Most ed reformers are drawn to their calling by one, or sometimes both, of two considerations: civil rights and economics. The first concern addresses the achievement gap between mostly white, upper-class students and their mostly minority, low-income peers. That this gap exists--and that it's shameful and unacceptable--is undeniable.
Over at the Cato blog , Andrew Coulson reports that New Jersey lawmakers have taken a step toward approving a tax-credit scholarship program, muc
Amidst criticism over her principal firings, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has dismissed the principal of the school that her own kids attend.
The Center for Education Reform released an analysis of 2006 charter school funding , claiming that charters receive 39 percent less funding than district schools, on average. That's a huge, unfair difference, if it's true.
New Jersey education officials have admitted that an African-American vice principal inappropriately punished 15 Hispanic elementary students in Camden.
Cleveland can be a tough place, what with its harsh winters and difficult economic times.
Yesterday, we noted that Kevin Donnelly, authority on all things related to Aussie-ed, was displeased that Victoria was offering its teachers a massive, across-the-board pay raise decoupled from accountability.
No, I'm not referring to this survey from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, though there are some promising tidbits.
Tom Stanley-Becker is an AP dropout. The young man writes today in the Los Angeles Times:
Another interesting bit in The Gadfly is this piece, which describes how thousands of Massachusetts students who pass the MCAS and graduate high school nonetheless have to take remedial courses at 2- and 4-year colleges--i.e., they're not ready to do college-level work. Many drop out.
While childlike Liam takes Checker to task for questioning the incalculable contributions of twenty-somethings, in Boston they're
Over at Quick and the Ed, Kevin Carey turns in a lengthy post, replete with percentages and bullet points, that draws lessons from Ed Sector's newest report, Waiting to Be Won Ov
The Catholic Church is not the only institution facing a sex abuse crisis. The Los Angeles Unified School District has an ugly scandal of its own--and teenagers are again the victims.
1. Bills proposed by Florida lawmakers to allow teachers to caveat their teaching of evolution have, for the time being, fizzled out. 2. Cool video on how the eye, that amazing bit of complexity that's often proffered as proof of intelligent design, likely evolved:
As with any program, implementation in AP really matters, so it's disappointing that Tom Stanley-Becker doesn't say more about how history is taught at his school. Was the AP class his only recent exposure to American history?
Mike and Christina discuss what kind of ed talk to expect from the presumptive nominees as we near the general election. httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=p3sUyP-c8AE
Japan has slipped in international science rankings, so the government has announced a plan to train a special cadre of "super science teachers." Gotta love the enthusiasm.
Wouldn't it be great if the candidates were to duke it out over education reform?
To receive a high-school diploma in Massachusetts, one must at least pass the MCAS (or make one's way through a reasonably challenging alternative path.) Nonetheless, according to the Boston Globe, "thousands of Massachusetts public high school graduates arrive at college unprepared for even the most basic math and English classes." Such students must therefore take remedial
We'd like to stop writing about Randi Weingarten, really we would. But her ongoing antics simply don't allow it--and as she nears the leadership of the national American Federation of Teachers she has to be taken seriously.
If you're a wealthy philanthropist keen to expand AP courses and pay more to the teachers who do the best job of teaching AP classes, Washington state wants you to buzz off.
Jennifer A. Kaminski, Vladimir M. Sloutsky, and Andrew F. HecklerScienceApril 25, 2008
It is not insignificant that John McCain, who may be the country's next president, has hanging in his office a photograph of William Bee Ravenel III, or that McCain recently called Ravenel "one of the best men I have ever known." Ravenel was one of
