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It's easy to forget that parents and the public don't necessarily think the same things about NCLB that you do -- and that their feelings about NCLB may actually be better than their feelings about their local schools or schools nationwide.

JoanneJacobs has more evidence of this, citing a new poll showing that 57 percent of the public back reauthorizing No Child Left Behind "as is or with minimal changes." A lot higher than you thought, I bet. But don't worry, the number goes down to 41 percent for current and former teachers, says Jacobs.

That's roughly the same percentage that give their own public schools an A or B -- a figure that drops to 22 percent for public education nationally. So the public likes NCLB more than their local schools, even, and educators like NCLB about the same as their local schools.

NB: The poll was put out by the generally conservative but pro-NCLB Hoover Institute and will be in Education Next magazine sometime soon. Changes in the wording of these poll questions can often affect their outcome -- an analysis I'll leave to others.

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Parents' Ire Grows at Unabashed Pedophile's Blog NYT
Jack McClellan, who calls himself a pedophile, has had Web sites in Seattle and Los Angeles detailing how and where he trolls for children.

Parents still seek the elusive 'right' school LA Times
No one knows exactly how many students are still without a school, but indicators show that the annual last-ditch scramble for a seat at a school of choice is in high gear.

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If you ever think that something I'm putting up on this site is inane, remember that this clip of a 10 year old boy at a carnival saying "I like turtles" comes from the Washington Post -- apparently the clip has become something of an Internet sensation.

Go here: For the 'I Like Turtles' Boy, 17 Seconds Of Fame

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I'm using the term loosely here.

Pupils too passive, education chief says Denver Post
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Monday confronted a challenge on many Americans' minds: how relatively comfortable U.S. students can compete against the family-driven zeal children bring to school in countries such as China and India.

Clouds Gather Over D.C. Schools Washington Post
One month before school starts, District officials said yesterday that half of D.C. public schools do not have all their required textbooks and half of the school buildings will not have any air conditioning on the first day of school -- conditions as traditional in the city as back-to-school...

Liked raw carrots, hated green beans Seattle Times
The menu at William V. Wright Elementary School is getting a makeover after Constantine Christopulos' class went on a poignantly polite letter-writing campaign aiming to see less of that particular vegetable in the cafeteria.

Test scores? Check. Application? Check. And now, the slideshow AP
The University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business will begin requiring prospective students to submit PowerPoint-like slides with their applications this fall.

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Hoping to influence the legislature or the contract negotiations or both, there's a new Joyce-funded report from The New Teacher Project out today on teacher ratings, hiring, and all the rest.

The big news? Chicago's longstanding elimination of "bumping" is a notable exception to how other cities handle transfers, and just 12 percent of applicants are hired (up from 18 percent four years ago) -- but its evaluation system is a mess. See Tribune story here.

The report also calls for an evaluation and pay system that's independent of the labor contract, which I don't exactly know would fly.

Cross-posted from District299.com.

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Such as they are...

Stemming the Summer Slide Washington Post
Summer can be the enemy of the schoolteacher: Students forget their math. They stop reading. And in the case of those with limited English skills, they lose their newly acquired words.

Simple Safety Solution: Classroom Locks MSNBC
Safety experts say that while school officials across the nation re-evaluate campus safety in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, many are overlooking a simple solution: putting locks on the inside of classroom doors. PLUS: Witnesses: Teen Said Principal Would Die Washington Post

‘Play It Smart’ High School Program Is Putting Some Players on Track NYT
Rutgers running back Ray Rice is one player who has benefited from Play It Smart, a nonprofit program to help football players in inner-city schools with their studies.

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Posts Of The Week
How Steve Barr Is Not Like The Other Charter Show Ponies
Teaching Parents To Play With Their Kids: What If We're Wrong?

USDE
EdSec Wants More "Pocket Protector" Skills
The Two Margaret Spellings

On The Hill
How Congressional Earmarks Work
Senate Higher Ed Bill Endangers Quick NCLB Reauthorization
Our Hottie Is So Much Hotter Than Their Hotties

NCLB News
EXCLUSIVE: Miller Reauthorization Memo To Freshmen
Turning Up The Heat On "Multiple Measures"
Who's For, Against Letting Students Transfer To Better Schools

Campaign 2008
Obama Advocates Sex Ed For Kindergarteners, Does He?
What Anderson Cooper Should Have Asked The Candidates
Video NCLB Excerpts From Last Night's Debate

Urban Education
Weighted Student Funding (Among Other Things) Collapses In NYC
Taking Back Mayoral Control: It Ain't Going To Happen
Public Prep: A Public School With A Private Feel

Media Watch
Post Education Writer Doesn't Last Long
Comparing Coverage Of The "Curriculum Narrowing" Report
Former Washington Post Reporter Looks Into Testing Effects
Little Action, Lots Of Blogging

Business Of Education
Reader Rabbit Takes Over Publishing

School Life
StateTris: earn Where The States Are, Waste Time
Let's Simpsonize The Education World

Site News
What Your Free Daily Email Would Look Like -- If You Signed Up For One

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On your left, you have US EdSec Margaret Spellings -- complete with pearls, flag in the background, and that cute smile with her tongue. On your right, you have the somewhat frumpier Simpsons version of the Secretary, who looks (like many Simpsons characters) a little transgendered. Sorry, Madame Secretary -- it was the best I could do.

