Tuesday, August 31, 2010

More on nitwit demagogues

Yesterday's email, in which I called Beck and Palin "nitwit demagogues", triggered a smattering of hostile emails, most notably from one guy who was at the rally in DC on Saturday who called me "an arrogant fool" and said he'd never read anything I wrote ever again.  How anyone on this list could be surprised that I'm a Democrat and prone to occasional partisan outbursts is beyond me…

 

I know there are a lot of folks on this email list with whom I would probably disagree on every major policy issue EXCEPT education reform.  That's cool – we can work together on this issue and agree to disagree on others.  But if you're going to be on this email list, you're occasionally going to have to put up with some partisan tweaking.  We have plenty of nitwit demagogues in our party as well, but (surprise!) I much prefer tweaking the Republican ones.  Funny how some folks love it when I call out unions for "throwing kids under the bus" and their politician lackeys (mostly Democrats) for being "gutless weasels", but lose it when I call out Republicans…

 Subscribe in a reader


Students for Education Reform (SFER)

I want to tell you all about a great new organization, Students for Education Reform (SFER), that I've been following for the past year. SFER has become huge at Princeton and will be opening chapters at colleges across the country this fall.  I think they have the potential to really energize young people around ed reform and I'm excited to see where they end up.  If you're a college student, please contact Catharine Bellinger, the founder and Executive Director.  Here's an email from her:

 

SFER's mission is to prepare undergraduates to be leaders in closing the achievement gap. We've had a hugely successful year at Princeton, creating a full-credit education reform seminar, running an ongoing "Charter Fridays" school visit series, and hosting speakers such as Norm Atkins, Jon Schnur, Ryan Hill, Justin Cohen, Jason Kamras (via Skype!), and others.

 

I'm excited to let you all know about SFER's plans for the upcoming year. We will be expanding our reach by organizing students in 10 cities that are hotspots for reform and giving them the tools they need to spread the reform movement on their campus. Our national organization will assist new chapters with planning school visits, meeting with superintendents and ed reform leaders, bringing speakers to campus, and other activities. 

 

If you're a college student interested in starting a chapter of SFER, or if you are just interested in learning more, please email me at cbelling@princeton.edu. If you are an ed professional and are interested in supporting us, we are always looking for mentors, advisors, and speakers. Finally, I encourage you to visit our website at www.studentsforedreform.org, 'Like' us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StudentsForEdReform, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/princetonSFER. Whatever your level of interest, we hope you'll join us in helping undergraduates prepare to be leaders in ed reform.

 Subscribe in a reader


Robert Rodriguez

I had the pleasure last week of meeting Robert Rodriguez, who is running for NYS Assembly representing East Harlem (which to my surprise includes my building – it extends down to 95th St. on the East Side, so if you live in his district, be sure to vote for him in the primary on Sept. 14th).  Robert grew up in the district, attending public schools, then Cardinal Hayes HS, Yale and NYU Business School.  He's a huge champion of high-quality schools, including charters, and is just the kind of dynamic, young, Latino, pro-education-reform leader we need in the Assembly.  He has a great chance of winning, as it's an open seat (Adam Clayton Powell vacated it to run against Charlie Rangel) and a plurality in the 7-way race wins it (perhaps with only 3,000-4,000 votes).  He has a bright political future and it's smart to back guys like this early.  Below is more info and you can donate to him at: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/25186

 



 

"I learned life's great lessons long ago, watching my parents and neighbors work hard to make East Harlem a great community. For too long, Albany has ignored our neighborhoods and not provided us with our fair share of critical resources. I'm running for New York State Assembly to make government work for all of us and to continue protecting and improving our neighborhoods, so that we can pass on an even stronger community to our children and grandchildren."
~ Robert

 

About

Robert Rodriguez has made it his life's work to improve the quality of life in East Harlem. Both as Chairman of Community Board 11 and in his professional life, Robert has built a strong track record of results:

• Creating good jobs in our community
• Protecting tenants and creating affordable housing for our neighbors
• Fighting for safe spaces for our children and seniors
• Helping to develop quality public schools
• Educated in East Harlem public schools; earned an MBA from NYU and a BA from Yale University

 

