Displaying 16891-16920 of 16984 results
Commentary
6.6.2001

Colorado Teacher Education 2000: A Review of Four Institutions, Colorado Commission on Higher Education/National Association of Scholars

Matthew Clavel

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) wanted to determine whether the state's ed schools were tailoring their teacher training programs to the state's academic standards for students as well as to new performance standards (set by the state Board of Education) for schools of education. The CCHE asked the National Association of Scholars (NAS) to examine four teacher ed programs.

Commentary
6.6.2001

Navigating Newly Chartered Waters: An Analysis of Texas Charter School Performance, Texas Public Policy Forum

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

The charter schools of the Lone Star State have been much in the news of late, particularly as the legislature grappled with a possible moratorium on their creation. That didn't happen, but people are understandably interested in how they're doing. After all, by 1999-2000, there were 142 such schools enrolling nearly 25,000 youngsters. How are they doing?

Commentary
5.30.2001

Technology Counts 2001: The New Divides

Education Week's annual assessment of technology and education holds few surprises, but it does highlight an interesting shift in the terms of the education technology debate, from an emphasis on how many computers can be found in each classroom to how well (and for what) they are being used.

Commentary
5.30.2001

The Betrayed Generation: Standards in British Schools 195-2

The indefatigable John Marks has been one of the closest and most critical observers of British education. This report from the London-based Centre for Policy Studies is an informed critique of British education standards and performance. It includes an interesting comparison between the "selective" system of Northern Ireland and the "comprehensive" system of England.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Washington Education Watch: No Rest for the Weary

In case you thought mauling President Bush's ESEA plan was the only education business facing the 107th Congress, think again. A big sign belongs over the Beltway saying "Caution: Special Ed Ahead." By October 2002, Senate and House are supposed to reauthorize the expiring portions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which drives most special education policy in the U.S.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Written Off: Texas' Dropout Problem

The Dallas Morning News ran a series on dropouts last week which included 19 stories under five headings: how big is the dropout problem?; why do kids drop out?; the Latino dropout problem; one problem, many solutions; and finding the will to solve it. The series is Written Off: Texas' Dropout Problem.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Tribute for a Light: Public Education Spending & Staffing

Mike Antonucci's Education Intelligence Agency is not only the nation's invaluable source of otherwise inaccessible information about teacher unions; it is also, increasingly, a useful producer of interesting education data.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Overcoming the High School Senior Slump: New Education Policies

Authored by Stanford education professor Michael W. Kirst, this 24-page report is the latest in the "Perspectives in Public Policy: Connecting High Education and the Public School" series, published by The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) and The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Is Testing Only Good for Poor Kids?

A new analysis of state testing data by the Council of the Great City Schools finds that many of the nation's urban schools are posting significant gains in math and reading and reducing achievement gaps between white and minority students.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Educational Leadership May 2001

This flagship monthly publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) is intermittently interesting, though its basic orientation is progressivist and constructivist. The May 2001 issue is better than most, particularly for those interested in teachers.

Commentary
5.30.2001

Brookings Papers on Education Policy 2001

Our own Diane Ravitch has edited the third in her series of these thick but valuable volumes, this one based on a May 2000 Brookings conference devoted to academic standards in the U.S. Weighing in at 414 pages, this is indispensable for any serious follower of (or participant in) standards-based education reform.

Commentary
5.23.2001

Clearing up the confusion over testing

Crack education journalist Jay Matthews reacted to anti-testing articles in a thoughtful column appearing only in the electronic version of the Washington Post.

Commentary
5.23.2001

Direct Instruction and the Teaching of Early Reading: Wisconsin's Teacher-Led Insurgency, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Fans of "direct instruction," and those who would like to learn more about it, will want to examine this new report from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. It was catalyzed by three facts: (a) Direct Instruction, properly done, is a teaching method (and curriculum) that is known to be effective, particularly with younger children and especially in reading.

Commentary
5.23.2001

Ignoring the Lessons from Cinderella School Districts

Diane Ravitch

On May 23, 2001, the New York Times ran three major stories demonstrating cognitive dissonance about educational approaches. On the front page, we learned about Ms. Moffett, a first-year teacher assigned to a low-performing school who is extremely frustrated because she is required to follow lesson plans instead of doing what she wants, which is to demonstrate her creativity.

Commentary
5.23.2001

Adequate Yearly What?

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

As I write, the House of Representatives has just completed floor action on the education bill and the Senate is expected to return to it soon. The Senate has a bunch more amendments to consider, some of them important, some of them even germane.

Commentary
5.17.2001

Fixing Special Education Will Take More than Just Money

In a sideshow to the main debate over ESEA, the Senate passed an amendment on May 3 that would add $18.1 billion to the federal budget for special education over the next 10 years and would change special ed funding into an entitlement that Congress would be required to fund regardless of budget considerations.  This measure has drawn criticism from the White House and others for not addre

Commentary
5.16.2001

TIMSS 1999 Benchmarking Achievement Reports

The Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) made quite a splash in the U.S. when its 1995 results came out, mostly because it showed American kids sorely under-performing their counterparts in many other lands in math and science, especially in the upper grades.