Random Assignment in Program Evaluation and Intervention Research: Questions and Answers
Chester E. Finn, Jr.David Myers and Mark Dynarski, Mathematica, Inc.January 2003
Testing critics use fuzzy math to prove their point
After The New York Times ran a front-page story on an anti-testing study by Audrey Amrein and David Berliner last month, there was an immediate response from researchers across the political spectrum noting the many shortcomings of the study.
Signs of real commitment to school reform in Minnesota
New Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced last week that he planned to kill the state's wimpy "Profile of Learning" - a set of academic standards that focus more on hands-on discovery learning projects than academic content - and that he had appointed Minnesota native Cheri Yecke as his education commissioner.
How not to attract effective principals
Just as the teacher shortage has been declared over [see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=6#414], states are reporting shortages of qualified candidates to become principals.
Nightmare for a novice teacher in DC
This first-hand account of a recent Yale graduate's first - and last - year teaching in a DC public school paints a frightening picture of the chaos that has become an accepted part of daily life in an urban school that lacks effective leadership.
Letter from New York City: Bloomberg's reforms
Diane RavitchWhen Michael Bloomberg ran for election as mayor of New York City, he pledged to make the improvement of the public schools his first priority. After he was sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he said that he wanted to be judged by whether the public schools improved.
A Mixed bag in this month's Kappan
Several articles in the January 2003 Phi Delta Kappan are worth a peek. The special section on teacher education includes seven articles addressing the challenges faced by education schools in the 21st century.