10/15/2016 A new book by Mark Paige, VAMS “On Trial” reviewed on the Vamboozled website. http://vamboozled.com/a-new-book-about-vams-on-trial/ Audrey Amerein-Beardsley writes, I recently heard about a new book that was written by Mark Paige — J.D. and Ph.D., assistant professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and a former school law attorney — and published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Here is a quote from the author: […] the evidence upon which districts or states rely to make significant decisions is untrustworthy (or arbitrary) and, therefore, so is any decision as based, even if in part, on VAMs. Thus, VAMs may actually strengthen a teacher’s case. This, of course, is quite apart from the fact that VAM use results in firing good teachers based on poor information, thereby contributing to the teacher shortages and lower morale (among many other parades of horribles) being reported across the nation, and now more than likely ever.
The second important take-away is this, especially given followers of this blog include many educators and administrators facing a barrage of criticisms that only “de-professionalize” them: Courts have, over time, consistently deferred to the professional judgment of administrators (and their assessment of effective teaching). The members of that august institution – the judiciary – actually believe that educators know best about teaching, and that years of accumulated experience and knowledge have actual and also court-relevant value. That may come as a startling revelation to those who consistently diminish the education profession, or those who at least feel like they and their efforts are consistently being diminished.
To be sure, the system of educator evaluation is not perfect. Our schools continue to struggle to offer equal and equitable educational opportunities to all students, especially those in the nation’s highest needs schools. But what this book ultimately concludes is that the continued use of VAMs will not, hu-hum, add any value to these efforts.
To reach author Mark Paige via email, please contact him at mpaige@umassd.edu. To reach him via Twitter: @mpaigelaw

10/15/2016 From Diane Ravitch’s blog: https://dianeravitch.net/2016/09/21/new-jersey-parent-a-charter-school-is-ruining-our-neighborhood-public-school/

10/15/2016 Summary of several voucher studies, some positive, most negative. http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/education/school-vouchers-choice-student-achievement?utm_source=JR-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JR-email&utm_source=Journalist%27s+Resource&utm_campaign=e33589d61a-2015_Sept_1_A_B_split3_24_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12d86b1d6a-e33589d61a-80053569

10/15/2016 A new study by Jessen and DiMartino http://ncspe.tc.columbia.edu/center-news/the-impact-of-online-marketing-on-schools/ finds that the pressure for marketing schools is unregulated and causes harm.

Here is the beginning quotes from the Edushyster blog commenting on the report and interviewing one of its authors.http://edushyster.com/to-market-to-market/

EduShyster: I thought I’d set the stage for our conversation by describing a great, by which I mean appalling, example of education marketing in action. Donald Trump visits a Cleveland charter school that advertises itself as *top-rated* despite getting an *F* rating from the state. And the school is operated by a deep-pocketed for-profit chain that is *on a journey towards excellence.* Thoughts?

Catherine DiMartino: It makes me think about health care advertising. With health care you have the FDA putting certain limitations and providing some kind of oversight. Education is a public good and this is children’s learning and their future, but there’s no kind of regulation.

10/15/2016 William Mathis and Tina Trujillo have edited a massive compilation of the research demonstrating the severe problems with market-based reforms, Learning from the Federal Market-Based Reforms; Lessons for ESSA (2016) The book has twenty-eight chapters in five sections.

• The Foundations of Market-Based Reforms;
• Test-Based Sanctions: What the Evidence Says
• False Promises
• Effective and Equitable Reforms
• Lessons for the Every Student Succeeds Act

The research and examples in the book are further support for many of the claims and research provided in this website.

10/15/16 Singapore education officials are worried that too much emphasis on test scores comes at the expense of deeper learning. http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/09/new-science-is-driving-singaporethe.html?spref=fb

10/15/2016 Research studies showing class size matters a lot. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/24/class-size-matters-a-lot-research-shows/?tid=pm_local_pop_b

10/15/2016 Ohio http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/07/07/study-voucher-students-dont-fare-as-well-as-public-school-peers.html Louisiana and Indiana https://www.brookings.edu/research/on-negative-effects-of-vouchers/
Wisconsin http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/blog/dpi-wisconsin-voucher-schools-show-lower-test-scores-compared-to/article_df494180-cd29-538a-80be-a923cded39aa.html

10/15/2016 Another study finding no advantage or lower advantage for charter schools, this time in Texas after adjusting for socio-economics. https://www.the74million.org/article/8-things-we-learned-from-a-big-new-texas-study-on-public-charter-schools-and-students-future-income

9/14/2016 Where school turnarounds have been successful they have been embedded in over-all district efforts to improve and have avoided a punishment approach. A new report by the Center for American Progress https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2016/09/13/143922/7-tenets-for-sustainable-school-turnaround/ has found seven important issues for successful school turnarounds:

1. Grant districts, and ultimately the state, the authority to intervene in failing schools;
2. Provide significant resources to support planning and restructuring and leverage competitive grants;
3. Treat the district as the unit of change and hold them accountable for school improvement;
4. Create transparent tiers of intervention and support combined with ongoing capacity building and sharing best practices;
5. Promote stakeholder engagement;
6. Create pipeline programs for developing and supporting effective turnaround school leaders; and
7. Embed evaluation and evidence-based building activities in school implementation.