What charter school authorizers can teach states on ESSA: It's hard to find indicators of school quality that aren’t test scores
By Kathryn Mullen Upton
By Kathryn Mullen Upton
By Chester E. Finn Jr., Bruno V. Manno, and Brandon L. Wright
By Michael J. Petrilli
There are emerging signs, as I’ve written, that Ohio’s charter law overhaul (HB 2) is working.
Last 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.
During 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?
No 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.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther is passionately outspoken about Columbus City Schools. He is an alumnus of the district, and his first experience as an elected official came as a member of its board of education. He has regularly praised Columbus City Schools and publicly bemoaned those who have spoken negatively about them.
By Andrew Scanlan
By Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Columbus Collegiate Academy (CCA) epitomizes the relentlessness and vision necessary to close achievement gaps in urban education.
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.
You're invited to join in the conversation and contribute to Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
By Robert Pondiscio
By Chester E. Finn, Jr.
By Dara Zeehandelaar and Michael J. Petrilli
By Kathleen Porter-Magee This week, results from the 2016 New York State ELA and math test prove just how promising new approaches to urban Catholic education can be.
Many 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.
This Fordham study, conducted by learning technology researcher June Ahn from NYU, dives into one of the most promising—and contentious—issues in education today: virtual schools. What type of students choose them? Which online courses do students take? Do virtual schools lead to improved outcomes for kids?
Editor's note: This post reproduces a letter sent to Secretary of Education John King on July 29. Dear Mr. Secretary:
The 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.
By Daniel Cohen
By Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
At the National Charter Schools Conference last month, Secretary of Education John King challenged U.S.