Understanding Test Results as Shock Doctrine While UFT Spins a Different Tale

The new Common Core exams and test scores are politically motivated, and are based neither on reason or evidence.  They were pre-ordained to fit the ideological goals of Commissioner King and the other educrats who are intent on imposing damaging policies on our schools.... Leonie Haimson, NYCPSP blog , five reasons not to trust the new scores

That the head of the NYC teachers union should accept these tests, and the standards that provide their springboard, is so much worse than pathetic, since it shows their continuing complicity in this shameful process...  It's beyond the beyonds that Mulgrew would lament, not the vicious deception of this entire process, but the lie that "our children are far behind where they should be." Our children are far behind in many things - after all, we do have the highest child poverty rate in the developed world - and too many of them are behind academically, but these exams reflect none of that. 
...Michael Fiorillo, ICE-Mail

I can't express it any better than Fiorillo did. Further proof to me that the union is on the other side and functions as an agent to control the labor force. It is why the Chicago TU presents such a danger to the ruling class and to the traditional labor movement -- they refuse to play that role. (I and a dozen MOREs are heading to Chicago tomorrow to talk about all that with educators from around the nation-- more on that later).

How did John King know the results of the test before it was given? This was the set-up.... they designed the tests so hard that the public would react the way they wanted --- Carol Burris, NY State Principal of the Year [paraphrased].

And how do they want the press and public to react? Seeing schools as failures and in need of more deform, not a reversal in direction. Carol, whose Washington Post piece The Answer Sheet:
What big drop in new standardized test scores really means, is reverberating around the internet (Jeff Bezos can't wait to hit the delete button) in a comment on Arthur Goldstein's piece quotes King from an April 2013 pre-test interview at the Albany Union: "It's the fault of the adults that we have a system that leaves 65% of students who start 9th grade unprepared." Of course the adults don't include Bloomberg or Klein or Tisch or King himself. So what adults is he talking about? Guess?

The WSJ says it openly: “There may be some who would try to use today’s results to attack principals and teachers." -  

Janine Sopp, parent activist with CTS asks: who might "they" be?


While the UFT won't call a spade a spade, Leonie and Carol Burris, with an unparalleled reputation as an educator get it. It's all a scam. Some call on the UFT to wake up but I think they are completely awake and know what they are doing. With unions under attack, they are making sure the rulers will keep them around as managers of labor.

The most shameless response has come from the UFT leadership, handmaidens and enablers of deform. Instead of calling for a reversal of ed deform and pointing to common core as crap, the UFT is casting blame on the DOE for not providing the tools to shovel the crap around in a better way.

Mulgrew: Poor test results show Common Core curriculum was rushed 

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Just a sliver of things to read:

That WSJ article had this statement:

Charter schools in the city generally serve more impoverished students than the overall city school district but fewer students who have learning disabilities or who are still learning English.

I wrote to the reporter that claiming charters serve a poorer population is totally wrong -- I would bet my pension that every single charter has parents with higher incomes that the surrounding schools. She agreed and is changing it.

Don't Worry About Your Test Scores by Peter DeWitt

Fred Smith (on right back with CTS sign) commented:

It makes so many good points about the mess we're in and the shameless "leaders" who got us there. 

I just saw an interview with chancellors Tisch and Walcott on Channel 5.  They gave out the current lines about raising standards, the pain involved in taking this bold step, their concern over the achievement gap, the 21st century, and late in one of her raps Tisch said that the way forward with the common core would require teacher preparation and "parent training."

The latter point about parent training jarred me. Her level of condescension is galling. To my ear it sounded like paper training--you know, housebreaking pets.

If anything, parents should be toilet training Tisch for pooping in the halls of education for 17 years and Walcott for fouling up our schools during his short tenure.  They are arrogant beyond words.

carolburris18 minutes ago

This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??

NYC Educator:

Here in Bizarro World Massive Failure Is Good News

I just read at Diane Ravitch's blog that Mayor Bloomberg has joined fellow know-nothings Joel Klein and Arne Duncan in hailing the massive failure on Common Core exams as a good sign. I'm rarely at a loss for words, but I don't know precisely what to say to this.

Arthur Goldstein: I couldn’t and shouldn’t give a test that most of my students would fail. (Daily News)

This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??

• UFT chief Michael Mulgrew: The low scores show that teachers needed more support. (Daily News)
• Parent leader Zakiyah Ansari: The scores show that schools need a new direction. (Daily News)

Leonie Haimson nails them:
Shock Doctrine: five reasons not to trust the results of the new state tests -

She suggest reading the following:

For an eloquent critique of the callous thinking at work, please also read Carol Burris, NYS principal of the year, in today’s Washington Post, and Diane Ravitch, on the political motives of the people who are setting these standards.

Here is the NYT on the decline in scores, the NYSED press release and slides, and the district and school-based aggregate results.

And from David Dobosz:

   One of the commenters to Diane Ravitch's fine article on punishing kids for adult supervisional failures makes reference to Clarence Page's 2011 excellent article on how the corporate world is trying to make failure look chic and the mother of success and innovation. 

   Of, course, the whole point is spinning a cover-up to justify and legitimate corporate greed, corruption and the accompanying financial disaster unethical behavior can produce.

    Below is the link. 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-22/news/ct-oped-0622-page-20110622_1_failure-success-track-big-seller

   It is time for folks to put Page's excellent analysis beside the outrageous spin around the low test scores. The state and local honchos are engaging in an incredibly abominable exercise of self-justification over their disaster at our children's expense. Instead they should be expressing regret and changing course. Sadly they are too scared and cowardly to do so. So they hide behind a tacky front of fake arrogance. Would you please distribute this widely?

Thanks,

David