Another Debunking of Ed Deform, Race to the Top - Unconstrained faith in education's economic power lacks evidentiary base, review finds

The reviewers conclude, "Claiming that the primary solution to a wide array of economic problems is to improve ‘human capital,' the report perpetuates a problematic myth that undervalues alternative ways to address poverty and economic insecurity."

I love these Great Lakes Center reports that often expose the ed deform myth, of which one of the keys is that the key to economic growth is education -- and since the same deformers claim the key to education is "effective teachers" -- in other words, if the economy is faltering, blame the teachers -- the basis of Obama/Duncan, deform ed ideology. But we know the real reason - these are shells for hide the privatization cover for doing ed on the cheap -- since teacher salaries are the biggest component of ed spending-- let's cheapen teachers and undermine their unions to the point where charters don't have to offer competitive salaries and we can create a lower base, especially in the urban areas.

One interesting sidelight, which I will get into another time, is that most cities are AFT and Randi full well knows that this is coming and is as good an explanation as any for playing on both sides of the fence as a way to make deals with deformers to preserve her power structure, even if reduced.

Contact:
Marvin Lazerson, +498022662345 (Germany), marvinlazerson@t-online.de
Daniel Quinn, (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org

Unconstrained faith in education's economic power lacks evidentiary base, review finds

EAST LANSING, Mich. (May 18, 2015) – A recent report from the Hamilton Project sought to study how public investment in education will further long-term prosperity, economic growth, and individual economic security.  The inquiry focused on whether or not a bachelor's degree or higher education would increase economic prosperity and reduce economic inequality.  A review of the report released today finds that it oversimplifies the importance of college degrees in boosting the economy, while rejecting the widely held view that education can substantially reduce economic inequality.

Marvin Lazerson, professor of higher education policy at Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan Pfleger, a doctoral student in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder, reviewed Increasing Education: What it Will and Will Not Do for Earnings and Earnings Inequality for the Think Twice think tank review project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The report examines three possible components of education's economic power: (1) education is the critical factor in creating sustainable economic prosperity; (2) college and advanced degrees increase earnings power for individuals; and (3) a broad base of increased educational attainment will narrow income inequality.

In the review, the authors find that the report and its assertions are straightforward and use an empirically-based simulation for future projections.  However, the report has several limitations.
Specifically, Lazerson and Pfleger find the following insufficiencies:

1. there is little direct evidence in the report to show that increasing educational attainment is the most "efficient and effective," as the report describes, way to improve prosperity;
2. the data are drawn are only from males, with no attention paid to gender, race, field of study, labor-market conditions, or institutional reputation; and
3. no data were analyzed to evaluate other ways to address economic problems.

The reviewers note that the findings of the report are illuminating, "because more schooling increases, on average, the income of individuals in comparison to those not receiving advanced schooling." However, the reviewers contend that more direct actions are necessary, and the use of schools as a lever to improve economic conditions is an indirect method.
The reviewers conclude, "Claiming that the primary solution to a wide array of economic problems is to improve ‘human capital,' the report perpetuates a problematic myth that undervalues alternative ways to address poverty and economic insecurity."

Read his full review at:
http://www.greatlakescenter.org
Find Increasing Education: What it Will and Will Not Do for Earnings and Earnings Inequality on the web: http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/increasing_education_what_it_will_and_will_not_do_for_earnings_inequal/
Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The review can also be found on the NEPC website:
http://nepc.colorado.edu

Memo From The RTC: Lost in Yonkers Played to Packed Houses

I've become so involved in working with the Rockaway Theatre Company, my political activities have been affected. Increasingly, given a choice, I'd rather be at the theater than at some meeting. And how great that I am less than a 10-minute drive away?

Last night we rehearsed the crap shooting dance of Guys and Dolls where I am an on-looker, not a dancer. I play Liver-Lips Louie and get to toss some dice - and lose. I also play a Texas tourist in the opening scene and get to chase a 22 year old around the stage after he steals my wallet. I asked them to have a defibrillator handy.

Here is my final report on the play just completed.

Lost in Yonkers Played to Packed Houses

Memo from the RTC- Published May 8, 2015 at: http://www.rockawave.com/news/2015-05-08/Community/Lost_in_Yonkers_Played_to_Packed_Houses.html

By Norm Scott 

 

 
Andrew Feldman and Steven Wagner.

In a show of spectacular performances by every actor, it was the awesome performance of the four kids alternating playing the roles of brothers Jay and Arty in the Rockaway Theatre Company production of Lost in Yonkers that blew people away.

How can a small theater based in Fort Tilden on the outskirts of the city, manage to attract such young talent? How could first-time director David Risley put the fate of a play that hinged on top level performances from teenagers in their hands?

So I went back four times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. With Raimondo Graziano (17 and in the 11th grade) and Steven Wagner (13 and in the seventh grade), both students at Scholars’ Academy here in Rockaway – alternating in playing the older Jay, not a beat was lost in handling this demanding role. Thirteen year old Park Slope resident Aidan Lawrence, who attends Bay Ridge Prep, shared the role of Arty with Andrew Feldman. Arty had the funniest lines, which had to be delivered with perfection to get laughs. And the boys didn’t miss a beat.

 
Raimondo Graziano, Lynda Browning and Andrew Feldman.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to an RTC play where the audience laughed so consistently and loudly at every single one of the six performances. What was interesting was how all four boys brought their own interpretation to the roles.

And I loved how David mixed and matched them so that they all had the chance to play with different partners. I had to do some math to figure this out; Raimondo with Andrew and Aidan, as well as Steven with Andrew and Aidan. Do you know how hard that is? Getting the timing and the relationship down with different actors? Before I saw this in front of my eyes I thought David was nuts.

 
Lynda Browning, Steven Wagner, Aidan Lawrence, Kim Simek, Steve Ryan and Susan Corning.

Last week, I wrote about the adults – the powerhouse performances of Lynda Browning as Bella, Susan Corning as Grandma Kurnitz and Stephen Ryan as Louie. They delivered in every single performance, though sometimes they would say “I’m glad you taped tonight, I killed it.” I thought they always killed it.

I didn’t get to talk much about the other key supporting roles – Eddie, the boys’ dad and Gert, the aunt with breathing problems. RTC newcomer, but veteran actor Bob Alpert was top notch in the crucial role of the damaged dad whose wife had just died and deep in debt to loan sharks, which sets up the premise of the play – that he had to go on the road to make money and was forced to leave the boys with the tyrannical grandma.

Veteran RTC actors Kim Simek and Jessica Mintzes shared the role of the equally damaged Gert, whose every slip of dialogue had to finish with a breathing problem. Watching them both navigate that was a marvel.

Let me not stop without congratulating the wonderful Suzanne Riggs for her stage managing, which included dressing the set with so many of her personal family belongings evoking the early ‘40s. Is there anyone who does not love Suzanne for her giving personality and support for everyone involved in the theater? She was assisted by another remarkable teenager, Mia Melchiorri as assistant stage manager, who with her crew managed to open and close the sleep away couch time and again between scenes without a hitch,

On Monday, I joined the Tony Homsey crew in taking down the set – always a sad occasion. But we are beginning to build the Guys and Dolls set for its late June opening. I have a bit part in that play, as does pretty much everyone in Rockaway – and beyond. I can’t wait to try to fit into the dressing room. What thrills me is that so many kids are involved in that show and the interactions backstage will be as much fun as what happens on stage. I’ll write more about these remarkable theater kids in future columns.

Norm in The Wave: On Rockaway Branch Lines and Ferries: Poor, Neglected A Train

Published Friday May 15, 2015 at http://www.rockawave.com/node/208762?pk_campaign=Newsletter

On Rockaway Branch Lines and Ferries

School Scope

By Norm Scott

NORMAN SCOTT

Taking a break from education issues, I wanted to get something off my chest regarding reporting on transportation issues by the Rockaway press and also the politicians.

In my last conversation with Phil Goldfeder, I harangued him for talking about ferries and branch lines but ignoring discussion on improving the A train. He promised he would. I may have missed it but so far haven’t noticed.

Constant talk about getting the MTA to put millions of dollars it claims it does not have into a dream of a project to rebuild a portion of rail so people in Rockaway can get into Manhattan in 45 minutes (tops) instead of an hour (or more). The same goes for the late, lamented ferry. With the stop in Brooklyn the trip to Wall Street took 50 minutes and sometimes longer. To 34th Street, even longer. And if you wanted to go after rush hour, it was a no go. Same with late at night. Don’t get me wrong. It was a nice option and it would be good to have a ferry that runs all day and into the late evening, but without heavy subsidies from a city that looks at Rockaway as if it were in Outer Mongolia, I don’t expect much.

Howie Schwach reported with this story on his web site (www.onrockaway.com): “The A train remains the major commuter mode of travel from Rockaway to Manhattan. A recent study said that Rockaway residents have second longest travel commute in the city.” Howie points out that the average time for a Rockaway commute – 46.9 minutes – is far off the reality. More like an hour or more and if you are coming from Mott Avenue or Rockaway Park and using the shuttle (a few direct A trains run to and fro during rush hour) it could take much longer if you add waiting time. The last time I took a midday subway from Rockaway Park, I waited at Broad Channel for almost a half hour for an A to come. And then there was that long slog through Brooklyn. Another mid-day trip was a bit better – the shuttle left within a few minutes and the A came within 7 minutes. Still. (I remember when Anthony Weiner was running for mayor he put an idea of a third track on the table.)

The shuttle is a real issue for people in Rockaway Park. Personally, we drive to Newkirk Plaza in Brooklyn and take the Q or B. Some people drive to Broad Channel or Howard Beach to skip the shuttle.

Last summer we took the 9:30 a.m. ferry – the last one in the morning – to 34th Street for a matinee. On the way back we decided to take an A from 42nd Street downtown to Wall Street to get the ferry. But lo and behold, after a very short wait, a rare A to Rockaway Park showed up and we decided to take it all the way back to 108th to pick up our car at the ferry dock. It took an hour. I tried to think about ways to cut some time off this trip. I was looking at the map as we headed into the area where the A splits off from Lefferts Boulevard and noticed how easy it would be for them to get the shuttle instead of us. There are only three stops between Rockaway Boulevard and Lefferts and the same three stops between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park. Given the much longer commute, why shouldn’t Rockaway Park (149th to the 80s) and include Breezy Point too – get a direct A train? To me a simple fix costing little or nothing.

Looking at the map, you can see what almost looks like a detour at Euclid Avenue as it makes a wide loop that includes six stops before looping back to Howard Beach. Draw a direct line from Euclid to Howard Beach – imagine a connection between them cutting out that loop. How much time would that save? Of course the very idea of adding a short cut between those stations looks like lunacy. But any more lunacy than the unicorn-like search for the Rockaway Branch Line?

For people at the other end of Rockaway – Mott Avenue, the commute includes six Rockaway stops, three more than those in Rockaway Park. All told, there are 23 additional stops between Broad Channel before hitting Fulton Street in Manhattan (if you’re going to Washington Heights at the other end of the A, better leave the day before). Are there ways to speed up this trip without building entire branch lines? I bet there are. That is the question I would ask our politicians and the Rockaway press to answer rather than chasing after unicorns.

Norm still avoids the shuttle but doesn’t avoid blogging at ednotesonline.org.

Message to Ed Notes Readers: Why Join MORE? Do You Really Have A Choice? - Updated

Please join us now
http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us -- MORE Caucus 

Really, with some warts and all, MORE is the only option if you oppose the UFT leadership and object to its partner, New Action's role as a stalking horse for Mulgrew and Unity. If the high school votes of MORE (1335) and New Action (whose 440 votes went to Unity (1590) in 2013 were combined, Unity would have lost those 7 seats.

(If New Action ever wants to come back into the legitimate opposition, its leaders should contact MORE, whose reps told them they will be welcome once they give up their deal with Unity.)

While I'm not in total agreement with Mike Schirtzer's call for MORE to run in the UFT 2016 elections Why MORE Will Run In The 2016 UFT Elections  if you do agree with Mike, then what option do you have than to join MORE? Oh, you think all you have to do is vote for MORE and not have to give anything back to the org doing all the election organizing and work? Do you want a name on a ballot or an actual campaign that costs money? Unity will have its chapter leaders and district reps stuff every mailbox in every school with numerous campaign lit. New Action will have its large core of retirees hit most of the schools with leaflets. Most MORE people are classroom teachers and need people in the school to become organizers and distributors.

See the disinterest not only from people who don't vote (I can understand that from them -- they are boycotting a meaningless election). But what about the 4500 people who did vote for MORE last time? Where are they? What about the 20,000 people who voted against the contract? It is time to stand up.

Where are all those people who are outraged at Randi's sellouts? Do you know that in the UFT elections, 750 Unity hacks are elected to go to NYSUT RA and AFT conventions to stamp out attempts to get the national and state unions to take a strong stand against ed deform and defend you as teachers from the onslaught? The UFT elections are the basis of Randi's control of the national union and Mulgrew/Randi attempt to continue control of the state union from the Stronger Together Caucus. The 2016 elections will continue that control (not that it is possible to stop them from electing these 750 slugs again.)

One of my thoughts in calling for a boycott of the election is this: Maybe those of you opposed to the Unity machine but sit on the sidelines don't deserve to have the right to vote against Mulgrew. 

Join MORE and also sign up to distribute info on MORE to your colleagues. If MORE doesn't listen to me and actually runs in 2016, they will need someone in every school to counter the Unity propaganda machine.

