A hex on state flex

Once upon a time, most of us at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation enthusiastically supported the notion of devolving K-12 decisions to the states.

Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youths

Nancy Martin and Samuel HalperinAmerican Youth Policy Forum2006

Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job

Robert Gordon, Thomas J. Kane, and Douglas O. StaigerThe Hamilton Project, Brookings InstitutionApril 2006

MIA on SES

Imagine a world in which hundreds of thousands of low-income families experience educational freedom for the first time. Parents choose from a vibrant marketplace of educational providers: public schools, for-profit companies, faith-based groups, local charities, and even collections of innovative teachers.

The Covenant with Black America

Introduction by Tavis SmileyThird World Press2006

Down and out

Time’s latest cover story (published in conjunction with a two-day series on the Oprah Winfrey Show) sheds light on what may be America’s toughest education problem—the fact that 30 percent of American high school students don’t graduate. What drives the mass exodus?

Baltimore bailout

Eleven schools in Baltimore managed to dodge the accountability bullet one more time this week. The city successfully beat back Maryland Superintendent Nancy Grasmick’s plans to take over its worst-performing schools after Martin O’Malley—Baltimore’s mayor—led a successful charge in the state legislature to postpone the action for one more year.

You've got to know to grow

Two searing articles in the current edition of American Educator, one by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. and one by Daniel T. Willingham, lay to rest the notion that critical thinking is possible sans content.

University accountability - Bring it on

Editor's Note: The author, Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr., is currently on sabbatical in California writing a memoir.

Protests 101

From Los Angeles to D.C., and from Phoenix to Chicago, students are taking to the streets in numbers not seen since the 1960s, in this case to voice their opinions about immigration. Such public demonstrations are central to democracy, but are they central to education?

Massachusetts' Charters Draw Support

The picture is overwhelmingly clear: People in Massachusetts view public charter schools favorably because they are seen as delivering the goods academically and have be set up with solid rules, strong accountability and transparency. Those are three things Ohio’s charter school program is still developing.

National Charter Schools Week 2006 (May 1-6, 2006)

Begin planning for National Charter School Week with fresh and creative ideas provided by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Click here to view their online tool kit. 

Dark Clouds Do Give Way to Sunshine

Ohio’s charter schools are under a cloud. Recent articles in some of Ohio’s major newspapers have challenged charter school efficacy and have provided fodder for opponents who want to regulate these public schools out of existence. 

Strickland's Call for "Universal Pre-K" Falls Short of Universal

 If Ted Strickland becomes governor, the Democrat will follow in the footsteps of Illinois’s and Kentucky’s current governors and push for universal pre-K. And why not? Early-years education programs are a winner politically.

From the Capital to the Classroom: Year Four of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act

In its fourth annual review of NCLB, the Center for Educational Policy (CEP) confirms that the impact of the law is even more complex than the political debate surrounding it. In this comprehensive and controversial study, CEP finds that one thing is certain: NCLB has dramatically altered the way school districts do business. Aligning curriculum to state standards, using data to

Flagging Redux

As writer Joe Williams, author of Cheating Our Kids: How Politics and Greed Ruin Education, pointed out in our February Ohio Gadfly, school districts in Ohio use a process called “flagging” to disrupt the finances of charter schools.

America's Youth Want To Be Challenged

Over four-fifths of our high school students yearn to be challenged. According to The State of Our Nation’s Youth, a survey conducted by the Horatio Alger Association, 88 percent of high school students say that if schools set higher standards and raised expectations, they would work harder. A majority would also like to see opportunities for more challenging courses, p

Stand Up for Education

On Tuesday, April 11 and Wednesday, April 12, the Oprah Winfrey Show turned the focus of its estimated 49 million U.S. viewers to the dropout crisis in America's high schools. Also this week, TIME magazine's April 17, 2006 cover story, "Dropout Nation," provides an in-depth look at the nationwide dropout crisis and the repercussions that accompany it.

Beating the Odds: A City-by-City Analysis of Student Performance and Achievement Gaps on State Assessments, Results from the 2004-2005 School Year

Michael Casserly Council of the Great City SchoolsMarch 2006

Going wobbly on exit exams

In the West Contra Costa Unified School District (near San Francisco), some 500 seniors have repeatedly failed the California High School Exit Exam and may not graduate. But if school board Trustee David Brown gets his way, those kids will receive high school diplomas anyway.

The French disconnection

European nations' primary and secondary schools are rightly praised for their commitment to strong core curricula and starting children's educations early. (France, for example, has funded universal preschool for over a century.) But when it comes to educating the continent's burgeoning immigrant populations, some EU countries do a better job than others.

Education in motion

Phil Rynearson of Rochester, Minnesota, is working to raise student achievement and decrease students' waist-lines-simultaneously. He's using a program developed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine (who also created an office of the future where white-collar folks work kinetically), which forces students to stand at podiums, sit on exercise balls, or lie on mats while learning.

A narrow view of NCLB

History, science, and the arts are being de-emphasized by most schools in order to make room for teaching basic reading and math skills, according to a new study. Who's to blame for this? Critics of reform point to the No Child Left Behind law.

Accountability U

It is understandable that citizens and policymakers want taxpayer-funded universities to show proof that students are learning. But are government-mandated standardized tests-currently under serious consideration by a federal panel-the answer? The 4,000-plus institutions of higher education vary wildly in institutional structure, educational goals, and academic focus.

Science faction

Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, states will be required to test students in science at least once in elementary, middle, and high school as part of No Child Left Behind. But as the law now stands, schools won't face consequences for poor results.

Legacy costs loom as significant problem for schools

Looking for leaders

K.i.d.s. is looking for a few leaders who believe that all children can learn and be successful. The Dayton-based school reform organization wants educators who can set ambitious, quantifiable goals for students, and use the best data available to measure the results.

Helping schools get better

When Robert Pohl visits a school, his aim is to look at all aspects of its operation, from finances to academics. But the first thing he looks for is a sense of urgency."It should permeate the entire school, from the principal to the secretary to the custodian," Pohl said.

Teaching kids to cheat

Educators in some districts throughout Ohio may be teaching more than reading, writing, and arithmetic to prepare students for state achievement tests. Some kids may also be getting a crash course in Cheating 101.

A scandal a day keeps good policy at bay

A three-day series in the Cleveland Plain Dealer argues that charter schools across Ohio, "despite notable exceptions," are sinking fast.