What money can buy

We've debated in the past whether it's a good idea for schools to reward s

Talking education in the Gem City

On October 29, the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the Frank M.

Tell us what you think

As we consider changes and improvements to the Ohio Education Gadfly, we want to know what our readers think. We invite you to take a short survey about the Gadfly (accessible online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=J3kL2UiqJG3CBosslxNEzQ_3d_3d). 

The incredible shrinking Dayton

In the last decade the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) have contracted by more than 10,000 students; seeing enrollment decline from 24,916 students in 2000 to 14,393 students in 2009. During this same period Dayton has become one of the country’s leading charter school markets. 

Thinking outside the quality/quantity box: focusing on strategic use of teachers' time and talent

Teacher quality is arguably the most important variable impacting student achievement. Americans have generally accepted this truism, either through common sense or nostalgia, and policy wonks and politicians (armed with substantive evidence that good teaching matters) are elevating teacher quality as a primary focus of reform and pursuing relevant policy changes.

Timing of funding panel calls its impact into question

Alongside putting in place Governor Strickland’s “evidence-based” model of school funding, House Bill 1 – the state’s biennial budget – called for an advisory panel to issue “recommendations for revisions to the educational adequacy components of the school funding model,” among a slew of other charges.

Making middle schools work

The Columbus Dispatch writes that "the truth about Columbus middle schools is brutal." More than 70 percent of the district’s middle schools are rated "D" or "F" by the state and none of them met federal Adequate Yearly Progress targets.

SFSF, round two

Yesterday, the US Department of Education released documents related to the second and final batch of funding (~$11 billion) under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Is New Haven bad for DC?

Much has been made of the new New Haven collective bargaining agreement--by President Obama, Secretary Duncan, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and even reformers in Connecticut, like Alex Johnston of ConnCAN, who sees it as promising.

Snow laughing matter

What child hasn't shrieked with glee upon hearing that it's a "snow day" and school is closed?

Today's Quotable and Notable

Quotable: "Charter schools are public schools, and they must be public schools in every sense of the word...Effectively, there will be absolutely no distinction between charter schools and district schools." -Tom Boasberg, Superintendant of Denver Public Schools

The fall of the Berlin Wall: Voices from the past

Performance pay in the Lone Star State

The "Differentiated Compensation in Education" conference, hosted by fellow Buckeye Staters Battelle for Kids, in Houston this week reminds me how messy the "nuts and bolts" of policy implementation can get.

Jobs over reform

Despite Secretary Duncan's imploring states and districts to use formula-based ARRA funding for reform, it appears that nearly all of it went to job protection.

Quote of the year on RTT

Obviously, I've been playing the lecturing schoolmarm about RTT, warning that we have to increase our skepticism and manage our expectations. I've been looking for a pithy way to summarize my concern that states are much more interested in getting these federal funds than in pursuing the reforms those funds are meant to support.

Today's Quotable and Notable

Quotable:

Despite extracurricular 'trimming', this one can't be 'cut'

Cool map, interesting report: How educationally innovative is your state?

This cool, interactive map grades all 50 states plus the District of Columbia on educational innovation and accompanies the just-released report Leaders and Laggards: A State by State Report Card on Educational Innovation?.

Another reason to support newspapers

Education Week's Alyson Klein doing some top-notch on-the-ground reporting on Colorado's efforts to get Race to the Top funds.

Education as an issue of national security

You know that it's a stark indicator of the educational readiness of America's youth when even former military leaders publicly admit that too many young people are academically ineligible to be recruited.??

Today's Quotable and Notable

Quotable: "I would just hope administrators, as they're looking at the budget, would look first to areas that don't impact student learning." -Kerry Birmingham, media relations specialist for the Michigan Education Association

Interesting tidbit

Informative new report on school choice from Heritage Texas to streamline process for expanding great charters

Read the fine print

The administration chose Wisconsin as the site for the president's Race to the Top speech yesterday, we're told, because that state's legislature is about to get rid of its data firewall.

Education Week on Fordham's standards event...

Great discussion yesterday at our national standards event. Here's an article in Education Week that highlights some of it.

Today's Quotable and Notable

Quotable: "[For-profit companies] see public education as a windfall for their bottom line, and they are taking what is an education crisis in Georgia and the nation and trying to make a buck.?? They see children as profit margins."

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Report: Summary of Programs and State-by-State Data

U.S. Department of EducationNovember 2009

Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales: 2005-2007

Victor Bandeira de Mello, Charles Blankenship, and Don McLaughlinNational Center for Education StatisticsOctober 2009

When Schools Close: Effects on Displaced Students in Chicago Public Schools

Consortium on Chicago School ResearchUniversity of Chicago Urban Education InstituteOctober 2009

3X for All: Extending the Reach of Education

Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. HasselPublic ImpactOctober 2009550px;height:500px">

Texas two-step

Arne Duncan may continue lambasting teacher preparation programs nation-wide, but Texas could soon give him something to smile about. The State Board for Teacher Certification recently gave initial approval to a proposal authored by veteran state Senator Florence Shapiro that would impose stricter standards on the state’s 177 traditional and alternative teacher prep programs.