Author Archives: Linda Lyon

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April 10, 2013

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Why Texas Is Sick of The Testing Mania

Arizona now needs to follow suit!

dianeravitch's avatarDiane Ravitch's blog

Texas is fed up with the testing obsession. The state has handed over nearly a billion dollars to Pearson in recent years, even as the Legislature cut $5.4 Billion from public education.

For an insiders’ view of the revolt against high-stakes testing in Texas, read Jason Stanford.

He says only two people in the state still defend the testing deluge, and one of them is paid to lobby for Pearson.

That would be Sandy Kress, the same man who is widely acknowledged as the architect of No Child Left Behind. In recent years, he has served on state advisory commissions, testified in favor of more and more testing, written opinion pieces in favor of testing.

But now the game is up. 86% of school boards across the state have said no to high-stakes testing. Moms have organized to fight it. The Legislature is listening. Texas is the place where…

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March 19, 2013

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Tough Love Solves Problems

RMM7259I moved to Arizona almost five years ago, after visiting family here for over 30 years because I love it here!  But, after five years, I also understand we have our share of problems.  One is legislators who are big on ideology and rhetoric, but low on facing facts and finding solutions.

Clearly from his guest opinion in the March 6th Explorer, LD11’s Senator Melvin either doesn’t know Arizona has problems, or believes they only exist because the “left-wingers” aren’t on board.  Here’s some facts that help describe the “wellness” of our State with regard to business climate and education.

FACT:  Arizona was recently ranked the 47th worst run state in America[i]

FACT:  Arizona’s business startup rate has been relatively high, but, many of these were sole proprietors (no other employees) who started a business because they lost their jobs. This ‘jobless entrepreneurship’ trend negatively affects job creation and the larger economic recovery.”[ii]

FACT:  In terms of job gains, Senator Melvin is correct, in the decade preceding 2012, Arizona ranked fourth in private sector job creation, while our population rose at the second highest rate in the country.  Keep in mind, that he didn’t take office until 2009 and any legislative impact he had on jobs, most likely didn’t take affect until at least 2010.[iii]

FACT:  Arizona’s most plentiful future jobs aren’t going to be “living wage” jobs unless something changes.  Most of them between 2012 and 2016 are predicted to be low paying:  retail sales, customer service, cashiers, waitresses and waiters, janitors and housekeepers, food prep and service.[iv]  Only one of these jobs (customer service) result in a living wage for a family of three if combined with another of these jobs. In other words, someone working two of these jobs still doesn’t earn a living wage.[v]

FACT:  Arizona’s Legislature’s “Balanced Budget” has impacted our wallets.  For example, Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) from fuel tax, vehicle registration and licensing, etc., is supposed to pay for roads and road repairs.  The state legislature has taken over $200 million of these funds from cities and towns, using money meant for fixing potholes to shore up budget holes instead.[vi]   Another is the $50M that was taken from the national mortgage assistance settlement in 2010.  It should have gone directly to families suffering because banks gambled with their mortgages, and the families lost – thanks to our legislators, Arizona families lost twice.[vii]

There is a strong correlation between well-educated populations and generally well-managed states, as cited by at least one rating source, so let’s look at education.

FACT:  State-appropriated funding for education declined to an estimated $3,780 per student in fiscal 2012 from $4,901 in fiscal 2008. This was a decline of $1,121 per student — or about 23 percent.[viii]

FACT:  Mortgaging the state buildings raised $735 million in immediate revenue, but cost us more than 63% ($465 million) that much in interest.[ix]

FACT:  In 2011, ALEC’s 17th Report Card, ranked Arizona at #36 on National Association of Educational Performance (NAEP).[x]  The 2013 Quality Counts Report ranked Arizona 43rd with a C- grade in the nation in educational policy and performance.[xi]

FACT:  Of the four school districts Senator Melvin cited as “outstanding”, only the Catalina Foothills United District was awarded an “A” grade by the Arizona Department of Education, under the state’s new A-F accountability system.[xii]

FACT:  There is no requirement to measure Arizona’s home school program and in fact, state law prohibits the state Department of Education from requiring testing or reporting of test results.[xiii] It’s anyone’s guess how well home schooling works in Arizona, and my guess is that not all of it is “great”.

