Thompson: Testing Foul-Ups in Oklahoma Will the Past Be Prelude?

This year’s testing foul-ups included more mistakes by Pearson in New York City, and computer malfunctions during testing in Indiana and Oklahoma. Carrie Coppernoll’s Testing Fallout Persists, in the Daily Oklahoman, describes the political decisions that must be made after high-stakes testing was disrupted, last month, by computer crashes.

Before No Child Left Behind, Oklahoma had its share of testing fiascoes. In 1997, Harcourt Publishing sent the wrong writing exams to 8^th and 11^th graders. In 2001, Riverside Publishing lost its contract with the state after significant delays in providing test results.

In the last ten years, Oklahoma has used five different testing companies. Harcourt regained the contract but then it printed incorrect answers on the sample test. In 2007, Pearson was awarded the contract for end-of-instruction tests, but it made data classification errors and mishandled its portfolio assessments for profoundly disabled students. Now, Oklahoma has to decide how to deal with McGraw-Hill’s latest mess.

Economics 101 would predict that after NCLB dramatically increased the demand for standardized tests,  the quality of the testing product would decline.  Even with the primitive old bubble-in tests, that seems to be happening.  When the far more complicated Common Core assessments are rushed into production, shouldn't we expect even more testing debacles?-JT(@drjohnthompson) Image via. 

Update: Duncan Endorses Parent Trigger -- Sort Of

At an education conference in Burlingame earlier today, Obama education secretary Arne Duncan gave a muddled semi-endorsement of the controversial parent trigger law in California.

Specifically, Duncan described the trigger as "an important tool" for parent involvement -- but not the only or even the most important one.

Duncan's answer will likely disappoint trigger proponents and opponents alike.

Morning Video: Bush Education Accomplishments, Revisited

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The newly-opened Bush Library includes a section on education, and NBC's Chuck Todd interviewed former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings about the Bush education legacy.  

Documentaries: Could Principal Minor Have Done More?

Below are some interesting things I learned chatting Monday afternoon with Jacquie Jones, ED of the National Black Programming Consortium, about last week's "180 Days."  

NBPC is the outfit behind the documentary, which was also funded in part by the Ford Foundation, and according to Jones was conceived of as a way to deepen the school reform conversation but not necessarily as a response or rebuttal.

Jones puts the core question the film raises this way:  "How could this person [Principal Minor, pictured] who se so clearly smart in a real pratical way as well as passionate about these kids -- working at full capacity every day -- how could she be doing all this and it still sucked like this?"

I came away from the conversation much enlighted about some of the issues that had intrigued me -- especially the question of what if anything could have been done differently -- and informed about the thinking behind the scenes that were (and weren't) shown. 

Morning Video: Noguera, Bradford, & Taylor Discuss Testing On MSNBC

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Bruno: Exit Exams Are For Students, Not Adults

The Providence Student Union is organizing an anti-high-stakes-testing protest in which adults take a test similar to the one required of students in Rhode Island to graduate high school. This isn't the first time this sort of publicity stunt has been performed, but since it's in the news it's worth remembering that the underlying logic of the protest is totally confused.

The rationale behind the protest isn't always clearly articulated, but the main assumption seems to be that if "accomplished" adults struggle with a test, it's unreasonable or unfair to expect much younger students to complete it successfully.

The problem with that line of thinking is that many adults are well out of school and have long since taken academic and career paths that happen not to involve the specific knowledge covered by the test.

Afternoon Video: NBC News Explores NCLB Waiver Issues

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Carmel announces she's leaving and all hell breaks loose.

Maps: Where The Performance Targets Vary By Race

Here's NBC News' map of states showing all the places (in yellow) where states have applied and the USDE has allowed adoption of performance targets that vary by race.  You can see the fully interactive version of the map here. Last night's TV episodes are here, here, and here. Oh, and Education Nation's road trip kicks off later this month in Detroit.

Bruno: Standardized Tests & Classroom Teacher Bias

I really liked Kathleen Porter-Magee's and Jennifer Borgioli'spost on "the four biggest myths of the anti-testing backlash", especially the part about "teachers' instincts" so I'll permit myself to briefly take issue with fellow This Week In Education contributor John Thompson's characterization of their argument.

Admittedly, Kathleen and Jennifer may have sacrificed a bit of clarity in the pursuit of brevity, but unlike John I do not read them as claiming that standardized assessment results are "more valuable" than teacher-generated assessments. The key point - which I have not seen refuted - is that teacher assessments of students are often biased in ways that needlessly disadvantage students on the basis of their race (or gender, etc.) and standardized assessment data may be useful in mitigating those biases.

It's fair to say, as John does, that the way standardized assessment data are collected and used may reduce or eliminate their usefulness in practice. That, however, wasn't the "myth" to which Kathleen and Jennifer were referring. Instead, they were referring to the myth that teachers don't suffer from big,  important blind spots when it comes to assessing students. I doubt John labors under that misconception, but there are many reform critics who often speak as though they do.

