What achievement gap data reveals — and what it doesn’t - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

What achievement gap data reveals — and what it doesn’t - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

What achievement gap data reveals — and what it doesn’t

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 minutes ago

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 A recent statement by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) attempts to provide an empirical justification for that state’s focus on the achievement gap — the difference in testing performance between subgroups, usually defined in terms of race or income. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpo... more »

College admissions: When high school courses matter most

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 hours ago

This* was written by Martha Allman, dean of admissions at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C*. By Martha Allman College admissions officers around the country are submerged in applications. At this time of year, we are faced with the nearly impossible task of finding the best mix of students for our institutions based on some combination of grade point average (GPA), class rank, written essays, personal interviews, extracurricular activities and, at some schools, test scores. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] ... more »

The one book Warren Buffett praised in latest annual letter

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 hours ago

Superstar investor Warren Buffett releases an annual letter to stockholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — the company he built with stock shares that now cost about $119,000 a share — that explains his financial moves with humor and wisdom. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

NY principal: Teacher scores inaccurate at my school

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

The information below comes from Elizabeth Phillips, principal of P.S. 321 in Park Slope, N.Y., about how badly the newly released rankings of New York City public school teachers reflect the reality at her school. Phillips wrote that she is “absolutely sick” about the public release of the Teacher Data Reports (TDR) of some 18,000 teachers based entirely on student standardized test scores. And, she said, the amount of data that is wrong is “staggering.” This same information was posted earlier on the New York City Publbic School Parents blog. Read full article >> [image: Add to ... more »

The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

School psychologists: Shortage amid increased need

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

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 Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Charter school linked to Scientology

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

A public charter school in the Florida city of Clearwater — the headquarters of the Church of Scientology — is being accused of using Scientology study methods with students. The Tampa Bay Times reported that parents and former teachers had complained about Life Force Arts and Technology Academy, which is being run by a management company whose president, Hanan Islam, was executive director of an organization called the World Literacy Crusade which promotes Scientology study methods. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [imag... more »

A simple question teachers should now ask about their profession

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

This *was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is one of the co-authors of the principals’ letter against evaluating teachers by student test scores, which has been signed by nearly 1,400 New York principals.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

An Oscar-producing education

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

Where do people who are nominated for — and win — Academy Awards go to college? All over the place, and, not surprisingly, the schools are all too happy to shout about it. For example, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the world’s leading film schools, issued a press release listing all of the nominees who have a chance of winning an Oscar this year and noted that the show’s host, Billy Crystal, is a 1970 alum. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Parent Trigger II: Desert warfare | Thoughts on Public Education

Parent Trigger II: Desert warfare | Thoughts on Public Education:

Parent Trigger II: Desert warfare

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Regulations not perfect but an improvement

Posted on 2/29/12 • Categorized as Parent Trigger, Parent activism

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

State regulations written to bring order and rationality to the Parent Trigger petition process are getting a bruising debut in the Mojave Desert town of Adelanto. The recriminations and accusations of misinformation and fraud that undermined the first Parent Trigger effort in Compton and ended up in court last year are echoing in the battle over Desert Trails Elementary School, calling into question the capacity of rule makers to anticipate and deter bad conduct.

On Tuesday, pro bono attorneys for the Desert Trails Parents Union called for a criminal investigation into actions that led 97 parents to revoke their signatures on petitions calling for the conversion of their elementary school into a charter school. Based on the rescissions and other technical flaws they found with other petition signatures, the

Linda Darling-Hammond: Evaluating Teacher Evaluations | The Forum for Education and Democracy

Evaluating Teacher Evaluations | The Forum for Education and Democracy:

Evaluating Teacher Evaluations

by Linda Darling-Hammond

by Linda Darling-Hammond, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Edward Haertel, and Jesse Rothstein

(The Phi Delta Kappan, March 2012)

Practitioners, researchers, and policy makers agree that most current teacher evaluation systems do little to help teachers improve or to support personnel decision making. There's also a growing consensus that evidence of teacher contributions to student learning should be part of teacher evaluation systems, along with evidence about the quality of teacher practices. "Value-added models" (VAMs), designed to evaluate student test score gains from one year to the next, are often promoted as tools to accomplish this goal.

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Lid's off divided Sacramento school board - Education - The Sacramento Bee

Lid's off divided Sacramento school board - Education - The Sacramento Bee:

Lid's off divided Sacramento school board

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By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 1A

For more than two years after he was hired, Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jonathan Raymond delayed closing under-enrolled schools even as the district cut nearly $43 million to deal with funding shortfalls.

Raymond said he wanted to find a way to base school closures on data, such as low enrollment and facility condition, and not politics and the emotional pleas of individual parents and neighborhoods.

But with four trustees up for election, an abrupt new vote on school closures – a cost-cutting approach championed by the teachers union – has fueled both high emotion and accusations of

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/29/4299166/gfdgf-dgf-dgh-hgfh.html#mi_rss=Education#storylink=cpy

Where Does Journalism End…and Bullying Begin? Teacher Data Reports and the Media | Mr. D's Neighborhood

Where Does Journalism End…and Bullying Begin? Teacher Data Reports and the Media | Mr. D's Neighborhood:

Where Does Journalism End…and Bullying Begin? Teacher Data Reports and the Media

by ldorazio1

Tweed Courthouse, headquarters of the NYC Department of Education. Image via Wikipedia

On November 16, 1801, a group of New York politicians led by Alexander Hamilton began a political broadsheet that would eventually become one of the most influential publications in the metro area.

Recently, it decided to cease being a newspaper…and become a tool of propaganda instead.

On Friday, February 24, after a lengthy court battle, the New York City Department of Education was forced to comply with a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request filed by the New York Post, the aforementioned tabloid founded over 210 years ago. The DOE released the infamous Teacher Data Reports (TDRs)—the rankings of supposed teacher effectiveness based on standardized test scores in English Language Arts and mathematics.

The Story of a Special Needs Mother « MomsRising Blog #parents

The Story of a Special Needs Mother « MomsRising Blog:

The Story of a Special Needs Mother

by Valerie Young

From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog
MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org

MOTHERS member and resident reader Kelly DiNorcia sent me this book review – we’ll take a much needed break from politics and presidential campaigns with this post and lose ourselves in the pages of a “momoir”. You can find more reading for the maternally-minded at the MOTHERS Book Bag page on GoodReads.com. Thanks Kelly!

In her book The Anti-Romantic Child: A Story of Unexpected Joy, author Priscilla Gilman chronicles her experiences as the mother of a special-needs child. Though Gilman harbored suspicions that Benj was unlike other children, it was not until he was almost three that Gilman’s worries were confirmed. The director of a potential preschool delivered the upsetting news that he suspected something was amiss. What their

Missouri Education Watchdog: Arne Duncan Surrounded by Conspiracy Theorists. Oh, the Horror!

Missouri Education Watchdog: Arne Duncan Surrounded by Conspiracy Theorists. Oh, the Horror!:

Arne Duncan Surrounded by Conspiracy Theorists. Oh, the Horror!

by stlgretchen

Utah lawmakers are reconsidering the implementation of Common Core standards by the State Board of Education. South Carolina is looking to possibly rescind its Common Core implementation and Arne Duncan did not take kindly to that state debating whether to reclaim its constitutional right to educate its own citizens.

Duncan called such a notion from South Carolina lawmakers "a conspiracy theory in search of a conspiracy".

We'll have to see if Duncan calls out more legislators as they study the ramifications of an educational

Duncan “inspired” by Aurora pathways | EdNewsColorado

Duncan “inspired” by Aurora pathways | EdNewsColorado:

Duncan “inspired” by Aurora pathways

by Nancy Mitchell

AURORA – In Janet Mensah, a high school senior with her foot in the door at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sees the American dream.

Janet Mensah, a senior at Aurora's William Smith High School, during a roundtable with Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Tuesday.

Mensah always knew she wanted to be a doctor, she told Duncan during a roundtable discussion Tuesday at the Vista PEAK P-20 campus, she just didn’t know how to get make it happen.

“My mom never went to school and my dad, I guess, stopped school in the eighth grade so I didn’t really have that background, I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I knew my dream, but how do I get there?”

At Smith, an assistant principal told her about Aurora LIGHTS, one of the district’s “pathways” programs that

Wednesday Churn: Decision on tests?

by EdNews staff

What’s churning:

The House State Affairs Committee this afternoon takes another crack at House Bill 12-1091, Rep. Judy Solano’s 2011 attempt to eliminate state writing tests and one set of high school exams.

The savings from doing that – estimated at $1.5 million to $6.3 million, depending on whom you talk to – would be transferred to the Colorado Preschool Program and allow more low-income kids to be brought into the program.

Supporters of the bill have some lingering hard feelings about last Thursday’s State Affairs meeting, a badly managed affair that didn’t allow enough time for witnesses to testify. Further consideration was delayed until today to allow for a full hearing.

Those pushing the bill also aren’t happy with the assignment to State Affairs, frequently used as a kill committee for measures House leadership doesn’t like. The committee earlier killed Solano’s House Bill 12-1049, which

The Silly Language of School Reform « City School Stories

The Silly Language of School Reform « City School Stories:

The Silly Language of School Reform

by fmurphy

You Got To Be Kidding

Submitted by Frank Murphy on February 29, 2012

This video was linked in a post titled “Geezer Teachers” written by Nancy Flanagan and published on the blogTeacher in a Strange Land. It was written in response to the statement that career teachers are becoming a thing of the past. This article is an interesting read.

