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From Educators to Racketeers: How Education Reform Led to a National Testing Scandal

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April 10, 2013

Thirty-five Atlanta Public School educators were accused by a grand jury of racketeering, false statements and writings, false swearing, theft by taking and influencing witnesses.

How could this happen in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS)?  The district is in a city that is home to The King Center, The Carter Center, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and many other institutions that embody academic, research and cultural and social change.… Read more


The Atlanta Cheating Scandal: Suspicions Raised About the AJC Investigative Methods

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March 30, 2013

A Fulton County grand jury indicted former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 others — top aides, principals, teachers and a secretary — for racketeering as well as theft by taking for the bonuses they received for good test scores or making false statements or writings, charges that provided the basis for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization count.

The indictment came about 20 months after Governor Deal released the results of an investigation carried out by two attorney’s appointed by former Govern Sonny Perdue and an investigative team of about 50 GBI agents who fanned out into schools and classrooms to interrogate educators who were suspected of involvement in the “Atlanta Cheating Scandal.”

As stated in the Governor’s Investigative Report a “culture of fear” took over the Atlanta School System, and led to a conspiracy of silence which enabled the bubble sheet erasure scandal to happen.… Read more


School Closings: What’s the Lesson Here?

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March 29, 2013

In the last post on this blog, in which I argued it was a mistake for large districts like Chicago to carry out mass school closings, readers expressed strong opinions on the issue of closure. The post was also published on Anthony Cody’s blog, Living in Dialog over on Education Week, and you can read all the comments there.  Dialog is important, and its important to listen to each other’s points of view.… Read more


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School Closings in Our Cities: A Deep Ecological Problem

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March 23, 2013

In this post I am going to argue that it is a mistake for large school districts such as Chicago, New York, and Atlanta to close schools on the basis of achievement and cost effectiveness.  The Chicago School District announced that they plan to close 61 schools which is 13% of the total schools in the district.  This will be the largest mass school closings in U.S.… Read more


Why Don’t Our Elected Representatives Write Their Own Legislation?

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March 19, 2013

Update 3.22.2013: EmpowerEd Georgia reported that the Parent Trigger legislation in Georgia was tabled for this legislative session. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution story, the bill was pulled because it didn’t have the votes needed in the senate for passage.

Today, a committee in Georgia Senate will discuss the Parent Trigger Bill which has already passed the House. The bill will enable disgruntled parents of low performing school to fire the teaching and administrative staff and turn the school over to a for-profit charter management company paid with school district money.… Read more


Special Delivery: NGSS Adoption Workbooks

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March 17, 2013

Yesterday, I discovered a new organization, the U.S. Education Delivery Institute (EDi). When I saw the name, I first thought it was part of the U.S. Department of Education, or the United States Postal Service. I was wrong on both counts. The EDi, formed in 2010 is another Washington D.C. non-profit founded by Sir Michael Barber, former head of the U.K.… Read more


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Bill Moyer Interviews David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz on Toxic Science

Science can be a battleground — witness the politics of climate change, the teaching of evolution, the uncharted terrain of genetic modification and stem cell research, among other contentious issues. But when industries release untested chemicals into our environment — putting profits before public health — our children are the first to suffer. Nowhere is this more troubling than in the ongoing story of lead poisoning. (Moyers & Company)

Parent Revolution in Georgia’s HB 123?: I Don’t Think So

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March 16, 2013

Today I received a letter from Ryan Donohue, Deputy Director Advocacy Director of  Parent Revolution informing that the Georgia House of Representatives passed HB 123, the “Parent & Teacher Empowerment Act.”  It is actually the Parent Trigger bill that you have all heard about, especially if you saw or read about the movie Won’t Back Down.  The letter I received said that this was a great first step for Georgia parents because they got a seat at the decision-making table for their children’s education.  I called the local board of education, and asked if they would reserve my seat at the decision-making table!… Read more


Boxed In: How the NGSS Impedes Science Teaching

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March 12, 2013

The major journals of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have published articles featuring and explaining to science teachers the nature of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).  The journals include The Science Teacher, Science Scope and Science and Children.  For the past several issues, each journal has published articles that deal with different aspects of the NGSS, including what students should know about earth science, life science, and physical science, when they should know it, and why these standards will “help all learners in the nation develop the science and engineering understanding they need to live successful, informed, and productive lives, and that will help them create a sustainable planet for future generations.” (Krajcik 2013, p.… Read more


Online Communities of Practice: Lessons from Yahoo

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March 8, 2013

No doubt you’ve read the news reports telling us that Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, informed all Yahoo employees that they could no longer work at home. There were many people who felt that Mayer did not understand the value of having employees work at home. Some employees were outraged that they could no longer work at home. Yahoo is a very large Internet-based company, why in the world would the CEO order everyone back to work?… Read more


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The Common Core, Lightning Rod or Reform?

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March 6, 2013

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics and English language arts are set to be implemented in many states across the country next year.  The CCSS will be the content basis for national computerized tests being developed by two consortia, The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessments.  On the heels of these standards and assessment movements is the roll out of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) next year.… Read more


Bill Moyers Interviews “Activist” Zack Kopplin About Science Teaching

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March 5, 2013

Zack Kopplin is an American science education activist.  While he was a high school student at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, the Louisiana legislature passed the Louisiana Science Education Act  signed by Governor Bobby Jindal.  Zack Kopplin, who is now a history major at Rice University was very surprised that Governor Jindal signed this anti-science act, especially since Jindal has a degree in biology, and was a Rhodes Scholar.… Read more


Fordham Report on Next Generation Science Standards Lacks Credibility

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February 6, 2013

On January 29, the Thomas Fordham Institute published a report, “Commentary & Feedback on the Next Generation Science Standards (Commentary).  Nine people wrote the report, none of whom are “experts” in the field of science education.  Yes, most of them have Ph.D’s in science, but they lack the experiential and content knowledge of science education, science curriculum development, and classroom K – 12 science teaching experience.… Read more


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