Expect to see lots more of this

by David Safier The stakes on high stakes tests keeps rising. Teachers' salaries and jobs hang in the balance. Schools' funding, and even their existence, can be jeopardized by bad test scores. So it's not surprising there have been a number of stories about schools cheating on standardized tests. Here's the latest. City and state … Read more

Pima Dems launch “Al Melvin Week”

by David Safier The Pima County Democratic Party has given Al Melvin his very own week, devoted to his, shall we say, "Greatest Hits." As a Melvin watcher, I know the Pima Dems have their work cut out for them trying to choose from the voluminous record of howlers and mouth dropping votes Melvin has … Read more

More Buzz Mills boldfaced lies

by David Safier This morning I posted about Buzz Mills being shot down on his 1-to-1 teacher to administrator lie by the able and well-researched Brahm Resnik. (Why don't interviewers always come in with facts and information like that, based on what they know the interviewee is going to say?) I mentioned as an afterthought … Read more

Thar’s $Gold$ in Them Thar Charter Schools

by David Safier I've slacked off on posting about charter schools lately, but I haven't stopped collecting material from around the country. It's clear that, in charter schools' under-regulated wild, wild west, there's lots of money to be made. And with Arne Duncan plowing huge sums into charters across the country, the money scramble is … Read more

Buzz Mills gets shot down for 1-to-1 teacher to adminstrator lie

by David Safier Boy, is this fun! I posted earlier that GOP Guv hopeful Buzz Mills bested the Goldwater Institute's Matthew Ladner when Mills tweeted: 1:1 ratio of administrators to teachers. Cut admin to appropriate level – improve education while freeing budget $$$ Ladner only maintains that bus drivers are bureaucrats, not administrators — and, … Read more