Civics lesson
Lawsuits, Columbine...Election Day? That seems to be the thought process for many a school district contemplating November 4th and worried that their schools can't safely serve as polling stations and learning environments at the same time. That's why Illinois's Indian Prairie school system cancelled classes for the day.
OECD Economic Surveys: Australia
Stafford PalmieriChapter 3, "Enhancing Educational Performance"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentOctober 10, 2008
Counting on the Future: International Benchmarks in Mathematics for American School Districts
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Gary W. Phillips and John DosseyAmerican Institutes of ResearchOctober 2008
No campaign education advisor left behind
Michael J. PetrilliIf many recent polls are to be believed, Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. And this week we got an important glimpse into the dynamics of his education team that might preview what we can expect in the four years to come.
School politics
There may be no Greek columns to back-drop these stump speeches, but they're still promising big change. In fact, the school corridors and cafeteria tables only serve to emphasize the issues of the day: class trips and cafeteria food. That's right, election fever has hit southern Florida elementary schools--election fever for school council elections.
Half a LEAPfrog
Ending social promotion is a good idea, but merely forcing students to repeat grades--same stuff, same classrooms, often same teachers--has been shown to be an inadequate alternative. Which is why Jefferson Parish, Louisiana deserves kudos for devising a promising "third way": grade 4.5, the destination for fourth-graders who fail to pass the state's LEAP test.
Check it out
It's no secret that Gadfly and his friends harbor some doubts about the programs now popping up in various cities that pay students for improved attendance, behavior, and grades. But now that these initiatives are in motion, we might as well learn something from them.
Electric shock
It may not have the ring of "The Hammer" but Michelle Rhee's latest appellation is perhaps better suited. As today's rockstar of education reformers and the bane of change-resistant teachers' unions, she certainly has become the country's "Lightning Rod" for all things education.
Obama's portfolio policy: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Michael J. Petrillist1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
Youth rebellion
Michael J. PetrilliIf Barack Obama is a socialist* does that make Robert Samuelson a radical?