The Nation’s Report Card: Trends in Academic Progress 2012
Daniela FairchildStill hunting the High School Reform That Works
First Bell 6-26-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: Arne Duncan defends the Common Core standards, the New York Times highlights the rising cost of college, and more
By the Company It Keeps: Marc Porter Magee
Andy Smarick interviews Marc Porter Magee, founder and president of 50CAN
First Bell 6-25-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: CREDO has released an updated assessment of the quality of the nation's charter schools, the Supreme Court sends affirmative action back to appeals, and more
First Bell 6-24-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: An MIT student finds that Boston's charter schools deliver, a computer glitch means late diplomas for over a thousand NYC students, and more
First Bell 6-21-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: Catholic schools fight to survive, South Carolina on the verge of a tax-credit-scholarship program for special-ed students, and more
How poverty is like global warming
Michael J. PetrilliThe battle hymn of the Whole Foods Republican
Teacher Prep Review: A Review of the Nation’s Teacher Preparation Programs, 2013
Pamela TatzThe report heard ‘round the ed-reform world
Debunking common anti-Common Core myths, one fact at a time
Michelle LernerYesterday, Mike Petrilli argued the conservative case for the Common Core on the Rod Arquette Show
First Bell 6-19-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: Arne Duncan will allow waiver states to postpone attaching stakes to teacher-evaluation systems, the UFT will endorse a mayoral candidate for the first time in over a decade, and more
By The Company It Keeps: Kaya Henderson
Andy Smarick interviews Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools
Teacher-education programs fall short
Pamela TatzA new NCTQ report delivers a scathing rebuke of most teacher-education programs
First Bell 6-17-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: Philadelphia's "draconian" budget leads the city to pink-slip 19 percent of its school-based work force, Newark's schools supe calls for a common application for charter and traditional public schools, and more
First Bell 6-14-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: An expansion of pre-K will likely mean an expansion of private pre-K providers, Montgomery County plans to make it harder to transfer to out-of-district high schools, and more
Some early-summer reads, part 2
The second half of Andy's compilation of must-read recent publications
Don't jump the NGSS bandwagon yet
Chester E. Finn, Jr. breaks down why Fordham does not support implementation of the NGSS.
First Bell 6-13-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: The Senate Education Committee approves Sen. Harkin's NCLB-reauthorization bill, the share of the nation's population with college degrees reaches an all-time high, and more
Is Arne Duncan serious about preschool…or not?
Michael J. PetrilliIn classic Team Obama style, Duncan explains resistance to the president's pre-K plan as Congressional dysfunction
A time for humility in federal education policy
Michael J. PetrilliKeeping it real with reform realism
Disappointing science standards
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Kathleen Porter-MageeStates can do better than the NGSS
First Bell 6-12-13
Pamela TatzA first look at today's education news: Kansas adopts the NGSS, Gov. Perry signs a bill reducing the number of state tests Texas's students must take prior to graduation from 15 to 5, and more
By The Company It Keeps: Mashea Ashton
Andy Smarick interviews Mashea Ashton, CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund
Repairing the conservative school-reform coalition
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Michael J. PetrilliRecent events have divided conservative school reformers, but it’s not too late to stitch it back together
Final Evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards
Paul Gross, Douglas Buttrey, Ursula Goodenough, Noretta Koertge, Lawrence S. Lerner, Martha Schwartz, Richard SchwartzIn the final evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Thomas B. Fordham Institute grants the standards a C grade. The NGSS grade is superior to grades we granted to the science standards of sixteen states and the PISA framework in the State of State Science Standards 2012 but inferior to those of twelve states and the District of Columbia, as well as the NAEP and TIMSS frameworks.
Some early-summer reads, part I
Andy channels the NYT book review--offering four insightful early-summer education reports worth reading.
Muddying the Waters on Common Core
Peter Cunningham responds to an anti-Common Core article in the New York Times
First Bell 6-10-13
Pamela TatzA first look at the education news from this weekend and today: Ability grouping and computer-adaptive testing are on the rise, special-ed students attend class virtually, and more
Poor children need a hand up, not hospice
Michael J. PetrilliMike asks Deborah the question: Does it "work"?
A Crash Course in Teacher Pensions
Dara Zeehandelaar, author of The Big Squeeze: Retirement Costs and School District Budgets, explains teachers pensions and the difference between defined benefits and defined contribution plans that states offer teachers.