not just to the students but to the parents who struggle so hard to provide for their special needs kids.

I do not see how Arne is getting away with such harmful theories. I swear I think he believes he's loved and admired.

and their cronies is what's blinding them to reality.

Arne Duncan doesn't know crap about education. Duncan and Michelle Rhee make me sick.

it's also stupid for the able. Unless sorting kids into boxes is your reason and goal for life.

There are diagnostic tests, and there are punishment tests. Guess which ones we employ in education.

I have to live and breathe them all year long.

The beatings will continue and student and teacher morale will continue to disintegrate until the general public is willing to stop scapegoating teachers and put an end to the high-stakes testing movement.

Thanks and

... you get this:

http://paulvhogan.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/the-district-75-danielson-pilot-crash-burn-fizzle/

It's happening already.

Bizarro World.

So given its — let’s be kind— “limitations,” how did the Danielson Framework end up in District 75, anyway? I’ve no idea but the notion that this is a worthy eval tool for this type of teaching is so bizarre that speculation as to how it got there is both responsible and inevitable. I initiated a short and amiable email exchange with Ms.Danielson in early 2012. She seems extraordinarily committed to her work. And anxious to defend it. So it couldn’t have been easy for to acknowledge the following: “However, I also can see that it would be inappropriate to require teachers of profoundly handicapped students to create higher-order questions.”

“No kidding”, I muttered to no one in particular. From my POV, I felt like like a dentist extracting an impacted, wisdom tooth from an unanethesized 600-pound gorilla. Even this admission of the staggeringly obvious didn’t come easy. Some analysts have pointed to a previous collaboration between Danielson and the Gates-funded Measures of Effective Teaching… the implication being that there is Gates money behind the Danielson Framework, pushing it indiscriminately , even into places where it plainly doesn’t belong. Of this I know not. I do know that the Gates Foundation has poisoned forever the public debate on public school reform nationally by discretely funding front groups and ‘think tanks’ that then produce “data” and “advocacy” that support Gates Foundation positions on pubic education policy.

Thanks to Democrats acting like greedhead Republicans who think the only thing that matters is money and keeping taxes on the rich down, the public schools and the children they serve must do more and more with less and less.

is just plain ignorant. I don't know another word to describe it. He must never have been around special needs students. From mild to profoundly disabled, they are real. They need understanding. I can't believe he is getting away with such tactics.

Are you really asserting that there shouldn't be any standards at all for the more high functioning students? Just stick them in a special education class and that's it? There are some states where the autism rate is now as high as 1 in every 42 boys. Obviously with so many kids getting that diagnosis, standards need to be put in place so that the next Einstein doesn't slip through the cracks.

Read the OP again, think about what Arne is really saying. A tactic here is to put words in my mouth I did not say.

There are standards coming out the you know what for all students, and for special education. Their individualized programs are vital, and Arne is acting like no such thing exists.

Where in the world did I say put them in a special ed class and that's it???

Posting here now is like walking on eggshells, damned if we support something damned if we don't.

is asking schools to rethink how they address disabled students and testing. Because of her disability, many people treat my daughter with kid gloves and assume she isn't smart, or otherwise capable of handling the work. I'd rather have her try and fail than never try.

My autistic son looks up to Einstein for that very reason. Arne Duncan probably would have thought Einstein to be an idiot because he didn't test well.

In today's world, Einstein would have been diagnosed as autistic. But in today's world, he would have been ushered off to a special ed class that had little to no standards, because, according to many here, special ed students aren't capable.

always been standards for those capable of reaching them. Teachers, therapists, and parents are in a constant balancing act between pushing the student to live up to their potential and backing off a little when it is obvious it is too much. Have you ever seen a special education student when they have been pushed too hard? I have. And I know the difference between when the teachers are allowed to back off and when they are forced to keep pushing because of Race to the Top, Common Core and state standardized test policies. When they are pushed too far the student starts to blame themselves and begins to think they are stupid and in autistic students' cases can often lead to some pretty big physical melt downs. I find it insulting that because we want balance in our children's education that you think there aren't any standards and that an Einstein would slip through the cracks.

