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The truth comes out
Here we are, somewhat dubious, but still enthused that Maryland reported record gains in proficiency scores this year, when we learn that Maryland neglected to mention they made their test easier.
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Twenty years late is better than never
Finally. At long last. A group of serious analysts, commissioned by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, has concluded that NBPTS needs to include student learning gains in its evaluation of teacher quality!
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Merit pay for the meritorious?
Candidates Obama and McCain have both spoken about their support??for merit pay for teachers. NPR's Morning Edition wondered if such pay plans actually work, so??reporter Larry Abramson went to Colorado to find out.??
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More on merit
Judging from several of the comments on my last post, the ideas that undergird merit pay for teachers are not lost only on NPR reporters. Corey, for example, writes:
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Quick and the Ed Watch
It occurs to me that we may need to start on this blog a "Quick and the Ed Watch" category. It's not that we want to, you see; it's that somebody needs to.
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Poor word choice
Regarding my article in this week's Gadfly, I'd like to clarify that my use of the word "disingenuous" was not meant to describe the moral character of the study's authors.
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Alphabet soup
"1 in 4 California students--and 1 in 3 in Los Angeles--quit school," reports the Los Angeles Times
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When ideas are executed properly...
This fall, the Minnesota Center of Online Learning (MCoOL) will expand its offerings to meet growing demand for high-tech, rigorous virtual education. MCoOL is a free Minnesota public school for grades 7-12 like any other, except for the fact that all classes are conducted online.
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Straight talk from Michelle Rhee
Charlie Rose interviewed D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee last night. Not only does she provide an in depth look at D.C. education politics (and what she thinks is the most important way to improve education: recruiting and maintaining high quality teachers) but she even lays into our old friend, Randi Weingarten. Teaser:
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Fun and games
After watching the interview with Michelle "The Hammer" Rhee (so named by her detractors for "hammering" away at the calcified system and "nailing" incompetent teachers), you may need a break.
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New Jersey bucks a trend
"N.J. raises bar for pupil test scores": New Jersey made it harder yesterday for public school students to prove their proficiency on state exams--a change that could cause more schools to run afoul of the federal No Child Left Behind Act....
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A rising tide
Pure speculation or not, I find compelling Mike's lead editorial in this week's Gadfly, which argues that extra-curricular activities in U.S. K-12 education foster "creativity, leadership, and the other '21st Century skills' that employers crave."
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Internationally newsworthy
The Economist reports this week on Randi Weingarten's election to the AFT presidency.
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The genius of American education
Even if education isn't at the top of the list for Senators Obama or McCain during this election season, it remains a major concern for governors and CEOs. That's because they see a direct link between educational achievement and economic growth.
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Schools that do everything but teach
A quarter century after A Nation at Risk, a growing number of America's education leaders appear to be abandoning hope for schools that significantly boost student achievement and are instead coming to view schools as multi-service community centers that do everything but teach.
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No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America's Education Schools
Julie Greenberg and Kate WalshNational Council on Teacher QualityJune 2008
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Don't mind the gap
Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews thinks the ed reform lexicon needs a rewrite. He's particularly peeved by the term "achievement gap," which he observes is often used "in a way that suggests narrowing the gap is always a good thing, when that is not so." What if, for instance, the shrinking gap reflected not just a catching-up at the bottom but also a leveling-off at the top?
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McCain speaks; Obama, too
A lot of people, and not just Republicans, have been waiting for John McCain to unveil his thinking about education policy.
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Narrowing the rhetoric
The latest study out of the Manhattan Institute makes a mountain out of the proverbial molehill. While the report contributes importantly to a largely neglected area of research, it also overextends its findings.
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Cancellation canard
For all the weight that high schools and colleges place on the ACT and SAT, they're in the dark about why students' scores are sometimes "cancelled." That's because of a 25-year-old policy whereby neither ACT nor the College Board will divulge the reason to a student's current or future school.
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Great idea
Why don't we??round up??some Los Angeles high school students, put them in a room together, and ask them to pontificate??about why Asian students do better academically than Latino students?
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It's all in the swirl
Will variations on this wine trick never grow old? Never, it seems. Yes, there is an education angle .
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McCain's plan
The candidate's education plan is available. From a reform standpoint, there really is??much to like.
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Schools strike in the U.K.
Perhaps the U.S. could foment more such strikes in other nations, and thereby give its students a better shot on comparative??international tests.??In the U.K.:
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Teach for America in WWC
A??new "quick review" out of the What Works Clearinghouse finds that Teach for America teachers improved student performance on standardized end-of-course tests in math and science-by about one-tenth of a standard deviation. This is equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 54th percentile.??
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Rhee inspires reform in South Korea
"We Need Someone Like Michelle Rhee" proclaims an editorial headline in the South Korean newspaper