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This is going to have to be a group effort, since the Simpsonization site is working so slowly. But here's the preliminary list of folks who should be Simpsonized (even though some of them already look Simpson-esque in real life)>: Margaret Spellings & Rod Paige, George Miller & Ted Kennedy,
*Paul Vallas, Joel Klein, Rudy Crew, & Michelle Rhee. Or pick your own favorite education person. Either way, we'll have yellow Simpsons versions of our characters, to save and share and play with during the cold winter ahead.

UPDATE: Weeks and months ago, it seems, blogger Sherman Dorn (pictured) has Simpsonized himself (again, already fairly Simpsoneque before he started).

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The main observation missing from today's NY Sun article on mayoral control (By 2009, Mayor's Control Of Schools Could End) is that going back is so tremendously difficult and unlikely. Mayors and their rivals are unlikely to support it, legislators who voted for mayoral control are unlikely to want to reverse themselves. Take Chicago, where not everything has gone well in the last 12 years but no serious effort to reverse the law has been mounted.

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*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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Think the Dems are allocating education and social services money any better, or differently, than those big bad Republicans did? Think again.

*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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No Child law runs into GOP revolt Gannett News
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, is set to outline his changes to the law Monday and is expected to propose legislation in September.

Studying math improves science scores MSNBC
Students who had more math courses in high school did better in all types of science once they got to college, researchers say.

U.S. Poised to Sit Out TIMSS Test EdWeek
The U.S. Department of Education has said budget and staffing constraints will prevent one of its agencies from taking part in the upcoming 2008.

*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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UPDATE FROM NYC DOE: "Our communications office has a staff of 14 (soon to be 13), which includes two secretaries. Not 29...I gave Sol the correct number during his research for the piece, but he choose to use the larger and incorrect figure. I don’t believe our communications staff is disproportionately large for an organization with 140,000 employees. You may feel differently, but Sol’s count is wrong in any case."

*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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Here's a feisty op ed in the SF Chronicle about efforts to soften (improve?) NCLB via multiple measures:

"Expect Democrats to try to squeeze as much money as possible from federal taxpayers, while watering down accountability requirements so that schools won't have to do a better job of teaching," says the piece (Rx for failure). "And they'll do it by undermining the testing system so that illiterate students can be labeled as success stories."

*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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1 in 10 Parents Don't Understand Bedtime Stories
Almost a quarter (23%) skip passages they cannot read or invent words to get to the end of a sentence, the poll found.

When Soccer Moms Attack
These histrionics took place at an "under-8" match for boys in Pickering on the weekend. The referee? A 14-year-old girl.

Boys face sex trial for slapping girls' rear-ends
Two middle-school students in Oregon are facing possible time in a juvenile jail and could have to register as sex offenders for smacking girls on the rear end at school.

Senate Forcing Colleges to Spy on Students
Twenty-five schools will annually be singled out, required to police their students with network surveillance technologies, and forced to provide evidence to the Secretary of Education about their efforts to stop file sharing.

CNN Map: Obesity in US 1985-2004
By examining the percentage of adults who are estimated an obese, see how entrenched the condition has become over the years.

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Major Study of City Schools Shows Charters in Lead NY Sun
Researchers took advantage of New York City charter schools' popularity -- applications outnumber available seats, on average, 3 to 1 -- comparing students who applied and were accepted through a random lottery to students who were rejected.

In science, rural kids strongest AP
Rural students perform better in science than their urban counterparts, and rural teachers generally are happy with their schools, a federal study finds.

Bloomberg's New Slogan: A Harry Potter in Every Pot Washington Post
Bloomberg laid out an agenda that includes several items opposed by teachers' unions, a major backer of Democrats, including making it easier to fire ineffective teachers, offering bonus pay for teachers and principals whose students perform well on tests and even denying tenure to teachers whose students don't do well.

Vallas Puts Team to Work NOLA.com
When the Recovery School District opened its Poland Avenue offices last year, there were so few people in the building, there seemed to be an echo. Almost a year later, the office bustled with sound, while employees squeezed by each other through narrow halls, past doors with names printed on white paper.

*Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- See The Yellow Box To The Right.*

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Thanks a ton to a brave reader for sending in the Miller memo to House freshmen from earlier this month, which outlines where things are (or were) on the House majority side at least. As you can see, the two-page memo (PDF) dated July 7 outlines nine key proposals and asks for feedback. The proposals range from the obvious ("Allow states to use growth models that recognize progress over time," improve test quality, prioritize schools with the most problems) to the highly controversial ("Allow states to use more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance") to the ho-hum ("Address the high school dropout crisis and take comprehensive steps to turn around low-performing high schools," increase funding, etc.). This explains some of the recent weeks' twists and turns, including the new left-right coalition to save NCLB and -- most obviously -- the Friday the 13th letter to Chairman Miller from concerned parties.

Free Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available -- Sign Up In The Yellow Box To The Right.

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Besides the curriculum narrowing story, of course....

2 New Jersey School Districts Regain Some Local Control NYT
The state will continue, however, to oversee academic instruction in the Newark and Jersey City public schools. Via EdNews.org.

How Schools Get It RightBaltimore Sun
Tucked amid a block of rowhouses around the corner from Camden Yards is an elementary school with a statistical profile that often spells academic trouble: 76 percent of the students are poor, and 95 percent are minorities. Via DA Daily.

Groups Lay Out Compensation €Essentials€ EdWeek
Performance-pay systems for teachers that are set up wrong might be worse than no performance pay at all, a coalition of groups promoting teacher quality warned here yesterday.