Keep Mike laughing - join MORE

I think it's 25 bucks a year to join MORE, a mere fraction of what you pay the Unity/UFT machine. If you want a campaign against Unity, put some skin in the game.  http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us
I'll be looking for you

PS: And have some pity on poor Schirtzer - he wants to challenge Unity so badly and with a real campaign. Keep his hope alive!!!

MORE’s central priority will be the development of a UFT caucus. Our aim is to reach UFT members with our message of a more active and democratic union that can effectively fight back against what we have called the “ed deform” agenda and for the basic union rights of our members. We seek to reach members “where they are.” Different subsets of the membership experience the attacks on our profession and on our rights differently. For some, the testing frenzy has already transformed our work lives dramatically. For others, the new evaluation process and life under a terrible contract occupy center stage. Many of our members work under horrific and abusive administrators and that reality overshadows everything else.

Our hope is to reach rank and file members and help them become more actively involved in our efforts to turn things around. This will include helping members build stronger and more effective union chapters in their schools, connecting members with others around the city who are combating the impacts of standardized testing on our working conditions and our students learning conditions, encouraging members to join us in various efforts to challenge the UFT leadership and turn the union into one that can lead the fight on all of these fronts.

Please join us now
http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us

A Newark Teacher on an AFT Visitation

Ed Notes Newark teacher/reporter with a report on a visit from a rep from the AFT.

My school was privileged this afternoon to have a visit from Ryan Williams, AFT NJ liaison for Newark aka a local in crisis.

Unfortunately, Ryan had not done his homework and was unaware that Camden Street is completing its third year of renew status and he gave us his spiel for the eight schools slated to be turnarounds this fall. The issue at Camden, as elsewhere, is whether faculty should sign Election to Work Agreements (EWA), which feature two weeks of Summer Institute, four Saturdays and an extended day all for a measly $3,000 stipend. Ryan couched the majority of his responses to questions with the expression, "technically speaking," which I interpreted to mean best case scenario.

For instance, he claimed that non-tenured faculty who do not sign EWAs do not have to worry. He bandied about the figure that 20% of renew faculties have not signed EWAs in the past. I countered that claim that to the best of my knowledge only one faculty member at our school refused to sign and I was not contradicted.

Ryan downplayed the possible ramifications for tenured faculty who do not sign EWAs. I argued that they will most likely become Employees Without Placement Site. He emphasized that the AFT is recommending that nobody sign EWAs. Ryan was unable to answer the question as to why the AFT had not made this recommendation in the past three years. The most alarming aspect of Ryan's presentation was his mention of APNET, a system purportedly used for video taping classroom instruction without the teacher's knowledge. I left shortly afterward so I will await further clarification from our "highly effective" union.

Abigail Shure

Mike Schirtzer: Why MORE Will Run In The 2016 UFT Elections

Mike Schirtzer responds to ed notes (The Great Scott-Schirtzer Debate: Boycott UFT Elections or Not) and nyceducator (The Great Debate--Just How Rigged is the UFT Election?) blogs on the upcoming 2016 UFT election.

Mike Schirtzer (Left) makes a point in election debate with the elderly guy to his right

by Mike Schirtzer

• UFT Delegate Leon M. Goldstein HS
• Vice-Presidential Candidate 2013 UFT Elections- MORE Caucus
• Vice-Chair NYC Region ST Caucus-NYSU

1. UFT members pay attention
Running in 2016 would give us the chance to build on the lessons learned. One of the important lessons came when we held local election happy hours in Staten Island and Bay Ridge Brooklyn. These are not typical activist areas, but in each case we had over 50 people, most who had no idea there was a such thing as union election or caucuses. It exposed MORE, the UFT elections, and our positive alternative message to people we would never reach other wise. Many of the contacts we are still in touch with today, support us, distributed our literature and joined us again when we hosted contract information sessions.

2.  Fundraiser
People are more likely to give you money and time when they know there is something you are striving for. I would not donate to an "uncaucus" cause, but would donate and volunteer If I believe I can make a difference.

3. Expose the lack of democracy
The only way to understand something is to be in it. Kinesthetic, hands on learning is what works best. If you want someone to understand the UFT leadership structure they actually have to be involved in it. Explaining adcom, executive board, the fact that all VPs are at large, delegates are not proportional, slate voting, the NAC corrupt bargain, and the unmatched, unprecedented power of retirees, can not be understood unless your actually running in the elections. Sitting on the sidelines and asking people to boycott, without an intricate understanding of that what we're supposed to be boycotting is counter-productive. No one will bother to look into the corrupt structure unless they are invested in it.

4. You have to stand for something
But you also have to stand for someone- opt out, contract, social justice  - you have to have a constituency to represent and members to be involved. We can not call ourselves a movement of rank and file educators and only speak for ourselves. The only reason we can claim to speak for thousands of UFT members is by looking at post election results. Why would any media outlet or grassroots organization have anything to do with us if we can't prove we represent anyone? You can represent ideas, but there needs to be a movement behind those ideas or else who will take you seriously? It is very impressive to say over 5,000 active UFT members voted for us. It shows we have a following. We won 40% of the high school vote, yet have no representation in UFT, If we don't run and that lose the right to claim supporters

 5. Goals
We must give the people something to fight for- if you're not running then what are we fighting for?  We are not GEM, I'm glad there is Change The Stakes, NYSAPE, but that's not what we are. There needs to be a group of public school educators that actively advocates for teacher's working conditions which are inherently connected to student's learning conditions. We formed as a union opposition caucus. MORE's formation came out of groups agreeing to come together and challenge Unity/New Action. People want something to strive for. Even if it's something that may seem impossible to reach. There is no reason to keep on going if we don't give people a reason to get involved. Our many campaigns are great, but do not resonate with all UFT members. Defeating Unity and offering a better vision is something that can and will unite us a all, no matter your race, gender, borough, level, title. UFT elections is the the great equalizer.

6. Indicator of our campaigns
We have invested so much into fighting opt out, the terrible contract, test based evaluations, fighting for the schools all our children deserve- let's see how effective we have truly been. We have hosted forums, conferences, meetings, happy hours, petitions. We need to measure how effective they were or see if we need to change things up. MORE, has been a lot more active than our predecessors. This election will be a measuring stick of where we are at.

7. Identity
We have solidified ourselves on social media, NY Times, WNYC, Chalkbeat, NYSUT magazine, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, NY Post, our association with ST Caucus - we are more known than ever before. I feel MORE has become a name that people associate with positively. They know we fight union leadership, but they also know we fight for the rights of teachers, students and parents.

