Testing.” Aside from his amazing conclusions (if it’s test scores that make a nation great we’ve already won). Plus he has some interesting little facts about Shanghai and HongKing, as well as how nat... more »

Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities | toteachornototeach: Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities by aristotlethewise *Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities* by Kate Markin Coleman Americans handed their communities a grade earlier this year and the results were mixed. Most communities are earning a passing grade, but no one will be putting their report cards on the fridge. The community “report card” comes from the Y Community Snapshot survey, which asked 1,500 Americans from around the country to rate their communities on 33 attributes th... more »

Dim view on Emanuel eduction policy, Tribune poll finds - chicagotribune.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Dim view on Emanuel eduction policy, Tribune poll finds - chicagotribune.com: Dim view on Emanuel education policy, Tribune poll finds - [image: print] - Email - - 1 - 2 - next - | single page Two thirds of Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Emanuels handling of the Chicago school system. By Bob Secter and Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporters 2:52 a.m. CDT, May 11, 2013 Chicago voters hold a dim view of Rahm Emanuel's stewardship of public education after a tumultuous year that featured a teachers strike and the mayor's push to close many...more »

The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News: The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice by Susan Ohanian On April 30, 2013 the Obama administration announced they’d cut the much-maligned application form for the health insurance exchanges from a 21-page application to three pages for individuals and seven pages for families.(This isn’t counting the 61-page instruction manual for applying online.) The devil is in the details. They now use three application forms and multipl... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: SAT Canceled for South Korea, Due to Cheating by dianerav The latest administration of the SAT has been canceled in South Korea, due to allegations of widespread cheating. The nation is known for its “hyper-competitive academic environment.” Test questions that were on the exam scheduled for May 4 were circulating in test prep centers. Staff members at some test prep centers were detained for questioning. Thousands of students were affected. The article says: “Though academic cheating is a world-wide concern... more »

UPDATE: May 13th Hearing for Indiana Governor Mike Pence Signs Common Core Pause Legislation | Truth in American Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Indiana Governor Mike Pence Signs Common Core Pause Legislation | Truth in American Education: May 13th Hearing for Missouri Common Core Pause Bill by Shane Vander Hart [image: missouri-state-capitol] Via American Principles in Action: We would like to encourage residents of Missouri to attend the legislative hearing on Education, in particular bill SB 210 this coming Monday, May 13th from 12:00p – 2:00p in hearing room 6 in the Missouri State Capitol building. This bill is similar to the one that was just signed into law in Indiana today. It would require the Missouri Department ... more »

Peg with Pen: The Greatest Fight of Our Lives

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Peg with Pen: The Greatest Fight of Our Lives: The Greatest Fight of Our Lives by Peggy The admissions of error, the requests for moratoriums, the recognition that perhaps testing has gone too far, are running like wildfire in the last few weeks. We have Randi calling for a moratorium. Bill Gates admitting that maybe testing tied to teacher evaluation is out of control. Arne wants us to recognize testing mistakes as learning opportunities. And they attempt to appease the public by finding testing companies who can do it better. They continue to push messages that keep the pub... more »

Michelle Rhee’s Pattern of Deceptive Marketing | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Michelle Rhee’s Pattern of Deceptive Marketing | Scathing Purple Musings: Michelle Rhee’s Pattern of Deceptive Marketing by Bob Sikes Just day’s after *PBS* reporter John Merrow blew the door off Michelle Rhee’s cover-up of widespread cheatingthat occurred on her DC watch, she looked for a like-minded crowd of education reform partisans for comfort and affirmation. What better place than the republican caucus of the Florida legislature? Reeling from opposition to their test-based accountability regime, charter school fetish and sudden friendly fire on common core, Rhee’s advise w... more »

