Florida Accountability Concerns Increase

In spite of Florida Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson whirl-wind talking tour of Florida on the heels of the FCAT fiasco, parents, community members, and taxpayers remain unconvinced of the validity of Florida's assessment initiative.

Ocala.com editorial page editor Brad Rogers commented on the FCAT Writing fiasco saying: "Too many people on the front lines — principals, teachers and parents — have far too many criticisms of FCAT for Robinson, Gov. Rick Scott and our lawmakers to continue playing the hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil game."

Rogers points out the public wants accountability, but not expensive, experimentation. After all, who exactly is footing the bill?

Call me a skeptic, but nothing is likely to change. First of all, most of Robinson’s comments about FCAT concerns have largely been in defense of the high-stakes test. Second, while Robinson and his masters in the governor’s mansion and the Legislature keep raising the bar — which, I believe, most Floridians agree is prudent — they are doing nothing to help local school districts meet the challenge. For example, when the Tallahassee crowd mandated all testing be done on computers, schools received no help to buy enough computers to get the job done, despite millions in new costs.

The more state level officials try to explain, the less confidence the public has that the testing has any value. Reusing a worn out largely indefensible narrative, Robinson repeats that high stakes testing has been good for Florida and without it we would be turning back the clock on the meteoric progress made. He warns that test scores will continue to be low as the state transitions to the national assessments based on the Common Core standards; but ignores basic questions on current implementation.

Currently, four Florida School Boards (Martin, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, and Broward) have voted a resolution that rejects the FCAT as the sole means for grading Florida schools saying it is an "and inadequate and unreliable measure of student learning," and rejects the over emphasis on standardized testing. Reports indicate that the Orange County School Board is going to review the resolution.

The Florida School Board Association will convene a meeting with representation by all 67-school boards and an emergency item has been placed on the agenda to discuss encouraging the State Board of Education "to revamp its testing and accountability methods, and add more variety to the way student progress is measured."

More reporting found here.

APP Press Release: ALEC Board Delays Vote on Common Core

Washington, DC – Today, the board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), after considering anti-Common Core legislation introduced by the American Principles Project (APP), Goldwater Institute and the Washington Policy Center last summer, delayed a decision on whether to endorse the legislation until their next meeting.

“ALEC’s delay in endorsing the resolution is troubling and plays into the strategy of the multi-billion dollar private entities that are pushing the Common Core,” said APP’s Emmett McGroarty. ”This issue has been before ALEC for almost a year. The resolution was approved by the ALEC Education Task Force overwhelmingly last December, and ALEC has discussed it at three of its national meetings. The well-financed private entities and the federal government are moving forward with their implementation of the Common Core, and Americans have been cut out of the process.”

Dr. Tony Bennett, the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, presented the pro-Common Core case to the board of ALEC. Dr. Bennett is also on the Board of Directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), one of the two trade associations managing the Common Core Standards (along with the National Governors Association). Additionally, he is the Chairman of Chiefs for Change, an initiative of Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education. The Foundation for Excellence in Education and CCSSO have received $1,000,000 and $70,000,000, respectively, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the primary force financing and pushing the Common Core.

Robert Scott, Texas Commissioner of Education, presented the case for the resolution to the board, which then deliberated behind closed doors. State Rep. Dave Frizzell of Indiana, ALEC’s National Chairman, reported that the board found that there was much to like about the legislation but decided to send it back to the Education Task Force due to concerns about some of the language. He stated that the board would forward the details of those concerns to the task force.

This week, APP and Pioneer Institute released a white paper that makes the case against state adoption of the national Common Core State Standards. Co-sponsored by Pacific Research Institute and the Washington Policy Center, Controlling Education From the Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America argues in favor of a Common Core withdrawal resolution.

The white paper can be seen here:
http://americanprinciplesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Controlling-Education-From-the-Top.pdf

The Resolution can be seen here:
http://americanprinciplesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Comprehensive-Legislative-Package-Opposing-the-Common-Core-State.pdf

The American Principles Project is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and propagating the fundamental principles on which our country was founded - universal principles, embracing the notion that we are all, "created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
For more information, please contact Jameson Cunningham with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs atjcunningham@sbpublicaffairs.com or (703) 739-5920.
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NOTE: On May 2, reports of families of 400 students opted their children out of standardized tests.
In Texas, over 400 school boards have signed a Resolution opposing high stakes assessment.
In Florida, two school boards have signed a National Resolution opposing high stakes assessment.

