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Monday, December 16, 2013

Education reforms are unraveling. Standardized tests and Vouchers join the list.

Two stories in the news recently exemplify that point. The first is the revelation that a steady diet of standardized tests does not lead to being able to analyze material and think logically.

In a finding that should give pause to backers of standardized test-based school reform, a new study by neuroscientists at three major universities shows that students who achieved  the highest gains on standardized tests did not show the same gains in the ability to analyze material and think logically.


The second is the notion that private schools do better than public schools and that incorrect notion has fueled the voucher movement.

"For several years, there has been this bipartisan push for education reform.... One of the main assumptions is that if you further deregulate, adopt a private-style method for schools, that it might be more effective and lead to higher academic outcomes.... The evidence doesn’t necessarily bear that out."


Throw in all the charter school news, the push back against odious teacher evaluations that rely on Value Added Measures and the unraveling of Common Core, then what do they have left.

Friends these corporate reformers aren’t about improving education, they are about improving their bank accounts and nothing else. 

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