8. Officer slate
We have a few people who have worked tirelessly since the last election. They have not taken anytime off and worked hard to keep the organization going even when some decided to sit it out. We have worked hard to organize and mobilize others and what's wrong with tasting the fruit of our labor? We have dedicated our full lives to the caucus since the last election. We feel we can stand with the likes James Eterno, Kit Wainer, and Julie Cavanagh. We will bring name recognition, respectability, and a real fighting spirit to our candidacies. We are respected teachers, union leaders, and have gained the trust of those in our building and beyond. Many of us have spoken in public and are not afraid of the media. We deserve to have a stage to stand on and a platform to speak truth to the power. We are confident people will rally around us

9. Petitioning/Distributing
This is the chance for our members to go around their chapters and nearby schools to open up conversations around what the rank and file want for their union leadership. As Karen Lewis has said "Social Justice Unionism is member driven, member driven, member driven". This is a key moment for the leading members of opposition to bring literature around, gain contact information, but most importantly listen to our members. This will make us better leaders and ultimately a better caucus.

10. Beacon of hope
Bran Stevenson, the great civil rights attorney, who fights for justice for the wrongly convicted, has said when there is is no hope, times are rough, it is important that someone is there to give hope. Hope is what get people through the day. There are many who have come to us and said I can't be active, but I'm happy you exist. The election gives people the opportunity to have hope. There have been many dark times in our history, what seemed to be insurmountable odds. One only needs to look at Dr. King and the civil rights movement. After the dogs, hoses, bombings, lynch mobs, the terror of the Jim Crow south- the movement continued to fight day after day for equality, voting rights, and justice. There were people that said over and over again- stop, sit this one put, and yet the movement persevered. Even when their allies said it's an impossible fight, the numbers are against you, they kept on and they won. I am not trying to make a false analogy to the civil rights movement, obviously our causes are far different, but I, like many others, look to the movement to draw inspiration and lessons. The lesson has to be, never give up, fight everyday, every minute for what you believe in!

I can not and do not officially speak for our democratic organization, but firmly believe this represents the will of our members. At a meeting in the summer of 2013 it was democratically voted on that MORE will indeed be an electoral caucus in the 2016 UFT elections. 
Mike Schirtzer

The Onion: Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing

http://www.theonion.com/graphic/pros-and-cons-standardized-testing-50388

As the American education system continues to place more emphasis on standardized testing to measure academic achievement, critics have argued that it can be more harmful than helpful to students’ development in the long run. Here are some of the pros and cons of standardized testing:

As Ravitch says:

Read it and laugh.

Then ask yourself why the writers at the Onion are so much smarter than every major newspaper, TV channel, and other mainstream media.

Just whose rights do these civil rights groups think they are protecting? -- What the UFT should be asking instead of excusing their support for testing

...when I see these civil rights groups come out in favor of  testing

and in opposition to the opt-out movement, not only do I have to think that they are ignoring the research around high-stakes testing and inequality, but I also have to question just whose rights they are protecting. ... Wayne Au

The UFT leadership has used the so-called civil rights leaders support for high stakes testing and their opposition to opt out as an excuse for their own inaction. WAPO's Valerie Strauss published Wayne Au's exposure of these groups, groups that are funded by ed deform champions Bill Gates and the Walton Foundation.

Not this point by Au:

Knowing that along with the Gates Foundation, both the Broad Foundation and the Walton Foundation constitute the “big three” in major philanthropic funding for the corporate education reform effort, I decided to dig just a little more. While I couldn’t find any connection between the Broad Foundation and the 12 civil rights organizations opposing the opt-out movement, I did find two that are also funded by the Walton Foundation:
  There is a deep irony here, considering the Walton Family’s track record with regards to civil rights. For instance, in 2012 civil rights leaders called on Walmart and the Walton Family to withdraw from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is famous for promoting hyper-conservative policies and laws, including the “stand your ground” gun laws associated with the murder of Trayvon Martin. Walmart and the Walton family have spent millions fighting against universal preschool in California, supporting public school voucher programs in various cities, and other conservative initiatives.

And there’s this: According to Making Change At Walmart, Walmart is the largest single employer of African Americans in the country (20 percent of the 1.3 million total employees), pays employees an average of $8.81 an hour, and under Walmart’s definition of full-time work, an employee would only earn 65 percent of the 2014 federal poverty rate for a family of four.

Interesting that the UFT is lining up with the anti-labor Walton Foundation, one step removed. Strauss introduces the Au piece:

A dozen civil rights groups this week issued a statement contending that parents opting their children out of high-stakes standardized tests are harming at-risk students. That sparked a response from the Network for Public Education, saying that high-stakes standardized tests are hurting these young people, not the opt-out movement. You can read both statements here.

Here’s a different look at all of this, by Wayne Au, an associate professor in the School of Educational Studies at the University of Washington Bothell, and an editor for the social justice teaching magazine Rethinking Schools. Most recently, with Joseph J. Ferarre, he co-edited the book, Mapping Corporate Education Reform: Power and Policy Networks in the Neoliberal State. His research interests include critical analyses of high-stakes testing, critical educational theory and practice, curriculum studies, and multicultural education.

Just whose rights do these civil rights groups think they are protecting?

The civil rights organizations who made their statement against opting out see high-stakes, standardized testing as a solution to educational inequality, while others, like myself, see ample evidence that high-stakes, standardized testing is exasperating educational inequality and therefore needs to be rejected as an inherently damaging measure.
There is a very strong critique of the civil rights organizations’ anti-opt-out statement, written mainly by my good friend, colleague, and noted test-resister, Jesse Hagopian, with the endorsement of the Network for Public Education, so I’m not going to take up a close reading and critique of the civil rights organizations’ anti-opt-out statement. However, anytime I see “grassroots” groups promoting the agenda of the corporate education reformers, like what happened here in Washington State with charter school reform in 2012, I’m always compelled to follow the money.

 And Au certainly does follow the money:

http://twitthat.com/ljUkL

A Jersey Teacher Responds to Alfred G. Binford's Defense of Pearson

New Jersey spent $108 million dollars on the PARCC and I have to buy pencils out of pocket... The aim of Pearson is to lay the ground work for the colonization of public schools systems in largely minority urban communities by contributing to the stack ranking of teachers leading to expedited terminations and the shuttering of so called failing schools.

A Jersey Response to Alfred G. Binford's WaPo piece in Defense of Pearson

The view from the trenches of a Newark Public Schools teacher differs significantly from the perspective of Alfred G. Binford, managing director of assessment and delivery at Pearson. Binford claims that Common Core State Standards provide students with a solid foundation in reading and math. New Jersey previously had well designed standards particularly for English as a Second Language, which is my area of expertise. The Common Core does not address the needs of English Language Learners. The unstated goal of instituting national standards is to create a uniform market for multinational corporations such as Pearson.