UPDATE: Corporate Colonizers, Behavioral Sterilization, and Charter Schools: The Final Solution for Urban Public Schools – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Corporate Colonizers, Behavioral Sterilization, and Charter Schools: The Final Solution for Urban Public Schools – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: More Pearson Errors in Another NYC Friday News Dump by Jim Horn Three Friday afternoons ago, Bloomberg testocrats belatedly reported that parents had discovered new examples of Pearson’s shoddy test scoring that affected thousands of kids trying get through the racist and classist tests that the City uses to choose the “gifted.” And yesterday, Chancellor Walcott announced another batch of errors by Pearson. ”Deeply embarras... more »

The Weekly Update: Parent Trigger’s epic fail, parents protest collection of student data, another charter school scam (wow, what a surprise!) and some good news. | Seattle Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The Weekly Update: Parent Trigger’s epic fail, parents protest collection of student data, another charter school scam (wow, what a surprise!) and some good news. | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: Parent Trigger’s epic fail, parents protest collection of student data, another charter school scam (wow, what a surprise!) and some good news. by seattleducation2011 First up: *Incomes of the wealthy have increased by 28% and yet 24% of our children live in poverty.* 24% of our children are living in poverty. That’s 1 in 5 children which is 17M+ children who are not adequately ... more »

Fitch Downgrades Sacramento City Unified School District, CA's GOs to 'A+'; Outlook Stable | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Fitch Downgrades Sacramento City Unified School District, CA's GOs to 'A+'; Outlook Stable | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC: Fitch Downgrades Sacramento City Unified School District, CA's GOs to 'A+'; Outlook Stable NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings downgrades the following Sacramento City Unified School District, California (the district) ratings: --$313.7 million general obligation bonds (GOs) to 'A+' from 'AA-'; --$33.5 million certificates of participation (COPs) to 'A' from 'A+'. The Rating Outlook is revised to Stable from Negative. SECURITY The GOs are secured by an unlimited ad v... more »

Empathy and Education:: Malnutrition, Poverty, and Intellectual Development

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Empathy and Education:: Malnutrition, Poverty, and Intellectual Development: Malnutrition, Poverty, and Intellectual Development[image: Listen to this article. Powered by Odiogo.com] by: Don Quixote*Fri May 10, 2013 at 18:19:47 PM CDT*Malnutrition, Poverty, and Intellectual Development The times have changed. Poverty is less prominent in the news. President Johnson's Great Society Plan is a thing of the past. The War On Poverty that brought into being the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has long since evolved. In 1994 we Improved America's Schools. In 202, we Left No ... more »

What a REAL Paradigm Shift in Education Would Look Like | Alternet

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
What a REAL Paradigm Shift in Education Would Look Like | Alternet: What a REAL Paradigm Shift in Education Would Look Like Exploring the deep, fundamental flaws at the backbone of our "core curriculum." Photo Credit: Nenov Brothers Photography | Shutterstock.com *February 14, 2013 * | I envy Thomas Paine’s way with language. I’ve been searching for years for words that would have the impact of those he penned in his 1776 pamphlet, “The Crisis.” Admittedly, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” and the words that followed, weren’t a howling success. Only about a third of the... more »

A major school reformer’s ‘Nixon goes to China’ moment

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
A major school reformer’s ‘Nixon goes to China’ moment: A major school reformer’s ‘Nixon goes to China’ moment By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 11, 2013 at 11:33 amE-mail reporter 0 Comments More A discussion on school reform in New York took a surprising turn this week when Paul Vallas, a pioneer of the current era of school reform, said, “We’re losing the communications game because we don’t have a good message to communicate.” That’s something for Vallas, who is now superintendent of the public schools in Bridgeport, Conn., (earning $234,000 a year, according to this article). ... more »

UPDATE: Missouri Education Watchdog: The Federal Government's Fingerprints are All Over the Common Core State Standards

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: The Federal Government's Fingerprints are All Over the Common Core State Standards: DESE's Facebook Postings, change.org petition and the Use of its Official E-Mail List for Political Purposes by stlgretchen Check out the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Facebook recent postings: Sign the petition to support the Common Core State Standards in Missouri! http://www.change.org/petitions/state-of-missouri-support-the-common-core-state-standards-2 State of Missouri: Support the Common Core State Standards www.change.org We, the undersigned,... more »

