Richard Allington and Some Recent Quotes on Reading

Some recent quotes from leading reading researcher Dr. Richard Allington…

Common Core supporters should take note.

“Classroom libraries are not 25 copies of 5 books. Classroom libraries are 1000-2000 copies of different books.”

“If you want to waste a lot of time, test kids often.”

“Reading volume predicts reading growth in struggling readers.”

“I don’t know why we would ever give a kid a worksheet.”

“Why the hell are kindergarten teachers doing letter of the week when 2/3 of them know all their letters day 1?”

“Every Superintendent and principal should spend at least half their day teaching. If they don’t have time fire them.”

“If you want to make kids stupid give them: para-professionals, workbooks, and have them read on computers.”

“If you want kids to improve in science and social studies give them a dahm (sic) book they can read.”

“With what we do to low achieving high school students, I’m surprised more teachers’ tires are not slashed.”

AMEN BROTHER!

 

Florida Diploma in Two Weeks!

I just learned about another scheme in Florida. I wonder how many states have the same “program.” If you cannot pass the state tests to graduate but have met all other requirements, you can simply “enroll” in a virtual private school and graduate in about two weeks- once you fork over $300.

I just spoke to a senior at a Florida high school who is scheduled to “graduate” this week. The student will get a certificate of completion since he could not pass the state graduation test or the ACT/SAT.

The college that the student is attending to play Division One football told the student NOT to attend the graduation ceremony. They told him to pay $300 and “attend” a virtual private school for two weeks and he will have his diploma and be eligible to play. You see there are no state tests to pass at private schools.

Keep in mind, this student has met all the other requirements for graduation. He does not need ONE SINGLE CLASS to graduate. From what I gather, students simply pay the money and get the diploma once they have verified transcripts. The virtual private school is guaranteed 100% graduation rate! Here is a link to one program that says they are a home school program but offer diplomas under the grand name of  ”Lincoln Academy.”

If you still need classes to graduate, do not fret! Lincoln will give you access to 5 study guides and once you complete the online work- you are a graduate! This group says they are registered with the Flori-duh Department of Education.

Will these programs be accepted at colleges and Universities? Well, Lincoln “guarantees” you can “apply” if you “graduate.” Hell, I can “apply” with a paper I make up at home.

I am not sure if the student I spoke to is using this “school” (sic). I will update the story when I find out where he is graduating (sic) from.

These “private” institutions make a ton of cash and can boast that nobody fails. You can be done in just a few weeks. Oh- the rigor. Oh- the high standards that Florida has. Oh- the choice.

Would someone volunteer to try one of these programs so we can see what happens?

This must be what Jeb Bush means by “personalized learning.” ($)

Florida Testing Centers …er Schools

I got this email reminder today. I find it criminal but I have gotten these emails all year.

“The Media Center will be closed for testing Thursday, 5/16, Friday, 5/17, & Monday 5/20.”

Phony Florida Graduation Rates

I have often written about the dismal graduation rates in Florida for Black males. Today I want to take on The Jeb Bush folks who want to gush over what they call “rising overall graduation rates” over the last 10 years or so.

I do not think many people know what Florida does to “game” graduation rates. Consider the points below.

1.  25% of all Florida graduates over the last ten years have been passed with waivers. This means they did not have to pass a single state test, due to being labeled ESE.  Keep in mind,  teachers are held accountable for the test scores of students who know they can guess on each question and still get a “diploma.”

2. BYU. This program allows students to pay about $150 for each half credit they want to “buy.” The students meet with an “instructor” and answers to tests are passed out.  Students do some worksheets together. Students can get credit in as little as TWO DAYS. One student said Panera Bread was a popular meeting place. Poor kids need not apply.

3. Credit Lab. Students do work on a computer from home or school. They are allowed to use the internet to look up answers to assignments. When students complete a class they get a gift card from Subway.

As you can see friends, it is all a game. Despite the three points I made above- overall rates are still pretty bad. To have people like Patty Levesque or members of the legislature tout a “general rise in rates” is misleading at best. Overall rates around the nation are on a general rise. I wonder how many states game the system like Florida?

Florida Irony

April is “School Library Month” yet our school library has been closed for testing most of each day since April 2nd. Thanks Florida!

Jeb Bush and the the Florida Dept. of Ed (sic) HATE Choice

If Jeb Bush, the Florida Department of Education and GOP legislature love “choice” and “personalized” learning so much why are they often supporting just the opposite?

Why are students not given a CHOICE in the stories they read on FCAT or under Common Core testing?  Instead they must read about the “History of Cement” and “Urban Sprawl.” Are you kidding me? Imagine what would happen to scores if kids were allowed to test on at least some of the topics they enjoy.  What if they could personalize their learning experience? We can’t have that now can we?