Volunteer

For more information or to volunteer, please contact us at friendsofrobertjrodriguez@gmail.com

 

Donate Now

To contribute to Robert's campaign, contributions can be made online or you can be made payable to
"Friends of Robert J. Rodriguez" and sent to:

Friends of Robert J. Rodriguez
426 East 120th Street
New York, NY 10035

Contributions from individuals, LLPs, and PACs are limited to a maximum of $7,600 ($3,800 for the primary and $3,800 for the general election). Corporations are limited to $5,000 aggregate to State candidates per calendar year. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

 Subscribe in a reader


Spot-on comments from a friend:


 

You are exactly right on RTTT, and your analogies are apt. Here's another one: No one can point to the one event that toppled Soviet and Chinese communism, because it wasn't caused by a single devastating blow. Thousands of events culminated in the general perception within the society, including the leadership, that its economic and political system was dysfunctional. Likewise, the US is slowly coming to grips with the structural deficiencies built into its public ed system. It's a 20-year process, but when the history is written, RTTT will be seen as a significant contributor to change.

 Subscribe in a reader


After the Deluge, A New Education System

A great op ed in today's WSJ, which mentions KIPP and TFA, about the enormous strides New Orleans schools have made since Hurricane Katrina.  It's shocking that Arne Duncan's comment that Katrina was the best thing that even happened to New Orleans' schools generated controversy.  Given the utter cesspool that existed beforehand, it's blindingly obvious.  By the way, the city will soon have the second-largest cluster of KIPP schools (after Houston):

Five years ago yesterday, the levees broke. Hurricane Katrina flooded roughly 80% of this city, causing nearly $100 billion in damage. The storm forced us to rebuild our homes, workplaces and many of our institutions—including our failing public education system.

But from the flood waters, the most market-driven public school system in the country has emerged. Education reformers across America should take notice: The model is working.

Citywide, the number of fourth-grade students who pass the state's standardized tests has jumped by almost a third—to 65% in 2010 from 49% in 2007. The passage rate among eighth-graders during the same period has improved at a similar clip, to 58% from 44%.

In high school, the transformation has been even more impressive. Since 2007, the percentage of students meeting the state's proficiency goals is up 44% for English and 45% for math. Schools have achieved this dramatic improvement despite serving a higher percentage of low-income students—84%—than they did before the storm. Many of these students missed months or even a whole year of school.

-----------------------

  • AUGUST 30, 2010

After the Deluge, A New Education System

Today close to 70% of New Orleans children attend charter schools.

By LESLIE JACOBS

New Orleans

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455343989369472.html

 Subscribe in a reader


Louisiana: $1.8. Billion for Schools Lost to Katrina

In light of the reforms in New Orleans, this is great news, as there's hope the money might actually result in better outcomes for students (unlike most of the times this country has poured large amounts of money into a broken, dysfunctional system):

Louisiana: $1.8. Billion for Schools Lost to Katrina

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: August 25, 2010

The Obama administration will give New Orleans $1.8 billion in a lump-sum reimbursement for schools that were damaged or destroyed in the flooding after Hurricane Katrina, Senator Mary L. Landrieu, a Democrat, announced Wednesday. The settlement will pay for 87 school campuses in the city to replace the 127 that existed before Katrina. The public education system in New Orleans was in the first stages of a radical overhaul before the storm, with the creation of a state-run Recovery School District in addition to the pre-existing Orleans Parish School Board. Over three-fifths of the city's students now attend charter schools. A spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not confirm the figure but said that a major announcement would come later in the week.

 Subscribe in a reader


A great email from a TFA corps member:

 

"A lie cannot live." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

To my fellow corps members,

 

All of us know that one of the prevailing lies in education is that only some students are destined to succeed. As I ponder this lie, I am reminded of a true story about a young boy who grew up in the Deep South on the poorer side of his town. This young boy was shy, reticent, and even confused about his identity as a small black person in what seemed to be a big, white world. Though he grew up hearing that he could be anything that he wanted to be, his reality suggested just the opposite.

 

As the boy transitioned from elementary to middle school, his elementary teachers sent him off with the well-intentioned remarks that he was one of the "special few" who would make it out.

