Displaying 1831-1860 of 17774 results
Commentary
10.7.2020
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Advanced Education, Teachers & School Leaders

Equity and unintended consequences in the Washington suburbs

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Two big public-school systems in the D.C. area are on the verge of letting their zeal for equity and racial justice lead to consequences they may end up regretting. Fairfax County, which operates one of America’s best known and most esteemed “exam schools,” is may use a lottery, rather than test scores and other quality measures, for admissions. And Loudoun County is considering revising its rules for “professional conduct” by school staff to punish employees—teachers included—in truly Orwellian ways.

Commentary
10.7.2020
Charter Schools, Teachers & School Leaders

The unwelcome success of charter schools

Ian Rowe

Of the nearly 2,000 public school students beginning high school in the South Bronx (District 8 of NYC public schools) in 2015, only 2 percent graduated ready for college four years later.

Commentary
10.7.2020
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, School Finance

The interconnectedness of school-finance reforms and test-based accountability

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.

Proponents of test-based accountability generally believe that robust systems—those that set high bars for achieving success, generate copious and transparent data, and impose substantive awards or consequences based on progress (or lack thereof)—are enough to boost student achievement. Another school of thought posits that more funding to schools does likewise.

Commentary
9.30.2020

What we're reading this week: September 30, 2020

The Education Gadfly

Only a quarter of students can name the three branches of government, and many young people are ignorant of the Holocaust. The best way to get civics back in the classroom is to test it. —Gov.

Commentary
9.30.2020
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Elementary schools: To improve reading comprehension, teach more social studies

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. Petrilli

If America is serious about wanting kids to become better readers, our elementary schools need to spend more time teaching social studies rather than doubling-down on “reading comprehension.” This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the key takeaway from our new study. It’s also especially important for girls and those from lower-income and/or non-English-speaking homes.

Commentary
9.30.2020
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Do America’s elementary school students need more social studies?

Dale Chu

A new study published last week by Fordham, Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, suggests that to become better readers, elementary students should spend more time on social studies.

Commentary
9.30.2020
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Forecasting the long-run costs of coronavirus

Jeff Murray

Modeling the effects of a global pandemic while it’s ongoing seems like a prime example of “inexact science.” It’s also sure to depress. But it’s happening.

Commentary
9.29.2020

Is the one-track mind of the ed reform movement doing more harm than good?

Patricia Saenz-Armstrong

Earlier this month, Harvard professor of government Michael Sandel published this opinion piece in the New York Times, arguing that discrimination towards the “uneducated” (i.e., people without a college degree) remains acceptable by society even among those who otherwise champion equality

Commentary
9.24.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Outdoor learning can help students during Covid-19 and beyond

Alan Gottlieb

When students at Anser Charter School in Garden City, Idaho, begin returning to in-person classes September 28, everything about school will look different than six months ago.

Commentary
9.24.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

NEW REPORT: Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

The Education Gadfly

Even as phonics battles rage in the realm of primary reading and with two-thirds of American fourth and eighth graders failing to read proficiently, another tussle has been with us for ages regarding how best to develop the vital elements of reading ability that go beyond decoding skills and phonemic awareness.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

A commission on teaching American history might do some good

Michael J. Petrilli

American schoolchildren should not be taught to hate their country, or to view it as an “inherently racist” or “white supremacist” nation. But to move forward constructively on this point, instead of in a manner that further divides the country, it would be much better for a broad coalition of the center-right to the center-left to embrace a teaching of history that is clear-eyed, patriotic, and critical.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Rocky road to better civics education

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

There’s much energy in the cosmos these days around civics education, history education, maybe even “patriotic” history and civics education.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

To protect students during the economic downturn, schools need to spend money wisely

Frederick M. Hess, Brandon L. Wright

This spring, the nation was slammed by a pandemic that has thus far killed nearly 200,000 Americans, thrown millions out of work, shuttered schools, and upended the rhythms of teaching and learning. Suddenly the kitchen table became a makeshift desk and “school” came to mean hours seated in front of a Chromebook.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Reality check: Rating students’ math performance

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.

There are two aspects of standardized testing to which opponents tend to object: The testing itself and how the results are used.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Charter Schools, Private School Choice

How states can meet the rising demand for school choice

Dale Chu

Six months into the pandemic, the nation’s forced experiment in remote learning has resumed. But our education system’s design is ill-suited to the unique quandaries posed by Covid-19. District officials continue to ask parents for grace and patience, and many have continued to oblige, but if current conditions persist into next year and beyond, demand for choice will almost certainly increase as a large number of parents keep their children at home.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Why state assessments matter, even in a pandemic

Aaron Churchill

Ohio legislators recently introduced Senate Bill 358, which proposes to cancel all state testing scheduled for spring 2021. The provision calling for the cancellation of state exams would only go into effect if the state receives an assessment waiver from the U.S.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

“Evasive entrepreneurs” create new K–12 school options

Bruno V. Manno

Covid-19 is upending what parents think about America’s schools, motivating them to seek different ways to educate their children. It’s also inspiring enterprising individuals and imaginative policymakers to create new ways to support that parent demand for change.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Zoom like a champion

Robert Pondiscio

I’ve made no secret over the years of my admiration for the work of Doug Lemov. When I was a new and clueless fifth grade teacher in 2002, his essential book, Teach Like a Champion, was unfortunately still a few years away.

Commentary
9.11.2020
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

How do we spot child abuse and neglect when schooling is remote?

Naomi Schaefer Riley

If schooling continues to be remote through the fall, as it seems to be in many districts across the country, what is to be done about the plight of kids who are at risk for child abuse or neglect?

Commentary
9.9.2020
Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

How the conventions showcased education and what it means for ed reform

Dale Chu

The first-ever virtual political conventions have come and gone, during which neither party offered a serious path forward on education reform. The Democrats belong to the self-interested teacher unions, and the GOP has become a single-issue party in pursuit of choice, leaving us with a lot of talk but little action.