It only gets worse under Common Core testing as students are forced into more “challenging” text that is far from comprehensible.  Students will continue to be bored to tears.  Even readings selected by teachers in class will become ponderous as “close readings” suck the life out of readers. Reading as a task and not something to enjoy is a tragic crime.

Instead of letting readers develop naturally- they are herded into the AYP village. They score a 240 and not a 241 and are told they are not “proficient” or on grade level.

THESE KIDS CAN READ. Do not conflate test scores with the ability to “read.”

The sad thing is that the overwhelming evidence showing self-selected reading is the way to go, is ignored by state after state.  Anyone want to challenge me? Run your program against my self-selected reading philosophy and see who wins. My kids will be book-loving citizens who also happen to do great on tests. My goal is to encourage readers and create book-loving citizens.  Test scores be damned.

Researchers to study: (for starters)

Stephen Krashen    Richard Allington    Linda Gambrell    Warwick Elley

Florida Rep. Carlos Trujillo rips own mask off

Florida Representative, and long time Jeb Bush deacon, Carlos Trujillo said the following on the floor of the Florida House yesterday…

“Parents are in charge of the bake sales and the teachers are in charge of the policy.”

This insulting and divisive comment was made as Trujillo pushed his “trigger bill.”

Teachers in charge of policy? Really Carlos? If we were in charge I assure you we would not be giving tests for 80 days of the school year. Really Carlos?  If teachers were in charge of policy we would not be diverting billions from kids to Common Core testing. If we were in charge we would not scapegoat schools for the ills of society. Really Carlos?

The comment by Trujillo also seeks to divide parents from teachers- just like his bill does. Really Carlos? Teachers spend hours at bake sales, sporting events, graduations, car washes and hundreds of other activities for no pay. Teachers do it because that is who WE are.

Really Carlos? Do you have any idea what goes on or do you just mouth the ramblings from the Jeb Bush/Patty Levesque amen corner?

How long will you scapegoat schools? Stop dividing parents and teachers.

 

 

 

 

Comedians in the Florida Legislature

There is bill in the Florida Senate (SB1390 – committee substitute) that has the following language…

“The public schools in this state should be the education incubators that disrupt the old status quo.”

So does that mean we will end the status quo of diverting many millions- each year- to more tests? The status quo has been more testing, taking away final exams from the teacher experts, diverting money away from education to testing infrastructure and consultants and taking away due process rights from teachers. The status quo has been making public schools a less desirable choice and setting them up for a manufactured crisis. The status quo has been throwing kids into virtual classes- giving them no choice. The status quo means testing for 80 days in schools.

The status quo was established by folks like Don Gaetz and pal Jeb Bush. Under their watch we have African-American male graduation rates below Mississippi and Alabama. Bravo Don and Jeb.  When will you let teachers actually run the show and disrupt your status quo?

Tony Bennett’s Grand Canard

A few moments ago, unelected Commissioner of Education (sic) in Florida Tony Bennett tweeted the following…

“It amazes me that while we live in a land of freedom, people oppose the freedom of parents to choose the best school for their children.”

This is high sophistry to be sure.

I do not know of any law prohibiting parents from enrolling kids in any school.  Of course what Mr. Bennett is referring to is taking money and resources away from public schools to pay for these “choices.” There is a big difference here and uncle Tony knows it. I think the voters in Florida just spoke on this matter but maybe Mr. Bennett was busy cleaning out his desk in Indiana.

Does Mr. Bennett think we should also have vouchers to give people a choice to leave Florida and live elsewhere? Maybe the “Bennett Scholarships” can be established. How about $10K to pay for moving costs? We demand choice!  How about vouchers for those who want to hire private security guards because those provided by their living communities are “failing” to stop crime?

Does anybody else have ideas for how Tony can take more money away from schools? I would love to know. He already supports diverting about a half billion dollars for Common Core testing infrastructure (this year alone).

This guy wants to destroy public education and should just be honest about it.

The Brockton Miracle? Not.

I have been hearing a lot about the “Brockton” miracle. This is a supposed shining school on a hill for reformers. The NCTE recently published a paper about it with some bizarre connection to Common Core- even though the “core” did  not exist at the time of the supposed miracle.  I was expecting to read that the Catholic Church was sending someone to look into this “Miracle in Massachusetts.” Even some folks at Harvard looked at the school and could not laud it enough.

There is one little problem though. Not much, if any, of the miracle narrative is true.