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I don't really mind my students taking their 8th grade state science test and actually look forward to receiving the results: I'm acutely aware of the limitations of my own judgment when it comes to my students and standardized tests are one important - albeit imperfect - way for me to fill in my blind spots. - PB (@MrPABruno) (image source)

Quotes: No Parent (Or Board) Opposition To Trigger In LA

I had no knowledge of ‘opposition’ in the world of parents. None.

-- Superintendent John Deasy on LAUSD's unanimous approval of a trigger petition. via @hechingerreport

TV: EdWeek's Take On "House Of Cards"

Last week I told you about my failed attempt to slog through "House of Cards" and how much the show reminded me of a clunky retelling of the 2000 authorization of NCLB.  

This week, Politics K-12 has a review / recap of the series (Congress Won't Reauthorize ESEA, So Netflix Will Do It For Them) penned by someone named Ross Brenneman.  

While disappointingly unaware of my take on the show ( Netflix Show Revisits 2000's ESEA Authorization), Brenneman provides a couple of helpful tidbits, including a reminder that The West Wing also focused heavily on education and some reassurance that teachers aren't portrayed negatively (at least not in comparison with the anti-hero Democratic Congressman played by Kevin Spacey). This is no "Won't Back Down" in regards to its portrayal of union leaders, though I understand that there's a bigger role for them in the second half of the show which I didn't see.

 

NCLB: 34 State Waivers -- Plus District Consortia, Too?

EdSource is reporting that a ten-district consortia of California school districts that educate more than 20 percent of the state's students is pressing ahead with its NCLB waiver application, despite concerns from the state and Secretary Duncan about creating different rules for different districts.  Hey, there was a district version of Race to the Top, so why not a district version of NCLB waivers? 

Morning Video: Senate NCLB Waiver Hearing ... & Then Reauthorization?

The hearing starts at 10. The above is just a screenshot.  Here's a link to the committee site -- the video is not embeddable, far as I can tell (and according to the staff I talked to).  One of the highlights may be EdTrust president Kati Haycock's critique of the waiver approval and implementation process, notes HuffPosts's Joy Resmovits, though I don't think it's anything particularly new she's saying. 

Behind the scenes, some civil rights and accountability types admit that the waivers might end up being preferable to what Congress would have done in a reauthorization.  Speaking of reauthorizations, DFER's Charlie Barone thinks that one might still happen (for better or worse).  

 

House Of Cards: Netflix Show Revisits 2000's ESEA Authorization

If, like me and a few others, you spent all or part of the weekend watching episodes of Netflix's new dramatic series, House of Cards, you emergef from your cave this chilly Monday morning tired and edgy.  Perhaps you went back and tried again once the week started. According to Atlantic.com, a Netflix marathon often leads to a Netflix hangover.

Why a hangover?  Well, like many shows these days -- Dexter, House, Breaking Bad, etc. -- the central characters here (Kevin Spacey as a Southern Congressman, Kate Mara as an ambitious journalist) aren't particularly admirable or moral human beings.   

What makes the show watchable -- in addition to the never-ending concerns about whether the characters will do more awful things (they will!) or get caught (mostly not!) -- is that it's got negotiations over an education bill as a backdrop.

Yes, like Season 4 of The Wire and Won't Back Down and a raft of recent shows, education reform is the high-stakes backdrop for this Washington DC thriller.

But is it realistic, or any good?  To tell you a little more about this -- which I must (otherwise I watched four and a half episodes in vain) -- involves revealing a fair number of plot points (ie, spoilers).  So read below without any expectation of my keeping secrets.  

Quotes: CA Gov. Whinges Over NCLB Waiver Rejection

Distant authorities crack the whip, demanding quantitative measures and a stark, single number to encapsulate the precise achievement level of every child. - CA Governor Jerry Brown, via Huffington Post's Joy Resmovits

Chicago: Roughly A Third Of Turnarounds Remain Low-Performing

The industrious folks at Chicago Public Radio have gathered together data on 12 years of school closings and turnarounds.

Not only that, they also mapped the changes, and determined that roughly a third of the buildings closed and/or turned around remain at the lowest level of performance (Tier 3).

It's well worth a look, whether you're a fan or critic of school turarnound efforts.

Others will disagree, but the 32 percent failure rate doesn't seem objectionable, given the enormity of the issues faced at 100 percent of the schools deemed bad enough to be closed or turned around.

 

AM News: California Districts Seek Own NCLB Waivers

Districts preparing their own request for NCLB waiver EdSource Today: Duncan hasn’t yet agreed to consider district waivers in states that either didn’t apply for them or had their applications turned down, and CORE hasn’t yet formally asked Brown for his blessing, which would considerably help their case. 

Call for Nominations: Know a Creative Science or Math Teacher? PBS NewsHour: NewsHour is launching a new series highlighting science and math teachers, kindergarten through high school, across the county who are using innovative teaching methods in the classroom. Each month, we'll publish an original video feature of a teacher who uses creativity in the classroom in order to inspire their students.