NUT Report: National Call to End High Stakes Assessment

Press Release

A Letter to President Obama

Two grandparents on opposite ends of the continent each had a concern about the direction of education reform and its effect on their grandchildren. Through a chain of improbable circumstances they found each other on Facebook and conjured up a letter to President Obama expressing their concerns.

Mark Naison, from Brooklyn, NY and a Fordham professor prepared a draft of the letter. Bob Valiant, retired school administrator from Kennewick, WA, edited the letter and Bob Valiant Jr. developed a survey form and website, http://dumpduncan.org. The letter calls for the removal of Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the inclusion of parents, teachers, and school administrators in all administration policy discussions. It insists on the immediate end to penalties and incentives to compel using student test scores to evaluate teachers, require school closures, or install charter schools. Finally, the letter asks for a National Commission, to include parents and teachers, to explore ways to improve the public schools.

Naison and Valiant Sr. began to circulate the letter to friends on Facebook. The signatures started rolling in and now more than 6700 total signatures have been recorded. A map on the website shows they came from all across the country, from big cities, suburbs, and hamlets. All of this happened with a purely volunteer cadre made up of parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens with no financial expenditure. Now the goal is to continue collecting signatures until June 1 when the letter and package of signatures will be delivered to the President.

For further information, consult the website, http://dumpduncan.org or phone Bob Valiant at 509.783.8883.

Anti-Common Core Resolution questions constitutionality, evidence, and costs

ALEC is a controversial organization that draws ire from public school advocates for its support of vouchers and charter schools. Recently, Jeb Bush, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Achieve, all supporters of common core initiatives, seemed to have "gained ground" with the organization. However, this month its educational task force considered a document signed by 350 prominent education policymakers, researchers, teachers and parents titled Closing the Door on Innovation, which opposes Common Core initiatives. The result was an approved resolution that could be as model legislation to be introduced in state legislatures. This effort was sponsored by the American Principles Project, The Goldwater Institute, and the Washington Policy Center.

The model legislation can be found in The Growing Tide Against National Standards is not difficult to read and understand. Here is one highlight:

WHEREAS, when no less than 22 states face budget shortfalls and Race to the Top funding for states is limited, $350 million for consortia to develop new assessments aligned with the CCSSI standards will not cover the entire cost of overhauling state accountability systems, which includes implementation of standards and testing and associated professional development and curriculum restructuring; and

According to Ed Week coverage, although the education task force approved the resolution, the ALEC board must take action.

But it's not final, or official ALEC policy, unless it is approved by the organization's board of directors. No word yet on when there might be a decision on that. If the board approves it, the package is the sort of thing that would would join other types of model legislation ALEC has crafted for states' use.

This resolution stands as irrefutable evidence of the widespread disagreement regarding common core initiatives, irrespective of ideology, and an event that should be followed.

Who pays? Who benefits?

Education Reform In Context

Click on the picture to make it bigger and easy to see.

A picture is worth a million words.

Education Reform: Show me the money - still asking

More and more fact-based, smart, and talented parents, community members, and taxpayers are blogging on education reform initiatives, filling in a notable gap and spurring a better informed public on the current initiatives.

Grumpy Educators recommends Race to the Top is a Race Off a Cliff posted on the Seattle Education blog.

Education reformers like to use the words "disruptive innovation" to describe current initiatives. I see a lot of expensive disruption and little innovation.

Seattle Education details on the costly confusion and waste that Race to the Top is causing.

Parent Across America submits proposals for ESEA reauthorization

Parents Across America wrote to Senator Harkin, starting the letter this way:

Dear Senator Harkin,

Your proposed revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act show that you and the HELP Committee have listened to some of the concerns voiced by parents and others about the problems with No Child Left Behind.

The letter was followed by a list of proposals Parents Across America wish to see excluded in the new legislation as well as items that they recommend be included.

Below are three of the listed recommendations for inclusion:

• Less emphasis on standardized testing and more reliable accountability and assessment practices including local, teacher-designed assessments supplemented with teacher and parent surveys and site visits.

• A full range of parent involvement opportunities including a stronger parent voice in decision making at the school, district, state, and national levels.

• The right of parents to opt their children out of standardized tests.

Grumpy Educators hopes that Senator Harkin, the full committee, and the U.S. Congress pays attention to the concerns of parents, community members, and taxpayers.

Florida Tea Party Network Want Governor Scott to Quit Race to the Top

Hat tip to Scathing Purple Musings for posting the announcement by Florida's TEA Party on Race to the Top. For months now, Grumpy Educators has been asking where they stood on the issue.

Here's a segment:

The Tea Party Network, a consortium of 70 tea-party organizations statewide, argues that “for states to regain control of education and bring it back to the local level, they must stop taking federal money and the strings that come with the money.”

Read the entire article Florida Tea Party Network Want Governor Scott to Quit Race to the Top for their complete statement.

UPDATE: Governor Scott signed the grant proposal and says he will return the money IF there are any strings attached. The Pre-K funding is not a gift and to know the strings, someone has to analyze the grant application and requirements first. Much has already been written about the requirements. Scott does not say what parts he found helpful and which less so.

NCLB Reauthorization: Who gets control?

The U.S. Congress is showing mixed results in addressing the reauthorization of NCLB legislation in spite of broad consensus that it requires urgent attention. According to the NY Times, the U.S. House education committee leadership wishes to proceed in a "piecemeal" fashion; however, few pieces have been forthcoming. The New York Times sees the House actions this way:

"The House leadership has appeared unwilling to move toward a full rewriting of the law, which could give Mr. Obama a domestic policy triumph going into an election year."

The U.S. Senate has filed a comprehensive bill. According to Senate education committee chair Senator Tom Harkin, this bill was developed in bipartisan fashion and returns some of the powers to the states that were taken away via NCLB legislation. Accountability remains in place.

"Mr. Harkin’s bill would keep the law’s requirements that states test students in reading and math every year in grades three through eight, and once in high school, and make the scores public.

But for about 9 of every 10 American schools, it would scrap the law’s federal system of accountability, under which schools must raise the proportion of students showing proficiency on the tests each year. That system has driven classroom teaching across the nation for a decade.

States would still face federal oversight for the worst-performing 5 percent of schools, as well as for the 5 percent of schools in each state with the widest achievement gap between minority and white students. Districts in charge of those schools could lose federal financing under the Harkin plan if they failed to raise their student achievement."

There are critics who maintain that local control is the problem.

“Harkin’s bill would return control to the state departments of education and the local school districts, and they’re the ones that got us into the mess that No Child was designed to fix,” said Grover J. Whitehurst, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who headed the Department of Education’s research wing under President Bush. “Districts and states have not been effective in delivering quality education to children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, so why should we think they’ll be effective this time around?”

Other groups advocating for minority and special education students fear that the relaxing of sub-group accountability turns back the clock for these students.

Ed Week provided more perspective on the Senate ESEA draft bill. Adequate yearly progress requirements will disappear and replaced by state identified continuous improvement and ability to use either a yearly test or interim measures that show progress. The comprehensive Senate bill proposes to:

• Codify the Race to Top, Investing in Innovation, and Promise Neighborhood programs, all top Obama administration reform initiatives.


• Require states to set college- and career-readiness standards, either with other states or alone.


• Largely keep the law's testing system in place, but eliminate the 2013-14 deadline for bringing all students to proficiency in math and reading.


• Require states to develop new teacher evaluation systems.

More groups pushing back on the Common Core initiatives

Via Truth in American Education.

In a letter to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, Alabama legislators ask that the state retain control over "academic standards, curriculum, instruction, and testing" and reject national initiatives.

The National Federation of Republican Women (Nebraska, Delaware, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Tennessee) passed a unanimous resolution, "Defeat National Standards for State Schools." The resolution opposes "national standards, national curricula, or national assessments."

Imagine a world without local school boards | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | tampabay.com & St. Petersburg Times

Imagine a world without local school boards | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | tampabay.com & St. Petersburg Times

Local school boards are troublesome to education reform efforts according to Chester Finn, who has great responsibilities to the non-public entity driving common core standards. Finn states the following:

These traditional structures are lethargic, bureaucratic, and set in their ways; while people within them may have experience managing schools and complying with rules, they seldom have the capacity to innovate, to make judgments about matters beyond their customary duties, or to stage successful interventions in failing districts and schools. Moreover, many of these people fiercely oppose the policies they are asked to implement.

Finn gives no support for his claim; however, local school boards are in fact accountable to the parents, community members, and taxpayers in the area they serve. Is he suggesting that democracy is troublesome? Maybe it is a good thing that "many of these people fiercely oppose the policies they are asked to implement."

