Commentary
Time to re-think report card ratings
Judging schools based on student academic performance is more art than science.
Commentary
High achieving kids need options, too
On Friday, Tom Loveless and I published an??op-ed in the New York Times that argued that our nation's highest-achieving students are only making minimal gains in the era of NCLB, while low-achieving students have made huge strides since 2000.
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Restructuring in Hawaii
AEI's Hess and Squire turn in an interesting study of Hawaii's approach to school restructuring under NCLB. Though the state's strategy isn't exactly aggressive, it does make use of diverse providers, an issue in the news of late.
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Public opinion and ed reform
The terrific trio of Hall, West, and Peterson have put together a very interesting Education Next article on public opinion and education policy. ????(While you're reading this piece, take the time to go through Ed Next's new and much-improved website.)
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Big dogs and little dogs alike give their 2 cents on RTTT criteria
Education Week posted a blog recently with a link to the slew of comments offered up by folks in res
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Careful...
Those celebrating the LA school board's decision to allow outside providers to run 1/3 of the district's schools????(200 existing failing schools and 50 new schools)????ought to manage their expectations.
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Charter Schools
RSD for a few more years, at least
State Superintendent of??Louisiana??Paul Pastorek says the state will retain control of RSD for at least a few more years--and maybe forever. In a recent poll conducted in New Orleans, schools were found to be the number one improvement area in a pre- and post- Katrina comparison.
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WaPo education page
Check out the??Washington Post's new education page. All education, all in one place.
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Catching up
For the last week or so I was off-line, and you may have been too. ????Here are some things we missed. --Very good Education Next article about getting the teachers we want by Rick Hess
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It works itself out fine
Things have been set aright regarding GNR-gate. ????Thank goodness it didn't taken nearly long as Chinese Democracy.
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Charter Schools
Recognizing Agassi
The U.S. Open starts on Monday and the opening ceremony will have a special guest: Andre Agassi.
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Charter Schools
RE: Majority of Americans misinformed about charters
I'm just as outraged as Jamie about the general American populace's ignorance about charters... but I can't say I'm surprised. Take for example this survey of federal spending from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Commentary
Fordham in the news
Here are just a few recent pieces where Fordham experts share their thoughts and insights....
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Take a look, it's in a book
I'm not a particularly opinionated blogger, but when I ran across this NPR article, I just had to say something. The piece is about my absolutely favorite television show when I was a small child: Reading Rainbow.
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Arnold urges state to say "hasta la vista, baby" to a certain prohibition
Here's an interesting piece about how the federal Race to the Top money may be impacting states. Apparently, Gov.
Commentary
Video: Back to school
This past week was the first official week of classes at Columbus Collegiate Academy, a charter school sponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Ohio. CCA students notched gains on reading and math proficiency exams last year and everyone's ready for another excellent, energizing academic year.
Report
Standards
International Lessons about National Standards
Whether the United States should embrace national standards and tests is perhaps today's hottest education issue. For guidance in addressing it, this report looks beyond our borders. How have other countries navigated these turbid waters? What can we learn from them? Expert analysts examined national standards and testing in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore and South Korea.
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Did you know...? (Tantalizing facts from our latest report)
Our new report, International Lessons about National Standards, authored by William Schmidt, Richard Houang, and Sharif Shakrani of Michigan State University, is out today.
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Mike Petrilli on NBC
Recently, Mike Petrilli shared his thoughts on year-round school with folks at NBC. But apparently they liked Mike so much that they also posted a full 2-minute version of his interview, which you can watch below! Check out both of these great clips.....
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Charter Schools
Tautological thinking from WV
The following is a guest post from Fordham Staff Assistant Mickey Muldoon.
Commentary
A Grand Bargain for Education Reform: New Rewards and Supports for New Accountability
Theodore Hershberg and Claire Robertson-Kraft, eds.Harvard Education PressAugust 2009
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Bureaucracy at its finest
Albert Einstein once remarked that "Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work." He and Jonathan Keiler, a social studies teacher from Prince George's County Maryland, would get along swimmingly. This week, Jay Mathews narrates the story of Keiler's attempt to get his entitled pay upgrade.
Commentary
International lessons about national standards
Like comets, elections, Olympics, and the moon, education policy ideas come and go in cycles. Consider America's on-again, off-again enthusiasm for national standards and tests. Way back in 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for "national goals" in education, including "standards." A decade later, President Richard M.
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Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from State Content Standards
Andrew Porter, Morgan Polikoff, and John SmithsonEducational Evaluation and Policy AnalysisSeptember 2009
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The erratum that failed
It's once in a blue moon that an erratum calls for its own erratum; the moon tonight will surely be a lovely shade of aqua.
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SAT upon
The College Board, as always, hung a smiley face on it, but the latest SAT results are a real bummer.
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Snapping out of LA-LA Land
Los Angeles must have Folgers in its cup this week, finally waking up to the woeful state of that city's schools. On Tuesday, the LAUSD board passed a resolution that would open 50 new and 200 underperforming schools to external operators.
Commentary
GED: Grandfathered Educational Derangement
Two weeks ago, we reported that Florida was going to stop awarding regular four-year diplomas to students who graduate through its GED Exit Option program. But the announcement came through garbled; administrators, parents, and teachers believed the GED EX OP program was simply being abolished.