Scientology Almost Made It Into No Child Left Behind? Ed Tonight Huffington Post: Reports Vulture: Tom Cruise "tried to convince President George W. Bush's Secretary of Education Rod Paige to include Hubbard's 'study tech' educational methods into No Child Left Behind."

Ohio teacher claims discrimination over fear of kids USA Today:  Lawsuit says woman forced to resign because she can't teach young children.

Parents plan protest of Deasy's plans for Crenshaw High School KPCC: After months of uncertainty, the future of Crenshaw High School will likely be decided at Tuesday's  monthly L.A. Unified school board meeting. 

 

AM News: On 11th Anniversary, NCLB In Tatters

On 11th anniversary, No Child Left Behind law in tatters KPCC: As the federal No Child Left Behind law's eleventh birthday arrives Tuesday, California is one of the few states that still must meet its requirements. Now California schools that fail to meet the law's provisions could face serious sanctions. State officials expect 80 percent of mor of schools to fail in 2014. LA Times: California schools flunk education group's ratings

With Obama's deadline nearing, White House to ramp up work of gun violence ...Washington Post: In addition to Biden's meetings this week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will meet this week with parent and teacher groups, while Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will meet with mental health and disability advocates. 

Frontline: D.C. schools downplayed cheating allegations USA Today: The PBS Frontline documentary "The Education of Michelle Rhee," airing Tuesday, offers the first testimony from Adell Cothorne, who filed a federal complaint against the district in 2011, alleging that cheating essentially defrauded the U.S. government. WPost: Federal complaint details cheating allegations at D.C. public school

Chicago Public Schools Faulted on Assessing Learning Disabilities NYT: In a complaint filed on Monday, a group said that the Chicago Public Schools have repeatedly failed to evaluate children with disabilities and move them into special education preschool programs.

People: Amy Wilkins Leaves The EdTrust (Again)

Longtime EdTruster Amy Wilkins is leaving for the College Board in January, announced EdTrust honcho Kati Haycock in an email earlier today:

"In her many years with us, Amy has made extraordinary contributions to the organization and to the movement for educational justice," writes Haycock in what may be one of the nicest sendoff letters I've seen in years.  "Nobody has cared about low-income kids and kids of color more than she has.  And nobody played a greater role in building The Education Trust into the respected force it is today." 

I've known Wilkins since 1996, when she stalked/befriended me in Senator Bingaman's office  [and many other Hill staffers], and have written about her and the EdTrust's enormous and disproportionate influence over education policy many times on this blog.

In a recent AEI paper I wrote about her arrival on the scene in 1993 when the Trust was just getting off the ground and little if any education advoacy was being done outside of associations and unions. In this February 2012 blog post I named her as one of the best education lobbyists out there and got little if any disagreement.

Haycock leaves out that Wilkins has tried to leave the EdTrust before -- once to run an early childhood initiative that I think was called TEE, and most recently to be the founding ED at DFER (see here). She returned to the Trust in 2007. "This time it's for good," Wilkins promises, via email.

Haycock's email is below.

Charts: Fiscal Cliff Impacts On IDEA, Title I

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary seems to have prompted some sort of break in the fiscal cliff logjam, but just in case:  Via PBS

Morning Video: Why Stop At Arming Teachers?

Over the weekend, former EdSec Bill Bennett and others suggested arming teachers.  Way back in 2006, however, Stephen Colbert proclaimed that not only should teachers be armed, but also students.

Reform: Disaster Economics, Education-Style

As New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut try and wrest $80 billion in Hurricane Sandy recovery funding out of Washington, it's worth noting that they face much the same challenges as advocates for federal education programs: it's easier to get Congress to approve funding for post-disaster recovery than it is to get Congress to approve funding for pre-disaster prevention.

The dynamics are illustrated in last week's New Yorker article, Disaster Economics, which points out that big-ticket items like dams and raised highways are unlikely to get much attention from lawmakers in Washington no matter what the economic or political situation the nation faces.  

Reading the piece it occurs to me that education is in much the same situation, fighting tooth and nail for roughly $50 billion in annual federal education funding that most of it goes towards recovery.  Title I (NCLB) dollars are essentially poverty recovery funding, right? 

It would take at least another $50 billion a year, for at least ten years, to mount a universal preschool effort nationwide, but, as with disaster recovery, Congress prefers to wait until the damage is done and pay for it afterwards -- even if the costs are much much larger than they have to be.  And reformers and teachers both seem to prefer to fight over relatively minor policy issues rather than focusing on big things they agree on but don't benefit them directly.

Congress: "Technical Amendments" In The Fiscal Cliff Deal?

Officially, there's not much going on in Washington DC right now other than departing lawmakers, arriving ones, and the fiscal cliff debate.  But it was two years ago in December, during contentious negotiations about the debt limit or something along those lines that Congress passed the (in)famous "codification" of the Bush-era highly qualified teacher regulations that I wrote about in my paper on NCLB, HQT, and alternative certification.

