Comments on: THE EDUCATOR’S NEW CLOTHES: EVERYBODY LOVES ARNE DUNCAN. BUT DO HIS REFORMS WORK?

By: Jackson Potter

Jackson Potter — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:20:48 +0000

I think the article does a decent job, though there has been significant opposition to Renaissance 2010 from the outset. In Duncan’s quest to purge “bad teachers” from the system he has also marginalized parent voices by dismantling local school councils and encouraged the exclusion of at-risk students from the new Renaissance schools. The Caucus of Rank and File Educators has just filed an EEOC complaint against the Turnaround model — check out the complaint at http://www.coreteachers.org. A disproportionate number of veteran African American Teachers are losing their positions because of Turnarounds. If Arne is listening almost exclusively to the types in the edu-preneurial business community, perhaps the real objective is not to improve educational outcomes at all but to get rid of teacher unions and save money on pensions and salaries. At the very least his initiatives must be thoroughly debated and vigorously assessed before they are exported to the entire nation.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:18:50 +0000

Arne Duncan is an decent, highly intelligent man with the best of intention. Reform doesn’t equal improvement and many ‘reforms’ were driven by the mayor and powerful business constituents eager to bring more taxpayers (especially white) into the city. Charter schools are not the solution although some are really fine. The system is not better than before and privatization is NOT the best solution. While I am very supportive of the president on almost everything else, I think he has been misled by wrong the Chicago ‘voices’. Good piece–keep ‘em coming.

By: Matthew Blake

Matthew Blake — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:13:31 +0000

RE: Monty Neil’s post….I think this is an issue that Duncan himself is obviously aware of: Calling his discretionary spending “Race to the Top” funds suggests he’s reforming the “race to the bottom” states have engaged in the past few years easing state exam standards. Alas, Illinois is one of these states.
I think that a problem with Duncan is not necessarily that he emphasizes data and tests too much. It’s that it’s not clear what end this data leads to since it focuses on teacher performance (measured by how their students do on standardized tests). Is it worth making the primary goal of education reform “holding teachers accountable”?

By: Bill Cala

Bill Cala — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:49:37 +0000

This article needs to be express-delivered to President Obama. We cannot continue down this road of deceit.

By: Media: Are you reading this?

Media: Are you reading this? — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:23:58 +0000

Good “proof’s in the pudding” article. I wonder why the Chicago and national media refuses to publish these simple test score facts, or ask Mr. Duncan/Pres. Obama for the proof of the Chicago ed model? It would be helpful here, too, to note the CTU has lost 4-6,000 jobs (depends on who’s counting) since 2004. Neither test scores, charter school performance, nor teacher development/quality can support Duncan’s CEOship as a success.
It’s not for nothing that newspapers are losing subscribers, TV is losing viewers, and radio is losing listeners. Most Americans have no choice but to turn a deaf ear and blind eye toward mainstream media in order to discover the truth on smaller web outlets that corporate America succeeds in hiding with the aid of mainstream media.

By: Monty Neill

Monty Neill — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:44:21 +0000

Nicely done piece, thank you. But the final quote by Duncan – “But the data doesn’t lie.” – is not correct in significant ways. Teaching to the test, endemic across the nation, intensified under NCLB, and especially egregious where scores are low (as in urban low-income districts) means that test scores are inflated. Inflated means you cannot believe them. Score inflation explains much of the discrepancy visible between fairly rapidly increasing state test scores and moderate to no gains on the NAEP. The data, in that case, does lie. But if you want to control schools thru testing, find ways to pressure teachers, game the results for the public, it is convenient to ignore this reality. Obama during the campaign indicated concerns with the overemphasis on testing. Is that still true? Does it apply to Duncan? Will people – teachers and their unions, other education groups, parents, civil rights groups, etc., hold Obama to his campaign statements? Wait and see – or get active and help shape what we see. Monty Neill, FairTest http://www.fairtest.org