In this compliance-driven-distantly-mandated landscape, parents have little to say about the educational environment of their students. "Fierce opposition" by parents, community members, and taxpayers is growing and more visible.

South Carolina parents protest punitive high stakes assessment on the State House steps on Saturday, October 8 at 10 AM. They do so because at all levels of educational officials, medical professional advice was ignored so the testing would proceed without regard to parental rights and the duty to protect the health and well-being of children. Grumpy Educators supports these efforts.

Read more:
Previous posts related to South Carolina parent opposition to excessive testing:
The State Op-Ed: South Carolina parent asks why students cannot opt out of high stakes assessment
South Carolina parents to protest high stakes assessment
A letter from a 12 year old---
Bringing Parent Opposition and Resistance Out of the Shadows
South Carolina Parents Challenge Standardized Testing
NUT Report: No parent involvement wanted

A letter from a 12 year old---

Sandra's on vacation-- she deserves it, she's spent more hours over the last eight months reporting on the educational idiocy being proposed than most people spend working at a job they get paid for in a year. Fortunately for her readers Fishygal will filling in most of the time, but from time to time over the next couple weeks, you'll be stuck with me..

Recently Sandra's been focusing on a couple children being forced to take standardized tests under the NCLB law and state regulations designed to enforce the law. The two children have complicated medical issues and were forced to take the tests, by the bureaucracy, in total disregard of medical opinion.

I have my own (legal) ideas about how to deal bureaucrats who'd intentionally harm a child to enforce poorly thought out regulation. I also have an opinion of NCLB and the proposed Obama/Gates/Bush Education Reform insanity...;best left for another time..

Getting back to where I belong....
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The 12 year old at the center of one South Carolina family's objection to mandated standardized testing speaks for himself and thanks all those who are supporting the efforts on his behalf and that of his family.

First of all I thank you for all you have done for me. The PASS test was horrible. They forced me to do the test and my blood went to 344. I never ate anything either so it was not my fault. I'm so grateful you are helping me out. I really am happy that something is being done. I have been hit by kids, made fun of, and embarrassed. My diabetes bag was called a purse, and once a kid took off his shoe and threw it at my head. Before I was taking a medicine that made me sleepy, so what happened? My teacher jerked me up by my arm and I had to stand in a corner, she then gave a kid that hates me a squirt gun. If I fell asleep I would be shot with it. I cried myself to sleep standing up. All my school life has been a living nightmare that was made for me. My mom put me in SCVCS so I'd be safe. I wasn't even safe there. This test is wrong for everyone not even LIKE me! No one should take this test! Why do they so called "need you to take it"? What is this for? Nothing! Zero! Again, thank you so much! Thank you God for everyone who is supporting me. Thank you again.

Anthony Herrera

GRUMPYELDER COMMENTS:

In defense of the other kids-- that's what kids do, right or wrong it's instinctive for them to pick on another kid they perceive to be different..It's the parents,teachers, police officers or other reasonably responsible adults job to intervene, and stop it.

 WTF did this teacher do? She handed another kid a squirt gun and told him to use it on a child that already has difficulty coping. Add that teacher to the list of bureaucrats I mentioned above. This sort of abuse needs to be stopped now. NCLB started it, it was screwed up and complicated at the State House Level and at the local level, they can really muck things up; you just read the letter.

Get the Federal government out of it, traditionally and Constitutionally, Education is a local issue. Tell your Congressional representative to keep DC out of it.

Tell your Rep to forget about reaffirming No Child Left Behind.. and not to even think about the Administration's Reform Schemes.

Tell your legislature to inform Washington they can shove the bribe money and the crap that comes attached to it.. On a local level, odds are you can get the local School Board Member's email addresses in a matter of minutes.

If you're a blogger, you know what to do; Anthony's Mom needs the help.

For more information look here and here.

Bringing Parent Opposition and Resistance Out of the Shadows

In March 2011, the stories of parents attempting to opt out of state high stakes standardized tests began to spread. Parents in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, made the news, with the Pennsylvania story covered by CNN and Fox.
These news stories sparked a wave of renewed interest by frustrated parents across the nation. While there are a number of groups providing support to parents in many states, online and on Facebook, Parents and Kids Against Standardized Testing caught my attention. Parents from around the nation began posting questions, sharing experiences, and collected in the Discussion tab. Some from public education joined posting information as they had available.

