Commentary
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Commentary
Charter Schools
The lesson from Education Reform Idol: Elections matter
It was hardly a surprise that Indiana took home the Education Reform Idol trophy today.
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Quotable & notable
?If we're going to make sure we truly look out for the best interest of kids, we have to take a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to cheating.?* ? Greg Meyers, HISD trustee
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Curriculum & Instruction
More claptrap about sex education
Excuse the pun, but here we go again.? News out of New York is that Gotham's public schools will ?mandate sex education? (how not to have sex, why not to have it, or to have it safely, whatever).?
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Commentary
Charter Schools
Like It or Not, Matt Damon Has a Relatively Nuanced Perspective on Charter Schools
In case it needs reiterating, Matt Damon is actually a pretty smart guy. He holds a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. He went to Harvard. He produces documentary films. He volunteers and donates to whole host of NGOs and non-profits. Sure, he's no authority of education, but he's probably the kind of person worth at least giving the benefit of the doubt.
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What our Education Reform Idol contestants accomplished this year on teacher effectiveness
Which of the five states competing to be America's next Education Reform Idol did the most to advance teacher effectiveness during the 2011 legislative session?
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If you support Common Core, oppose Arne Duncan
Arnius Duncanus is at it again. Unmoved by pleas that he "first do no harm" when it comes to promising reforms like the Common Core State Standards Initiative, he seems compelled to attach mandates to his forthcoming NCLB waivers that will require adoption of the Common Core standards.
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Curriculum & Instruction
We can't predict the future; we can teach the essential
Every so often educators and reformers think, if we're educating kids for the future, we need to do a better job of adapting our education system to meet the needs of tomorrow. That our education systems needs to, in some sense, ?get with the times? so that we can better serve our students today.
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Back to school in Atlanta -- did someone say cheating scandal?
About three-quarters of the way through Alan Schwarz's story in today's New York Times, "Atlanta School Year Begins Amid a Testing Scandal,? a parent of a first grader is quoted as saying, ?But I love the principal.? Was she named?? No. Was her previous school named?? No. Are the cheaters still there?? No?.?
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Charter Schools
What our Education Reform Idol contestants accomplished this year on school choice
Which of the five states competing to be America's next Education Reform Idol did the most to advance charter schools and private-school choice during the 2011 legislative session?
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Education news nuggets
What is the best way to draw attention to your cause? Should you commission a tank? Accuse your interviewer of incompetence??
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Meet the Ed Reform Idol contestants: Wisconsin
The following is a guest post from Ryan Murray, Policy and Legislative Affairs Director for the Office of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, on why Wisconsin should be considered the reformiest state at our Ed Reform Idol event next week.
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Quotable & notable
"[AFT] knocked me out, but in the end we gave parents power. We gave them power under statute." * ? Jason Bartlett, former Connecticut State Representative
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The schools--and the deficits--we deserve
The latest Education Next poll results are packed-full of interesting findings on topics ranging from choice to merit pay, from NCLB to tenure reform. But particularly timely, in this era of fiscal austerity, are new insights about the public's views on school budgets.
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PODCAST: When the cat's away?
Mike and Rick are in the zone this week analyzing the Save Our Schools March, how states can improve ed schools, and the merits of Missouri's anti-Facebook-friending legislation. Amber gives Teach For America a high-five and Chri$ gives NC charter schools the flat-out deny. [powerpress]
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Quotable & notable
?Educators and policymakers must boil the chatter down to two essential questions: To what degree will this policy enhance student learning and how will we know?" * ? Marilyn Rhames, third-grade teacher
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Education news nuggets
Now that we've reached the age of digital learning and the online university and
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There's good news, and then there's really good news
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our schools' ?secret success.? Simply stated, poor and minority students are achieving at dramatically higher levels today than they were two decades ago?in some cases two or three grade levels higher.
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Education news nuggets
As you know by now, Fordham is on a mission: to find the reformiest state in the country!
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Meet the Ed Reform Idol contestants: Indiana
The following is a guest post from Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, on why Indiana should be considered the reformiest state at our Ed Reform Ido
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Quotable & notable
?If a kid gets out of school hungry and the first thing he sees is pizza on the side of his bus, he's going to ask for pizza when he gets home.? * ? Limor Baum, Dietician
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What Ed Sector gets wrong
Education Sector is one of my favorite groups in K-12 policy, and not just because I have lots of friends who work there. Since its creation five years ago its analysts have produced a steady stream of thoughtful, thought-provoking papers and posts on the most important issues facing education policymakers today.
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Scared straight: Tightening up on testing
If there is a silver lining to the cheating scandals, it is the increased scrutiny being paid to the testing industry, including the education systems that administer the tests.
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Tractors and Taxis: The Rural/Urban Difference Myth
The more I read RiShawn Biddle ? he of Dropout Nation -- the more I like him (even though I don't know anything about him). ?He wrote a wonderful short essay last week on Bruce Baker of Rutgers, whom he called the ?poor man's Diane Ravitch?
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The Save Our Schools Harassment Campaign
Answering the phone falls into the wide range of duties I perform as the staff assistant here at Fordham. I've received some peculiar calls over my tenure, but perhaps none as hostile as one that came through today. I thought I'd share the paraphrased transcript: Me: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, this is Chris
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Meet the Ed Reform Idol contestants: Illinois
The following is a guest post from Robin M. Steans, Executive Director of Advance Illinois, on why Illinois should be considered the reformiest state at our Ed Reform Idol event next week.
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Quotable & notable
?We understand schools have taken cuts over the past two years, and they've made tough decisions as a result of that. But we always said there was going to be a brighter day and we're hoping that day is not too far off.? *
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Education news nuggets
Jon Stewart wasn't able to make it to the Save Our Schools rally last weekend, but at least Reason was there. Some of us D.C.