SC parent finds help in local school district

After a protracted battle with the South Carolina Virtual Charter School, a K12 franchise, over standardized testing, parent Gretchen Herrera has enrolled her son in a public middle school. Mrs. Herrera reports that her first experiences with school staff have been positive, they appear knowledgeable, and willing to accommodate her son's complex medical condition as indicated by his medical team while addressing his educational needs.

Grumpy Educators wishes this family best wishes and good luck to Anthony. We look forward to hearing of his progress and success in middle school.

Commentary

No family should have to fight this long and this hard to ensure the health and well-being of their children in public school or publicly-funded charters. In this environment of charters springing up like mushrooms, the message to parents is: Buyer Beware.

Ed Week recently reported on this story.

Race to the Top: To What End

A brief presentation that is worth considering. What is it that we are racing toward at mach speed?

NUT Report: The Exam

Have a giggle thanks to a FB "friend."

NUT Report: Diane Ravitch - In her own words

When journalists delve into education reform, they refrain from analyzing the complexity of the issue and turn it into a personal attack on one person - Diane Ravitch. Rather than pointing out the evidence that supports the education reform positions, a familiar templated narrative is repeated.

Just a few days ago, Ravitch met up with Wendy Kopp of Teach for America (TFA) at a yearly Aspen, Colorado event, which is attended by many notables; however the full discussion is not yet available. Ravitch raises important concerns that should not be hidden or ignored.

View Diane Ravitch stating her position concisely here.

Most enlightening to me is that Finland, the highest performing country as measured by international testing, does not invest in standardized testing at all. It is a reasonable question to ask why are we planning to increase testing?

Michele Bachmann: Dismantle NCLB

For those unfamiliar with Bachmann, she is a mother of five and foster mother of twenty-three, so like her or not, she does have "credentials" when it comes to raising children. She has long opposed the overreach by federal education initiatives and calls for the end of NCLB. Her view is right on her website:

While well-intended, the No Child Left Behind Act has created a classroom environment of “teaching to the test,” a one-size-fits-all approach to learning that does not work well for every student. That’s why I’m an original cosponsor of H.R. 1539, the A-Plus Act, which would allow states to develop their own curriculums under the guidance of the U.S. Department of Education. This would give local school administrators, teachers and parents the flexibility to determine what teaching strategies are most effective for their students while improving accountability in the classroom.

As NCLB reauthorization gets closer, perhaps the views of U.S. legislators will emerge. A few sentences on a website does not answer all the questions the public has a right to know, but Bachmann is clear about one thing, teaching to the test is not good education. So far, the views of all other Republican candidates for President are unknown or underreported.

The NUT Report: Florida Parents Raise the Roof

Parents, extended family members, and members of communities across the nation are on the same page: No Unnecessary Testing (NUT). The opposition to the classrooms as centers for test prep and testing rather than centers of learning continues to grow in numbers and in volume. Last night, U.S. Representative Ted Deutch and U.S. Department of Education representative Michael Yudin got an earful from "hundreds of angry parents and teachers from Palm Beach and Broward counties."

A report on the Parents Across America website describes a recent event at Princeton University where Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addressed U.S. education policies. A student asked about the risks and challenges of the national assessment effort. His response is included in the article:

“...there are risks in everything” and “we shouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” There is a healthy “competition” between the two consortia developing these assessments; and states can opt out of one group and join another. Though there may be “a couple of choppy years till we get it right, and “mistakes” will be made, there is a “level of thoughtfulness” behind this effort that is extraordinary, and we must get “to this point as soon as possible” if we want to compete with other advanced nations. (Why? Has any other nation in the world adopted these highly expensive and complex computer-based performance assessments – and so quickly and on such a massive scale?).

According to the same report, he got frustrated and said "You're not listening to me."

Who is not listening?


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/parents-teachers-rail-against-weight-given-to-students-1424196.html

Education Reform: I am a NUT

If you question education reform efforts, the replies from legislators and educrats are often the same:
I don't know.
We'll fix it later.
It's going to be expensive.
We have a crisis.
We can't compete.

If you persist in questions, you get these responses:
You prefer the status quo.
You are a skeptic.
You believe in conspiracies.
You are an enemy of education reform.

I declare to the world that I am a NUT and a follower of the NUT principles of Stephen Krashen. The No Unnecessary Testing (NUT) principle, first proposed in 2008, avoids the $4.5 billion investment in new standards and testing. It cuts back testing rather than adding more.

"Every minute testing and doing "test preparation" (activities to boost scores on tests that do not involve genuine learning) is stolen from students' lives, in addition to costing money that we cannot afford these days."

There are already indications from those charged with publishing tests that they do not have sufficient funds, time, or resources to meet the expectations.

NUT should be a movement.

States Where Parents Oppose Teaching to the Test

For the last couple of weeks, I have been reading what parents have to say about schools that are no longer centers of learning, but rather centers of test preparation and testing. This map is the third update and reflects locations where parents have organized in opposition to excessive testing. Some parents have successfully opted-out, some have inquired and found it not possible, and others have decided to homeschool. There is no talk of political ideologies, the common unity between parents in these states is concern for their children's education. They are fed up with government at all levels. While parents have complained for years about teaching to the test, there is something new in this current level of dissatisfaction.

UPDATE: Leon County parent advises the middle school principal that her son will not take the FCAT. See the report below.

http://www.wctv.tv/floridanews/headlines/Can_Students_Opt_Out_of_the_FCAT_119520799.html

Education Reform: North Carolina Changes Course

In the 2004-2005 school year, North Carolina began implementing end-of-course exams. Last year, some were eliminated and more will be eliminated this year. With bi-partisan support, Bill 48 passed the N.C. General Assembly and SB114 passed the Senate. The legislation is now headed to the Governor's desk for signature. This legislation removes all state tests except those required by the federal government and is expected to save nearly $3 million dollars.

According to the Civitis Institute, North Carolina's Conservative Voice, Republicans led the charge to end the tests, due to the complaints by parents and teachers that education had become teaching to the test. Democrats, on the other hand, opposed the measure saying "testing is necessary to identify which schools are failing so resources can be distributed accordingly."

Other reasons drove the decision for change. The validity of end-of-course tests themselves had been called into question and they are standardized rather than norm-referenced. The legislature wants some testing, but believe the "current one is not the right one."

There are concerns that the legislation may conflict with the terms of Race to the Top requirements. N.C. expects to receive $350 million over the next four years. Additional concerns were raised by a Superior Court Judge saying ending these tests would "violate student's rights under the state Constitution." The judge's statement while a bill moved through the legislative process was met with some consternation and questions as to where testing measures are mentioned in the state Constitution.

In the meantime, Florida lunges into the creation and implementation of standardized end-of-course testing, silent on the costs, and ignoring decades of parent and teacher complaints in bi-partisan fashion.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/06/2114865/pay-plan-has-cms-teachers-on-edge.html#ixzz1Fr21xqoi
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/reasonselimtests
http://www.carolinajournal.com/jhdailyjournal/display_jhdailyjournal.html?id=7451
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/opinion/our-views/state-moves-end-some-standardized-tests-342279

Missed blogs on educational reform? They are all here.

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