What charter school authorizers can teach states on ESSA: It's hard to find indicators of school quality that aren’t test scores
Kathryn MullenBy Kathryn Mullen Upton
Can evidence improve America's schools?
Michael J. PetrilliBy Michael J. Petrilli
Ohio's accountability system is the best in the country for high achievers. Here are 3 ways to keep that focus
Aaron ChurchillLast week, several of my Fordham colleagues published a fantastic fifty-state review of accountability systems and how they impact high achievers. Lamentably, they found that most states do almost nothing to hold schools accountable for the progress of their most able pupils.
Cultivating America's future leaders
Robert PondiscioDuring the No Child Left Behind era of education reform, now winding down, teachers, schools and districts were tacitly encouraged to focus their efforts on raising the floor rather than raising the roof on student achievement. Whether by accident, choice or neglect, high-achievers as well as those merely "above proficient" received little attention. And why should they?
The high achievers edition
On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk, and Robert Pondiscio discuss states’ neglect of high achievers and how ESSA might prompt them to do better. During the research minute, Amber Northern reports on the good news about narrowing socioeconomic gaps in kindergarten readiness.
Addressing the learning needs of students performing above grade level
Yasmine RanaBy Yasmine Rana
High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA (Part I)
Michael J. Petrilli, David Griffith, Brandon L. Wright, Audrey KimNo Child Left Behind meant well, but it had a pernicious flaw: It created strong incentives for schools to focus all their energy on helping low-performing students get over a modest “proficiency” bar. Meanwhile, it ignored the educational needs of high achievers, who were likely to pass state reading and math tests regardless of what happened in the classroom.
Bad policies harm bright kids in Baltimore County
Brandon L. WrightBy Brandon L. Wright
Reflections on gifted education from the Olympics: What we can learn
The games of the thirty-first Olympiad are over. Maybe now I will be able to catch up on my sleep! For two weeks I stayed up way too late, spellbound by the competition between the world’s greatest athletes. I loved the world records, the close finishes, the upsets, the rivalries, and the camaraderie. I loved the emotion.
How do we define success for gifted students?
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. — Bill GatesHow do you define success? Is it the accomplishment of one’s goals? Is it the attainment of wealth, position, honors? Is it happiness? Is it all of these, selected from a number of definitions on Wikipedia?
Athletes aren’t America's only Olympic stars
Chester E. Finn, Jr.By Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Schools should support gifted students, not work against them
Editor's note: This blog was first published as a letter to the editor in the Washington Post on August 7, 2016.
California goes over the rainbow: An accountability farce
Chester E. Finn, Jr.No, I’m not referring to the Golden State’s rich palette of ethnic and other minority (and majority) groups, nor to its desire that they’ll live, work, and go to school in harmony, like Monet’s Water Lilies or Matisse’s Fauve masterpieces.
Help shape educational accountability in Ohio
Ohio Education GadflyYou're invited to join in the conversation and contribute to Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
Change the narrow focus on grade-level proficiency
Earlier this year, in his final State of the Union address, President Barak Obama asked, “How do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity in this new economy?” Education is a powerful tool to help do that.
Is the new federal testing pilot worth the work?
Jessica PoinerMany education stakeholders see the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as an opportunity to fix the most problematic provisions in NCLB. For many critics, the biggest bogeyman was too much standardized testing and its associated accountability measures.
Two changes to the Department of Education's ESSA implementation rule
Michael J. PetrilliEditor's note: This post reproduces a letter sent to Secretary of Education John King on July 29. Dear Mr. Secretary:
Hope is more than just wishful thinking
We hear parents, teachers, and students use the word hope every day. But what exactly does it mean? When we read or hear the word, we might think of a positive outlook or desire, yet its true definition is nebulous. It implies that something will automatically or magically occur without effort.
Testing flexibility under ESSA: A primer on the pros and cons
Jessica PoinerThe new education law of the land—the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—has been the talk of the town since President Obama signed it into law in December 2015.
Gifted education standards to guide teaching and deepen student learning
Ensuring that highly able learners are recognized through systematic programming is of the highest importance.
An unconventional approach: The San Francisco 49ers use football to inspire STEM learning
The San Francisco 49ers are taking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to new heights for children throughout Silicon Valley.
Academic distress commissions: A leg up for Ohio in implementing ESSA?
Jessica PoinerNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) required states to identify and intervene in persistently low-performing schools.
Proposed ESSA regulations shortchange early learning and violate the law's intention
By Elliot Regenstein
How states can use ESSA to deliver a more well-rounded education
Robert PondiscioBy Robert Pondiscio
Little California love for charters
Kevin MahnkenDarius Brown’s educational biography,
Change minds, change policies, change practice
Children with extraordinary gifts and talents experience drastically different needs. We parents, teachers, and advocates often get nervous calling attention to bright children, and we often fall into the trap of working under the radar or even making ourselves invisible.