Charter Schools and Strange Bedfellows
Who knew that National Charter Schools Week could bring President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton together? President Bush issued an official proclamation designating April 29 - May 5, 2007 as National Charter Schools Week.
A Bargain for the Dayton Public Schools
Quentin SuffrenWith the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) levy vote just a week away, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding its fate (despite ours and other organizations’ endorsements). Like Ohio’s other big urban school districts, DPS’s efforts are complicated by history.
Performance-Pay for Teachers: Designing a System that Students Deserve
Coby LoupCenter for Teaching QualityApril 2007
Expressing International Educational Achievement in Terms of U.S. Performance Standards: Linking NAEP Achievement Levels to TIMSS
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Gary W. Phillips American Institutes for ResearchApril 24, 2007
The parents' party
Chester E. Finn, Jr.For decades, Republicans have had trouble figuring out what they're for in K-12 education, especially at the national level. Until about twenty years ago, they were far more adept at saying what they opposed: a bigger federal role.
Counting heads
According to the Indianapolis Public School system, 94 percent of its students are in class each day. Sounds pretty good, right? But a four-part report this week by the Indianapolis Star, while not exactly disputing that number, tells a very different story.
Education, the new healthcare
The Gates and Broad Foundations are pumping $60 million into a campaign called "Strong American Schools," designed to boost consciousness and foster debate about three big education reform ideas during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, and more fundamentally, make sure that candidates don't ignore the issue (see
Kindergarten flop
There was Ahnold, on the cover of the April 16th Newsweek, expertly balancing a photo-shopped globe on his right index finger, a knowing smile on his face. And why wouldn't he smile? In climate change, Schwarzenegger has found an issue that he can attack with impunity, and one that will garner him significant praise from all corners.
Where's the evidence on "autonomy"?
Diane RavitchWhen the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation issued a manifesto about principals a few years ago, I was asked to sign it and I declined. I did so because I don't believe that anyone from any field can be "trained" to be a good principal, and I thought that this was a logical outcome of the views expressed in the manifesto about opening up the job to outsiders.
America, The Last Best Hope
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Volume II, From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom William J. BennettThomas Nelson Publishers2007
Beating the Odds VII, An Analysis of Student Performance and Achievement Gaps on State Assessments, Results from the 2005-2006 School Year
Coby LoupCouncil of the Great City SchoolsApril 2007
Ravitch gets it wrong
David CantorDiane Ravitch uses selective data to tarnish the achievement of New York City students under the Bloomberg administration ("Progress report on mayoral control in NYC," March 22). At the heart of Ms. Ravitch's argument is a claim that Mr.
Ravitch responds
Diane RavitchDavid Cantor's response only goes to show how bad things are in New York City these days, and demonstrates the need for an independent assessment agency to evaluate test scores and graduation data.
Rescue 911
Education reformers have long argued that school choice is already widespread--among the well-to-do. Foes counter that choice programs are nothing but a "life raft" to save a few while letting the ship sink. Here's a new twist: St. Louis firefighters--union members all--are steamed that state law requires them to reside in the city of their employ.
Go clean
Noam Scheiber, senior editor at The New Republic, is none too pleased about what he calls the "cleverness problem" bedeviling top economic graduate schools.
Have mercy!
A couple months ago, it looked like the Boston Archdiocese was actively cooperating with charter schools. No more. With enrollment in Catholic schools flagging (in part because charters are tuition free), Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley decided to take off the gloves.
How to improve Reading First
G. Reid LyonTomorrow, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to consider the future of the much-discussed Reading First program, a key component of NCLB.
Viva la school trip!
Manhattan's Upper West Side may be the most liberal neighborhood in the United States. So who's surprised that a public school there wanted to show kids real Communism, up close and in-person? In 2004 and 2005, students from the area's Beacon School took school-led field trips to Cuba, in violation of federal law.
School Reform in Philadelphia: A Comparison of Student Achievement at Privately-Managed Schools with Student Achievement in Other District Schools
Coby LoupPaul E. PetersonKennedy School of Government, Harvard UniversityApril 2007
The autonomy gap
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr.Four years back, Fordham teamed up with The Broad Foundation to publish Better Leaders for America's Schools: A Manifesto. This call to action depicted a role for the public school principal akin to that of a CEO.
The power of rigorous teacher tests
Sandra StotskyMost elementary teachers seem to require intensive, expensive, and continuous professional development in mathematics. Even if current federal and state initiatives to train experienced teachers are successful, their costs are staggering.
Casting for culprits
It would be easy to berate 2nd grade teacher David Keyes for his recent op-ed in the Washington Post (as blogger Kevin Carey did here).
Fit to print?
The American way of life changed last Monday when intrepid New York Times columnist Bob Herbert traveled to Avon Park, Florida (a "backward city," he writes), population 8,872, to document an emerging national pandemic. That's how Herbert would tell it, at least.
Loosening the grip
China is making headlines for more than trafficking pirated Lost DVDs. Some U.S. educators and employers envy that nation's success in teaching math and science (at least in producing scads of engineers and suchlike) but now China seems to be showing greater curiosity about American schools.
"Highly Qualified" a Dubious Designation
A new study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) found that the “highly qualified teacher” (HQT) designation required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act fails to carry much weight in the classroom.
Charter School Boards Vital to Charter School Quality
Quentin SuffrenAs a sponsor of nine schools in Ohio, we have learned (the hard way, at times) that effective charter school management and governance require four essential elements: sound state policy, including appropriate funding; diligent and attentive sponsors; well-trained and highly capable school leadership; and an engaged and knowledgeable governing board.