Teacher training programs face new competition
For the past hundred or so years, the training and certification of public school teachers has been largely in the hands of colleges of education, but this monopoly is now being challenged by private sector entrants into the teacher training business, explains Robert Holland in "The Rise of Private Teacher Training," an issue brief published by the Lexington Institute on August 10. Sylvan
The art of polling
This week, Phi Delta Kappa (an "honorary fraternity" of professional educators) and Gallup released their 33rd annual poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. Normally polls bring good news or bad news, depending on which side you are on.
How applying to college can warp your mind
Two articles in the September issue of The Atlantic Monthly take a sausage-factory-like look at the college application and admissions process. In "The Early Decision Racket," James Fallows explores how early-decision programs have distorted the admissions process and added an insane level of intensity to middle-class obsessions about getting into college.
Crazy things districts do to attract teachers
States and school districts struggling to hire teachers in the final days before school opens are offering all kinds of creative incentives to attract applicants. Among them: redesigning teachers' lounges to resemble quaint New England inns, replacing degree requirements with height requirements, offering free tickets to school plays, and promising unlimited bathroom passes.
Evaluating teachers using value-added analysis
"Doesn't it make sense to link teacher evaluation and measures of student learning?" ask Pamela Tucker and James Strong in an article in the September 2001 issue of the American School Board Journal. Hardly a radical idea, though the NEA is officially opposed.
Crusade in the Classroom: How George W. Bush's Education Reforms will Affect Your Children, Our Schools
Jacob LoshinDouglas B. Reeves