Immigrant Parents Struggle to Keep Their Children Bilingual Boston Globe
After a lunch of hot dogs and rice, Jordy Berges blasted a ball off the wall of the lunchroom at his mother's office, his stomping grounds for the summer."No juegues aqui," Yovanna Berges scolded her 7-year-old son, telling him in Spanish to stop. "Sorry," he answered her, in English. Via DA Daily.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:10 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Lots of folks take a swipe at reporting this year's version of the CEP survey of school districts about the impacts of NCLB on instruction. The AP version of the story is pretty cut and dried (No Child law has downside, survey finds). In contrast, the NYT spends a lot of time trying to explain why the percentage of districts decreased so much from last year -- a change the report authors attribute to a wording change in the survey (Focus on 2 R’s Cuts Time for the Rest, Report Says). Remember, it was the Times that heralded last year's findings. Over at the Post, it's most a roundup of reactions to the shift in instructional priorities-- Manhattan Institute and EdTrust come in for the focus on reading and math, Andy "Doughnut" Rotherham comes out against (English, Math Time Up in 'No Child' Era).

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The last time the Senate reauthorized the HEA was a long time ago. I was still working for Jeff Bingaman and we thought that we could really, finally, get ed schools to do a better job on teacher prep. But now the Senate has passed its version of the bill -- no House companion to go along with it, and congrats to everyone there for getting that done.

The implications for NCLB as I read them are bad, however. With two weeks left before August recess and a big education bill in hand, no one on the Senate side at least is going to feel any great rush. And we still don't have any bill language (do we?) from Kennedy or Miller to look at, though I know it's out there and you can send it to me anonymously at thisweekineducation at gmail dot com. Last but not least, there's the exhaustion factor. Many of the same folks work K12 as well as higher ed.

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The use of interns is a delicate thing, which is why by and large I've limited the ones I've worked with to morning news roundups and describing events they attend -- extremely useful tasks but not ones that presume any inside knowledge or policy chops. Not so The Quick & The Ed, which is letting interns post commentary like this recent post, which begins "Flipping through my 10th grade U.S. history text book..." Who has their 10th grade history text nearby? A junior at Brown does. Which is fine -- it's just not something I'm expecting to see published by a relatively new organization that's trying to be taken seriously.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:04 PM | Permalink | 4 Comments | Recommend

UPDATE: Joe Williams of Democrats for Education Reform makes some interesting if slightly over-enthusiastic observations here, and helpfully rounds up other reactions to the Times story.

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UPDATE: It's also worth noting, I'm told, that Pearson has proposed to buy Harcourt's Assessment and International divisions.

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UPDATE: Also pictured: Stephaan Harris, senior media coordinator at the Economic Policy Institute in D.C.

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Thanks to DAD for recording and uploading these NCLB excerpts from last night's debate, which include Bill Richardson slamming the law for, among other things, taking money away from low-performing schools and districts (huh?), Joe Biden channeling Paul Wellstone and calling it a mistake, and Chris Dodd jumping in at the end to protect his buddy Ted by saying we should get NCLB right but not abandon it (NCLB: Scrap, Keep or Punt until 08?):

No Clinton or Obama or Edwards footage, alas.

Here's the video question that prompted these responses, which uses a whiteboard and some really bad heavy metal music to make its point:

Meanwhile, EdIn'08 again castigates the candidates for not focusing enough on education -- though perhaps their real beef is with CNN and YouTube for not airing enough education questions: "More questions were submitted about education than on any other issue. Like their Republican counterparts, the Democrats have given nothing but lip service - and not much at that - on education. Never have so many said so little about something that means so much. This is a dramatic failure of leadership...The candidates' failure to offer courageous and bold leadership on education is a failure for students throughout the country."

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First Lady Makes Rare Foray Into Lobbying for ‘No Child Left CQ
Complicating the lack of movement are significant policy debates that have emerged between Republicans and Democrats, particularly over the weight standardized testing should be given in determining adequate yearly progress — the centerpiece of the law once expected to be President Bush’s domestic legacy.

Maverick Leads Charge for Charter Schools NYT
In seven years, Steve Barr’s Green Dot Public Schools organization has founded 10 charter high schools and has won approval to open 10 more.

An Imbalance Grows in Cambridge, Mass., Schools Boston Globe
Five years after Cambridge began using family income instead of race to assign students to schools, the system has become more racially segregated, a Globe review of data shows.

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*The only example I know of is LA's private school Crossroads spinning off into New Roads and then Camino Nuevo charter.

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Highlights of the week ahead in DC (mostly) include:

Today: Hearing on S. 1642 (Kennedy, Massachusetts), the “Higher Education Amendments of 2007” to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 .

NB: Also today: Spellings does press event (National Science Teachers Association) and meets with Congressional Black Caucus education task force re NCLB.

Also: The Center for American Progress (CAP) and the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) will host a news conference to release the report, "Creating a Successful Performance Compensation System for Educators." 10:00 a.m.; National Press Club, 14th and F Streets, NW, Washington,

Senate committee meeting Wednesday (misc.)

Also Wed: The Center for American Progress Action Fund will host an event to highlight the recently introduced pre-kindergarten bills by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen.
Bob Casey (D-PA) [Note: RSVP required.] 10:30 a.m.; Center for American Progress Action Fund, 1333 H Street, NW,

Thursday Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on School Safety among other things.

More EdSec events:
Tuesday: Event with First lady at Driggs Elementary in CT.
Wednesday: Appearance before the Future Farmers of America
Thursday: Speaks before the Hugh O’Brian (H.O.B.Y.) Youth Leadership World Congress

Via FritzWire, USDE, and a little birdie.

