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Vermont says NO to John King
I hope other states are paying attention.
Vermont is the smartest state in the nation. Not because of test scores, but because the officials in charge of education actually care about children and about education. When they look at the state’s children, they see children with names and faces, not just data. When they think about their schools, they see them as places where children should experience the excitement and joy of learning.
Vermont education officials think for themselves. Read their brilliant letter to Secretary of Education John King, advocate of high-stakes testing and privatization of public schools, about the inadequacies of ESSA and his proposed regulations.
https://dianeravitch.net/2016/08/08/vermont-says-no-to-john-king/
From the letter:
Conclusions –
The logic of ESSA is the same as NCLB. It is to identify “low performing schools.” Its operating
theory is pressuring schools in the belief that the fear of punishment will improve student
learning. It assumes poor achievement is a function of poor will. If we learned anything from
NCLB, it is that that system does not work. It did not narrow gaps and did not lead to
meaningful improvements in learning. If ESSA is similarly restrictive, we can expect no better.
This thinking perpetuates a disabling narrative about public schools. We ask for leadership
from Washington that celebrates the glories of what we can accomplish rather than unrelenting
dirges.
We are dismayed that the federal government continues to commoditize education and support
charter and private schools which segregate children and show no particular learning
advantage. We are disturbed that the federal government continues to underfund its
commitment to our most vulnerable children, who are disproportionately served by public
schools. We are disappointed that the federal government could not embrace and promote a
more expansive understanding of the purpose and value of public schools in creating a strong
citizenry.
We take note of the $1.3 billion budget cut approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
While you have recently called for a broader “well-rounded” education, you suggest that these
initiatives be paid for out of the funds that were just slashed. The federal government is illcredentialed
to call on more from states while providing less.
The Vermont State Board of Education feels it is time we commit to attacking the underlying
challenges of poverty, despair, addiction and inequity that undermine school performance,
rather than blaming the schools that strive to overcome the very manifestations of our greater
social troubles. In the rules and the implementation of ESSA, we urge the federal government to
both step-back from over-reach and narrowness; and step-up to a new re-framing, broadening
and advancing of the promises of what we can achieve for the children and for the nation.
The logic of ESSA is the same as NCLB. It is to identify “low performing schools.” Its operating
theory is pressuring schools in the belief that the fear of punishment will improve student
learning. It assumes poor achievement is a function of poor will. If we learned anything from
NCLB, it is that that system does not work. It did not narrow gaps and did not lead to
meaningful improvements in learning. If ESSA is similarly restrictive, we can expect no better.
This thinking perpetuates a disabling narrative about public schools. We ask for leadership
from Washington that celebrates the glories of what we can accomplish rather than unrelenting
dirges.
We are dismayed that the federal government continues to commoditize education and support
charter and private schools which segregate children and show no particular learning
advantage. We are disturbed that the federal government continues to underfund its
commitment to our most vulnerable children, who are disproportionately served by public
schools. We are disappointed that the federal government could not embrace and promote a
more expansive understanding of the purpose and value of public schools in creating a strong
citizenry.
We take note of the $1.3 billion budget cut approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
While you have recently called for a broader “well-rounded” education, you suggest that these
initiatives be paid for out of the funds that were just slashed. The federal government is illcredentialed
to call on more from states while providing less.
The Vermont State Board of Education feels it is time we commit to attacking the underlying
challenges of poverty, despair, addiction and inequity that undermine school performance,
rather than blaming the schools that strive to overcome the very manifestations of our greater
social troubles. In the rules and the implementation of ESSA, we urge the federal government to
both step-back from over-reach and narrowness; and step-up to a new re-framing, broadening
and advancing of the promises of what we can achieve for the children and for the nation.
https://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/edu-sbe-letter-secretary-king-comments-proposed-rules-7-2016.pdf
