Commentary
Rush to Judgment: Teacher Evaluation in Public Education
Thomas Toch and Robert RothmanEducation SectorJanuary 2008
Commentary
London fogged
In 1965, then British Education Secretary Anthony Crosland said, "If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to destroy every f***ing grammar school in England." He didn't, but his heirs are still trying. English grammar schools are selective state-run schools; students must pass an exam to attend them.
Commentary
Memoir time
It's gratifying to publish one's memoirs but also a little scary. People keep asking if this is the end. Am I retiring? Dying, maybe? Will there be anything more?
Commentary
Much ado about not much
President George W. Bush released his 2009 budget on Monday, and Gadfly is struggling to summon the energy to care. By the time Congress acts on these proposals, it will probably be December and the President will be the lamest duck since Daffy. Said differently, this budget is dead on arrival. Which is a shame, because it's actually a decent statement of Uncle Sam's proper priorities.
Commentary
Year Two Evaluation of the Achievement Challenge Pilot Project in the Little Rock Public School District
Gary Ritter, Marc Holley, Nathan Jensen, Brent Riffel, Marcus Winters, Joshua Barnett, and Jay GreeneJanuary 2008
Commentary
No fingers!
In his December 13th editorial ("Sources of charter-school mediocrity"), Checker Finn laid out ten factors that contributed to charter-school mediocrity. He didn't say anything about what part the curriculum plays.
Commentary
Very Barry
Washington, D.C., council member Marion Barry just doesn't get it. The District, under the capable stewardship of young leaders such as Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, is rejecting the wasted potential of its past for the promise of the future.
Commentary
State of the State
Boosting Ohio's economy, expanding health care for families and children, and retooling the Buckeye State's manufacturing and technological base for the 21st century have clear ties to education and Governor Ted Strickland deserves praise for vision in these areas.