The PARCC robs New Jersey students in testing grades of six weeks of instruction, not to mention the untold hours devoted to prepping for the Endless Testing Regime. In addition, my school is under lock down each day until testing is completed. Some children not being tested are deprived of specials teaching Art, Music, World Language because they are utilized in test administration. Teachers receive test results after students have exited their classrooms and are, thus, unable to use the assessments to drive instruction. Teachers are prohibited from examining test questions, thereby, blindfolding them in any attempts to analyze student strengths and weaknesses. Binford’s postulation that the test results provide a vital snapshot of student performance and growth is laughable.

New Jersey spent $108 million dollars on the PARCC and I have to buy pencils out of pocket. Coincidentally, Commissioner of Education David Hespe sits on the PARCC Consortium Governing Board cementing the cozy New Jersey relationship with Pearson. Binford contends that the New Jersey Department of Education was contacted by Pearson to protect the interests of students who had yet to take the PARCC. It was my impression, however, that Pearson was attempting to protect its financial investment in test questions by violating student privacy. The fact not clearly comprehended by Pearson is most New Jersey school children are minors and are, therefore, not parties to non-disclosure agreements.

Despite Binford’s assertions, equity for all students is not ensured by strong accountability and assessment systems. Pearson testing does not mitigate the effects of homelessness, hunger, incarceration, drugs, fatherless children, crime and violence on children growing up in poverty. The aim of Pearson is to lay the ground work for the colonization of public schools systems in largely minority urban communities by contributing to the stack ranking of teachers leading to expedited terminations and the shuttering of so called failing schools.

Abigail Shure

Ed Notes reporter in New Jersey.

Skinny Awards, June 9: Support Leonie's Work and the Leaders of Opt Out - and go to a great party too

If there is one event you should support, this is it. I've been to every single

Skinny (Not Broad) award dinner. I intend to be there to celebrate with my colleagues in Change the Stakes and NYC Opt Out and our allies in NYSAPE. And a freak'n 4 course dinner too.

Class Size Matters 7th Annual “Skinny” Award Dinner

Leonie Haimson and Diane Ravitch,

Patrick Sullivan and Monica Major

Emily Horowitz, and Cynthia Wachtell

invite you to

Class Size Matters 7th Annual “Skinny” Awards Dinner

When: Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30 PM
Where: Il Bastardo/Bocca Di Bacco
191 7th Ave (21st St)
New York, NY 10011

A fundraiser for Class Size Matters

This year we are honoring the NY leaders of the Opt-Out movement:

Change the Stakes

NYC Opt Out

New York State Allies for Public Education

Please join us for an opportunity to enjoy a four course dinner to celebrate three organizations that led a historic movement resulting in 200,000 students refusing to take the NY state tests this year.

Ticket Information:

http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=8217

$250 – Defender of Public Education

$150 – Patron

$75 – Supporter

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there!

If you can’t attend, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Class Size Matters, to help support our work

Newark Teacher Union Election in Midst of Turmoil, as Del Grosso steps down

[Brandon] Rippey, a social studies teacher at Science Park High School, lost to Del Grosso by just nine votes in the last election. Nonetheless, the “New Visions” slate allied with Rippey won control of the union’s executive board, and he is expected to be a formidable challenger to Abeigon and Dixon. “What’s at stake: the

Newark public schools, the teaching profession, and the union itself,” Rippey said last night, following a debate with Dixon. “The (New Visions-led) caucus has been the only group that has stood up consistently in their defense.”... NJ Spotlight

Brandon Rippey and NEW Visions are part of our national alliance of caucuses, UCORE. (We are meeting in Newark in July- how nice it would be to celebrate a victory by Brandon.) I've been at various events with Brandon and would love to see him become president of the NTU.

[By the way, Diane Ravitch reports on the new LA teacher contract - LATU has also been captured by one of the UCORE associated caucuses with Alex Caputo-Pearl as president. Note that they got some class size limit assurances - something you will never see with Unity Caucus in charge here.

Los Angeles Teachers Agree to Néw Contract]

Remember how Del Grosso brought Randi in to negotiate the contract between her and Cami Anderson and Cristie - a contract they hailed and ended up screwing the teachers - and also led to a new caucus - the NEW caucus to almost push Del Grosso out of office. NEW won the Exec Bd and only lost the presidency by a few votes. (Is the 3rd candidate a New Action like stalking horse designed to split off enough votes from NEW Visions so Abeignon can win?

Knowing Brandon and the politics behind him, they will reach out deep into the parent and student community to build ties so that if they ever take actions like strikes or sick-outs, they will have extensive community backing.

So, suddenly, the Del Grosso people - Abeignon -  to stave off the challenge from Rippey, who would be Cami Anderson's worst nightmare, became militant - as we reported recently: Newark Teachers Union Upcoming Job Action..

Then came the sickout rumors for next week we reported on yesterday.

Newark: Will there be a mass sick-out next week? 

Abeignon is "repositioning" himself for the election as a "militant" to fend off Rippey. Until the day after the election  - if he wins.

Bob Braun had a report on the reaction to the proposed sick out from a Cami slug:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=672952396167713&substory_index=0&id=343757852420504&refid=17

Her reference to a "faction" within the union representing Newark teachers is an apparent allusion to the ongoing, three-way union election that is happening just as the NTU leadership has promised to take job actions in an effort to block subjecting eight more public schools--including East Side and Weequahic high schools--to s-called "turnarounds" in which faculty hours and programs are changed.

John Abeigon, the chief organizer for the NTU and one of three candidates for the union's presidency, denied the union had plans for a sick out which he said would subject participating teahers to the same punishments as would a strike. He said the union would pursue "job actions" designed to "escalate the chaos" within the schools and the community.

"Nothing, not even a strike, is off the table," Abeigon said. "But it certainly wouldn't be our first dish."

Teachers Union Leadership Change Comes at Critical Time for Newark Schools

John Mooney | May 7, 2015

Del Grosso to end 20-year tenure at helm as contract talks loom and controversy continues over Anderson’s ‘One Newark’ reforms

For the first time in 20 years, Joseph Del Grosso won’t be running for reelection as president of the Newark Teachers Union.
Marking the end of two decades of union leadership in the state’s largest school district, Del Grosso will step down as leader of the vocal and influential union at a time when the city’s schools are still in turmoil over state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson’s “One Newark” reorganization initiative.  His decision to not seek reelection wasn’t a big surprise, as he had hinted for several months that he might step down and has not been in good health for longer than that. Repeated efforts to contact him over the last two days were unsuccessful. Still, Anderson is not likely to see any greater support from any of Del Grosso’s likely successors.
The three candidates certified by the union on Tuesday are:

• John Abeigon, the NTU’s director of organization and a close ally of Del Grosso;
  
• Michael Dixon, the union’s elected secretary-treasurer; and
  
• Branden Rippey, a leader of a dissident faction of the union, who says the NTU has been too easy on Anderson.
  

 The union vote is taking place by mail-in ballot, starting May 26. Ballots will be opened and counted on June 23.

Newark: Will there be a mass sick-out next week?

