Tag Archives: RIckLadd

The failures in Kentucky coming to New Hampshire next?

Warning to Representative Mary Gile (D) and the other Reps who think following Marc Tucker (the Common Core GURU) is a good idea. Take a look at what’s happening in Kentucky.

Representatives Mary Gile (D), Rick Ladd (R) and Terry Wolf (R) invited legislators to come and listen to Marc Tucker explain his vision for redesigning public education in New Hampshire. For some strange reason, a man with no track record of success appoints himself as an expert on education reform, and our representatives think he deserves a platform.

If they have no confidence in Commissioner Barry and Governor Hassan, then maybe they should take their complaints directly to them.

We’ve been following Kentucky for many years in order to report on their successes and failures. Being one of the earliest states to implement the Common Core reforms, Kentucky has one of the longest records to analyze. AS we predicted, the outcomes are not good.

Early results of Common Core in Kentucky show little success. Who has been cashing in on this reform in Kentucky? National Center on Education and the Economy. (NCEE) Marc Tucker’s consulting group.

Let’s not forget that consultants (or snake oil salesmen) have been in a position to cash in on education reforms. Think of the slick and sleazy used car salesman who shows you that shiny red car but never opens the hood so you could see the old and trashed engine.

These guys make a killing off of the taxpayers. Taxpayers would be wise to start combing through their school’s budget to see what they are paying consultants and ask why you are also paying six figure salaries to administrators.

NCEE has been cashing in the Common Core reforms. Marc Tucker was part of the Common Core development team along with test makers, all of whom would cash in on the latest education reform.

This has been a cash cow to the testing, technology and consulting industry. Crony capitalism would be an understatement.

Now let’s look at the results.

In Something Rotten to the Core they report, “If there is any place where Common Core should be soaring it is Kentucky, which has had more time to implement and adapt to the standards than any other state. But a batch of results released earlier this year indicates that students are not doing better in most grades — and in some cases even worse.”

While Marc Tucker makes a killing off of taxpayers, we have to suffer with the dumbed down Common Core standards and dumbed down Competency Based Model. This is all done for greed and profit. This reform has benefited corporate elites who have used their political influence like an oligarchy.

Is Marc Tucker’s DISASTER coming to New Hampshire Next

Is Marc Tucker’s DISASTER in KY coming to NH next?

Marc Tucker, who will be speaking tomorrow to New Hampshire legislators, can now take credit for the disastrous results he helped to bring about in Kentucky.

The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), headed up by Marc Tucker, has been consulting with the Kentucky Department of Education. Tucker is one of the Chief architects of the Common Core federal reform.

Remember when we warned that Common Core = NO VENDOR LEFT BEHIND? Well Tucker’s group is certainly cashing in now.

Here is a list of the NCEE funders: http://thefederalist.com/2015/11/09/college-professors-begin-revolt-against-common-core/ Included in that list are the typical ed reformers who’ve been involved in the dumbing down of public education in America, including Nellie Mae and The Gates Foundation. They are now out to take this national.
Maybe taxpayers should check to see how much your state department of education costs taxpayers and ask yourself, why do you need to hire consultants on top of that?

According to NCEE, “In 2014, the Commonwealth of Kentucky asked NCEE to help them engage in a process that could lead the state to create policies designed to enable Kentucky to match the performance of the top-performing nations in education.” Kentucky was implementing the federal education reforms but also asked the NCEE to further consult on the implementation process.

We also reported how Commissioner Barry was misleading parents on Kentucky’s achievement levels reported by the NH Dept. of Education. While the NH Dept. of Ed is reporting glowing reports on test scores in Kentucky, Kentucky’s Bluegrass Institute says, ” ….the college/career ready numbers are tied to those graduation rate figures, it turns out that a gruesomely large proportion of our students are leaving high school with only a hollow piece of paper. Thousands being declared ready are not really getting the educations they need.

BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS reported, “findings from two groups suggest the Kentucky Department of Education’s standards for preparing students for college and adult life are lacking and that the department’s statistics are misleading.

