Some early-summer reads, part 2
The second half of Andy's compilation of must-read recent publications
The second half of Andy's compilation of must-read recent publications
Andy Smarick interviews Mashea Ashton, CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund
In the final evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Thomas B. Fordham Institute grants the standards a C grade. The NGSS grade is superior to grades we granted to the science standards of sixteen states and the PISA framework in the State of State Science Standards 2012 but inferior to those of twelve states and the District of Columbia, as well as the NAEP and TIMSS frameworks.
Andy Smarick's latest interview is with Robin Lake, director of the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)
When it comes to pension reform in the education realm, it’s hard to stay positive. Here, we’re saddled with a bona fide fiscal calamity (up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities by some counts), and no consensus about how to rectify the situation. No matter how one slices and dices this problem, somebody ends up paying in ways they won’t like and perhaps shouldn’t have to bear. All we can say is that some options are less bad than others.
Observe what a low achievement bar these kinds of comparisons generally set
In favor of good old-fashioned school choice
Neerav Kingsland of New Schools for New Orleans outlines the basics of Relinquishment
Andy Smarick's picks of the week
Smith's new brief tells the story of the still-young Achievement School District in Tennessee
There's public, and then there's “public.”
As the challenges of education governance loom ever larger and the dysfunction and incapacity of the traditional K-12 system reveal themselves as major roadblocks to urgently-needed reforms across that system, many have asked, “What’s the alternative?”
Sage advice and news tidbits from Andy Smarick
Andy's picks, from Kansas City to CALDER
A new book from Sir Michael Barber, noted British education reformer, describes an effort to improve education in rural Pakistan
A collection of news and announcements
When charter schools first emerged more than two decades ago, they presented an innovation in public school governance. No longer would school districts enjoy the “exclusive franchise” to own and operate public schools, as chartering pioneer and advocate Ted Kolderie explained. Charters wouldn’t gain all of the independence of private schools—they would still report to a publicly accountable body, or authorizer—but they would be largely freed from the micromanagement of school boards, district bureaucracies, and union contracts. Autonomy, in exchange for accountability, would reign supreme.
Andy Smarick's pick of the news
Conducted jointly by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Public Impact, the new research study Searching for Excellence: A Five-City, Cross-State Comparison of Charter School Quality sheds light on charter performance — in Albany, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, and Indianapolis. These cities were highlighted because they have relatively large numbers of charter schools and charter school students. These are cities where charters have been part of the educational landscape for a decade or more. Read this exciting report today!
Keeping up with education headlines
In an era of budgetary belt tightening, state and local policy makers are finally awakening to the impact of teacher pension costs on their bottom lines. Recent reports demonstrate that such pension programs across the United States are burdened by almost $390 billion in unfunded liabilities. Yet, most states and municipalities have been taking the road of least resistance, tinkering around the edges rather than tackling systemic (but painful) pension reform. Is the solution to the pension crisis to offer teachers the option of a 401(k)-style plan (also known as a "defined contribution" or DC plan) instead of a traditional pension plan? Would this alternative appeal to teachers? When Teachers Choose Pension Plans: The Florida Story sets out to answer these questions.
Andy Smarick's pick of recent education news
The second of two posts on the past, present, and future of urban schooling
Earlier today on WAMU, Washington’s local NPR station, Kojo Nnamdi hosted a fascinating discussion on school boundaries, charter schools, and choice
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has provided big-picture feedback and detailed, standard-specific commentary for the second draft of the Next Generation Science Standards—standards that done right, set a firm foundation upon which the rest of science education across the states will be constructed. In our comments on the first draft, we concluded that “the NGSS authors have much to do to ensure that the final draft is a true leap forward in science education.” In comments on Draft II, we address to what extent NGSS writers have moved closer to a set of K–12 science standards that even states with strong standards of their own would do well to adopt.
The first of two posts on the past, present, and future of urban schooling
Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them; but is this assumption justified?