Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

riversedge

(69,730 posts)
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 02:47 PM Oct 2019

DeVos admits latest nationwide education scores are so bad they're 'devastating'

Source: raw story




Published 5 mins ago on October 30, 2019

By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement


Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has just admitted that under her leadership nationwide education test scores have dropped so far they are “devastating.” Her plan: more of what she’s been doing for nearly three years.
............................................

“Fourth- and eighth-grade average scores on the ‘Nation’s Report Card,‘ released today, declined since the 2017 assessment, except for an increase in mathematics for fourth graders,” Politico reports, in an article titled, “Test scores slump in ‘Nation’s Report Card.’”



...................


DeVos’ plan is to privatize as much of the education system and infrastructure as possible. Her “solution” to “devastating” education test scores is more vouchers, more charter schools, more federal, state, and local taxes being shoveled into the hands of her friends who run those programs.

She calls it “education freedom,” and claims it is “the only way to bring about the change our country desperately needs....................


“Two out of three of our nation’s children aren’t proficient readers,” DeVos admits. “In fact, fourth grade reading declined in 17 states and eighth grade reading declined in 31. The gap between the highest and lowest performing students is widening, despite $1 trillion in Federal spending over 40 years designated specifically to help close it.”........................................

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/devos-admits-latest-nationwide-education-scores-are-so-bad-theyre-devastating/






?s=20
40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
DeVos admits latest nationwide education scores are so bad they're 'devastating' (Original Post) riversedge Oct 2019 OP
Make that DEVOStating... MontanaMama Oct 2019 #1
Wow! Good one! lagomorph777 Oct 2019 #3
DeVostating. That term should be branded on her and made viral. n/t MarcA Oct 2019 #4
I would like the Education department to be De-Vosted all the way out the door. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2019 #21
So the Cruella DeVos plan is to continue the devastation. lagomorph777 Oct 2019 #2
Of course. durablend Oct 2019 #6
I definitely see the results in college. Coventina Oct 2019 #5
HS friend teaches at college, English/Literature/Writing benld74 Oct 2019 #8
My SIL Sgent Oct 2019 #23
Is It The Writing RobinA Oct 2019 #30
60 here. I agree with you 100%. Those in the 20-30 crowd at work aren't very sharp. nt Progressive Jones Oct 2019 #31
My daughter is 18 and I know her friends ChubbyStar Oct 2019 #39
Hey, I know that all young people aren't all dummies, Progressive Jones Nov 2019 #40
It's both. They don't know how to think, as they let their phones do their thinking for them. Coventina Oct 2019 #35
A poorly educated populace has been the plan since Raygun. flibbitygiblets Oct 2019 #7
Exactly! ...nt 2naSalit Oct 2019 #16
Yep. It's like Carlin said: "They don't want people capable of critical thinking sitting around the Evolve Dammit Oct 2019 #25
Betsy, you're doing a heckofa job! Zorro Oct 2019 #9
So, after her 3 years or so of BS from her and her policies, she finally admits she's wrong? ... SWBTATTReg Oct 2019 #10
Where did she admit she's wrong? ... aggiesal Oct 2019 #19
Everything she's doing now will take years to correct. Grokenstein Oct 2019 #11
Republicans screw up government, then use their own screw ups to prove Government doesn't work. Midnight Writer Oct 2019 #12
Not only Children... NonPC Oct 2019 #13
This is like a dentist drilling 2 new holes every time he fixes a cavity. It's good for business. LastDemocratInSC Oct 2019 #14
US plutocrats do not want an educated public. Lonestarblue Oct 2019 #15
privatize should be PROFITIZE. This is purely a profit venture. n/t aggiesal Oct 2019 #20
Secretary DeVos shows a human side. BlueWI Oct 2019 #17
The obsession with testing and data via testing is killing learning... JCMach1 Oct 2019 #18
Bingo! BigmanPigman Oct 2019 #22
Yes it is fucked up. Kids are unecessairly stressed in early years, due to these "standardized" Evolve Dammit Oct 2019 #28
Betsy has all Fs on her report card FakeNoose Oct 2019 #24
Her plan and actions are finally paying off for her. JDC Oct 2019 #26
Let's guess, only some Amway sh*t will save education in Merca. Hassler Oct 2019 #27
So. It's working. As planned. dchill Oct 2019 #29
Devos is pure evil........... Takket Oct 2019 #32
Maybe if the education system reduced the emphasis on standardized testing csziggy Oct 2019 #33
Red herring Blackjackdavey Oct 2019 #34
I'm sure that if we add Bble Study and armed teachers to the curriculum that will solve everything Hekate Oct 2019 #36
If they admit "devstating" then they are actually "abysmal". meadowlander Oct 2019 #37
she is DISGUSTING Skittles Oct 2019 #38

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
2. So the Cruella DeVos plan is to continue the devastation.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 02:49 PM
Oct 2019

Which, of course, was always the plan. Russiapublicans want an ignorant, gullible public.

durablend

(7,416 posts)
6. Of course.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 02:59 PM
Oct 2019

And cue the cries of "The education system doesn't work! Stop wasting our tax money and get rid of it!"