FACT:  The Individual Tax Credit program favors private schools by a factor of five to one and the Corporate Income Tax Credit contributions have grown to over $55M in 2010, all monies not available to the State general fund.[xiv]

FACT:  Of the tax credit money given to School Tuition Organizations (STOs) for private schools in 2012, 63.2% of the scholarships went to children in families with incomes from 185% of poverty level ($41,348 for a family of four) to greater than 342.25% of poverty level ($76,494 for a family of four).  Keep in mind the law also allows these STOs to keep 10% of the tax credits themselves.[xv]

In his guest opinion last week, Senator Melvin said:  “we need to pull together and not engage in class warfare, including the left’s fixation of soaking the so-called rich.  By pulling together we can all succeed.”

With this accusation, he continues to be archaic and divisive.  Arizona is better than that.  We can all come together, but we need straight talk and inclusive action from our politicians.

A politician thinks about the next election, a leader things about the next generation.  Melvin says a leader shouldn’t mortgage the next generation.  We agree, but isn’t that exactly what he did with the state capitol buildings?

[xiii] AZleg.gov

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March 12, 2013

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Perfect storm may threaten public schools

Thomas photo med_2Perfect storm may threaten public schools

This opinion is my own and does not represent that of the Oracle school board.

The share of tax dollars that winds up in Arizona classrooms has slid to the lowest level in 12 years primarily because education funding has declined significantly. In fact, Arizona leads the nation in cuts to per-pupil spending from 2008 to 2012 – almost 22 percent.

In the Oracle School District, this includes no increase in base level amount, no excess utilities funding, no building renewal funding, capital fund reductions, and reductions to maintenance and operations funding. It also includes a one-time $300,000 sweep from our cash balance and the removal of funding for all-day kindergarten.

This, while state Sen. Al Melvin claims the Arizona Legislature has “moved heaven and earth” to ensure education is properly funded.

So far, we’ve made it work. But cash reserves are dwindling, and tough decisions loom. Now we have the unfunded mandate of implementing Common Core Standards, and the potential effect of sequestration. Is a perfect storm looming?

Linda Thomas

Oracle school board member, Oracle

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February 24, 2013

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If it sounds too good to be true…

 

ImageThe Senate Education Committee recently gave a due pass to SB1451 which seeks $5 million from the general fund for Arizona’s Alternative Teacher Development Program to be awarded to a qualifying service provider, i.e. Teach for America (TFA).  If signed into law, Arizona’s TFA corps will grow from the current 300 to about 500.  Proponents point to the success of the program and say the uncredentialed teachers from TFA have a great track record and can help with teacher shortfalls.

Not so fast. Several studies show that TFA teachers initially perform significantly less well than their credentialed, non-TFA counterparts.  A 2002 study in Arizona found students with certified teachers performed about 20 percent better on the tests than students with noncertified teachers (including TFA recruits.)  Another study in Houston, of 4,400 teachers and 132,000 students concluded that certified teachers consistently produced significantly higher achievement than uncertified teachers.”[1]

TFA placements are also no longer just being placed in high-need districts.  According to U.S. Department of Education records in 2010-2011, 13 of 15 counties in Arizona report shortages, yet the vast majority of TFA teachers are placed in one of only two counties that do not report teacher shortages—Maricopa County.[2]   In fact, the organization now sends as many as a third of its recruits to privately run charter schools and sends many of their recruits, who typically have just 15 to 20 hours of teaching experience, to districts that have recently laid off numerous seasoned teachers.[3]

Not only are TFA teachers at times used to displace traditional teachers, they also have higher attrition rates.  More than 50 percent leave after two years and more than 80 percent leave after three.[4]  This creates a significant amount of turnover and creates additional expense, much of it born by taxpayers.  In 2006, the total cost of a two-year commitment from a TFA recruit was $70,000.[5]

Mark Naison, a professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham University and director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program says Teach for America is not welcome to recruit in his classroom.  “The organization’s facile circumvention of the grinding, difficult, but profoundly empowering work of teaching and administering schools has created the illusion that there are quick fixes, not only for failing schools but for deeply entrenched patterns of poverty and inequality.  No organization has been more complicit than TFA in the demonization of teachers and teachers’ unions, and no organization has provided more “shock troops” for education reform strategies which emphasize privatization and high-stakes standardized testing.[6]

I was on a radio talk show a couple of weeks ago discussing education issues.  More than one person who called in blamed “teachers’ unions” and bad teachers for the problems they perceive with our education system.  Really?  In a state that has the highest cuts in per pupil spending since 2008 and is a right to work state, teachers’ unions are our biggest problem?