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Students Want Presidential Hopefuls to Make Education a Priority AP via EdWeek
A group of S.C. honors students videotaped a question to candidates for the upcoming debates.

Test mess entangles school St. Pete Times
Some 28 severely disabled children are at the center of a controversy that has pushed West Hernando Middle School to the brink of federal sanctions, according to school officials.

School Recruiters Turn To 'Innovative Places' Washington Post
Ireneo Abadejos and Julieta Perez are among what they call the "lucky 30" Filipino teachers hired by the Prince George's County school system in October 2004 as part of an experiment to help fill a big teacher shortage.

Mo. Begins Online Test Experiment AP Via EdWeek
Missouri education officials on Thursday told the state Board of Education about a pilot project creating an online exam to complete a newly required personal finance class.

How Can You Distinguish a Budding Pedophile From a Kid With Real Boundary Problems? New York Times Magazine
It can be difficult, but research is showing that when it comes to sex crimes, youths are not just little adults. So why does the law tend to treat them that way?

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Education Department
Spellings & Rove, Sitting In A Tree? As If.
Running Out Of July

NCLB News
Dem Groups Concerned About Miller NCLB Bill
Civil Rights & Business Groups Join Together To Fight For NCLB
Opting Out Of Highly Qualified Teachers
NCLB Implementation Roundup
Convenient Arguments: Clarence Page

Teachers & Teaching
University Of Chicago Calls Out Rest Of Higher Education Community
Louisiana Gives Teacher Mercedes Benz

Campaign 2008
Dems & Vouchers
More Kids Killed In Chicago Than Soldiers In Iraq

School Life
Dutch Kids Help Build Viking Ship Made Of Ice Cream Sticks
Bootylicious Teachers & Their Flip-Flops

Urban Ed
Charters Get Their Own Search Engine...iPhone Next.
Accidents: Yet Another Reason To Get Rid Of Summer Break
Cheating In The News

Media Watch
Merrow Team Wins Third Emmy Nomination
NY Times (and Balto Sun) Break Harry Potter Embargo
Best Of The Blogs
Now Blogging NCLB: The Hoff

Site News
Daily E-Mail Updates Now Available

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Twenty-something teachers are pissing off the medium-to-older set (of teachers) by wearing flip-flops and giving kids extra credit for spelling words like "bootylicious," according to this post from AFT John based on a Teacher Magazine posting (here). It's an all-out generational war, I tell you.

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Hawaii Gets No Break on School Test Scores HonoluluAdvertiser.com
Hawaii wanted to join seven states that are now evaluated under the so-called "growth model," which measures how much progress individual students make, rather than whether they hit arbitrary score levels in the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Schools hit penalty phase of NCLB Herald Tribune (Fla.)
While many educators are quick to point out the shortcomings of the law, Wakeland Elementary School Principal Chuck Fradley credits it for forcing his school to make necessary changes, even though his school also faces penalties.

Where's the support for NCLB? Tucson Citizen (opinion)
You might think that the Democrats running for president, who rarely miss an ethnic celebration and who claim to have the best interests of African-Americans and Latinos at heart, would rush to defend No Child Left Behind - especially since the candidates who were in Congress in 2001 voted for the legislation. You know better.

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Edwards touts diverse schools plan in Rust Belt cities AP
The plan calls for beefing up inner-city magnet schools to attract suburban kids, and providing extra money for schools in middle-class areas as a reward for enrolling more low-income students.

Ten schools join state plan to lengthen school days Associated Press
Ten more schools will lengthen their days next year, more than doubling the number of Massachusetts schools that are adding class time in a bid to improve academics.

At this Irvine school, that sound you hear is Chinese LA Times
Slater Stanley is only 14 but already has big plans. He intends to have mastered Chinese by the time he finishes high school, then wants to head to Beijing for college.

Kids addicted to caffeine? Biz Of Knowledge
How much caffeine is there in the drinks your kids slurp?

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Don't remember the hullabaloo surrounding Sam Dillon's story last year? Read here and here.

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Kudos to the good folks at Learning Matters, whose PBS series on a failed effort to bring in superstar principals to turn around struggling schools has just been nominated for an Emmy -- the third they've gotten. The competition -- ABC World News, CBS Evening News, Good Morning America and NBC Nightly News -- doesn't stand a chance. You can read about and watch the program here: Turnaround Specialist.

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Thanks to a friend for passing this one to me. They really know how to do things down there, I guess.

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Coleman backs changes to No Child Left Behind education law AP
As Congress debates whether to reauthorize President Bush's landmark No Child Left Behind education law, Sen. Norm Coleman and two other senators proposed legislation Wednesday that they say builds on that law but in a way that gives states more flexibility.

Senator Joe Lieberman: News Release Click below for full news release.

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Edwards Pushes Better Education for Poor EdWeek
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has called for measures to strengthen education for poor children and make schools more economically diverse in order to fight poverty.

DC Conference Centering On Vouchers NY Sun
Giving private school vouchers to Washington, D.C., schoolchildren has increased the funds available to the city's public system at large, but it has not triggered a competitive pushback of improvement in the public schools, researchers will argue at a conference in Washington today.

Abstinence Education Faces an Uncertain Future NYT
Opponents of abstinence education cite a study that found no sign that it delayed a teenager’s sexual debut.

School fined after kids taped undressing MSNBC
A jury has awarded $40,000 each to 32 students who were taped by security cameras in a Tennessee middle school’s locker rooms.

