"Outrageous"
Michael J. PetrilliThat's how Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings just described* the decision by the House Appropriations Committee to defund the Reading First program. And she's right. * Here at the Excellence in Education summit in Orlando.
In praise of fathers
Michael J. PetrilliE.J. Dionne's column in yesterday's Washington Post reminded me that I had failed to comment on Barack Obama's Father's Day sermon. As Dionne wrote,
A model by any other name...
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Over a year ago, when Secretary Spellings invited all states to apply for a new pilot program to use growth models in their accountability systems, she included ??several requirements, one of which was "A growth model proposal must...
Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight
The Asian/ Pacific/ American Institute and Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy at New York University, CARE and College BoardJune 9, 2008
Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District
Coby LoupCalifornia Charter Schools AssociationJune 2008
Evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Two Years
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Patrick Wolf, Babette Gutmann, Michael Puma, Brian Kisida, Lou Rizzo, Nada EissaU.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education SciencesJune 2008
Tempest in a data-pot
There's no sign that reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA, to its friends) has even made it onto Congress's to-do list, but controversy is beginning to dog one key element of it: the part that affords the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and its Commissioner (currently Mark Sc
Poor Eleanor
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.'s Congressional representative, took to the pages of the Washington Post to explain why she is not--Post editorials and facts aside--intransigent on the issue of vouchers for the capital city's poor kid
Immaculate re-conception
The D.C. Public Charter School Board unanimously approved a proposal to reconstitute next fall seven financially struggling Catholic schools as secular charter schools, thereby increasing the number of D.C. charters by more than 10 percent. The switch will save the schools from closing, but will it save their Catholic character?
In search of Motown's mojo
Detroit's school system is now $400 million in debt. And if its enrollment dips below 100,000, as is likely by autumn, it will no longer be a "Class A" district under Michigan law--which means that charter-school start-ups will be allowed in the city after a several year hiatus. Local politicians aren't thrilled about that possibility.
In the eye of the beholder
Performance-based assessment (PBA) was terminated in Vermont in the 1990s after a RAND study found that "inter-rater reliability" (i.e., the extent of agreement among portfolio graders) was largely AWOL. Now Rhode Island has revived PBA, even making it a graduation requirement.
Can we be equal and excellent too?
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Michael J. PetrilliThat's the question John W. Gardner posed in his seminal 1961 book, Excellence. We've asked it again in 2008. We wondered, in particular, how high-achieving (some say gifted) youngsters are faring academically in the era of No Child Left Behind, the federal law that focuses on boosting the achievement of poor and minority students.
Watch out, Queen Elizabeth
Stylistically, Britain is a country of contrasts unrivaled. On the one hand, the Royal Family and their upper-crust ilk, all classy in their tartans and tweeds.
High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind
Steve Farkas, Ann Duffett, Tom LovelessThis publication reports the results of the first two (of five) studies of a multifaceted research investigation of the state of high-achieving students in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era. Part I examines achievement trends for high-achieving students since the early 1990s; Part II reports on teachers' own views of how schools are serving high-achieving pupils in the NCLB era.
This just in
Coby LoupCongress looks set to grant D.C.'s voucher program a one-year reprieve. (You have to scroll down a bit to see the story.)
Buckeye sigh
Coby LoupChecker laments in today's Ohio Education Gadfly that policymakers in Fordham's home state have gone soft on education.
This Week's Fordham Factor: High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB
Mike and Christina discuss Fordham's new report on how high-achievers have fared as educators have turned their focus toward closing the achievement gap. httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=ZiORhDhMn50
IKEA Academy?
Coby LoupNearly missed this article from the latest Economist on Swedish private schools, probably beceause it was in the business section. A bit of background: A 1994 law made it so that
Can we be equal and excellent too?
Michael J. PetrilliThat's the question posed by Fordham's latest report, High Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB.
WSJ: Charter school stonewalling in NY
Find the op-ed here . Ten years ago, New York joined the charter school revolution by passing a law to allow these innovative public schools to open. Today there are nearly 100 charters in the state and dozens more in the pipeline.
Some refreshing honesty about high-achieving students
Michael J. PetrilliI've been enjoying the print media's and blogosphere's reactions to our new report, High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB. Most of the commentary is entirely predictable.
They're everywhere, they're everywhere!
Christina HentgesAs if teachers unions haven't caused enough headaches for charter schools, now labor unions are getting in on the act.
Getting high school in sync with college is a good step
Mike LaffertyTalk about streamlining education. This month, some Ohio high school seniors will be earning not just high-school diplomas but also associate-college degrees. In Columbus, 19 seniors have already taken enough courses to earn associate degrees from DeVry Advantage Academy (see here).
Cleveland schools see spike in homeless kids
Mike LaffertyCLEVELAND-The city has poverty, a troubled education system, too little opportunity, an epidemic of home foreclosures, crumbling city infrastructure, and now a 43-percent jump in homeless children in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
More money does not equal more learning
Emmy L. Partin, Terry RyanCan Ohio afford Gov. Strickland's education reform plan?
Appropriations bill stuffed with extras, including some for education
Emmy L. PartinThe General Assembly approved the state's $1.3 billion biennial capital appropriations and budget-correction bill (H.B. 562) last week and it is now awaiting Gov. Ted Strickland's signature. Like every appropriations bill, H.B.