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Daily Headlines for October 2, 2013

October 2, 2013 By

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Duncan’s unusual ‘state of education’ report
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 2, 2013
They have said over and over that the problem isn’t that government isn’t capable of helping to improve education, or that education can’t work because too many children are poor, but that the thrust of his education reforms don’t deal with the biggest problems facing schools or schoolchildren.

Education reform advocate John White: We’re in danger of becoming the enemy
Washington Post, DC, October 1, 2013
Advocates for charter schools, teacher evaluations and other changes to public education that have become mainstream in recent years are at risk of turning into the establishment they once railed against, warned the man at the center of Louisiana’s schools upheaval.

Escaping ‘Government’ Schools
Column, Town Hall, October 2, 2013
Now I know that public school –government school is a better name — is one of the worst parts of America. It’s a stultified government monopoly. It never improves.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Appeals court upholds school voucher program
Arizona Star, AZ, October 2, 2013
State lawmakers are free to give parents what amounts to a voucher of public funds to educate their children at any private or parochial school they want, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled today.

CALIFORNIA

Teacher dismissal bill deserves a Brown veto
Editorial, Sacramento Bee, CA, October 2, 2013
California has a cumbersome and costly teacher dismissal process. But efforts at reform have consistently been beaten back by the powerful California Teachers Association. This legislative session was supposed to be different.

COLORADO

Academy 360 aims to change the conversation
EdNews Colorado, CO, October 1, 2013
It was 7:45 a.m. on a cloudy Monday morning. About 100 children hopped up and down on the cracked asphalt outside their school, pretending to dribble basketballs, toss baseballs and jump rope.

Union donors push Amendment 66 proponents past $5 million mark
Denver Post, CO, October 1, 2013
Proponents of the Amendment 66 school finance revamp and tax hike passed the $5 million mark in campaign contributions with more than $1.8 million reported Monday.

DELAWARE

Biden’s office says charter study group broke open-meeting laws
New Journal, DE, October 2, 2013
A group created by Gov. Jack Markell violated the state’s open meetings law last year when it did not keep minutes or open its meetings to the public, an Attorney General’s opinion released Tuesday said.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Charter school officials diverted millions, lawsuit alleges
Washington Post, DC, October 1, 2013
Options Public Charter School was founded to improve the fortunes of the District’s most troubled teens and students with disabilities, and the District government sent millions of taxpayer dollars to the school each year for their education and care.

FLORIDA

In Hollywood, fight over charter high school gets noisy
Miami Herald, FL, October 2, 2013
Every morning when school is in session, traffic along Hollywood Boulevard and the surrounding streets slows to a crawl as parents drop their children at the Ben Gamla Charter School, which houses kindergarteners through eighth-graders.

GEORGIA

Charter schools surpass enrollment projections
Cherokee Tribune, GA, October 2, 2013
Cherokee Charter Academy enrollment is above projection and the carpool line is getting more efficient, according to a school report presented at the Local Governing Council meeting Sept. 25.

IDAHO

Idaho schools chief Luna pushes for more education funding
Idaho Statesman, ID, October 2, 2013
Tom Luna, who struggled to find support for his Students Come First education reforms in 2011, got early backing for his proposed 2015 public schools budget unveiled Tuesday. The key: Luna isn’t going it alone this time. He’s investing in proposals at the heart of Gov. Butch Otter’s Task Force on Improving Education, which has unified a sometimes fractious educational community.

ILLINOIS

Charter Schools Stress Concentration
Opinion, ChicagoNow, IL, October 2, 2013
Unless and until you’ve seen it for yourself, you just may not understand. So I’ll paint a picture for you from my five years of working in administration for one charter school, and my other year experience working for a Hispanic network of charter schools, and then my most recent experience of going back into a charter last month and lasting a total of 32 minutes before I knew I had to get out!

National honor for Grayslake’s Prairie Crossing Charter School
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, October 2, 2013
Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake is celebrating its second consecutive national education award.

INDIANA

Demand for school vouchers doubles
Journal-Gazette, IN, October 1, 2013
The number of Indiana students applying to receive vouchers allowing them to use state money to pay for private schools has more than doubled for a second consecutive year.

Indiana lawmakers can’t reach agreement on Common Core
Indianapolis Star, IN, October 2, 2013
On Tuesday, lawmakers who spent the summer evaluating Common Core standards declined to make any recommendation about whether Indiana should stick with them.

LOUISIANA

A new model for schools
Editorial, The Advocate, LA, October 1, 2013
While it will occupy the same site, the new Lee High School will be a different place than its predecessor of many years in south Baton Rouge.

Union claims EBR school system violated law with ad praising teachers
The Advocate, LA, October 2, 2013
A local teachers union claims the East Baton Rouge Parish school system violated its employee privacy rights with a full-page ad it purchased in the Sunday Advocate congratulating by name 1,113 educators rated highly effective under the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

MAINE

LePage agency recommends $9.5 million cut in education funding
Portland Press Herald, ME, October 1 2013
The Maine Legislature must still approve the reduction, which it’s unlikely to do.

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis teachers approve Q comp pay plan
Star Tribune, MN, October 2, 2013
Minneapolis teachers have approved a proposal to use the state-backed Q Comp alternative teacher pay plan, meaning two of the state’s three largest districts will launch the program this month.

MISSOURI

Legislators hear pleas to address school transfer law
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 2, 2013
Missouri lawmakers listened for more than five hours Tuesday as St. Louis-area school superintendents and state educators described the disruption and financial losses that have piled up as a student transfer law swung into effect this year.

NEW YORK

Charter schools the best hope for escaping special ed
Opinion, New York Post, NY, October 2 2013
So it turns out that one big reason why New York City charter schools have fewer kids in special education is that a child at a charter is more likely to escape special ed than one attending a traditional public school. They do a better job getting kids out of it, and of keeping at-risk kids from falling into it.

D for de Blasio
Opinion, New York Daily News, NY, October 2, 2013
Mayoral frontrunner Bill de Blasio’s plan to kill city charter schools by a thousand cuts just got a vocal new foe.

Kids are not guinea pigs
Editorial, Albany Times Union, NY, October 2, 2013
Before we spend more, or less, or subject students to another experiment, New York should explain why education here costs so much for less than stellar results.

Parents tell DOE, ‘Keep charter school out of Seth Low!’
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY
October 1, 2013
A plan hatched by the Department of Education (DOE) to put a Success Academy charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and have the two schools co-exist in the same building was met with vociferous opposition by parents, teachers and elected officials who spoke at out a raucous public hearing on Sept. 30.

NORTH CAROLINA

Davie County is committed to helping at-risk students
Editorial, Winston-Salem Journal, NC, October 2, 2013
Many families can tell a story about a relative, a grandfather perhaps, who had to drop out of high school to go to work to support the family. It has always been a difficult but honorable thing to do.
http://www.journalnow.com/journal_west/editorial/article_577b377e-2acc-11e3-8440-0019bb30f31a.html

OHIO

Don’t Look at School Report Cards For What Parents Really Want to Know About Schools
StateImpactNPR, OH, October 1, 2013
It’s a good time to ask whether Ohio is giving parents the information they want about their kids’ schools.