Did you read madfloridian's OP carefully?

Have you seen an IEP? Are you a teacher? If so, have you had a special needs student in your classroom?

Einstein?!?

Our system of public education has in place a rigorous and definitive protocol for special needs students, and your post suggests that you're believing the propaganda that suggests otherwise.

K&R

that many providers, OT,PT, SLP and child psychologists will be weighing in on this
disgraceful idea.

Btw, Kevin Hoffman can go to hell..what an idiot.

I think Arne will be hearing about this, but will he listen?

what this is about for the children can go after him about the legal obligation to
comply with IDEA. A required component of IDEA is FAPE and what I am reading
so far about the direction he is going, it is concerning. If they think they can
circumvent the IEP process, one advocate I don't always agree with, but is
a fierce advocate, is Autism Speaks.

They will go nuts if Duncan's policies intrude in any way to dismantle IDEA.


To answer your question directly, I think it will have to be Obama stepping in,
I don't even care why..even if its to protect his legacy...just do not go there
with these kids.

Here's a more balanced look at the proposals.....no one is doing away with IEPs, or individualized education.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/states-special-education-services-face-tighter-oversight-by-the-obama-administration/2014/06/23/a103031e-fb36-11e3-b1f4-8e77c632c07b_story.html

I have is the direction they are headed. If their accountability hinges primarily
on testing and that results in less federal funds, then this enterprise is not
about elevating the children.

Concerning for me, how is this appropriate for special needs children, and how does it
give an accurate picture versus the means utilized by the teachers and other professionals
working with the child currently? Is this test going to trump a collective measure of the teams
work with the child?

snip*To calculate how states stack up under the new criteria, the department is using a complex matrix that weighs several factors, including how well students with disabilities perform on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, a test the federal government gives to a sampling of students in every state every two years.

NAEP is designed to offer a snapshot of academic performance. This marks the first time the government has tied NAEP scores to consequences. ( end )

His statement here: “We know that when students with disabilities are held to high expectations and have access to the general curriculum in the regular classroom, they excel.”

Unless he clarifies, it is troubling..it reads like code for more kids can be educated in a regular education classrooms
without modifications. If that is not where he is going, I am happy to say I am wrong. But that statement males no
sense, because children's programs are already by law individualized..meaning if/when appropriate their
curriculum can be advanced.


Race to the Top is not a confidence builder, so I am worried by Duncan when he makes statements
that fly in the face of how these kids learn differently. Funds for children with special needs
is problematic in the US since much depends on local property tax dollars, I don't want to see
any public school lose money due to test results.

I think the article points out a troubling thing...that so many disabled kids are exempted from the testing. I don't think these reforms are about eliminating modifications for individuals students so much as reinforcing state's accountability in educating them.

I've long thought it odd ( frankly, I mean "suspicious&quot that parent advocacy groups have been as quiet/compliant as they HAVE been w. regard to the "there is no such thing as disability" ethos of the "reform" camp.

It's a suspicion that's been stoked by two or three things I've read in this connection. ( That I cannot cite presently.) Flimsy excuses and lame rationales offered by spokespeople of certain sp ed advocacy groups for going along w. Duncan, Gates, et al. instead of taking them head on.

I'm wondering if grant-money... and/or the withholding of same.... could have something to do w. it.

Again... just a suspicion at this point. I'm wondering if anyone's done some actual digging.

>>>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/education/22gates.html?_r=0>>>>

The most corrosive thing Gates has done is to corrupt public discussion itself.

article.

I have so many concerns with how we turn this around. A well funded asshole with an
agenda that will impact millions if not the majority of America's children over time.

