Thursday, October 13, 2011

Education Research Report: Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates

Education Research Report: Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates:


Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates

by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Ω


According to a new NCES report, approximately 3 million 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential as of October 2008. These dropouts represented 8 percent of the 38 million noninstitutionalized, civilian individuals in this age group living in the United States, according to Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2009.


The report updates a series of NCES reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. The report includes national and regional population estimates for the percentage of students who dropped out of high school between 2008 and 2009, the percentage of young people who were dropouts in 2009, and the



Peer Review: Getting Serious About Teacher Support and Evaluation

by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Ω

For this study, SRI International and J. Koppich & Associates examined the peer assistance and review (PAR) programs in the Poway and San Juan school districts in California. This is not the first study of these exemplary programs. Indeed, one of the reasons they selected the PAR programs at these sites was because of their reputations for excellence. Given the current tumultuous policy environment, the authors believed a fresh look at these programs was in order.

Policymakers Are Looking For Effective Solutions for Evaluating Teachers

Teacher effectiveness and evaluation are topics in high policy relief. Policymakers continue to seek means to 
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Needham bullies get therapy, not detention - The Boston Globe

Needham bullies get therapy, not detention - The Boston Globe:

Alternative response to bullying

Alye Pollack, a Connecticut teen who was bullied at her school, made a YouTube video about her experience. The video went viral and attracted more than 500,000 views.
By Dan Adams
Globe Correspondent / October 13, 2011

Alye Pollack sits silently, a grim look on her face. One by one, she holds sheets of paper up to the camera.

“Do I look happy?’’ asks one sheet of paper in an adolescent scrawl. “Well, I’m not,’’ answers the next.

This video plea from a bullied Connecticut teen became an online phenomenon, garnering more than 500,000 views since it was posted on YouTube in March. And starting this

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E Pluribus Pluribus: Is Differentiated Instruction Possible?

E Pluribus Pluribus: Is Differentiated Instruction Possible?:

E Pluribus Pluribus: Is Differentiated Instruction Possible?

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13TH, 2011 AT 10:09 AM

It’s not even Noon, and nine-year-old Harvey is already back on the floor.

His three tablemates, their efforts at independent reading on hold, watch and wait for Ms. Serber to arrive and restore order. Harvey’s pear-shaped body writhes on the floor, animated by neither malice nor mischief. He chews absent-mindedly on his silver necklace and gazes at the ceiling until she arrives.

“Let’s get up and get back into it,” Ms. Serber implores, her hand gently rubbing his back to coax him up to the table. After a few minutes, Harvey picks his book back up, and Ms. Serber resumes scanning the faces of her other twenty-eight 3rdgraders to assess their needs. Mid-morning light cuts across her eighty-year-old

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Explaining Edujobs2: Will the American Jobs Act Work? (Part 3)

Explaining Edujobs2: Will the American Jobs Act Work? (Part 3):

Explaining Edujobs2: Will the American Jobs Act Work? (Part 3)

by GUEST BLOGGER on OCTOBER 13, 2011

in UNCATEGORIZED

Gerry Broome / AP Photo

Now that Parts 1and 2 of this series have provided some context for President Obama’s Edujobs2 proposal, it’s time to answer the ultimate question:Given all the fuzzy numbers laid out in the previous two posts, what can we make of Edujobs2? As a recent Center for Education Policy reportconfirms, many districts are planning layoffs for the coming year, so there are jobs to be saved. And if districts use these funds in the same way that theGovernment Accountability Office says they used stimulus funds, then Edujobs2 will indeed save or create jobs. With few independent estimates of the number of

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A Handy 2012 Rolodex Supplement for Edu-Reporters :: Frederick M. Hess

A Handy 2012 Rolodex Supplement for Edu-Reporters :: Frederick M. Hess:

A Handy 2012 Rolodex Supplement for Edu-Reporters

by Frederick M. Hess • Oct 13, 2011 at 9:57 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the ed press's disconcerting habit of relying almost entirely on professional Democrats or Democratic-leaning academics to provide commentary on Republican education proposals when it comes to the Presidential contest and federal policy. It's obviously appropriate to offer the Democratic take on such matters, but veteran Democrats are often quoted as seemingly nonpartisan "experts." Meanwhile, whole stories are penned with little or no insight from conservatives. And given that most of the familiar edu-professors and major education interest groups--from the NEA and AFT, to the NSBA and AASA, to DFER and the Education Trust--are left-leaning, it's easy for whole stories to portray nothing more than varying flavors of liberal thought.

In response, several reporters and/or bloggers who work this beat wrote to say they sympathized with the point, but that a recurring frustration-- as I'd noted-- is that the edu-universe is disproportionately Democratic. (Now, it's a different story with the handful of folks who have sometimes pooh-poohed to me the notion that relying primarily on liberals to explain conservative proposals could ever be problematic. To them, I'd just ask whether

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Building Trust Between Schools & Parents - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Building Trust Between Schools & Parents - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Building Trust Between Schools & Parents

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,

I've so many different topics I want to write you about! Watching a YouTube video Mike Klonsky sent me about a current demonstration in Chicago brought back a flood of memories from the late 1950s and '60s when my children's schooling began and when I was subbing throughout Chicago's South Side. Speaking of memories, Fred and I spent last weekend in St. Louis (I was speaking to a group of teachers at the Seventh Annual Educating for Change Curriculum Fair, and Fred to visit family). Both of us have roots in St. Louis and it brought back my Midwestern years—and it turns out that many of his relatives were school teachers, too.

Our anecdotal memories are useful, especially given how hard it is to believe school data—between cheating, manipulating, and obfuscating, which have for many years been standard practice. I have a lot of anecdotes to demonstrate this claim!

Both experiences reminded me that I was perhaps lucky to have entered the profession at the same time that my three children entered Chicago's public school system. My experiences in both roles led me to admire those

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Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts


Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts


Gov. Jerry Brown's musings on education - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
Gov. Jerry Brown's musings on education - latimes.com:Education: Too much testing?Gov. Jerry Brown was wrong to veto SB 547, but he made important points about the love of learning.Students work on a math lesson at Romero-Cruz Elementary School in Santa Ana. There is now widespread agreement that the federal No Child Left Behind Act was overly rigid, unfair to good schools and constricting to the curriculum. (Los Angeles Times)Share3Comments0ALSOReevaluating Back to School NightGive California a No Child Left Behind waiverJust ... more »

U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student results | OregonLive.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student results | OregonLive.com:U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student resultsPublished: Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8:46 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8:52 PM By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian Follow1ShareEmailPrintView full sizeJamie Francis / The OregonianU.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, (right) seated in the gym of H.B. Lee Middle School in outer east Portland, gestures as he talks to an audience of teachers. Pro-union political ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top late nite Posts #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top late nite PostsOne True Act of Patriotism by Shysti #owsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-5 minutes agoImages and video of the current occupation of wall street. The Occupy Wall Street protests and marches and police brutality accompany this song, written, produced and performed by Shysti Music for this movement. @shystimusic on twitter / shystination@gmail.comHaving Principal Problems? Give Peace a Chance! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: ... more »

All Education Matters: Powerful Image: College Professor Denouncing Student Loan Debt

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
All Education Matters: Powerful Image: College Professor Denouncing Student Loan Debt:Powerful Image: College Professor Denouncing Student Loan Debtby Cryn JohannsenA reader sent me this image, so I am not sure it was sent to "We are Part of the 99%" Tumblr blog. I think it's safe to assume it was, so that's why I am linking to them again. They have done an outstanding job of offering people a place to share, on a very personal level, what it's like ... more »