OKLAHOMA

Common core plan undermines Oklahoma educators making decisions for Oklahoma students
Opinion, Tulsa World, OK, October 2, 2013
I am staunchly in favor of more rigor and higher standards for Oklahoma schools. That is why I am adamantly opposed to Common Core.

OREGON

Grant helps alternative Oregon school show gains
Herald and News, OR, October 2, 2013
Three years ago, Marshall High School was offered millions to turn itself around, a tall task for a school that targets struggling students. After an infusion of $2 million that ended last academic year, the alternative school finds itself with higher test scores and a new curriculum to support future growth.

SOUTH DAKOTA,/strong>

State board approves rules for flexibility in teacher evaluations
Aberdeen News, SD, October 1, 2013
South Dakota school districts should have flexibility to use state standards or their own systems for evaluating teachers, the state Board of Education decided Tuesday.

ONLINE LEARNING

Bill requiring public schools to offer online courses emerges from Pa. House Education Committee
Patriot-News, PA, October 2, 2013
Legislation that seeks to transform the way education is delivered to sixth- through 12th-graders emerged out of the House Education Committee on Tuesday.

L.A. Unified’s iPad rollout marred by chaos
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 2, 2013
Confusion reigns as L.A. Unified deals with glitches after rollout of ambitious an-iPad-for-every-student project.

USD 403 stepping into the 21st Century with virtual school
Great Bend Tribune, KS, October 2, 2013
USD 403 Otis-Bison School District has firmly stepped into the twenty-first century, offering technology as a way to improve the number of available classes and opening a virtual school, Southwinds Academy. This small Kansas town is on the forefront of the future.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Newswire: October 1, 2013

October 1, 2013 By

Vol. 15, No. 37

INTERNAL DIFFERENCES. It’s always essential to call out misleading information with potentially negative effects on more and better opportunities for students, even when they come from friends and supporters. In two separate instances, Jeanne Allen has responded to Whitney Tilson’s criticisms of both Allen’s integrity as well as K12 Inc., a reputable online education provider and CER at 20 participant. The criticism of K12 and by extension online learning is propped up by anecdotes from state officials and studies from the “Coalition of the Status Quo”. The fact is that there are a plethora of testimonials and data showing a visible connection between online learning and student achievement, including a Jan. 2012 study conducted by the US Department of Education. Like anything else, the benefits of online learning deserve proper scrutiny, but it’s equally critical that we study the data before making broad statements about innovations in education reform.

MIXED SIGNALS IN PA. A misguided effort to reform the Commonwealth’s weak charter school law is currently underway in Harrisburg. With strong endorsements by the PA School Boards Association, PA League of Urban Schools and Association of School Business Officials and other card-carrying members of the BLOB, the proposal passed the state house and awaits senate action. Problematic to the core, the legislation does not address what is necessary to ensure a healthy charter school sector in PA. In fact, it defers two of the most important issues facing the state to a study commission – fiscal equity for charters that receive on average 30% less per pupil than their traditional public school peers, and the creation of multiple authorizers that have proven to be the most successful models in other states like NY, MI and IN. The legislation proposes significant cuts in funding by revamping the distribution of pension funds and prohibits charters from fully managing their own finances. In our analysis, there is no greater solution to PA’s problems than addressing charter authorizing, which currently is school-board only, and fiscal equity for all students.

However, this is not to condemn all reforms under consideration in the Keystone State. State Representative Tim Kreiger is introduced today the Great Teachers Better Schools Protecting Excellent Teachers Act aimed at emphasizing performance over seniority in determining suspension and reinstatement of teachers. Thanks to our friends over at PennCAN, real teacher reform may soon be a reality.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A WINNER. Kudos to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) on being the 2013 recipient of the Broad Prize for Urban Education, an annual grant given by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. In his acceptance remarks, Houston Superintendent Terry Grier touted the success of allowing school administrators to develop learning programs and spend education funds as they see fit. At the same time, district teachers undergo training sessions on meeting accountability standards, and strategies on teaching unconventional coursework such as technical education and ESL. Truly, the “ripple effect” has had an impact in Houston, and will hopefully make some waves to ensure more Parent Power in the Lone Star State.

CORE PRINCIPLES. Former Florida Gov. and reform pioneer Jeb Bush has been taking a lot of heat recently over his support for Common Core, leading to those in the pundit class to question his motives. Regardless of what one thinks about Common Core and the issues, the fact remains that Bush believes and knows, that high standards foster student achievement, not because he is some corporate stooge as his political opponents would like to have you believe. His Florida A-Plus Program brought standards and accountability to all of Florida’s schools. It’s unfortunate that some are incapable of thinking that those with differing views can speak their minds without having an ulterior motive. To be sure, defenders of the status quo are the exception, but it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Americans genuinely want the best for our students, and Jeb Bush is certainly one of them.

JUST ONE WEEK until CER’s 20th Anniversary Conference, Gala and Ratpack EdReformies! Thank you to all who have already RSVP’d – we look forward to seeing you on the red carpet. For those who still need to register, click here and secure your spot for the can’t-miss ed reform event of the year.

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly

State report cards show: Ohio Charter Schools Outperform Their Local School Counterparts

October 1, 2013 By

A recent report by the Ohio Alliance of Public Charter Schools found that when matched up to individual schools, a greater percentage of charter schools receive high grades on value-added scores than in their district school counterparts in the state’s eight biggest cities. The report rebuts an earlier study put out by the Fordham Institute, which claims that charter schools are being outperformed by traditional public schools in the state’s eight largest school districts – Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown, also know as the “Big 8”.

By weighting each Big 8 school’s score by the number of students and comparing both their Performance Index (PI) and value-added achievement to charter schools statewide, the Alliance came away with a more accurate picture of how charter schools perform in comparison to their traditional public school counterparts. Excluding schools that the state does not subject to the same rules for performance such as statewide online-only schools, charter schools with high special needs populations and dropout recovery schools, the Alliance shows that more charter school students performed above the weighted average of 80.3 than in the Big 8 schools (59 percent versus 48 percent respectively). In addition to outgaining the Big 8 school districts in PI, Ohio charter schools also had a larger percentage of schools receiving high grades on value-added.

By excluding the charters that aren’t held to the same performance rules, the Alliance makes a more accurate comparison of charter schools to other traditional schools in the Big 8 districts and concludes that more charters are performing at or above their local school counterparts.

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

Houston, We Have a Winner

October 1, 2013 By

Congratulations to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) on winning the 2013 Broad Prize for Urban Education, an annual grant given by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The Broad Prize is intended to distribute college scholarship grants to school districts that demonstrate large-scale improvements in student achievement.

From 2006-2009, the HISD graduation rate increased by 12%, faster than any other urban school district. The increased graduation rate has been coupled with improved college-readiness, exhibited by the 87 percent of Houston students who took the SAT exam, and the rise in minority students participating in Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Not surprisingly, the HISD leadership has developed school policies in recent years that have caused the types of improvements seen within its student body. Teachers undergo training programs designed to familiarize personnel with state standards, as well as learning programs for math, science and ESL. Effective teachers are rewarded through a performance pay system.

The HISD staff also focuses efforts on college and career preparedness by encouraging AP course enrollment and entrance exam participation. Universities and outside organizations have been brought in to introduce STEM coursework and technical education.

