Colorado School Grades Supports the Manufactured Crisis

Update as of December 26, 2012

It appears I have been banned from posting on Colorado School Grades. Below you will find my post left on their Facebook page several days ago. Now that I have been banned from posting it confirms for me, even more so, the importance of making sure that the public understands that the information shared by Colorado School Grades is misleading and harmful to many of Colorado's children. More often than not, it is most harmful to those with special needs, those learning a second language and finally, those living in poverty.

I mentioned in my post below the importance of sharing a full body of evidence to demonstrate student learning - grading schools based on the data from CDE is completely misleading.

In addition, by banning me from commenting on their FB page, Colorado School Grades is also misleading the public and they also need to share a full body of evidence in regard to the opinions and comments about how they are grading schools.

Taking away my postings and completely shutting down my freedom of speech is exactly what the corporate education reformers desire.  My knowledge of student learning and how to demonstrate evidence of student learning is a dangerous thing in today's world of data crunchers who have no understanding of real learning and teaching. When a school is "graded" an F, you have labeled children, teachers and schools unfairly; they are already fighting for survival in a system that is set up to fail them. But that is the purpose of all this - and Colorado School Grades is also playing the game which is this: cash in on the public schools as quickly as you can - before the public realizes that their tax dollars are feeding into a system that is now run by the corporations and the politicians who have money and status to gain. Is Sidwell going to be graded by such a system as Colorado School Grades? Oh that's right, they aren't required to participate in high stakes testing, common core standards and scripted lock-step curriculum delivered by teachers as technicians. Teachers such as myself are an endangered species in the public schools.

As a public intellectual and a reflective practitioner I will continue to speak the truth in order to preserve and improve public schools for all children. And I will send every education activist I know over to Colorado School Grades to make certain that parents have a body of evidence with which to determine on their own whether they believe the bogus grading spouted by Colorado School Grades.

Knowledge is a dangerous thing.

First Blog Post below 

Please join me in shifting the narrative.

My comment on their FB page: 

This is all very misleading and does not tell the true picture of Colorado's schools. Many children make great gains when you look at the body of evidence versus just what the CDE shares with you. And these children, many who are second language learners, who make these great gains, are absolutely brilliant to have accomplished so much when we take into consideration poverty and the challenges of learning a new language. In addition - these children are often in public schools which have no wrap around services for poverty - it's astounding what they are able to accomplish - and it's astounding also considering that they are deprived of art, music, pe, libraries and more due to the money being wasted on high stakes testing and all that profits corporations. I am not proud of schools who do well on the state test - who cares about a bubble sheet which focuses on surface level skills. I am proud of teachers and learners who can demonstrate growth using a body of evidence which includes portfolio and project based assessment - real thinking - real learning. What you are sharing with parents is simply information on how our state is using testing to send a false image of what is really happening, therefore allowing this manufactured crisis to continue to prevail and allow corporations to make money off the backs of our children, simultaneously dumbing-down our society with lockstep curriculum and testing as we the teachers must attempt to meet the top down mandates that do nothing to create equal education or allow for autonomy within the teaching profession. www.unitedoptout.com