Fred Smith: What Is the Value of Making State Tests “More Difficult” to Pass?
This post was written by Fred Smith, who worked for many years as a testing expert in the New York City Board of Education. In...
Month : July 2015
Kids and Big-Name Stars Support Rafe Esquith
The Los Angeles Unified School District removed Rafe Esquith from his 5th grade classroom at Hobart Elementary School, where he had become nationally acclaimed for...
Bill and Melinda Gates Are Not Discouraged by Failure of Their Education “Reforms”
Bill and Melinda Gates told Nicholas Kristof that they have poured billions into education reform, but there’s been “no dramatic change.” Although the Gates’ normally...
Gary Rubinstein Reviews the Failure of the Tennessee Achievement School District
Gary Rubinstein has been following the results of the Tennessee “Achievement School District” since its inception. At the time, its founder Chris Barbic pledged that–in...
Alabama: Governor Picks Public School Hater for State Board of Education
This is an amazing story. Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama appointed to the state Board of Education a 28-year-old man named Matt Brown, who has...
Chicago: Why Didn’t Arne Duncan Use the Lab School as a Model for Reform?
This is one of the enduring questions of our age. Arne Duncan attended the University of Chicago Lab School and so do his children, as...
Camp Director Supports Rafe
After teacher Rafe Esquith was suspended from his fifth grade classroom at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles, LAUSD leaked that another staff member heard...
Hedge Fund Manager Gives $8.5 Million to Eva Moskowitz Charter Chain
John Paulson, a fabulously wealthy hedge fund manager, gave $8.5 million to Eva Moskowitz to expand her Néw York City-based chain of “no excuses” charter...
Don’t Be Fooled by Online Petition from Care2 in Support of More Test-and-Punish In Federal Law
There is a very deceptive petition now being circulated by Care2, which customarily promotes worthy causes. This petition asks you to sign if you support...
Rahm Slashes the Budget for Special Education in Chicago Public Schools
This is incomprehensible. Mike Klonsky reports that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is cutting the budget for special education. The city and the public schools are in...