While HISD was the recipient of the large grant of $550,000 in college scholarships, three other Broad finalists also received individual grants totaling $150,000: The San Diego Unified School District, Corona-Norco Unified School District in California, and Cumberland County Schools in North Carolina.

Upon accepting the award, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier expressed his gratitude to the Broads, and attributed the success of Houston schools to dedicated teachers and a system that allows schools to innovate and spend education dollars autonomously.

http://www.broadprize.org/mediacenter/photos/2013.html

“We are the largest site-based decision making district in the world. And I can promise you, when you have a Broad group come and they want to know how do you do this and how you do that, when you’re so, really decentralized as we are, it’s kind of hard to push and pull that all together,” said Grier.

He added, “I couldn’t be more humbled, honored or pleased to be here today. Frankly, this was a shock and a surprise. There’s just so many other people doing such good work and honestly I really believe there could be four winners up here today.”

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso

Truth Matters: A look at the “Tilson Tirade” on Online Learning, Part II

October 1, 2013 By

Subject: Dear Whitney – Are we having fun yet?

Monday night, 9/30/13

Dear Whitney:

It’s late. I’m home bound on a train from Philly from an extraordinary set of discussions about saving Catholic schools as one of the important options that should remain available to our kids, the least advantaged among them, especially. But I just had to write you.

Before reading your second tirade on online learning, I read the following Facebook post from my oldest son, a TFA educator in Boston. He wrote:

“I was told by one of my students today that she couldn’t do her homework over the weekend because she was kicked out of her house. She then asked me where I lived and if I would be willing to take custody of her because of how rough things are at home. So much going on at home with all these kids I’m glad I can be there in the classroom to help them work toward college and beyond.”

That’s what it’s about, isn’t it? Who has time for these tirades against a method of learning or one group??!

I think you probably need to read my piece again, Whitney. You seem to confuse my words and interest in talking about real issues with waging a discussion about one company.

It is neither my job nor my interest to work on rebutting your claims. It’s not my mission nor is it a fruitful use of my time. Why do you have so much of it, I wonder?

I raised issues about truth and validity of your assertions, as making unsubstantiated claims about online learning is simply irresponsible.

No, it’s not because I or the Center seeks or receives contributions from such organizations, though after 20 years of work I find the suggestion amusing that you’d assert that any funder actually dictates what I say or do.

In fact, K12 and Connections are among dozens of education organizations who fund major education events – like those held by groups on whose boards you’ve served! I’m grateful to them and the other funders who are helping us celebrate our 20 years! (Reminder to all reading this – it’s next Wednesday, Oct 9th, www.2024.edreform.com more info!)

Their generosity has made it possible for us to fund the participation of 30 outstanding and pioneering advocates whose contributions are responsible for the substance of this very debate.

I had hoped you’d join us but alas, you’ve answered none of our appeals to attend, or to support our event next Wednesday. But I would gladly take your money too, even if you are wrong about stuff. As my good friend Howard Fuller has often pointed out when people attack funding sources of his good works, if their funds help him get the job done he’s more than happy to accept.

Alas some of us who do non-profit work have to sing for our supper but it doesn’t mean we only sing the tune of those who feed us. Just ask CER’s tried and true funders how often we do what they most want. Ask those who say no. It’s the reason we’ve remained small all these years, though strong in results.

As we celebrate 20 years I’m grateful that I stand with integrity and pride knowing that only principle moves us, and that allegations and assertions to the contrary are the cry of those who have no other legs upon which to stand.

Continue your campaigns for or against issues, people and work. I’m happy to applaud anyone who does so well but will not permit weak arguments, innuendo or opinion to stand unchallenged, no matter who says them or how big their megaphone is. Life is just too short.

Cordially –

Jeanne

PS A big THANK YOU to all in the states who wrote with their perspective and support. I read your notes and will be in touch soon!

PSS I don’t think you fully appreciate who our awardees are and what they’ve done for the movement for excellence in education. No one would even be having a conversation about school options had Bill Bennett not articulated such a principle first and publicly as Secretary of Education in 1985! As for Barbara Dreyer, not only would online learning not exist, but there would be no Rocketship, no Khan Academy and no Amplify. History is an amazing teacher if you take time to learn it.

Filed Under: Opinions

Daily Headlines for October 1, 2013

October 1, 2013 By

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Arne Duncan: ‘ideologues and extremists in our parties’ killing education reform
Washington Examiner, DC, September 30, 2013
Striking a combative tone, President Obama’s top schools official on Monday blamed the “ideologues and extremists in our parties” for standing in the way of education reform.

Duncan warns of shutdown impact on schools
Washington Times Blog, DC, September 30, 2013
Joining a chorus of Obama Cabinet members condemning the funding stalemate between Congress and the White House, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Monday warned that the looming government shutdown would hurt American students.

Education at a crossroads
Opinion, Washington Times, DC, September 30, 2013
Nothing has been more contentious in the field of education than the idea of school choice. It’s odd. We take it for granted that we’ll find dozens of brands of cereal at our grocery stores and hundreds of stations on our cable TV

Embrace options to public schools
Opinion, Portsmouth Herald, NH, October 1, 2013
In a democracy, holding someone hostage, subjecting them to unpaid work and denying them the right to meet their basic needs is a human rights violation. However, since the 1850s we have been subjecting children to these conditions daily, calling it “education.”

Jeb Bush should get over Common Core
Column, Washington Examiner, DC, September 30, 2013
This is priceless. Former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, consummate politician and 2016 presidential aspirant, has now bitterly accused opponents of his federal education schemes of possessing “purely political” motives. Projection, anyone?

La. Gov. Bobby Jindal steps up fight with Obama over school voucher program
Washington Times, DC, September 30, 2013
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday invited President Obama to travel to the Bayou State to meet with the parents of the students who are benefiting from a school voucher program that is now the target of a federal government desegregation lawsuit.

New lunch regulations are too hard to swallow for many schools
Washington Times, DC, September 30, 2013
Fried foods and sweets aren’t the only casualties of the government’s revamped school lunch menu.

The charter school mistake
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 1, 213
‘Reforming’ schools by giving tax money to corporations is a distraction from the system’s real problems — poverty and racial segregation.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Phoenix Union enrollment at 36-year high
Arizona Republic, AZ, September 30, 2013
In fact, enrollment in the district is at its highest in 36 years. The district, which has 16 schools, has 27,031 students.

CONNECTICUT

New Haven awarded $3.7 million in magnet school funding
New Haven Register, CT, September 30, 2013
The New Haven Public Schools were awarded $3.7 million in federal magnet school funding “to infuse four schools with innovative and engaging magnet themes,” schools spokeswoman Abbe smith said in a release.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. officials release recalculated test scores
Washington Post, DC, September 30, 2013
A tougher grading scale on the District’s 2013 standardized tests would have yielded lower-than-reported math proficiency rates for many schools, with stark differences at the middle-school level, according to data released Monday by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

FLORIDA

Charter schools offering fine choice for education
Opinion, Sun Sentinel, FL, October 1, 2013
Among my several Legislative assignments, I am pleased to be a member of the Charter Schools Subcommittee (technically, the School Choice & Innovation Subcommittee) which focuses on our pre K-12 public schools and more to the point, focuses on providing our children and their parents with far greater choice than in the past.