TFA critics see the solution in focusing on the improvement of the current teaching pool through better education and professional development. They urge educational reforms focused on improved in-service training, mentoring, and professionalization of teaching.  Of course, those reforms, along with proven solutions such as universal pre-school, reducing class sizes in early grades, and mentoring programs that pair new and experienced teachers, take time, money and a commitment to hold the course.

John Dewey said over a century ago:  “What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”  TFA originally had good intentions.  It appears now though, that it is not necessarily in the best interest of “all our children of the community.”  Like so many current reforms, it needs a second look.

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February 16, 2013

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Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) – Fancy Name to Siphon Off Funding for Public Education?

I sat in the AZ State Senate Education Committee meeting this week and heard them consider eight bills.  One of them was for an expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts SB1363Thomas photo med_2.  Originally passed in 2011, this law was established to give parents of special needs children access to public education monies to place their child in a learning environment that was better suited to their needs.  It currently redirects 90 percent of funds the state would have paid to a local public school district into accounts controlled by the parents of qualifying disabled children. For many children, that amount is between $3,000 and $3,500, but for those with multiple special needs, the amount can go as high as $28,000.  Funds can be used for curriculum, testing, private school tuition, tutors, special needs services or therapies, or even seed money for a 529 college savings fund.

On September 26, 2011, the Arizona School Boards Association, Arizona Education Association, and Arizona Association of School Business Officials sued in state court to block this new law.  The case name is Niehaus v. Huppenthal, Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, CV2011-017911. In 2012, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled the education accounts did not violate the state Constitution because the money was first going to parents, who could then decide where to spend the funds. That ruling is being appealed.

For the 2013-2014 school year, eligibility was expanded to include those attending a school or district that has been assigned a letter grade of D or F by the AZ Dept. of Education, children of military members on active duty, a child who is the ward of a juvenile court and previous recipients of an ESA.

SB1363, sponsored by Senator Murphy, was given a due pass this week by the Senate Education Committee, to expand the program to all kindergarteners and, to increase the amount of money available.  This in spite of acknowledgement by members of the committee that 1) there is not enough accountability in the program, 2) the promise that the program saves the state money is likely not true, and 3) inadequate understanding of the total cost of the program and what other programs will suffer as a result.

Thus far, there are only 307 students in the ESA program.  This legislation however, if eventually signed into law, could end up funneling as much as 20 percent of the state’s education funding away from traditional public education.  In addition, the lack of transparency and accountability in the program makes it susceptible to abuse.  This article from the Tampa Bay Times highlights what can happen when public education funding is handed over to entrepeneurs with no accountability for results and no transparency.

In fact, our Arizona legislators have worked to ensure a lack of accountability and transparency in the the law includes assurances that no government agency is empowered to “exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school or home school,” and that a qualified school is not required to “alter its creed, practices, admissions policy or curriculum.”  I’m not sure how any reasonable person thinks this is in the best interest of the public, but then, maybe that’s not the motivation.

Another bill, given a due pass on February 11, 2013 is Representative Carter’s H2530.  This bill is a step in the right direction as it would require students with ESAs (except those with Individualized Education Program) to be given annual nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement tests and the AZ Dept. of Education will report on its website, the graduation rate of students enrolled in ESAs.

More accountability and transparency is the right answer, whenever public funding is involved.  It is why we have school boards elected by the public and it is why those school boards must abide by the Open Meeting Law.  Tax payers have the right to know how their money is being used, and what results it produces.  That is in the public’s best interest.