Lucky these jokers are not in charge of an Ebola infected nation.

From: Chief Talent Officer
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 4:16 PM
To: Teachers - ALL
Subject: Possible NTU Action

Good Afternoon,

It has come to our attention,  that a faction of the NTU membership is planning and encouraging teachers and other employees to engage in a mass sick out next week.  This is a reminder that such tactics will be in violation of the NPS/NTU Contract and is not protected activity.

Please be further reminded that the District considers a mass sick out as a partial strike.  Public employees do not have a right to strike in New Jersey.

Any employee who participates in the sick out will face disciplinary action.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Rodriguez,
Chief Talent Officer

John Dewey Scandal as Farina Protects Principal and Video: Norm at the April PEP confronts Carmen Farina on double standard and describes Success Charter Schools

Fifteen months later, the schools chancellor hasn't addressed massive grade fixing at Brooklyn's John Dewey High School...

That was the headline last Friday as Juan Gonzalez did another piece on the John Dewey HS credit recovery cheating scandal, asking the golden question:  When will Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña address the massive grade fixing scandal at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn?

In this video I confront Carmen Farina about her double standard for principals like Kathleen Elvin and teachers after NYCLetEmPlay teacher David Rosen was sent to the rubber room while the principal of John Dewey HS has been under investigation for many months but still allowed to run the school.

My theory is that Farina loves cheating principals like Elvin who keep her grad rates up the the cheating standards established under 12 years of BloomKlein. Imagine if Farina ran an honest ship -- the phony Bloomberg grad rates would drop like a stone and the press and ed deformers would go nuts attacking the shit out of Farina and de Blasio. So I get it - that for self-survival, Elvin despite a 15 month investigation, stays and great teachers and student advocates are pulled from their schools within hours.

 In my PEP speech I also addressed the issue of Success Charters with a game of "Guess the school" where I ask "what schools have lots of extra underwear for kids who are prevented from going to the bathroom? (Hint: someone named Eva runs them). There's nothing like smashing away at Eva than having her minions in the audience. (And she also dropped in.)

And I did it in a nifty 2 minutes - you can boil your egg while watching this.

https://youtu.be/eH8YblzFbSM




When will Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña address the massive grade fixing scandal at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn?
Teachers there began registering complaints in February 2014 that their administrators were creating phantom classes for failing students and secretly inflating grades to boost the school’s official graduation rate.
Eight teachers even gave testimony in early December to the School District’s Office of Special Investigations about the bogus scheme. Some claimed their names were attached to courses they never taught, others that they were ordered to instruct and grade students in subjects for which they had no state license..
The teachers provided investigators hard evidence: copies of faculty rosters, individual student schedules, internal emails, even audio tapes of conversations with superiors.
But 15 months later, the Department of Education is mum.
Among hundreds of Dewey records obtained by The Daily News is the transcript of a single student who graduated last June.
His name was redacted from our copy, thus we refer to him here simply as King, for he just might be the “king” of credit recovery.
Under state regulations, students who fail a subject required for graduation can make it up in one of three ways: either attend summer school, repeat the course, or take “targeted credit recovery” -- a class where they get remedial work for their specific weakness.
But the state spells out strict limitations on credit recovery. It cannot be offered to students who were frequently absent from their original course. The student must be taught by a teacher licensed in the subject matter. And after taking the remedial work, the student must demonstrate “mastery” of the subject.
Most importantly, students cannot receive more than three credit recoveries in core academic subjects for their high school career.
Well, student King’s transcript shows he passed 11 credit recovery courses in the spring of 2014, the semester before his graduation! Seven were in core academic subjects.
That’s not just breaking regulations, that’s smashing them.

In one course at John Dewey high school last spring titled Project Graduation, a single teacher was assigned to 35 different subjects to 63 students, including some of those seen on this partially redacted document: Geometry, Health, Living Environment, Earth Science, Global Studies, Economics and a Math Elective.

Even more amazing, King appears to have passed those 11 remedial courses while carrying a regular load of nine other classes.
He received, for example, got credit for five courses during Period 0, before the start of school. Two of those, 9th grade global studies and health, list the teacher only as “Panel 111.” That’s the room number of Principal Kathleen Elvin.
King also managed to take Earth science 2, environmental science 2, and physcial education during the same period, and he received the same grade for all five courses -- 65.
Then, after a full day of regular classes during Periods 1 to 8, King got credit recovery for six additional courses after school. They included Writing Across the Curriculum, US History 4, Algebra 2, Earth Science 1, 10th grade Global Studies, aand another gym class..
Principal Elvin declined our request to discuss credit recovery practices at Dewey or even what kind of early morning instruction occured in her office. She referred questions to officials at Tweed..
“It wasn’t credit recovery, it was fraud,” one veteran Dewey teacher said.
That teacher said many on staff got assigned to a course called “Project Graduation,” into which hundreds of failing students were placed.
Emails reviewed by the News show some declined to give grades in subjects outside their expertise, and others questioned why their names were listed for classes they never taught. But most followed orders.
More than a year after a few brave teachers risked their careers to blow the whistle, nothing has happened.
Why the delay in the face of such overwhelming evidence?

The Great Scott-Schirtzer Debate: Boycott UFT Elections or Not - Friday, May 8, 4PM

The first in a series of Ed Notes posts on why the UFT elections are meaningless and should be boycotted.

75-80% of the UFT working members boycotted the UFT 2013 elections. These people are actually voting - with their feet - in a meaningless election with nothing at stake.

I don't know how often I have to say it -- Unity has so stacked the deck for the past 60 years, it is not possible to dislodge them from power. Not only that, but by buying off New Action, which is now a bogus opposition appearing on the ballot to siphon off votes from the legitimate opposition, it is almost impossible to win the 7 high school exec bd seats, which New Action, when it was legit, used to win in almost every election. Last time, MORE got around 1335 HS votes, Unity 1575 and NA around 450 which went into the Unity line. Thus, if NA has run with the opposition instead of in partnership with Unity, Unity would have lost those seats. The UFT Exec Bd is 100% Unity endorsed and has been since 2007. Before that, since 1991 there were a few voices of opposition on the board.

At one time, many of us felt it was really important to try to win those 7 out of 100 seats. I no longer feel that way. NA had those seats for over a decade without Unity support and ICE/TJC had them for 3 years. What good did it do in the overall scheme of things?

Mike Schirtzer has been arguing with me over this issue  -- we have almost daily chats and it always comes up. So we decided to debate this afternoon in a Manhattan diner in front of a group of ICE and MORE people who will be free to toss spoonfuls of rice pudding at us.

This will rival the Lincoln-Douglas debates - Mike is Douglas - I'm growing a Lincoln like beard right now.

Since the 2010 UFT elections, I have urged the groups I was in - ICE in 2010 and MORE in 2013 - to boycott what I would loosely term the "election," and "election" so illegitimate, that the very act of running justifies what is a fundamentally undemocratic process.

