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Monday, June 10, 2013

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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Breaking News: Texas Governor Signs Bill to Reduce Testing

In a huge victory for students, parents, educators, and local school boards, Governor Rick Perry signed HB5, a bill that reduces the quantity of state-mandated tests. Up until the last minute, activists were fearful he might veto it. But Perry deferred to the huge public outcry against high-stakes testing.
Here is a statement by TAMSA, known popularly as Moms Against Drunk Testing:
Dear TAMSA members:
Today at 12:30pm, House Bill 5 became law with Governor Perry’s signature. Texas public schools can now 

Teacher: Governor Walker’s Punitive Policies

A high school teacher in Wisconsin looks at what Governor Scott Walker and the state legislature have in store for public schools. It bears mentioning that Wisconsin public schools have the highest graduation rate in the nation.
He writes:
I teach at a wonderful high school in La Crosse, WI. Here is what is coming for us as an early Christmas

For-Profit Operator in Ohio Wins Big Increase

David Brennan of White Hat Management operates a few dozen mostly low-performing charter schools for profit in Ohio. Since 1999, he has collected nearly $1 billion for his operations, which include virtual charters. Oh, yes, he is also a major contributor to Republicans, especially Governor John Kasich and legislative leaders. In budget

Jay Matthews: Why the Common Core Standards Will Fail

Jay Mathews writes a regular blog about education for the Washington Post. He has been writing about education for decades. His most recent book celebrates KIPP. He has been the guiding force behind the idea of ranking high schools by the number of students who take AP courses. One of the things I like best about him is that he changes his mind when the evidence changes. He gets enthusiastic about big ideas, but is willing to 

Camins: Two Roads Diverged in a Wood…..

“Two roads diverged in a wood,” begins one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems.
Arthur Camins wrote in 2011 about the fateful choice confronting American education. In 2011, he wrote:
“U.S. education is at a transformational moment. The choices we make will determine whether our schools become collaborative and democratic or prescriptive and authoritarian. The policies proposed by the federal government for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will create some good 

Is It Possible to Do the Wrong Thing in the Right Way?

Here is a puzzlement (as the king said in “The King and I”).
Is there a right way to do something that is inherently wrong?
I think that it is wrong to judge “teacher quality” by student test scores.
Doing so undermines the quality of education.
It narrows the curriculum only to what is tested.
It encourages districts and states to attempt to test subjects that cannot be

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 6-8-13 

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG 
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Diane in the Evening 6-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Schneider: Jindal in Hot Water in Legislature by dianerav Mercedes Schneider summarizes what happened to education bills in the Louisiana legislature this session. The good news is that the legislature is no longer rolling over for Jindal. Some of the damage of last year was undone by the courts and the legislature. Most surprising was the enactment of a “reverse parent trigger,” allowing charter parents to return their school to the district *LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discus... more »