Education News Nuggets
Stafford PalmieriSome new players are on the scene, including the Delivery Institute.
How charters are serving kids with special needs
There's an interesting book forum coming up?on Monday, May 24, that you might want to put on your radar.
quotable and notable
?What's good for kids is what is good for teachers.? ? Tom Dooher, Education Minnesota President
Odds and ends
RI's Gist gets unions to sign on to Rd 2 RTT app. This is big. Important SIF/turnaround post from Ed Week's Klein.
MN, RTT, and the nuclear option
Huge news out of MN. The state is not applying in RTT round two, and the governor is blaming the legislature, which he accuses of being controlled by unions.
Can the school-choice genie go back in the bottle?
Emmy L. PartinIs school choice a genie you can put back in the bottle??? The Dayton Public School District, in Fordham's hometown, wants to try.
Ballyhoo at Bighorn
Steven Brill thinks that Race to the Top era will be the teachers’ unions’ undoing.
Central Office Transformation for District-wide Teaching and Learning Improvement
Daniela FairchildMeredith Honig, Michael Copland, Lydia Rainey, Juli Anna Lorton, Morena NewtonCenter for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of WashingtonApril 2010
The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2009
Stafford PalmieriNational Center for Education StatisticsMay 2010
Match Quality, Worker Productivity, and Worker Mobility: Direct Evidence from Teachers
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.C. Kirabo JacksonNational Bureau of Economic ResearchMay 2010
Now that's expensive!
What’s the price of common sense school reform? If Central Falls is any guide, the answer is sit-ins, protests, and demonstrations, a strongly worded rebuke by the President of the United States (and his Education Secretary), and grandiose rhetorical battles played out on the opinions pages of every major newspaper.
Scientific reasoning
In our rush to reinvigorate science and math in our nation’s schools, have we left the humanities in the dust? Peter Berkowitz thinks so. “No doubt science and math are vital,” he writes.
Skip college, go votech?
Conventional wisdom says that a college degree equals a better job, higher lifetime earnings, and a happier life. But is college the only way to live the American Dream?
Don't punish schools for teaching white students too well
Michael J. Petrilli, Janie ScullNo Child Left Behind can be summed up in four words: good ideas gone awry. Unfortunately, one key part of the Obama Administration’s “blueprint” for overhauling the landmark federal law might perpetuate that legacy for another ten years.
Dan Meyer
I haven't seen a great educator video in a while, so I particularly enjoyed this new one from California teacher, blogger, and part-time Googler Dan Meyer. It was given at the TEDxNYED conference in March.
Needle in a Haystack: Valleyview Elementary
Valleyview Elementary stands out not only for its academic success in educating a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, but also for its orderly atmosphere, collaborative staff, and strong leadership.
Quotable and Notable
?We are full speed ahead working toward a submission. But, we are doing a calculus as to whether or not the competition is stacked against Massachusetts.? ? Mitch Chester, Massachusetts Education Commissioner
New NCES analysis: Big declines at the top during the NCLB era
Michael J. PetrilliA new analysis of U.S. performance on the international PISA exam in mathematics shows significant declines for students at the top and middle of the achievement distribution from 2003 to 2006.* This is the strongest evidence to date that the performance of America's highest-achieving students dropped during the early years of No Child Left Behind's implementation.
Needle in a Haystack: Horizon Science Academy-Cleveland Middle School
Horizon Science Academy-Cleveland Middle School, a charter school in Cleveland serving grades 6-8, takes a ?no frills' approach to education ? and delivers striking academic results. High expectations for students and a dedicated staff have allowed the school to outscore the district on state tests by as much as 41 percentage points.
Quotable and notable
?We won't be able to have cheaper labor than China or India. The way we win is by outsmarting them.? ? South Carolina Attorney General Haley McMaster
Brill on RTT
In the upcoming New York Times Magazine, Steven Brill has a long article on Race to the Top.
Not the best remedy for diminishing Catholic school enrollment
Michael J. PetrilliUSA Today's ?Faith and Reason? blog asks, ?should Catholic schools reject gay couples' kids??
Needle in a Haystack: College Hill Fundamental Academy
College Hill Fundamental Academy, a magnet school in Cincinnati serving grades pre-k through six, focuses on the ?fundamentals? of core academic subjects and key values students need for success. But don't let their focus on the basics fool you. College Hill delivers amazing academic results, outscoring the district on state tests by as much as 23 percentage points.
GDP, education, and a challenge
I finally just read the NYT Sunday Magazine piece called ?The Rise and Fall of the GDP.? Even though I'm a week late, I can't help but comment. The story strikes at the core of economics and society, and it's also got a really interesting education angle.
Quotable and Notable
?While some Texas politicians may want to set their educational standards back 50 years, California should not be subject to their backward curriculum changes.? ? California State Senator Leland Yee