Knocking the textbooks out of the park
Journalist and author Amanda Ripley has received well-deserved attention for her book The Smartest Kids in the World—but we’re not sold on he
Journalist and author Amanda Ripley has received well-deserved attention for her book The Smartest Kids in the World—but we’re not sold on he
Among the many arguments raging—and more than a little mud-slinging—around the Common Core State Standards, perhaps the most arcane involves the blurry border between academic standards and classroom curricula.
This study of Teach For America (TFA) and Teaching Fellows secondary math teachers explores how their students compare to peers taking the same course, in the same school, from teachers who entered the profession through traditional certification programs (or other programs not as rigorous as TFA or Teaching Fellows).
Arne Duncan was right to call attention to 9/11 as an important opportunity for teaching children about the heinous events of that day twelve years ago, about honoring those who perished, and about the value of "coming together" as Americans.
At first glance, the recent teacher-retirement reforms in Ohio seem to bring good fiscal news to school systems in the Buckeye State. Thanks to Senate Bills 341 and 342—and a series of cutbacks on retiree healthcare—the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is projected to spend less on retirement costs in 2020 than it does today. But these reforms come at a big price.
This groundbreaking study finds that nearly all parents seek schools with a solid core curriculum in reading and math, an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and the development in students of good study habits, strong critical thinking skills, and excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Can you spell “C” as in “chemistry”?
Triangulating a trifecta of survey results
Today we kept both promises by issuing a pair of additional analyses related to NGSS.
Among the shortcomings of the NGSS is its acute dearth of math content, even in situations where math is essential to the study and proper understanding of the science that students are being asked to master. Also problematic is the alignment of NGSS math with the Common Core State Standards for mathematics. Appendix L of the NGSS seeks to explain the alignment and apply math more thoroughly to NGSS science. This commentary by Johns Hopkins mathematician appraises that appendix. Download Commentary on Appendix L: Alignment of the Next Generation Science Standards with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics to read the appraisal.
With states weighing whether to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a new analysis from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute compares the existing science standards of thirty-eight states with the NGSS and with exemplary standards from three other states. (The thirty-eight are those states with standards that are either “clearly inferior” to the NGSS or “too close to call,” based on our Final Evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards and The State of Science Standards 2012.)
One of three technical reports on retirement costs and school-district budgets.
Let's not overlook the reality that worthy effort requires sound policy, not just praise for those who do a great job despite its absence
Andy Smarick interviews Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of the High Quality Standards program and Bernard Lee Schwartz policy fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
The report heard ‘round the ed-reform world
Yesterday, Mike Petrilli argued the conservative case for the Common Core on the Rod Arquette Show
States can do better than the NGSS
Recent events have divided conservative school reformers, but it’s not too late to stitch it back together
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.
Peter Cunningham responds to an anti-Common Core article in the New York Times
Mike asks Deborah the question: Does it "work"?
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.
Mike debunks another set of lies, half-truths, and misinformation from the Pioneer Institute
There are plenty of reasons to be against the Common Core, but the Pinoeer Institute's Jamie Gass and Charles Chieppo miss the mark completely
A question for folks on both sides of the education-reform debate
On Monday, we kick off By the Company It Keeps
Mike Petrilli debates Deborah Meier on Bridging Differences
On the thirtieth anniversary of "A Nation at Risk," Dr. Bennett spoke at the Fordham Institute on the state of American Education
Republicans make a colossal—but reversible—error on the Common Core
The College Board and ACT have entered the ring