Sniping at students to sell vouchers – Bursting the Bubble Sheet part 3
When many students show growth, it should be celebrated. If all students show growth, they should have an opportunity to be acknowledged as growing. So why does North Carolina use a contracted formula originally used in agriculture to plow public school student performance with misleading data? The system is not designed to label all students... Continue Reading →
Private school vouchers serve adults, not children
Last year, Republicans in the General Assembly eliminated an income cap as an eligibility requirement to receive a private school voucher. This decision alone will funnel millions of dollars away from helping public schools in low-income communities and into the hands of wealthy families who never even considered sending their children to their community’s public... Continue Reading →
Bursting the Bubble Sheet Part 2: Seeing the forest before the trees
For part 2 of this Bursting the Bubble Sheet series, I’m going to zoom out to ensure I’m clearly communicating the forest of this project before diving into each tree: There’s an unfortunate fact pattern where deceptively portrayed K-12 data is being used to undermine communities’ faith in their local public schools as a marketing... Continue Reading →
Bursting the Bubble Sheet: NC DPI’s Disingenuous Claims on K-12 Testing Data Part 1
Preface: Over a decade ago Rhett Carlson, a high school science teacher, reverse-engineered EVAAS - a K-12 test data translation tool created by NC-based analytics company SAS and used by the NC Department of Public Instruction. This program is modeled after one that was used in agriculture to increase plant growth and cull dairy herds... Continue Reading →
Want NC taxpayer $ to start your own ‘school’? No licensed teachers required
According to an NC private school voucher marketer, “All it takes is a fire and health inspection." North Carolina's General Assembly just opened the floodgates on what was already the least regulated private school voucher program in the country. Exposing fraud Public education advocate and school finance expert Kris Nordstrom released research in June 2023... Continue Reading →
Budget update version 4
Fuzzy math talking points don't tell the truth about teacher pay: The average salary step purchasing power increase is .1% from last year (adjust 2022-23 scale to August 23 inflation for accurate purchasing power comparison) The 2023-24 proposed schedule has the worst purchasing power offered in over 15 years
NC’s Name Games: 4 things to know
Earlier this month, the NC General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto to make S49 law. Among other things, this law requires the following: As a teacher tasked with implementing this law in my classroom and a mom of 2 schoolchildren, I was sincerely interested in proactively navigating how the "naming clause" would impact my... Continue Reading →
educatEDpolicy 