The fact that anybody interested in kids takes the privatizers n the Fraser Institute or CD Howe seriously speaks volumes about the underlying privatization agenda.

It’s a wonderful tool for parents and students. That’s all that matters.

Nice piece of propaganda and PR, Mr.Little!

The fact that irresponsible people for which is very acceptable that our children do not know how to read, write and do basic math well, ignore factual data about our schools speaks volumes about how their interests are different from our children’s.

Yes, Doug, Nobel Laureates and professors should not be taken seriously.

I bet there’s no agenda within Vector Research and Marketing Inc.

http://www.vectorresearch.com/clients.php

Doug, think tanks are pushing for choice for a very valid reason. The education reports are a reflection of the data, (the available data) that raises more questions than answers, to the state of reading, writing and numeracy, in our public education systems. The reports are not as detailed as the think tanks would like them to be, because of the refusal of the public education system to release the figures. I would be interested in the breakdown of the special needs groups, and show comparison between the various groups, but more importantly the data for the largest sub-group, the LD group. Most LD children take the CRTs, and at the very least, as a parent I could determine if my child is on par with other children in that group, and at the most, a breakdown could tell me the poor job addressing the language needs of the LD children.
Think tanks would also like the breakdown, on where children fall in the ranges. Where the clusters are, and where there is relative spread. Using 1,2,3,4,,5 does not tell us that.If a child has a 3, where does the child fall, in the low 3s or the middle 3s or the high 3s. The public education systems refuses to release the figures, and I along with a great many, are wondering what they are hiding.  I bet the greatest concentration are children landing at 3.0…3.1…..3.2 and is probably closer to the 3.0. Releasing the breakdown, will determined quite quickly, that the reading, writing and numeracy ability are not up to par, nor is the curriculum working in the way to produced good readers, writers and good basic numeracy skills.
Think tanks are pushing for choice, not to privatized the education system, but to push for reform. It is the public education system, and the completing agendas within it, that is preventing the reforms from happening.

America is on this testing charters kick because the private sector solutions are stronger there than anywhere else. Meanwhile as was reported today, more and more nations pass them by every year. They let their PS system collapse and now only 4 countries in the OECD rank lower than them. Accountability and privatization are no solution. As I have repeated,

“This is not what the successful countries are doing!!!” Keep it up you just fall further behind.

Wall Street Journal March 9/10.

Diane Ravitch totally destroys the arguments for testing and choice. Check it out, save you buyig the book.

http://www.educationnews.org/michael-f-shaughnessy/72190.html

Brilliant. The 3% Charter school movement and the perverse testing movement ought to be disbanding any time now.