Charter school without a home faces termination
Sun Sentinel, FL, September 30, 2013
A charter school that has struggled to find permanent housing this year will likely get the ax on Tuesday.

Florida Exams: Scott Fails Test
Editorial, The Ledger, FL, October 1, 2013
In pursuing his re-election next year, Rick Scott has tried to brand himself as the “education governor.” But a teacher assessing his effort would have to say he has not shown consistent progress.

Traditional, charter schools seek common ground in South Florida
Miami Herald, FL, October 1, 2013
They compete for students, space and funds. But there’s hope that Florida’s charter schools and traditional public schools can move past the friction that defines their coexistence and collaborate to better benefit students.

ILLINOIS

CPS seeking charter schools for overcrowded neighborhoods
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 30, 2013
As Chicago Public Schools solicits applications for new charter schools on the Northwest and Southwest sides, officials have launched community advisory councils to help sell the controversial initiative to neighborhoods that historically have not been interested in charters.

MAINE

Maine charter schools get federal dollars
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 30, 2013
Schools in Cornville and Fairfield will receive money to develop programs and share best practices.

MASSACHUSETTS

Community Charter School of Cambridge earns a No. 1 ranking in MCAS
Cambridge Chronicle & Tab, MA, September 30, 2013
Community Charter School of Cambridge announced the school was among the highest-performing public schools in Massachusetts based on the 2013 MCAS scores.

MARYLAND

Gansler proposes preschool to close achievement gap
Baltimore Sun, MD, September 30, 2013
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler proposes that the state pay for all-day preschool for low-income students to close the achievement gap between poor and wealthy students, a disparity the gubernatorial candidate calls “our biggest moral stain.”

MICHIGAN

Count Day nears Michigan schools, with vital funds at stake
Detroit News, MI, October 1, 2013
For Michigan’s 56 school districts with budget deficits, Count Day is especially crucial as they try to stay open and out of state control.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi judge blocks takeover of Leflore County schools
Sun Herald, MS, September 30, 2013
Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd has blocked the state’s takeover of the Leflore County school district.

State Board of Education fails credibility test
Opinion, Clarion Ledger, MS, September 30, 2013
Since the State Board of Education has foisted a so-called “rigorous” set of educational standards in the form of Common Core on Mississippi school children, I wonder if they are up to being held to a more rigorous standard themselves?

NEW YORK

Bronx parents oppose charter push at Junior High School 144
New York Daily News, NY, September 30, 2013
Icahn Charter wants to squeeze a high school into a building holding two middle schools. City says there’s room for everyone.

Shut and open case
Editorial, New York Daily News, NY, September 30, 2013
School closures — the great bugaboo of the United Federation of Teachers and New York’s Democratic political establishment — have been a historic benefit to tens of thousands of the city’s high school students. The city must continue to shutter failure factories.

NORTH CAROLINA

Lee school delay may only be reprieve against charter onslaught
Column, News & Observer, NC, October 1, 2013
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) are in the bull’s-eye of national charter management companies (CMOS).

OHIO

With only 3 students, Columbus charter school had to close
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 1, 2013
A Columbus charter school that began the year with only three students closed on Friday, the school’s founder said.

OREGON

Portland School Board to hold public hearings for two charter schools
Oregonian, OR, September 30, 2013
The Portland School Board on Tuesday will hear from two groups hoping to open charter schools in 2014. Charter schools are publicly financed but often independently run. In Oregon, a district, the state or a college must approve a charter school before it opens.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter bill just first step
Opinion, Scranton Times-Tribune, PA, October 1, 2013
Pennsylvania taxpayers have been paying charter schools, based partially on costs that they do not incur, for more than a decade.

Protesters say visiting philanthropists want to defund public schools
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 1, 2013
ABOUT 20 PROTESTERS chanted outside a North Philadelphia charter school yesterday afternoon, claiming a group of visiting philanthropists were “deciding what education looks like in America, not the parents, not the students.”

School panel won’t push to ditch seniority – for now
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 1, 2013
PHILADELPHIA Despite being urged to unilaterally ditch seniority rules, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission said it would not do that – at least not right away.

TENNESSEE

Education Leaders Frame Reforms in Faith Response
Memphis Daily News, TN, October 1, 2013
The leader of the Memphis Teacher Residency program and the superintendents of Shelby County Schools and the Achievement School District told several hundred people at Second Presbyterian Church this weekend that Memphis’ public education reformation needs less “negativity” and more citizen involvement.

Parents’ outcry may reverse course on eliminating MLK Magnet grades 7-8
The Tennessean, TN, October 1, 2013
After hearing sharp and widespread criticisms about a plan to eliminate two grades from a high-achieving but crowded Nashville high school, district officials reversed course with a new plan Monday.

TEXAS

Department of Education grants Texas waiver from No Child Left Behind Requirements
El Paso Times, TX, September 30, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education will grant Texas a conditional waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements, meaning significantly fewer schools will face penalties under the long criticized accountability system.

UTAH

Lawmakers: Don’t gag Utah parents who vet Common Core testing
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, October 1, 2013
Parents who vet the questions Utah students will be asked next spring on standardized tests should not be under a gag order, a Utah lawmaker says.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee Collegiate Academy doubles down on achievement
Journal Sentinel, WI, October 1, 2013
Milwaukee Collegiate Academy, an independent public charter high school of about 200 students sandwiched between a Popeye’s and a coin laundry at N. 29th St. and W. Capitol Drive, is taking dramatic steps this year to strengthen academics, culture and student performance.

ONLINE LEARNING

Burrell pleased with cyber programs
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 1, 2013
Burrell administrators are pleased with the progress of the school district’s cyber offerings and are considering options for expansion.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Truth Matters: A look at the “Tilson Tirade” on Online Learning

September 30, 2013 By

From the Desk of
Jeanne Allen

Whitney Tilson is a self-described reform warrior who from his hedge fund perch disseminates information and opinions – as well as a variety of travel logs about his own escapades around the world – with a wide and growing group of people that just like being “in the know.” It’s often entertaining, sometimes informative, and in general, everyone gets a kick out of reading about themselves or something Whitney likes that they did.

Obviously no one likes reading about something they did Whitney doesn’t like. He doesn’t mince words. Sometimes when he criticizes he’s right. Often, he’s wrong. One such example is his tirade against online learning in general, and K12, Inc. in specific.

Presenting to his email audience his 100-page plus Power Point to the Value Investing Congress “proving” that K12 and online learning sucks, Whitney takes the reader through a series of arguments that he is 100% convinced are right. The fact that he presented to such an esteemed body is worrisome for anyone who thinks he is wrong. Upon further scrutiny, it turns out the Value Investing Congress, while big, was actually founded by Whitney himself, so being invited to present there isn’t like getting invited to the Clinton Global Initiative!

But anyone who makes statements like “online education is a cancer” requires more scrutiny, don’t you think? To that end, here is just a brief expose of what’s wrong with the first 5 pages of text in Tilson’s Tirade. (I’ll limit this to educational facts and data – and let the investing community delve deeper into ethical questions about someone who attempts to malign a company while shorting that company’s stock.)

