Strategic Investment in Ideas: How Two Foundations Reshaped America
Eric OsbergThe Philanthropy RoundtableJohn J. Miller2003
Another Look at the New York City Voucher Experiment
Eric OsbergAlan B. Krueger and Pei ZhuPrinceton UniversityApril 2003
Shopping for Evidence Against School Accountability
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Margaret E. Raymond and Eric Hanushek, Education NextSummer 2003
Perceived Effects of State-Mandated Testing Programs on Teaching and Learning: Findings from Interviews with Educators in Low-, Medium-, and High-Stakes States
Chester E. Finn, Jr.National Board on Educational Testing and Public PolicyJanuary 2003
A Matter of Definition: Is there truly a shortage of school principals?
Terry RyanCenter on Reinventing Public Education Marguerite Roza, Mary Beth Celio, James Harvey and Susan Wishon January 2003
The case for elected school boards
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 superintendent resigns amidst financial troubles
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.
New York Times smears No Child Left Behind
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
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.
Education in Iraq
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Iraq is blessedly free today, but it's also a mess in need of reconstruction.
L.A. school board votes to oppose state testing requirement
The Los Angeles Unified School Board voted unanimously last week to oppose the state's high school exit exam. The board, which has a new union-backed majority (at least for now - one union-backed incumbent still faces a run-off in May), hopes to influence the state board to postpone or drop the requirement that students pass an exit exam before being allowed to graduate from high school.
USDOE suggests that states create test-based routes to full teacher certification
States and districts have much more flexibility to meet the "highly qualified teacher" requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act than most people acknowledge; in fact, states have an historic opportunity to revamp their teacher preparation and certification systems, according to Michael Petrilli, Associate Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education.