Missouri's testing company attending meeting on how to make money out of education

One of the primary reasons I have opposed Common Core Standards has been the obvious influence of people who want to make as much money out of education as they possibly can.

When the standards were created, classroom teachers were not the ones at the table. Those who were involved in the creation, however, included technology companies, textbook manufacturers, testing firms, and those who want to see public schools turned into privately-operated charter schools with no public control.

Representatives of those companies, including McGraw-Hill, the firm which the state of Missouri is paying $18 million for Common Core tests and practice tests to be given throughout the year (and which has had a complete breakdown in Oklahoma today which has caused state standardized tests to be suspended), are attending a summit in Scottsdale, Ariz., today to discuss how to make even more money out of our schools. The following passage is taken from noted education blogger Diane Ravitch's latest post:

This summit was originally organized by Michael Moe, who has for years predicted that the education sector could be monetized. He was right. His company—GSV stands for Global Silicon Valley–says on its website: “Our founders have spent the past two decades focused on the Megatrends that are disrupting the $4 trillion global education market along with the innovators who are transforming the industry.”

Some of the sponsors: Pearson, the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, McGraw-Hill, Cengage, amazon, Scholastic, etc.

The speakers’ list reads like a who’s who of the privatization movement, which it is.

Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, billionaire heiress to the Hyatt fortune, former member of the board of Chicago public schools; Jeb Bush, Chris Cerf, Cami Anderson, Reed Hastings, Margaret Spellings, Tom Vander Ark, Kaya Henderson, James Shelton, Jonathan Hage, and many more in the business of education reform.

Milking our education system of millions and millions of dollars is a prime reason why we have Common Core and is also the driving force behind the education reform movement. It is driven by companies that produce tests, textbooks, technology, manage school districts as charters, and want a system that is designed to produce a pliable low-income workforce.