THE FIRST TEN FLAWS in An Analysis of K12 and Why It Is My Largest Short Position, By Whitney Tilson, Kase Capital

#1 —Whitney says he is opposed to all online schools:

“The schools I’m talking about are ones in which students are supposedly learning by sitting at home all day in front of a computer, interacting with teachers almost exclusively online.”

Supposedly? I don’t know of many people who make statements about kids “supposedly” sitting in front of computers all day that actually understand how online learning works. Yes, teachers deliver instruction via the computer. Some are live, many are posted and self-paced. The best instruction in the world can be online and self-paced. The worst instruction in the world can be online and self-paced. But this paints the picture that the child is glued to a teacher behind a computer screen when in actuality, the experience can be much richer than that. Regardless, Whitney provides no evidence of this “fact.”

#2 — In these next excerpts, the writer makes inferences and assumptions about who can benefit and why – and we’re asked to think about his logic, his reason, as if this kind of critique is new – and factual…

“While online schools can be an excellent option for certain students, it’s a very small number – typically those who have a high degree of self-motivation and strong parental commitment. It’s sort of obvious if you think about it. Do you think you would have learned more during your K-12 educational experience if you’d sat at home in front of a computer, or gone to school and had daily face-to-face interaction with teachers?”

#3 — The next sloppy assertion comes when he quotes a Brookings Institution researcher, Tom Loveless, who has done some good work in the past, and some rather mediocre work. He provides this opinion, which Whitney uses as evidence:

“We’re talking about high schoolers and young kids. The idea that parents go to work and leave their kids in front of a computer—it’s absurd.”

Just a few sentences earlier Whitney acknowledges that virtual or online schools actually require a coach to be with the student every day. The notion that a parent or grandparent, or hired adult might be working with kids is never explored in this report.

#4 — An interview with the former head of the Ohio Virtual School provides much fodder for assertions about K12. Whitney argues that it is this interview that sent him over the edge and on his new crusade. The former head of this K12-managed charter school says the company was all about making money and growth and didn’t care about student achievement. Shocking that a former employee would say something like that. How many of us have had former employees that loved the job when they had it, but upon leaving – suddenly discovered all sorts of things they really found fault with. Most professionals would never discuss a personnel matter with people externally, so we really do not know the story behind why his particularly school head left and why he feels compelled to damn his former employer. Maybe he is right to condemn, may he’s not, but his opinions about his former employer does not a case against online learning make.

#5 — A Teachers College researcher and professor is given lots of credibility in asserting that K12 never cared about kids. Never mind that Teachers College and its various sub-organizations and researchers have consistently stood against any education reforms that put parents and students in the driver’s seat! He told Whitney that

“The virtual providers like K12 are now mostly going after at-risk kids, kids on their last straw – if they didn’t sign up, many would be dropouts or go back to juvenile court.”

So of course, it fit the profile, and Whitney took it to the bank.

This professor goes on to say:

“K12 and Packard use this as an advertisement, saying they’re doing noble things and wondering why they’re being criticized. It’s almost comical. It’s so misleading and conniving.”

This is a teacher of teachers? Putting out opinion as fact? Unbelievable.

#6 — One person is quoted as saying that online schools do lots of advertising and enroll kids who don’t succeed just for the money. Wow, now that’s convincing.

#7 — Next Whitney is quoting someone criticizing K12 on “Glassdoor,” a website that permits people to post anonymously about a company without any need for verification. It’s like a Trip Advisor or any number of rating systems that anyone can participate in. We’re supposed to give such a quote credibility – even when there are dozens of positive comments about K12 on the same page linked to his damning discovery.

Whitney tells us that he believes it a “catastrophe” to permit low income students to be enrolled in an online school. Really? It’s a catastrophe for a child whose schools and environment has not served him well and is disadvantaged and has any number of good reasons to do his schooling outside of a traditional classroom? It sounds like Whitney doesn’t believe that what’s good for higher income students isn’t good for lower income students, even if it’s a choice their parents make. Whether he’s right or wrong is irrelevant – he has no data that supports his allegations – again.

And we’re only on page 4.

#8 — Low spending on teachers is demonstrated by a bar graph the result of data supplied by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC). Hello?? Do you know who these people are? The NEPC is run by individuals with degrees, masquerading as researchers, who are funded by unions and have since 1994 been involved in “research” that criticizes and finds fault with ANY charter school efforts, companies that work in charter schools and anything without unions at their core. Alex Molnar, Gary Miron and others on the NEPC team have never been credible, and never trusted by anyone left, right or center who really cares about research. They make up what I once called, more than 10 years ago – the Don’t Worry, Be Happy crowd – who believe US education has never been better and any attempts to change it are simply self-serving.

That said, even if the data NEPC’s chart shows about the level of teacher spending were right, there’s no connection between the spending on teachers and student achievement. We hear from Whitney about ONE disgruntled teacher that says EVERY teacher had her same experience. Where’s the rigor on this? Where is “EVERY” teacher saying this? Shouldn’t be too hard to find them all, right?

Would you trust a survey in which ONE person said they liked something? Would you not go to a restaurant because ONE person was unhappy? This is the problem with education writ large today. We are so quick to buy into someone’s “data’ simply because it sounds so darn convincing

#9 — Finally Whitney gets to academic achievement, which I will explore further in my next edition. However, here are a few notes to chew on.

Once again we look at NEPC for data, not any credible source. Whitney slams K12 for not permitting outside evaluators to look at their data. Where are his outside evaluators?
To be sure, K12 and others do not retain kids well in the first couple of years. There is enormous churn, and some of that might be due to the organization running the school, and some might be due to the kind of situation each student brings and leaves with. We need to know more… and we simply don’t. We need more data, which would have been a noble use of Whitney’s bully pulpit.

But the lack of data doesn’t stop Whitney from accusing K12 of fraud.

#10 — Finally – for now – he connects us to state reports in Colorado and Pennsylvania, where he presents “studies” from newspapers that show student achievement low and dollars potentially being misspent.

We are given a link to an article about Colorado with some state data about online schools and many comments from reformers commending the reporters for their investigation. There’s information about schools, and analysis of what that might mean, but no actual analysis of student performance over time or SES data, and because it’s aggregate data, we don’t know who goes to that school and who succeeds, or not. It’s general, it’s not a great picture, but we simply don’t know what that means for the kids the schools serve. It might be bad, very bad, as Whitney suggests, or it might be good, for some. I’ve looked at it and I’m an expert and I know in order to make a conclusion I’d have to do a lot more work and get more data to understand if kids achieve or not.

I presume state officials have done this. As most people know, state officials are on the hot seat for making laws work for kids. Many work and have great success with chartering and ensuring quality outcomes for kids. For whatever reason, officials in Colorado — a state that has mounds of good data about schools — have not shut down its virtual schools, though the record shows that they have scrutinized and intervened to improve many.

A New York Times article is cited as evidence that online schools in PA are very bad and yet again, there is no objective school-by-school data upon which this is based so the conclusions belong to the reporter and to Whitney, not to any comprehensive, proper evaluation.

But Whitney is willing to make pronouncements, regardless. He is a friend to good causes and children’s needs, and most of the time to education reform, but this new vendetta against online learning in general for kids, and one particularly company, K12, appears to be lacking in real rigor, and content, and truth.

