We correspond with different blogs around the United States. Recently we were contacted by Seattle Education about a story they were researching. Specifically they asked if we had ever requested to be part of any of the OSPI working groups but not been chosen or even gotten a response. We told them we have tried including talking directly with Gil Mendoza (Asst. Superintendent at OSPI). We've never even gotten a response for follow up. Why is this important? When you take a look at the members of ESSA Team (http://www.k12.wa.us/ESEA/ESSA/pubdocs/ESSAConsolidatedPlanTeam.pdf) what do you see? Answer: Members of the establishment and special interest groups. No parents or public. Following … [Read more...]
Buying public education in America
From an article at The Daily Caller News Foundation - author is Blake Neff The head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has admitted in the organization’s annual letter that the roll-out of Common Core, which it heavily promoted, has been bungled in a way that created major difficulties. Sue Desmond-Hellman is the CEO of the Gates Foundation and wrote the organization’s annual letter, published Monday. The letter touches upon a wide array of the massive foundation’s activities, from anti-smoking efforts to a campaign against sleeping sickness in Africa, but one area that receives significant attention is Common Core. The Gates Foundation played a major role in the creation of … [Read more...]
The Common Core Costs Billions and Hurts Students
From...of all places...The NY Times - author is Diane Ravitch Editors Note: If you are not familiar with Diane look her up. Her background in education policy is extensive so when she takes a stance against Common Core you know it's based on facts and experience. FOR 15 years, since the passage of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind act, education reformers have promoted standardized testing, school choice, competition and accountability (meaning punishment of teachers and schools) as the primary means of improving education. For many years, I agreed with them. I was an assistant secretary of education in George H. W. Bush’s administration and a member of three conservative … [Read more...]
How to Tell Real Scientific Research from Fake Common Core Consultant Rubber Stamping Swamp Gas
From Coalition to Protect our Public Schools .... I am currently working on a report on the (lack of) reliability and validity of the SBAC Common Core test. To make a long story short, there is no evidence that the SBAC test is either reliable or valid. In fact, there is a mountain of evidence that the SBAC test is not reliable or valid or fair or accurate. But we will get to that in a future report. For now, we need to cover how to tell real science from the junk science being pumped out by the Gates Foundation. Because to my shock and amazement, there have recently been at least a dozen reports published claiming that SBAC is reliable and valid! Of course, all of these fake reports were … [Read more...]
Dump the PTA?
For those who have followed the slow decline of the PTA here's a bit more information which may accelerate that death. The PTA has claimed that it is neutral regarding Common Core. However, the only information the PTA hosts is information supporting Common Core. In Facebook postings as well as email exchanges with Washington State PTA personnel they continue to claim their neutrality while REFUSING to allow any disagreement or materials pointing out the many flaws of Common Core. Now, the PTA has taken an official stand IN FAVOR of high stakes testing. Here is the information from their press release: ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Jan. 21, 2016) — As movements to opt children out of … [Read more...]
BILL GATES AND THE EROSION OF STUDENT PRIVACY
This article appears at: http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/bill-gates-and-the-erosion-of-student-privacy/#st_refDomain=www.facebook.com&st_refQuery=/ Bill Gates has had an enduring fixation on the need to expand the collection and sharing of personal student data. In 2005, the Gates Foundation organized a “data summit” among its grantees, at which launched the Data Quality Campaign, “to Improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data, and Implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement.” The Data Quality Campaign has received more than $13 millionsince 2013 from the Foundation, which they have used to advocate for the US … [Read more...]