 

In high school, the adolescent boy, now a young man, excelled at his work. Though he was able to score well on tests and write good essays, his ability to  process a way of learning that was so different from his home culture often left him with good grades, but no in-depth understanding of the subject matter or a true desire to learn and empower himself through new knowledge and applications. Because he felt disconnected from all but one of his teachers, his motivation was almost entirely intrinsic, and  even at the glorious point of high school graduation, this young man was still looked upon proudly by his teachers, classmates, and even his own family as one of the few who might possibly make it out.

 

After high school, the young man entered college, became the first in his family to graduate, and soon began to teach students with stories similar to his. Unfortunately, however, his course of life is still considered by many to be a special case.

 

In wake of this anecdote, I am excited to teach this year because I have a new outlook on my classroom. Not only do I believe that EVERY student is capable of succeeding, but I also see each student as a part of my own community. How ironic is it that some of my students might end up being the ones who teach my children?

 

All of us, no matter our race, educational, or socio-economic backgrounds, should be able to look at our students and see a reflection of ourselves. We are those whom we teach. We all make up the same community, and if we care about and love ourselves, then we must also, by default, care about and love the students we teach. Effectively, everything that I am willing to sacrifice and give up for my own success, I must also be willing to sacrifice and give up for the success of my students.

 

In the same way that each student is a special one, so is each teacher. Another prevailing lie in education is that teachers either have it, or they don't. However, genetics, mistakes, and failures don't determine a teacher's potential for success; his or her attitude does. Indeed, groundbreaking success rarely comes without failures of equal proportions.  In light of our last year, I have reckoned that the challenges we've overcome and the goals we've already accomplished are proof that our mission is possible.

 

In closing, the young man mentioned in the anecdote that introduced this letter is the grown man who wrote it. In other words, that story is about me. Though I don't deny that I'm special, I know that I'm not one of just a few. Each student that I teach is a special one, and I am invigorated by the challenge of the story of a special few becoming the mere expectation of many.

 Subscribe in a reader


Report on eval teachers by test scores

I'll give you three guess what a panel of experts that includes Diane Ravitch, Linda Darling-Hammond and Richard Rothstein, on behalf of a union-backed organization (Economic Policy Institute), concluded about whether it's fair to use student test scores to evaluate teachers…  Here's a summary:

Student test scores are not reliable indicators of teacher effectiveness, even with the addition of value-added modeling (VAM), a new Economic Policy Institute report by leading testing experts finds. Though VAM methods have allowed for more sophisticated comparisons of teachers than were possible in the past, they are still inaccurate, so test scores should not dominate the information used by school officials in making high-stakes decisions about the evaluation, discipline and compensation of teachers.

…The co-authors make clear that the accuracy and reliability of analyses of student test scores, even in their most sophisticated form, is highly problematic for high stakes decisions regarding teachers . Consequently, policymakers and all stakeholders in education should rethink this new emphasis on the centrality of test scores for holding teachers accountable.

Analyses of VAM results show that they are often unstable across time, classes and tests; thus, test scores, even with the addition of VAM, are not accurate indicators of teacher effectiveness.    Student test scores, even with VAM, cannot fully account for the wide range of factors that influence student learning, particularly the backgrounds of students, school supports and the effects of summer learning loss.  As a result, teachers who teach students with the greatest educational needs appear to be less effective than they are.  Furthermore, VAM does not take into account nonrandom sorting of teachers to students across schools and students to teachers within schools.

There are further negative consequences of using test scores to evaluate teacher performance.  Teachers who are rewarded on the basis of their students' test scores have an incentive to "teach to the test," which narrows the curriculum not just between subject areas, but also within subject areas.  Furthermore, creating a system in which teachers are, in effect, competing with each other can reduce the incentive to collaborate within schools-and studies have shown that better schools are marked by teaching staffs that work together.  Finally, judging teachers based on test scores that do not genuinely assess students' progress can demoralize teachers, encouraging them to leave the teaching field.

Like all misleading "research", there's some truth here.  NOBODY thinks student test scores and value-added analyses should be used in isolation, but they absolutely MUST be part of a completely revamped teacher evaluation system.

--------------------

In new EPI report, leading educational testing experts caution against heavy reliance on the use of test scores in teacher evaluation


 Subscribe in a reader


Adding Value?

Andy Rotherham, as usual, has some wise comments:

Adding Value?

www.eduwonk.com/2010/08/adding-value-2.html

Value-add measures for teachers are complicated.  Two takes fresh out today. Shorter versions:

From the teachers' union-funded EPI (pdf):  We don't want to say don't use value-add, but use it only a very wee little bit!    We're more bullish on peer review, but ignore the evidence there please!

From U of W's Dan Goldhaber: Use it responsibility and beware of the limitations.  Why on earth is the LAT doing what it's doing?

Goldhaber's take is sensible.  EPI is right that the fetishising of 51 percent of evaluation from value-add isn't wise (and it's also not practical as a comprehensive tool).  And they sensibly call for a federal push to innovate with various evaluation models.  But isn't that what's happening under Race to the Top and related initiatives?* And since we really don't know what works here yet there is nothing wrong with states innovating with heavy value-add models (meaning weighted at 50 percent or more), too, is there?  Besides, it's worth nothing that models that use value-add for much less than 50 get attacked, too.

In fact, I'd argue the underlying issue is less the specifications of any value-add model, or any evaluation system that uses value-add, and more the underlying issue of outcome-based evaluation.  Most of the debate today is camouflage for that.

*Take for instance the DC IMPACT model, which is a pretty good tool.

 Subscribe in a reader


What do teachers want most from parents?

Interesting:

 

What do teachers want most from parents?

By Daniel Willingham

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/daniel-willingham/how-can-parents-help-teachers.html#more


To mark the new school year, I asked a dozen teachers this question: "If you could magically make parents do ONE thing this coming school year to support their child, what would it be?"

The most frequent answer (by far) was "make sure that kids come to school having had a good night of sleep."

I was a bit surprised that there was such agreement. Then I checked the research literature on the consequences of sleep deprivation and got a sense of what teachers see when a child hasn't had enough sleep.

In adolescents, poor sleep quality is associated with depression, anxiety, inattention, conduct problems, drug and alcohol abuse and impaired cognitive function.

Now those findings are correlational, meaning that it's perfectly plausible that poor sleep is the result of these other problems, rather than the cause.

To get at cause and effect, you would have to conduct an experiment in which you deprive people of sleep and observe the results. Those studies are rarely conducted in adolescents for ethical reasons. (There are special protections for research on children, and other groups considered "vulnerable." )

But other data from adults support the conclusion that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep impacts cognitive function. It's harder to pay attention, and memory is affected.

These effects are especially observed during low-stimulation activities. In other words, a sleepy child might rally and stay engaged during a chemistry laboratory when he has something he must do moment to moment, but his attention may easily drift during a whole-class discussion.

It's also likely that poor sleep affects emotional regulation. Kids who are sleep-deprived may more easily act silly in mildly humorous situations, or cry in mildly frustrating situations.

How widespread is sleep deprivation among kids? Estimates are that as many as 25% of adolescents don't get enough sleep.

Researchers have verified the pattern that most parents have observed: sleep patterns change at puberty, and kids can't seem to get out of bed in the morning. But they still stay up late at night.

Researchers also note that the problem seems to have gotten worse in the last ten years or so, simply because there is more for kids to do at night than their used to be, notably, chatting with friends on the Internet.

So there it is, parents. Teachers have given you your marching orders for how to support your child in school this year. Sleep is not optional

 Subscribe in a reader


I Have a Dream

If reading about nitwit demagogues Beck and Palin hijacking the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington upsets you as much as it did me, then try doing what I did: watch the greatest speech of all time, MLK's "I Have a Dream": www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk.  It made me feel a lot better…

 Subscribe in a reader


LA Times database

The LA Times has now published the searchable database on teachers and schools: http://projects.latimes.com/value-added

 Subscribe in a reader


DFER and RTTT

DFER's Joe Williams comments on the travesty of Colorado not being among the 10 RTTT Round 2 winners.  That said, DFER still strongly supports RTTT:

 

It's no secret that Democrats For Education Reform has been a huge proponent of the concept that led to the design of the federal "Race To The Top" contest. We have long felt that changing the incentives at the federal level would lead to far more buy-in for reform at the state and local level than when we have seen in the past. And from that perch, we were not disappointed by the competitive spirit that the contest unleashed.