I watched this You Tube video several times. After each new viewing, I wondered the same thing. Do people

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A CALL FOR PARENTS’ SAY OVER CO-LOCATIONS IN NEW YORK

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A CALL FOR PARENTS’ SAY OVER CO-LOCATIONS IN NEW YORK:

A CALL FOR PARENTS’ SAY OVER CO-LOCATIONS IN NEW YORK

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 5 hours ago

By Chelsia Rose Marcius, NY Times | http://nyti.ms/A6XJow Feb. 28, 2012, 5:57 p.m. | Updated 9:02 p.m. :: Members of the New York State Assembly and Senate, parents and education advocates called for state legislation on Tuesday to give local school advisory panels the power to veto school co-locations in their districts. The proposed legislation would ensure that no school could be

DUNCAN+RHEE: Amid a Federal Education Inquiry, an Unsettling Sight

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 5 hours ago

By MICHAEL WINERIP, NEW YORK TIMES | http://nyti.ms/ydNvxf A spokesman for Education Secretary Arne Duncan, left, cautioned against the presumption of guilt in an investigation of Washington schools under the direction of Michelle Rhee. photos:Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press; Alex Wong, via Getty Images Published: February 26, 2012 What was Arne Duncan doing sharing the stage with

GOOD PRINCIPALS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS – Study: "Estimating the Effect of Leaders on Public Sector Productivity: The Case of School Principals"

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago

From guest blogger Jaclyn Zubrzycki/Edited By Sarah D. Sparks | Education Week | http://bit.ly/w6S14T February 28, 2012 11:37 AM :: How important is school leadership? Where are the most effective leaders, and how can we tell that they—and not circumstance—are responsible for their schools' success? "Estimating the Effect of Leaders on Public Sector Productivity: The Case of School Principals,"

Obama: “INVEST IN EDUCATION, JOB TRAINING” – LAUSD: “ELIMINATE ADULT ED”

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago

Posted By Joanne Jacobs - Community College Spotlight | http://bit.ly/AAQTwA February 28, 2012 @ 6:15 :: States should spend more on education [1], President Obama said at the National Governors Association luncheon. ”The countries who out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.” President Obama is a “snob” [2] for pushing the college-for-all message, said GOP presidential candidate

RIGOR MORTIS

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 7 hours ago

POSTED BY Aaron Pallas in the Hechinger Report, Teachers College at Columbia University | http://bit.ly/wKSqAy February 20, 2012 :: The word rigor comes up a lot in teacher-evaluation systems. It’s akin to motherhood, apple pie and the American flag. What policymaker is going to take a stand against rigor? But the term is getting distorted almost beyond recognition. In science, a rigorous

PROPOSED LAUSD HOMEWORK POLICY SUMMARY

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 17 hours ago

Parents are invited to weigh in on the proposal on Thursday March 1 from 6-7 p.m. at Walter Reed Middle School, 4525 Irvine Ave. map follows Homework Working Group Summary for Forums Eng and Spa Map to Walter Reed Middle School map to Walter Reed Middle School: View Larger Map

THREE CA EDUCATION REVENUE INITIATIVES FOR NOVEMBER, 2012? A Comparison, Because Voters Will Probably Only Support One

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 19 hours ago

by Cynthia Liu, K12NewsNework.com | http://bit.ly/zI1zWt February 28, 2012 :: I recently had the opportunity to hear Molly Munger describe in detail to the California PTA how her proposed ballot initiative, Our Children, Our Future, would produce revenue to pay for K-12 public education. Governor Brown‘s Schools and Local Public Safety Act ballot initiative proposal has also been

LAUSD HOLDS PUBLIC FORUM IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD TO DISCUSS HOMEWORK PROPOSAL

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 20 hours ago

from LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/wMPWAJ 02/27/2012 01:28:57 PM PST :: A public forum will be held Thursday in North Hollywood on a proposed LAUSD policy that would cap homework assignments at 20 percent of a student's grade and set guidelines for how much time should be spent on outside assignments. Parents are invited to weigh in on the proposal on Thursday March 1 from 6-7 p.m. at

CALIFORNIA’S FLAWED ‘PARENT TRIGGER’: Education reform benefits from parent involvement, but state rules on the so-called parent trigger need revision.

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 20 hours ago

LA Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/yNQft0 February 28, 2012 :: The first "parent trigger" petition in California, which sought to allow a charter organization to take over a Compton elementary school, ultimately failed amid bitter charges on both sides that parents had been harassed and lied to. The state Board of Education had a chance to make the process less chaotic by requiring open