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February 15, 2013

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Inequity Quality Education Accessibility is the Issue

Thomas photo med_2I was at the Arizona State Capitol yesterday as part of the Arizona School Board Association Lobby Days. In sitting in on the Senate Education Committee meeting, it was clear that for the most part, the Republican Senators are all about privatizing education and the Democratic Senators primarily supported traditional public education as the default. I felt compelled to repost this blog because it provides teeth to an assumption I’ve been making about how the privatization effort is all about profit. Please note the GSV Report notes that education is “the new civil rights issue.” I suspect this reference comes from ALEC-connected framing and it caught my eye because Senator Melvin has said many times that education is “the civil rights issue of our time.” Really?  I think the real civil rights issue is the inequity in quality of education available to various segments of our society.  And, the way to deal with this inequity is NOT to continue to funnel public education funding away from our traditional public schools!

deutsch29's avatardeutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

UPDATE 06-20-13: Deborah McGriff is no longer a member of the NCTQ advisory board.  Her NewSchools Venture Fund, however, is very much alive and well in corporate reform.

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In writing this series on NCTQ, I have read hundreds, perhaps now thousands, of pages of corporate reform documents over the past couple of weeks.  It occurs to me that what permanently separates me from the reformers I write about is financial motivation.  I teach chiefly because of the intrinsic rewards from doing so.  Sure, money is important to life; however, money (and power, and prestige) is not life to me.  Nor will it ever be.  But to the corporate reformers, well, that is quite a different story.  To them, the money (and power, and prestige) is all-consuming.  It shows in both what they grasp and what they discard.

And now, I set aside my lofty musings and offer to you, complete with NCTQ bio, Deborah…

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February 14, 2013

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What Really Are Common Core Standards and Why Do They Matter?

According to Erin Powers (Education Consultant and Literacy Specialist) in a post on Edutopia, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent the most significant, widespread education reform that has ever occurred in American public schools.  These new standards are designed to link learning to 10 Career and College Readiness Standards intending to ensure students are ready to thrive in college and in the career world.

Thomas photo med_2

One of the pluses of the new standards is that they recognize that learning builds through the grade levels.  Erin Powers says this “will help teachers focus on the big picture and see how their work with students is connected to a child’s academic past and future.”  Another plus is that the standards address the ever-increasing important issue of literacy and how teachers of all disciplines have a role in literacy development.  To ensure students stay current in ever-changing information age, CCSS also incorporates research and media skills  into every subject.  The recognition being that students must be able “to navigate through, independently, a vast amount of information, learn and mimic new genres, and communicate with others near and far.”

What has yet to be fully fleshed out is what the new assessments will look like.  Will the new PARCC tests demonstrate a student’s ability to think critically versus just regurgitate?  The states will begin the new testing in the 2014-2015 school year and that is right around the corner.

Finally, we already know sufficient funding has not been allocated for implementation.  What about time?  Teachers are already stressed with too much to do and not enough time to do it.  Will CCSS be just another mandate shoved down their throats without sufficient resources to properly implement?  Or, will they be allowed to help shape what it looks like, thereby being more open to taking ownership?

As Diane Ravitch recently pointed out in her blog, the CCSS are controversial and their flaws should be fully dissected.  As is usually the case, there is no one “silver bullet” to perfect our education system.  It will take dedicated people, working together, with sufficient resources to move ahead.  And of course, it is absolutely amazing what can get done if one doesn’t care  who gets the credit!

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February 13, 2013

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Common Core Standards Have a Common Problem