  

At that time, since it was a continuing resolution, the amendments were called variances discordances or or something like that. But the language was just a couple of sentences long -- that's all it takes: 

(a) A ‘highly qualified teacher’ includes a teacher who meets the requirements in 34 CFR 200.56(a)(2)(ii), as published in the Federal Register on December 2, 2002. (b) This provision is effective on the date of enactment of this provision through the end of the 2012–2013 academic year.

This makes me wonder if there must be at least a handful of education-related bits of business that the Administration, Hill leaders, or others are pushing to get included along with the fiscal cliff deal that if history is our guide will be passed late at night the Friday before Christmas or something ridiculous like that.

Do I know what these items to get slipped in might be? No idea. That's your job. They could be in the category of language needed to smooth NCLB waiver oversight or implementation, or some small but key business related to Common Core. What unfinished business out there needs getting done and has enough friends to get it on a short list of "technical amendments"? Figure it out now, or read about it when it's already been signed into law.  

Choice: Don't Expect Schools/Districts To Highlight Their Own Faults

One of the biggest problems with the old NCLB's transfer provision was that it relied on schools and districts to inform parents of their right to transfer -- and to pick the schools they could transfer to.  California's Open Enrollment Act solves this in part by going straight to parents with billboards like these. (KPCC via AISR)

Bruno: Is NCLB Turning Off Science Teachers? Probably Not.

At the beginning of November Anthony Cody and John Richard Schrock published some troubling charts indicating that the number of new science teachers credentialed each year by the state of Kansas had dropped dramatically. They speculated that "schools' overemphasis on test scores" was driving away potential science teachers who prefer "creative" teaching to "drill-and-test".

Schrock's charts should be a cause for major concern, but I was curious whether NCLB-type education reform was really causing the science teacher supply to dry up.

As it turns out, NCLB probably didn't have much to do with the decline in Kansas, and in other states like California there hasn't even been any real dropoff.

Budget: A Funding Cliff -- For NCLB

I'm not particularly worried about the fiscal cliff, which makes for great post-election theater but seems unlikely to happen in any form that would be disastrous. But I *am* worried about the overall federal education budget in the next cycle, and one big reason is the NCLB waiver scheme.  

Federal funding for K-12 education went up a bunch during the NCLB era, a fact that many seem not to know or conveniently forget.  And a new reauthorization of any law, including education, usually generates funding increases since lawmakers want to see their votes and efforts succeed.  

But we don't have an NCLB reauthorization to spring off of, thanks to the whiners at the Chiefs and the lazybones at the USDE (and CAP?) who got us into this waiver mess.  And it seems unlikely to me that lawmakers are going to manage much enthusiasm for a program that (a) isn't new and (b) essentially operates outside their control. 

So don't worry about the fiscal cliff that everyone's talking about now.  Worry about the fiscal cliff that NCLB could be about to fall off of in February and March.  

Five Best Blogs: Las Vegas Self-Reports Happy News

Hey, this new "rate yourself" program is great, says Clark County Nevada school system  ow.ly/fIYMk

These state veto / lame duck sessions are full of ed reform bits -- IL earlier this week, MI here #5bbow.ly/fJ223

Krugman: Class Wars of 2012 - NYTimes.com #5bb via @atlanticwire ow.ly/fIWtB

Wild times in the Michigan veto session #5bb via Daily Kos :ow.ly/1PRyGz

Online schools spend millions to attract studentsow.ly/fGUQw @gtoppo #5bb OK, interesting, but how much do district schools spend?

LA Unified 'could do more' to improve its handling of child abuse reports, says state audit released today @latams #5bb ow.ly/fGIP5

NCLB: The Reauthorization We Could Be Having [Now]

As this lame duck Congress wraps up and energy builds towards a new Congress and a second Obama term in office, I can't help but wishing that reauthorizing NCLB was something that was on everyone's first order of business for January and February. Instead, the states are running off  into the woods with their NCLB waivers, Duncan chasing behind them with letters reminding them of their vague promises to uphold the spirit of NCLB.

Of course, the Obama folks didn't know if they'd get another term, and nobody knew whether the NCLB reauthorization that came out of the current (old) Congress would be any good. To be fair, the same thing got done to the DREAMers, who are now in the same kind of political and policy limbo as NCLB.

But still, it could have been different -- should have been, I'd argue.  

AM News: USDE Emphasizes Grad Rates Under NCLB Waivers

Ed. Dept. Emphasizes Graduation-Rate Accountability in Letter to States PoliticsK12: In the face of continued criticism that the federal Education Department is allowing states to weaken graduation-rate accountability, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to states reinforcing that high school completion must be a significant part of accountability systems under No Child Left Behind Act waivers.

