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.
Balancing excellence and equity: The twenty-first-century struggle of gifted education
Scott J. Peters
Charter accountability works in Ohio
Kevin MahnkenElite public academies like Boston Latin, Stuyvesant High School, and San Francisco’s Lowell High School have long been acclaimed for the top-flight academics they offer to applicants who pass their rigorous entrance exams.
Locked out of learning
Earlier this month, the Department of Education released new data exposing the uneven suspension rates and limited learning opportunities faced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Does school climate affect student achievement or vice versa?
Jamie Davies O'LearyJamie Davies O’Leary
Life lessons from a grandfather's wisdom
During my first year at the University of South Carolina, I often purchased a morning cup of coffee in the university’s student union. Early one morning, I spotted a young man dressed in a business suit and bow tie carrying on an animated conversation with a group of undergraduates.
Four approaches to ESSA accountability
Michael J. Petrilli, Brandon L. WrightBy Michael J. Petrilli and Brandon L. Wright
How will ESSA change Ohio’s school report cards?
Jessica PoinerESSA implementation means changes to Ohio's school report cards
Charter Icahnoclast
Kevin MahnkenWe here at Fordham are really jazzed about the potential of high-quality career and technical education (CTE).
Standard deviations: Creative writers take standardized writing tests?
Students at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology produce the highest SAT and ACT scores in the nation. All of the students take at least one Advanced Placement exam, with 97 percent of them scoring well enough to receive college credit. But those high scores don’t come without intellectual cost.
Secretary King is wrong: ESEA was not a civil rights law
As Flypaper readers know all too well, newly arrived Education Secretary John B. King, Jr., is in hot water with Congress, state governors, and various school reformers.
The ESSA honeymoon is over
Kevin MahnkenWith our laser-like focus on American K–12 education (and the even narrower territory of American K–12 reform), it can be easy to forget that good schooling can be found in many forms—and many settings.