We’re not sure what to believe but until we get the truth, do we really want to go down the same path as Kentucky? Given the latest election results in Kentucky where parents overwhelmingly supported the anti-Common Core newly elected Governor, we tend to believe parents weren’t all that happy with what unfolded over the last few years.

Now Tucker wants to do to New Hampshire what he’s doing to Kentucky. You can log into this archived audio (just type in any name) webinar and listen to the NCEE mislead the listeners about the findings in Kentucky. You should also note that one of Tucker’s biggest fans, Representative Mary Gile (D) is one of the participants.

During the webinar they detail their consulting work the NCEE did in Kentucky. They also talk about how NCEE plans on doing consulting work for other Departments of Education. In other words, not only do you give up local and state control in education, you give it up to the NCEE who receives their funding from the Federal partners in the Common Core reform.

Do you still wonder why Common Core has been dubbed, a federal take over in education?
One needs to ask Representatives Gile (D), Wolf (R) and Ladd (R) when they decided it was a good idea to abandon local control in education? These are the three representatives who are now pushing the Tucker agenda in New Hampshire.
ladd.nhhouse@charter.net
Mary.Gile@leg.state.nh.us
terry.wolf@leg.state.nh.us

Around 22 minutes they discuss waivers to state laws through the State Department of Education. In other words, if the state passes a law, the State DoE can essentially ignore the will of the people. It’s just another way to erode local control in education.

NCEE never tells the listeners about what the Bluegrass Institute reported in Kentucky. No wonder the NH Representatives are falling for all of this. They do not take the time to look past the sales pitch from the NCEE.

Here are a few articles archived at the Bluegrass Institute with some critical review of the achievement that has been reported. They have called attention to the misleading information that’s being promoted by organizations like NCEE.

Lack of improvement in Jefferson County’s NAEP Grade 8 achievement gaps no surprise
EXCERPT:
Within the measurement errors associated with the NAEP, which only examines a sample of students, there has been no discernable improvement in recent years in the achievement gaps for Jefferson County in the eighth grade in either math or reading.

Does NAEP really show much improvement in achievement gaps in Louisville?
No matter how we consider the Grade 8 NAEP Reading situation in Jefferson County, there has been no discernable improvement.

NAEP shows achievement gaps not improving in Kentucky
The new math and reading results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have unhappy news for Kentucky’s predominant racial minority.

First Observations for Kentucky’s 2015 NAEP data
Overall conclusions:
• The NAEP “All Student” Scale Scores indicate there has been no statistically significant improvement in Kentucky’s performance in either reading or math in either the fourth or the eighth grade since the year before Kentucky adopted the Common Core State Standards.
• If Common Core had impacts in Kentucky, they are too small for the NAEP to confidently detect them.
• Given that Kentucky has more experience with Common Core than any other state – including more years of state Common Core testing, which started back in the 2011-12 school year – the state’s flat performance in “All Student” scores is of concern well beyond the Bluegrass State’s borders.

After you work your way through the NCEE’s propaganda, you begin to realize that one must look beyond their “findings” to notice that things don’t appear as the NCEE would like you to believe.

Finally, even the Kentucky college professors are now crying foul. College Professors Begin Revolt Against Common Core , reports that the the plan to change the remedial college classes, was dramatically changed.
CPE president Robert King explained to the Kentucky Board of Education during its October 6 meeting, students who formerly would have gone through remediation are now to be thrown into credit-bearing courses. But since such students obviously won’t be ready for real college work, the courses will be designated “co-requisite”—meaning lagging students will receive extra help of some sort so they can catch up.”

At what point will Tucker admit that his workforce development model, dubbed Common Core, is not only unraveling, but is harming students too? Why would New Hampshire want to follow Kentucky? Why again wouldn’t we look at states like Massachusetts to see what they did to bring their students the level of success they achieved prior to Common Core?

