House passes IDEA reauthorization
Yesterday, by a vote of 251-171, the House passed a $125.9 billion, seven-year reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Yesterday, by a vote of 251-171, the House passed a $125.9 billion, seven-year reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The U.S. Department of Education has reorganized itself to focus more attention and resources upon scientifically based research and education programs with proven results. Though many believe this new focus will ultimately boost student achievement, some education experts are cautioning reformers to learn from mistakes of the past.
On April 10, the lower house of the California legislature passed an amendment to the Education Code that would allow teacher unions to post political propaganda in public schools.
After being chided by education officials in Washington for trying to sidestep the No Child Left Behind Act's "highly qualified" teacher mandate, the California state Board of Education is still struggling to define what makes a teacher "highly qualified" to comply with federal guidelines.
The Department of Education released a proposal this week that would overhaul and consolidate the 37-year old Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) to make it more efficient and cost-effective. The current system is comprised of 16 clearinghouses devoted to specific subject areas, which, under the Department's new plan, would be consolidated and run by a single contractor.
Last week, Standard and Poor's released its newest analysis of the performance of the charter schools run by Central Michigan University (CMU). The results are mixed.
People (myself included) who favor the radical overhaul of educators' training are wont to suggest that ed schools should become more like journalism schools: optional institutions that you attend if you think they add value but that you're not obliged to attend before entering this profession, so long as somebody wants to hire you and give you a chance.
The Indiana Center for EvaluationMarch 2003
The Learning First AllianceMarch 2003
The National Center for Education StatisticsApril 2003
Nobody likes having their budgets cut or income diminished. But my gracious, what a lot of griping, blaming and gnashing of teeth there has been in recent weeks with regard to public-school budgets. A blizzard of articles has chronicled the fiscal agonies of school systems whose revenues are pinched by the present downturn in state and municipal tax collections.
John E. Chubb and Tom Loveless, eds. Brookings Institution Press2002
Andrew Zucker, Robert Kuzma, Louise Yarnall, Camille Marder, Teachers College PressJanuary 2003
Dan Goldhaber, The University of WashingtonMarch 2003
The challenge of basing education policy on sound researchEarlier this year, Mathematica Policy Research released a sophisticated study of federally funded after-school programs showing that such programs do not raise the academic achievement of participating students.
I read your comments about protests against standards-based, test-driven state accountability systems [see "The law people love to hate--and pretend to love,".
The April/May 2003 issue of American Enterprise, organized around the theme Race, Broken Schools, and Affirmative Action, contains several interesting articles on school choice.
Yesterday's New York Times reports on two new studies that challenge test critics' claims that high-stakes testing undermines learning and hurts struggling students. Both studies instead find that high-stakes testing brings about academic gains, particularly for minority students.
A plan developed with the assistance of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and backed by the school board would replace the traditional teacher salary schedule with a system of incentives based on performance if teachers vote to approve it next year.
Launched just over two years ago, New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) recruits and trains outstanding prospective principals who lack conventional credentials and puts them on a fast track to public (and charter) school leadership positions.
The Council of Chief State Schools OfficersMarch 2003
The Philanthropy RoundtableJohn J. Miller2003
Alan B. Krueger and Pei ZhuPrinceton UniversityApril 2003
Margaret E. Raymond and Eric Hanushek, Education NextSummer 2003
National Board on Educational Testing and Public PolicyJanuary 2003
Center on Reinventing Public Education Marguerite Roza, Mary Beth Celio, James Harvey and Susan Wishon January 2003
While eliminating elected school boards and replacing them with appointed boards or mayoral control is all the rage, AEI resident scholar Rick Hess argues in the April issue of the American School Board Journal that there is no reason to expect improvements to follow from such changed forms of governance.
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske announced his resignation earlier this week, saying that a $34 million financial crisis that has unfolded in the district on his watch has made it impossible for him to lead effectively.
Checker was right to skewer Michael Winerip for his grouchy piece, "A Pervasive Dismay On a Bush School Law," [see "The Law People Love to Hate - and Pretend to Love," http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=16#242It is always annoying when reporters proclaim that grumblings are the manifestation of a zeitgeist (
College instructors value grammar more than high school teachers do While college instructors rank "grammar and usage" as a student's most important writing skill, high-school teachers rank it as least important, and only 69 percent of high-school English teachers say they teach their students grammar and usage skills, according to a new survey by ACT.