This month I looked back at those stories and several things are apparent. Notably, individual schools, school districts, state-level staff, all the way to the U.S. Department of Education provide conflicting information. A familiar refrain at the local level is that opting out is not possible since high stakes standardized tests are mandated under No Child Left Behind.

Parents want the facts and the fact is there is nothing in the federal legislation that requires students to take the test or remove parental right to not permit their child be tested. The federal legislation, however, requires that schools give the tests. Failure to give the tests in sufficient quantity and failure to meet legislated improvement levels may bring sanctions on the schools.

Individual states have established rules and regulations, some specifically address opting out and others do not mention it. Some deny opting out under all conditions, including medical doctor recommendations for students with complicated health conditions. Other states will consider unique situations and hardships, such as a medical condition, or if testing is against a religious belief, but nothing else. Then, there are states that do provide parents an option to Opt Out requiring nothing more than a simple letter to the principal.

Opting out by keeping the child at home would seem a simple solution; however, the consequences for parent and child must be considered. Since testing takes up to 10 days in some locations, absences of that length can exceed attendance rules and a child may be required to repeat the entire year. A parent in Texas reports that in their school district there are punishments.

"..if we take them out without a doctor's note for more than 3 days, we will be fined $500 per child, taken to court, and a truancy officer will visit us."

Parents with students in charter schools report that opting out of tests may lead to the school denying re-enrolling the next school year.

Parents collectively, irrespective of political party, ideology, and any other affiliation want an end to:

• Classrooms converted to test prep centers.


• High stakes assessment.


• Plans for the increased quantity of federally mandated high stakes standardized testing under Race to the Top initiatives.


• Misinformation and confusion over parent rights to opt out of high stakes standardized testing.

Parents are not saying they are uninterested in their student’s progress or opposed to accountability measures that reflect progress in their communities and across the nation. They are not saying that sub-group comparison is not important. What they are saying loud and clear is that they reject the way standardized testing has taken over the school environment and have a parental right to say no.

All eyes on South Carolina parents who are challenging the mandated high stakes standardized testing. Parent Gretchen Herrera intends to take her case to the South Carolina capital on October 3, 2011. Her story is found here.


A resource for information about your state and a place to share your personal experiences and knowledge is Opt Out of Standardized Tests.

NY State DOE cancels deal with News Corp

Grumpy Educators posted the investigation into Rupert Murdoch's entry into the education sector and the deal under investigation with the NY Department of Education.

Follow up on this story is reported in the Huffington Post today. The NY Department of Education has cancelled the $21 million dollar deal with News Corp, using money NY received as part of its Race to the Top grant to obtain services related to the creation of a centralized student database for personal information.

New York "State Controller Thomas DiNapoli "quietly rejected" the contract, citing News Corporation's "incomplete record" for qualifications, the Daily News reports."

Reposting the following clip from last month that is fact-based and easy to understand the Rupert Murdoch/Wireless/NY State deal.

NUT Report: Schools short of money, but no talk of cutting testing

Reprint of Stephen Krashen's letter sent to Education Week, August 24, 2011
[bold added]

Schools are "facing tough budget choices" (August 24) and cutting back
on teaching positions, tutors, support staff, summer programs, and
extracurricular activities. According to an ASCD survey (SmartBrief
poll, 2011-12), 78% of respondents said that they are "experiencing a
lack of funding and it has affected student learning.

Unmentioned in the Ed Week article is the fact that at the same time
money is so short, we are keeping a number of useless tests and
actually increasing testing to astonishing levels, in the face of
empirical evidence showing that these tests do not increase student
achievement

A clear example of a current useless test is the High School Exit
Exam used in many states. Studies consistently show that high school
exit exams do not lead to more college attendance, increased student
learning or higher employment. In fact, researchers have yet to
discover any benefits of having a high school exit exam.

The US Department of Education is planning an astonishing increase in testing. In addition to end-of-year tests, there will be tests in reading and math near the end of school year and testing several times during the year (interim testing), In addition, the Department is encouraging pre-testing in the fall and testing other subjects as well. Recently, the Department announced plans to test children before they enter kindergarten. In addition, all tests will be administered on-line, a huge expense. There is no evidence that the new tests will help children.

We all agree that assessment is part of teaching and learning, but our philosophy should be "no unnecessary testing": Determine which tests are useful and eliminate the others. Over-testing is choking our schools both intellectually and financially.

