Educator evals, assessments, closures, and authorizing
Keeping up with education headlines
Keeping up with education headlines
In an era of budgetary belt tightening, state and local policy makers are finally awakening to the impact of teacher pension costs on their bottom lines. Recent reports demonstrate that such pension programs across the United States are burdened by almost $390 billion in unfunded liabilities. Yet, most states and municipalities have been taking the road of least resistance, tinkering around the edges rather than tackling systemic (but painful) pension reform. Is the solution to the pension crisis to offer teachers the option of a 401(k)-style plan (also known as a "defined contribution" or DC plan) instead of a traditional pension plan? Would this alternative appeal to teachers? When Teachers Choose Pension Plans: The Florida Story sets out to answer these questions.
Andy Smarick's pick of recent education news
The second of two posts on the past, present, and future of urban schooling
Earlier today on WAMU, Washington’s local NPR station, Kojo Nnamdi hosted a fascinating discussion on school boundaries, charter schools, and choice
The first of two posts on the past, present, and future of urban schooling
Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them; but is this assumption justified?
It turns out that private schools are not vehemently opposed to academic accountability (including state testing and reporting requirements), according to a new Fordham report out today
Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them, especially if it demands that they be publicly accountable for student achievement. Were such school refusals to be widespread, the programs themselves could not serve many kids. But is this assumption justified? A new Fordham Institute study—to be released on January 29—provides empirical answers. Do regulations and accountability requirements deter private schools from participating in choice programs? How important are such requirements compared to other factors, such as voucher amounts? Are certain types of regulations stronger deterrents than others? Do certain types schools shy away from regulation more than others?
Mike's new book, the Diverse Schools Dilemma: A Parent's Guide to Socioeconomically Mixed Public Schools, continues to garner attention
This week, Mike Petrilli was a guest on "What’s the Big Idea?," a podcast hosted by Josh Starr
Options for students, not parents
America’s fragmented, decentralized, politicized, and bureaucratic system of education governance is a major impediment to school reform. In Education Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform, a number of leading education scholars, analysts, and practitioners show that understanding the impact of specific policy changes in areas such as standards, testing, teachers, or school choice requires careful analysis of the broader governing arrangements that influence their content, implementation, and impact.
News pieces from over the weekend that piqued Andy Smarick's interest
Andy Smarick's pick of the news, from PARCC to Zuckerberg
Mike has written a terrific book, and his ideas are always worth pondering. But this one ain’t so great.
This new policy brief by Nathan Levenson, Managing Director at the District Management Council and former superintendent of Arlington (MA) Public Schools, offers informed advice to school districts seeking to provide a well-rounded, quality education to all children in a time of strained budgets. Levenson recommends three strategies: prioritize both achievement and cost-efficiency; make staffing decisions based on student needs, not student preferences; and manage special-education spending for better outcomes and greater cost-effectiveness.
Here’s a roundup of recent and forthcoming media attention that Mike Petrilli's new book, the Diverse Schools Dilemma, has garnered.
If Ms. Ravitch herself aimed to be self-critical and honest in the matter of the best interest of students, she would need to examine the public school model that she has, of late, been trumpeting
Guest-blogger Paul Basken's take on the Diverse Schools Dilemma
A picture is worth a thousand words--the bigger the dot, the bigger the charter-school market share
CREDO, a Stanford-based research center, concluded that New Jersey charter schools are among the highest-performing studied to date
Andy Smarick's pick of education news from over the Thanksgiving holiday
Congratulations to Checker, who received the 2012 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) President’s award for outstanding contributions to the field of gifted education