But like Education Secretary Arne Duncan himself, we were deeply disappointed that when the music stopped, the one state that seemed to embrace the spirit of RTTT more than any other could somehow end up standing, while seemingly lesser states had found a chair.

What we saw in Colorado this year was the most impressive display of progressive education policymaking we've seen in any state in years. It is really too bad that the judges either didn't recognize what was right in front of their noses, or worse, didn't care.

 Subscribe in a reader


RTTT data

DFER's Charles Barone shows that, based on an Ed Trust study released in January, mostly the right states won RTTT:

 

"Achievement Gap Analysis Shows Some States May Be Better Positioned for Higher Scores on Race to the Top Applications"

 

http://www.edtrust.org/dc/press-room/press-release/achievement-gap-analysis-shows-some-states-may-be-better-positioned-for-

 

Of those with best overall "gap-closing" track record (what the Ed Trust called "frontrunners"):

 

3 of 4 won - Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts (the other, TX, did not apply). 

 

Of the worst, 4 of 5 lost. Arizona, California, Michigan, Mississippi(RI, the 1 winner, really changed their game for the competition, including adopting a more targeted funding formula).

 

Of what ET called "simple gap-narrowing" states: 5 of 7 won: DE, FL, GA, NY, DC. 2 did not (WV and LA).

 

No "gap-flat" or "gap widening" state got a grant (Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Washington).

 

Of the smallest-gap states, vis a vis other states, 3 of 6 won Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland; 3 did not: New Jersey (app screw up), Texas and Vermont (neither applied).

 

Of the biggest gap states vis a vis other states, none won: Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Nevada.

 

Of the progress for all states, 4 of 8 won: Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, District of Columbia; 5 lost: New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont. 

 

Of the no progress for all or decline states, only 1 was funded, North Carolina (although on most recent urban NAEP, Charlotte was at the top in gains v. other cities). The other 4 were not winners: Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina and West Virginia.

 Subscribe in a reader


data from DFER

Barone with some additional insights about how the $1.3 billion the Obama administration has asked for would be the right amount to fund the next 10 states who just missed out in RTTT, and that, contrary to some folks' perception, union support was not a key driver of which states won:

 

Interestingly, the Admin's $1.35 billion request for FY 2011 is about exactly what would be needed to fund each of them at the minimum. Or you could pro-rate amounts based on rigor of reform.

 

LOSERS

TOTAL POINTS

MINIMUM $

MAX $

New Jersey

437.8

$200 Million

$400 Million

Arizona

435.4

$150 Million

$250 Million

Louisiana

434

$60 Million

$175 Million

South Carolina

431

$60 Million

$175 Million

Illinois

426.6

$200 Million

$400 Million

California

423.6

$350 Million

$700 Million

Colorado

420.2

$60 Million

$175 Million

Pennsylvania

417.6

$200 Million

$400 Million

Kentucky

412.4

$60 Million

$175 Million

 

 

$1340.00

$2850.00

 

Union support winners: DC 0%, RI 30%, MD 38%. NJ, which came in 11th, had 1% (see table below). AZ, in 12th, had 50%.

 

WINNERS

UNION BUY-IN

TOTAL POSSIBLE

 % Support

Massachusetts

207

207

100%

New York

454

641

70%

Hawaii

1

1

100%

Florida

54

68

79%

Rhode Island

11

37

30%

DC

0

1

0%

Maryland

2

24

38%

Georgia

N/A

N/A

 

North Carolina

115

115

100%

Ohio

331

331

100%

 

Union support losers: KY 100%, PA 100%, LA 88%

 

LOSERS

UNION BUY-IN

TOTAL POSSIBLE

% SUPPORT

Arizona

75

151

50%

California

41

123

33%

Colorado

2

38

5%

Illinois

246

507

49%

Kentucky

153

153

100%

Louisiana

21

24

88%

New Jersey

4

387

1%

Pennsylvania

124

124

100%

South Carolina

N/A

N/A

             N/A

 Subscribe in a reader