Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Answer Sheet - A hard look at education research

The Answer Sheet - A hard look at education research

A hard look at education research

Here is a back-and-forth between the authors of a Heritage Foundation report on Florida’s school reforms and the author of a critique of the report. Florida’s public school system is frequently held up as an exemplary example of how specific school reforms -- vouchers, charter schools, high-stakes standardized tests, etc. -- can improve student achievement. I recently wrote about the report -- which praised the business-driven, pro-choice reforms -- and said they should be viewed as a model for the country. (The Dec. 2 post was headlined, “Is progress in Florida schools exaggerated?”) It was written by Matthew Ladner and Lindsey Burke for the Heritage Foundation, and entitled “Closing the Racial Achievement Gap: Learning from Florida’s Reforms.”

Rick Scott's Plan for Florida: Choice, Charters, Early College and More - State EdWatch - Education Week

Rick Scott's Plan for Florida: Choice, Charters, Early College and More - State EdWatch - Education Week

Rick Scott's Plan for Florida: Choice, Charters, Early College and More

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Florida school districts would be given a lot more power to hire and fire teachers, and parents would be given access to a lot more taxpayer money to pay for private schools, if the proposals put forward by advisers to governor-in-waiting Rick Scott become reality.

The newly elected Republican's education transition team recently released itsrecommendations for school policy, which are chocked full of far-reaching proposals.

One of them is the creation of "education savings accounts," a voucher-type system that Scott had spoken about somewhat vaguely in recent weeks. His transition team filled in a few key details. Under their proposal, parents would be allowed to receive funding equal to 85 percent of the "amount the student would

Google Pushes Education Software Through App Store - BusinessWeek

Google Pushes Education Software Through App Store - BusinessWeek

Google Pushes Education Software Through App Store

Google is talking with makers of educational software to help build a marketplace for online learning programs, an industry whose value may approach $5 billion

(Bloomberg) — Google Inc. is talking with educational-software companies to help build a marketplace for online learning programs, an industry whose value may approach $5 billion this year.

Games and instructional tools for teachers from companies such as Grockit Inc. and Aviary Inc. are already offered in the Google Apps Marketplace, an online store that opened in March. Google, the world's largest search engine, seeks to lure more educational developers and is stepping up

This Week In Education: AM News: Nearly A Million Homeless Students In US Schools

This Week In Education: AM News: Nearly A Million Homeless Students In US Schools

AM News: Nearly A Million Homeless Students In US Schools

News2

Schools cope with shelterless students Washington Post: For the first time since the Education Department started counting earlier this decade, there are nearly a million homeless students in the United States, according to government statistics... Rhee hire to exit D.C. schools; COO Tata will run Wake County, N.C., system Washington Post: Despite assurances from former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee that the senior management team she assembled during her 31/2-year tenure would remain intact until at least the end of the school year, the system's chief operating officer will leave next month... Strapped Cities Hit Nonprofits With Fees WSJ: Some cities are charging religious groups property taxes on buildings no longer used for worship. Other localities are soliciting voluntary contributions. Albany, N.Y., recently passed an ordinance asking schools, hospitals and other nonprofits to contribute to city services... State is not backing away from teacher evaluation rule Baltimore Sun: Nancy S. Grasmick, the state superintendent of schools, said recently that the panel has asked the governor for a six-month extension because of the complexities... Cheaters Find an Adversary in Technology NYT: As tests become increasingly important in education, business has been good for Caveon, a company that uses “data forensics” to catch cheaters... Schools revamp, refocus MBA programs NPR: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the latest college to revamp its MBA program. Professor Richard Shell chaired the MBA review committee, and talks with Bob Moon about the changes being implemented, why Wharton is putting a renewed focus on globalization, and the idea of tuition-free continuing education.

Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily
Damn Good Education Daily
ed.gov - Guest Blog by Blake Unger Dvorchik I use a method called Self Regulated Learning to teach students to monitor, judge, and correct their knowledge and progress as they achieve mastery of skills in m...

leoniehaimson



huffingtonpost.com - It's been quite a year in the world of education.Here's my humble attempt to identify the best and the worst education news that occurred during the past 12 months. I hope you'll take time to share...

Larryferlazzo
dailykos.com - Mon Dec 27, 2010 at 01:02:35 AM PST Imagine that 25 years ago that nation's schools were below international averages in math and sciencesImagine that nation had large differences between schools w...

teacherken



huffingtonpost.com - A pioneering econometric study mistakenly concluded that slavery was profitable by assuming that half of the mules in Kentucky were male and half were female. Not knowing that mules are sterile, th...

