THE EVA EMPIRE
Seven of the fifteen top-scoring schools on New York’s math proficiency tests this year were Success Academy charter schools. Richard Whitmire says the stellar results make founder Eva Moskowitz more toxic as she seeks to expand.
DRILL, BABY, DRILL!
More evidence that memorizing basic math facts is good for kids. Healthy children switch from counting to math fact retrieval at 8-9 years old, says this new study.
SHEEN FADES ON NCLB WAIVERS
Waivers "gave states room to breathe," says Andy Smarick, "but what's left feels extremely messy," he said. Meanwhile, remember not to mention the “w-word” around Petrilli.
WHY THE ATLANTA TESTING SCANDAL MATTERS
The trial raises two big questions, NPR notes: How common is cheating? And what else might be happening in schools as a result of tests?
TRADING HER BROOM FOR A RAKE?
Some teachers say they’ll boycott Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. now that Michelle Rhee has joined the board.
MAKING THE CUT
The New York State Education Department dropped the number of raw points needed to hit proficiency levels in half of this year’s Common Core tests, officials acknowledged to the New York Post.
DON'T READ THAT, READ THIS
Schools are not businesses, opines Berkeley professor David L. Kirp in The New York Times. That’s not an op-ed, responds Neerav Kingsland, this is an op-ed.
FORDHAM IN THE NEWS
The Columbus Dispatch takes note of our new report, “The Hidden Half: School Employees Who Don’t Teach.” So does the Dallas Morning News. And Checker is quoted in Sarah Garland’s piece on the legacy of A Nation at Risk.
STANDARD NONSENSE
New NEA head tells teachers to “ignore stupid reforms” and teach Shakespeare, ignoring that Shakespeare is one of the only authors mentioned by name in Common Core. D’oh!
