Tuesday, October 16, 2012

And another article pointing to the myth of charter school success

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2012/10/the-great-charter-charade.html?spref=fb

By the way, 80% of charter schools in Michigan are for-profit

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/09/29/80-of-michigan-charter-schools-are-for-profits/2/

Why the Market Theory of Education Reform Doesn't Work


This article may surprise you.  Please read it because it speaks directly to the very core of Lansing's reform politics.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/10/12/why-the-market-theory-of-education-reform-doesnt-work/?tid=sm_btn_fb

Protests against standardized testing are sweeping the nation

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/feature-us-parents-prot_n_1588975.html

Why Teacher Evaluations Shouldn't Rest on Student Test Scores

http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Teacher-Evaluation-FactSheet-10-12.pdf

Some recommendations on reform that actually make sense, for a change

 "Democracy Left Behind: How recent education reforms undermine local school governance and democratic education"
This is heavy reading, but well-worth the time.  With our state poised to dismantle locally controlled education completely with Rep. Lyons' mega choice bill and the Oxford Foundation's similar charge to create a legislative platform for the Governor's "any place at any pace" agenda, this article could not be any more timely.

http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/pb-localcontrol.pdf

confused about the ballot proposals?

  Here is a fairly comprehensive analysis of the ballot proposals issued by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council

http://election.crcmich.org/

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Monday, October 1, 2012

Judge calls state pension law unconstitutional

http://www.freep.com/article/20120929/NEWS15/309290080/Judge-calls-state-pension-law-unconstitutional