Christian Fantasy Genre Builds Niche Without Hogwarts, Muggles or Spells WPost
Could the next Harry Potter be a devout Christian?

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First, ditch that bookmark -- you never remember to check it anyway. Go to the first yellow box right under my picture and sign up for a weekly email summary of what's been on this site. At least that way you won't be entirely in the dark.

Want something more frequent? Go to the second yellow box and sign up there -- you'll get a daily report on whatever crap material that I've posted during the day -- just like the SmartBrief or DA Daily, only later in the day and smarter.

Want to know the second it happens? Click the little orange "Get RSS" box (pictured) that's a little farther down the right-hand side, and "subscribe" to this feed. There's no money involved, it just means that the little RSS gnomes will send new content from this blog to your email or RSS reader without you having to do a thing. (Sort of like a Google News Alert, for those of you who do those.)

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

You may or may not think it's significant that there's another new NCLB-related organization. Hard to keep up with how many there are these days. But this one includes a pretty diverse set of players including the Business Roundtable, the Chamber of Commerce, La Raza, NCEA, the Citizens' Commission, and the Ed Trust. And it's pretty staunchly in favor of keeping, if not strengthening, NCLB.

Of course, other folks who might help get something done -- CAP, Fordham, New America, CEP, etc. -- aren't signed on, either because they officially "don't do" advocacy or because they think it'd be more fun and/or better for kids if NCLB didn't get strengthened along the lines it was originally enacted. For them, it's all about bringing on the national standards, the increasingly Byzantine growth model ideas, the new programs, the carve-outs and the exceptions. Just getting NCLB done better doesn't really help them any. It's not their thing.

UPDATE: To give you a sense of where the dividing lines are, note that CAP (the Center on American Progress) signed onto last week's warning letter to the House, which I posted about earlier this week, but didn't sign onto this group.

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Forget the Challenge Index and all that nonsense about Advanced Placement Courses. So 90's. Now Forbes is out with its ranking of districts, based on their notions of who's got the most bang for the buck(Best And Worst School Districts For The Buck). According to Forbes, Marin County, California comes out number one. The others in the top five are Collin, Texas; Hamilton, Ind.; Norfolk, Mass.; and Montgomery, Md. Losers include Alexandria, VA. Others on the bottom of the list include Glynn, Ga.; Washington, D.C.; Ulster, N.Y.; and Beaufort, S.C. For all its obvious flaws, the Forbes story notes how difficult it is to obtain comparable data, and how many gimmicks and tricks districts use to make their numbers look better.

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NCLB Seen as Curbing Low, High Achievers' Gains EdWeek
"This is the irony of the `soft bigotry of low expectations,`” he added, quoting a line from President Bush. “Having lower standards is actually beneficial to low-advantage children."

College Board Tries to Police Use of ‘Advanced Placement’ Label NYT
To help protect its brand, the College Board is creating a list of classes that high schools are authorized to call AP and reviewing the syllabuses for classes.

Head Start Renewal AP via EdWeek
The bill is virtually unchanged from the version approved in February by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

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Not everyone's so sure they're going to like what House education committee chairman George Miller comes up with, according to this letter sent last week from left-leaning progressives who are concerned about Miller watering down the law too much.

What a contrast with the last time around, when Miller and the Ed Trust and others worked seamlessly on NCLB and rarely if ever had to resort to public letter-writing like this.

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Every year, Democratic politicians' opposition to vouchers gets narrower and narrower, even though there still aren't a ton of voucher programs around. In fact, one Democratic front-runner, Barack Obama, has not only voted for targeted vouchers (Katrina, etc.) but also indicated he'd support them in other situations. So maybe this is the year for a Dem or two to cross that big divide. Here, Joe Williams calls for a big school voucher proposal from John Edwards, who's proposing a housing voucher instead (Holy Moses).

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AFT John reminds us to read Congressional Quarterly a little more often, especially when it includes tidbits about the increasing unlikelihood of a summer bill introduction and markup for NCLB (Slouching towards 2009). Not enough July left, and not enough of a majority for either party to push something through.

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No Child's authors work on a revision Boston Globe
"Everything's up for review," said Miller , Democrat of California and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Limelight Has Eluded Fired D.C. Schools Chief Washington Post
It's been a tough month for former D.C. school superintendent Clifford B. Janey since his abrupt dismissal by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in a late-night telephone call. Via DA Daily.

Nipping Bias in the Bud LA Times
As soon as Violet Feldman laid eyes on her cousin's short haircut, she wanted one too. The 5-year-old begged her parents to trim her dark-brown locks just like his and once at the salon, she wanted to go shorter and shorter.

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Though it's starting off slowly, the week ahead could be busy:

EdWeek says that the Miller education bill could come out (see below).

AEI's got an event today: The Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) . Participants: Derek Neal, University of Chicago; Katherine Haley, Office of Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI); Charles Murray, AEI; and Henry Olsen, AEI.. Time and Location: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI. Diana.steinmeyer@aei.org for more information.

New America has a thing tomorrow: "Child Well-Being in America and Abroad: How Do American Children Fare in Comparison to Children in Other Countries?" Time and Location: 10:30 a.m.; NAF, 1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7th Floor, Washington. Liz Wu, 202.986.2700 ext. 315, wu@newamerica.net.

Michelle Rhee makes her Hill debut on Thursday: D.C. Public School System Reform (E&S). Subject: The Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on "Great Expectations: Assessments, Assurances, and Accountability in the Mayor's Proposal to Reform the District of Columbia's Public School System." Time and Location: 2:30 p.m.; 342 Dirksen SOB. Contact: 202.224.2627.