Bill to delay CPS school closings announcement goes to governor ChicagoCatalyst: The bill now moves to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn for his approval, which surely has been arranged. CPS has promised a five-year moratorium on closings in exchange for the delay.

California Targets School Borrowing WSJ: California Treasurer Bill Lockyer Thursday called for overhauls in school districts' sales of so-called capital-appreciation bonds, saying too many schools are locking themselves into what he described as "terrible deals" with onerous terms such as debt payments of more than 10 times the principal.

Jeb Bush, with cash and clout, pushes contentious school reforms CNBC: As he convenes a star-studded policy summit this week in Washington, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential education reformers in the U.S. Elements of his agenda have been adopted in 36 states, from Maine to Mississippi, North Carolina to New Mexico.

Elementary Pupils Immersed in Foreign Language EdWeek: This school year, a Delaware district introduced a more novel and potentially more effective foreign-language initiative to talk up: a new Chinese-immersion program for 101 kindergartners, which the district plans to offer those children and successive kindergartners through 8th grade.

SIG: A Disappointing But Completely Predictable Reaction From Smarick

Researcher Bryan Hassel has written a bracing (for policy wonks) response to yesterday's "SIG-failed-I-told-you-so" post from former New Jersey state education official Andy Smarick (The disappointing but completely predictable results from SIG).

In his rebuttal, Hassel questions Smarick's contention that SIG has failed and shreds Smarick's notion that starting new schools is a viable way to go:  

"There’s no evidence that new school creation is demonstrably better as an overall strategy than turnarounds... To replace the 5,000 worst schools, we’d need 10,000 high-quality new schools b/c they tend to be smaller."

Read the full post below.  

Morning Video: Watch President Obama Speak Spanish

Since a big factor in the Obama re-election victory was the increase in turnout (and support) from Latino voters, let's watch Obama speak Spanish in this campaign ad.

 

What's he saying? "I'm sorry about the whole NCLB waivers idea -- it was Arne's fault -- but I'll try and clean up the mess during my second term."

AM News: IL Is Last State Left Unable To Set Disparate Goals By Race

Idaho Wins NCLB Waiver EdWeek: This leaves Illinois' request as the one that's languished in NCLB waiver purgatory the longest. (I'm not counting Iowa, whose request was basically rejected, or California, which is going the not-likely-to-succeed, do-it-yourself route.) Seven other states applied more recently, and still await word.

Florida Officials Defend Racial and Ethnic Learning Goals NYT: Setting different goals for student achievement in reading and math by race and ethnicity is just an interim step, calculated as part of a waiver granted by the federal government, officials say.

Contraception, Pell Grants 'In Context' After Debate WBEZ: We're taking a closer look at two issues that came up during Tuesday's presidential debate — contraceptive coverage and funding for higher education. Robert Siegel talks with Julie Rovner and Claudio Sanchez to put the candidates' comments in context.

Closure Of Six Charter Schools In St. Louis Costs $250,000 HuffPost: The schools boasted 3,333 students — about 89 percent of whom transferred to St. Louis Public Schools after the state voted last spring to close the Imagine network of St. Louis charter schools following years of academic and financial management issues.

Online auction to liquidate surplus school items AP: Tennis rackets, at least two pianos, science lab microscopes and a battery-powered scooter are among dozens of surplus items that will be auctioned off from Detroit's closed Southwestern High School....

AM News: Romney Might Roll Back "Prescriptive" NCLB Waivers

Romney Ed. Adviser Casts Doubt on Future of NCLB Waivers Politics K12: The waivers are "not about flexibility. They're very prescriptive. We think they have led to a very unfortunate result: ... many of these states are setting different accountability standards for different constituencies of children," said Handy, a former chairman of the Florida State Board of Education.  ALSO: Impact of NCLB waiver on poor schools challenged The Answer Sheet

Romney Adviser Calls Head Start 'A Social Experience' Huffington Post:  He chided Head Start, the federal pre-school program, saying it has "been allowed to go on for decades ... much more as a social experience, not preparing children for school."

Seeking Aid, More Districts Change Teacher Evaluations NYT: Fueled in part by efforts to qualify for grant programs or No Child Left Behind waivers, 36 states and the District of Columbia have introduced new policies.

More States Earn As and Bs on Charter School "Scorecard" for 2012 State Watch: From 2011 to 2012, the number of states earning As and Bs from from the center actually increased. In the top category, Arizona, Indiana, and Michigan improved to A grades, joining Minnesota (the state with the nation's oldest charter school law) and D.C., while California fell from an A to a B grade in that time. D.C. comes in first, while Minnesota is second, Indiana is third (improving from eighth last year), Arizona is fourth, and Michigan is fifth.

Frustrated by 'Roadblocks,' Group Reviewing Teacher Ed. Appeals to Students TeacherBeat: Using graphics that could have been pulled right out of "Mad Men," the campaign shows a silhouette of an individual wielding a flashlight. "You have the right to know," one advertisement reads. "Help us do what your university would not."

