Adding value to value-added: Getting more out of the data we have
Since our special Ohio Education Gadfly last month about changes to Ohio’s value-added analysis methodology, we’ve received
Education News Nuggets
How to study effectively? Maybe we could pick up a tip or two from the Russians. But careful ?
Quotable and Notable
?Will making the teachers better and giving them more support do the trick? Or should we focus on improving the students' attitudes and habits before they ever get to school, by giving their families more support?'' ?Jay Mathews, Columnist at the Washington Post
Debating the Common Core standards
That's right. As more states across the country adopt the Common Core education standards (it's up to about 37 now), the conversation continues.
Instructional radio
They were talking education (Race to the Top, evaluating teachers) this morning on the Diane Rehm Show. The U.S.
Universal preschool by stealth
Chester E. Finn, Jr.In the name of boosting academic performance and giving struggling kids a better shot at succeeding in first grade, California appears to be headed down the slippery slope to universal preschool, never mind that state voters rejected such a plan when Rob Reiner got it onto the ballot in 2006.
Stretching the School Dollar: How Schools and Districts Can Save Money While Serving Students Best
Eric OsbergIn this volume, a diverse group of experts—scholars, educators, journalists, and entrepreneurs—offer wisdom and advice on how schools and districts can cut costs, eliminate inefficient spending, and better manage their funds in order to free up resources to drive school reform.
Slay the Shibboleths: Down with Learning Styles and Up with Testing
Peter MeyerToday's?NYT has a great story in the Science section, Forget What You Know About Studying, confirming what many of us have suspected ? and people like Daniel Willingham have known ?
Context Counts
Peter MeyerSipping my morning coffee, feeling guilty about criticizing Pedro Noguera, I see Albert Einstein staring at me from the Liberty Science Center coffee mug. It is coated with a substance that comes to life when heated and out pops, of course, ?EMC2? and this:
Education News Nuggets
Its back-to-school time again (lesson plans from the New York Times available here), and this year some local students will have the opportunity to
Quotable and Notable
?Instead of schools as tools of liberation, we have made them into great houses of mirrors, reflecting back on students the environment they come from.'' ?Peter Meyer, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Stretching the School Dollar
Eric OsbergWe're thrilled that today Harvard Education Press has released Stretching the School Dollar: How Schools and Districts Can Save Money While Serving Students Best.
A college list to skip
Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, authors of the new-ish book Higher Education?, ?identify and briefly describe on the Washington Post's Political Boo
Politics of the classroom
Andrew Rotherham, a partner at Bellwether Education, explained the politics of D.C. schools in this past Sunday's Washington Post. ?Liam Julian
For Labor Day: School Should Be a Child's First Job
Peter MeyerI've seen poverty in many places around the world, on several different continents, which is why the debate about American education and poverty has always struck me as a little silly.? I mean, how is it possible to throw so much money at our schools and get so little education?
Randi, Pass the Kryptonite!
Peter MeyerThanks to Whitney Tilson for the alert about New York Magazine's Schools: The Disaster Movie, about the new documentary Waiting for ?Superman.? The?lead picture?is a must-see, if only to read the caption, which?says the movie ?is a paean to reformers like Washington, D.C.
The Temple of atal'hakkar or a new Plot by the Masons?
Peter MeyerI don't know where they get these things, but I was told that it was prepared by a school district's ??Administrators Team? during a two-day retreat. As a one-time seminarian and veteran of many retreats (as well as a fan of St. John of the Cross, Bob Dylan, and the Marrakesh Express), I would say it's authentic. ?Peter Meyer
Education news nuggets
Dear Education news nuggets readers: Thanks for letting me have a say in your daily education news nuggets.
Quotable and notable
?On whose behalf do you want to make the mistake ? the kids or the teachers? We've always erred on behalf of the adults before.'' ? Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust
Herewith, I advocate for the devil
Mike hopes that education-types will not be ?distracted by the [achievement] gap.? The ?real goal,? he says, is ?improvements for all groups of kids.? But is that so?
Finally, some straight talk on the achievement gap
Michael J. PetrilliSummers past have brought us front-page firestorms and inane back-to-school stories.
Edujobs to pay for teachers' vacations? (Just kidding - but almost.)
Jamie Davies O'LearyThere's a lot to be said about the $10 billion federal jobs bill (?Edujobs?) which will purportedly save 160,000 teachers' jobs nationally, 5,500 of which were/are/could be? at stake in the Buckeye State. You can choose what part of Edujobs makes you most concerned:
Field Notes: My Piece of Kafka
Peter MeyerI was sorry not to make Education Next's top 40 education books of the decade.? (The polls are still open; vote for three.)? That could be because I haven't written it yet!? Details, details.
Education news nuggets
September's already here (how shocking!), so get ready for National Punctuation Day by submitting your own punctuation haiku here.
Quotable and notable
?Public school employment has risen 10 times faster than enrollment. There are only 9 percent more students today, but nearly twice as many public school employees.'' ? Andrew Coulson, director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom