Five myths of educational innovators  by Anya Kamenetz
"It's almost back to school-a good time to clear out the cobwebs and challenge some conventional wisdom. Hype is seductive, and an enemy of clear thought."     

"To get a two-year extension of their waivers, states must reaffirm their commitment to college- and career-ready standards and tests, and to implementing differentiated accountability systems that focus on closing achievement gaps."     

Charter schools enrolling low number of poor students By Kathleen McGrory and Scott Hiaas  Miami Hearld  

"Demographic imbalances between charter schools and traditional public schools have led experts to ask if charter schools are open to all students."   

Professional Learning Communities  by The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. 

"In the context of school improvement, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) shift the focus of school reform from restructuring to reculturing. It is an ongoing process used to establish a schoolwide culture that is based on a fundamental belief in building teacher leadership in school improvement efforts."    

"One of the most contentious urban education policy issues in the United States today is the expansion of charter schools and its repercussions. Does the expansion of charter schools affect the racial and socioeconomic composition of traditional

public schools in the United States?"

Rothstein on Duncan: Test-Based Accountability Has Failed
"Everybody who studies student achievement knows that the one most important factors affecting student achievements is whether children come to school in the first place prepared to learn, whether they've had good literacy experiences in early childhood where they've had high-quality care."




How Big Debt on Campus Is Threatening Higher Ed Source: Mother Jones

The explosion of college tuition and student debt is leaving more grads with big bills and doubts about their futures. Some back-to-school stats:

1. College costs a lot more than it used to.

 

2. So we're borrowing more to go to school.
3. But we can't pay it off.



The (Not So) Hidden Curriculum by Marty Brooks, Executive Director of the Tri-State Consortium, Setauket, NY  

"For years, skeptics have questioned the motives behind national reform movement, beginning with No Child Left Behind in 2001 and followed up with Race to the Top in 2009, suggesting that it is really an effort to discredit public school education and funnel more funds to private, parochial and charter schools."

Policymakers Should Disregard New School-District Consolidation Report  by William J. Mathis, Craig Howley, and Jerry Johnson 

"The CAP report ignores the source of most of the size-related inefficiencies which are found in very large school districts (mostly in metropolitan areas) rather than in very small districts. Although very small districts are numerous, they enroll far fewer students, so any savings will be quite limited."

The Last Word - September 2013  by

Children in this country have the right to a free public education. On that there is, thankfully, broad agreement. The public school system is a quintessentially American institution, open to everyone. It also is a vital underpinning to our democracy.  

A Brave Superintendent in Long Island by Steven Cohen, Supt. of Schools, Shoreham-Wading River Central School District on Long Island.  The Diane Ravitch Blog  

"Our public schools are being told to do things that no private schools are forced to do. Private schools have not embraced the so-called benefits of the Regents Reform Agenda (why not?). An entire generation of children is being put at risk of receiving a defective - and perhaps damaging - education should these untested 'reforms' prove to be what many of us fear: false gods."   

Teacher of the Year, Jeff Charbooneau  Source: Teaching Channel Video

Jeff Charbeneau is a school science teacher at Zillah High School (WA) and also the "National Teacher of the Year." This person is a great representative of the teaching profession.       

Reformy Distractions, Diversions & Smokescreens from What's Really Needed  by Bruce Baker

"Three arguments in particular, are pervasive in the broader education reform debate, with implications for school funding equity and adequacy:
First, that through years of court challenges states have largely resolved funding inequities between local public school districts

Second, that adopting broad-based, school choice programs necessarily provides equitable opportunities for children..

Third, that local public school districts are so inefficient in their basic design.

A Hero Superintendent in Illinois by Scott Kuffell, via Diane Ravitch Blog  

Essentially, Geneseo Schools will become part of a traditional "bell shaped curve" to inequitably sort and separate students, for purposes no one really seems to know. So, why are schools wasting valuable instructional time and resources by continuing to administer a test that fails to produce meaningful results?

David Coleman, the Most Influential Man in U.S. Education? by Joy Resmovits  

"Since he couldn't be a teacher, he went to work for McKinsey, where Big Data is a religion. Then he founded the "Grow Network," a company that provided data analysis about assessments. McGraw-Hill purchased the Grow Network, for what insiders say was $14 million.  Then Coleman founded Student Achievement Partners, which played the leading role in writing the Common Core standards, which received $6.5 million from the Gates Foundation for this work."    

'Star' Coursera prof stops teaching online course in objection to MOOCs   By Ki Mae Heussner

"I'm really uncomfortable being part of a movement that's going to get its revenue in that way. And I also have serious doubts about whether or not using a course like mine in that way would be pedagogically effective."    

State Failures, National Models and the Perpetuation of Educational Injustice  

"With the continuing need for changing workforce skill sets among ever-changing economic environments at home and abroad, students enmeshed in testing protocols have not been provided with the intellectual and applied skills that they needed most to enable them to survive and thrive, or to prepare them as literate creators and innovators, responsible decision-makers, and collaborative problem-solvers."    

Will NBC News Use the Gates Foundation's Facts Again? Or Can We Get a Real Dialogue Going?   by Anthony Cody
"And it was in line with the previous year's Education Nation, which heavily promoted the "stars" of "Waiting for Superman," including Michelle Rhee and Bill Gates himself. That year, NBC went so far as to block me and others expressing differing views from the Education Nation Facebook page, though that was eventually lifted."

The Diane Ravitch Book Tour Schedule   

  The "Ravitch"n Book tour starts soon.  Major cities are on her tour: New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Stanford, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and more.   

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