Coventina

(26,874 posts)
5. I definitely see the results in college.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 02:52 PM
Oct 2019

Most of my students can't write a coherent sentence, much less a paragraph.

Essay?

Forget it!

benld74

(9,889 posts)
8. HS friend teaches at college, English/Literature/Writing
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 03:01 PM
Oct 2019

Tasked with classes of incoming Frosh, who match what you are saying to a T.

She/he said it was challenging to say the least. Has seen kids improve, those who really put in the work.

This coming year? Changes coming. No remedial classes, throwing them into the deep end,,,,

Sgent

(5,857 posts)
23. My SIL
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 05:25 PM
Oct 2019

teaches 6th grade English and has 180 kids in her classroom (at a public, reasonably funded for our state district). Before she had kids she used to do 2 "essays" a week but now doesn't have time to grade.

RobinA

(9,878 posts)
30. Is It The Writing
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 10:08 PM
Oct 2019

or the thinking? I’m 62. I listen to people talk at work and the illogical stuff I hear and the simple things people can’t seem to figure out is jaw dropping.

ChubbyStar

(3,191 posts)
39. My daughter is 18 and I know her friends
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 11:35 PM
Oct 2019

I am telling you these kids are sharp, hard working, dedicated to learning, and full of promise. Oh, I am a single Mom, and we have struggled together my girl and I, most of her friends are from immigrant and low income families. I think the kids who came up with little during these past two decades of rapacious greed, are gonna kick up a fuss.

Progressive Jones

(6,011 posts)
40. Hey, I know that all young people aren't all dummies,
Fri Nov 1, 2019, 12:33 AM
Nov 2019

but you wouldn't know it from the people I have working with me.
Out of a dozen, I have one young man on my crew who has it together, and he's the youngest.

It sounds cliche, but at 19-20 y.o. (the end of the 70s), I had
more going for me than the 30-somethings I work with, and I was even a party animal back then.
I worked harder, I wasn't a video game addict, and I didn't live my day to day life wrapped up in
conspiracy theories, chugging Mountain Dew down in my mother's basement.

You mentioned an 18 year old daughter. I'm talking about a group that is mostly 30-somethings, twice your daughter's age.
There is something about that 30-something crowd that is off. I suspect that people your daughter's age might see this, too.
Best of luck to her.

Coventina

(26,874 posts)
35. It's both. They don't know how to think, as they let their phones do their thinking for them.
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 11:47 AM
Oct 2019

All answers are in the palms of their hands, so they don't need to learn or reason through anything.

flibbitygiblets

(7,220 posts)
7. A poorly educated populace has been the plan since Raygun.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 02:59 PM
Oct 2019

Fear and ignorance are pretty much the entire Republican strategy for staying in power and making themselves wealthy.

Ignorant people vote against their own best interests. They are Trump's "base".

Evolve Dammit

(16,632 posts)
25. Yep. It's like Carlin said: "They don't want people capable of critical thinking sitting around the
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 06:45 PM
Oct 2019

kitchen table talking about a system that threw them overboard 30 f'in years ago. They want obedient workers."

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
10. So, after her 3 years or so of BS from her and her policies, she finally admits she's wrong? ...
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 03:04 PM
Oct 2019

Somehow I don't think she'll change one damn thing either. So much for her 'business expertise' eh? Worthless as usual.

aggiesal

(8,864 posts)
19. Where did she admit she's wrong? ...
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 04:05 PM
Oct 2019

She's simply bragging.

This is all completely by design.

It's a DeVostating plan. Just follow the steps & money.
1) Ruin the public education system.
2) Scream at the top of your lungs, how bad the public education system is.
3) Start funneling your tax dollars into a Profitize (not Privatized) school system
(i.e. her friends and family).
4) Count your money.

Simple really.

Grokenstein

(5,707 posts)
11. Everything she's doing now will take years to correct.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 03:04 PM
Oct 2019

She's mutilating an entire generation.