*************

Aristotle once said that “our duty as philosophers requires us to honour truth above our friends”. I’d say our duty as stewards of sound policy require us to honor truth above our friends.

Oftentimes because a person has a big megaphone, they will have an impact on policy regardless of the data they present. The result is that policy is often made based on someone’s opinion, rather than real live success. Research isn’t objective right because it’s done by someone who has advanced degrees. It’s as flawed as the human mind itself. We’ve seen this repeatedly.

The most important thing people of principle can do when reviewing someone’s words or comments or research, and not having enough data themselves to make a determination of right or wrong is to stop and ask the questions:

• Does he have facts and have they been vetted by other people who have no bias in the matter, and no prior knowledge of the issue?

• Has he interviewed a large enough sample of people to know that it’s bad, or is he/she just repeating what has been said that confirms his/her deepest suspicions?

• Has the person actually been to see and talk to the very people he is calling frauds or worse, those he is saying have been duped?

• Has the person actually seen the work – the school, the students, the parents, the educators, the actual, raw data — about which he is writing?

• Does he understand data and how it is created?

The Internet is a marvelous thing. But it’s also produced a parade of acts that entertain and get applauded, often for simply being part of the show. Just as a walk through Barnes & Noble demonstrates that not all books are more than someone’s folly, a stroll over thousands of Google results daily demonstrates that just because it lives doesn’t mean it should. Sadly, the same problem we work to solve in the schools is a problem outside: namely, the lack of real rigor and content when it comes to learning, using and analyzing information.

One example is Diane Ravitch. A lot of people talk about Diane Ravitch. Some consider her courageous for standing up to the people whose work, research and causes she once advanced, wrote about, studied and celebrated. She liked standards once, and now she just wants her grandkids to have fun and meaning (because I guess standards are just not fun and not meaningful and testing to find out if they have met standards kills childhood). Diane liked choice once upon a time because she saw the inadequacies in schools and the fact that a student’s lifetime could be spent in a bad school with no escape. Now she rallies her growing army of ignorance against anyone who believes in freedom and choice for the poor as social justice. Why she does that is the subject of much debate. I actually think I have the root cause, and her communications to me over the years will help me shape my thoughts I will share in the not-too-distant future (not because I think Diane Ravitch, the person or critic, needs more attention, but because the attention she has created against real educational opportunity for children is morally repugnant, harmful to real people who don’t live in an upscale Brooklyn Heights apartment among people who only agree with her, and truly unfounded and inaccurate).

I don’t have the luxury of stopping everything to read and analyze Whitney Tilson’s documents or Diane Ravitch’s hundreds of pages of commentary and rants against education reformers. But in the pursuit of truth, I can do a few pages at a time. We all can.

Filed Under: Opinions

Daily Headlines for September 30, 2013

September 30, 2013 By

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Diane Ravitch Rebukes Education Activists’ ‘Reign Of Error’
NPR, September 27, 2013
Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education, spent years advocating for an overhaul of the American education system. She supported the No Child Left Behind Act, the charter school movement and standardized testing.

Inside the Nation’s Biggest Experiment in School Choice
Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2013
There is broad acknowledgment that local schools are performing better since Hurricane Katrina washed away New Orleans’ failing public education system and state authorities took control of many campuses here.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

California truancy is at ‘crisis’ level, says attorney general
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 30, 2013
One out of every four California elementary school students — nearly 1 million total — are truant each year, an “attendance crisis” that is jeopardizing their academic futures and depriving schools of needed dollars, the state attorney general said in a report to be released Monday.

Pasadena area home-schools see themselves as one of several options for parents
Pasadena Star-News, CA, September 28, 2013
Pasadena has plenty of options when it comes to schools. The choices range from public to private to charter. But for some parents, none of those options are viable and a growing number have turned to home schooling.

COLORADO

Fees pile up for parents in Colorado public schools
Denver Post, CO, September 29, 2013
Gone are the days when parents could send their children to public school with a few classroom supplies and some lunch money.

CONNECTICUT

State pushing forward on new teacher evaluation process
News Times, CT, September 30, 2013
By the end of October, all 1,600 teachers in New Haven will know what their students need to learn to help them get a good job performance review.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Under new evaluations, more than half of DC principals rated below ‘effective’
Washington Post, DC, September 29, 2013
More than half of the District of Columbia’s public school principals have been rated below “effective” on new evaluations.

The forgotten promise of charter schools
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, September 27, 2013
With the school year underway, I recently found myself in a discussion with my landlord about where his two daughters attend elementary school. He told me they both commute about 45 minutes each way to attend a KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter school in Southeast Washington.

FLORIDA

Pinellas schools renew effort to reduce achievement gap
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, September 29, 2013
Pinellas Schools superintendent Mike Grego’s rollout earlier this month of the district’s latest effort to close the achievement gap for black students was not flashy.

GEORGIA

New regional charter high school gives students a second chance
Madison Journal, GA, September 30, 2013
Some of the hallways of the old Bowman Elementary School in Elbert County are alive with students again, though the students that grace the halls these days are not beginning their education, instead they’re getting a second chance to finish up their public school careers with a high school diploma – something many of them had given up on, until now.

IDAHO

Democrats rally for education in Caldwell
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, September 29, 2013
On Saturday, Brian Cronin couched the education debate in terms of the recent past — and the immediate future.

ILLINOIS

New GED test will test resolve
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 30, 2013
For decades, the creators of the GED program have promoted it as a second chance for high school dropouts. “One decision shouldn’t define a lifetime — transform your life with the GED test,” the GED Testing Service website urges.

LOUISIANA

Inspector general’s audit of school spending is important protection for public: Editorial
Times-Picayune, LA, September 28, 2013
The Sept. 19 ruling by Civil District Court Judge Christopher Bruno was clear: the city’s inspector general has the authority to audit the Orleans Parish School Board. State law gave the inspector general broad oversight that includes the School Board, the judge said. In addition, he said, New Orleans’ home rule charter allows the IG to audit any agency that receives money through the city, even if it is not directly part of city government.

MAINE

For LePage’s departed education chief, reform was a rocky road
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 30, 2013
Stephen Bowen, who has quit, had similar ideology, but memos show inner turmoil over slow progress.

MASSACHUSETTS

Bill has power to equalize Bay State’s schools
Opinion, The Republican, MA, September 29, 2013
In many places, the gap between the suburban “haves” and the urban “have nots” is widening – a fact that should trouble us all, if we believe as public education founder Horace Mann did, that education is “the great equalizer.”

Lifting the charter school cap in Mass.
Opinion, Taunton Gazette, MA, September 29, 2013
But something is upside down when our legislators won’t find the time to debate and pass a law that would ensure that families in 29 troubled school districts can send their kids to good schools.

Lowell charter school on an MCAS mission
Lowell Sun, MA, September 29, 2013
In music classes at Lowell Community Charter Public School, the tune of “Feliz Navidad” becomes “The MCAS Song.”

Sea Star K-5 Charter School turned down by state
Cape Cod Today, MA, September 29, 2013
Mid Cape school administrators breathe a sigh of relief – School organizers are “deeply disappointed” and “do not know the reasons”

NEW JERSEY

State evaluations begin determining future of New Jersey’s teachers
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, September 29, 2013
Public school teachers in New Jersey have begun the first year of state-required evaluations that could affect their tenure or job status.

