Why the NY VAM measure of high school principals is flawed

Reblogged from Round the Inkwell:

The New York State Education Department has been working on creating a VAM measure of high school principals to be used this year, even though its parameters have not been shared with those who will be evaluated.  It was just introduced to the Board of Regents this month.

Below is a letter that I sent to the Regents expressing my concerns.  

Read more… 1,965 more words

If you think evaluating teaching professionals by Value Added Measures is a good move, read this and have a ponder about what it says.

Poverty in schools

Cross Party Resistance to Charter Schools

“Is this change good for education?”  

That’s the question Chris Hipkins tells us to ask ourselves of the proposed charter schools.  And after trawling through mountains of evidence over the past year, I have to say the answer is no.

Like Chris, I believe we should be focused on making sure every student in New Zealand can achieve their potential, in all schools.  We should be raising the bar, focusing on those not achieving their potential, and supporting all of our schools to innovate within and share good practice so that the whole system s brought up and improved further.

Charter schools are not the answer.  They are not about education.  They are not about improving our system.  They do not aim to make things better for all students – not even for all  Maori or Pasifika students.  They are not about collaboration and the sharing of best practice.

They are about privatising schools, pure and simple.

Chris points out that all evidence is clear that teacher quality is a huge factor in the success of a student, and yet this Bill lowers the bar rather than raising it.  Last year the government were saying all teachers needed a Masters Degree – now, apparently, a teacher can be anyone, with no training whatsoever.  Why the change?  It’s simple – the government will say anything to attack teachers, but suddenly change tack when it comes to “private, profit-making institutions”.

Chris’s speech in full is here and raises many issues with charter schools that people (including many teachers)  may not be aware of.  It’s really worth watching.

Catherine Delahunty put it bluntly but correctly, yesterday, when she said “this Bill is ridiculous and it is also quite sick”, going on to point out that it allows for children to be used in an experiment that evidence shows to work very poorly for minority groups.

Catherine pointed out the obvious that when parents in poor families are working very long hours to bring in a pitiful wage, there isn’t a whole lot of time left to help with a child’s education.  Little time to give a hand with homework.  Not much spare to buy computers so kids can work at home.  Nothing left for school donations.

Poverty is a key factor in poor education achievement, as recognised by the OECD, and yet nothing has been done to address that important issue.  While families are facing inequality on the level New Zealand sees, there will always be inequality in education, too.

Why does government not tackle poverty? … Maybe because it doesn’t make businesses any money?

What this Bill is really about is privatisation for the benefit of businesses and corporates, some of whom are not even Maori, Pasifika or Kiwi.  If it were about helping all kids succeed, then ALL schools would be given the same freedoms.

Metiria Turei challenged National and ACT politicians to send their children to a charter school.

They probably would, to be honest.  Not yet, but in the long run.  Because once the pretence of charters being for the poor kids, the brown kids, the lower achieving kids,  is over, the truth is we will see charters appearing for wealthy kids, essentially providing publicly-funded private schools with no accountability.

Be very clear: This is not about the ‘long tail of underachievement’- it is a sneaky and underhand way of bringing in private schools that public money pays for, and in the end those schools will be for wealthy kids.

Tracey Martin gave an outstanding speech, too, outlining why this Bill makes a mockery of the submissions process and democracy  Many on the panel choose to ignore expert and popular opinion, instead listening with deaf ears and closed minds, following an ideology that they were predetermined to accept no matter what.

This is New Zealand under this government – they forge ahead in favour of only themselves and businesses.

Tracey pointed out that Maoridom is not in favour of charter schools.  Submissions from Maori were overwhelmingly against.

She pleads and I plead with Maori and Pasifika people to contact their MPs and tell them how you feel.

Even if you do want charters, make sure you tell them what boundaries you expect, what support, what oversight.

If you do not want them, speak up now, because time is running out, and the Maori Party is about to sell you down the river.

Sue Moroney hit the nail on the head when she said “Our kids are being used as guinea pigs,” saying that it wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t already know from the evidence that charter schools do not work.  She asked why the select committee ignored the concerns of Nga Tahu, who do not want charter schools.  She asked why the children of Christchurch are being used in this experiment when they are already in the middle of upheaval and stress.

Why indeed.

Nanaia Mahuta acknowledged the thousands of parents, teachers and others who took the time to make submissions to the select committee.

With over 2000 submissions, just over 70 were for charters, about 30 had no opinion, and the rest were against.  Just read that again:  The Rest Were Against.  And those against came from all quarters, from professors and parents, from teachers and students, and from iwi.

Hone Harawira, Leader of MANA, said charters ”represent a direct attack on kura kaupapa Māori, and on public education generally,” pointing out that  ”successive governments have starved kura kaupapa of funding from the get-go, [yet] they remain one of the most successful educational initiatives for Maori by Māori, in the last 100 years.”   Like many observers, he is aghast at the Maori Party for supporting charter school proposals, saying “The Maori Party should be ashamed for turning their backs on everything that kura kaupapa Maori stands for.”  Source.

So let me close by asking you this.

Who does support charter schools?  And why?

Ask yourself that, and really think about it.  Not on political party lines, but as a Kiwi.

Ask yourself what the motivation for charter schools really is.

Ask “Is this change good for education?”  

~Dianne Khan

Teaching 101: How to fish (reform style)

National Standards will make their (skid) mark…

A warning about National Standards data – reblogged from The Daily Blog

“There is a unanimous expert opinion

– even among those championing the potential of the National Standards –

that it would be very foolish indeed to make judgments about any school

on the basis of their results.”  (Source)

Soon we will be treated to another battery of shonky data from The Ministry of Education.