Modern School: Punished For Having Too Many Poor Black and Latino Students

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
Modern School: Punished For Having Too Many Poor Black and Latino Students:Punished For Having Too Many Poor Black and Latino Studentsby Michael DunnA federal civil rights investigation found that LAUSD has been failing to effectively teach its English Language Learners and black students and, as a result, will lose federal funding if it cannot rectify the problem promptly, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. The school district agreed to sweeping changes in order to remedy the problem, despite its huge ... more »

Engaging Parents In School… - The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago
Engaging Parents In School… - The Best Posts Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook:The Best Posts Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebookby Larry FerlazzoLast year, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million contribution to Newark schools, and made a public commitment to parent and community engagement. I’ve written a lot since that time about how that second part hasn’t worked out real well.It’s great that they recognized the importance of speaking to parents. However ... more »

One True Act of Patriotism by Shysti #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago
Images and video of the current occupation of wall street. The Occupy Wall Street protests and marches and police brutality accompany this song, written, produced and performed by Shysti Music for this movement. @shystimusic on twitter / shystination@gmail.com

Having Principal Problems? Give Peace a Chance! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago
Having Principal Problems? Give Peace a Chance! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:Having Principal Problems? Give Peace a Chance!by OldschoolteachI think I might have mentioned this a couple of hundred times already, but, I’ll say it again. I have a new principal. I loved, (Is that too strong a word for a totally, platonic, relationship?), my old principal. I think it was because he left me alone to do my job. Not always. Sometimes he said or did things ... more »

New Orleans RSD — the ‘miracle’ district | Gary Rubinstein's TFA Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago
New Orleans RSD — the ‘miracle’ district | Gary Rubinstein's TFA Blog:New Orleans RSD — the ‘miracle’ districtby Gary RubinsteinThe Louisiana Department Of Education just released the 2011 School Performance Data. As New Orleans has been hailed as a ‘miracle’ district, I was eager to see the results. As you might know, after Katrina the lowest performing schools were assembled into a district known as ‘The Recovery District’ (RSD) which has become a grand experiment in what would happen if ... more »
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Gates' Agenda and Money Shape City Schools (Gotham Gazette, Oct 2011)

Gates' Agenda and Money Shape City Schools (Gotham Gazette, Oct 2011):

Gates' Agenda and Money Shape City Schools

by Jane C. Timm
Oct 2011

gate foundation
Photo by Remy Steinegger
They do not teach or hold elected office but Bill and Melinda Gates wield enormous influence in New York City schools and in classrooms throughout the country.

At the start of NBC's Education Nation extravaganza last month host Brian Williams introduced and praised one of the funders of the event, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

For the reformers, teachers, parents and politicians at Education Nation, the refrain was a familiar one. The Gates Foundation, Williams continued, is "the largest single funder of education anywhere in the world. It's their facts that we're going to be referring to often to help along our conversation."

Indeed, with hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into our nation’s

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Be careful what you wish for | Taking Note

Be careful what you wish for | Taking Note:

Be careful what you wish for



John’s book, The Influence of Teachers, is currently available on Amazon; you can learn more about it at the book’s official website, or, if interested in buying copies for your class or discussion group, you can consult this page.

I have a simple request for my left and right-wing friends: “Be Careful What You Wish For.” Here’s why I say that. I know right-wingers who lust for vouchers, and I know left-wingers who live for the day when all children will have ‘individualized education plans,’ a la those in special education.

The latest call for vouchers comes from the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania (whom I do not know), but let’s imagine how vouchers might work. Suppose that the voucher (basically a check that parents could take to the school of their choice for their child’s education) was actually worth enough to buy a decent education, say $12,000. Just imagine how quickly that would attract scoundrels, scalawags and crooks, all posing as committed educators. Even cheap vouchers will attract an odd crowd, men and women who feel a calling to do some God’s work. And, unfortunately, there will be no shortage of parents who will drink the Kool-Aid (which is more of a comment about how bad some public

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