[Editor's note: Linda Darling-Hammond, formerly a public high school teacher, is currently a professor of education at Stanford University and an advisor to the Obama campaign.]

I was shocked recently to read an editorial pronouncing Barack Obama and John McCain nearly alike in their views on education — a statement that could hardly be further from the truth. I realize it might be possible to believe this if your major source of information is television news, which obsesses over personalities and pigs in lipstick rather than covering serious issues. Ever wonder what 24-hour news shows could do with all that time if they actually spent it evaluating what the candidates plan to do about the issues that affect our lives? But that’s a topic for another blog.

Although we hear little about education from the press, Obama announced a detailed plan a year ago and talks about education regularly. He has pledged over $30 billion annually in new investments in education — from early childhood to support for college tuition — because he believes education is the key to our nation’s future and to each child’s success. Not only is this commitment 30 times greater than anything John McCain has discussed, it is focused on supporting public schools and teachers, rather than punishing them. And, it is based on what we know makes a difference for success. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

On Tuesday, a combined meeting of the New York State Assembly and Senate selected three members of the Board of Regents, they reappointed Geraldine Chapey and appointed two new members, Betty Rosa and Lester Young.

Rosa was the Community Superintendent in District 8 in the Bronx and highly regarded by the Bronx political and educational pre-Klein establishment. Young was Community Superintendent in District 13 in Brooklyn, served a year under Klein as the first Director of the Office of Student Placement, Youth and Family Support Services (SPYFSS).

Both spent decades working their way up through “the system” and represented all that Klein has been so busy tearing down. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

The recently announced school budget cut is 1.75% of the total allocated 07-08 tax levy budget. Half of the budget allocation has already been spent … the impact of the cut therefore is closer to 4%.

Principals are rightly screaming foul … school after school reports cuts that will seriously impact core education. From an elementary school in the Bronx:

We have been cut $104,000 for this school year with another $300,000 slated for next school year. Frankly the $104,000 right now will be worse than the $300,000 in the fall. As it should be, we spend the bulk of our money at the beginning of the school year on academic support personnel (part and full time), instructional coaches and new curriculum materials. We have no “extra money” sitting in our budget for superfluous items.

More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

The State Education Department (SED) announced the latest round of Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) schools in a virtually incomprehensible press release. Out of the 700 plus school districts, the many, many thousands of schools, these are the lowest achieving schools in New York State. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

Is it true that a young Tweed MBA was perusing yellowed files in the bowels of Ed Central and came across a folder entitled, “Board of Examiners” … and shouted, “What a great idea … testing for competence before you hire someone!”

The announcement that Tweed would prescreen principal applicants is sad. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

Teachers and kids in elementary schools are breathing a sigh of relief … the ELA tests are over. This week Middle Schools undergo the ordeal, and High School Regents Exams begin January 22nd. Andy Wolf in the NY Sun is concerned about the lack of supervision by the Department and the possibility of cheating, while another Sun writer urges parents to take their kids out of school on testing days. More »

[Editor’s note: Eduwonkette blogs at Eduwonkette.]

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”

—Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

What does it mean for a school to be good? It depends on who you ask. Turn to NCLB, and we learn that a school in good standing is one that increases the percentage of kids passing state tests each year. Ask the New York City Department of Education, and we find out that an “A school” is one that improves the academic growth of its students (55%), yet does well on the overall performance measure (30%) and keeps its parents, students and teachers satisfied (15%). As a result of these conflicting definitions, there are many schools in New York City that received As or Bs but are designated schools in need of improvement under NCLB, as well as schools that received Ds or Fs but are in good standing with the state. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple.]

Every public and charter school student in grades 3 – 8 will be taking the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) exam in two weeks. The results of the exam are the core of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and a major section of the School Progress Report.

From the NCLB perspective the results of the exam measure “proficiency” and schools can be branded as Schools in Need of Improvement (SINI) or Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) … and this designation is one element in determining school closings. The exam is a major factor, along with “growth,” in deciding what letter grade a school gets on its School Progress Report.

More »

[Editor's note: Sherman Dorn is the author of Accountability Frankenstein, the editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives, and an associate professor of education at the University of South Florida. He blogs on education policy at shermandorn.com.]

The controversy over giving letter grades to New York City schools last month demonstrates two features of modern accountability: it has bundled different types of accountability together, and the bundling of accountability has gone too far.

On November 5, New York City revealed single letter grades assigned to each public school in the five boroughs. Patterned after Florida’s assignment of letter grades, it boiled down statistical data to a single judgment. Unlike in Florida, the inconsistencies and illogic in the letter grades have become the center of vigorous debate.