Five Best Blogs: States Race To The Bottom Via Duncan Waivers

States struggling to lower standards without getting accused of well, lowering standards ow.ly/eu3QA @PoliticsK12

The economic value of effective supervisors & the surprising ways they make workers more effective - Slate ow.ly/etYh4 

Proposition 32 Divides California's Education Reformers ow.ly/euLG6

Moving beyond our vacuous education reform discussions | Reihan Salam ow.ly/eu2fb 

A Premortem for Professional Development (Part 2)ow.ly/euKPu @breakthecurve

Want to Ruin Teaching? Give Ratings nyti.ms/PxsCym via @Larryferlazzo

From Jay Mathews: Reforming a nation of bad note-takers: I have never learned how to take lecture notes. bit.ly/W99Fnq

People: Race To The Top Guru Leaves USDE

Earlier this week, Mike Dannenberg has left the USDE for a job at the Education Trust. 

Matt Gandal (right) has left the USDE for a job at Education Strategy Group.

Gandal was at Achieve for a long time, and before that the AFT.   More recently, he was heading the USDE's Race To The Top implementation group.  

No word yet on how the Department is going to handle that key activity going forward.  Amanda Whalen?  Maybe it's already happened, or they're waiting until after the election.

 

Update: Teach For America & The Alternative Certification Loophole

My latest article/book chapter  -- a look back at the history of the alternative certification exemption in NCLB and TFA's development into a Capitol Hill powerhouse -- has just been published by AEI. 

"Little did anyone know at the time that TFA’s belated arrival to the DC policymaking scene would result in an awkward loophole in No Child Left Behind, an explosion in alternative certification programs (including online and for-profit ones), and prolonged tensions between TFA’s desires to expand its program and its broader reform role."  

NCLB: NYT Covers Waiver Questions & Concerns

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A couple of weeks ago at Education Nation (see video above), EdSec Duncan claimed that states "dummied down" state standards in response to NCLB, and I went predictably ballistic (Duncan Cherry-Picks NCLB History). Over the weekend, in an NYT article about questions surrounding NCLB waivers, Duncan made essentially the same claim and again it went unchallenged. But the moment seems closer when concerns and questions about the rationale for the waivers become better-known.

NCLB: Duncan Cherry Picks NCLB History To Sell Waivers

It was an evenly matched two v. two at today’s four-secretary panel on education policy, with the two Democratic appointees (Riley and Duncan) criticizing NCLB and the two Republican appointees (Spellings and Paige) defending. 

But Arne Duncan tossed up the most junk, especially when it came to his oft-repeated line about NCLB creating a “race to the bottom” as states lowered standards to avoid looking bad on AYP.

 Yes, it’s true, something like 24 states did lower their standards in the years following NCLB.  There’s nothing in the law to stop them from lowering proficiency thresholds, making tests easier and other such gimmicks besides some nonbinding language asking them not to and the reality that their scores would be compared to NAEP scores (as if they cared about that). 

However, Duncan forgot to mention a few things.

Morning Video: Rhee Downplays Differences With Obama

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Wearing a soft gray top (not the rust red that everyone else was wearing), Rhee expresses concerns for subgroup accountability under NCLB waivers, but doesn't go quite as far as Miller in terms of raising questions (see below).

Update: Where All The "Alt Certs" Are

There are now an estimated 500 different alternative certification programs in the US, and an estimated half a million alt cert teachers in classrooms.  However, Teach For America -- the organization most commonly associated with alt cert -- makes up just 10 percent of these teachers, and there's no reliable information about where all the other alt cert teachers are distributed (or how they perform compared to traditional or veteran teachers).  

Some of that's about to change, thanks to a somewhat surprising but welcome provision in the latest budget deal that would require a report on alt cert numbers and distribution. I saw it on Title I Derland first (“TFA Regulation” Extended, Report Mandated), and here it also is on Politics K-12 (Stopgap Spending Measure Deals With Highly Qualified Teacher Issue).

Output measures are great, but until that wondrous day when we can reliably measure teachers based on classroom effectiveness, we still need to know what kind of programs and certifications they have under their belts. One thing is already clear:  Most alt cert programs aren't TFA.  (Also: TFA is not all-powerful.)

PS:  My next article/book chapter via AEI retells the story of how TFA got "left out" of the highly qualified teachers definition in NCLB in the first place, and subsequently ramped up its Washington lobbying efforts in order to win federal funding and prevent any repeat of NCLB in the future.  

AM News: Texas Opts For Old-School NCLB Waiver

Texas to Apply for NCLB Waiver PK12:  Texas is not applying for the formal waiver that the department has spelled out, but as is the Texas way, wants to create its own waiver proposal. "This allows us to define the waiver request without agreeing to the strings that were attached to the NCLB waiver," Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe told me. (This is the routeCalifornia wants to take, too.)

Texas to seek waiver from No Child Left Behind Act Fort Worth Star Telegram: After getting comments from school administrators and the public, Williams plans to make the request to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has general authority to waive federal requirements, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency said. Gov.