At 32:00 Representative Gile asks about all of the districts getting on board with the NCEE take-over. If you continue to listen, Rep. Gile even praises all of this. Note that none of this comes from the local districts or even the state.

At 40:00 Representative Gile references the improving test scores in Kentucky. Did she think to actually look at the critical analysis on those scores by the Bluegrass Institute?

She then goes on to ask about the public participation. We believe that was answered a few nights ago when the people of Kentucky elected an ANTI-COMMON CORE GOVERNOR. Will Rep. Gile listen to the good people of Ky or ignore them as she has ignored the parents in New Hampshire?

We have to admit, they did provide an interesting answer to her question. They simply haven’t engaged them yet. Why engage or reach out to parents in Kentucky who clearly reject Common Core? This is what the NCEE wants to shove down their throats! Instead they reference a “non-partisan” organization Prichard Committee will be the “voice.”

Where have we seen this before? Reaching Higher NH for instance? The front group for Common Core? The newly established organization to push the federal reforms?

At 50:00 Representative Gile asks about how to get NCEE into the state as consultants. Let’s make sure Rep. Gile (D), Ladd (R) and Wolf (R) know that we want NO part of the NCEE or Marc Tucker running our schools and further eroding local control in Education.

It’s bad enough they refuse to offer a critical analysis of what Tucker is selling at tomorrows meeting, it’s worse that this is may translate into Tucker further facilitating the federal reforms using our tax dollars.

NCEE

Hate Common Core? NH has a chance to tell the Chief Architect

We are wondering why two Republicans on the House Education Committee, Rep. Rick Ladd and Terry Wolf, are joining Democrat Rep. Mary Gile, to bring one of the chief architects of Common Core to New Hampshire WITHOUT any critics to counter his propaganda?

If the two Republican Representatives have joined forces with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on this important issue, maybe it’s time for them to share that information with the rest of us!

We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE ALL PARENTS, TEACHERS, and ANYONE else concerned about the erosion of local control and the problems with “Common Core,” to ATTEND THIS MEETING.

The House Education Committee invites colleagues in the House and Senate to a day of continuing education entitled “Education Through an International Lens,” to be held Tuesday, November 10th at 9:00 a.m. in LOB rooms 210-211. Speakers will include Dr. Julie Bell, Education Program Director for the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), and Mr. Marc Tucker, President and CEO of the National Center for Education and the Economy. Dr. Bell will offer a brief introduction to NCSL and their rationale for a major study on international education. Mr. Tucker will provide an overview of how other industrialized countries compare to the U.S. on various indicators of student achievement, including educational standards, assessments and accountability, time and learning, funding and equity and teaching policy. A panel representing N.H. educators and businesses will follow.
HOSTED BY Reps. Rick Ladd, Mary Stuart Gile, and Terry Wolf

WE ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ the following articles about Marc Tucker to familiarize his positions on education reform. For instance, his support for ELIMINATING local control in education. Something New Hampshire prides itself on. (Dr. Sandra Stocky replies to Marc Tucker’s last visit to NH: Liar Liar Pants on Fire)

PARENTS need to write the three legislators and ask them WHY they would not invite Dr. Stotsky to this presentation given her close proximity to New Hampshire. Dr. Stotsky who is a resident of Massachusetts has visited New Hampshire many times to offer an expert analysis on the problems with the Common Core standards. Or Dr. Duke Pesta who has also traveled to New Hampshire on many occasions to bring parents critical information on Common Core.

Why would they not want to offer the audience critical information on this education reform? What are they hiding and why are they attempting to keep our elected representatives IN THE DARK on this issue?

ladd.nhhouse@charter.net
Mary.Gile@leg.state.nh.us
terry.wolf@leg.state.nh.us

ALSO send an e-mail to the State Representatives and Senators and let them know they represent YOU. It’s WRONG to ask YOUR elected representatives to attend a propaganda session with NO balance on this important issue. HouseEducationCommittee@leg.state.nh.us, Senators@leg.state.nh.us