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Friday, January 11, 2013

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Kahlenberg on so-called 'High-flying, high-poverty schools'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Kahlenberg on so-called 'High-flying, high-poverty schools':


Kahlenberg on so-called 'High-flying, high-poverty schools'

Don't miss Richard Kahlenberg's provacative piece in American Educator (Winter 2012-2013) which examines the roles of poverty and racial segregation and their impact of student learning. Kahlenberg takes on those who exaggerate the effect of "high-flying, high-poverty schools" or those [like Michelle Rhee--m.k.], who consider poverty to be mainly an "excuse" made by bad teachers who fail to produce high standardized test score results in poor, segregated schools.

Kahlenberg also takes a fair, but critical look at KIPP charter schools in particular, which have been held up as living evidence by the no-excuses crowd. One thing new I learned is that among KIPP graduates, two-thirds have failed to earn a bachelors degree, "a level of failure, one of KIPP's founders, Mike Feinberg, called