Topics

Fewer, Clearer, Higher: How the Common Core State Standards Can Change Classroom Practice

“Fewer, clearer, higher”: These were the words that guided the crafting of the Common Core State Standards.

A common app for uncommon schools

For a decade, the nonprofit Institute for Innovation in Public Choice (IIPSC) has helped the cities of New York, Boston, Denver, and New Orleans bring order to the Wild West of school choice, using the one-two punch of economic theory and custom software.

Gifted education—what I saw, what I’m learning

I’m halfway through an ambitious research project, in which I examine how other countries educate their high-ability kids in the hope that we might pick up tips that would prove useful in improving the woeful state of “gifted education” in the U.S.

The Polish education system is no joke

Poland’s gains in mathematics and science on the 2012 PISA assessments made big news in the United States. The impressive achievements by fifteen-year-old Polish youngsters contrast starkly with the scores of American youngsters. U.S.

Financing the education of high-need students

America’s approach to the education of children with disabilities is antiquated, costly, and ineffective. “Special education” as we know it is broken—and repainting the surface won’t repair it. It cries out for a radical overhaul.

Observations from the front line: Ohio debates the Common Core

A House committee hearing on the Common Core lasts until 1:00 in the morning.

Remodeled Report Cards, Remaining Challenges

The performance of Fordham-sponsored schools for the 2012-13 school year.

How bad are the Common Core lessons on the Gettysburg Address?

Welcome to the new Common Core kerfuffle.

PISA and Occam’s Razor

What I’ve been reading

The Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC) is out with a terrific new report on Nashville’s schools landscape.

SIG’s Downfall: Judge, and be judged, by proficiency rates

Why and how parents choose schools

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice recently released a study that seeks to better understand the decision-making processes of parents who send their children to private schools.

Recent teacher-eval reform happenings

For those of you following the interesting and ever-changing world of educator evaluations, a few recent happenings may be worth a look.

Cincinnati's magnet school campouts: What do they really mean?

Do highly-motivated parents guarantee a seat in a good school?

Testing voucher students: A reasonable quality-control measure with minimal threats to school diversity

Jay Greene wants school-choice supporters to relax the testing mandates in the newest and largest voucher programs in the nation.

Financing the Education of High-Need Students

The Thomas B.

Interesting SIG vs. non-SIG comparisons

Meanwhile, in ACTUAL federal-overreach news...

It seems the largest battle in education policy today centers on the question of whether or not the Obama administration cheerleading for the Common Core State Standards, a state-led initiative, represents an existential threat to federalism.

SIG and the lessons of history

There is no doubt in my mind that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan cares deeply about disadvantaged kids. He deserves our admiration and respect for bringing a renewed sense of urgency to addressing America’s persistently failing schools.

Right-sizing the classroom

Last month, USA Today reported that officials in the Brevard County Schools had broken Florida state law—on purpose. Their offense? Placing more kids in classrooms than Florida’s Class Size Reduction statute allows.

Class size isn’t as important as who’s at the front of the room

For decades, lowering class size has been touted as a strategy for improving student learning, despite loads of research asserting that it is not an effective solution.

America’s rural schools and communities

What if I told you there were millions of American boys and girls living in communities where half of students are low-income, just one in five adults has earned a bachelor’s degree, and only 27 percent of high school graduates go on to college?

Another set of worthwhile reads

Recently, 2013 NAEP results were made public, and, as is typical for such bi-annual releases, there was lots of excitement, somberness, and everything in between.

Stay the course on the Common Core

For years, the Thomas B.

Great teachers can teach more students, even without raising class sizes

Fordham released a paper by Michael Hansen projecting the impact on student learning if excellent eighth-grade teachers—those in the top 25 percent—were responsible for six or twelve more students per class.

Times have changed, so must we: Seize the day, adapt, and thrive

On Tuesday, November 19, I gave the keynote speech at the American Center for School Choice event tied to the release of the report of its Commission on Faith-based Schools. The following is the text (edited for length) as it was prepared.

Making Americans: Civic education and the Common Core

This post is adapted from comments prepared by Stefanie Sanford for the Manhattan Institute event on Civic Education and the Common Core.

If you like your federal education policy, you can keep it!

Right-sizing the Classroom: Making the Most of Great Teachers

In the overwhelming majority of American classrooms, pupils are divided roughly equally among teachers of the same grade in the same school. Parceling them out uniformly is viewed as fair to teachers—and doing otherwise might be seen as unfair. Parents might wonder, too.