John Chubb was not only a fine scholar, tireless education reformer, and creative innovator. He was also my friend and colleague for more than two decades. I first came upon him in 1990, when he (then at Brookings) and Terry Moe published their blockbuster school choice book, Politics, Markets and America’s Schools.
Editor's note: Politics K-12 reports that House and Senate negotiators have reached a preliminary compromise on reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
Ever since the birth of the modern reform movement, the GOP has faced a dilemma on federal education policy: Should it focus on the party’s federalist principles and push for a limited federal role in the nation’s schools, or use Washington’s authority to empower parents and shake up the system?
Any baseball team finding itself down 3-0 in a seven-game series points to the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Despite the longest of odds—they hadn’t won a World Series in eighty-six years!
How Ohio currently regulates online schools and how it can do better
Editor's note: This post is the final entry of a three-part series on Race to the Top's legacy and the federal role in education. You can read the first two entries here and here.
Untangling a particularly convoluted strand of funding in the charter school realm
An affordable model that helps students who are already behind become better readers. Robert Pondiscio
Principals generally like core members, but there are some sore spots. David Griffith
New Hampshire’s alternative assessments. A peek under the PARCC and SBAC hood. And LAUSD’s ticking fiscal time bomb.
Uncomfortable questions about school discipline, suspension, and expulsion Robert Pondiscio
Remember that past changes were controversial and probably unwise. Do not stir this pot again now. Chester E. Finn, Jr.
When Hillary Clinton recently told an audience that the purpose of charter schooling is to “learn what works and then apply (it) in the public schools,” she made the obvious mistake of implying that cha
I spent a few hours digging into the recently released 2015 NAEP TUDA data. The results didn’t get much media coverage. That’s a shame because these are the best assessments for understanding student performance in (and comparing the results of) America’s biggest urban districts.
Finland has been lauded for years as this planet's grand K-12 education success story, deserving of study and emulation by other nations. The buzz began with its impressive Program for International Student Assessment results in 2000, which stayed strong through 2006.
Editor's note: On Tuesday, November 3, Denver and its surrounding suburbs held school board elections. What follows are five takeaways from Van Schoales and his colleagues at A+ Denver, a local education reform organization that aims to harness civil leadership to increase student achievement in the area.
Whether you think the end game of the current “mixed economy” of district and charter schools should be an all-charter system (as in New Orleans) or a dual model (as in Washington D.C.), for the foreseeable future most cities are likely to continue with a blend of these two sectors. So we wanted to know: Can they peacefully co-exist? Can they do better than that?
Collaboration tends to be fairly shallow, but it’s still worthwhile. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. and Michael J. Petrilli
State efforts are uneven, but some are on the right track. Stephan Shehy
There’s a glaring weakness in merit pay systems, but we can strengthen them. Damien Schuster
CREDO’s latest charter school study paints a grim portrait of America’s e-schools. Chad Aldis and Jamie Davies O’Leary
Pell grants for dual college enrollment and Nevada’s early returns on education savings accounts.
Create orderly, challenging environments where high-achieving but disadvantaged students can learn. Michael J. Petrilli
In The Atlantic this week, Carly Berwick praised Germany for raising its nationwide test scores while simultaneously reducing educational inequality. That’s no small feat—and one well worthy of recognition and accolades.
Editor's note: This post is the second entry of a three-part series on Race to the Top's legacy and the federal role in education. You can read the first entry here and the final entry here.
New York is leaving too many gifted children behind. Scads of K–3 students in low-income neighborhoods aren’t even taking entrance exams for gifted programs. Four of the city’s 32 school districts don’t even have programs for gifted students, and many that do aren’t getting the word out.
Last week, in the wake of President Obama’s pledge to reduce the amount of time students spend taking tests, my colleagues Robert Pondiscio and Michael Petrilli weighed in with dueling stances on the current state of testing and accountability in America’s schools. Both made valid points, but neither got it exactly right, so let me add a few points to the conversation.
What if federal aid for college students were focused exclusively on those who are truly ready for college? What if we stopped subsidizing remedial courses on campuses and insisted that students pursuing higher learning be prepared for college-level courses (none too strenuous nowadays in many places)?
Petrilli and Pondiscio discuss the fallen NAEP scores, debate the meaning of Obama’s pledge to reduce testing, and ponder school dress codes. Amber takes a look at NAEP’s alignment with Common Core math.
