Commentary
Commentary
Commentary
Schools More Separate: Consequences of a Decade of Resegregation
The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University
Commentary
Canards in Need of Roasting
Inasmuch as last week's column was about chickens (Chicken Littles, to be precise) it's fitting that this one is about canards-the loud-quacking kind-that need to be put out of their misery and cooked fast. Roaming the education reform field, I've encountered many ridiculous statements hurled at those who seek major changes in the K-12 delivery system.
Commentary
Can the merits of merit pay in the private sector work for schools?
The arguments that teachers make against merit pay are nothing new, according to Steven Malanga. When merit pay was introduced into American industry in the 1980s, many grumbled that the contributions of individual workers couldn't be measured.
Commentary
Challenges and Opportunities in After-School Programs: Lessons for Policymakers and Funders
Public/Private Ventures
Commentary
Students learn more with tough graders and ability grouping
Two new working papers released by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggest that having high grading standards and grouping students by ability (i.e. tracking) lead to improvements in academic achievement.
Commentary
Fraud and Education: The Worm in the Apple
Harold J. Noah (emeritus professor at Teachers College, Columbia) and Max A. Eckstein (emeritus professor at Queens College, CUNY) have written this disturbing book about education fraud and chicanery. They spotlight student cheating, credentials fraud and misconduct by professionals.
Commentary
Revitalizing Federal Education Research and Development
Education historian Maris A. Vinovskis is the author of this thorough, fact-filled and perceptive 270-page volume subtitled "Improving the R & D Centers, Regional Educational Laboratories, and the 'New' OERI." Much of the material in its five chapters has appeared elsewhere, but it's extremely valuable to have this all in one place.
Commentary
Using data to hold feet to the fire
Police commanders in New York City face weekly "Compstat" meetings in which reams of crime statistics are scrutinized and commanders are grilled about trends in their precincts.
Commentary
Weighing the cow does make it fatter
Caroline Hoxby wondered whether adopting report cards for schools causes a state to improve academic achievement. She examined state NAEP scores to see if there was any difference between states that adopted report card systems early on and states that were latecomers to the report card bandwagon.
Commentary
We're #5 (in percentage of adults with college degrees)
For the first time, the US has lost its world lead in college completion rates. The UK, New Zealand, Finland, and the Netherlands all have higher percentages of young adults with college degrees than we do. Jay Mathews considers whether we should be worried in "The New Completion Competition," Washington Post Magazine, July 22, 2001.