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The imperfect "ObamaCore" analogy

The COMMENTARY blog is my absolute favorite, so I was more than a little crestfallen when I read Seth Mandel’s recent entry.

Must see TV: Fordham trustee defends Common Core on Fox News

Frustration and misinformation on the Common Core State Standards abound.

First Bell 2-21-14

A first look at today's most important education news.In a letter issued to members of the House Budget Committee, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon claimed the education budget for the current fiscal year overestimates the reve

To save the Common Core, don't fear the moratorium

Of all the current political threats to the Common Core, the most dangerous is the brewing backlash from the teachers' unions. To be sure, the GOP-Tea Party rebellion against federal intrusion is also threatening and holds the possibility of leading to repeal in several states.

Disciplining the undisciplined

The tough letter that senior House Republicans sent last week to Arne Duncan and Eric Holder should have been even tougher. For the “guidance” that their agencies issued to U.S.

School choice keeps families in the city

School choice marketplace in one Columbus neighborhood, all in the name of urban stability.

First Bell 2-20-14

A first look at today's most important education news:

First Bell 2-19-14

A first look at today's most important education news:

A new campus for KIPP

Fantastic things are happening for students in central Ohio's KIPP school.

Groundhog Day: The only thing missing is Bill Murray

Repeated failures of charter schools around Ohio seem endless; some hope may be around the corner.

School choice keeps families in the city

School choice marketplace in one Columbus neighborhood, all in the name of urban stability.

First Bell 2-18-14

A first look at today's most important education news:North Carolina Superior Court judge will hear the case against allowing student opportunity grants for use in private, religious schools.Illinois legislature begins to rew

Smarter Balanced assessments: A big moment for our schools

I began my career as an inner-city elementary teacher because I was dedicated to helping students succeed. Listening to them and helping them improve to meet their goals was at the heart of my work. Today, as the executive director of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, I feel that passion more deeply than at any point in my career.

The Common Core sanity check of the day: Estimation is not a fuzzy math skill

Oops, he did it again.

SIG: The disaster continues

Yesterday, I jokingly tweeted that since today would be a snowy Friday before a holiday weekend, the U.S. Department of Education would probably release SIG data.

Stuff to read while you’re snowed in

Nothing helps pass the time better when you’re snowed in than some high-quality edu-reading. Here’s some of the best stuff I’ve come across recently.

Universal enrollment and the potential for a perfect school-choice marketplace

Charter High Schools’ Effects on Long-Term Attainment and Earnings

In the midst of short-term and mostly small-scale snapshots measuring charter quality, this new Mathematica study brings a more panoramic portrait. Using longitudinal data, the authors sought to determine whether charter-school enrollment is indeed related to student success.

The connection between choice and humility

Ten map meditations on economic mobility

For a couple weeks now, I’ve been obsessing over this map. It’s the product of a remarkable research project that collected and analyzed the incomes of the thirty-year olds who were born between 1980 and 1982.

First Bell: 2-7-14

A first look at today's most important education news:

Lies, damned lies, and the Common Core

If you want to understand why supporters of the Common Core are frustrated—OK, exasperated—by some of our opponents’ seemingly unlimited willingness to engage in dishonest debate, consider this latest episode.

A New Frontier: Utilizing Charter Schooling to Strengthen Rural Education

With thirty-two cities across the nation placing more than 20 percent of their students in charter schools, it is clear that chartering has changed the face of urban education. But what about students from rural areas?

The standardized test as Tocquevillian device

This is a cliché by now, but the public schools where I live are producing test takers: pretty good ones, as far as the numbers show. At parent night at the beginning of the school year, we were introduced to a curricular program explicitly built around “assessments”—the new euphemism, I gather; maybe it intimidates less.

First Bell: 2-6-14

A first look at today's most important education news:

School choice and accountability: Finding the right balance

Editor’s note: This article wades into the ongoing debate over private school choice and public accountability.

First Bell 2-4-14

A first look at today's most important education news:

Netflix Academy: The best streaming videos on Colonial America

Note: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on