No word on what the EdSec is up to. She must be still recovering from all the Bastille Day celebrating over the weekend.

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Related post:
Is EdWeek Reaching On Obama?

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Law makes state oversee failing schools New Haven Register
It is far more specific than the federal No Child Left Behind law, which introduced nationwide testing goals and accountability measures.

NCLB-Renewal Ideas Circulate on Capitol Hill EdWeek
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. has signaled to freshmen in Congress that he’ll propose some major changes to the 5½-year-old NCLB Act when he releases his reauthorization bill, possibly in the coming weeks.

School Diversity Based on Income Segregates Some NYT
Recent experiments show how hard it can be to balance academic success and socioeconomic and racial diversity.

Intel, in Shift, Joins Project on Education
Intel said it would join the board of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, which seeks to build inexpensive computers for the developing world.

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The Big Picture
Where's Our Michael Moore?
Capturing The Current School Reform Moment ... Down To The "Granular" Level

On The Hill
Fresh Off The FritzWire
Burr & Gregg Deliver The First Volley
....Or They Could Introduce NCLB Reauthorization Language
The Week Ahead (July 9-13)

NCLB News
Burr & Gregg Deliver The First Volley
Addressing NCLB's "Reverse Lake Wobegon Syndrome"

Urban Education
Payzant Says He Didn't Know About Pilot Schools Screening Kids Either
Do AP Incentive Programs Skew The Challenge Index?
Expanding District Boundaries, Beefing Up The NCLB Transfer Provision

Teachers & Teaching
What Most Folks Don't "Get" About Schools
Now Cool: Librarians

Foundation Follies
Who's In Charge Of What At The Gates Foundation? No One Knows.
Inside The Gates Machine

Media Watch
Is Wikipedia Accurate & Neutral On Education Issues?
Who Decides What's Important -- Readers, Or Editors?

School Life
The Water Gun Wars
Consultants Vs. Real Live School Administrators, Part 5

Special New York City Pull-Out Section
Yet Another Thing For Chancellor Klein To Worry About
Watch Out, New York City Schools -- Here Comes Medina

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Appropriations: On Wednesday, July 11, the House Appropriations Committee completed mark-up on a $607 billion Labor-HHS-Education spending bill that will set funding levels for education, health and labor programs for FY 2008. The bill allocates $62.6 billion for the Education Department, an increase of $2.3 billion over current funding. Overall, the total bill is roughly $7 billion more than that approved for FY 2007. Go to: http://appropriations.house.gov. The measure next moves to the House floor for consideration. The Senate has yet to move on its version of the bill.

New Reports: Today, the Center on Education Policy released a report examining the kind of assistance that schools identified for improvement under NCLB receive and how effective district and state officials believe that assistance to be. Moving Beyond Identification: Assisting Schools in Improvement is posted on the Center's home page (www.cep-dc.org) under "What's New."

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Positive Trends Recorded in U.S. Data on Teenagers AP
Fewer high school students were having sex and more were using condoms in 2005, according to the latest government report on the well-being of the nation’s children. Via EdWeek.org.

Government Eyes Seat Belts for School Buses AP
The government is looking again at whether children are safer in seat belts when they ride the bus to school, months after a deadly crash in Alabama. Via District Administration.

U.S. education official touts charter schools Albany Press & Sun Bulletin
With a successful charter school's graduation ceremony as a backdrop Wednesday, President Bush's deputy education secretary said the administration is pushing to expand the number the publicly funded private institutions when a 5-year-old education accountability program is reauthorized this year.

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According to the attached press release, Republican Senators Gregg and Burr are today introducing a "comprehensive" NCLB reauthorization bill -- the first of will likely be several volleys from folks who want to push or promote something that's not quite the same as what the committee and leadership staff are up to.

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Sick of everyone putting in their two cents instead of just giving you the facts? Me, too. According to this Times Magazine story from earlier this month, we should all be turning to Wikipedia for information -- including breaking news -- since the collaborative website is all about maintaining a neutral point of view. Sound interesting? Well, not so fast. The articles all created by group effort, and are not necessarily complete or accurate even if they're neutral. Maybe that's why people like opinion -- better sifting. Here's the entry for Reading First. And for NCLB. Click "history" to see what changes have been made. Make a correction if you find something wrong.

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According to an internal email announcement someone sent me, Medina "began her career at The New York Times as an intern in education where working with Tamar Lewin she turned out a memorable series on how city schools were pushing students out so they wouldn't count as part of the dropout rate." Since then she's covered NY and CT state politics, as well as the Lieberman campaign, and more. "All of this was just the right preparation for covering the high-stakes drama of a school system of 1.1 million students where the political infighting can rival any legislature's and passions run high over the ideology of math teaching, kindergarten admissions, cell phones and contested territory as small schools proliferate and vie for space."

This is apparently a picture of Medina on the job. Here are some of her recent stories, some of which have already started appearing in the paper.

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Following up on the Boston Globe's story that Boston's famed pilot schools were screening students rather than taking all comers like everyone else (is supposed to). former Boston superintendent Tom Payzant (under whose leadership the pilots were started) said that he didn't know about the practice, either.

