Am I a part of the cure...or the disease?

yes Michael J. Petrilli / May 17, 2013

This article originally appeared on Education Week’s Bridging Differences blog, where Mike Petrilli will be debating Deborah Meier through mid-June.

Confusion never stops 
Closing walls and ticking clocks 
Gonna come back and take you home 
I could not stop that you now know

Come out upon my seas 
Cursed missed opportunities 
Am I a part of the cure? 
Or am I part of the disease?
-Coldplay, "Clocks," A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002

Dear Deborah,

I am haunted by the title of your last post: “The Testing Obsession Widens the Gap.”

Could this possibly be true? Is test-based school reform reducing opportunity for America's neediest children? Is everything for which we school reformers fight actually making things worse? Am I a part of the cure, or am I part of the disease?

"It's OK to ask: 'What if I'm wrong?'" you wrote last week. So let me ask it. It wouldn't be the first time. A year ago, for example, I explored the "test-score hypothesis"—a line of reasoning, undergirding

» Continued

Am I a part of the cure...or the disease?

First Bell 5-16-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 16, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

The Chicago Teachers Union has filed suit over the city’s planned closings of more than fifty schools; parents are divided. (New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Hechinger Report)

Bill Thompson, a Democratic NYC mayoral candidate, outlines his education agenda, which includes a plan for teacher merit pay. (New York Times and Wall Street Journal)

Researchers are beginning to look at how to measure skills learned in preschool. (Inside School Research)

New York City parents with backgrounds in statistics are questioning the city’s method of determining gifted-and-talented eligibility, arguing that a flaw in the city’s calculations meant too many kids qualified. (Wall Street Journal)

Kiera Wilmot, the sixteen-year-old model student expelled and charged with felonies last week for a failed science experiment, will not be criminally charged—but she may still be expelled. (Atlantic Wire and Huffington Post)

The LAUSD, the nation’s second-largest school district, has decided to stop expelling or suspending students

» Continued

First Bell 5-16-13

The moderate extremism of relinquishment

yes Neerav Kingsland / May 15, 2013

Relinquishment is based on three principles: (1) educators should operate schools, (2) families should choose amongst these schools, and (3) government should hold schools accountable for performance and equity.

Outside of these three principles, I hold few ironclad beliefs on education. Yet in conversation, I find that others attribute principles to Relinquishment that I don’t hold. This probably stems from a lack of clear communication on my part, so let me provide additional clarity:

Relinquishment is not anti-union

Relinquishment is a reaction against management, not labor. Admittedly, I disagree with certain policies put forth by unions and their members, but individuals should possess the right to collectively bargain with their employers. Relinquishment only posits that the government should not be a party to the bargain; rather, the bargaining parties should be union and school operator. From here, results will dictate the future of unions. If unionized schools thrive, unions themselves will also thrive. I do understand that, from an organizing standpoint, unionizing decentralized charter schools will be more difficult than signing a singular collective bargaining contract with the district—but I do not believe this issue should trump the more salient issue of academic performance.

Relinquishment assumes equity in access is not the natural state of school systems

People concerned about ensuring that all public school students have equitable access to great schools often suggest that the best solution is to (1) force all kids into one system and (2) have that one operator allocate students

» Continued

The moderate extremism of relinquishment

First Bell 5-15-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 15, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

As a result of budget cuts, NAEP will scale back its social-studies exam, offering it to only eighth graders for the time being. (Curriculum Matters and Politics K–12)

City councilmembers in Takoma Park, MD, have lowered the voting age to sixteen for city elections; the law takes effect in fifty days. (Associated Press)

Chicago is set to try a program that blends math tutoring with an anti-violence counseling intervention. (Curriculum Matters)

A new report argues that when their third grader cheats on a test, parents should not overreact; first and second graders are typically taught to work together, and the new focus on independent learning can be confusing. (Wall Street Journal)

Federal data find that states’ teacher exams are too easy to pass. (Education Week)

A report finds that the youngest English-language learners benefit most from dual-language instruction. (Learning the Language)

Yesterday in San Francisco, six current and former school district employees were charged with embezzling $15 million in grant money from the district. (Huffington Post)

» Continued

First Bell 5-15-13