John Key trumpets that “National Standards in education are a critical part of the National-led plan for securing a brighter future for New Zealand children”.   Just how, Mr Key?  Tell us how crappy data, poorly reported, helps us towards a brighter future.

Because it doesn’t give us a whole lot of faith when some assessment tools are widely reported to give inflated results and one this week announced that “new mapping has been applied to existing test results… you will notice that the curriculum levels have moved down – usually by one or two curriculum sub-levels. ”  What?

So let me get this right…  Teachers are spending hours and hours assessing kids’ work using tools approved by the Ministry.  The Ministry then decides the tools are not accurate or reliable. The end grades are then moved up and down by the Ministry (seemingly more often than whore’s drawers, and possibly with less shame).   And then the results are published as if they mean something useful…

Give me a break…

by Dianne Khan, reblogged from The Daily Blog

Read the rest here: A warning about National Standards data – reblogged from The Daily Blog

ACT, Maori, Pasifika, and Charter Schools

Geez, there is just no school choice in NZ.

I mean for goodness sake, if I want to send the Banshee to my choice of school I only have these piddly few options below.

Bloody madness!

Types of schools

Here are the main types of schools available in NZ.

• An area school accepts students from years 1 to 13. Area schools are often located in rural areas.

• A composite school (like an area school) provides both primary and secondary education, but depending on its classification may not provide the full range of year levels to year 13.

• At a bilingual school teachers and children teach and learn in both English and another language for up to 20-hours a week (most often English and Māori).

• The Correspondence School provides distance learning for students who live a long way from their nearest school. Students may also study with The Correspondence School if they have a medical condition, have special education needs, or meet the gifted and talented criteria for enrolment. You can use the enrolment eligibility wizard to find out if your child is eligible to enrol at The Correspondence School.

• Designated character school is a state school that teaches the New Zealand Curriculum but has developed their own sets of aims, purposes and objectives to reflect their own particular values. For example religious beliefs or culture.

• Independent (or private) schools charge fees, but also receive some funding from the government. They are governed by their own independent boards and must meet certain standards to be registered with the Ministry of Education. They don’t have to follow the New Zealand Curriculum but must follow a learning programme of at least the same quality.

• Intermediate schools provide education for year 7 and 8 students.

• Te kura kaupapa Māori are state schools where the teaching is in te reo Māori and is based on Māori culture and values. These schools follow the curriculum for Māori-medium teaching, learning and assessment, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.A key goal of kura kaupapa is to produce students who are equally skilled in communicating in both Māori and English. Kura kaupapa generally provide education for students from years 1 to 8 or years 1 to 13.
  Wharekura are schools that cater for students above year 8. Some wharekura cater for years 1 to 10, some are years 1 to 13 and some are years 9 to 13.
• Middle schools accept students from years 7-10.

• Primary schools generally cater for students aged between 0-8 (full primary) although some only go up to year 6 (contributing schools).

• Regional health schools are for students with significant health difficulties who can’t attend their local school because they are in hospital, recovering at home, or gradually returning to school. Teachers work with students both in hospital and at home.New Zealand’s three regional health schools jointly cover the whole country and are based out of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. More information about regional health schools, including entry criteria, is available from the Ministry of Education.
• Secondary schools. Although most secondary schools accept students from year 9-13, some cater for years 7-13.

• State schools. Most New Zealand schools are state schools which receive government funding. State schools can be primary, intermediate, middle, secondary or area/composite. Generally they accept both boys and girls at primary and intermediate levels (years 0-8), although some secondary schools offer single-sex education. Lessons are based on the New Zealand Curriculum.

• State-integrated schools used to be private and have now become part of the state system. They teach the New Zealand Curriculum but keep their own special character (usually a philosophical or religious belief) as part of their school programme. State-integrated schools receive the same government funding for each student as other state schools but their buildings and land are privately owned, so they usually charge compulsory fees called “attendance dues” to meet property costs.

• Special schools provide education for children with particular needs, arising from special talents, learning or behavioural issues. They use the New Zealand Curriculum.

• Teen parent units are attached to some secondary schools and cater for students who are pregnant or raising a child and who cannot practically attend a mainstream school.

Source: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/AllAges/EducationInNZ/SchoolsInNewZealand/SchoolTypes.aspx

Jeepers!  Is that IT!!!!!!

Best add in another type of school because, man, I need to start a nice profitable business I need more choice!

~Dianne

$80 Million in new money for education? New? really?

Today Hekia Parata came out of the woodwork after a lengthy quiet period (in hiding?  Bali?  Who knows…) and took great delight in telling Kiwis that she was giving $80,000,000 of new money to schools.

She used the phrase “new money” in many a press release and interview,  and yet she herself admits that other programmes will be cut to help find the $80  Million.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know budgets mean things are cut and other things are brought in  - the money does a shuffle, new priorities appear  and so on.   But it’s just pure political pre-budget spin to keep saying it’s  ”new money” as if it has been simply added to the current spend.  Luckily now every just accepts the headlines - and even some of the mainstream media (msm) questioned the spin this time.

So why pretend it is new money?

Why the constant spin?

Why the smoke and mirrors?

And why the feel-good announcement prior to the budget?

Is the full education budget announcement going to be THAT bad that they have to sweeten us up?

Heaven help us if it is, given the onslaught education has seen this past year, t’s hard to imagine it could get worse.

But then it can, and it will, with the continued debacle over National Standards and the faulty tests the results are based on, and the Charter Schools legislation about to be put through.

Can it get worse?   Yes.

And it will.