1) Cathie Black's Rudeness at a "Hearing" Where Nobody is Listening 2)Testing Failure, and the Failure of Testing

Last night's so-called "hearings" made a mockery of the process. This is a long-standing strategy of the Bloomberg administration. They set up a "hearing," but don't listen. Many, many people spoke, and Cathie Black mocked the crowd, saying, "Awwwwww," in response to parent's complaints about the closing of ten schools. Joel Klein was not so imprudent as to mock the crowd, but he, too, made sure their concerns went unheeded. The Chancellors and the Mayor have made up their minds about what schools to close, and they really don't care what the public wants.

There is a fallacy at work here: that charter schools are the panacea for educational ills. Rather, they shift the burden of educational success/finance onto the private sector, at least in part. But private moneys dry up! This happened to Ted Sizer's "Coalition Schools" with Annenberg money. Great schools/programs were started, but when the grant ran out after ten years much of what made those schools unique could no longer be funded. How does that help education over the long term? Plus, to what kinds of standards are private institutions held? Where is their oversight? They will hype their own success with CEO's and publicity campaigns, but where's the beef? Further, charter schools select their students. "Regular" public schools do not have that option. So who doesn't get served? The neediest kids. It is always that way.

Mr. Bloomberg: You an make the schools "look good" by fudging numbers and passing the buck, but ultimately, time will show that you have not improved educational outcomes. The kids whose parents are involved in their education will continue to do well. The kids whose parents are too overwrought with the burdens of putting food on the table, or who have tremendous problems of their own, will still be unable to support their children's homework and other academic efforts. Drop out rates are not declining. You may pretend that test scores are improving, but this is false. Test scores are being manipulated like never before.

It is possible to pass the Math Regents while getting less than 40% right. English scores are manipulated when grading rubrics get easier and easier. Thus, on a score of one to six, with six as the highest, what was once graded as a "2" is now a "3," and what was once a "3" is now a "4". It is appalling how poorly a student can write and still pass the English Language Regents Exam. New York Times: TAKE NOTICE.