Larryferlazzo



blogs.forbes.com - Dec. 25 2010 - 9:27 am | 84 views | 0 recommendations | Image via Wikipedia“Texas uses fourth grade reading scores to project the number of prison cells they’re going need 10 years later.” I first ...

mikeklonsky

Queens Teacher: The Ruinous Culture We've Created in Elementary Schools

Queens Teacher: The Ruinous Culture We've Created in Elementary Schools

The Ruinous Culture We've Created in Elementary Schools

The Ruinous Culture We've Created in Elementary Schools

Holiday breaks are periods of transition for many educators, both in K-12 and in higher education. Even persons outside of educational professions mark their time with holiday seasons. Are we necessarily better off than we were a year ago at this time? What have we accomplished and what is in store for us in the year ahead? As a teacher educator, the switch sort of flips for my students and I as we emerge from a limited clinical experience to the obligatory full-time student teaching internship. At its culmination, pre-service teachers earn the needed imprimatur to survive their first year in their own classrooms.

Over the last decade, in particular, extended holiday breaks in elementary schools mark another kind of unholy transition from teaching to something that could be called preparation. I wanted to take the time in this post to

Letter: Imperative to keep an eye on school ‘reform’ - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register

Letter: Imperative to keep an eye on school ‘reform’ - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register

Letter: Imperative to keep an eye on school ‘reform’

Reform groups in Illinois such as Stand for Children and Advance Illinois, funded by Bill Gates and other wealthy individuals, believe they have the answer to public education issues by demanding unreasonable reform measures. Ironically, education reformer Gates did not even complete college.

I am alarmed that the little-known Oregon group Stand for Children reportedly gave $650,000 to recent legislative campaigns. Is this why Reps. Keith Farnham and Jehan Gordon, each reportedly receiving $50,000 and $100,000, are on the “school reform” committee hastily set up by House Speaker Mike Madigan?

Not on the committee but supposedly receiving funds were GOP candidate Ryan Higgins at $175,000, and Reps. Robert Flider and Mark Walker and Sen. Toi Hutchinson $50,000 each. Chairing the committee is Rep. Linda Chapa La Via, a proponent of charter schools.

The reforms demanded are 1.) teachers receiving three unsatisfactory evaluations in 10 years will lose their jobs and their

Another Rhee hire to exit D.C. schools

Another Rhee hire to exit D.C. schools

Another Rhee hire to exit D.C. schools

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Despite assurances from former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee that the senior management team she assembled during her 31/2-year tenure would remain intact until at least the end of the school year, the system's chief operating officer will leave next month.

Anthony J. Tata, who oversees food services, purchasing, technology and logistical tasks such as textbook delivery, will depart at the end of next month to become superintendent of the Wake County, N.C., school system, which includes the state capital, Raleigh. He joins several other key school officials just below the senior level who have left in recent weeks, including the chief of teacher professional development and the director of the office in charge of secondary school improvement.

When Rhee resigned in October, she said that she was confident her agenda would continue to move forward based on Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray's (D) selection

Twin Rivers schools given funding freedom - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Twin Rivers schools given funding freedom - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Twin Rivers Unified School District is shifting the power of budget decisions from its central office to individual schools in hopes of creating programs better tailored to students.

A recent report from the The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation says Elk Grove Unified is one of the top 30 school districts in the U.S. at educating traditionally disadvantaged students.
6M25EDISON.JPG
Laura Valencia's kindergarten class is one of three at Edison Elementary School in Sacramento that teaches students almost entirely in Spanish.
Schools that serve large numbers of poor children are getting new money to pay for technology as the state releases $25 million through the second phase of a legal settlement with Microsoft, the California Department of Education announced today.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz19PZFCPIf

The Answer Sheet - Ravitch takes stock of education in 2010

The Answer Sheet - Ravitch takes stock of education in 2010

Ravitch takes stock of education in 2010

This was written by education historian Diane Ravitch on her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an important critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement. Dear Deborah, As 2010 draws to a close, I must tell you that this was probably the most amazing and wonderful year of my life. I spent the previous three years writing a book [The Death and Life of the Great American School System], and I had no idea how it would turn out. One never knows, do one (to quote the eminent jazz philosopher Fats Waller, and to note also that Billie Holiday sang the grammatically correct "One

1984 in 2011? | Seattle Education 2010

1984 in 2011? | Seattle Education 2010

1984 in 2011?

2011: A Brave New Dystopia

By Chris Hedges

The two greatest visions of a future dystopia were George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” The debate, between those who watched our descent towards corporate totalitarianism, was who was right. Would we be, as Orwell wrote, dominated by a repressive surveillance and security state that used crude and violent forms of control? Or would we be, as Huxley envisioned, entranced by entertainment and spectacle, captivated by technology and seduced by profligate

Schools Matter: Wake County's Gang of Five Chooses Inexperienced Broadie for Superintendent

Schools Matter: Wake County's Gang of Five Chooses Inexperienced Broadie for Superintendent

Wake County's Gang of Five Chooses Inexperienced Broadie for Superintendent

No experience in curriculum, instruction, assessment? Check. No experience as educator? Check. A graduate of Eli Broad's training camp? Check? Former Rhee employee? Check? Tea Partier? Check. Thinks Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama? Double check. Plus he writes spy novels and blogs. Sign him up:
WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- The Wake County School Board announced Thursday that the former Chief Operating Officer of DC Schools - Anthony Tata - will be Wake County's new superintendent.
Board members nominated and appointed Tata as the new superintendent of the WCPSS at Wake