Displaying 17281-17310 of 17817 results
Commentary
4.10.2002

Scientific Research in Education

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

edited by Richard J. Shavelson and Lisa Towne, National Research Council Committee on Scientific Principles for Education Research, National Academy of Science2002

Commentary
4.3.2002

Chicago union to offer graduate degree

In Chicago, the teachers' union is creating a graduate program in teacher leadership aimed at making teachers "agents of change." Teachers who earn the two-year degree will be eligible for a $6,000 pay hike.

Commentary
4.3.2002

Maryland teachers' union grabbing power to negotiate curriculum

The California Teachers' Union is receiving a lot of press lately-most of it bad-for its forceful effort to expand the scope of collective bargaining in the state to include matters of curriculum and instruction. There is much pushback, including hostile editorials in every major newspaper in the state.

Commentary
4.3.2002

Taking charter school accountability seriously

For charter schools in Chicago, accountability is simple: you don't perform, you don't survive. Last week, the city's charter czar shut down Nuestra America Charter School, where test scores had plummeted, as had attendance. But an editorial in The Chicago Tribune argues that the school's involuntary closure demonstrates how well the charter model works.

Commentary
4.3.2002

The Preschool Establishment Strikes Back

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Americans tend to feel warm, proud, and a mite smug when they hear the phrase "Head Start." Aside from Social Security, it's the most beloved of all federal domestic programs. But no complacency is warranted. Head Start is one of those swell ideas from the 1960's that urgently needs reforming for the 21st Century.

Commentary
3.27.2002

Summer school in New York City, revisited

Diane Ravitch

Last August in The Gadfly (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=93#1209), I reviewed the results of the New York City summer school program for 2001, the second time that the giant school system had attempted to corral more than 300,000 kids to return during the hot months for remediation or enrichment or

Commentary
3.27.2002

Reinventing teacher induction and professional development

No matter how much pre-service training they have been armed with, new teachers begin their first assignments with a range of urgent, school-specific questions about curriculum, instruction, and classroom management. Yet few schools offer induction programs that give new teachers the kind or level of support they require.

Commentary
3.27.2002

Two Cheers for H.R. 3801

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

In this space two weeks ago (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=66#983), I reported that Congressman Michael Castle's (R-Delaware) bill to remake the federal education research enterprise had much merit but also posed some problems, especially regarding the future of the National Assessment of Educationa

Commentary
3.27.2002

Dueling reports on tax credits

On Monday, opponents of school choice from Arizona State University released a report attacking the state's 1997 education tax credit law, which grants taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar credit against their state tax obligation for donations they make either to public schools or to "school tuition organizations" that award scholarships for use at private schools.

Commentary
3.20.2002

City offers bonuses to high-performing teachers in at-risk schools

Concerned about nine city schools on Tennessee's watch list for poor academic performance, Mayor Bob Corker of Chattanooga was determined to come up with a way to bring in a critical mass of high performing teachers to transform the culture of low expectations and low achievement in these schools-and keep them there.

Commentary
3.20.2002

Why school boards?

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

The state of Pennsylvania has recently taken control of Philadelphia's schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants control of New York's schools and the Maryland legislature will probably replace Prince George's County's dysfunctional elected school board with an appointed one. There's a big debate in Cleveland about whether mayoral control should continue.

Commentary
3.20.2002

Education reform in Japan

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

I had the good fortune to take part last week in an international symposium hosted by Japan's National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER). The topic was "New Schools for the 21st Century." I was asked to talk about charter schools.