Montana not interested in tying teacher evaluations to test scores Hechinger Report: Juneau, the first Native American woman to win a statewide election, also spent some of her speech talking about other ways Obama’s helped Native Americans.

Recess In Chicago? Strike Threat Draws National Eyes NPR: Marty West, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, says teacher strikes are high-stakes affairs. That's one reason we haven't seen many. He says all eyes are on Chicago. "Many districts are in a situation not too different from Chicago's, and how this plays out will be important in determining what goes on nationally," he says.

AM News: Can USDE Monitor NCLB Waivers?

Ed. Dept. Gears Up to Oversee NCLB Waivers EdWeek: As the school year begins, states are preparing to provide their first evidence that they are implementing their plans as proposed—and are already asking federal officials if they can tweak their proposals.

Florida Schools In Session, But Teachers Absent NPR: There's typically a lot of teacher turnover during the summer break, and schools can't always get vacant teaching positions filled by the time school starts. [is this really a big problem nationwide?]

Jeb Bush Says Education Film Will Be 'Game-Changing' For Reform Movement HuffPostEdu: One of Bush's current causes is helping to promote a new movie that tells, in Hollywood fashion, the story of two single moms who take over a failing public school in the hopes of turning it around. Titled, "Won't Back Down." After the film was shown in Tampa last week, Bush sat on stage with Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of D.C. public schools, a Democrat, and the two discussed education reforms.

 Lunch Trays Got Too Lean in City’s Fight Against Fat NYTimes: Worried that children were losing the war on obesity, New York City began to slim down its school lunch offerings several years ago, replacing fries with baked potato strips and introducing nonfat chocolate milk, whole grain pasta and salad bars, among other tweaks.

U.S., Arizona Settle Over Students With Limited English Phoenix: The U.S. departments of Justice and Education have reached an agreement with the Arizona Department of Education over the state's rush to move students out of its English language learning program.

NCLB: Waivers, AMOs, and Dual Accountability Systems

A little more about NCLB waivers from the Education Trust and the Center on American Progress: 

The EdTrust notes that while it did write a paper talking about the "half the gap" approach states could take, Virginia's waiver proposal and approval was always a big concern because it didn't have the same ultimate expectations for all groups. (Some who read the Washington Post story about the Virginia do-over might have been confused about the EdTrust's position.)

CAP notes that 13 states chose the gap-halving approach, compared to just three that kep the basic AYP way of doing things (AR, DE, NY) but that the real issue is the disconnect between the goals set in the NCLB waiver plans (called AMOs), which will be used for reporting to the USDE, and the real-world accountability systems that states are using, which will be used to tell parents and teachers and lawmakers. The danger here is that, as often happened in the pre-NCLB era, there will be two different sets of ratings for schools each year, with the state numbers generally getting more attention. 

Previous post: USDE: Other States Won't Have To Revamp Waivers

Media: Everything You Read In That Mother Jones Article Is Wrong

This recent Mother Jones feature (Everything You've Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong) has gotten a lot of attention over the past week, among reform critics and fans of longform writing especially.  (There's a radio segment from KQED, too A Year at Mission High: Forum.)

Much of the praise is deserved.  The piece (written by Kristina Rizga) is vivid and well written, compelling and challenging.  But I'm not sure it's really all that convincing, or fair.  It makes some errors of fact surrounding the operation of the NCLB and SIG programs that I have come to find infuriatingly common. 

The feature denounces over-reliance on stereotypes of struggling schools and the use narrow slices of data, but then does a poor job (in my opinion) moving past stereotypes of federal policymaking and avoiding false connections.

USDE: Other States Won't Have To Revamp Waivers

Twenty-eight other states with NCLB waivers used the same or similar approach to setting proficiency targets as Virginia, which yesterday agreed to revamp its USDE-approved waiver in order to address concerns about setting different goals for different groups of students (ie, focusing on gap-closing rather than gap elimination).  Washington Post story here.  EdWeek story here. But the others won't have to revamp their waiver plans, according to the USDE, because the others "required greater progress for groups starting out further behind... everybody else’s methodology/AMOs are going to help close the achievement gap without any changes." 

Calls in to CCSSO, EdTrust, and others.  

AM News: Virginia Waiver Re-Do - Will Others Follow?

Virginia to revise student achievement goals  Washington Post
By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post. Virginia intends to revise its new goals for student achievement in public schools, after state and federal officials agreed that those goals did not do enough to narrow the gap.

Chicago Teachers’ Union Gives Notice of Possible Strike NYT: Union leaders will meet on Thursday to discuss their next move, which could include selecting a strike date, though it can be no sooner than Sept. 10. Should a walkout occur, the city is expected to make its libraries and park districts available to students.

Police: 100-year-old driver hits 11 near LA school AP:  The screams of women and children didn't cause a 100-year-old driver to stop as he backed his large powder blue Cadillac onto a sidewalk across from an elementary school and hit 11 people, including nine children....

