Commentary
The Harlem Children's Zone, Promise Neighborhoods, and the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education
Grover J. Whitehurst and Michelle CroftBrown Center on Education Policy, Brookings InstituteJuly 2010
Commentary
Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement
Jacob Vigdor and Helen LaddNational Bureau of Economic ResearchJune 2010
Report
Standards
The State of State Standards—and the Common Core—in 2010
This study weighed existing state education standards against the Common Core education standards. The findings? The Common Core standards were clearer and more rigorous than English language arts standards in 37 states and math standards in 39 states.
Commentary
Commentary
?Common Core' Adoption: Raising the bar
As you know if you've read the New York Times, Associated Press, Washington P
Commentary
Quotable and notable
?It makes sense for us to adopt these standards and move forward? I have confidence that these standards are not going to knock us off course, but would build on the strong legacy of academic excellence that we have in Massachusetts.''
Commentary
The State of State Standards?and the Common Core?in 2010
The K-12 academic standards in English?language arts (ELA) and math produced last month by the Common Core State Standards Initiative are clearer and more rigorous than today's ELA standards in 37 states and today's math standards in 39 states, according to the Fordham Institute's newest study.
Commentary
The State of State Standards
G. Gage Kingsbury, Allan Olson, John Cronin, Carl Hauser, and Ron Houser, Northwest Evaluation AssociationJanuary, 2004
Commentary
Commentary
Quotable and notable
?[The national standards] represent an advancement over our already strong Massachusetts standards.? ?Robert Antonucci and David Driscoll, both former Massachusetts Education Commissioners
Commentary
Back to the education future
Rep. David Obey has been in the news a lot lately for his volatile comments against Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the NEA, President Obama, and really any old soul who dares disagree with the almighty appropriations committee.?
Commentary
Education new nuggets
Reason television helps us find the silver lining in education in the aftermath of Katrina.
Commentary
Race, class, and charter schools
Earlier this month, the Institute of Education Sciences released a major charter school study, the largest ever to use the ?gold standard? methodology of randomly assigning students to treatment and control schools.
Commentary
Quotable and notable
?So as far as I'm concerned, the secretary of Education should have been happy as hell?He should have taken that deal and smiled like a Cheshire cat. He's got more walking around money than every other cabinet secretary put together.? -David Obey, U.S. House Representative
Commentary
Mike talks with Doug Lemov and Steven Farr about great teachers
Mike recently talked with Doug Lemov, author of?Teach Like a Champion, and Steven Farr, author of?Teaching as Leadership, for Education Next about the importance of learning from great teachers. Lemov said at one point:
Commentary
Fordham in NRO
Yesterday's Gadfly editorial on Harvard and testing appears today, in very slightly modified form, in the National Review Online. We hope it generates some good discussion about accountability in higher education.
Commentary
Race to the Top, SIF, and Congress
Ed Week's Klein turns in a good article on the growing congressional skepticism of two top administration priorities: Race to the Top and the School Improvement Fund.
Commentary
Commentary
The Obey compromise?
Here's a head-scratcher:?Is Obey one of the smartest pols ever?or simply bi-polar?
Commentary
Quotable and notable
?Sometimes the most difficult act of leadership is not fighting the enemy; it's telling your friends it's time to change.? ?Bill Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Commentary
What the media ought to say about Teach For America
Yesterday Fordham's hometown paper, the Dayton Daily News, ran a piece about Teach For America, as did the New York Times
Commentary
Great new opportunity for educational entrepreneurs
Eduwonk has already linked to the brand-new Kauffman Labs Education Ventures Program, but we also wanted to chime in and show our enthusiasm for what looks like a great new chance for people with big ideas in education to bring their ideas to life.
Commentary
Education news nuggets
As the summer drags on South Carolina is jumping on the newest hot trend; the common core. Making SC the 25th state to adopt.?
Commentary
Quotable and notable
?Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it's never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses.?
Commentary
Harvard wimps out on testing
To oppose “results-based accountability” in education is close to a taboo nowadays, a position so antithetical to the spirit of the age that few dare mention it. Let us, therefore, declare ourselves shocked and saddened that Harvard University, in so many ways a pacesetter in education, is embracing that very position.
Commentary
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?
Minnesota, birthplace of charter schools, may soon claim another frontier: becoming the first state to allow a teachers' union to be a charter authorizer. Antithetical, you say? One of the hallmarks of most charter schools is their lack of unionization, which allows more flexibility to hire, fire, and assign staff, and to structure the school day differently.
Commentary
Neo-colonialism meets neo-paternalism
If we were to list the lessons learned from charter schools, it would probably look like this: By breaking down bureaucratic and procedural barriers, these schools have opened the education market to innovators, fresh thinking, and experimentation. But simply unlocking the gates didn’t necessarily produce quality—good rules are different from no rules.
Commentary
Robotic learning
WALL-E becomes a teacher? Robotics labs around the world are experimenting with a new role for robots: educator. The concept behind it is simple, namely that interactive teaching is much more effective than the passive kind.
Commentary
Evolution of the Impact of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Final Report
Patrick Wolf, Babette Gutmann, Michael Puma, Brian Kisida, Lou Rizzo, Nada Eissa, and Matthew CarrInstitute of Education SciencesJune 2010
Commentary
Philadelphia's Changing Schools and What Parents Want From Them
Tom Ferrick, Jr. and Laura HorwitzPhiladelphia Research Initiative, Pew Charitable TrustJune 2010