NEW MEXICO

Ambitious school reform ready to launch
Editorialm The New Mexican, NM, September 28, 2013
An ambitious plan, focusing both on students who are not doing well in traditional schools as well as providing options for exceptional students, is being unveiled by Superintendent Joel Boyd and his team.

Charter School Blues
Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2013
Charter schools have enjoyed a privileged position in New York City under the Bloomberg administration, which has given the schools free space in city buildings to help the fledgling sector grow.

Teacher incentives divisive
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 29, 2013
In the beginning, our New Mexico Public Education Department, without educator input, decided to label our schools A to F. How was A-F determined? A formula relying heavily on test performance was borrowed from Florida.

NEW YORK

Principal and Teacher, a Complex Duet
New York Times, NY, September 29, 2013
Dedicated principals tend to work endless, exhausting hours. Along the way, they struggle with budgets, staffing problems, disengaged parents, gang violence, holes in the roof and finding clean clothing for impoverished children who arrive disheveled and unwashed.

OKLAHOMA

Honor for Harding Charter Prep a reminder that charter schools helping many students who need it
Editorial, The Oklahoman, OK, September 30, 2013
TAKEN at face value, Harding Charter Preparatory High School doesn’t seem much different from any other high school in Oklahoma City. It has a diverse student population, and its beautiful but undoubtedly aged structure is a reminder that the school has a permanent place in Oklahoma City’s history.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter school reform bill heads to Pa. Senate
Courier Post, PA, September 29, 2013
Legislation that would overhaul the 16-year-old law that brought charter schools to Pennsylvania is headed to the state Senate.

Former school buildings a hard sell?
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 30, 2013
PENNSPORT resident Anthony Robinson has seen his neighborhood grow, thanks to what he calls an influx of young couples.

Owners donate CNA building in Reading to I-LEAD Charter School
Reading Eagle, PA, September 30, 2013
A major piece of the downtown Reading puzzle has a new owner. The five-story, 260,000-square-foot CNA Insurance building at Fourth and Penn streets has been donated to the I-LEAD Charter School, company and school officials said.

Two-pronged attack on teachers’ seniority planned
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 30, 2013
Seniority for public school teachers is in the crosshairs in Philadelphia and soon will be a target across Pennsylvania.

Wealthy donors move schools decision-making behind closed doors
Philadelphia City Paper, PA, September 29, 2013
On Monday, wealthy donors interested in the future of public education will gather for a two-day conference at the Union League: “All of the Above: How Donors can Expand a City’s Great Schools.”

TENNESSEE

Memphis middle school shows gains in new iZone
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, September 29, 2013
The iZone is the Shelby County Schools district corollary to the Achievement School District, the state-run experiment in transforming failing schools. ASD schools are run by the state, but iZone schools remain under the local school board’s control.

TEXAS

Texas education commissioner clears 4 charter schools to open next year, including 1 in Dallas
Dallas Morning News, TX, September 27, 2013
Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams on Friday approved the opening of four new charter schools in Texas next year, including one in Dallas.

WASHINGTON

Alternative proposed to Seattle school-boundary plan
Seattle Times, WA, September 29, 2013
A volunteer advisory group is recommending a different way to organize schools north of the Ship Canal that would require fewer boundary shifts and lower parent anxiety.

Educators aim to bring area charter schools
News Tribune, WA, September 30, 2013
Interest in charter schools has re-emerged in the South Sound. Two new potential charter school operators say they’re exploring the idea of locating charter schools here — one in Tacoma and one in South King County.

ONLINE LEARNING

Cyber quality
Letter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 30, 2013
New York University professor Diane Ravitch makes several bizarre claims in the Sept. 17 article “Education Expert: Tide Is Turning,” the most absurd of which is calling cyber charter schools “scams.”

Legislature needs to change cyber school funding formula
Editorial, Beaver Times, PA, September 29, 2013
When state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai outlined the agenda of issues he wants to see the Legislature tackle this fall, among them was the question of revamping the funding formula for cyber charter schools.

Online school option given a reboot
Mail Tribune, OR, September 30, 2013
Eagle Point students have more options for learning with the launch of a revamped online school. Featuring a learning center and at home visits, the district’s updated online school replaces one started in 2010, said Allen Barber, the district’s human resources director.

The Virtual School Experience
KOBI, OR, September 27, 2013
Last January, her daughter traded in school days inside a traditional classroom at Parrish Middle School for a virtual learning environment in front of a computer.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

MEMO: How many more years can we tolerate lagging test scores?

September 27, 2013 By

September 27, 2013

In 2013, the mean total score for all students who took the SAT exam revealed absolutely zero progress from 2012, just barely avoiding the continuation of a downward trend beginning in 2010. The same figure actually dropped from 2012-2013 when limited to public school students.

The achievement gap in scores between white students and their minority peers remains as wide as it has been for the past 7 years, during which time no student demographic group has made visible improvements in test scores.

This year, minority students made up 30 percent of more than 1.66 million test takers. As more students take the SAT exam each year to prepare for college and the workforce, it is critical that these scores serve as a reminder to focus efforts on increasing student achievement.

How many more years must these scores remain the same before leaders recognize the need for reforms that expand educational choices, encourage innovation and put power in the hands of parents?

Because our K-12 schools fail to adequately prepare young people for college and the workforce, the United States continues to fall behind other nations both educationally and economically.

We must redouble our efforts to reform our education system and emphasize student achievement growth. Our kids need an education system that works for them and breaks free from the failing trends of the past.

Filed Under: Press Releases

Daily Headlines for September 27, 2013

September 27, 2013 By

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

This Is Only a Test
Book Review, New York Times, NY, September 26, 2013
Over the past 20 years, a rising tide of voices in the world of public policy has been telling us that public education has fallen into an abyss of mediocrity. Our schools are “broken,” the mantra goes. Principals and teachers — their lack of “rigor” and “low expectations” for their students — are the primary offenders. The problem can be “fixed” only if schools are held to strict accountability. “No excuses” are to be permitted.

U.S. parents have a role in lagging school results
Letter, Washington Post, DC, September 26, 2013
In his review of Amanda Ripley’s book on the education of children in other countries [“Are other countries’ kids really brighter?,” Outlook, Sept. 22], Jay Mathews made the following point: “The most consistent U.S. failing Ripley discovers is our way of selecting and training teachers. If we erected barriers to education careers as high as those for lawyering, we would be better off.”

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Low test scores place Ipakanni Charter School on shaky ground
Mercury-Register, CA, September 26, 2013
The future appears wobbly for Ipakanni Early College Charter School, which showed a drastic decline in student performance in the 2013 achievement tests.
Ipakanni Charter School opened in 2010 and is in its fourth year.

CONNECTICUT

Derby School Realignment Could Ease Widening Achievement Gap
Valley Independent Sentinel, CT, September 27, 2013
In Derby, kids from poorer minority families are clustered in Irving, while non-minority kids from families earning more money attend Bradley, just two miles away.

