Commentary
PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentDecember 2007
Topics
Commentary
The parent problem
Suburban parents aren't buying what school reformers are selling, argues budding conservative writer RiShawn Biddle in The American Spectator. "For middle-class parents, vouchers and charters are unappealing because they have already exercised choice--in the form of buying pricey homes in suburban neighborhoods.
Commentary
The progress illusion
It's tough to view the results from the 2006 administration of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Test (PIRL), released yesterday, with anything other than alarm.
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Bee still
If Rebecca Segall-Wallace is right, lots of otherwise fortunate New York City youngsters are wondering, "Who is John Galt?" Segall-Wallace writes in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that some of the Big Apple's toniest private schools, while happy to compete ferociously in athletics, disavow "thought competition" as treacherous and refuse to support students who want
Commentary
AP-IB indigestion
Jay Mathews is a superb education journalist with a particular passion for the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. He regularly scrutinizes them and their workings (and any studies, commentaries, etc. about them) with the care that an expert gastroenterologist brings to a colonoscopy.
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Parties like it's 1999
Senator Barack Obama unveiled his education plan last week, and used the opportunity to promote his presidential campaign theme of bringing people together.
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Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Mathematics and Science Indicators for Comparing States and Nations
Gary W. PhillipsAmerican Institutes for ResearchNovember 2007
Commentary
To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence
National Endowment of the ArtsNovember 2007
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Lasting impact
In an age of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, and the Beckhams, it's nice to know there are still some people out there who understand that life is not a narcissism carnival. Principal Jim Friel of New Hampshire's Franklin Middle School is donating his kidney to one of his students--13-year-old Morgan Corliss.
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Fordham plus choice equals charters
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has issued its "Sponsorship Accountability Report 2006-07" for the nine charter schools it sponsors in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Springfield (see here).
Commentary
State teacher pension plan: What, me worry?
Teacher retirement systems across the country are receiving much attention as of late. Lawmakers and leaders of Ohio's state teachers' pension plan need to read a feature in the new issue of Education Next (see here) by economists Robert Costrell and Michael Podgurksy.
Commentary
Charter-school report to be released December 5
December 5, the National Charter School Research Project at the Center on Reinventing Public Education is hosting a luncheon to release the 2007 edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools.
Commentary
Here's an idea: fire the boss
The Toledo Public Schools teachers union has proposed that the district's lowest-performing school should be teacher-run."Our proposal is that there would be no administrators and it will be totally teacher-led," said Francine Lawrence, Toledo Federation of Teachers president, told the Toledo Blade's Ignazio Messina.
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Commentary
Bollocks!
The English have given the world many great things: the Magna Carta, Shakespeare, and the miniskirt, to name just a few. But lately they've hit a dry spell, with Boy George, the Spice Girls, and Prince Charles, among other unfortunate contributions.
Commentary
Stand firm
Last year--the first that seniors in California were required to pass a high-school exit exam in order to graduate--the number of dropouts spiked in the state.
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Slaying school failure
Last week, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay wrote to over 70 potential charter school operators and invited them to start new schools in his town. The mayor hopes to begin a system of handpicked, high-quality charter schools that will, according to the St.
Commentary
A More Accurate Growth Model: Using Multigrade Adaptive Assessments to Measure Student Growth
Steering Committee of the Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment PilotOctober 2007
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Value Added Assessment of Teacher Preparation in Louisiana: 2004-2006
George H. Noell, Bethany A. Porter, and R. Maria PattLouisiana State UniversityOctober 2007
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Curricular gold?
Over the ten years of Fordham's modern existence, we have panned vigorously for gold--curricular gold.This quest has mostly disappointed us, as our reviews of state standards have consistently shown that expectations for American primary and secondary students are typically weak and watery.
Commentary
Sub flub
This one was about as unexpected as I-95 traffic tie-ups on Thanksgiving eve. If you make aspiring teachers jump through lots of hoops, don't allow school districts to pay more to instructors in high-need subjects or schools, and outlaw emergency certification, then districts will face teacher "shortages"--but they'll still find a way to get warm bodies into the classroom.
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The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2007 and The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2007
Trial Urban District Assessment Results at Grades 4 and 8Institute of Education SciencesNovember 2007andTrial Urban District Assessment Results at Grades 4 and 8Institute of Education SciencesNovember 2007
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Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice
Pacific Research InstituteOctober 2007
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An upset in Indy
To the west, in Indianapolis the Democratic mayor often referred to as the "Peyton Manning of charter schools" was defeated by Republican Greg Ballard in what some are calling the "biggest upset in Indiana political history" (see
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Selected comments from our readers
Regarding an article in the October 31 issue regarding the shooting incident in a Cleveland public school, Rick Boss writes:
Commentary
Labor makes school board gains, but big city districts face money problems
Labor-backed candidates made gains in several school board races last week, notably in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. Voters also rejected a $327 million property tax levy in Cincinnati, giving the new board there something to think about. This defeat, and the recent levy defeat in Dayton, should give pause to other big districts seeking new spending for their schools.
Commentary
Check out the What Works Clearinghouse
In search of scientific education research, up-to-date school statistics, and evaluations of federal education efforts? Then look no further than the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC).
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Classroom cell phones land unwary teachers online
There's a whole new meaning to the idea of a teacher being on his or her game when teaching. Now, in front of a class, or anywhere else in school, teachers may be on camera.
Report
Advanced Education
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate: Do They Deserve Gold Star Status?
This report examines whether the reputation the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs have for academic excellence is truly deserved. Our expert reviewers looked at the four AP and IB courses most similar to the core content areas in American high schools--English, history, math, and science--and found that, in general, the courses do warrant praise. In a few cases, they deserve gold stars.
Commentary
Wake's mistakes
Just two years ago, the New York Times heaped praise upon Wake County (Raleigh), North Carolina, for its schools' economic integration program, which the paper called the "main reason" that Wake's black and Hispanic students "have made such dramatic strides in standardized reading and math tests.&q