Commentary
The most important priority: kids come first
Guest blogger Michelle Rhee writes that, too often, decisions are made and policies are set based on the interests of adults in the system rather than student needs.
Commentary
Students testify in favor of Cleveland Plan
Yesterday, Senate Bill 355, otherwise known as “The Cleveland Plan,” was under the microscope again.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Pressing against the fence of a top-flight school district
Louisiana’s top-rated school district recently reversed its decision to participate in the state’s new school voucher program. Why? Once the superintendent announced the district’s intent to “make a difference” for children coming from low-rated schools, his community told him to back off.
Commentary
Ohio high schools receive national praise and attention
Congratulations to Columbus Alternative, Centennial, Stivers, and DECA on your awards.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Why unionized charters would be a setback for Ohio’s school improvement efforts
Unionized charter schools may make good sense for the unions themselves, but they would be a set-back for school improvement efforts in the Buckeye State.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Accountability and perspective needed for drop-out recovery charters
Drop-out recovery charter schools annually serve about 20 percent of Ohio’s 100,000 charter students but have never been held accountable for the performance of their students
Commentary
Here’s hoping the common science standards are stronger than the mediocre state standards they would replace
States will need to think hard about whether they can live with the status quo—and whether the NGSS offers a viable alternative.
Commentary
Common Core critics want ALEC to tell states what to do
A clique of conservative groups is pushing the message that tomorrow’s ALEC vote is part of a “growing movement” against federal intrusion vis-à-vis the Common Core standards. Problem is, ALEC is already on record against federal intrusion into education vis-à-vis the CCSS.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Tabling a bad idea for Connecticut charters
The Connecticut General Assembly wisely tabled an aberrant lottery scheme for charter schools when it passed a sweeping education reform bill, but lawmakers now want to spend state resources investigating the "feasibility" of this bad idea.
Commentary
Commentary
Commentary
Commentary
Commentary
Charter Schools
Mayor Jackson's reasonable request of Ohio's charter community
A free market for schools, not so much for authorizers
Commentary
Charters and coders get their due
This week, Tennessee capped the number of foreign workers on visas that charter schools in the Volunteer State can hire.
Commentary
Don't kick the pension can down the road
Illinois lawmakers should resist the urge to delay fixing retirement benefits, instead passing radical reform of the pension system and providing teachers with a forward-thinking retirement plan.
Commentary
How tests can help us overcome the "soft bigotry of low expectations"
It’s become popular in many education circles to decry “teaching to the test,” but new research provides one more reason why these independent checks on what students have actually learned are a critical element of an effort to close America’s achievement gap.
Commentary
NSBA’s Anne Bryant: Districts need more freedom
Guest blogger Anne L. Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association, writes that granting districts greater autonomy is the key to improving education governance.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Mayor Jackson’s reasonable request of Ohio’s charter community
It is in the hope of stemming the loss of families and children that the mayor has proposed his bold school reform plan that seeks to turn the city’s educational fortunes around.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Mayor Jackson’s reasonable request of Ohio’s charter community
It is in the hope of stemming the loss of families and children that the mayor has proposed his bold school reform plan that seeks to turn the city’s educational fortunes around.
Commentary
Ohio’s “value-added” metric not ready for primetime
There is little dispute that information about the academic gains students make (or don’t) is a valuable addition to pure student proficiency data. But there is little agreement about how best to calculate growth and how to use it.
Commentary
When Washington focuses on schools
With trivial exceptions, Washington does not run schools, employ teachers, buy textbooks, write curriculum, hand out diplomas, or decide who gets promoted to 5th grade.
Commentary
Ohio’s elementary special ed students see improvement while their high school peers languish
Are Ohio’s special education students benefiting from all this spending? Not if you look at their student achievement.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Early reports from the heartland show support for the Common Core
The report, Future Shock: Early Common Core Lessons from Ohio Implementers, will be released next week, but some of Belcher’s findings are worth reporting early because this is such a burning issue for schools and educators across the state.
Commentary
Smarter Budgets, Smarter Schools: How to Survive and Thrive in Tight Times
For school administrators and board members lost in the forest of books, reports, and briefs written on “doing more with less,” this outstanding volume provides a compass, map, and sturdy walking stick.
Commentary
How Blogs, Social Media, and Video Games Improve Education
The mass implementation of communication technology delivery tools like blogs, wikis, and Twitter has radically changed how information is disseminated and received.
Commentary
Reclaiming The American Dream: Community Colleges And The Nation’s Future
In this report, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) examines the “21st-Century Initiative, the overall goal of which is to arm an additional five million students with diplomas, certificates, or other credentials by 2020.
Commentary
EVENT: There is still time to register for “Digital Learning: The future of schooling?” (May 17)
Don’t miss this important, nonpartisan event about digital learning and where it will take education in Ohio -- and the nation -- in the years to come.
Commentary
EVENT: Pricing the Common Core
Circle May 30 on your calendars because the Fordham Institute is gathering a diverse group of experts to answer a crucial education policy question: How much will smart Common Core implementation cost?
Commentary
Successes and failures
At one time or another, most people like to think of themselves as flawless. We just hope that the annoying reminder that we all make mistakes isn’t broadcast too far or wide. Unfortunately in the education world, your mistake can occasionally be laid out to the public.