DELAWARE

Delaware charter school panel begins to delve into selective admissions
Delaware News Journal, DE, September 27, 2013
What impact do charter, vo-tech and magnet schools have on traditional schools in their areas? Are students from low-income families getting the same access to these schools as other kids?

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA


D.C. education officials defend test-scoring decision
Washington Post, DC, September 26, 2013
District education officials defended their decision to score the city’s 2013 standardized tests in a way that yielded gains in both math and reading, arguing Thursday at a D.C. Council hearing that it was the best way to demonstrate student progress as compared with prior years.

FLORIDA

Lawmaker suggests pause before starting new school tests
Florida Current, FL, September 27, 2013
A teacher turned lawmaker has a solution to what she and others refers to as the “mess” which has become of Florida’s transition to Common Core State Standards. Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, D-Maitland, said Florida should just take a break for a year from standardized testing in public schools.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky’s high schools show biggest gains in statewide test scores
Lexington Herald-Leader, KY, September 26, 2013
Kentucky’s students are making incremental progress in basic subjects such as reading and math, with more students scoring in the highest categories of the state’s testing program, according to results released Friday.

LOUISIANA

Common Core rollout in Louisiana a ‘train wreck,’ state Democrats say
Times-Picayune, LA, September 26, 213
After a notable silence on Louisiana’s implementation of Common Core, the state Democratic Party has come out swinging, calling the rollout “a train wreck” and criticizing the state for not providing educators with the tools they need to be successful under the standards.

MICHIGAN

Michigan House passes Common Core funding
Detroit News, MI, September 26, 2013
The state House approved a concurrent resolution Thursday that would allow state education officials to resume implementation of Michigan’s Common Core Standards.

MINNESOTA

One heretic’s blasphemy: Public education works
Column, Stillwater Gazette, MN,, September 26, 2013
On Sept. 19, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten tweeted out a link to a good review of Ravitch’s latest book, “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.” Although Weingarten’s tweet was not directed at him, Rep. Polis responded, and he chose his words poorly.

MISSOURI

Conditions must be met when using public money for private schools
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 27, 2013
According to the St. Louis Beacon, perennial political candidate Bill Haas “urged that money for schools be available for use in public, charter, private or parochial schools, to give students and their families the widest possible range of options.”

NEW MEXICO

PED must defend new plan
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 26, 2013
A New Mexico district judge on Wednesday gave the state Public Education Department 15 days to respond to claims that its new teacher evaluation system violates the law.

NEW JERSEY

Graduation rates ticking up
Opinion, Herald News, NJ, September 27, 2013
IN OFT-TROUBLED urban public school districts such as Paterson’s, it is all too common to get caught up in generalities and failing numbers, and inmaking damning statements about the district as a whole. Indeed, it is easy enough to find fault in the district, whether it be with long-simmering concerns about test scores or aging building stock.

Trail-blazing deal promises new life for old, dilapidated public school in Newark
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 27, 2013
Sale to private charter network of closed former school draws both questions and praise

NEW YORK

City schools have thousands of overcrowded classes, students sitting on floors or standing in doorways: union officials
New York Daily News, NY, September 27, 2013
The teachers union says more than 6,000 classes are over the limit, and that the city is dragging its feet with reducing class sizes. School officials say that the union has the ‘wrong numbers,’ while Mayor Bloomberg said the overcrowding just shows that city schools are popular.

OHIO

State report cards show: Charter schools do better than big-city schools in another study
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 26, 2013
Charter schools matched up just fine on state report cards, thank you, to other big-city schools, the Ohio Alliance of Public Charter Schools reports.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter school reform bill advances to Senate
Beaver Times, PA, September 27, 2013
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives advanced legislation this week that would enact a wide range of charter school reforms, from increased oversight to decreased funding.

Rein in the charter schools
Editorial, Pocono Record, PA, September 27, 2013
Pennsylvania legislators are holding a welcome debate on school transparency that should shed a brighter light on problematic charter schools.

State test score release delayed
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 27, 2013
Pennsylvania’s new school accountability system has hit enough bumps that the state is delaying the public release of the first results.

West Mifflin Area files lawsuit
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, September 27, 2013
West Mifflin Area School District is preparing to file a lawsuit against the state Department of Education for what the school board deems unfair compensation for Duquesne students the district had to take on beginning in 2007 and inequality between the way public and charter schools receive funds.

RHODE ISLAND

Let teachers spend time teaching, not being evaluated
Letter, Providence Journal, RI, September 26, 2013
It is clear that the evaluation procedure requires a significant amount of time, effort and energy on the part of teachers. I can’t help but wonder if that time, effort, and energy might be better spent teaching.

SOUTH CAROLINA

School-choice experts give advice to S.C. lawmakers
The Herald, SC, September 26, 2013
As South Carolina tests its first private-school choice program for special-needs students, national experts give the state credit for some efforts to provide accountability; but they say lawmakers should take steps to ensure that the state saves money and that private schools deliver the quality education promised to the right students.

WASHINGTON

Charter School Application Process Could Get ‘Contentious,’ Says Commission Member
Seattle Weekly, WA, September 26, 2013
Last fall, as the debate over charter school Initiative 1240 was heating up, the Seattle School Board voted to oppose the measure. So when it passed, the district did not go for the status that would allow it to approve charter school applications. And it has no intention of seeking “authorizer” status for next year, says district spokesperson Patti Spencer. Districts that are interested need to alert the state by Oct. 1.

WISCONSIN

Finding Success at School
Peninsula Pulse, WI, September 27, 2013
Southern Door High School’s alternative education program gets students to graduation.

Lawmakers want to compel MPS to sell vacant school buildings
Journal Sentinel, WI, September 26, 2013
The City of Milwaukee would be compelled — again — to sell vacant and underused Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, under a bill proposed by two lawmakers that seeks to strengthen earlier legislation and give non-MPS school operators better access to the public facilities.

Missing the mark on charter schools
Opinion, Journal Sentinel, WI, September 26, 2013
The Sept. 23 Journal Sentinel article on independent charter schools in Milwaukee further confuses the already complicated picture of school performance in Milwaukee.

Schools chief takes on hot topics
Dubuque Telegraph Herald, WI, September 27, 2013
Private schools accepting students receiving taxpayer-subsidized vouchers can offer “no more excuses” for not being a part of accountability reports, Wisconsin Superintendent Tony Evers said Thursday during a speech that didn’t shy away from the hottest education topics in the state.

ONLINE LEARNING

North Middlesex seeks to open virtual school
Lowell Sun, MA, September 26, 2013
The North Middlesex Regional School District has submitted a letter of intent with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to open a virtual school within the district’s geography.

Revisions in Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School contract sought by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
The Republican, MA, September 26, 2013
Dissatisfied with the contract between the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School and the K12 corporation, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has sent it back to the parties for revision.

The virtual school experience: Online option growing in popularity in Oregon
Statesman Journal, OR, September 27, 2013
Hundreds of students in the Salem-Keizer area have turned to virtual public charter schools as an alternative to brick-and-mortar schools. Although the percentage of students attending these schools statewide is small, student enrollment has steadily climbed since 2005.

Virtual School Students Meet For First Time
WILX-TV, MI, September 26, 2013
One of Michigan’s virtual schools has more than doubled in size since lawmakers removed the enrollment cap earlier this year.

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