The education bill that Congress is likely to pass is a disaster in the making, and the White House and Capitol Hill insiders have known this for months, asserts veteran education journalist Tom Toch in this month's Washington Monthly. Still, the administration continues to press Congress to pass a bill by year's end - and Chairman Boehner says that this will indeed happen.
Launched a decade ago by reform-minded corporate CEOs, the New American Schools (NAS) initiative was meant to kindle a revolution in American education. Ten years later, however, rather than igniting change, it has largely reverted to the norms of the education establishment, according to a new report by historian Jeffrey Mirel which was released by the Thomas B.
If you feel amused or provoked by anything you read in the Education Gadfly, write us at [email protected].
Homeschooling is hot and a new book, Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement, by Mitchell Stevens takes a fresh look at where the movement came from and what it means for American education and culture. Stevens, a professor of sociology at Hamilton College, spent ten years interviewing and observing homeschooling families and reading their publica
Begging your leave, this week I shall acquaint you with a new report from the wing of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation that's chiefly concerned with education reform in Dayton, Ohio, where Mr.
The Commission on Instructionally Supportive Assessment, October 2001
Frank Martinelli, Charter Friends National Network, September 2001
We've heard a lot about the dire shortage of math and science teachers that has forced educators trained in other disciplines to teach those subjects "out of field." But we've heard much less about shortages in field of history.
A new front has opened up in the battle over the SAT, and the combatants are profiled in a long (14 page) article in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. The new critics of the SAT don't argue that it's biased; they're upset that it's not based on the school curriculum.
Parents in two states finally have the information they need to evaluate their school systems, thanks to the analytical skills of Standard & Poor's and the willingness of Gov. John Engler and ex-Gov.
Last Monday, Massachusetts announced that 82% of its class of 2003 passed the state's English test and 75% passed the math test. On Wednesday, Achieve, Inc. released an evaluation of the state's standards and tests.
The charter-school idea is now ten years old. Which is to say, it's completed the "elementary" grades and is ready for "middle school" - and the onrushing storms of adolescence. It's a hopeful but precarious time. And some worrisome issues lie ahead.Meanwhile, expansion continues. The Center for Education Reform reports several hundred new charters this fall.
National Center for Education Statistics, October 2001
Dan D. Goldhaber, from Selected Papers in School Finance 2000-01, National Center for Education Statistics, August 2001
Recommending sweeping changes in federal special ed policy, this new volume of 14 papers scrutinizes the education now being received by 6 million U.S. children with disabilities. Jointly published with the Progressive Policy Institute, the report will help shape discussion of the next reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It identifies the problems that now beset this important program, analyzes their causes, and suggests solutions. All who care about the education of children with special needs will want to read it for themselves.
Last week's 24-hour National Education Summit was surely pleasant. IBM's Lew Gerstner is a fine host and his company's conference facility is exceptionally comfortable.
In this month's issue of Philanthropy, Michael Poliakoff asks some pointed questions about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the nonprofit organization created in 1987 to identify and reward "master teachers." First, do the students of board-certified teachers achieve more than students whose teachers have not achieved this "distinction"? Second,
If you're a serious education reformer and want to make yourself angry, have a look at the "11th Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education" written by none other than Gerald W. Bracey. You'll probably agree with nothing in it. It's mostly an anti-testing rant leavened by ad hominem attacks.
It's getting more and more difficult to generalize about religious schooling in America. An article in last week's Wall Street Journal reports that Catholic, Jewish, and other faith-based schools are seeing a wave of interest from students of other religions. Christian parents may pick a Jewish or Islamic school for their child (or vice versa) for a wide range of reasons.
Policymakers in Massachusetts have long faced ferocious testing critics wailing that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is harming public education and worsening dropout rates. They endured myriad protests organized by opponents who claimed that MCAS was forcing educators to "teach to the test." They winced at the high percentage of kids who failed each year.
Another state whose pursuit of standards-and-accountability based reform has been doubted by testing opponents had good news this week. According to results released on Tuesday, Virginia schools nearly doubled their rate of success on the state's Standards of Learning exams this year, with 40 percent meeting this year's state benchmarks and an additional 30 percent of schools reaching tar
National Education Goals Panel, September 2001
Dan Koretz and Mark Berends, RAND, 2001
