Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, August 25, 2012

This Week's Answer Sheet 8-25-1212 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post



The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post:

Answer Sheet



Education news you shouldn’t miss...

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 46 minutes ago
Here are some things that happened this week that are worth knowing: * Hispanics now account for nearly one-quarter of the pre-K through 12th grade population, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of newly available U.S. Census Bureau data. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

The creep of marketplace values into schooling

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 hours ago
One of the biggest points of controversy in the modern school reform conversation is the role that business now plays in public education. While business involvement in schools has existed for a very long time, as shown in the following post by Larry Cuban, a former superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, the nature of that interaction has been changing. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

What to do — and not do — for growing number of English Language Learners

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago
This* was written by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, who teach at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. They are co-authors of the new book, “The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels.”* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Mitt vs. George Romney on black-white achievement gap, school segregation

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago
This *was written by Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit organization created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. This appeared on the institute’s website*. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Three ed reforms parents should worry about most

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
This w*as written by Carol Burris, the principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. Carol is the co-author of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student scores. Over 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens have signed the letter which can be found here. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Three ed reforms parents should worry about most

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
This w*as written by Carol Burris, the principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. Carol is the co-author and Harry is an active supporter of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student scores. Over 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens have signed the letter which can be found here. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Does it matter that an elite university lied to college rankers for years?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
Since 2000, Emory University submitted false admissions data to college rankers and other organizations that showed higher test scores and class rankings than the Atlanta school’s students actually had. The school just did a public mea culpa and promised never to do it again. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

What new ACT college readiness scores really mean

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
This *was written by Robert A. Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, known as FairTest, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized tests.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Analyzing the new PDK/Gallup poll on how Americans view public education

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
This *was written by education historian Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University and author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” This first appeared on her blog. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Poll: Americans’ views on public education

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
A major annual poll on how Americans view public education shows divisions on vouchers, charter schools, evaluating teachers by standardized test scores of students and whether President Obama or Mitt Romney would be better for public education. Yet Americans largely agree that they trust public school teachers but want them prepared more rigorously. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Eight problems with Common Core Standards

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
*Correction: The original post said incorrectly that the Common Core was written with no public dialogue or feedback from experienced educators. The post now says there was insufficient public dialogue and feedback from experienced educators. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

It’s really about the principals

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
This *was written by Ed Fuller, associate professor in the Education Leadership Department at Penn State University. He is also the director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis as well as the associate director for policy of the University Council for Educational Administration. This first appeared on the blog of the Albert Shanker Institute.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Broad Foundation’splan to expand influence in school reform

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
This* was written by Ken Libby and Stan Karp. Libby is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Karp is director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Centerand an editor of Rethinking Schools magazine. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

The Broad Foundation memo

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
Here’s the memo from The Broad Center that proposes a series of strategic shifts in the foundation’s education programs. The post above this one tells the story of this memo. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

‘Won’t Back Down’: Realities the movie ignores

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
Though the film “Won’t Back Down,” starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, is not being released in theaters until the end of September, its backers are already drumming up support for it and its subject: the controversial “parent trigger” laws that have passed in a few states and are being considered by many others. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Ten things teachers, students should expect this year

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
This *was written by Boston educator Larry Myatt, a convener with The Forum for Education and Democracy, the cCo-founder of the Education Resources Consortium and a former National Faculty Member of The Coalition of Essential Schools. A version of this was first published on the Forum for Education and Democracy website and newsletter*. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

New school year: doubling down on failed ed policy

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
This *was written by Lisa Guisbond, a policy analyst for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, a Boston-based organization that aims to improve standardized testing practices and evaluations of students, teachers and schools.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]