But the controversy has obscured an important point: while the assignment of letter grades is politically clever—if students receive letter grades, why can’t schools?—it also bundles several different features of accountability into a single package. The same Joel Klein who fought Microsoft’s bundling of software is now engaged in bundling of accountability for public relations purposes. More »

[Editor’s note: teacherken is a high school social studies teacher in the MD suburbs of DC and an active blogger on education and other subjects. This post was originally posted at Daily Kos.]

Our No. 1 education program is incoherent, unworkable, and doomed. But the next president still can have a huge impact on improving American schooling.

So says perhaps the most cogent writer on educational matters, Richard Rothstein, in a piece in The American Prospect whose title, like that of this diary, is Leaving “No Child Left Behind” Behind. Before The New York Times lost its senses, Rothstein wrote columns regularly on educational matters. Those of us who try to help the general public and policy matters understand the reality of educational policy have often drawn some of our best arguments from his work.

The article, which just became available online, presents the key issues as well as they can be presented, and there is little I can add, although I will offer a few comments of my own. The notable educational figure Deborah Meier has said that we should blog about this and distribute the article as widely as possible. I urge you to consider doing what you can, including if warranted recommending this diary, to make the article as visible as possible. More »

[Editor’s note: Seth Pearce is from the NYC Student Union.]

A few days ago, walking to the train after an NYC Student Union meeting with some of my fellow students, it struck me to ask, Why has the debate on the NYC DOE’s Progress Report program garnered so much attention? Why have so many newspaper articles been written on it, so many people been riled up about it? It’s just a silly report card program right? Aren’t there so many important issues out there?

Well, yes and no.

While there are more urgent issues facing our schools, especially class size, this issue gains its importance because it very thoroughly defines the main theme of Klein/Bloomberg’s tenure running our schools: The Search for Results. Under this administration, and probably in many other school systems around the country, the focus of broad educational policy will be measurable results. These results will set the agenda for individual schools and school systems as a whole. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

Yesterday’s big education news story: the lackluster NAEP scores in New York City … right?

Not according to the Tweed folk … who mumbled and tried to spin the story.

Klein’s reaction: On the eve of the NAEP scores story release, with great fanfare, he announces a new DoE initiative to fire tenured teachers! The UFT is vigorously protesting. More »

[Editor’s note: teacherken is a high school social studies teacher in the MD suburbs of DC and an active blogger on education and other subjects. This post was originally posted at Daily Kos, where it was on the recommended list.]

I have just finished reading a book I have to review entitled Be a Teacher. One of the editors is Phil Bigler, who has won all three of the big national teaching awards: Disney, Milken and National Teacher of the Year. It is a book aimed at those considering teaching or near the start of their teaching careers, and is subtitled with “You Can Make A Difference” and is listed as “by America’s Finest teachers.” It contains reflections by Bigler and his coauthor, herself an award winner, and 12 others who have been greatly honored for their own teaching. It is an interesting book, and when I do write my review I promise to cross-post it or summarize it here.

Today I am going to crib from one appendix, and then offer a few additional remarks of my own. This won’t be long. I encourage you to keep reading. More »

[Editor’s note: teacherken is a high school social studies teacher in the MD suburbs of DC and an active blogger on education and other subjects. This post was originally posted in a slightly different form at Daily Kos.]

The expert is Rick Stiggins, who is the founder of ETS’s Assement Training Institute in Portland, OR. The sage commentary appears in the Oct. 17 edition of Education Week, the national weekly indispensable for news on Education (and even if you are not a subscriber you can register for free to read two articles a week). The article to which I refer is entitled Five Assessment Myths and Their Consequences (registration required). Below I will offer all five of the myths, a bit of what Stiggins has to say about each, and as per my custom, offer a few comments of my own.

Stiggins begins his commentary with the following introduction:

America has spent 60 years building layer upon layer of district, state, national, and international assessments at immense cost—and with little evidence that our assessment practices have improved learning. True, testing data have revealed achievement problems. But revealing problems and helping fix them are two entirely different things.

As a member of the measurement community, I find this legacy very discouraging. It causes me to reflect deeply on my role and function. Are we helping students and teachers with our assessment practices, or contributing to their problems?

He then tells the reader that assessments impact on school improvement has been seriously impacted by erroneous myths, five of which he wants to share with us. More »

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

Joe Torre reached the post season playoffs the last twelve years . . . for Yankee management it wasn’t good enough. Steinbrenner and company offered him a contract with a substantial pay cut with performance incentives for reaching the post season.

Torre turned it down!

He especially objected to the incentives – the assumption that somehow he could coach better in the playoffs for monetary incentives. Incentives were an insult.

Torre has a lot in common with teachers – will teachers teach “better” when offered incentives? More »