America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2002
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family StatisticsJuly 2002
Schools' anti-drug programs miss the mark
New research shows that, despite a decade of federal efforts to promote them, the three most popular programs that schools use to discourage kids from using drugs are ineffective or unproven. "Anti-drug programs like D.A.R.E. called a bust," by Greg Toppo, Chicago Sun-Times, August 4, 2002
States would benefit from linking student achievement data over time
When evaluating schools and education reform initiatives, analysts (and the policymakers who depend on them) are often hampered by poor data. Conclusions about school and program effectiveness would be far more robust if states had a mechanism for linking student test scores over time.
Higher education officials confront standards and testing
The standards and accountability movement that is transforming K-12 education has begun to permeate the ivory tower, as colleges and universities are being pressed to prove that they can deliver results, not just rest on reputation. Although some public universities are phasing in state assessments, many higher education officials don???t want to open that Pandora???s box.
Implementing No Child Left Behind: Eagerness, Regulation, Capacity
Chester E. Finn, Jr.States are revving up to carry out the No Child Left Behind Act. At the leadership level, dozens of them are eager and energized. And several sources of help have lately become available. The Business Roundtable has chosen seven states to assist with policy and communications.
California drops bonuses for teachers in high-performing schools
Budget shortfalls have led California to abandon its $100 million cash reward program for teachers in schools that demonstrate significant improvements in test scores. While the state will continue to rank schools based on academic gains, state lawmakers have not included any funding for these awards in the 2002-03 budget bill.
California shamed on teacher quality
California has been in the hot seat since the U.S. Department of Education noticed that it was planning to meet the ???highly qualified teachers??? requirement of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act by labeling teaching interns and those with emergency certification as ???highly qualified.???
District administrators covered by state tenure law, court rules
While the superintendent???s job is being rethought, their lieutenants are still part of the old order, at least in Connecticut. Even assistant superintendents are protected by the state???s teacher tenure laws and cannot be fired without the hearings and process afforded to teachers, according to a state supreme court ruling in Connecticut.
Judge outlaws Florida voucher program
Putting a wrinkle into Governor Jeb Bush???s plans to allow students trapped in failing schools to transfer to private schools, a Tallahassee judge earlier this week struck down Florida???s three-year-old voucher program, ruling that it violated the state constitution by aiding religious schools with tax dollars - and following very different jurisprudential reasoning than the U.S.
Madrasas resist reforms in Pakistan
Religious leaders in Pakistan are blasting a government plan to crack down on that nation???s 10,000 madrasas, Islamic schools that often foster religious extremism, and the government has been too nervous to press for reforms, according to an article in The New York Times.
AP and IB programs still strong, despite setbacks
The Advanced Placement (AP) program has taken a beating this year, with Harvard announcing that it would only give credit for scores of 5 on AP tests and several prominent private schools withdrawing from the program altogether.
What does it take to be superintendent?
With New York City focused on the question of what it takes to be an effective school system leader for the 21st century, the Times published profiles of four respected superintendents in this Sunday's Education Life section: Alan Bersin (San Diego), Carmen Russo (Baltimore), Joseph Olchefske (Seattle), and Barbara Byrd-Bennett (Cleveland).
Why racial segregation is more severe in public schools
Jay P. GreeneThree weeks ago, we directed readers to an article in The Wall Street Journal by Jay Greene arguing that, contrary to what was reported by the Harvard Civil Rights Project, private schools are actually more integrated than public schools.
Inexorable and Inevitable: The Continuing Story of Technology and Assessment
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Randy Elliott Bennett, Journal of Technology, Learning and AssessmentJune 2002
Middle Grades to High School: Mending a Weak Link
Kelly ScottSondra Cooney and Gene Bottoms, Southern Regional Education Board2002
Reports of Institutional Effectiveness
Chester E. Finn, Jr.State Council of Higher Education for Virginia2002
The Geographical Distribution of Teacher Absenteeism in Large Urban School District Settings: Implications for School Reform Efforts Aimed at Promoting Equity and Excellence in Education
Rob LucasJames E. Bruno, Education Policy Analysis ArchivesJuly 26, 2002
National Geographic Society Alliance Study
Chester E. Finn, Jr.National Geographic Society and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning2002
What We Have Learned About Class Size Reduction in California
Rob Lucasedited by George W. Bohrnstedt and Brian M. Stecher, CSR Research ConsortiumAugust 2002
The clock is ticking on urban school reform
A host of opposing forces-not a failure of will, goals or effort-is what's retarding urban schools, writes ace journalist Richard Whitmire in the Democratic Leadership Council's Blueprint Magazine.
Reins of New York City school system given to a new breed of leader
On Monday, July 29th, New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg named Joel I. Klein, the chairman and chief executive of Bertelsmann Inc., and a former assistant attorney general in the Clinton administration-where he led the antitrust prosecution of Microsoft-as chancellor of the city's public school system.
States, districts struggle to implement No Child Left Behind
Seven months after President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, and one month after the U.S. Department of Education announced that children at 8,652 low-performing schools are now eligible to transfer to higher-performing schools, some states and school districts are giving the new law's approach to failing schools a chilly embrace.
Further fiddling with standards and tests
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Some weeks back, I used this space to describe ways that a state's academic standards may be lowered, including several that occur out of public view.
Charting success at a low-tech technology charter school
A recent issue of Duke Magazine featured a profile of the Media and Technology Charter High School, started by a Duke alumnus to serve students from the worst neighborhoods in Boston.
Checking up on charter schools
Fueled by an active business community, frustrated parents, reform-minded local legislators, dedicated entrepreneurs (and some assistance from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation), charter schools have flourished in Dayton, Ohio, which some term "ground zero" of the national charter movement.
Adding value to the "Blue Ribbon" school award
The Department of Education has given the Blue Ribbon School award since 1982, but attention has recently been drawn to the fact that not all honored schools can actually claim stellar records of student achievement. Accordingly, the DOE recently announced that test scores and test score improvements will become a major component of the selection process.
Treating teachers like professionals
As the editor of Teachers As Owners, I couldn't be happier with the conclusion in the recent Gadfly review, namely that "one can't put the book down without noting the chasm between these ideas and the reality of most American schools." (See http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=51#770.) Notwithst
Turn surplus PhDs in math and science into teachers
A new report from the National Research Council proposes that math and science Ph.D.s, who face fewer job openings in academia, should instead try teaching in K-12 schools, which are in dire need of math and science teachers.
Vouchers may debut in the Northeast
Last week, the Camden city council unanimously approved a resolution asking the New Jersey legislature to award hefty $6,000 vouchers to students in the city's notoriously low-performing schools. The measure-which faces steep opposition from the governor and teachers union-marks the first time a Northeastern municipality has endorsed a publicly funded voucher program.