If he could make one significant change to public education today, Timothy Knowles, one of the founding fathers of teacher “residency” programs, would eliminate teacher tenure. Why? “The more difficult it is for principals to address underperformance, the more likely they are to use informal methods to do so.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Donovan Forde has “multiple disabilities.” He’s part of a fraction of a fraction of special education students served by the public school system. In this New York Times profile, Sharon Otterman explores Donovan’s experience as a student at P.S.
P.J. O’Rourke has just learned—some of us were there a while back—that not only is it expensive to send kids to school, but it isn’t yielding much bang for the taxpayer’s buck. He explains: We’re spending on average a reported $11,000 per pupil—and more like north of $20,000 in reality. The teacher-pupil ratio is roughly 15:1.
How should the "common core" state standards be governed? Who will "own" these standards (and related assessments) 20 years from now? To stir smart thinking about important aspects of these issues, the Fordham Institute invited knowledgeable experts to write background papers.
Some uproar over schools having better AP ratings from Hispanic students taking AP Spanish, but why is this a problem?
?Why not evaluate each teacher individually on a variety of criteria such as test scores, instructional quality, parent satisfaction and peer comments? Teaching is unique, but so are other professions where such evaluations are commonplace.?
In 2007 we commissioned the well-respected economists Robert Costrell and Michael Podgursky to analyze Ohio's State Teachers Retirement S
For all you die-hard futbol fans out there, you probably saw the World Cup special prior to this year’s kickoff. And if your timing was right, you saw this inspirational clip on the Ivory Coast Soccer Academy. If you missed it, take a minute to watch it. Not a fan?
As we recently noted, the Ohio State Board of Education voted to adopt the Common Core academic standards.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently lifted up Baltimore City Schools as a possible model for Cleveland.
Ohio remains firmly in the throes of the economic recession and analysts predict that recovery is a long way off. The state was able to postpone much of the financial pain in the current biennial budget but faces an estimated $8 billion deficit in the next two-year budget. Work to address this shortfall has been slow to start in the Statehouse.
In the national Gadfly, Checker Finn and Stafford Palmieri highlight and commend teach union leaders across the country who are reform-minded visionaries and pragmatists that don’t always let the short-term self-interest of adults blind them to the long-term interests of children.
Saba BiredaCenter for American ProgressJune 2010 Momentum is building to reform teacher dismissal policies. Federal and state policymakers alike are calling for changes to K-12 education’s highly complex and costly dismissal procedures, especially as school districts face looming budget cuts.
Lori Drummer and Don SoiferLexington InstituteJune, 2010
Digital-game-inspired instruction isn’t the only thing that makes one New York City charter school unique. At Quest to Learn, professional development is focused on helping teachers infuse technology with instruction, and it isn’t just a one-off session.
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers recently issued its latest annual report on the policies and practices of the nation’s charter authorizers.
While it's no surprise that gifted students have the know-how to game the system, some are still questioning the certainly gifted and talented Bill Gates and his School of the
Mike and Checker write in today's National Review Online that part of the reason the Common Core education standards have fared well politically (adopted by 29 states at last count) is because they avoid the vagueness and politica
?That would be robbing Peter to pay Peter.? ?Joel Packer, Executive Director of the Committee for Education Funding
The good folks at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools are hosting a free screening of The Lottery, the much-buzzed new ed reform movie, this Friday in the nation's capital. ?Sign up here.
No city has done more to redefine the delivery of urban public education than New Orleans. And no city-based organization in the nation is doing more to advance the most important education reforms than New Schools for New Orleans.
Good article from Ed Week's Aarons on MN's attempt to improve charter authorizing. Takeaway: Because of a new law, many districts may get out of the business of authorizing.
Today is the first day of summer, but for some Boston Public School students, this summer vacation will not be a vacation from learning.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) conference on student assessment is streaming live.
?This is a civil rights issue. If you look at the date someone signed up for a job as the only measure of effectiveness, that doesn't pass the test of providing for an equal opportunity for students to learn.? ?State Senator Gloria Romero,? D-Los Angeles
It's Friday, so why not slow down on your reading and watch some videos, one addressed to school principals and the other about
?There needs to be integration, including of the ultra-Orthodox.? ? Arye Carmon, President of the Israel Democracy Institute
On a number of occasions, I've written about what I call ?sector agnosticism? in urban education. It's a simple concept: we shouldn't care what sector a school belongs to (traditional public, charter public, or private); instead, we should judge schools based on their quality.
I deny that I'm in denial. But I don't deny that Neal McCluskey is paranoid, along with Jay Greene and a few other ardent blogsters and op-edsters.
In Massachusetts, music programs are getting cut, even though studies show they will improve your algebra.
