"LET THEM EAT TESTS"

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

"LET THEM EAT TESTS"

Linda Darling Hammond's Speech at 7/30/11 DC SOS March

Posted at 07:30 PM ET, 08/01/2011

Darling-Hammond: The mess we are in

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss

Stanford University Education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond helped Barack Obama draft his educational plan when he was a presidential candidate, and advised him on education issues during the transition between Obama's 2008 election and 2009 inauguration. Since then, she has opposed the standardized test-based school reform policies of the Obama administration. Her speech at last Saturday's Save Our Schools March in Washington D.C. explains the extent of the trouble public education is in.

http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/08/linda-darling-hammonds-speech-at-73011.html

Posted on Mon, Aug. 1, 2011

In grading teachers, Pa., N.J. to count students' scores

By Rita Giordano

Inquirer Staff Writer

In the fall, New Jersey and Pennsylvania plan to launch pilot programs aimed at reforming the teacher-evaluation process. A key goal: more emphasis on student achievement on state tests.

Across the country, states are changing laws and policies to require school districts to judge educators in part on how their students fare on standardized tests.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20110801_In_grading_teachers__Pa___N_J__to_count_students__scores.html

 

Voluntary program ties teacher evaluation to student gains

By Jodi Weigand, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Keystone Oaks School District Superintendent William Urbanek said he's willing to consider participating in the state's pilot of a new teacher evaluation system that, in part, bases effectiveness on student achievement.

Read more: Voluntary program ties teacher evaluation to student gains - Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviewhttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_749518.html#ixzz1TrYm17rw

 

Aug 2, 3:14 AM EDT

School voucher bills flood GOP-led statehouses

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette By DORIE TURNER 
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) -- More states than ever before have considered school vouchers this year, driven by resurgent Republicans who see the lagging economy as an opportunity for a fresh push on one of their most contentious education policies.

As of mid-July, at least 30 states had introduced bills that would use taxpayer dollars to send children to private schools, most limited to poor or special needs children, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That's compared with nine voucher bills in 2010, just one of which passed - a special needs voucher program in Oklahoma.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCHOOL_VOUCHERS?SITE=PAPIT&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT