GIRLS RULE, BOYS DROOL
In terms of educational performance, girls appear to be on the way to running the world. Seventy percent of the countries surveyed by the Organization for Economic Development Cooperation and Development showed that girls are outpacing boys in math, science, and reading. It remains unclear why boys are falling behind, but potential causes range from harsher disciplinary action against male students to a lack of male teacher role models in schools.
HOW "COMMON" IS COMMON CORE?
The Brookings Institute’s Tom Loveless provides a great look at a thorny question facing parents and students as school districts begin adapting to the Common Core State Standards: Will universal standards force schools to ditch accelerated curricula for high-achievers? As he asks, “Will CCSS serve as a curricular floor, ensuring all students are exposed to a common body of knowledge and skills? Or will it serve as a ceiling, limiting the progress of bright students so that their achievement looks more like that of their peers?” For more on the topic, see Loveless’s paper for Fordham’s Education for Upward Mobility conference. And stay tuned for more on the topic in an upcoming policy brief from Fordham.
MEMPHIS: A REFORM STORY
Memphis is the site of a complete education reform overhaul. The city is home to the Achievement School District, and its public schools have been restructured to increase school-level autonomy, giving principals the ability to hire their own teaching staff. This piece provides an excellent school-level view of the innovative reform efforts taking from the perspective of one ASD turnaround high school.
BETTER COMMUNITY, BETTER CHARTERS
Nina Rees and Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools write about the marriage of healthy laws and supportive community members that makes for successful charter school environments. Quality authorizers, school leaders, and teachers can rarely thrive under stifling policies like enrollment caps and inequitable funding, as demonstrated in their most recent “Health of the Movement” report.