Stephen Krashen

Original article:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/08/24/01openingday_ep.h31.html?tkn=QOQFffbFmIbu4uJDCSj3MNDKAeQOV%2BCORTw3&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

Some sources:

High school leaving exams, most recent review: Holme, J., Richards,
M., Jimerson, J., and Cohen, R. 2010. Assessing the effects of high
school exit examinations. Review of Educational Research 80 (4):
476-526.

No evidence the new tests will help: Nichols, S., Glass, G., and
Berliner, D. 2006. High-stakes testing and student achievement: Does
accountability increase student learning? Education Policy Archives
14(1). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v14n1/
.; OECD 2011. Lessons from PISA for the United States, Strong
Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264096660-en

States Where Parents Oppose Teaching to the Test

August 2011 research indicates parent opposition and resistance to mandated school assessment continues to grow. Opt Out of Standardized Tests is a new site listing the groups that have organized and a state-by-state run down of regulations, rules, and other related information on opting out. In some states opting out is fairly easy, in others, however, requests to opt out have been denied and met with threats. The gathering of information is on-going.

Find out what is happening in your state by visiting Opt Out of Standardized Tests.

Cato Institute Podcast: Neil McCluskey speaks on waivers and national standards

NUT Report: Parents, community members, and taxpayers

Who benefits from Race to the Top initiatives including expanded standardized testing? A lot has been written about publishers. Here's what McGraw-Hill says in the lower right-hand corner of the document:

How McGraw-Hill May Benefit:
New assessment and instructional materials: The Common Core movement has favorable implications for new assessment and instructional materials. There is an expectation that there will be more new purchasing as states adopt materials that incorporate the new standards

Less need for customization: As states adopt the new Common Core Standards, the demand for customized material may also be reduced, which could translate into cost savings in content development

Who else benefits?




A recent report on performance on the ACT test adds to the continuing evidence that the testing mandates have not provided a return on investment. Florida Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson says this:

"Our current education reform strategies are aligned with this exact goal and I am confident that through the continued hard work of our educators and school leaders we will see significant progress in this area in the years ahead," he said in a statement."

Sound familiar? Parents, community members, and taxpayers have given up on unresponsive, unaccountable, and unrealistic policymakers and legislators, and have formed a group - OPT OUT OF THE STATE TEST: A NATIONAL MOVEMENT in an effort to reign in failed and entrenched standardized testing initiatives that have converted schools into test prep centers and not environments of learning. Will this group be successful in its mission? Check it out on Facebook.

NUT = No Unnecessary Testing

Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall

The Department of Education announced today that Secretary Arne Duncan will participate in the first-ever #AskArne Twitter Town Hall on August 24, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Veteran education journalist John Merrow will moderate the town hall that will also be broadcast live on ED’s ustream channel.

Beginning today, Twitter users can submit questions to the Secretary using the hashtag #AskArne.

Read more here.

It's not going to be quite so easy to ask meaningful questions with Twitter character limitations, but I've got a few:
1) How much is the total cost down to the local level to implement the new generation of assessments?
2) Where is the money going to come from to fund this initiative?
3) Will sub-group comparisons still be required?
4) Why is it necessary to implement excessive standardized testing?
5) What recommendations do you have to confront the high turnover of teachers at charter schools?
6) What is the rationale for a database from birth to first year of college?
7) Given the rash of security breaches and hacking into secure sites, why should any parent or community have confidence FERPA Privacy protections will be maintained?
8) Why should parents be excluded from any access to their student's information?

Then, I might Twitter: "I am a NUT. No Unnecessary Testing."

What questions will you pose?

NUT Report: Second Republican Candidate Debate

According to Education Week, no mention of education policy came up in the first Republican candidate debate; however, it came up 5 minutes before the end in last night's debate with two candidates responding and no time for the rest.

Candidate Jon Huntsman said he would not "continue to enforce NCLB" and prefers more school choice and technology in the schools.

Candidate Herman Cain believes education is a local issue:

"The federal government should get out of the business of trying to micromanage the education of our children."

Texas Governor Rick Perry who has announced his candidacy for President, but was not in the debate has declared he is opposed to Obama's K-12 initiatives. We will have to wait and see what federal education policies, if any, he favors.

What do we know? In two debates, the national concern over the effects of federal education initiatives was ignored, consistent with the education reform narrative supported by mainstream media. Silence is the political establishment status quo.