How could Harvard and the NCTE miss this? Well friends, they missed it with eyes wide open. Let us now look at what really happened in Brockton. There was no miracle.

The story goes that once upon a time, long ago, Brockton High was a dismal place with only 25% of the students graduating. After the MCAS test scores came out in 1999 a group of teachers demanded a change and instituted a “Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum” program (RAWAC). A Harvard study concluded that this played a large role in the improvement of test scores and student retention. This claim was repeated by the NCTE in a 2011 paper. This all supposedly happened by 2001- just two years later and despite the fact that different cohorts were tested. Then, by 2009 and 2010 the school was getting all  kinds of awards. Milagro! Miracle! Wunder!

None of this is true.

The percentage of proficient students at Brockton High almost always lagged state averages from 1998 to 2010. The results were only higher once (2002) and usually much lower. The rise in proficiency rates mirrored the rise in rates around the state. There was some fluctuation but Brockton was at 22% proficient in 1998 and the state was at 38%. By 2010 Brockton was at 71% and the state at 78%. Interestingly in the “glory years” from 2008 to 2010 Brockton went from 74% down to 71% while the state moved from 74% to 78%. Yes these are different cohorts.  *All of my data is from the ELA results and includes those scoring proficient or higher.

What about the supposed jumps from 1999 to 2001? Well in 1999 Brockton was at 24% proficient and the state was at 34%. In 2001 Brockton shot up to 43% but the entire state mirrored the jump and went to 50%.  This was not the same cohort. Did The Brockton RAWAC program make the miracle? There appears to be no connection here. There is a general trend up from 1998 to 2010 around the state.

What about attrition? I found something very interesting about Brockton High.  The number of students in each graduation cohort for the last 15 years shrunk (massively) from 9th grade to 12th grade. The number of students who start out in 9th grade, for almost all cohorts in the last 15 years, also shrunk by the time they tested! Why are so many students “leaving” Brockton before testing in 10th grade and then before graduating?

What is stunning is that the decline in students testing started just after the teachers at Brockton supposedly demanded a RAWAC program. The decline has continued in a dramatic way- even today.

In 1999 1,242 students took the MCAS. This was an increase from the 9th grade class of 969. This is the same cohort. There were similar increases from 1996 to 1998. They tested everyone and the cohorts got bigger- not smaller. Now are you ready for this?

In each year from 2000 to 2009 the cohort numbers go down from 9th grade to the testing year in 10th grade and by 12th grade the loss of students continues. Information on the 2010 cohort will be available this June. Here are the numbers…

2000- 9th grade students 1,076   # tested in 10th grade 968     # senior class 846

2001- 9th grade students 1,1416   #tested in 10th grade 926      # senior class 810

2002- 9th grade students 1,487    #tested in 10th grade 1,120    #senior class 889

2003- 9th grade students 1,460    #tested in 10th grade 1,139    #senior class 963

2004- 9th grade students 1,357     #tested in 10th grade 1,1019  #senior class 810

2005- 9th grade students 1,389     #tested in 10th grade 1,082   #senior class 959

2006- 9th grade students 1,395     #tested in 10th grade 1,114     #senior class 903

2007- 9th grade students 1,317      #tested in 10th grade 1,034    #senior class 876

2008- 9th grade students 1,278     #tested in 10th grade 980      #senior class 859

2009- 9th grade students 1,279     #tested in 10th grade 1,010    #senior class 913

Anyone see a pattern here? What happens (each year) to several hundred students from 9th grade to testing time? Who are these students not being tested?  I have answers.

I wanted to know what kind of students “leave Brockton.” Here are the top groups of students leaving Brockton- which might explain why their scores mirror the state so often. Let’s look at the three years 2009-2011 when Brockton was getting all kinds of awards and recognition.

In each year- the five highest dropout groups were… (in no order)

ELL Students- 2009 (20%)  2010 (23%) 2011 (17%)

Students with Disabilities- 2009 (27%) 2010 (23%) 2011 (24%)

Poor Students- 2009 (15%) 2010 (14%) 2011 (12%)

Black Students- 2009 (13%) 2010 (13%) 2011 (11%)

Latino Students- 2009 (19%) 2010 (27%) 2011 (18%)

Do you see a problem here that affects test results?

*The DOE website did not have information on dropout groups going back too far

I welcome discussion on this post. It raises many questions. I do not see anything special about the results at Brockton when compared to the rest of the state. The report from NCTE was troubling as they, like Harvard, appear to connect the RAWAC program to improved test results and the  NCTE makes a further quaint connection to Common Core. This justification for Common core fails. I see other explanations for the “Incident at Brockton.”