Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: I first learned about Roland Fryer, Jr., a Harvard economist, when he devised an experiment to pay students for raising test scores in several cities, which failed. Subsequently, he seemed to be involved in other such experiments where the methodology always involved incentives for teachers or students to get… Read more

Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: Jeb Bush is trying to present himself to the public as a moderate. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When it comes to education, Jeb Bush boasts of the wonderful transformation of the schools in Florida, but that is not an accurate portrayal of what Bush actually did.… Read more

Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: Want to get rich quick? Hurry on down to Florida and open a charter school. You don’t need any experience in education, it doesn’t matter if you failed in the past, just come up with a good idea! The Sun-Sentinel in Florida published a powerful indictment of the unsupervised… Read more

Originally posted on Elfwriter: There is an urban author’s myth of a now famous author in her undiscovered days – was it Janet Evanovich? – who spoke at a bookstore in a mall with pouring rain outside. She knew the audience would be sparse as the mall was empty, and to cheer herself up, she… Read more

Originally posted on gadflyonthewallblog: It’s been more than 50 years since Harper Lee published her Pulitzer Prize winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” In that time, a lot has changed and nothing has changed. Our schools are still highly segregated and unequal – but we justify that with standardized test scores. Our prisons are still… Read more

Originally posted on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé: “Principal known as Emanuel critic reprimanded by mayor’s school board.” – Chicago Tribune, August 29, 2015 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-troy-laraviere-principal-warning-vote-met-0828-20150827-story.html Troy LaRaviere’s Blog: A place to discuss a better school system for all Chicagoans http://troylaraviere.net/ Troy LaRaviere: My Statement on CPS’ “Warning Resolution” CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND I’ve been asked… Read more