Blue Jersey:: Education News Round-Up, 5/11/13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Blue Jersey:: Education News Round-Up, 5/11/13: Education News Round-Up, 5/11/13 by Jersey Jazzman Sorry about last week folks: I was sequestered in my studio trying to meet a deadline. Let's get back to it:*- A New Voice on NJ Education Policy* A group of education policy scholars, led by Bruce Baker of Rutgers, has put together a new resource for state-wide education policy: the New Jersey Policy Forum. Wonks will want to bookmark this, as I'm sure there will be any number of new briefs challenging the orthodoxies of Christie's education policies, starting with... *- The Many P... more »

UPDATE: Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky: The in box. Support for the Cullerton/We Are One pension-cutting bill from a member of the NEA Board of Directors. by Fred Klonsky Tom Tully is a member of the National Education Board of Directors. Thank you Bob for your summary of the past fights we have had. I also support SB 2404. What benefits will anyone receive if the state is not mandated to make their pension payment every year? TRS will continue to have to sell assets to make the benefit payment to retired Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky [image: IMG_0002] My mom died in 1977 after a... more »

UPDATE: Catching Up on TED Education Week + #StuVoice Chat 5/13 Student Voice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Student Voice: Catching Up on TED Education Week by Editor Admin [image: TEDED_logo] Education Week at TED has just come to close, but it’s not too late to be a part of the action. With the support of WNET, PBS, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, TED has put on an Education Week, a great collection of talks hosted by John Legend. This week featured talks from a wide variety of speakers, from a chemist to a psychologist, and from Bill Gates to Sir Ken Robinson. Catch up on all the video content and thentweet us back about what you think (@Stu_Voice). #StuVoice Chat 5/13... more »

Hispanic high school graduates pass whites in college enrollment rate

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Hispanic high school graduates pass whites in college enrollment rate: Hispanic high school graduates pass whites in college enrollment rate By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 11, 2013 at 9:31 amE-mail reporter 0 Comments More [image: hispanic]It just so happens that in the same week that a co-author of a Heritage Foundation immigration study resigned for suggestingthat Hispanics have lower IQs than whites, the Pew Research Hispanic Center releaseda new analysis showing that Hispanic high school graduates have passed whites in the rate of college enrollment. In a report by Richard Fr... more »

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Factory Collapse in Bangladesh by dianerav When I read about the tragedy in Bangladesh, where hundreds of garment workers died when the building collapsed, it reminded me of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Working at NYU, I frequently walked past the building where over 100 immigrant girls perished in a factory fire. The doors were locked. They could not escape. They could jump from the 12th floor or perish in the fire. Events like these gave birth to the labo... more »

If Bill Gates had no money, who would listen to him about education reform? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
If Bill Gates had no money, who would listen to him about education reform? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: If Bill Gates had no money, who would listen to him about education reform? by plthomasedd In 2013, again, U.S. political leaders and the public appear disgusted with a public education system, but this sentiment has been with us since the Committee of Ten declared education inadequate in the 1890s. We must, then, come to terms with two facts: (1) We must drop Utopian claims about education because education is not the *sole key* to overcoming social failures, but... more »

Women in Community Colleges Executive Summary : AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Women in Community Colleges Executive Summary : AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881: *Women in Community Colleges*Executive Summary Download PDF — 2 MB More than ever before, women are relying on community colleges for higher education and workforce preparation. This report recommends policies and practices to help women succeed in community colleges. In particular, we find that child care is a critical issue for student mothers. Women also need more support for pursuing opportunities in STEM and other male-dominated fields. With increased attention and improved outreach to women ...more »

Opposing Common Core: Education decisions best made locally | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Opposing Common Core: Education decisions best made locally | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: Opposing Common Core: Education decisions best made locally By Maureen Downey *Last night, I posted a pro Common Core piece by Republican Sen. Fran Millar *of Dunwoody. Here is a piece in opposition by GOP Sen. William Ligon of Brunswick. The Republicans are meeting this weekend in Athens where there will be a push for a resolution calling for Georgia to repeal the Common Core. Millar is expected to challenge the resolution. Ligon serves as Chairman of the State and Local Gove... more »

Jersey Jazzman: No One Trusts Jeb!'s "Chiefs For Change"

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: No One Trusts Jeb!'s "Chiefs For Change": No One Trusts Jeb!'s "Chiefs For Change" by Duke *Believe it or not, we called him "the smart one"!* "Chiefs For Change" is a reformy group of state-level education leaders supported by Jeb! Bush*, the former Florida governor and current industry shill. They are pushing an agenda of test-based teacher evaluation, "revamped" school report cards, and charter expansion. *So how is the awesome leadership of the "Chiefs" being received by local school districts, educators, and elected officials?* [all emphases mine] Hanna Ska... more »

State Ordering Girls’ Locker Rooms Open To Boys | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
State Ordering Girls’ Locker Rooms Open To Boys | toteachornototeach: State Ordering Girls’ Locker Rooms Open To Boys by aristotlethewise *State Ordering Girls’ * *Locker Rooms Open To Boys* by Drew Zahn The California State Assembly passed a bill Thursday mandating schools permit boys to play on girls’ athletic teams and utilize the ladies’ locker room if they gender identify as girls – or vice-versa for girls identifying as boys. The bill’s author, openly homosexual San Francisco Democrat Tom Ammiano, has been an activist for lesbian, “gay,” bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, i... more »

150 years of the California Teachers Association: Opinion - LA Daily News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
150 years of the California Teachers Association: Opinion - LA Daily News: 150 years of the California Teachers Association: Opinion By Dean E. Vogel Posted: 05/09/2013 02:31:22 PM PDT Updated: 05/09/2013 02:40:06 PM PDT *CTA's 150th Anniversary - California Teachers Association* mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago CTA's 150th Anniversary - California Teachers Association: CTA MARKS A MILESTONE [image: image] ** SES·QUI·CEN·TEN·NI·AL: *adjective*1.* marking the completion of a period of 150 years. **noun *2.* a 150th anniversary or its celebration.* 150 YEARS OF ADVOC... more »

UPDATE: The in box. “I’m sorry Mr. Swanson, you fail to show evidence you are living in the real world.” | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The in box. “I’m sorry Mr. Swanson, you fail to show evidence you are living in the real world.” | Fred Klonsky: The in box. “Just so there is no mistake, Fred. I could not disagree with you more.” by Fred Klonsky Bob Haisman is a retired Hinsdale social studies teacher and activist. He was president of the Illinois Education Association from 1993 to 1999. As IEA President he led the successful fight against the merger of the NEA and the AFT, the nation’s two largest teacher unions, and took part in the negotiations which led to the pension ramp. Just so there is no mistake Fred!... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-11-13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
*4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:* *4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT* Breakfast in the Classroom: HUNGER IS NOT AN OPTION smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago by UCLA IDEA | http://bit.ly/14crq6G 5-03-2013 :: The United States has a staggeringly high rate of child poverty. It should come as no surprise, then, that many thousands of children are hungry as they try to focus on lessons. School-based breakfast programs meet some of that food need, but it’s not easy. Consider what’s taking place in Los Angeles Unified School District... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 5-11-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Education Research Report *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* * * Hispanics Pass Whites in Rate of College Enrollment Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago [image: PHC-2013-05-college-enrollment-01] A record seven-in-ten (69%) Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012 enrolled in college that fall, two percentage points higher than the rate (67%) among their white counterparts,1 according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.2 This milestone is the result of a long-term increase in Hispanic college-going that... more »

New Error Found in Test Scoring for Gifted Programs - NYTimes.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
New Error Found in Test Scoring for Gifted Programs - NYTimes.com: New Error Found in Scoring of Test for Gifted ProgramsBy AL BAKERPublished: May 10, 2013 Three weeks after New York City disclosed that thousands of students had been wrongly excluded from eligibility in public school gifted programs, the Education Department said that roughly 300 additional students received incorrect scores because of another mistake by the testing company. Related - More in New York City Qualify as Gifted After Error Is Fixed(April 20, 2013) Dennis M. Walcott, the schools chancellor... more »

AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package by Kris Nielsen *Or in this CASE* *Core Corpse* The union’s statement is misguided, and I would suggest that is purposely so. The call for a moratorium on standardized testing is a call for a temporary quieting of the teachers and parents while the next-level of state (nationally) mandated assessments makes its way down the pipe. AFT’s rally cry to put the brakes on the stakes rings hollow, since the stakes are only to get... more »

More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding Page 1 of 3 | UTSanDiego.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding Page 1 of 3 | UTSanDiego.com: More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding May 10, 2013, 12:52 p.m. Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate Democrats are wrestling over competing plans to make the most significant revisions to California’s convoluted way of paying for schools in a quarter-century. Billions of dollars and the education of millions of low-income students are on the line for generations to come. The goal of both is the same: deploy revenues in a manner that targets the most needy students who are lagging behind in test ... more »

Anthony Lives at PS 154 in the Bronx.southbronxschool.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Anthony Lives at PS 154 in the Bronx by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) Remember that Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life"? Yeah, that one, the one with Billy Mumy as Anthony in which he wished people into the cornfield who annoyed him and the adults were all scared shitless of him? And if today is any indication, Anthony is alive and well at PS 154 in the Bronx. But, not all adults are afraid of Anthony at PS 154. The teachers, the aides, the paras, the custodial staff, the cafeteria XXXXXXXXXXXXhas a fear of Anthony. Only XXXXXXXXXXXX doe... more »

NYC Educator: Principal Suit and the Librarian

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
NYC Educator: Principal Suit and the Librarian: Principal Suit and the Librarian by NYC Educator Principal Suit was in his office doing Very Important Work when all of a sudden he realized he needed some important information. The only way to get this information, he determined, would be to get the book that contained it. Where could he get a book, he mused, when all of a sudden it hit him like a shot. The library! There were lots of books in the library, and it was just upstairs. However, going upstairs would mean moving from the chair, which fit him so well after all those years... more »

Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester: Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester by Joy Resmovits As some federal workers face furloughs because of sequestration budget cuts, the U.S. Education Department's approximately 4,700 employees can breathe easy, according to an internal memo sent Friday. "ED will not need to furlough any employees this fiscal year," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote to his staff. The Education Department joins the Government Accountability Office and the departments of agriculture, commerce, justice, and state in ...more »

Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program by millerlf *Recent Research and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program* *These articles represent peer-reviewed findings based on the same data and conducted by many of the same researchers who conducted the original evaluation covered in the SCDP reports. (School Choice Demonstration Project; the legislatively mandated study of the effectiveness of the school choice progra... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup Something to Smile (Ruefully) About

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup: Something to Smile (Ruefully) About by Melissa Westbrook Over at Diane Ravitch's blog, she has *more evidence of corporate ed reform crack-up.* I'll just let her tell you: At a panel discussion in New York City, Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas made a startling admission. He said that the efforts to develop a teacher evaluation metric was a huge mess and that no one understands it. He said: “The Bridgeport, Conn. superintendent — who has served stints in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans and earned a reputation as a turn... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Hart Research Responds to Schneider Critique: correction by dianerav In copying the response of Hart Research, I inadvertently copied only part of Guy Moyneaux’s comments. Here is his full response: TO:​American Federation of Teachers FROM:​Guy Molyneux, Hart Research Associates DATE:​May 10, 2013 RE:​Methodology for Common Core Survey Following are some facts about the methodology for AFT’s recent survey of AFT K-12 teachers on Common Core Hart Research Associates Explains the Methodology of AFT Common Core ... more »

In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will anyone listen? Georgia Republicans are expected to ratchet up their resistance to the Common Core State Standards at their conference this weekend in Athens, reflective of a growing national GOP effort to link the standards to President Obama. This is not a policy fight; it is political mudwrestling. One influential Republican state senator is taking a stand against his colleagues. State Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunw... more »