=DeeperChalk= Where teachers can tell the truth about Public Ed.

DataWorks as consultants in California schools, and similar corporations

Educational Consulting companies----Angels or Devils?

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The education consulting company, Dataworks, has been acting as consultants for a number of California schools, and other schools in other states as well.

My school (which I choose not to disclose, for privacy's sake), has spent at least a 6-figure amount on Dataworks to
ostensibly assist the school in making higher test scores on the mandated NCLB tests.

Here is their website:

http://www.dataworks-ed.com/


At my school, there has been quite a bit of grumbling and complaining about Datawork's demands on the faculty, as well as the qualifications of the presenters (1 presenter was changed, after a bitter complaint from the Math dept).

However, in true teacher form, nearly all faculty members have been cooperative and prompt in their responses to Datawork's demands (for sets of lesson plans to evaluate, suggested lesson-plan formats to follow, etc).

After all, many teachers were the "good kids" in class themselves--You know, the ones who were usually cooperative, polite and reponsive. So it is not surprising that the faculty did what they were told to do, and delivered on all requests, even the "grumblers".

But there remain some doubts about Dataworks. They are a young company, apparently formed in the late 1990s, not long before the drafting of NCLB. This writer wonders if there are connections between the lobbyists and business interests who wrote the bill, and the company. They are making good money OFF THE TAXPAYER, and certainly increasing the pressure on classroom teachers.

There are other such consulting corporations at work in California as well. Another is called Action Learning.
And there are certainly a few others around.

Some teachers, in private, say they sense a
"hidden agenda" with Dataworks.
But at this stage, to be fair, it is just a feeling some
folks have, rightly or wrongly.

But it is an uneasy feeling nonetheless.

There is a desire to find out more about Dataworks, either to alleviate the feelings of unease about them, or justify it, whichever way it goes.

For right now, while this Blog is young, feel free to post about ANY of these companies at work in your school.

So how is Dataworks (or other educational consulting corporations) doing at YOUR school?
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Here's a site with some info/opinions on the subject:

http://www.susanohanian.org/show_nclb_outrages.html?id=839

Quote from article:

"...Robert Schaeffer, of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, said he is wary of the long-term effects of private consulting services on public education.

Many services encourage teachers to focus their lessons solely on what might be covered on a standardized test, Schaeffer said.

'When politicians make test scores all that matter, what you get are schools becoming coaching factories that outsource the work to boost test scores, whether that helps education
or not.'
Test scores might improve, Schaeffer said, but students might not be learning.
'It's like being in a room that's too cold and holding up a match to the thermostat.'

Morale also can be damaged when teachers are asked to follow advice from people outside the school community who aren't always educators, he added."
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posted by Da Manijment @ 1:52 PM