GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Some principals have frighteningly few thoughts about good instruction. (John Thompson)
• Klein complained the Times’ test score coverage was “outrageous.” (NYC Public School Parents)
• New Cleveland contract saves jobs, cuts training days, expands peer review. (Catalyst Ohio)
• Colorado seemed certain to pass common core standards. Not anymore. (Ed News Colorado)
• Having a working mother won’t harm children after all, study says. (Washington Post)
• Rick Hess liked Obama’s speech, but doesn’t want words to lead to “over-reach.” (Hess Straight Up)
• Randi Weingarten found something to like about Race to the Top, too. (Teacher Beat)
• A Bronx Prep educator took part in a Capitol Hill briefing urging cross-discipline work. (ACSD In Service)
• A new paper on teacher pensions finds that unions aren’t the only ones to blame. (Eduwonk)

The city is removing principals of some schools the city is overhauling with federal funds but keeping others in place, according to an email from a principal today.

In an email obtained by GothamSchools, the principal of William Grady CTE High School told his staff that the city had decided to replace him and several other unnamed principals next year. The announcement was not a complete surprise, as principals of the eleven schools set to begin a new turnaround strategy next year have known they could lose their jobs for over a month.

The new strategy, known as the transformation model, is part of a federal program to improve some of the state’s lowest-performing schools. Though it is the least invasive of the four models offered — it doesn’t require firing teachers — it does call for the removal of principals.

In his email, Grady High School principal Carlston Gray wrote that while new principals who have been in their schools for three years or fewer will keep their jobs, others will be replaced. He suggested that some may be able to remain involved in their current schools. (more…)

What does it mean for tests to get easier? And is that really what happened to New York’s tests?

The analysis that has spurred that idea in the last few weeks actually found something slightly different. The tests aren’t necessarily easier, in the way that a kindergarten spelling bee is easier than the SAT. Instead, between 2007 and 2009, students who hadn’t learned much came out looking like they had.

This is an important distinction because it points to a different culprit behind the dropping standards than simply the individual test items themselves. Instead, Harvard professor Daniel Koretz – the lead author of the analysis commissioned by the state education department — names two possible causes: a phenomenon called “score inflation” and a possible psychometric error tied to an obscure state law.

The actual questions on the test play a role in both, but just as important is the practice of prepping students extensively for tests. Another key is a state law that forces New York to release all test items publicly, making it easier for teachers to practice test prep and making it harder for officials to keep tests consistent over time. (more…)

• The gap between black and white students’ test scores is as wide as it was in 2002. (NY1)
• And because scores were inflated, there’s no way to know whether students are doing better. (Times)
• Tenure denials are on the rise, slightly. (GothamSchools, Times, Post, WSJ, NY1)
• The tenure and evaluation decisions were made with help from faulty test scores. (Daily News)
• Thousands of students were promoted or retained on the basis of the scores. (GothamSchools)
• Juan Gonzalez says misled students lose biggest in the test score recalibration. (Daily News)
• The Daily News says it stands by its praise for city students, despite the lowered scores.
• Joe Williams of Democrats for Education Reform says state Dems are better on ed policy. (Daily News)
• President Obama said his education policies are meant to help, not castigate. (Times, L.A. Times)
• PS 87 in Middle Village will get a new gym and classrooms to help with crowding. (Queens Chronicle)