ELIZABETH WARREN ON EDUCATION

I read Elizabeth Warren's education plan and there are many truly positive points in there. She goes into great detail on how she would fix public schools, literally in fact, as one of her planks is to provide plenty of money to repair our crumbling schools.

Some highlights:

On funding:
My plan addresses each and every aspect of this problem. It starts by quadrupling Title I funding - an additional $450 billion over the next 10 years - to help ensure that all children get a high-quality public education.

But we need to do more than just increase funding. We also need to ensure that federal funds are reaching the students and schools that need it most. That’s why I’m committed to working with public education leaders and school finance experts to improve the way the federal government allocates this new Title I funding. And I would impose transparency requirements on this new funding so that we can understand what investments work best and adapt our approach accordingly.

On teacher pay and union organizing:
Provide funding for schools to increase pay and support for all public school educators: Pay for our public school educators is unacceptably low, and it’s putting incredible strain on them and causing many to burn out and leave the profession. My plan to quadruple Title I funding incentivizes states to shift their funding formulas to better support students in critical ways, such as by increasing teacher pay with the goal of closing the educator pay gap and also paying paraprofessionals and other education support professionals a living wage. It also means additional funds to ensure that classrooms are well-equipped with resources and supports so that teachers aren’t paying out of pocket. 

Strengthen the ability of teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff to organize and bargain for just compensation, for a voice in education policy, and for greater investment in public education: One of the best ways to raise teacher pay permanently and sustainably - and to give teachers more voice in their schools - is to make it easier for teachers to join a union, to bargain collectively, and to strike like educators did across 14 states in 2018-2019. I have led the effort to eliminate the ability of states to pass anti-union “right to work” laws, and I will make enacting that change a top priority. And as part of my plan for empowering American workers, I pledged to enact the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which ensures that public employees like teachers can organize and bargain collectively in each state, and authorizes voluntary deduction of fees to support a union.

On charter schools:

Ensure existing charter schools are subject to at least the same level of transparency and accountability as traditional public schools: Many existing charter schools aren’t subject to the same transparency and accountability requirements as traditional public schools. That’s wrong. That’s why I support the NAACP’s recommendations to only allow school districts to serve as charter authorizers, and to empower school districts to reject applications that do not meet transparency and accountability standards, consider the fiscal impact and strain on district resources, and establish policies for aggressive oversight of charter schools.

Here is part of the NAACP statement on their resolution calling for a moratorium on expanding charter schools: 

CINCINNATI – Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Board of Directors ratified a resolution Saturday adopted by delegates at its 2016 107th National Convention calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion and for the strengthening of oversight in governance and practice.

On testing:

Eliminate high-stakes testing: The push toward high-stakes standardized testing has hurt both students and teachers. Schools have eliminated critical courses that are not subject to federally mandated testing, like social studies and the arts. They can exclude students who don’t perform well on tests. Teachers feel pressured to teach to the test, rather than ensuring that students have a rich learning experience. I oppose high-stakes testing, and I co-sponsored successful legislation in Congress to eliminate unnecessary and low-quality standardized tests. As president, I’ll push to prohibit the use of standardized testing as a primary or significant factor in closing a school, firing a teacher, or making any other high-stakes decisions, and encourage schools to use authentic assessments that allow students to demonstrate learning in multiple ways.

This looks like the Michael Mulgrew/Andrew Cuomo approach to testing. What does it mean that standardized tests can't be a primary or significant factor in closing a school, firing a teacher, or making any other high-stakes decisions? So if it is 40% of a decision that won't be primary or significant.

What does she mean by using authentic assessments that allow students to demonstrate learning in multiple ways? 

I see lots of wiggle room here to keep the high stakes testing going and just calling it something else.  Senator Warren does not have a great history when it comes to testing. There is Mulgrew like language to change from testing to assessments This is a little concerning.

Am I nitpicking?

This is what the Network for Public Education Action, who are applauding Senator Warren's stand on charter schools, say on the Elizabeth Warren page about testing:

During the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing Fixing No Child Left Behind: Testing and Accountability, Senator Warren’s comments indicated that she views high-stakes standardized tests as the measure that must be used to hold States accountable for the federal tax dollars they receive. The video of the hearing is linked above and the full transcript is here.

Warren said, “If the states are going to get federal dollars to improve public education systems then we need to make sure that those dollars are not being wasted but that they are actually being used to improve education.”

Warren, along with three Democratic senators endorsed by DFER [Democrats for Education Reform], insisted on stronger accountability measures based on testing to gain their support for ESSA [Elementary and Secondary Schools Act].

There is a great deal to like in Senator Warren's education plan. That said, there are questions. 

Please read the plan for yourself. In the end, it is enjoyable that the candidates for President are moving in our direction. Times have certainly changed. If this is just pandering to teachers, at least we are worthy of being pandered to instead of vilified. The trick is to turn the pandering into better policy.