A headline in Friday’s NY Times caught my attention.
To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test.
It was in the Times’ Science section. It could just have been the ad on late night television claiming you can lose weight by holding shaking dumb bells.
But the problem was that the research wasn’t
Say it isn't so, Mayor Gray.
Here's why I was so disappointed to read my colleague Bill Turque's report on a plan by D.C. schools officials to have the flawed IMPACT teacher evaluation system reviewed by a Harvard professor:
1) I was optimistic that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) was serious about fixing the problem when he said at a public forum recently that the evaluation system - instituted under former schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee - was unfair to teachers.
He said, "I guess I would say at this stage . . . it's a step in the right direction, but it's got a long way to go to be a fair evaluation of our teachers. And, frankly, any system that isn't sensitive to the differences in challenges of the kids in the schools only encourage
The Knowledge Is Power Program, the nation's and the District's most successful charter school network, has a new official name, KIPP, and a new approach to raising achievement for disadvantaged children.
In its first decade, the network - with 91 schools in 20 states and eight in Washington - focused on creating middle schools that started with fifth-graders two or three years below grade level and got them up to speed by eighth grade. Now it is opening elementary schools, including three here, so that it can start raising
I taught in secondary schools for sixteen years. I left because I had two choices… 1. Fight constantly with administrators, school boards, district officials et al for the freedom to teach the best possible curriculum with the best possible methodology for the students in my classroom… OR 2. Blindly follow the wishes of all of the above people regarding curriculum and methodology to
Rare, undercover footage from a principals’ retreat in Omaha last month…
Popout
Mr. Teachbad
A research study published last week by Science Magazine is drawing a bit of attention. The Flypaper fellows are talking about it, the NY Times wrote about it (via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), and theNorthwest Evaluation Association tweeted about it:
All three give the impression that taking a test helps with learning. It's fair to say the assumption is that
"Learning, real learning - trying to make more sense of what's happening - is as natural and satisfying as breathing. If your big reform idea requires laws, mandates, penalties, bribes, or other kinds of external pressure to make it work, it won't work. You can lead the horse to water, and you can force it to look like it's drinking, but you can't make it drink."
THE past year was a sobering one for American educators, as we learned that the United States is falling farther behind in international student rankings. To his credit, President Obama put forward a plan for change that hit the mark, a brilliant stroke that even the “abolish the Department of Education” crowd had to admire. Race to the Top, the competitive grant program that harnesses stimulus dollars to drive reform, convinced a surprising number of governors and legislators from both parties to pay the entrance fee by proving they could strengthen their education laws.
Politicians, journalists and experts in various fields share what issues they would like addressed in the President’s State of the Union speech.
Twelve states improved their evaluation tools so that they can identify effective teachers and make sure they are prized in the classroom. Six states reversed policies that had made it impossible to use student achievement to evaluate classroom teachers. And 27 broadened their public charter school laws, giving parents more choices and reminding everyone that competition in education is a good thing.
What should Obama say in his speech to Congress on Tuesday? Now that Joel Klein, Ron Huberman and Michelle Rhee are gone as school chiefs, we should continue the process and keep only the top administratorsand fire the rest.
Send Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross after Larry Summers and the Wall Street crooks. Frank Richtakes a look at what the popularity of
Tunis.
EnlargeNewark Mayor Cory Booker (left) joined the other volunteers from PENewark as they canvas Newark residents for their opinion on Newark schools and school reform. He spoke to Rayshon Cross while going door-to-door. (Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger)Hitting the streets in Newark gallery (4 photos)NEWARK — After a hasty start and a heap of criticism, PENewark is rolling out a second survey this weekend to glean the thoughts of Newarkers on education reform in the state’s largest city.
The group was set up by Mayor Cory Booker as the outreach arm of his reform effort, sparked by a $100 million donation from Mark Zuckerberg to Newark schools.
From the outset, PENewark faced criticism for what many educational leaders considered a shallow and ill-conceived survey. Now, with the