I have been refining my case for boycott for the upcoming 2016 elections. Mike Schirtzer disagrees and offered to debate me. Today is the official opening of my boycott campaign.

I sense I may not be able to convince MORE but I will try to get them not to run and leave Mulgrew, running on the Unity and New Action line with 100% of the vote - instead of the 80% or so he would get if MORE ran. 

Today, Mike and I and the other participants will not only examine the issue of boycotting the election or not but also engage in an analysis of past election outcomes. 

This is not defeatism on my part, as some people have charged in the past when I pointed out we cannot win. Oh, just believe and miracles and they will happen. Or I hear, "we know we can't win but an opposition must run." Why?

I will discuss how running in an election when you know you cannot win plays out with people you are trying to get to vote for you. Do you lie to them, worried they won't bother to vote if they know it doesn't mean anything?

Thus a very good point on my side. Don't lie to people, give them the real deal and try to formulate a plan to force changes that would one day make UFT elections relevant.

To my mind, given that raising the vote totals in elections has been futile -- and I believe the Unity people want totals to rise given the embarrassment to the union of having 52% of the votes come from retirees.

So my theory is that by making the vote totals drop and thereby probably raising the retiree (who always vote in higher numbers) percentage would put the election in the place it deserves - a farce.

I will advocate the uncaucus concept -- how to run a campaign in an election season without actually running a slate as a way to gather support for demanding massive changes in the UFT election process by denying them enough votes to the extent that the election becomes the farce it really is. I will present the case that participating in the farce endorses the fundamentally undemocratic process.

While all this goes on, Mike will be advocating the same old same old - and thus meeting the Einstein definition of insanity - doing the same thing and expecting different results. But he can enjoy eating his rice pudding.

Will NYSUT ST Caucus Impact AFT? - Welcome to Stronger Together Caucus - MORE Gets Seat on Steering

NYSUT has 600,000 members and is by far the largest component of the AFT's 1.5 million membership. NYSUT has always been a reliable Unity Caucus rubber stamp for NYC Unity Caucus, which has used its control of NYSUT Unity caucus to control the AFT and its Progressive Caucus version of Unity.

Thus the shakeup in NYSUT since Randi and Mulgrew pulled their Revile Slate knockdown of their former allies, Iannucci and crew. Their boy, Andy Pallotta has been like a bull in the chinashop, managing to alienate everyone he comes in contact with beyond the usual sycophants. And there is always good old Alan Lubin around to pull the strings.

The rocket rise of Stronger Together and Beth Dimino to the leadership of the first opposition to NYSUT Unity/Revile has the potential to be cataclysmic for the national teacher union - or not. I know ST first got together a year ago, I was still disappointed that it had zero presence at the AFT14 convention in LA. But after last week's RA, things are really looking up.

First - Beth and Brian St. Pierre reached out to MORE in the fall of 2013 and it was lucky for all of us that Mike Schirtzer was astute enough to get on the case and build a strong relationship with them. There were a whole bunch of MORE people who actually argued against getting involved -- I don't even know how to categorize their views - some kind of supposed analysis on organizing based on studying ancient, dusty tomes, which somehow haven't actually resulted in very successful organizing. But I'll leave that for another day.

Luckily, there are some rational MORE people like Lauren Cohen (see her video) and Jia Lee and Julie Cavanagh and James Eterno who jumped into the pool with Mike and Beth and Brian. They were joined by non-MORE Arthur Goldstein and shook up the NYSUT RA at the Hilton last year. James has a piece up on ICE today: JOIN STRONGER TOGETHER
It's only 10 bucks and sends a message to Unity if lots of NYC teachers join.

There is a reason ST reached out to MORE and elected Schirtzer to the steering committee. They want to build alliances between the state and NYC  opposition to Unity. But they are not stopping there. They are also getting involved with the national groups MORE has been working with - United Caucuses of Rank and File Educators (UCORE). I have been attending various versions of UCORE meetings since 2009 and I'm still waiting for something to happen -- they will meet in Newark in July.

But if ST and UCORE actually do make an effort at the AFT`16 convention in Minneapolis, we may see some shaking of the tree when Unity tries its bully tactics. I'm basing my continued support for UCORE based on their willingness to organize for AFT16. (There are sticky issues here since CTU president Karen Lewis must be in Randi's Progressive Caucus in order to hold onto an AFT Exec Bd seat and that puts CORE Caucus, Karen's caucus in Chicago, and also a key component of UCORE, in somewhat of a bind as to how active they can be in opposing Progressive Caucus. Some even say that these kinds of entanglements make UCORE into a discussion group only. UCORE (still unnamed) was non-existent at AFT14 and in fact I believe there was some kow-towing to Unity at times.

See my AFT14 reports:

• LA Confidential: AFT Travel Day, Part 1 - Posted Fri, 7/11/14 6AM
• AFT Convention Roundup: Travel Day Part 2 - Common...Posted Fri, noon.
• AFT Convention Update: Chicago CC Reso Goes Down O...Posted Fri 5PM
• Breaking - AFT Rumor - Reso on Duncan Coming? Rand...Posted Fri 5:30 PM
• AFT Convention 2014 Video: Randi Laugh Riot - on P...Posted Sat. 7AM
• #AFT14 Report - Recaps and Trends - Posted Sat
• #AFT14 Report: When Will the UFT/AFT Reclaim the Promise of a Democratic Union?
• #AFT14 Report - Tidbits
• #AFT14 Report - Common Core Debate - Epic Battle B...

• #AFT Convention - I apologize to non-slugs in Unit...
• #AFT14 - Randi says - AFT and NEA to For...
• #AFT14 Video - LATU Caputo-Pearl Lays Out Vision o...

Brian St. Pierre has written a wonderful must-read guest piece at NYC Educator.

ST Caucus Brings Real Grassroots Unionism to NYSUT

I'm not going to parse Brian's piece right now as I have to run to Botanic Gardens for the final day of the plant sale. But there is so much meat there and lessons on how Unity functions on the local, state and national levels I will do a follow up examining how they will try to buy out and coopt ST to try to turn them into New Action, light.  Like jobs or a stool at the table, anyone?
 
And here is the ST call to join:

Dear ST Caucus Members,

We were thrilled with the support the caucus received at the NYSUT RA in Buffalo.  Over 500 delegates joined, 145 of which were local presidents.  Our inaugural caucus meeting was standing room only with incredible enthusiasm and support for our resolutions and democratic reform within NYSUT.  Our bylaws and a slate of caucus officers were approved.

While our constitutional amendment proposals were defeated, we were able to get the RA House of Delegates to pass three resolutions that address the flawed nature of the standardized tests in New York State.  The resounding voices of the Delegates at the NYSUT RA in favor of these issues will now compel NYSUT leadership to do the right thing for New York's students and teachers by supporting the opt out movement!

