Teachers: "New contract higher priority than Race to the Top"
Emmy L. PartinThe teachers union in a suburban Columbus district has pulled out of Race to the Top, putting the district at risk of forfeiting almost a million dollars ($960,000) in RTTT grant funding and many of the reforms that would come with it.
Talking charter schools and more on NPR
In case you missed it, Fordham's Ohio VP Terry Ryan appeared today on WOSU's All Sides with Ann Fisher.
Re-Evaluating Evaluations and Other Miscellany
Nick JochStudents who complain their teacher doesn’t know what he’s talking about may have a point, according to a new study by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).
Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners
Bianca SperanzaMelissa Lazarín and Feliza Ortiz-LiconCenter for American ProgressSeptember 2010Charter schools that make it their mission to reach the most underserved students must not forget the needs of Latino students and English Language Learners (ELLs). This is topic of the Center for American Progress’s latest report.
Voucher student performance: In search of the best analysis
Bianca SperanzaFor five years, the EdChoice Scholarship Program has enabled students to escape low-performing schools (those rated D or F for two out of the last three years) in Ohio for, presumably, greener pastures in private schools. Fourteen-thousand students, the maximum allowed by state law, in low-performing schools are using this publically funded voucher to attend private schools of their choic
Education News Nuggets
The new rules governing student behavior on weekends and summer breaks may seem like overkill, but try not to
Quotable & Notable
?Those promoting the privatization of American public education are blinded by free-market ideology.'' Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education, New York University
The miracle that isn't
Recall David Brooks's New York Times column from May of last year, titled ?The Harlem Miracle,? in which he shouted the virtues of the Harlem Children's Zone. Brooks approvingly quoted the economist Roland Fryer,?who referenced?research he, Fryer, had conducted?about the HCZ:
From ?Sailing the Ocean Blue? to ?I Pledge Allegiance?
Peter MeyerThis is a bit of shameless self-promotion, but what the heck ? it's a teachable moment.
Must Read from Brooks: Paralysis of the State
Peter MeyerDavid Brooks weighs in this morning with a succinct explanation for ?how liberalism immobilized itself.?
Quotable & Notable
?Maybe charter schools, merit pay, and vouchers won't instantly turn every American child into a test-taking dynamo. But if they ?only? create a more cost-effective system that makes parents and students happier with their schools?well, that would be no small feat, and well worth fighting for.?
Just can't get enough?
Who wants to read more commentary about Waiting for ?Superman?? Not me. But if you do, the latest New Yorker has a review. ?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
Chill in chief?
The Cato Institute's Neal McCluskey writes that President Obama is attempting to scare Americans by claiming that Republicans will cut education funding by 20 percent. ?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
Choice insights
Ross Douthat, in his New York Times column, highlights Rick Hess's essay from the latest issue of National Affairs.
Build a better teacher
Two education-related articles appeared in the Outlook section of yesterday's Washington Post. One is worth reading. In ?Why aren't our teachers the best and brightest,?
And the Answer is? (Shh! We Can't Tell You!)
Peter MeyerThough nothing that most educators didn't know, Jennifer Medina's front-page story in the New York Times this morning is worth reading?if you like reviewing, in slow motion, the tape of a train wreck.
Six Years Later, Still No Case Against the Zero
Chris IrvineIn 2004, Douglas B. Reeves published The Case Against the Zero, an article decried by classroom teachers as a tool to manipulate classroom grades.?
The President's Weekly Address: Creeping Disconnect
Peter MeyerThere was?nothing surprising in Obama's pitch for the Skills for America's Future initiative in today's weekly spee
Education News Nuggets
It's the 21st century and our K-12 schools still aren't up to par with computer science classes? What will we fall behind in next?
Quotable & Notable
?Ensuring kids are prepared for college by the time they leave high school is the single most important thing we can do to improve college-completion rates.? ?Cynthia B. Schmeiser, President of ACT's education division
Is a Democratic Congress good for school reform?
Michael J. PetrilliNote: This article by Checker and me ran this morning in National Review Online.
Quotable and Notable
?The reform train is moving. Districts aren't afraid of unions anymore.'' ?Emily Cohen, District Policy Director, National Council of Teacher Quality
What Finnish mathematicians think about PISA
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Finland gets high praise for doing well on PISA but apparently Finnish mathematicians don't think too highly of the test. Here's what they have to say:
Teachers: 'New contract higher priority than Race to the Top'
Emmy L. PartinThe teachers union in a suburban Columbus district has pulled out of Race to the Top, putting the district at risk of forfeiting almost a million dollars ($960,000) in RttT grant funding and many of the reforms that would come with it.??
Is a Democratic Congress good for school reform?
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr.In a word: no
A charming contract?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Is Baltimore's approach to performance pay and teacher professionalism worth cheering?