The unilateral repeal of NCLB and the 2012 election
The Obama administration's new waiver plan (officially here, and covered extensively here,
The Obama administration's new waiver plan (officially here, and covered extensively here,
Yesterday, we looked at the first finding of Fordham's new groundbreaking study, Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?
What was so odd about Dennis Walcott's announcement that New York City was opening 50 new middle schools is that the most recent research suggesting that a middle school ?grade configuration (generally, 6?8) is probably not the way to go was don
?Do I go hat in hand trying to raise money, or find some politicians whose heads I can bang together?''* ? Shelli-Anne Couch, parent, trying to save her children's school library
The Fordham Institute's Mike Petrilli stopped by the nationally syndicated Jim Bohannon Show last night to talk about Fordham's newest study,
Mike and Rick raise the bar this week, discussing high achievers, Duncan's digital promise, and the textbook-company oligarchy. (Oh, and Rick confesses he has a reform-crush on L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa). Amber tackles minority-teacher retention and Chris dives head first into an NCAA lawsuit. [powerpress]
Yesterday, Fordham released a groundbreaking study examining the achievement of individual high-performing students?or ?high flyers??over time.
?Widespread cheating ? whether it's steroids in baseball or false information in mortgage lending ? usually is more a symptom of broken systems than an outbreak of venality''* ? Rick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
As part of the release of our new study, Do High Flyers Maintain Their Performance: Performance Trends of Top Students, we are hosting a forum for
If America is to remain internationally competitive, we need to maximize the potential of our top students. Over the last decade, however, federal and state education-accountability systems?particularly in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001?have placed primary emphasis on moving low-performing students toward proficiency.
We asked a few experts to weigh in on our new study, "Do High Flyers Maintain Their Performance: Performance Trends of Top Students," as part of an online forum we'll be hosting on Flypaper over the next couple days.
?I want to stress this. All these ideas came from the 'hood'?. We're advocating for our children, the same as in well-to-do neighborhoods.?* ?Woodcrest Elementary School parent
I gave up bashing teachers years ago, when I realized that, as with soldiers in the trenches, they had their hands full just staying alive.
On August 29, 2011, the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) released its draft of ?Content Specifications with Content Mapping for the Summative assessment of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics? (henceforth, Draft).?
?It's Florida's prerogative to apply for the grant. You can't fault a state in the current fiscal crisis for wanting to get Race to the Top dollars.?* ?Amber Winkler, Research Director of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
?Where you have great performance, you have great principals, period, full stop. Where you have low performance, you have struggling principals. It's not that complicated.'' * ? Cami Anderson, Newark Schools Superintendent
In the introduction to her new book, Peg Tyre quotes a Dad frustrated by the process of choosing a school. ?It's absurd. When you purchase a house, you get an inspector's report. When you buy a sports car, at least you get to check under the hood.
For months?no, years?the ESEA discussion has been nothing short of maddening. While many pundits decry the lack of a ?clear route to reauthorization,? an obvious bipartisan solution has been sitting there, ready for the picking.
A new generation of affluent, educated, urban Americans is beginning to send its children to school.? Their dissatisfaction with the lack of choice and the status quo of failure in urban education will be far more personal than their elders'?and it represents a golden opportunity for choice advocates able to mobilize these parents.
?Regular working folks don't have tenure. Why should bad teachers?'' * ? Lane Wright, Press Secretary for Florida Governor Rick Scott
Before embarking on a moral crusade, Mike and Rick laugh in the face of ESEA reauth and downplay the statistical importance of the SAT. Amber makes Third Way's new report look silly and Chris applies for medical stress leave. [powerpress]
?It is no secret that charter schools are having to deal with the idea that there is a selection process which would seem to prevent the kids who need it most from getting into the schools.'' * ?Gregory Morris, Children's Aid Society staff member
Stretching the School Dollar: How districts and schools can save money while serving schools best (Harvard University Press, 2010), edited