I haven’t seen this sort of simple analysis done anywhere else, so I tallied the total number of reported deaths, and divided this by the population, and moved the decimal point six places so we get the death rates per million. The table below shows the results, in order from highest to lowest fatalities per million inhabitants.
I would like to present some more results from the latest batch of released scores from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, so you can judge for yourselves.
As usual, the charlatans and quacks who are guiding US educational policy today claim that the results are clear proof that their ill-considered policies are working miracles, especially in the District of Columbia, my home town.
I claim that there has been no miracle. Yes, scores on the NAEP reading and math scores in the 4th grade and 8th grade are gradually but unevenly increasing — as has been the case for the past twenty years or so. But there has been no Rhee/Kamras/Henderson miracle in DC, or at least not one we can see on these graphs — no huge, enormous jump that trumps all growth prior to their mayoral takeover of the DC public schools.
Plus, we don’t yet know what weight the NAEP statisticians give to the scores of the kids in the regular public schools, those in the private or religious schools, or those in the charter schools. We do know that the proportion of white students counted in DC has increased substantially since the 1990’s, and that the proportion of black kids has shrunk, but we can only guess just what that means.
For each graph, I have drawn a thick, red, vertical line to distinguish the pre-“Rhee-form” era from the Era of Excellence and Data. See if you honestly see significant differences.
First, average NAEP math scores by states for 8th grade kids, 1990-2013. Remember, please, this is public AND private schools. I chose the states because they were the highest- or lowest-scoring ones in the nation (MA & MS) or because they were located near DC.
Next, average NAEP reading scores for 4th graders:
And lastly, average NAEP reading scores for 8th graders:
Remember: Mississippi, in an ugly shade of green on these graphs, is the lowest-performing state on both math and reading, and DC is still behind it.
Bob Schaeffer of FairTest has been compiling weekly summaries of news articles showing how folks all across the country are resisting the corporate agenda of test, test, test. Here is his latest one:
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The pushback against high-stakes testing continues to accelerate with more parents, teachers, students, administrators, and educational policy makers recognizing that the current approach has failed and an increased focus on the looming danger from Common Core assessments.
Editorial: New Florida School Grading Standards Are a Set-up for Failure
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/30/3475969/new-standards-dont-make-the-grade.html
Students, Parents and Teachers Consider Appealing Delayed NYC Test Scores
http://gothamschools.org/2013/06/26/with-regents-exam-scores-coming-in-attention-turns-to-appeals/
NY State Senator: Instill Lifelong Learning, Not Test-Taking in Students
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130621/OPINION/130629723/1074
Testing Has Reached Its Limits For Some Minnesota Parents
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_23563367/some-minnesota-parents-testing-has-reached-its-limits
Oklahoma Teachers Ask State to Invalidate All 2013 Test Scores
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/oklahoma-standardized-tests_n_3504730.html
How Pizza Helped Garfield High Teachers Resist Standardized Testing Overkill
http://crosscut.com/2013/07/02/education/115232/arnold-garfield-high-teacherss-inspiration-strikin/
Students Who Take Tougher Grad Tests Are More Likely to End Up in Jail
http://www.businessinsider.com/jail-more-likely-for-students-who-take-hard-finals-2013-7
The Trouble with Common Core
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/27_04/edit274.shtml
The Common Core Testing Nightmare That Awaits Us
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/the-common-core-nightmare_b_3521825.html
Will Common Core Assessment Focus Derail College and Career Readiness
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/06/25/fp_barnwell_career.html
Oklahoma Pulls Out of Common Core Testing Consortium: Cites Volume of New Assessments
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/State_pulling_out_of_standardized_testing_through_consortium/20130701_19_0_StateS605337?subj=1
Union Worried Testing Will Cause More to Turn Against Common Core
http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2013/07/01/union-worried-testing-could-cause-public-to-turn-on-common-standards/
Common Core Assessment Consortium to Delay Some New Tests By a Year
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/06/testing_group_delays_some_components_for_one_year.html
Time for Education “Reform” Reset
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/6252013-an-education-reset/
Connection Between Test Scores and College Performance is Tenuous
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130630/OPINION/130639986
See FairTest’s List of More than 800 ACT/SAT Optional Schools
http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
The Perils of Standardized Testing: Six Ways it Harms Learning
http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/the-perils-of-standardized-testing/
Test-Driven System Stifles Creativity Says Survey of U.S. Parents and Teachers
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-06-24-education-system-stifles-creativity-say-teachers-parents
Careful What You Want and How You Measure Getting It
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/julia-steiny-careful-what-you-want-how-you-measure-getting-it/
Defining Students, Teachers and Schools By a Number Does Not Improve Learning
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/i_was_once_defined_by_a_number.html
The Revolution Will Not Be Standardized
https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/07/01-6
Finland’s Education Ambassador Spreads the Word About a Better Alternative
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jul/01/education-michael-gove-finland-gcse
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
ph- (239) 395-6773 fax- (239) 395-6779
cell- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org
