Performance-related Pay: the Views and Experiences of 1,000 Primary and Secondary Head Teachers
Kelly ScottUniversity of Exeter
The Tip of the Iceberg: SURR Schools and Academic Failure in New York City
Karen BakerCenter for Civic Innovation, Manhattan Institute
Charting a Clear Course: A Resource Guide for Building Successful Partnerships between Charter Schools and School Management Organizations
Jacob LoshinCharter Friends National Network
Assessment and Accountability Across the 50 States
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Consortium for Policy Research in Education
Fostering Title I and IDEA Collaboration in Six States: Proceedings and Lessons from Two Peer Technical Assistance Matches
Charles R. Hokanson, Jr.Council of Chief State School Officers' Initiative to Improve Achievement in High Poverty Schools
Tax credits north of the border
Ontario has a new tax credit for parents who send their children to private schools. In the first year, parents are eligible for a refund of $460, but this amount will quintuple over five years. The plan was included in a budget bill passed in late June by the provincial legislature. Six other Canadian provinces already provide money directly to private schools.
Setting cut scores low: you have to start somewhere
As if the official passing score of 55 on the state's Regents exams were not low enough, the Buffalo News reported this week that students needed to answer just 33 percent of the questions correctly to achieve that score on the Regents exam in biology, and 45 percent of the questions in math.
Summer school works
It being summer, the press is full of stories about the vast number of kids attending summer school, which many districts require for students who would otherwise be held back a grade. But how effective are remedial summer programs?
How districts see home schoolers
The August 2001 issue of the American School Board Journal includes a pair of articles on home schooling.
Changing his tune on charter schools?
Is any charter school better than no charter school? Checker Finn used to think so but now he's not so sure. The Dayton Daily News traces his conversion in "Charter Guru Wisely Flexible," by Martin Gottlieb, Dayton Daily News, July 15, 2001 http://library.activedayton.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?
Chicken Little's lucky day
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The main reason important reforms don't get made in American K-12 education may be termed the Chicken Little Syndrome: the assertion that the sky will surely fall down if this change is made or, more temperately, the suggestion that the sky MIGHT collapse but we can't be sure so let's not take chances.