AM News: LA Furlough Days, Chicago Strike Vote Authorization
Los Angeles teachers and school district reach pact to spare jobs Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles school district and the teachers union reached a tentative agreement Friday that would prevent thousands of layoffs in exchange for 10 furlough days, which would shorten the school year by a week.
Reports: Chicago Teachers Union has enough votes to authorize strike Tribune: The Chicago Teachers Union is set to announce it has more than enough votes to authorize a teachers strike, according to local news reports.
Hundreds of Comments Pour in on Race to the Top for Districts Plan EdWeek PoliticsK-12: It's official: The comment period is now closed (as of 5 p.m. Friday) on the U.S. Department of Education's proposed rules for the nearly $400 million Race to the Top for districts competition.
Recall Win May Boost Governor's K-12 clout EdWeek: Advocates for those changes are hoping Mr. Walker focuses on expanding the role of charter schools and school choice programs in the state, initiatives he has supported in the past both in statements and through new laws.
Backtracking on Florida Exams Flunked by Many, Even an Educator NYTEducation: Bill Vogel, the superintendent of schools in this suburb of Orlando, has always been vigilant about preparing his district for the state tests.
$1.1 million plus Gates grants: 'Galvanic' bracelets that measure student engagement WashingtonPostLocal: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is spending about $1.1 million to develop a way to physiologically measure how engaged students are by their teachers’ lessons.
Judge strikes down Arkansas school choice law AP: A federal judge on Friday struck down an Arkansas school choice law, saying race couldn't be the only factor considered in deciding whether students could transfer between districts....
See also #thisweekined on Twitter for magazine articles and news updates that came in over the weekend.
The story on testing in Florida draws to attention the dangers of having politicians meddle with proficiency tests: the temptation to lower standards to satisfy angry constituents is just too great. By contrast, when the testing agencies are both external and distant from political impact (the International Baccalaureate organization may be the ultimate example), standards can be established, fairly implemented, and consistent from year to year.
This is a striking example of the politically incorrect judgement I've come to in comparing education systems around the world: those more democratically operated, in terms of their political governance and sensitivity to public feedback, are often the least popular among their own publics.
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Posted by: chimney repair chicago | June 12, 2012 at 02:54 AM
Having a strike is fine, but I get the feeling administration in Chicago won’t budge until they stop talking and legitimately start striking. In a perfect world, it wouldn’t have to get to that point, but this world is anything but.
Posted by: Sarah | June 12, 2012 at 07:54 AM
And I agree with Bruce, at least partially. There’s a blatant divide between standardized test quantity and the accuracy of said examinations. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you cannot quantify people with one document. Standardized tests, no matter how well-written, do not take the variation of time on an individual into account, and therefore, how valuable, really, are they?
Posted by: Sarah | June 12, 2012 at 07:55 AM
They comprise comparable elements in what should be much broader, more comprehensive reviews of human beings at key life junctures. But we need better tests, and I've moved far down the path of developing more challenging essay tests (for English and other humanities) without any multiple-choice questions. I think one favour Shanghai did itself and its citizens was in banning multiple-choice tests in 1985. Now their students, who face daunting, life-determining examinations at the end of high school and middle school, at least don't have to bother with any "test-taking strategies" instruction like eliminating answer choices and calculating whether it is reasonable to guess an answer; instead they focus their time on learning to solve complex problems.
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