An Experimental Study of the Effects of Monetary Incentives on Performance on the 12th-Grade NAEP Reading Assessment
Henry Braun, Irwin Kirsch, and Kentaro YamamotoTeachers College RecordForthcoming 2011
Henry Braun, Irwin Kirsch, and Kentaro YamamotoTeachers College RecordForthcoming 2011
Edward CroweCenter for American ProgressJuly 2010
Gadfly’s not sure what to make of Secretary Duncan’s comments earlier this week in a big speech to the National Urban League.
George Parker put his name on the dotted line. And thus, a city which previously paid, in the words of the Washington Post, “lip service” to teacher quality put its money where its mouth is.
We confess. Mike and I were partly wrong last week: More than half a dozen conservatives have misgivings about the “Common Core” standards and the tests to follow.
We often find ourselves in the other corner of the policy ring from AFT President Randi Weingarten. So it is with a mixture of cheer and frustration that we discover Ms. Weingarten to be a talented crafter of haiku, sanely ambitious (“just enough to make a difference”), and notably tireless (“what is sleep?” she queries when asked how much she gets).
The Administration's number-one pitchman thinks I'm being overly critical about the Race to the Top, but what does he have to say about
For the better part of a week, Washington has been consumed by the Shirley Sherrod pseudo-scandal, leading many pundits to ponder race relations in America circa 2010.
It has been a month since the death of the longest tenured Senator in US history, Robert Byrd, and today I'd like to honor Byrd by talking about one of his favorite subjects: history.
Teaching to the test becoming a problem? Check out two schools where passing the test goes hand-in-hand with good teaching, no matter the student's background.
?To suggest that a charter school started by community members who want to help kids in their community cannot serve 100 percent Hispanic kids in a community that's 100 percent Hispanic ? that they should be penalized for that or they shouldn't be allowed to open up ? that doesn't make sense.''
Arne Duncan just announced 19 finalists for Race to the Top round two, including Ohio, saying that these applications represented the boldest reforms (and by ?bold,? that means those in the top 51 percent of the 36 states plus?DC?to submit).
An interesting article in the July 10th edition of Newsweek illustrates a growing ?Creativity Crisis? facing US students. Creativity has always been considered a key to continued US strength, but general creativity scores for US students have been falling consistently since 1990.?
Well, as you've probably seen/heard by now, there are 19 finalists for the federal Race to the Top Phase 2 competition (35 states and the District of Columbia had applied.) Education Secretary Arne Duncan made the announcement during a speech at the National Press Club earlier today.
Arne Duncan is going to announce the finalists in the second round of the Race to the Top tomorrow, the significance of which is?nothing. The Secretary is free to name as many states as he wishes, which is precisely what I suspect he'll do.
With the common core standards seemingly on their way to mass adoption it's time for us to turn our eyes to the next step of the Common Core: nati
Mike appeared on ABC News on Saturday, discussing the North Carolina school busing fray. If you haven't heard, the Wake County school board recently decided to stop busing students, thus prompting accusations of school resegregation. Watch the video for more.
?Every child in a District of Columbia public school has a right to a highly effective teacher ? in every classroom, of every school, of every neighborhood, of every ward, in this City. That is our commitment. Today . . . we take another step toward making that commitment a reality.''
The??common core? state standards for grades K-12?have been released. Much will need to happen if these standards and related assessments are to get traction in American education over the next few years. But we at the?Fordham Institute are looking even further ahead: we're considering the issues that will determine the long-term viability of this endeavor.
I was on a panel yesterday with Josh Edelman, the director of the Office of School Innovation at the District of Columbia Public Schools. Just 20 percent of DC students attend their neighborhood public school. I asked him how many DCPS students attend school ?out-of-boundary.? His answer? 70 percent.
Today in the New York Times, reporter Tamar Lewin wrote about the growing college-completion rate gap between the U.S. and other countries. The US previously led the world in 25-34 year olds with college degrees, but now ranks 12th out of 36 developed nations.
We've all learned from Mel Gibson that recorded racial epithets are very poor for job security. Could a republican controlled Congress save the Obama presidency?
?But the reality is, if we don't do something, all of the important programs, not only public defense but we're talking about children's programs, after-school programs, education, senior programs, everything that we care about as progressives is going to be lost because it's being sucked up by the cost of pensions?
The Common Core is the latest chic accessory for states to adopt. As of today, 29 states and counting have adopted. But look back four years, and national education standards weren't even a twinkle in Arne Duncan's eye. According to a Thomas B.
Attention parents: if you can't get your boys to read, why not try some potty-humor? It might make him more productive.
?[The National Standards are] a beginning point for us all to be on the same page in education.'' ?Dotti Love Wade, Member of the D.C. State Board of Education
Richard Lee Colvin, Betsy Hammond, Dale Mezzacappa, Sarah Garland, and Thomas TochWashington MonthlyJuly/August 2010
Andrew Hacker and Claudia DreifusTimes Books2010