Writes Payzant: "Frankly, I was surprised that schools other than Quincy Upper and the Arts Academy had special requirements. Sometimes the Supt. is the last to know." Payzant said he'd tell the schools to cut it out, though perhaps allowing schools to require a parent visit upon acceptance so that they know what they're getting into. Payzant also says that he's criticized charters for not taking enough SPED and ELL, and that the pilots have done better with ELLs and were being "pushed" on SPED kids for several years. "I pushed them to address the special ed issue 4-5 years ago and insisted that they welcome students with disabilities. There has been a lot of progress on that front."

Adds current interim superintendent Mike Contompasis: "I do not believe that the pilots with the exception of Fenway continue to screen prior to the lottery process. I am informing the pilots again that these practices will cease effective in the coming year."

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House moves to lower interest on student loans AP
Legislation to lower interest rates on student loans and increase aid to poor people who want to go to college won House approval yesterday.

Potter Has Limited Effect on Reading Habits NYT
The truth about Harry Potter and reading is not quite a straightforward success story.

Teacher-Turned-Astronaut to Deliver Educational Payload EdWeek
Barbara R. Morgan and the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour will conduct a variety of educational activities on an 11 day mission.

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I managed to pull myself away from Burger King's "grow your own mustache" site (I'm 'stashing Obama) to skim this week's ed policy posts over at The Carnival Of Education: Week 127 and saw that there are posts on zero tolerance, harassment, student obesity, and the gaps between research and policy. Check it out.

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Dallas Morning News education columnist Josh Benton isn't the first to raise questions about Newsweek's High School Challenge Index (aka "Uncle Jay's List'), but the fact that two local Dallas high schools -- both in the same building -- got ranked #1 and #2 this year does give him an interesting perspective. In his column (here), Benton points out that at least some of the Dallas success is due to a local incentive program that pays kids and teachers for AP participation. In fact, Texas was the home of these AP incentive programs, which spread nationally and are now funded federally thanks in large part to my old boss, Jeff Bingaman, and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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Texas to End High-School Exit Exams NPR
The Texas legislature has voted to end one of the most controversial aspects of its school accountability system: exit-level exams that students must pass to get their high-school diplomas.

Locke High's weary teachers face a hard multiple-choice test LA Times
They're divided over whether to become a charter school.

School settles after student's mouth taped MSNBC.com
A school district agreed to pay $33,250 to settle a lawsuit by a former student who accused an elementary school teacher of wrapping tape around his head for talking too much.

Pittsburgh schools drop 'public' from name to boost image Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Public Schools will drop "public" from its name and adopt a new, standardized way of referring to its schools as part of a campaign to brighten and strengthen the district's image. Via EdNews.org.

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From today's Washington Examiner, via The Quick And The Ed:

Communications breakdown caused boxes of sporting goods, computers and other essential equipment to be left padlocked in a shuttered District of Columbia junior high school for almost an entire year while a neighboring school was starved for supplies, a city consultant told The Examiner.

From the June 21 edition of The Nation:

The [bus route] chaos was caused in large part by the financial consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, an outfit the department hired without competitive bidding at $16 million to find $200 million from the [New York City] department's budget to divert directly into the schools...The net savings for all this grief: $5 million, far less than what was originally estimated.

I'm not saying that district folks always get it right -- just that high-priced consultants are no guarantee of efficiency and performance either.

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While the Gates Foundation continues to influence education reform near and far (just this week strong-arming the LAUSD school board), no one really seems to have a complete picture of who's who and who does what in their education division these days.

So here's your chance to show off what you know, individually and as a group, by sharing who does what out there and in the states. Phillips? Shelton? Sanford? Bailey? Fleischauer et al at GMMB? Together, maybe we can piece it all together.

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I skim them so you don't have to..

Reading on the same page Joanne Jacobs
Congress hates the most successful part of No Child Left Behind, writes Charlotte Allen in a Weekly Standard story on Reading First.

It's All About The Kids! Eduwonk
The Washington Post editorial board lays out the real behind the scenes tension surrounding confirmation hearings for D.C. Mayor Fenty's picks to manage the school system: Two guys want to be mayor, but only one is.

First Amendment Pressures Mount for High School Journalism
Editors, high school journalists need your help. First Amendment freedoms are at stake.

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Though I usually find articles in The Nation tiresome and predictable even when I agree with them, I knew I was going to like LynNell Hancock's recent article on school reform in New York City when she started out making fun of the word "granular," which is currently being over-used in certain circles when it comes to describing detailed data.

But it's not just that...

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Public Schools Feed Multitudes in the Summer NYT
The New York City school system has become one of the nation’s largest summer soup kitchens.

Pilot Schools Setting More Hurdles Boston Globe
Most of Boston's experimental pilot high schools, held up as a national model and acclaimed for outperforming traditional public schools, have quietly created admissions hurdles that call into question whether they are stacking the deck with the most successful students.

More than half of teens forgo summer jobs USA Today
Perhaps the biggest reason teens are bypassing work is to spend more time studying, even during the summer: 37.6% of teens ages 16 to 19 were enrolled in school in July 2006, up from 36.5% a year earlier and more than three times the share enrolled two decades ago, according to the Labor Department.

High Schoolers Who Confronted Bush Tell Their Story Independent Media Institute
If the Libby commutation and the ongoing war in Iraq and well everything being perpetrated by our president and his goons has you in a bummer of a mood on this Fourth of July, than the video to your right should cure what ails you. Via EdNews.org.

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Not really that new or big, but more to come with Congress back in session...

Advocates for Students With Disabilities Balk at Proposed NCLB Changes EdWeek
Some fear high standards for such students could be sacrificed as states seek more flexibility in the law.

