Commentary
Charter Schools
Don't let shuttered schools rot
There’s something about the sight of an abandoned school that tears at your heart.
Topics
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Parents: Children's first math teachers
We’ve seen a lot of hand wringing over math achievement in this country. Our students continue to underperform against their peers in other countries, lighting a fire under educators and politicians to push new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programming in schools. While these panicked efforts have admirable intentions, they are mostly barking up the wrong tree.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Key Trends in Special Education in Charter Schools: A Secondary Analysis of the Civil Rights Data Collection 2011-2012
How do charters stack up next to district schools?
Commentary
Charter Schools
Funding growth and expanding opportunity in private schools
How new and innovative financing structures might fix the private school supply chain. Damien Schuster
Commentary
How parental overaspiration might undermine students' learning in mathematics
Parental involvement can be counterproductive when it’s coupled with unrealistic expectations. Jeff Murray
Commentary
How students react to news of their AP potential
It can be self-fulfilling, regardless of actual ability levels. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
Commentary
A Massachusetts story
Youngsters interview their elders, a new teacher prep program opens in Cambridge, and a governor launches a laudable workforce-skills initiative.
Commentary
ESSA
ESEA and the return of a well-rounded curriculum
Undoing damage inflicted by the blunt axe of test-driven accountability. Robert Pondiscio
Commentary
Charter Schools
How Washington State can keep the door open to charter schooling
In refusing to reconsider its September ruling that public charter schools are unconstitutional and not entitled to receive public funds, the Washington State Supreme Court is bringing the state one step closer to shutting the door on promising educational opportunities for disadvantaged Washington students.
Commentary
On payday lending and parental choice
If every school in America was pretty good—if not better—our education policy debates would largely evaporate. Politicians would feel comfortable leaving educators alone to do their thing. And they would empower parents with the ability to choose the good (or great) school that best fit their values and their children’s needs.
Commentary
ESSA
The new ESEA will help America's high achievers, but only if states rise to the challenge
The ESEA reauthorization conferees delivered some good news for America’s high-achieving students last week.
Commentary
MCAS 2.0 charts a good course, but more wind is needed
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education wisely decided this week to tack between the Scylla of MCAS and the Charybdis of PARCC. Following Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s recommendation, they chose to adopt MCAS 2.0, a yet-to-be-developed hybrid of the two options. Their adroit navigation calms the troubled waters for the time being.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Do "Response to Intervention" practices work for elementary school reading?
A new study suggests that they don’t. But mind the details. Kevin Mahnken
Commentary
Racial differences in teachers' evaluations of high, average, and low performing students
Lower perceptions of high-achieving minorities may have consequences beyond the classroom. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
The condition of STEM 2015
STEM interest doesn’t necessarily translate into STEM aptitude. Robert Pondiscio
Commentary
Charter Schools
What’s next for charters?
The uncertain future of school choice, Louisville’s school discipline crisis, and the passing of one of reform’s brightest lights.
Commentary
Let's check our halos at the door, education reformers
If this is really supposed to be about the kids, we need to stop vilifying our opponents. Michael J. Petrilli
Commentary
ESSA
The new ESEA, in a single table
The action is moving to the state level. It’s about time. Michael J. Petrilli
Video
Pre-medial Education: Interventions for College-Going Students While They're Still in High School
When underprepared students enter postsecondary education, they face steep odds; Ninety percent of individuals who start community college in remedial courses leave without any sort of credential. And for low-income students, who make up 70 percent of those taking remedial courses, the odds are truly devastating.
Commentary
Charter Schools
“Similar Students” measures: a flawed approach to school accountability
A threat to accountability for both charters and district schools Vladimir Kogan
Commentary
Failing Our Brightest Kids: A talk with NAGC's executive director René Islas
Last week, at NAGC's splendid 62nd Annual Covention and Exhibiton, NAGC's executive director René Islas interviewed us about our book, Failing Our Brightest Kids: The Global Challenge of Educating High-Ability Students.
Commentary
R.I.P. John Chubb
John Chubb was not only a fine scholar, tireless education reformer, and creative innovator. He was also my friend and colleague for more than two decades. I first came upon him in 1990, when he (then at Brookings) and Terry Moe published their blockbuster school choice book, Politics, Markets and America’s Schools.
Commentary
ESSA
Fordham's Mike Petrilli and Checker Finn on the ESEA compromise
Editor's note: Politics K-12 reports that House and Senate negotiators have reached a preliminary compromise on reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Addressing the underperformance of Ohio’s online charter schools
How Ohio currently regulates online schools and how it can do better
Commentary
Here's my roadmap to a 2016 education agenda
Editor's note: This post is the final entry of a three-part series on Race to the Top's legacy and the federal role in education. You can read the first two entries here and here.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Getting Lost While Trying to Follow the Money: Special Education Finance in Charter Schools
Untangling a particularly convoluted strand of funding in the charter school realm
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Scaling up the "Success for All" model of school reform
An affordable model that helps students who are already behind become better readers. Robert Pondiscio
Commentary
Teach For America’s 2015 national principal survey
Principals generally like core members, but there are some sore spots. David Griffith
Commentary
Commentary
Granite State of mind
New Hampshire’s alternative assessments. A peek under the PARCC and SBAC hood. And LAUSD’s ticking fiscal time bomb.