Alonso orders inquiry into school's plummeting scores #Education News.org

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Alonso orders inquiry into school's plummeting scores 7.24.10 - Abbottston Elementary's pass rates drop by up to 50%. State education officials are investigating possible testing violations at a Northeast Baltimore elementary school where in some cases 100 percent of students passed annual reading and math exams last year but where scores plunged by as much as half this year. First Lady's visit signals a new Anacostia 7.24.10 - The old Anacostia High School is a byword for academic failure, with only 17 percent of its students proficient in math and 18 percent proficient in reading on citywide tests. The school was notorious for being unable to provide a safe environment for its students and had chronic absenteeism among students and staff.... Proposed math standards unteachable 7.24.10 - California's proposed new mathematics content standards would gut the state's successful program, which has put 60 percent of the state's children in Algebra I by eighth grade. Most importantly, the proposed new algebra course is so overburdened in eighth grade that only an elite few students will be able to succeed. ... Admissions office probes applicants' scary depths 7.24.10 - Jay Mathews - Psychology is beyond my competence. I took a course in that subject my freshman year of college, but that was because I needed an easy A. So I wondered if I really wanted to write anything at all about an article I found in the spring 2010 issue of the Journal of College Admissions with this unsettling title: "One College's Journey Into the Unconscious Mind of its Prospective Students: How a New Research Methodology is Helping Us Recruit." ... School Chief Dismisses 241 Teachers in Washington D.C. 7.24.10 - Most of them were fired under a system that held them accountable for students' standardized test scores. Michelle Rhee, the reform-minded chancellor who took over the District of Columbia public schools three years ago, on Friday fired 241 teachers, or 5 percent of the district's total. ...

Commentaries

What can you learn at a for-profit school? Just about anything 7.24.10 - Justin Snider - What can a student learn at a for-profit school? The growing sector offers everything from diplomas in massage therapy to MBAs - on campuses and online - along with certificates in areas such as "addiction counseling" and "diversity studies." Online, students can even earn a J.D. from Kaplan's Concord Law School or a doctoral degree [...] Gone to Sod: Illinois Slides Into the Political Cesspool 7.23.10 - From the worst teacher pension underfunding in the nation to irresponsible fiscal management to a political culture rife with corruption, the Land of Lincoln (and Obama) suffers from a political dysfunction that rivals even California and New York. ... The Last American Skill Bill Costello - According to a recent "Newsweek" article titled "The Creativity Crisis," research shows that American creativity is declining for the first time. If this trend continues, the nation's economic and national security will be at risk. Caning rife in Indian schools "The principal broke the cane over Rouvan's back." Teenager's suicide shocks country. KOLKATA, India - A heavy silence has crept into the Rawla residence on Penn Road in India's Eastern city of Kolkata. ... Bombshell of a Resolution To Keep Textbook Publishers Honest 7.23.10 - Donna Garner - Randy Rives from Odessa, Texas, offered a bombshell of a Resolution on the floor of the Texas State Board of Education this morning. The Resolution is to be added as an agenda item in an upcoming meeting of the Board, possibly on September 22-24, 2010. Why Russ Whitehurst Gets It Mostly Wrong on Harlem Children's Zone 7.23.10 - The Harlem Children's Zone and it's chief executive, Geoffrey Canada, have not only exemplified what school reformers can do when they take a community-based approach to improving education, but has even spawned a movie, an American Express commercial, and the Obama administration's Promise Neighborhoods program for tackling poverty and education. ... Barack Obama Charter School -- California: 7.23.10 - Please be sure to read the Vision Statement. This school is saturated with the progressivist (a.k.a., learner-centered) teaching model. Notice the buzz words/educationese that undoubtedly caused this charter school to gain approval from the state:... Republicans to Save Obama's Education Reforms-and Perhaps His Presidency? Despite the rapidly changing political scene, there is reason to expect new action on the education policy front as soon as 2011 pops up on your electronic calendar. ... The Case Against Summer Vacation 7.23.10 - Blame Tom Sawyer: Americans have a skewed view of childhood and summertime. We associate the school year with oppression and the summer months with liberty. School is regimen; summer is creativity. School is work and summer is play. ...