1. Resolution to support the "I Refuse Movement"

2. Resolution to recognize and thank opt-out parents

3. Resolution calling for the replacement of the  college and career readiness benchmarks 

As we move forward, we will be revising the voting amendments dealing with democratic reform within NYSUT for the RA next year. Please feel free to reach out to caucus officers regarding any concerns you might have as the year progresses. We truly want rank and file members to utilize this avenue because it will help focus our positions and determine our resolutions for the next RA. 

ST Caucus is open to any NYSUT Member in good standing, delegates and non delegates alike.  Please encourage every member in your local to join--a membership form can be found here.  T-Shirts in sizes M,L,XL,2X and 3X are still available for a $20 donation here.  We will continue to keep you informed of new developments.  In the meantime, please share information about the caucus with your local and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

In Solidarity,

Chair: Beth Dimino—President Port Jefferson Station Teachers' Association

Treasurer: Beth Chetney—President Baldwinsville Teachers’ Association

Secretary: Laura Spencer—President Smithtown Teachers’ Association

Membership Chair: Michele Bushey—PAC, Saranac Teachers’ Association 

Vice-Chairs representing NYS by region 

1)   Central NY/Southern Tier: Angelee Hargreaves—President Port Byron Teachers’ Association

2)   Capital District: Megan DeLaRosa—President Shenendehowa Teachers’ Association

3)   North Country: Nate Hathaway—President Malone Federation of Teachers

4)   Tarrytown/Mid-Hudson: Mike Lillis—President Lakeland Federation of Teachers

5)   Nassau/Suffolk: Kevin Coyne—President Brentwood Teachers’ Association

6)   NYC:  Mike Schirtzer—UFT Delegate; MORE CAUCUS

7)   Western NY (Buffalo):  Joe Karb—President Springville Faculty Association

8)   Western NY (Rochester): Orlando Benzan—President Brockport Teachers’ Association

So-Called Civil Rights Leaders Support Testing Despite history of Tests used to violate civil rights Plus UFT Uses them as Excuse to Waffle on Opt Out

Doing the Bidding of Their Corporate Funders, These 12 Paid For Groups Denounce the People's Movement to Opt Out of High Stakes Testing... Sam Anderson

...the notion that subjecting students to high-stakes tests is a “civil right” is inherently misguided... High-stakes standardized tests, rather than reducing the opportunity gap, have been used to rank, sort, label, and punish students of color.”..... NPE press release

A turn in the road: We Demand --- more tests?

I heard the line once again the other day from someone who works at the UFT - that the UFT won't jump on the opt out bandwagon so as not to insult the Bill Gates bought so-called civil rights leaders who support testing. But why be surprised. The UFT/AFT are also bought by Bill Gates.

I have more respect for Sam Anderson as a black leader than all of these people. Look what these so-called leaders say:

But we cannot fix what we cannot measure.  And abolishing the tests or sabotaging the validity of their results only makes it harder to identify and fix the deep-seated problems in our schools.”

We cannot fix what we cannot measure? How about the income disparity in communities of color? Do we need to measure that before raising the minimum wage, which would have a beneficial impact way beyond testing their kids?

We need to not be afraid to challenge these people and the UFT excuses - we should toss the NPE press release in their faces.

PRESS RELEASE: Network for Public Education

Response to The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Statement on Opting Out

May 5, 2015 Civil Rights, NPE, Press Release, Testing / Opting Out

For Immediate Release
Robin Hiller Executive Director, Network for Public Education
Phone (520) 668-4634
Email  robin@networkforpubliceducation.org

Today, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights led 11 civil rights groups into a national disagreement with students who have exercised their constitutional political free speech rights and chosen to opt-out of high-stakes testing.

The Network for Public Education supports those who choose to opt out, because we believe these tests are now causing harm to students, and to the cause of educational equity. Seattle teacher Jesse Hagopian has written a response to The Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights’ statement, which the Network for Public Education shares here. He states, “High-stakes standardized tests, rather than reducing the opportunity gap, have been used to rank, sort, label, and punish students of color.”
We support opting out of high stakes tests because:

• There is no evidence that these tests contribute to the quality of education, have led to improved educational equity in funding or programs, or have helped close the “achievement gap”.
• These tests, particularly those associated with the Common Core, have become intrusive in our schools, consuming huge amounts of time and resources, and narrowing instruction to focus on test preparation.
• These tests have never been independently validated or shown to be reliable and/or free from racial and ethnic bias.
• Instead the Common Core exams are being used as a political weapon to claim huge numbers of students are failing, to close neighborhood public schools, and fire teachers, all in the effort to disrupt and privatize the public education system.

Thus, the notion that subjecting students to high-stakes tests is a “civil right” is inherently misguided.
Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and NPE board member stated, “The alleged benefit of No Child Left Behind and national required annual high stakes testing was to unveil the achievement gaps, and by doing so, close them. After more than a decade of high-stakes testing this never happened. Instead, thousands of neighborhood schools— the anchors of communities, especially in poor and minority neighborhoods — were closed and their students sent to another low performing and poorly resourced school much further away from their home.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights argued that data obtained through standardized tests are “the only available, consistent, and objective source of data about disparities in educational outcomes.” This statement is completely false. There is reliable disaggregated national data available from NAEP. There are a number of student outcomes available to consider the success of students, schools, districts, states and the nation. More importantly, we must pay closer attention to data that demonstrate the differences in opportunity between schools.
While persisting inequality between schools is our real challenge, the political framing supported by testing is instead a focus on the failure of our students and teachers in our public system. This rhetoric is then linked to school “reform” policies that have made the real agenda very clear—continuing to underfund schools and replace our locally controlled public school systems with privately controlled schools. Private control allows the opportunity to profit from equally under resourced and poor-performing charters, for-profit on-line schools, and vouchers for private schools (which opt-out of testing). Without democratic control, these schools are free to create a constant churn of temporary teachers whose work is largely reduced to worksheets and canned software programs for test preparation.
The Seattle NAACP recently urged parents to opt out of the SBAC test, and stated:

Using standardized tests to label Black people and immigrants as lesser—while systematically underfunding their schools—has a long and ugly history.
It is true we need accountability measures, but that should start with politicians be accountable to fully funding education and ending the opportunity gap. The costs tied to the test this year will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. If the State really wants students to achieve academic performance at higher levels these dollars should be put in our classrooms and used for our children’s academic achievement, instead of putting dollars in the pockets of test developers.

The use of high-stakes tests has become part of the problem, rather than a solution. We reiterate our support for parents and students who choose to exercise their political free speech and opt out of high stakes tests, and call on our nation’s leaders to shift policies away from these tests.

And also see:

Mercedes Schneider: Why Did Only 12 Civil Rights Groups Oppose Opting Out?