Backsliding on turnarounds

Duncan writes about turnarounds????in Ed Week commentary.

Mike Petrilli on CNN

There's much talk of common education standards these days; recently the Obama administration pledged to put some money towards the??tests that will assess those standards. In this CNN segment from June 15, Mike sheds some light on the topic and what we might expect??as the common standards effort moves along.

Elegy on a lost cause

Ever since The Education Gadfly critically reviewed NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policymakers Need to Know, we've been bombarded with messages from aggrieved contributors and editors of that 172-page volume (which you can find??

Sweating the Small Stuff is now an award-winning book!

Arne ups the ante on national standards

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced last night that he's making a big bet on the NGA and CCSSO Common State Standards initiative, putting up $350 million to fund the te

More ED personnel (and commentary)

ED lands another honest-to-goodness reformer. Michael Robbins, formerly of SEED and continuously a good egg, is joining the Department to work with Peter Groff in the????Faith-Based and Community Initiatives office.

Keeping Mass. standards high

We've long lauded Massachusetts' standards as setting an example for other states.

Stemming the brain drain

Type "Ohio" and "brain drain" together into Google and you get 86,600 hits. In 2007, Ohio saw 6,981 more resi????dents between the ages of 25 and 34 leave the state than mi????grate into it.

More ED staffing

David Whitman, all-around smart and nice guy and author of Sweating the Small Stuff, a stellar tale

Gadfly, so groovy

Should parents decide curriculum?

A few weeks ago on Rate That Reform, I reported the story of a little girl in California who was not allowed to give a history presentation on Harvey Milk because his sexual orientation made the material too sensitive. And they used a loophole in the sex ed regulations (i.e.

Data-driven schools

A piece in today's Wall Street Journal describes how some schools systems are using high-tech systems to track students' performance in great detail, emailing each grade home to parents as soon as the teacher logs it in.

Today's 'Quotable and Notable'

Quotable

Choice for grown-ups at least

Guest post by Fordham Ohio Policy and Research Intern, Rachel Roseberry.

'Because of You,' Tony Bennett

Indiana state superintendent Tony Bennett is crooning an aggressive school reform tune these days.

Diplomas Count 2009: Broader Horizons: The Challenge of College Readiness for All Students

Editorial Projects in EducationJune 2009

NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policymakers Need to Know

Ann Kjellberg and Leonie Haimson, eds.Lulu.comJune 2009

The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy

Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York and Institute for Advanced StudyJune 2009

Retreated Placement

When it comes to the transformational power of the Advanced Placement program, Jay Mathews is a true believer. Even if students fail the test, at least they had "a chance to accustom themselves to the foot-high reading assignments and tortuous exams they will encounter in college," he explains. And if college is not on the horizon?

Fill in the blank

When the news broke last week that math scores were up across the Empire State, Gadfly's initial impulse was to be skeptical.

Jumping to conclusions

If you're a New Yorker making $500 for nine months' work, you've got a bum gig--if you aren't in elementary or middle school, that is. Indeed, some New York City fourth and seventh graders can earn up to $250 and $500, respectively, for good performance on a collection of 10 assessments.

A graduating granny

Ninety-year-old Eleanor Benz understands better than most that learning is a lifelong process. In the midst of the Great Depression in 1936, she left high school a few months shy of graduation to work and support her parents and six siblings. Then she married. And she had 15 children. And life got a little busy.

A sloping buttress

Substituting portfolios for conventional tests to assess students with special needs is hardly a new practice. But when "special needs" takes on an ever-expanding definition, Gadfly begins to wonder: Is this really about making schools look more effective than they actually are?

Which personal experiences matter?

The Obama administration has made Judge Sonia Sotomayor's life story a central part of her introduction to the nation. They have focused attention on her inspiring, only-in-America path from public housing through elite institutions of higher education to the top of the legal profession.

Duncan talks the talk but can he walk the walk?

I finally watched??Charlie Wilson's War last night (we have a toddler at home; we're not in the movie-theater stage of our life

Interesting tidbits

Duncan on measuring teacher performance and the need to lift charter caps (but

Charter schools that Fordham oversees

Just in case you weren't aware ??? the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation actually acts as authorizer for six charter schools in Ohio! New Media Manager Laura Pohl and I took a trip out to Ohio last month to meet some of the kids and staff and see the schools. We had a terrific time!

Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of American Education

Terry M. Moe and John E. ChubbJohn Wiley & Sons2009In their latest book, Terry M. Moe and John E. Chubb complain about the slow pace of promoting technology in America's schools and they lay the blame solely at the feet of teacher union leaders.

Paying Teachers for Results: A Summary of Research to Inform the Design of Pay-for-Performance Programs for High-Poverty Schools

Robin Chait and Raegen MillerCenter for American ProgressMay 2009

Have we seen the "golden age" of school funding?

Last week, the Ohio Senate largely dismantled Gov. Strickland's Evidence-Based Model of school funding, which had called for new spending on public education of $2.7 billion over the next decade. The Senate has been roundly criticized by the governor, Democrats in the House and Senate and many in the state's educational establishment.