Education reform has been a specialty of Jeb Bush’s, and his track record on this issue in Florida is unbeatable. He knows the topic up, down, and sideways.
Nearly thirty years ago, a then-obscure University of Virginia professor named E.D. Hirsch, Jr. set off a hot national debate with the publication of Cultural Literacy.
In a perfect world, all children would have access to an inspiring, well-rounded education, especially in pre-K and elementary school. They need a solid grounding in history, science, art, music, and literature.
My wife and I both spend time working with our kids on their homework. We have also made a family tradition of “Saturday School,” a routine that my wife and I instituted a couple of years ago because our kids’ school was using a pre-Common Core math curriculum that wasn’t keeping pace with the standards.
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of blog posts that will be collaboratively published every Wednesday by the National Association for Gifted Children and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Each post in the series will exist both here on Flypaper and on the NAGC Blog.
By Robert Pondiscio
The importance of making history an academic priority once again. By Robert Pondisico
The best compliment I can pay a fellow education blogger is to confess professional jealousy. By Robert Pondiscio
There is a fast track in American education. And we’re getting far too few African American students onto it. By Brandon L. Wright and Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. But if you’re pressed for time and want to end all intelligent life quickly, nothing beats a task force.
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of visiting Success Academy Harlem 1 and hearing from Eva Moskowitz and the SA staff about their model. I’m not going to venture into the thorny stuff about SA here. What I will say is that their results on state tests are clearly impressive, and I doubt that they’re fully (or even largely) explained by the practices that cause controversy.
Attending a religious school might reduce bigotry. Kevin Mahnken
The creation of Brooklyn Ascend charter school, textbooks in Texas, and substitute teachers in impoverished schools.
As states have implemented college and career readiness standards, it has sometimes been assumed that most of the work and attention has occurred at the elementary grades. In truth, many states have been working for some time to ensure that grade twelve prepares all students for post-secondary success.
We’ve seen a lot of hand wringing over math achievement in this country. Our students continue to underperform against their peers in other countries, lighting a fire under educators and politicians to push new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programming in schools. While these panicked efforts have admirable intentions, they are mostly barking up the wrong tree.
A new study suggests that they don’t. But mind the details. Kevin Mahnken
STEM interest doesn’t necessarily translate into STEM aptitude. Robert Pondiscio
An affordable model that helps students who are already behind become better readers. Robert Pondiscio
Remember that past changes were controversial and probably unwise. Do not stir this pot again now. Chester E. Finn, Jr.
State efforts are uneven, but some are on the right track. Stephan Shehy
Pell grants for dual college enrollment and Nevada’s early returns on education savings accounts.
Last week, in the wake of President Obama’s pledge to reduce the amount of time students spend taking tests, my colleagues Robert Pondiscio and Michael Petrilli weighed in with dueling stances on the current state of testing and accountability in America’s schools. Both made valid points, but neither got it exactly right, so let me add a few points to the conversation.
What if federal aid for college students were focused exclusively on those who are truly ready for college? What if we stopped subsidizing remedial courses on campuses and insisted that students pursuing higher learning be prepared for college-level courses (none too strenuous nowadays in many places)?
The time spent testing isn’t the issue; the problem is the sky-high stakes attached. Robert Pondiscio
What’s it going to take to get curriculum taken seriously as a reform lever? Robert Pondiscio
Is LAUSD railroading Rafe Esquith? Also: the value of lectures, and a sad tale of wasted promise.
Intel cuts the cord on its Science Talent Search sponsorship and drives another nail into the coffin of U.S. gifted education. Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Brandon L. Wright
Beware the snake oil. The fact is that early learning produces long-term gains. Tim Shanahan
Writing in his always-entertaining blog a few weeks ago, Whitney Tilson gave a nice nod to Dan Willingham’s New York Times
