Everybody loves Michelle

Michelle Rhee gets some support from Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Diversity at any cost

Good advice for Obama AND McCain

I'm back after a week's vacation (yes, I believe in extra-curricular activities in my own life too) and see that Flypaper has been buzzing along.

In the trenches

Here's a book review of Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach For America.

Where are our manners?

How we allowed ourselves to not immediately thank the anonymous blogger codenamed Eduwonkette for her delightful Photoshop work is beyond me. We were remiss.

Fair and balanced

The folks at Education Sector are really putting it all out there. First this and now this, from Andy Rotherham, who finds a host of problems with the NAACP convention speech and education platform of John McCain.

Twenty years late is better than never

Finally. At long last. A group of serious analysts, commissioned by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, has concluded that NBPTS needs to include student learning gains in its evaluation of teacher quality!

Friday blues

It's an absolutely beautiful, sunny day in downtown D.C. this Friday, but I can't seem to shake this article that I was reading this morning on the metro into work.

The truth comes out

Here we are, somewhat dubious, but still enthused that Maryland reported record gains in proficiency scores this year, when we learn that Maryland neglected to mention they made their test easier.

New Jersey bucks a trend

"N.J. raises bar for pupil test scores": New Jersey made it harder yesterday for public school students to prove their proficiency on state exams--a change that could cause more schools to run afoul of the federal No Child Left Behind Act....

A rising tide

Pure speculation or not, I find compelling Mike's lead editorial in this week's Gadfly, which argues that extra-curricular activities in U.S. K-12 education foster "creativity, leadership, and the other '21st Century skills' that employers crave."

Internationally newsworthy

The Economist reports this week on Randi Weingarten's election to the AFT presidency.

Merit pay for the meritorious?

Candidates Obama and McCain have both spoken about their support??for merit pay for teachers. NPR's Morning Edition wondered if such pay plans actually work, so??reporter Larry Abramson went to Colorado to find out.??

More on merit

Judging from several of the comments on my last post, the ideas that undergird merit pay for teachers are not lost only on NPR reporters. Corey, for example, writes:

A gem of a Gadfly

The new issue is out. Where to begin? Mike tells us why the U.S.

Quick and the Ed Watch

It occurs to me that we may need to start on this blog a "Quick and the Ed Watch" category. It's not that we want to, you see; it's that somebody needs to.

Poor word choice

Regarding my article in this week's Gadfly, I'd like to clarify that my use of the word "disingenuous" was not meant to describe the moral character of the study's authors.

Alphabet soup

"1 in 4 California students--and 1 in 3 in Los Angeles--quit school," reports the Los Angeles Times

When ideas are executed properly...

This fall, the Minnesota Center of Online Learning (MCoOL) will expand its offerings to meet growing demand for high-tech, rigorous virtual education. MCoOL is a free Minnesota public school for grades 7-12 like any other, except for the fact that all classes are conducted online.

Straight talk from Michelle Rhee

Charlie Rose interviewed D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee last night. Not only does she provide an in depth look at D.C. education politics (and what she thinks is the most important way to improve education: recruiting and maintaining high quality teachers) but she even lays into our old friend, Randi Weingarten. Teaser:

Fun and games

After watching the interview with Michelle "The Hammer" Rhee (so named by her detractors for "hammering" away at the calcified system and "nailing" incompetent teachers), you may need a break.

Teacher Pensions: A Background Paper

Janet S. HansenCommittee for Economic DevelopmentMay 2008

No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America's Education Schools

Julie Greenberg and Kate WalshNational Council on Teacher QualityJune 2008

The genius of American education

Even if education isn't at the top of the list for Senators Obama or McCain during this election season, it remains a major concern for governors and CEOs. That's because they see a direct link between educational achievement and economic growth.

Schools that do everything but teach

A quarter century after A Nation at Risk, a growing number of America's education leaders appear to be abandoning hope for schools that significantly boost student achievement and are instead coming to view schools as multi-service community centers that do everything but teach.

Cancellation canard

For all the weight that high schools and colleges place on the ACT and SAT, they're in the dark about why students' scores are sometimes "cancelled." That's because of a 25-year-old policy whereby neither ACT nor the College Board will divulge the reason to a student's current or future school.

Don't mind the gap

Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews thinks the ed reform lexicon needs a rewrite. He's particularly peeved by the term "achievement gap," which he observes is often used "in a way that suggests narrowing the gap is always a good thing, when that is not so." What if, for instance, the shrinking gap reflected not just a catching-up at the bottom but also a leveling-off at the top?

McCain speaks; Obama, too

A lot of people, and not just Republicans, have been waiting for John McCain to unveil his thinking about education policy.

Mostly the same Old Line

One cheer for Maryland. It posted big gains on its state tests this year.

Narrowing the rhetoric

The latest study out of the Manhattan Institute makes a mountain out of the proverbial molehill. While the report contributes importantly to a largely neglected area of research, it also overextends its findings.