Another gold star for NYC charters
Stafford PalmieriThe now famous (or infamous) CREDO charter study from last June generated a ton of hype. (See our analysis here.) The results were largely mixed, seemly putting numbers behind the assertion that putting "charter" in front of (or after) a school name does not guarantee success.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "There is a recognition we can't do everything. We really need all hands on deck from the private sector and the philanthropic sector because the government can't foot the whole bill for this." - John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Catching up
If you're like me, you're still trying to dig out of the massive article pile that Google Reader collected over the holidays. Ugh. So apologies in advance if these stories are old hat by now.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable "New York's charter school experiment has led to some promising innovations, but as a group New York City charter schools have become a separate and unequal branch of public education." -Michael Mulgrew, President, United Federation of Teachers
Racing to the top, every year?
Stafford PalmieriKevin Huffman, winner of the WaPo's America's Next Great Pundit contest and a VP at TFA, has a looking-ahead themed piece on Saturday's opinion page. One part stuck out in particular (my emphasis):
Expanding choice in Baltimore
If you're interested in the expansion and development of the portfolio approach in urban districts, check out this great article about Baltimore. Lots of choices within the system and a growing number of charters. --Andy Smarick
Top tens of 2010
Tom Vander Ark, former head of the Gates Foundation's education efforts and now leader of innumerable intriguing initiatives, has put together two interesting and compelling education reform top ten lists for 2010--one on the individuals likeliest to have a big impact and one on reformers to watch.
RE: 2010: The Year of the Tiger, and the Year of the Reauthorization?
Stafford PalmieriI can't help but point out the hilarity of this statement in Mike's post from yesterday: "Go ahead, Mr. President???be a tiger." I know this expression dates way back before the rise of infamous Mr. Woods, but it certainly has been hijacked by him.
Fordham's New Year's Resolutions 2010
Stafford PalmieriThe Gadfly is currently speeding through cyber space to your inboxes, but in the meantime, take a gander at Fordham's 2010 resolutions. Sure, they're mostly for other people (after all, the role of a Gadfly is to stick its nose in other people's business!) but don't miss number 10, which is surely the most exciting resolution of all. (And, p.s.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "We're in for a showdown. The unions aren't going to give in most cases, and I think the [Obama] administration is going to have to see what it's got in front of it." -Charles Baron, Director of Federal Policy for Democrats for Education Reform
Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence
Janie ScullHarold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer, and Robert BjorkPsychological Science in the Public InterestDecember 2009
Universal Access to a Quality Education: Research and Recommendations for the Elimination of Curricular Stratification
Daniela FairchildCarol C. Burris, Kevin G. Welner, and Jennifer W. Bezoza The Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice December 2009
Measuring Principal Performance: How Rigorous Are Publicly Available Principal Performance Assessment Instruments?
Stafford PalmieriChristopher Condon and Matthew CliffordLearning Point AssociatesDecember 2009
German geography 101
A discerning reader pointed out to us over the holiday break that there are actually three city-states in Germany. In the Recommended Reading “Party of Nein” (December 17, 2009) we erroneously stated that there were two: Berlin and Hamburg.
New Year's Resolutions 2010
As 2009 comes to a close, it’s time to look forward as well as back. For many folks, it’s a time to consider purposeful ways of making the future different from the past (stop smoking, lose weight, quit kicking the cat, etc.).
Education policy 2009: A year in review
Join us as we revisit some of 2009’s highlights (and lowlights), from NCLB to the stimulus, from Sarah Palin to de facto segregation.
Jailhouse schoolhouse
In this thoughtful U.S. News piece, Andy Rotherham sticks up for one of America’s most marginalized populations of students: the incarcerated. There are more than 100,000 behind-bars juveniles around the country, and they attend school just like other students, but do so in prisons or youth detention centers.
680 hours, 58 minutes left
What do you get when schools are on vacation, lawmakers are in recess, and readers are distracted by the holidays? Fluff. This Boxing Day, New York Times readers were treated to a titillating story--on page A14 no less--about the number of hours the federal Department of Education estimates it will take states to complete their Race to the Top applications.
Attention Kmart shoppers
Charter schools have a notoriously difficult time finding facilities, so they take put down in all sorts of incongruous places: churches, office buildings, warehouses.
Weird science--even for Berkeley
Berkeley High School has long faced a stubborn achievement gap between its white and minority pupils. What to do? At a recent meeting of the school's governance council, a proposal was put forward to eliminate science labs, which predominantly serve high-achievers, so as to redirect resources to underperforming students.
Bamboozled--the story of the '00s
Stafford PalmieriI'm a bit behind on my reading, but Frank Rich's??column from last week is worth noting. I usually don't agree with Rich on much--and I don't agree completely with where he takes this argument--but I was struck by his observation at how easily we are bamboozled by the big-wigs...
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "Chicago is nowhere near the head of the pack in urban school improvement, even though Duncan often cites the successes of his tenure as he crusades to fix public education." -Nick Anderson, Washington Post Staff Writer
Dawn?
Stafford PalmieriChecker's now few-week-old editorial "Dusk" sparked a debate amongst our ranks. Is America in decline? Or are we really on the upswing, despite our economic woes?
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "This is a very inward-looking social studies curriculum--a lot of gazing at the Texas navel and a very spare looking outward at the world." -Gary Nash, Professor at UCLA and Director of the National Center for History in Schools
A Christmas bonus for Arne
Michael J. PetrilliA little more than a year ago, President Obama ended our "name the next education secretary tracking poll" contest by nominating Arne Duncan to head the U.S. Department of Education.
Eduwonk on Detroit
Andy Rotherham turns in a strong op-ed on Detroit's new union contract. If you're following "reform" collective bargaining agreements or the Motor City's reform efforts, you ought to give it a read.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "The profession for 150 years was grounded in management, organization, government, politics, and finance. Those things are important, but they are secondary to learning and teaching." - Joseph F. Murphy, developer of the VAL-ED system for evaluating principals
Strike against the RTT application
Many of us complained that the final RTT application was not as strong as the draft version. One area of concern was charter caps. Originally, caps were a nonstarter but in the final regulations, this was eased and only certain types of caps became verboten. So did this small change have any real impact? Yes, absolutely.