Choking on the Common Core Standards
This was *written by Joanne Yatvin, a longtime public school educator, author and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She teachers part-time at Portland State University and is writing a book on good teaching in high poverty schools. * By Joanne Yatvin Many things that are commonplace activities for adults — driving, voting, and paying taxes, for example — are not appropriate for children. I count the Common Core State Standards, proposed for all our country’s public schools, among them. Read full article >>
Penn State applications up amid scandal
Undergraduate applications at Penn State University are up 4 percent over this time last year, school officials said, despite a sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the school to its foundation and led to speculation that many students would decide not to apply. At a Town Hall this week that was held to give students a chance to talk about the scandal with school officials, the school’s interim president, Rodney Erickson, gave what the school must consider good news about applications, according to the student newspaper *The Daily Collegian*. Read full article >>
The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago
What matters most in college admissions — money or merit?
This *was written by Esther Quintero, a research associate at the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute. It first appeared on the institute’s blog. * By Esther Quintero A recent survey of college admission directors and enrollment managers conducted by Inside Higher Education sparked considerable media coverage about an issue that is not entirely new: Money, not only merit, matters incollege admissions . Read full article >>
Why gifted students can be so challenging
This* was written by Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. * * By Mark Phillips What do Woody Allen and Steve Jobs have in common? Among other things (including brilliant, creative minds), they both hated school and were discipline problems. Read full article >>
Has teacher quality declined over time?
This *was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. This post originally appeared on the institute’s blog. * * By Matthew Di Carlo One of the common assumptions lurking in the background of our education debates is that “quality” of the teaching workforce has declined a great deal over the past few decades (see here, here, here and here [slide 16]). There is a very plausible storyline supporting this assertion: Prior to the dramatic rise in female labor force participation since the 1960s, professional wo... more »
Report: How much high-poverty schools get cheated on funding
A new U.S. Education Department report shows that more than 40 percent of schools across the country that serve mostly students from low-income families are being shortchanged when it comes to state and local funding. The findings won’t surprise anybody who follows equity issues in public education funding, as high-poverty schools have long had fewer resources than wealthier ones — even those schools that have received extra federal money through the Title 1 program that is aimed at helping needy students. Read full article >>
Diocese letter pushed principals to promote vouchers
Just how involved did the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh get in the effort to promote vouchers? Very. This is clear in an Oct. 20 letter that Dr. Ronald R. Bowes, assistant superintendent for policy and development in the diocese, wrote in October to Catholic school principals. It calls for them to be “relentless” in promoting school choice, in part by telling parents who had received financial aid that they had to call their state legislators and push for school choice legislation to receive more financial aid the next year. Read full article >>