Who's Driving Education Reforms?

Take a look at what Susan Ohanian found regarding education reforms. It's an eye-opener! On her Facebook page she writes: "But it isn't just the Gates funding; it's the thrust of the lessons [See "Gates Foundation Money at Work"]. There's no end to it. I'm frankly getting very tired of screaming in the wilderness."

Here an excerpt of her blog post, If You Lie Down With Dogs. 

"For years, I've documented how money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is used to promote education deform--ranging from galvanic bracelets to the Common Core. I tracked positive comments appearing about the Common Core during just one month--and listed how much money each quoted entity had received from the Gates Foundation. This included everybody from the National Writing Project to the PTA. [My].. article was rejected by the leading progressive press.

At long last, Education Week is bringing the Gates Foundation money out of the dark cellar, though you have to go to an interactive sidebar called Follow the Money to find it. It lists the "beneficiaries" [each] receiving more than $10 Million.

Here is a sampling:



5. The College-Ready Promise: $25,445,998

6. The New Teacher Project, Inc.: $20,500,000

7. Colorado Legacy Foundation: $18,860,602

8. The Teaching Channel: $18,448,561

9. Educational Testing Service: $13,790,205

10. American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation: $11,343,925

11. New Schools Fund dba NewSchools Venture Fund: $11,200,000

12. Teach for America: $11,112,884

There is also an alphabetical list of over 100 entities receiving Gates money.

For example, in 2011, 2011, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) received $276,635 from Gates "to educate and engage its members on efficient state budget approaches to drive greater student outcomes, as well as educate them on beneficial ways to recruit, retain, evaluate and compensate effective teaching based upon merit and achievement."

And see what school districts will be spending lots of money on!!

Pearson Announces Wide Range of Teaching Effectiveness Programs to Get Educators Ready for Common Core State Standards.

Pearson’s Common Core State Standards professional development opportunities include:

• Professional Development for Administrators and Teachers – Pearson’s research-based workshops can be delivered separately or in a series. The continuum of more than 20 offerings focuses on practical application and implementation of the Common Core State Standards...Pearson also offers observational and performance assessment training and tools that help establish a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.

• On-site, Job-embedded Assistance – To further Common Core State Standards implementation, schools can opt to roll out additional on-site, embedded training where Pearson works with educators, coaching and monitoring daily classroom activities.

On a bright note:

Public Opposed Use of Tests Scores in Teacher Reviews Poll Shows

"In a reversal of public opinion, a majority of Americans now oppose using student test scores to evaluate teachers and more believe that increased testing has hurt rather than helped improve public schools, a new survey shows.

Almost two of three Americans have never heard of the Common Core State
Standards, arguably one of the most important education initiatives in decades,
and most of those who say they know about the Common Core neither understand it
nor embrace it."

Last but not least, see here the sort of information that can be collected on any school child for the inBloom data base. Will it be used to sort kids into groups, reminiscent of the  Alphas, Betas, Deltas,  Epsilons, and Gammas in Aldous Huxley's book, Brave New World?