It only makes sense if you think her motive is to create a populace of easily-manipulated helpless buffoons. And that keeps in line with everything else Puppet Sharpie and his minions are doing.

NonPC

(271 posts)
13. Not only Children...
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 03:17 PM
Oct 2019

Two out of three Republicans are not proficient readers either. Dishonest Donny is one of them.

Lonestarblue

(9,880 posts)
15. US plutocrats do not want an educated public.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 03:35 PM
Oct 2019

The push for charter schools has not reversed the trend of declining test scores, which are only continuing to decline. Perhaps that because charter schools are more about politics than education. Here’s an interesting take on Republican goals for public education.

“Republican strategists want to privatize education because:

a) Education is a multibillion dollar market, and the private sector is eager to get its hands on those dollars.
b) Conservatives are devoted to the free market and believe that private is inherently superior to public.
c) Shrinking public education furthers the Republican Party goal of drastically reducing the public sector.
d) Privatization undermines teacher unions, a key base of support for the Democratic Party.
e) Privatization rhetoric can be used to woo African American and Latino voters to the Republican Party.
...
Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform and one of the most influential Republican strategists in Washington, has long recognized the partisan value of vouchers, sometimes euphemistically referred to as "choice." "School choice reaches right into the heart of the Democratic coalition and takes people out of it," he said in a 1998 interview with Insight , the magazine of the conservative Washington Times.“

From https://www.rethinkingschools.org/magazine/special-collections/the-no-child-left-behind-act/why-the-right-hates-public-education

BlueWI

(1,736 posts)
17. Secretary DeVos shows a human side.
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 04:00 PM
Oct 2019

It took a hot mess of outrageous gaffes, cringe-worthy moments, and train-wreck policies, but admitting the obvious is better than outright denial and stonewalling.

BigmanPigman

(51,432 posts)
22. Bingo!
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 05:21 PM
Oct 2019

"Teaching to the test" in Kinder and First Grades is fucked up! I spent more time teaching kids on how to take the test than actual content. I had to test the entire class whole class and 1:1 at least every 3 months than analyze the data to death. Teachers who know better end up "sneak teaching" while hoping there isn't a surprise observation. No wonder no one wants to teach anymore.

Evolve Dammit

(16,632 posts)
28. Yes it is fucked up. Kids are unecessairly stressed in early years, due to these "standardized"
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 06:53 PM
Oct 2019

tests linked to school rankings, teacher performance and all kinds of meaningless number crunching, policy wonk crap that has NOTHING to do with the joy of actual learning and discovery that education should be based on. Look at other countries models. The emphasis and priorities are much different. Norway and France come to mind based on documentaries I've watched.

Takket

(21,425 posts)
32. Devos is pure evil...........
Wed Oct 30, 2019, 10:15 PM
Oct 2019

i hope when the dust settles of the impeachment and 2020 election, that the Dems find something to charge her with. she is a monster and deserves to be locked away for the rest of her miserable life

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
33. Maybe if the education system reduced the emphasis on standardized testing
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 06:01 AM
Oct 2019

Teachers would have time to teach the subjects kids really need. My nephew was a history teacher in middle school for a few years. He finally quit in disgust. The standardized test scores were considered the most important thing - some teachers would only teach what was needed to pass the tests, then slack off the rest of the year once the tests were finished. He quit, became a sheriff's deputy and is now working his way up the ladder.

Not only does he feel as though he is making a difference (intelligent, educated law officer who is also liberal in a very red area) but the pay is MUCH better. If he had seen any prospect of pay increases in his first career, he might have stayed in education and tried harder to make a difference there, but he has two children with health problems and a third child who also needs more support.

As a teacher and with a wife who is also a teacher they would not have been able to help their children get the education they have. They already have to spend a lot of time giving their kids the knowledge that the public schools don't.

Blackjackdavey

(177 posts)
34. Red herring
Thu Oct 31, 2019, 11:29 AM
Oct 2019

This is a red herring: "Teachers would have time to teach the subjects kids really need. My nephew was a history teacher in middle school for a few years."

Because this is the truth: "some teachers would only teach what was needed to pass the tests, then slack off the rest of the year once the tests were finished."

There is plenty of time for teachers to do the teaching they lament not having the time to do.

I don't mean this to be argumentative, but as a parent with children in public schools this has become a peeve of mine. Standardized tests have issues but preventing teachers from teaching isn't one of them.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»DeVos admits latest natio...