Columbia Economist Says Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff Are Wrong About VAM
Moshe Adler, professor of economics at Columbia University, has emerged as one of the most incisive critics of the work of Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Jonah Rockoff on Value-added measurement (VAM). In the recent Vergara decision about tenure for teachers in California, the study by Raj Chetty and John Friedman of Harvard and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia played a prominent role. But according to t
Microsoft Lays Off 18,000 Workers While Seeking Visas for Foreign Worksrs
Unbelievable. Microsoft lays off 18,000 workers while pressing Congress to expand the number of visas for engineers, mathematicians, scientists, and other workers. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and casino operator Sheldon Adelson wrote an article calling for Congressional action to increase H-1B visas. . Senator Jeff Sessions responded with rage, directed mainly at Gates and at the the tech industry
Chicago: School Choice and the Néw Segregation
The Chicago choice system works exactly as every choice system works: It segregates students by ability. “But a new WBEZ analysis shows an unintended consequence of the choice system: students of different achievement levels are being sorted into separate high schools. “WBEZ analyzed incoming test scores for freshmen from the fall of 2012, the most recent year data is available. That year, the di
Detroit’s Bold Experiment: 100 Children in a Kindergarten Class
When Governor Rick Snyder created the Educational Achievement Authority for the state’s lowest-performing schools, he promised bold new thinking. One of his bold plans is a kindergarten called the Brenda Scott Academy, which has a kindergarten of 100 students. It is a stretch to call it “new,” because classes of this size sometimes existed a century ago. The lead teacher, a veteran, is 30. Her he
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Election in Georgia MattersBertis Downs is a native of Georgia and a member of the board of the Network for Public Education. He writes: This is the best electoral news in a long time– Georgia Democrat Valarie Wilson won the runoff for state school superintendent, and it wasn’t even close: http://bit.ly/Us7qNi I am proud to