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.
RSD for a few more years, at least
Stafford PalmieriState 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.
WaPo education page
Check out the??Washington Post's new education page. All education, all in one place.
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
It works itself out fine
Things have been set aright regarding GNR-gate. ????Thank goodness it didn't taken nearly long as Chinese Democracy.
Recognizing Agassi
Stafford PalmieriThe U.S. Open starts on Monday and the opening ceremony will have a special guest: Andre Agassi.
RE: Majority of Americans misinformed about charters
Stafford PalmieriI'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.
Fordham in the news
Here are just a few recent pieces where Fordham experts share their thoughts and insights....
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.
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.
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.
International Lessons about National Standards
Sharif Shakrani, Richard Houang, William H. SchmidtWhether 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.
Did you know...? (Tantalizing facts from our latest report)
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Our new report, International Lessons about National Standards, authored by William Schmidt, Richard Houang, and Sharif Shakrani of Michigan State University, is out today.
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.....
Tautological thinking from WV
The following is a guest post from Fordham Staff Assistant Mickey Muldoon.
A Grand Bargain for Education Reform: New Rewards and Supports for New Accountability
Theodore Hershberg and Claire Robertson-Kraft, eds.Harvard Education PressAugust 2009
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.
International lessons about national standards
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.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.
Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from State Content Standards
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Andrew Porter, Morgan Polikoff, and John SmithsonEducational Evaluation and Policy AnalysisSeptember 2009
The Making of Americans: Democracy and Our Schools
Chester E. Finn, Jr.E.D. Hirsch, Jr.Yale University PressAugust 2009
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.
SAT upon
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The College Board, as always, hung a smiley face on it, but the latest SAT results are a real bummer.
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.
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.
Is Philly "Going Ape"?
"Who's The Boss" of sophomore English at Northeast High this year? That'd be Tony Danza, he of boxing and 70s-sitcom fame. He was recently approved to teach in that Philly school as part of a new A&E series, Teach. Move over Jon & Kate Plus 8, it's Tony Danza... Plus 30.
What are friends for?
Remember that first scary day of kindergarten? A five-year-old in Van Buren, Arkansas came up with an ingenious way to calm his butterflies: Skip right to first grade. Was this self-social promotion? A gifted student testing into first-grade honors? Nope, just a story of friendship--or peer pressure, if you're cynical.
grump, Grump, GRUMP
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Late last Friday, when it would attract little or no news coverage, the National Education Association offered its detailed feedback on Arne Duncan's "Race to the Top" plans. 26 pages worth.
Ted Kennedy, R.I.P.
Chester E. Finn, Jr.More than anyone else who comes to mind in American public life, Edward M. Kennedy ascended from reprobate to icon, from??an object of criticism, even ridicule, to??statesman. He made many lasting marks on??our policies and politics and just about everyone came??to admire and like him. Generations of devoted and able staffers. Fellow??Senators and Presidents of both parties.
D.C. enrollment drops, again
Stafford PalmieriYesterday was the first day of school in our nation's capital and only 37,000 students showed up for the big day.