His war on education is stunning, who in 2016 is going to be brave enough to talk
about Duncan's policies and push back? I don't see how we get any reverse course
from Obama..do we have any Democrats in office who are challenging these polices?

The recent statements on special ed by Duncan are troubling. I am suspicious about
what would appear as an admiral goal...increased rates of graduation. I will freely
admit I am biased due to the implementation of Race to the Top. As a result I do not trust
language like that..meaning, it concerns me that excelling graduation rates might be more
about saving money, since special needs children are entitled to an education and services
through their 21st birthday.

I hope I am wrong about that, because that mindset is so unethical for any administration
to adopt. However, I do feel we have advocates including private providers of
services who can push back on the efficacy of these policies, need be. Yet what your
article points to, with such enormous resources from Gates, the battle becomes
much more difficult.

Thanks again for the info.

>>>do we have any Democrats in office who are challenging these polices? >>>>

Short answer, no. Not at the nat'l level, anyway. The most opposition one can point to is at the state level of red states like Indiana and Texas who think corporate reform is a communist plot.

I'll except a few local DEMs that I know about. There was a list of 33 or so local electeds here who signed a pledge not to take $$$ from the charter school industry. That was about 3 years ago. ( And it didn't work. The industry is thriving with FEWER legislative and regulatory obstacles than existed before.)

On the nat'l level: Clinton thinks Jeb Bush type school reform is a national model; as usual , a total zero.

I don't know where Warren and Sanders are. Which fact alone ( i.e. that they don't speak upon the issue.) doesn't bode very well.

That said, I'm not sure about Warren.... but I'd be surprised if Sanders didn't at least understand what's at stake here.

I don't know of any official position and or opinion from either of them and
I agree it would be surprising if Sanders doesn't already get what the negative outcome
has been thus far from such policies.

so it could happy re advocacy groups as well. Just wondering. I mean look at Randi Weingarten. She's speaking out pretty loudly now, but we did go down the Arne road for a while. She was an instructor at the Broad Institute...known for its superintendents who take over schools hostilely.

From their point of view... corporate "reform" is manna from heaven.

Hundreds of millions of dollars blowing around this way and that? From their POV... what in the world is there not to like?

Those who are parents of and those who work with special education students know of course that they vary in ability. That is obvious enough to be left unsaid...

Special ed students are already being tested with the same instruments used to test those supposedly without disabilities.

There is no way my post indicates that I think that special education students should not be held accountable.

Petty stuff filling up conversations when serious issues are being discussed, and it is also obvious.

rates of disabled kids is a pretty good idea....and that is one reform you did not mention.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/states-special-education-services-face-tighter-oversight-by-the-obama-administration/2014/06/23/a103031e-fb36-11e3-b1f4-8e77c632c07b_story.html

I think your OPs are interesting, but when you rely on bloggers, rather than more primary sources, important information tends to get lost.

And I don't think that discussing the DOE's plans to discuss the achievement gap between mainstream and sped students is "petty."

Because some apparently did not read that sentence. It changes the whole meaning of 4 paragraphs.

I rely on Twitter, Daily Kos, education bloggers who do their research for information. Why don't I use mainstream corporate media? Because they don't cover what is happening in real life during all this "reform."

There are one or two bloggers with newspapers, such as Valerie Strauss of the WP, but if I quote her here the very people misreading my OP condemn her. Many here try to discredit her because she takes the opposite of the reformers' side in most cases.

I could kick myself for bothering to put a post together only to have it picked apart by people who have not even read it correctly.

My head hurts.

blog posts are apparently based on and there's no claim of that.....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/states-special-education-services-face-tighter-oversight-by-the-obama-administration/2014/06/23/a103031e-fb36-11e3-b1f4-8e77c632c07b_story.html

As a parent of a disabled child, I take the IEP claim very, very seriously. Can you explain it?