Rhee At GOP Convention: Ed Reform Will Require 'Getting Ready For A Fight' Hechinger Report: Rhee said she was unhappy that, despite both candidates taking clear stances on many education issues, the topic largely has been untouched on the campaign trail. “We are not talking about this issue nearly enough in this presidential election,” Rhee said. “I would hope we try to force the issue more.”

Ryan Hits Obama's Spending Record EdWeek: Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan used his acceptance speech Wednesday at the Republican National Convention to make the case that President Barack Obama has burdened future generations with billions in unnecessary spending—but he steered clear of pointed attacks on the president's education spending. 

 

Five Best Blogs: VA Re-Doing Its NCLB Waiver

Virginia and U.S. Ed. Dept. Agree to NCLB Waiver Do Over - Politics K-12 - Education Week ow.ly/dks68

Kids would learn more math if their parents would get over their own fear of it, says WSJ via TAW ow.ly/djPnT

College Board,and Carnegie hosting 9/13 @NYTedtech summit featuring Nick Kristof, Linda Darling-Hammond, Kaya Henderson ow.ly/djDec

From Jay Mathews: Who’s afraid of China and India?: I like the latest big report to clog my printer — a 10...wapo.st/SPQqxL

ATL Teacher Had No Choice But to Help Students Cheat:'They're Dumb as Hell' ow.ly/djPGR #nclbmadeherdoit #toogoodtofactcheck

"Debate has become... the usual suspects saying the usual things, over and over, louder and louder."  @rpondiscio http://ow.ly/dkcKF 

Five Best Blogs: VA Waiver Angers Black Caucus

New VA Standards Based On Race And Background Anger Black Caucus ow.ly/ddl0k #5bb

Everything You've Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong | Mother Jones ow.ly/ddlIS #5bb@KristinaRizga

ALSO: RT @SuSaw: Leaders of #school turnarounds honored@TheWhiteHouse http://1.usa.gov/eQ3163 

Furious Debate Over "Pupil Progress" in CA | LA School Report ow.ly/ddce9 @LASchoolReport #5bb

Emory University gave out false GPA & SAT score dataTIME.com @kaylawebley #5bb ow.ly/ddpzq I blame USNews&WR. Or NCLB.

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Differ On Standardized Testing In Schoolsow.ly/dd0DW @Joy_Resmovits

No strike to interrupt the start of school in Chicago, but the violence continues to attract national attention ow.ly/dcXQr

Educators Have No Political Party Daily Kos http://ow.ly/dcWx1  #5bb Well, not like they used to :-)

 

Five Best Blogs: Democratic Pundit Slams VA Waiver

Rotherham slams Obama admin for OKing Virginia's weak waiver expectations for low income and ELL kidsow.ly/d2Ej0 #5bb

Why Hasn't the HCZ Been Replicated? ow.ly/d2pt5[+reformers ignored it & its results weren't solid] #5bb@AmandaEAtlantic

No one hates being told their schools are mediocre & segregated as much as middle class parentsow.ly/d2pHv #5bb via @gothamschools

The Case for the Private Sector in School Reform - Joel Klein - The Atlantic ow.ly/d2pFp #5bb Not sure why I'm reading this

John Deasy says he's never read a blog. He asked me what a blog was. I tried explaining.lockerz.com/s/235603229 @LASchoolReport

Researchers developed a computer program that caught 15,000 bullying-related tweets in one day.ow.ly/d3g2C #5bb @kaylawebley

This edition of #5bb brought to you by John White.  

AM News: NCLB -- "Not Dead Yet"

No Child Left Behind: Not Dead Yet Stateline: With the majority of states no longer abiding by the ten-year old federal law, some experts have concluded that it has effectively been overturned. But some of the remaining 17 states are finding that the feds can be pretty stubborn when it comes to allowing wholesale changes in the law's provisions.

With NCLB Waiver, N.J. Lays Out Turnaround Plans EdWeek: New Jersey is taking an approach centered on the creation of seven Regional Achievement Centers that will monitor and intervene in the state’s lowest-performing schools, which ultimately could be subject to closure by the state.

What's That Stack Of Money Doing Near The Stock Exchange? Huffinton Post:  While cash and Wall Street go hand-in-hand, the College Board is hoping that a 6-foot-tall display of (fake) hundred-dollar bills placed near the Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning will stop one of the more apathetic breeds of pedestrian, commuters in downtown New York.

'Hybrid' Home Schools Gaining Traction EdWeek: Education policymakers and researchers have largely ignored the tremendous growth in home schooling, particularly among these sorts of “hybrid” home-schoolers willing to blur the pedagogical and legal lines of public and private education, said Joseph Murphy, an associate dean at Peabody College of Education.

Fun and Free Science in Providence, R.I. NPR: The Providence Alliance for Clinical Educators combines captivating storytelling with exquisite illustrations to teach scientific principles in a fun and memorable way.