Displaying 17461-17490 of 17817 results
Commentary
11.13.2001

Edison overstates failings of Philadelphia's schools

The report submitted by Edison Schools on Philadelphia's public education system paints a somewhat misleading picture of the condition that city's schools are in, writes Mike Casserly of the Council of the Great City Schools in an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  While agreeing that schools in the City of Brotherly Love need dramatic improvement, Casserly complains that t

Commentary
11.7.2001

Will Edison be able to turn around Philadelphia's schools?

With Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker on the verge of transferring control of the Philadelphia's school system from local officials to his own appointees, who would then put its management in the hands of Edison Schools, a pair of articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer examines two questions: Do state takeovers of school systems work?

Commentary
11.7.2001

Training program for nontraditional superintendents

A program aiming to place talented leaders from government, business, non-profits, higher ed, and the military as superintendents in urban school districts has been launched by the Broad Center for Superintendents, an organization established by the Broad Foundation and Michigan Governor John Engler.

Commentary
11.7.2001

Creative reform efforts stymied by unions in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Unified School District's ambitious plan to reform secondary education and boost literacy in the upper grades has been derailed at least temporarily by the objections of teacher and administrator unions.

Commentary
11.7.2001

Houston gives principals budgetary autonomy

While there are increasing calls for principals to be held accountable for producing results, in few places are principals given much power over staffing their schools or spending school budgets.

Commentary
11.7.2001

Appraising state standards, tests & accountability systems

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

On November 2, the American Federation of Teachers released a hefty (235-page) report entitled Making Standards Matter 2001. It's an ambitious effort to appraise academic standards, curriculum, assessments and accountability arrangements in each of the fifty states and for the country as a whole.

Commentary
11.7.2001

A radical experiment: tuition-free private schools

Thanks to a black minister and a retired marine, roughly 450 students in St. Louis are attending private schools financed by public dollars this fall - without vouchers.  Determined to do something about the number of kids they encountered who couldn't read or write, Bishop Laurence Wooten and Marine Lt. Col.

Commentary
10.31.2001

What mothers - and America - get out of homeschooling

Homeschooling is hot and a new book, Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement, by Mitchell Stevens takes a fresh look at where the movement came from and what it means for American education and culture.  Stevens, a professor of sociology at Hamilton College, spent ten years interviewing and observing homeschooling families and reading their publica

Commentary
10.31.2001

Can a national test save the Bush accountability plan?

The education bill that Congress is likely to pass is a disaster in the making, and the White House and Capitol Hill insiders have known this for months, asserts veteran education journalist Tom Toch in this month's Washington Monthly. Still, the administration continues to press Congress to pass a bill by year's end - and Chairman Boehner says that this will indeed happen.

Commentary
10.31.2001

Education in Dayton

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Begging your leave, this week I shall acquaint you with a new report from the wing of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation that's chiefly concerned with education reform in Dayton, Ohio, where Mr.

Commentary
10.31.2001

How New American Schools became old school

Launched a decade ago by reform-minded corporate CEOs, the New American Schools (NAS) initiative was meant to kindle a revolution in American education. Ten years later, however, rather than igniting change, it has largely reverted to the norms of the education establishment, according to a new report by historian Jeffrey Mirel which was released by the Thomas B.

Commentary
10.23.2001

The good news behind the good news in Massachusetts

Last Monday, Massachusetts announced that 82% of its class of 2003 passed the state's English test and 75% passed the math test. On Wednesday, Achieve, Inc. released an evaluation of the state's standards and tests.

Commentary
10.23.2001

What lies ahead for charter schools?

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

The charter-school idea is now ten years old. Which is to say, it's completed the "elementary" grades and is ready for "middle school" - and the onrushing storms of adolescence. It's a hopeful but precarious time. And some worrisome issues lie ahead.Meanwhile, expansion continues. The Center for Education Reform reports several hundred new charters this fall.