Despite all the advantages afforded by highly educated parents, by living in a home that values the written word, by siblings who read and cherish books, at age six my youngest son leaves kindergarten this year unable to read. What does this say about his future?
The education scene in Ohio is brimming with options. But how do parents know which school is best for their children? GreatSchools, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, has produced a valuable workbook to help parents in the Dayton area answer that question.
On May 10 in Columbus, Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, spoke before a packed room of over 300 educators, legislators, philanthropists, business leaders and reporters with a message of hope for Ohio’s schools. If you were unable to elbow your way through the crowd to see her presentation, check it out
On May 27, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a front page story announcing that the board of the state’s top performing charter school—the W.E.B. DuBois Academy—had voted to close the school due to serious financial problems. As the school’s sponsor, the Thomas B.
Harvey Pennick, the late, great Texas golf instructor, once wrote: “If you don’t have a good grip, you don’t want a good swing.” Ohio finds itself in a similar situation in its teaching of world history.
Is data collection and technology really revolutionizing classroom instruction?
Is America's K-12 education system preparing students for life in a global village? Unfortunately, it is not. Renowned historian Walter Russell Mead, author of this report, found that thirty-three states deserved D or F grades for their world history standards.
The winner of the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be crowned tonight, and all the pomp will be broadcast live on ABC. But it's worth wondering whether the Scripps bee still merits such publicity while the estimable National Geographic Bee (held last week, and hosted by Alex Trebek) goes relatively unnoticed.
Last week's editorial, "The death and life of great American education organizations" captures well the reality of institutional responses to societal conditions, as well as the circumstances-some external, others internal-that cause public organizations to change. Some adjust or adapt, some make radical shifts (which often speed their decline), while still others simply implode.
Bryan C. Hassel, Michelle Godard Terrell, and Julie KowalEducation Sector May 2006
Colleges are reporting that this year's SAT results were significantly lower than those of years past. A problem with the test? Is poor Susie fatigued by the new writing portion? David Kahn, head of a private tutoring company in New York City, doesn't think so.
Editor's note: This commentary is drawn from No Child Left Behind: A Primer (Peter Lang, 2006), available here.
Nationwide, fully 2 percent (400,000) of college students never finished high school. A few schools even cater to the dropout crowd. Ninety-four percent of students at Interboro Institute in Manhattan, for example, carry that dubious title. It's a hot-button issue in New York, because these students are still eligible for state financial aid. Governor George Pataki thinks that's a problem.
The No Child Left Behind Act makes no bones about the primacy of reading. According to Bloomberg News, a forthcoming NCES report shows that schools are responding to the law's signals by boosting the instructional time in reading while reducing it in everything else, at least in grades 1-4.
National Council on Teacher QualityMay 2006
Last month, when Chicago's South Loop School held elections for its local school council, voters were surprised to witness "a ‘smelly' crew of disheveled men, some reeking of alcohol," punching ballots. The situation further deteriorated when one man asked the school's principal, "Where do we get our five dollars for voting?" Some foul play was afoot.
Massachusetts's most recent test results show that non-native English speakers have trouble functioning in a regular classroom, and bilingual education activists are hyping the news like Don King promoting a Tyson fight.
Katherine L. Hughes and Melinda Mechur KarpAmerican Association of Community Colleges2006
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford thinks he's found the solution to the state's school funding disparities. The Palmetto State's current model, he says, "disadvantages rural South Carolina." But a system "where you were funding kids and you put the money in the kid ... would lead to complete portability ...
Why do the woes of the Education Commission of the States (ECS) put me in mind of the late Jane Jacobs?
The latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science are out, and they provide compelling evidence that accountability works. The old saying goes that "what gets tested gets taught." That's not quite right; what schools are held accountable for gets taught-and learned.
Few chapters in American history are more painful than the Atlantic slave trade. Historian Sheldon Stern, author of Fordham's Effective State Standards for U.S. History: A 2003 Report Card, is certainly aware of that.
Education bigfeet Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch have been at odds on school-related issues over the last thirty years. But when they recently met over lunch to prepare for a debate about No Child Left Behind, both were surprised by how much common ground they shared.
Occasional Paper 119Michael KirstFebruary 2006
U.S. Department of EducationPolicy and Program Studies ServiceApril 2006
Last week, an Oakland superior court judge struck down the Golden State's mandate that all high school students pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to graduate. The class of 2006 is the first to face the requirement.
Regarding last week's Gadfly editorial ("Highly qualified data," May 11), I am a special education teacher and have been following for some time the highly qualified (HQ) bandwagon. Only special education teachers must be HQ in both core areas and in special education.
