Denver doesn’t spell doom for portfolio-style reform

Last week, Chester Finn used a recent vote of Denver’s anti-reform school board to make three points: first, that the “portfolio” reform there—based on school autonomy, family choice, and chartering out schools where kids aren’t learning—is finished; second, that Denver’s reversal predicts doom elsewhere for complex reform initiatives meant to transform the ways whole public systems operate; an

More reform lessons from Denver

After living through the transformation of K–12 education in Alberta, Canada, we moved from Calgary to Colorado in 2010. Since then, we have watched the Denver Public Schools story unfold from next door in Jefferson County.

How a summer job may help improve school outcomes

The influence of out-of-school activities such as sports and clubs on school outcomes has been an enduring

Cheers and Jeers: April 7, 2022

Cheers

What we're reading this week: April 7, 2022

Due to lower dropout rates, high school NAEP data might be underestimating the progress made by students across recent decades.

Test the babies

We must begin a program of NAEP testing for newborns. In the hospital. Before parents take them home. Maybe before parents name them. If we wait until age five to assess students in math and literacy skills, that leaves a half-decade of missing data.

11 ways school districts are boosting teacher morale

Hiring teens instead of teachers

We’ve long known that kids can teach other kids all sorts of stuff. Think about how you learned about new music, novel cuss words—even the birds and the bees.

Still rising, still

Through the emotional wringer and out the other side: Teenage relationships in the pandemic era

The 6 best education reform memes of 2022—so far

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What we're reading this week: April 1, 2022

The college readiness battle is won or lost in elementary school

Earlier this year, I took to the pages of Education Next to make the case for NAEP to test starting in kindergarten, stating that, “The rationale for testing academic skills in the early elementary grades is powerful.” Therefore, “Starting NAEP in 4th grade is much too late.” I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Kindergarten is much too late. We must begin a program of NAEP testing for newborns.

Denver’s cautionary tale for the “charter-lite” strategy

It’s no secret that Denver’s latest school board is wreaking havoc on the suite of bold education reforms that the Mile High City was known for over the past two decades.

Evaluating how well ELA curricula deliver content knowledge

What makes an effective English language arts curriculum? Is it the books and other readings that it includes? The skills that it imparts to students? Something else?

Cheers and Jeers: March 31, 2022

Cheers

What we're reading this week: March 31, 2022

“Hiccups and hard lessons: What it takes to bring big new tutoring programs to America’s classrooms.” —Chalkbeat How districts can design effective summer learning programs.

Biden administration’s proposed rules for Charter School Program empower districts at the expense of communities

The Biden administration is proposing an unprecedented rewrite of the bipartisan federal Charter Schools Program (CSP): new regulations that are unprecedented not just for the CSP but for all federal K–12 programs.

Why we should follow the science—to school

A new edited volume, “Follow the Science to School,” aims to identify what science tells us about evidence-based practices in elementary schools, and describes what they look like in the real world of classrooms. Following the science into its application in this way—and sharing how it works on the ground—enables us to suggest workable answers to key questions rather than challenging every teacher, school, or district, to figure out those answers on their own.

Lively days for NAEP

Those who pay attention to the “Nation’s Report Card” tend to take it for granted. In truth, most people heed it not at all.

Curriculum wars are inevitable and necessary

There is much to love in George Packer’s essay on the culture wars and education in The Atlantic. He castigates both sides of the partisan aisle for their follies: the left’s support for school closures “far longer than either the science or welfare of children justified” and the

What hiring ads indicate about the skills that employers want in a college major

Not all college majors are created alike, but it turns out that employers want their new hires to exhibit many of same skills regardless of what they major in. A recent study examines online job ads as a proxy for what employers view as the skills inherent in various college majors.

Impacts of a forced break before college enrollment

The typical timeline for college-bound high school seniors is to start a few months after graduation—the first available opportunity. But is that unbroken path into college the right move for everyone? New research suggests that academic breaks after high school have both short- and long-term impacts on postsecondary enrollment and labor market outcomes.

Cheers and Jeers: March 24, 2022

Cheers

What we're reading this week: March 24, 2022

California has revised its math framework, leaving some course-offering decisions to local districts to mitigate backlash its last state-level decision caused.