Commentary
Charter Schools
Making School Choice Work
How can cities with copious educational choices make those options work better for families?
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Charter Schools
Columbus charter schools win awards; innovation underway
Three recent news stories you might have missed.
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First Bell: July 22, 2014
COLLEGES AND THE COMMON COREA New America Foundation policy paper finds that colleges and universities are behind in meaningfully aligning their instruction and teacher-prep programs with the Common Core. (Hechinger Report)
Commentary
Standards
Scott Walker’s shift on Common Core could usher in education chaos
Here’s a suggestion for something to include in Wisconsin-specific education standards for Wisconsin children:By the end of first grade, children will know that two Badgers plus two Badgers equals four Badgers.You want Indiana-specific standards for Indiana kids? By the end of first grade, children will know that two Hoosiers plus two Hoosiers equals four Hoosiers.
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Commentary
Standards, Accountability & Testing
Standardized Tests: Correlation to Future Successes? (Part II of II)
The second part of our look at the possible data correlation between eighth-grade proficiency and college remediation.
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Commentary
At ed schools, a low degree of difficulty
Twelve years ago, my wife and I went back to school. Not the same one, though: she went to medical school and I went to education school. I don’t think I’ll shock even the gentlest reader by asserting that the former was harder than the latter, but I would like to offer a glimpse of how differently rigorous they were.
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Standards, Accountability & Testing
Next Gen Accountability: Ohio & Beyond
Repost of a blog by Tom Vander Ark that appeared on the Getting Smart website on July 16, 2014.
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First Bell: July 16, 2014
COLLEGE READINESSA new study finds that toughening high school exit criteria did not increase the likelihood that graduates would go on to college. (Inside School Research) MO’ MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS
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Charter Schools
Two charter school debates: When philosophical opposition masquerades as policy commentary
It feels like there are two very different charter-school conversations going on. The first is about policy and practice; the other is about philosophy and politics. Both have their place. But a recent collection of events and articles demonstrate why it’s important to understand the difference between the two.
Commentary
First Bell: July 15, 2014
OKLAHOMA AND THE COMMON COREThe Oklahoma Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the state’s Common Core repeal. (Associated Press) PHILLY SCHOOL FUNDING
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Standards, Accountability & Testing
The splintering school-reform movement
One of the great misconceptions in education is that the reform movement is monolithic. There have always been competing camps, often defined on ideological grounds. Conservatives and libertarians tend to stress school choice, for example; liberals are much more comfortable with an intrusive federal role.
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Commentary
Late Bell: July 11, 2014
Articles of the week from the Education GadflyWhither the NEA?Chester E. Finn, Jr. | July 9, 2014 | Flypaper
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Commentary
Whither the NEA?
I’ve never been to the annual conference of the National Education Association and I’ve never regretted it, but it would have been fun to be a fly on the chandelier at last week’s shindig in Denver.
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Commentary
On school discipline, let’s not repeat all our old mistakes
Just as the education-reform movement is starting to figure out how to use test-score data in a more sophisticated way, the Obama administration and its allies in the civil-rights community want to take us back to the Stone Age on the use of school-discipline data. This is an enormous mistake.
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Commentary
Standards, Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction
Teachers, the Common Core, and the freedom to teach
Common Core standards mean freedom to many teachers. Here's why.
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Charter Schools
2014 Schooling In America Survey
We take a look at the results of a recent survey of the public's attitudes toward the state of education in America.
Commentary
Vergara, Harris, and the fate of the teacher unions
The most interesting story coming out of the landmark Vergara and Harris deci
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First Bell: July 7, 2014
TEACHER TENUREOn Thursday, an advocacy group filed a lawsuit challenging New York City’s teacher-tenure laws. (New York Times) TEACHER EQUITY
Commentary
Netflix Academy: The best streaming videos on the Civil War
Note: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Standards
Why Johnny won’t learn to read
Bad ideas in education are like horror movie monsters. You think you’ve killed them, but they refuse to stay dead.A generation ago, the infamous “reading wars” pitted phonics-based instruction in the early grades against “whole language,” which emphasized reading for meaning instead of spelling, grammar, and sounding words out.
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Commentary
Standards, Curriculum & Instruction
A missed opportunity for Common Core
Last week, I had the privilege to speak in front of a group of education journalists convened by the Poynter Institute and the Education Writers Association about identifying strengths and weaknesses in curriculum.
Commentary
The NCES, NIEER, and spinning preschool data
The early-childhood folks didn’t much like it when I faulted NCES for relying on the Rutgers-based National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) as the source for federal data on “the state of preschool”—and for
Video
VIDEO: On the Rocketship: Expanding the high-quality charter school movement
Richard Whitmire’s forthcoming book, On the Rocketship: How Top Charter Schools are Pushing the Envelope, is “the best account yet of what is happening with charters,” says the