The benefit of the doubt
The editorial board of the Washington Post looks back on Mayor Fenty's first year after taking control of the D.C. public schools and is pleased so far.
The editorial board of the Washington Post looks back on Mayor Fenty's first year after taking control of the D.C. public schools and is pleased so far.
Anecdotal gripes that gifted children are not getting their needs met abound.
This Memorial Day Weekend also brought a great piece in the Washington Post about the Washington Middle School for Girls.
Of course our fallen soldiers deserve the recognition they receive this special day (deserve much more than that, for sure), but this Memorial Day Weekend brought some recognition for a few living heroes, too.
School reformers have been infatuated with D.C. chancellor Michelle Rhee since she took office last fall. But for me, that ended today when I read that Rhee has ???scrapped???
Calexico (a U.S. border town) is kicking out of its schools Mexican students, who bring down test scores.
Over at NRO, two writers, Carrie Lukas and Kathleen Parker, are displeased about the recent American Association of University Women report that finds education's so-called "boys crisis" to be fiction.
No, I'm not referring to my supposed McCarthyite tendencies, but this: "Girl barred from school over red highlights." (More
Wait, it's not this Paul Peterson, it's this Paul Peterson.
The other day it was solving the childhood obesity epidemic; today it's improving the state of family life: "
Former presidential aspirant Fred Thompson has a piece on conservatism in the Wall Street Journal today that's
Mike makes good points about Thompson's article. But modesty about the lengths to which the KIPP/Amistad/SEED models can be stretched is warranted.
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So, after posting this, Mike drops me an email asking if I've got his back... I, of course, ask if he is insinuating that my blond highlights are not completely au naturelle.??
The newest Gadfly is out. In it, Checker and I write about how states, loath to see their dropout rates rise, are backtracking on high school exit exams.
From The Economist: Mexico is making moves to fix its broken educational system (a system that affects the U.S.??in obvious ways).
The New York Times reports today that Senator John McCain is set to meet with three contenders for the VP slot on his ticket: former Massachus
We've written before about Governor Bobby Jindal. There's lots to like.
Liam makes a good point. Did I mention that Mitt Romney is smart and savvy on education reform?
This article out of New Orleans is about several selective charter schools that admit only those students that pass entrance tests or navigate complicated admissions processes. This is a big no-no with charter supporters. According to the piece:
Mark Bauerlein, the Emory professor, Phi Beta Cons contributor, and author of
We must excavate the salient parts. If the title of this AP story is true, then the chaperone in question possesses a supreme mastery of duct-tape techniques??and probably should write a book. It's not true, though. I know. It's impossible to seal a door with duct tape.
At a news conference yesterday, New York City teachers union boss Randi Weingarten called Joel Klein's protestations over Albany's inflexibility on school funding the "height of chutzpah."
I'm encouraged this morning reading this article about Idaho's work in crafting standardized performance evaluations for teachers.
David Jason FischerCenter for an Urban FutureMay 2008David Jason FischerCenter for an Urban FutureMay 2008
Gilbert T. SewallThe American Textbook CouncilMay 2008
Once upon a time, major federal education legislation was authorized for five years at a time and funds could only be appropriated for programs so long as the authorization remained valid. As a result, big fat laws such as E.S.E.A. and the Higher Education Act were, in fact, reauthorized every five years, always with amendments and additions, sometimes with improvements.