Thomas photo med_2     Efforts are well underway in 45 states and three territories to implement the new Common Core Standards for educational goals.  These standards are promising, having been developed by governors and educational and corporate leaders across the country.
     Proper implementation of these standards faces an all too common problem…lack of sufficient funding.  According to the Arizona School Board Association and the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, the cost for statewide implementation of the essential elements of Common Core for fiscal year 2014 is estimated at $156.6 million.  This number comes from a survey of districts across the state, representing over 339K students (38% of the total K-12 district population.)
     A breakdown of the costs shows $47.8M to train teachers and other district staff, $96.1M for curriculum material and textbooks, and $12.7M to design and revise district-level student assessments.
     Of course these are just the FY2014 costs.  The costs of additional hardware and software, and associated PARCC assessment of student mastery of the standards will be $205.6M statewide.  In addition, the cost of increasing Internet capacity related to these items will be $24.6M statewide – if they can find it (20% said the may have difficulty with this.)
     This is new money required and doesn’t even begin to address the hole the state legislature has dug for traditional public education in AZ.  Arizona enjoys the dubious honor of leading the nation in per pupil funding cuts ($3B) since 2008.  To that amount, we must add the $80M shortfall per year caused by the recent appeals court decision that the legislature must fully fund the annual inflation adjustments to the base education-funding formula approved by Prop. 301.
     By my calculations, that means we are already $3B in the hole in per pupil funding, need an additional $230M one-time cost for preparing us for Common Core Standards, plus $236.6M per year for implementation, and $80M per year to make up for inflation costs.  It honestly isn’t even worth totaling all this up because it is not achievable.  The point is that education has not been properly funded and much more is needed to ensure the success of Common Core Standards implementation.
     Henry Ford is credited with saying:  “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”  We just can’t afford to not properly implement these standards.  Our children deserve the best we have to offer.  Our future is dependent on our getting this right.  Right here, right now.  I’m in…how about you?
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February 12, 2013

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The AZ Legislature is Busy…How Will Education Fare?

Several bills on education have been introduced recently in the Arizona Legislature.  Some will help support the majority of our students (almost 90% whom are enrolled in traditional public schools.)  Some however, will only serve to support privatization of education in Arizona which will not work to the advantage of most of our students.  The description of these bills has been provided by the Arizona Education Association.  My comments follow in italics.Thomas photo med_2

HB2399 would double school districts’ bonding capacity, which would help some districts out that are able to get voters to approve the bond, but this measure would also increase the economic inequities between school districts. – As many SaddleBrooke residents know, our latest bond issue for the Oracle School District failed in 2011.

HB2425 would disband the ELL Task Force and move its assignment to the Arizona Department of Education.  This task force was originally charged with the creation of the Structured English Immersion (SEI) program to be used in all school districts and with reviewing and approving alternative SEI models submitted by school districts.

HB2530 requires students enrolled in an Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) to annually take a norm-referenced achievement test or a college admissions exam. Kudos to Rep. Heather Carter for pushing this bill forward and ensuring there is accountability in this tax-payer funded voucher program.  Unfortunately, another bill (SB1363) expands the ESA voucher program to include students who are eligible for kindergarten. – HB 2530 is supported by the AZ Education Assoc. and the AZ School Board Assoc.  It is absolutely amazing to me that not only do we not have laws that require standards and testing in AZ’s work-around to a voucher program (ESA) and home schooling, but the AZ Legislature and AZ Dept. of Education is prohibited from regulating these programs.  How then do we know the children in these programs are being properly educated?

SB1285 would require the Arizona Department of Education to mail a pamphlet to parents about non-public school options such as private schools and vouchers. The bill would cost $1.5 million annually and proposes to use federal Title 1 funding.  AEA President Andrew F. Morrill told the Arizona Republic, “The bill appears to be a marketing ploy to use public funds to increase the customer base for private schools. This is unnecessary and probably would run into some legal challenges down the road.”  The bill is ALEC’s signature legislation this year.  It was held in Senate Education committee last week and is on the agendas for the Education and Appropriations committees this week.

SB1385 would make private charter school teachers’ evaluations so they could not be released under a public records request. – How can this be in anyone’s best interest except for those who profit from the charter school’s operation?

SB1450 seeks $5 million from the general fund for Arizona’s Alternative Teacher Development Program to be awarded to a qualifying service provider, i.e. Teach for America. – Both Diane Ravitch, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and an education policy analyst and Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University, have criticized Teach for America (TFA) for sending inexperienced young people to teach the nation’s most vulnerable children.  In fact, a study in Arizona in 2002 held that TFA teachers had a negative impact on their students as compared to certified teachers.  Another study Darling-Hammond led with 4,400 teachers and 132,000 students concluded certified teachers consistently produced significantly higher achievement than those uncertified and TSA teacher had a negative or nonsignificant effect.