The Iowa Senate may vote to vacate a decision by the Iowa State Board of Education to use Smarter Balanced in place of a new assessment to be ready by 2018.
Scott Walker Calls on Wisconsin State Legislature to Repeal Common Core
(CaffeinatedThoughts.com) Yesterday Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) out of the blue issued a press release calling for Wisconsin to repeal the Common Core. He said in a prepared statement, “Today, I call on the members of the State Legislature to pass a bill in early January to repeal Common Core and replace it with standards set […]
A Good First Step in Iowa
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is one of several Republican governors who has attempted to alleviate concerns about the Common Core State Standards through executive order. Yesterday he signed executive order 83 which reads: WHEREAS, the Iowa Constitution encourages a strong educational foundation by providing that, “[t]he General Assembly shall encourage, by all suitable means, the […]
SBAC Assessments Sneak Through Republican-Led Iowa House
I wrote back in January that there would have to be a statutory change in Iowa before the Iowa Department of Education could implement the assessments from the Smarter Balanced Assessments Consortium. Well that took one step forward last night when it was approved on a voice vote no less in the Iowa House. It […]
Iowa Lawmaker: Iowa Department of Education Not Responsible for Success
Governor Terry Branstad gave his Condition of the State address where a lions share dealt with education. This follows-up his unveiling of his education plan yesterday. State Representative Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) had this to say regarding the piece on education: Schultz said that he was completely supportive of his property tax reform ideas, but was […]
SBAC Assessments Will Require Statutory Change In Iowa
Iowa jumped on the Common Core State Standards in 2010. They joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The Iowa Department of Education can’t mandate assessments. Statutorily they are legally allowed to align the Iowa standards with other “accepted” standards. Iowa Code 256.7 subsection 26b says: Continue the inclusive process begun during the initial development of […]
Iowa’s Plan for Education Success–Assess, Assess, Assess
The Iowa Department of Education released it’s 2012 annual report that calls for more student assessments statewide which will mean less local control.
Branstad Looks to Place His Chips on Centralization of Education
Do you remember when Republicans used to be considered the party of local control? I don’t think they can accurately be portrayed that way anymore, at least not when you look at the leadership within the party. There has been a bipartisan assault at the federal level by former President George W. Bush with No […]
Give the Iowa Department of Education Your Feedback
The Iowa Department of Education desires your feedback provided that you are a teacher, administrator or some other school employee. Apparently a parent (or even a student) is not considered a “customer.” They do list an “other” option for the first question that asks “please choose the option that best describes your position.” So I […]
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s Education Power Grab
Let’s go ahead and sacrifice local control and expand the Department of Education’s reach into nonpublic schools, I mean – it’s for the kids right? Governor Branstad’s education bill needs to be killed, period. There are a couple of good items in there, but overall it stinks.