LWVeducation
Just when you think change is possible, you discover that the battle for testing reform continues unabated. California is piloting new science assessments based on the Next Generation Science Standards. The State wants to administer a pilot of the new assessments rather than the older version.
The U.S. Inspector General has recognized the serious nature of the charter management problems. The League of Women Voters has been calling for better transparency and management oversight for several years. Now, the federal government has joined us—-well, a part of the federal government.
It is one step toward better accountability for our tax dollars.
In charter schools, parents may have choice but no rights. What does this mean? In this brief from the American Bar Association, the rights that parents assume they have are valid for public schools but not charters. According to recent court decisions in a California Appeals Court and a U.S. District Court in Hawaii, charters have the right to dismiss students in a manner that would be unconstitutional in a regular public school.
As the number of charters grows, charter parents need to beware.
Charter schools represent 7% of New York City’s school population but 42% of all student suspensions. Of the top 50 schools with high suspension rates, 48 were charters. These schools are clustered in the heart of black communities in Harlem, Crown Heights, Brownsville and Brooklyn. The problem extends far beyond New York. Parents are pushing back.
Why do you suppose that school buildings owned by Academica, Florida’s largest for-profit charter management firm are more expensive than at schools it only manages? Are they bigger and nicer or just more profitable?
Twenty-five percent of California charter schools illegally restrict admissions, according to a new ACLU study. The practices include:
What are these anti tenure cases really about? Are reformers convinced the workforce has more than its share of ineffective teachers? Or, are they concerned many teachers prefer to work in traditional schools where they can earn higher salaries and benefits? Thus, charters and private schools struggle to compete for high quality teachers.
There is a general anti union undercurrent, but I am continually surprised how few Floridians seem to know that tenure in Florida is a thing of the past. Why are other states filing law suits?
Diane Ravitch published this post about a California group determined to repeal California’s charter school laws. Hmmm, any volunteers?
Yes, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) average scores are slightly down overall in 2015 from 2013. The grade four reading scores did go up from 217 in 2002 to 221 in 2015. This is a one point increase from 2007 Average eighth grade math and reading as well as fourth grade math scores declined.
Do changes of a point or two have any significance? Not really. It is comforting when scores tend to rise, but they often fluctuate some. It is more meaningful to look at scores over time. This is a very revealing exercise.
Annual testing is federal law, but not all states follow it. Using test scores as part of teacher evaluations is the law, but not all states use scores this way. The basic question is: Who is in charge of education, the states or the federal government? Where is the line when federal support becomes federal intervention?
Can states opt out of federal testing and teacher evaluation mandates? This really is a tricky question.