If he did he would know that teachers, therapists, parents, and students all get together to form what is called an IEP(individual education plan). We all want our children to live up to their potential. That is why we come up with IEPs that push just enough but not too hard. When my son's teachers were allowed to follow his IEP they would push him, but when he would show distress they would back off and adjust the curriculum and the IEP accordingly. Now, the teachers are not really allowed to follow the IEP because they have to follow Race to the Top, Common Core, and state standardized tests. I have seen my son personally suffer because of this. And it is because of Obama's education policy that I am no longer a democrat. Maybe if the democrats ever get their heads out of their butts and their hands out of lobbyists' pocket books long enough to care about my son then I'll be a democrat again.

challenged. I don't mean by individual parents..so costly and time consuming to go that
route. But instead by advocates with the money to take on the efficacy of his policies.

So sorry to hear your child taking the brunt of this when they can't afford to lose
time with their learning.

I have one of each - both teenagers now - both with autism. One is in a special day class in public school and still cannot add 1 + 1. Testing her would be a complete waste of time but she can learn to do lots of things that are not testable. The other teenager is very smart but cannot function in a mainstream setting. He tests very well - but so what. He's so different he doesn't fit in anywhere. When mainstreamed he shuts down and can't test well at all. He needs a small setting with teachers who know how to reach him. He may be the next Einstein in the right setting. Testing by itself doesn't do much when it comes to special needs children. It's like saying breathing is good for you. without recognizing the help that some need to accomplish that.

Your post is excellent, and it really illustrates the harm Arne Duncan's new policy can do.

Last edited Fri Jun 27, 2014, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

And yet, Duncan said, most states are doing exactly what the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has required until now. School districts are required to create an "individualized education plan," or IEP, tailored to a student's needs.

School officials must show that these children are getting instructional support in a timely manner and that they have full access to the curriculum and everything else that goes on in school.

Under the new guidelines, Duncan says he'll require proof that these kids aren't just being served but are actually making academic progress.

"We know that when students with disabilities are held to high expectations and have access to a robust curriculum, they excel," Duncan said.

This needs some massive push back. Arne Duncan thinks he has found a clever way to attack public schools and public school teachers, after his and Bill Gates idiotic common core fiasco. He is beyond stupid, his actions are bringing massive harm to our children-our future. Just because he played basketball at Harvard and his mom runs a private tutoring program in Chicago does not mean he knows anything about education. He has wealthy friends who want to make trillions of dollars privatizing public education. He is a menace to society.

He is another example of the Ivy League Diploma Mill Syndrome. People think getting an Ivy League education proves you can think. SCOTUS and Arne Duncan prove that getting an Ivy League diploma guarantees that you get a degree without ever being required to think!

This sounds like he wants more rigid more difficult testing for special ed students. Unfortunately this will not change their ability level, it will not cause them to suddenly blossom if they are not physically mentally unable to do so.

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/06/25/next-step-special-ed/11377425/

The U.S. Department of Education says Delaware is in trouble when it comes to educating students with special needs. The rating of "Needs Intervention" on special education is both embarrassing and an alarm.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Delaware is setting the bar too low for special-education students. Their progress, as measured by the National Assessment of Education Progress test, is too low. This is the first time the federal government has used the test to rank states on the academic progress of special-education students.

The Education Department's assessment methods may be questioned. For example, Delaware has a high percentage of students with special needs taking the test. However, in 2013 Maryland excluded 60 percent of its special-needs students from the test. Maryland was rated in a higher category in the assessment released this week.

Last edited Mon Jun 30, 2014, 10:40 AM - Edit history (1)

as in my new post on this.

They see the Emperor's fine clothes and are repelled at any insinuations they might be transparent in some fashion....

But keep it up!

Is all of the education reform really just part of the big plan to cut government? More tests for students, more for teachers (which will be administered for profit, btw), and then just force more people out to private schools. A nice downward spiral documented by 'failing' schools, attrition of students from homes with more resources to private or home, and increasing media disapproval. Ah, public education had a nice run for awhile....