MORE ARTICLES

Stay Connected!

Receive the latest updates in your inbox.

LATEST ARTICLES

Committed to Maximum Transparency

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The above words are Governor Deval Patrick’s description of his administration. The practice has proven to be quite different (and I’m not the only one who thinks this.). In May, I asked the state’s Human Resource Department (HRD) for an update of an old layoff report that was used in 2004. They said no one knew what it was. I sent them an old copy, then they said it was a one-time report. I showed them it was a weekly report. They said it was discontinued. I asked for whatever they were using to track layoff counts now, then the conversation stopped. Next, I made an open records request, dated June 16, 2009. HRD did not respond, in violation of […]

Not Just Minutiae and Methodology

/0 Comments/in , , /by

UPDATE BELOW The Boston Globe has the power to set the agenda at times in this town. On Sunday, they released the results of a poll of the mayor’s race that suggested it was tightening a bit but still favored the incumbent by a wide margin. The opposite result probably would have gotten a lot more casual observers focussed on the race. David Bernstein of the Phoenix and the challenger’s campaign immediately took issue with the poll, noting that the sample appeared to consist of self-described ‘likely’ voters, not registered voters. My read is a bit more ambiguous. The source document, the UNH Survey Center’s full report, is not precisely worded. It refers initially to a sample of “553 randomly […]

Contrition about Attrition

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Mass Teachers Association’s report Charter School Success or Selective Out-Migration of Low-Achievers? makes the claim, in short, that charter schools push out underperforming students, and as a result have higher MCAS scores. This has delighted some bloggers and all those who believe that there is no way to break the mold and improve the academic outcomes for disadvantaged students. Problem is that the argument is a heap of mullarkey. A lot of “attrition”? Let’s define attrition. Attrition is mobility. It’s when a student leaves a school. It does not mean that students drop out. Folks, when parents have choice, their kids will move around. And even parents without the ease of choice that charters provide move their kids around. […]

One more time on education funding

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Given my previous post about the report from the US DOE’s Inspector General criticizing Massachusetts for cutting education funding and then using stimulus funds to fill the hole, the Governor may want to weigh assertions in his new video such as his “extraordinary efforts to invest infrastructure and education.” (See 1:25 and 1:50.) On infrastructure, absolutely. And the bridge repair plan, though flawed in some ways, is something that Pioneer supported strongly. Smart move. But on education? Nope. (Pssst. Candidates Baker, Cahill and Mihos, this video is really well done. It shows you the rhetoric and human connection the Governor is capable of. You may have good ideas and you may be running solid campaigns, but do yourselves a favor: […]

US DOE's Inspector General questions MA funding of education

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

The Alliance for Excellent Education has released a report, Straight A’s, that is scathing about the misuse of stimulus money in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. It cites a report from the US DOE’s Inspector General criticizing the three states for using the stimulus funds in a way that was not intended in the stimulus legislation. (See the OIG’s memo and the Federal OESE’s response here.) The Patrick administration has not done anything illegal but the feds don’t like it. Basically, what happened is that the ARRA had a loophole and it has led to unintended consequences – reductions in state funding for education commensurate with what the three states thought they could use the federal money for. The feds clearly […]