Effects of the California High School Exit Exam on Student Persistence, Achievement, and Graduation
Sean F. Reardon, Allison Atteberry, Nicole Arshan, and Michal KurlaenderInstitute for Research on Education Policy and Practice at Stanford UniversityApril 2009
International lessons about national standards
William H. SchmidtThe 1997 release of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) results was a wake-up call for the United States--and for Germany.
NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Bobby Rampey, Gloria Dion, and Patricia DonahueNational Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education SciencesApril 2009
Raising the Barr
Steve Barr has an "'Oh shucks, you know me--I can't control my mouth' persona," explains President of the California State Board of Education Ted Mitchell. It comes in handy as the Founder and Chairman of Green Dot, a charter school organization based in the Sunshine State. "He's a public curmudgeon and a private negotiator," continues Mitchell.
Gentleman pranksters
Some high-school senior pranks leave lasting damage and result in criminal charges for the perpetrators. Other antics live in memoriam after the cow has been coaxed off the school roof.
Education foxes and hens
Chester E. Finn, Jr.I'm reminded again and again of America's need for independent education-achievement testing-and-audit bureaus to track and report student performance and school achievement and to sort out the claims and counterclaims regarding when these indicators have risen and when not--and perhaps also to explain why.
All smoke and no fire
Speaking of Los Angeles, over the past fifteen years, the LA Unified School District boasts a total of 159 review cases for firing tenured teachers--159 in fifteen years.
Disappointing DC voucher development
Disappointing news from the Obama administration today. While the President's budget will include funding for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, it will formalize the Department's recent decision to not allow any new students to join.
National standards and tests: This time for real?
Michael J. PetrilliWe just concluded our daylong conference??on "International Lessons about National Standards," centered around Bill Schmidt's excellent policy brief??of the same name.
Most wonderful time of the year
It's National Charter Schools Week, and the Alliance has all kinds of activities planned and news to share. Here are a couple highlights:
More from the to-read pile
If you've ever hired anyone, you know that that colleague you get is nearly always quite different than the candidate you interviewed--sometimes better, sometimes worse, but always different.
If you're like me, you're generally skeptical of this Twitter business. ????It seems kind of like LoJack but for people. ????But I've come around lately, thanks in part to my colleagues here at TBFI.
International Lessons about National Standards Conference live
Stafford PalmieriIt started at 9 am this morning and Jim Shelton is currently giving his remarks. Watch it live via webcast here.* *The webcast is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Stay tuned for more information. A video of the event will also be available later this week.
Discussing education standards
What would help Jim Shelton--at the Education Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement--do his job better? Clearer standards in this country.
And the common standards discussion continues
This afternoon, Dane Linn , director of the education division for the National Governors Association and Gene Wilhoit , executive director of the Council of Chief State School O
Buzzzzzz about our conference
Our conference today--on national education standards and the lessons that might be learned from other countries--is spurring some discussion.
Kidding ourselves
Emmy L. PartinIn the midst of the school-funding battle here in the Buckeye State, it is easy to lose sight of the other major education reforms on Governor Strickland'
Schnur leaving ED
According to Gotham Schools, ED Senior Advisor Jon Schnur will NOT be joining the Obama administration despite his leading education role during the campaign, transition, and early days of the Duncan regime.
America needs independent education achievement "audit agency"
Chester E. Finn, Jr.I'm reminded again and again of America's need for an independent education-achievement "audit agency" to sort out the claims and counterclaims about student performance and school achievement and when it has risen and when it has flat-lined or fallen--and why.
Checked out, or never checked in?
Emmy L. PartinOhio's governor and House of Representatives are supporting a state budget bill that would add billions of dollars in state spending on public education over the next decade and would mandate more decisions about public education at the state level.
The problem with "culture is the problem"
Michael J. PetrilliPedro Noguera attacks David Whitman's book, published by Fordham last year, in
Arne Duncan speaks to the nation's education writers
Arne Duncan spoke to a packed room last night at the Education Writers Association conference, and got some chuckles by promising not to use his three favorite words during the speech: extraordinary, dramatic and incent.
Advanced Placement report in the news
Our Advanced Placement report has garnered quite a bit of national attention in the past two days as it addresses the question of whether the program's expansion is affecting its quality.
Re: The GOP on education: Where's the next big idea?
Michael J. PetrilliMike Umphrey, an AP English Teacher in Polson, Montana, (and a loyal Flypaper reader!) offers??a great response to my post from a few days ago: My main reaction tends to be "Bah, humbug."