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How New York State Discourages Immigrant Children by Inappropriate Tests and...
A teacher wrote this comment in response to a post asking why English language learners, who barely know any English, are required to take the state English test. I agree, it is painful to watch...
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I Think I Love Lily Eskelsen
I read Jeff Bryant’s interview with the President-elect of NEA, Lily Eskelsen, and I think I love her. She is smart, strong, and she doesn’t mince words. She was a classroom teacher for many years, and...
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NOLA Ill-Prepared for Influx of Immigrant Students
Daniele Dreilinger of the Times-Picayune reports that charter schools in Néw Orleans are ill-prepared by large numbers of new students from Central America, and the students and their families are...
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Duncan Threatens to Withdraw Florida’s NCLB Waiver over ELLs
The Tampa Bay Times published an editorial saying that the U.S. Department was “out of line” for threatening to yank Florida’s NCLB waiver. Duncan took away Washington State’s waiver because the...
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Superintendent: Why Did Governor Cuomo Ignore the Neediest Students in the...
Edward Placke is Superintendent of the Greenburgh-North Castle Unified School District, which serves students from urban areas who are primarily of African, Caribbean and Spanish heritage. All students...
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CNN: Excellent Reporting on Opt Out Movement Gone National
CNN ran an excellent segment about the burgeoning opt out movement. It is especially strong in New York, but it is rapidly spreading across the country as parents recognize that the tests provide no...
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Mary King: I Will Not Give the Tests to My ESL Students
Mary King, a teacher in Pittsburgh, will not give the tests to her English language learners. She is a conscientious objector. She believes the tests hurt her students. She writes: “I am an English as...
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Arthur Goldstein: Outrage! NY Cuts English Instruction
Arthur Goldstein teaches English as a second language to high school students in the borough of Queens in Néw York City. He is outraged because the Néw York State Education Department has decided to...
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Arthur Goldstein: How NOT To Test English Language Learners
This post would be comical if it were satirical, but unfortunately it is factual and pathetic. Arthur Goldstein describes the tests that the Néw York State Education Department inflicts on his ELL...
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Mary King, the Teacher Who Refused to Give the Test
Pittsburgh teacher Mary King said she would not give the state tests to her English language learner students, and she didn’t. She was “the first and only” teacher in Pittsburgh to refuse to give the...
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Arthur Goldstein to NYC Chancellor Farina: Thanks for Acknowledging that VAM...
Arthur Goldstein teaches English as a Second Language students at Frances Lewis High School in Queens, New York. He blogs as NYC Educator. In his letter, Goldstein refers to a meeting that Chancellor...
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Roxana Marachi: An Open Letter to the California State Board of Education
Roxana Marachi, a professor at San Jose State University in California, wrote an open letter to the State Board of Education. She warned them that the results of the Smarter Balanced Assessments, which...
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Watch Out, 1%! The Students Are Taking Action!
I have often written that high school students have the power to stop the bad policies that are ruining their education. When they realize they are being cheated, when they organize to fight for...
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Corporate Reformers Defend Cuomo Commission, Attack Parents
The Albany Times-Union published a letter written by corporate reformers who support Common Core, charter schools, and high-stakes testing. The signatories applaud the idea of giving the Common Core...
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Chalkbeat NY: New York State Gently Hopes that Charters Meet Diversity...
Geoff Decker, writing in Chalkbeat New York City, says the state is asking charter schools to do their best to recruit more students with disabilities and students who are English language learners....
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Tennessee Dad: The Refugees Among Us Now
Blogger T.C. Weber, aka “Dad Gone Wild,” writes about the many refugees and immigrants already in Tennessee, in his son’s school. “It’s funny. As I read all the comments about Syrian refugee children...
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Murdoch Paper Charges that NY Times Has a Grudge Against Success Academy...
The New York Post has an opinion column criticizing the New York Times for picking on Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy. You see, the Times can’t stand success. So it must “destroy” these very successful...
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Angie Sullivan: Retaining Students Always Fails, Yet Legislators Love It
Angie Sullivan teaches early elementary grades in Las Vegas, where most of her students are English language learners, and all qualify for free and/or reduced price lunch. She regularly writes to...
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Arthur Goldstein: How NOT To Test English Language Learners
This post would be comical if it were satirical, but unfortunately it is factual and pathetic. Arthur Goldstein describes the tests that the Néw York State Education Department inflicts on his ELL...
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Mary King, the Teacher Who Refused to Give the Test
Pittsburgh teacher Mary King said she would not give the state tests to her English language learner students, and she didn’t. She was “the first and only” teacher in Pittsburgh to refuse to give the...
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