Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement
Jacob Vigdor and Helen LaddNational Bureau of Economic ResearchJune 2010
Jacob Vigdor and Helen LaddNational Bureau of Economic ResearchJune 2010
Grover J. Whitehurst and Michelle CroftBrown Center on Education Policy, Brookings InstituteJuly 2010
It was a bit slow on the uptake, but Rhode Island last month finally created its first ever state education funding formula. (It was, in fact, the only state without a formula until now.) These formulae are usually a big muddle that give districts and schools little autonomy, even as they try to even out dollars between property-tax rich suburbs and lower-income urban areas.
Gadfly has generally been skeptical of Wake County, North Carolina’s busing plan, overturned this year by a new school board majority, focused as it was on making schools socioeconomically diverse more than on ensuring that their pupils lear
After votes yesterday in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, twenty-nine states have now embraced the new “Common Core” standards for primary and secondary education.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is on a cost-cutting warpath in the Garden State. His latest bull’s eye: superintendent pay. New Jersey has a whole lot of notoriously small school districts—591 of them—which not only adds up when it translates into paying 591 supes, but also encourages bidding wars between districts that drive up salaries.
This study weighed existing state education standards against the Common Core education standards. The findings? The Common Core standards were clearer and more rigorous than English language arts standards in 37 states and math standards in 39 states.
As you know if you've read the New York Times, Associated Press, Washington P
?It makes sense for us to adopt these standards and move forward? I have confidence that these standards are not going to knock us off course, but would build on the strong legacy of academic excellence that we have in Massachusetts.''
The K-12 academic standards in English?language arts (ELA) and math produced last month by the Common Core State Standards Initiative are clearer and more rigorous than today's ELA standards in 37 states and today's math standards in 39 states, according to the Fordham Institute's newest study.
G. Gage Kingsbury, Allan Olson, John Cronin, Carl Hauser, and Ron Houser, Northwest Evaluation AssociationJanuary, 2004
?[The national standards] represent an advancement over our already strong Massachusetts standards.? ?Robert Antonucci and David Driscoll, both former Massachusetts Education Commissioners
Rep. David Obey has been in the news a lot lately for his volatile comments against Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the NEA, President Obama, and really any old soul who dares disagree with the almighty appropriations committee.?
Earlier this month, the Institute of Education Sciences released a major charter school study, the largest ever to use the ?gold standard? methodology of randomly assigning students to treatment and control schools.
Reason television helps us find the silver lining in education in the aftermath of Katrina.
?So as far as I'm concerned, the secretary of Education should have been happy as hell?He should have taken that deal and smiled like a Cheshire cat. He's got more walking around money than every other cabinet secretary put together.? -David Obey, U.S. House Representative
Mike recently talked with Doug Lemov, author of?Teach Like a Champion, and Steven Farr, author of?Teaching as Leadership, for Education Next about the importance of learning from great teachers. Lemov said at one point:
Yesterday's Gadfly editorial on Harvard and testing appears today, in very slightly modified form, in the National Review Online. We hope it generates some good discussion about accountability in higher education.
Here's a head-scratcher:?Is Obey one of the smartest pols ever?or simply bi-polar?
?Sometimes the most difficult act of leadership is not fighting the enemy; it's telling your friends it's time to change.? ?Bill Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Ed Week's Klein turns in a good article on the growing congressional skepticism of two top administration priorities: Race to the Top and the School Improvement Fund.
Yesterday Fordham's hometown paper, the Dayton Daily News, ran a piece about Teach For America, as did the New York Times
Eduwonk has already linked to the brand-new Kauffman Labs Education Ventures Program, but we also wanted to chime in and show our enthusiasm for what looks like a great new chance for people with big ideas in education to bring their ideas to life.
As the summer drags on South Carolina is jumping on the newest hot trend; the common core. Making SC the 25th state to adopt.?
?Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it's never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses.?
Tom Ferrick, Jr. and Laura HorwitzPhiladelphia Research Initiative, Pew Charitable TrustJune 2010
Patrick Wolf, Babette Gutmann, Michael Puma, Brian Kisida, Lou Rizzo, Nada Eissa, and Matthew CarrInstitute of Education SciencesJune 2010