Commentary
Postcard from China: China's Tiered Cake of Educational Governance
Amber Winkler, Fordham's VP for Research, recently traveled China as a Senior Fellow with the Global Education Policy Fellowship Program (GEPFP).
Topics
Commentary
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?If the district is interested in putting together a reasonable, intellectually honest ? and legal ? evaluation system, you have to have teachers involved'' * ?Warren Fletcher, UTLA President
Commentary
A is for Accountability*; What's at stake in the ESEA debate**
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="148" caption="Picture by Bryan Bennett"][/caption]
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More fluff and circumstance from Michael Winerip*
When he's good, New York Times education columnist Michael Winerip is very good (see his report on Atlanta cheating).?
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Quotable & notable
?Listen to the claims of both sides, discount them each by 50 percent and then go with your gut.'' * ? Bill Seitz, Ohio state senator
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Commentary
Postcard from China: Stopping to admire the view
Amber Winkler, Fordham's VP for Research, is currently traveling China as a Senior Fellow with the Global Education Policy Fellowship Program ( GEPFP).
Commentary
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?If a state continues to deteriorate in terms of its educational performance ... the forces of competition over time will cause them to make changes,'' * ? Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza
Commentary
The Times has it right on ESEA renewal: Just say No!
The New York Times editorial page has been a remarkably consistent and clear voice on behalf of smart education reform ? and today it stays the course with a sensible critique of the Harkin-Enzi proposal.?
Commentary
Jerry Brown, pension reformer?
California's Jerry Brown is getting ready to propose what the AP calls "sweeping rollbacks" in public-sector pensions, raising the retirement age for non-public safety employees to 67, ending abuses like spiking and "air
Commentary
Postcard from China: How the Chinese recognize excellence
Amber Winkler, Fordham's VP for Research, is currently traveling China as a Senior Fellow with the Global Education Policy Fellowship Program (GEPFP).
Commentary
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?We are one. These are our students, and we need to wrap our arms around parents all across the city to make sure all parents are involved in the schools.'' * ? Dennis Walcott, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools
Commentary
Governance doesn't get much more thrilling than this
ESEA reauthorization is exciting, sure, but whatever comes out of the Senate won't be all that revolutionary. If you want to hear some really groundbreaking ideas on how our education system should work, highlight December 1, 2011 on your calendars. Right now.
Commentary
Postcard from China: Waking up to the needs of all students
Amber Winkler, Fordham's VP for Research, is currently traveling China as a Senior Fellow with the Global Education Policy Fellowship Program (GEPFP). She'll be passing along her observations on education in the People's Republic with periodic ?Postcards from China.?
Commentary
Education news nuggets
Exercise your logic: what happens when the sex-ed curriculum is a how-to manual if the students are already
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?Perfection is just not reasonable'' * ? Mitchell Chester, Education Commissioner of Massachusetts
Commentary
The lessons of "Halting a Runaway Train"
This is the fourth in a series of blog posts introducing Fordham's latest report, Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century.
Commentary
The lessons of "Halting a Runaway Train"
This is the fourth in a series of blog posts introducing Fordham’s latest report, Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century.
Commentary
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?I speak Spanglish... I say 'Necesito ayuda con my homework.'' * ?Miguel de La O, student at Coral Way Elementary school
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News of the World? Or, catching up on Rupert, Nick, Alexis, and the NAACP
I have been on the road for much of the last couple of weeks, much of that time spent visiting ?poor? schools doing well.? You will, I hope, see the results of my road trip fact-finding in future Fordham publications, but for now I can confidently report that, despite economic challenges (which are real), good things are happening in the provinces (i.e.
Commentary
"Halting a Runaway Train" highlights K-12 trailblazers in pension reform
This is the third in a series of blog posts introducing Fordham's latest report, Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century.
Commentary
Quotable & notable
?Frequently, we think of digital media as a distraction and a risk, but it is a potential bridge between what students find engaging and what they need to know'' * ? Joseph Kahne, Professor of Education at Mills College
Commentary
Report
Governance
Now What? Imperatives and Options for Common Core Implementation and Governance
This Fordham Institute publication—co-authored by President Chester E. Finn Jr. and VP Michael J. Petrilli—pushes folks to think about what comes next in the journey to common education standards and tests. Most states have adopted the Common Core English language arts and math standards, and most are also working on common assessments. But...now what? The standards won't implement themselves, but unless they are adopted in the classroom, nothing much will change. What implementation tasks are most urgent? What should be done across state lines? What should be left to individual states, districts, and private markets? Perhaps most perplexing, who will govern and own these standards and tests ten or twenty years from now?
Report
Governance
Cracks in the Ivory Tower? The Views of Education Professors Circa 2010
This national survey of education school professors finds that, even as the U.S. grows more practical and demanding when it comes to K-12 education, most of the professoriate simply isn't there. They see themselves more as philosophers and agents of social change, not as master craftsmen sharing tradecraft. They also resist some promising reforms such as tying teacher pay to student test scores. Still, education professors are reform-minded in some areas, including tougher policies for awarding tenure to teachers and financial incentives for those who teach in tough neighborhoods. Read on to find out more.
Report
Charter Schools
Charter School Autonomy: A Half-Broken Promise
The typical U.S. charter school lacks the autonomy it needs to succeed, once state, authorizer, and other impositions are considered. For some schools—in some states, with some authorizers—the picture is brighter but for many it's bleak. State-specific grades for charter autonomy range from A to F.