Nutrition education ineffective USA Today
The federal government will spend more than $1 billion this year on nutrition education but an Associated Press review of scientific studies examining 57 such programs found mostly failure.

Schools turn to private donors Detroit Free Press
Once limited to colleges and private schools, reliance on private donations has become a $31.5 billion part of the public K-12 experience, complete with gala fund-raisers and old-fashioned merchandise peddling.

School backers revisit role Seattle Times
The influential Seattle group Alliance for Education is reshaping itself and examining questions about control of the money it raises for schools.

School Graffiti Nets 4-Month Suspension AP
Writing "I love Alex" on a school gymnasium wall brought a 12-year-old the same punishment as if she had made terrorist threats.

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Bush Administration
Aspen-Bound EdSec
Briggs Nominated & Confirmed For USDE Post
Over-Reacting On Deseg Implications?

Campaign 2008
Obama Hands NEA Endorsement To Clinton
Bad Republican Advice On NCLB Strategy
Remembering John Kerry
Biden Takes The Lead
No Clear Way To Pay For Initiatives, Says FactCheck

NCLB News
Growth Models Across America -- And More Pilots To Come
Summer School For The Princeton Review
Spying On The NEA Convention

Foundation Follies
Looking Back At The Year That Was: The Fordham Version
Job Of The Week: The Andy Sector Wants You!

Media Watch
Does "The Pulse" Need CPR?
EdWeek's Online Extravaganza

School Life
This Is How We Roll [Our Backpacks]
"YouTube For Nerds"
Short "Vay-Kay" For St. Louis Area Students

Site News
Racism Watch, Part 2

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"I was talking to one of the young teachers there about the challenges they faced, and she mentioned what she called the “These Kids Syndrome” - the willingness of society to find a million excuses for why “these kids” can’t learn," says Obama according to his prepared remarks (Remarks of Senator Obama at NEA). "It’s the idea that “these kids come from tough backgrounds” or that “these kids are too far behind.” And after awhile, “these kids” become somebody else’s problem.Then she said to me, “When I hear that term, it drives me nuts. They’re not ‘these kids.’ They’re our kids."

As panderers go, Obama's not nearly the whiz that some of the others are. That was clear from his performance on Thursday with Tavis Smiley et al. And he probably realizes that Clinton's way ahead when it comes to the NEA endorsement.

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Charismatic pol gets ovation, but GOPer Huckabee a hit, too Philadelphia Daily News
The rock star of Democratic presidential candidates, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, made his appearance yesterday before 9,000 delegates at the National Education Association convention, as did a long-winded local favorite, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

Vying to be teachers' pet Philadelphia Inquirer
Eight presidential candidates came to Phila. to court the National Education Association. They said largely what teachers wanted to hear.

Schools Move Toward Following Students’ Yearly Progress on Tests NYT
Schools are looking to use an increasingly popular way to analyzing test scores, which tracks the progress of students as they move from grade to grade.

NASA's First 'Educator Astronaut' Scheduled to Fly NPR
After two decades of waiting for her chance to go into space, schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan is scheduled to fly on the next shuttle mission.

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Summer vay-k* is getting shorter and shorter for some St. Louis area students, according to this story (For St. Louis, School Begins in the Middle of August): "This week, fireworks and hotdogs. Next week, shopping for school supplies....Classes start as soon as Aug. 13 in some local schools...Students are predictably aghast." Via DA Daily.

*Also spelled like it's pronounced: vay-kay.

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Many teachers dubious of merit pay Boston Globe
Merit pay tied to student test scores seems all the rage in some educational [and journalistic] circles, but many teachers think it's an idea whose time hasn't come.

In School Takeover, Newark Union Tries to Prove It’s Part of the Solution NYT
The powerful Newark Teachers Union is telling as many as a dozen teachers at the troubled Newton Street School that they have to leave because they do not fit in with a plan to improve the school.

U.S. OKs Pilot ‘Growth Models’ for Last 2 States EdWeek
Arizona and Alaska will participate in the pilot project to measure student progress.

Ruling empowers parents of special-ed students Houston Chronicle
A recent Supreme Court ruling strengthens the rights of parents with special-needs children, saying they can fight their own cases — without high-priced lawyers or fear of getting into trouble for practicing law without a license.

Advanced Displacement Daily Harold (Chicago Reader)
What an AP saw at an AP test.

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Folks in Chicago are ripping me a new one for stereotyping Spanish speakers and spreading degrading notions with that post about "Ask A Mexican!" and a follow-up one I did just to fan the flames of immigration reform frustration. Check it out here and here.

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Additional waivers/pilots to look for in the coming months while reauthorization languishes include: that "just missed" AYP designation that she talked about last week in USA Today, a blanket waiver of some kind on HQT (statutorily, it's time to declare 40-plus states out of compliance and start doing compliance agreements).

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The EIA takes one for the team and covers the NEA convention in Philly this week -- now featuring video highlights:

Check out his moment-by-moment coverage here. It's sure to be entertaining -- even if you're already there.

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If anyone asks you about The Futures Channel, I suppose you could tell them it's "YouTube for nerds" as some have described it -- video, lots of it, concerning the sciences, technology, engineering and allied fields.

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Charter contract believed to be the first tying salaries to performance. Philadelphia Inquirer
Three years after organizing, teachers at Camden's first charter school have settled their first contract: a three-year pact with performance incentives.

Democrats: No Child Law Needs Overhaul AP
They all voted for it, but that was then. Democratic presidential candidates came out swinging Monday, not at each other but at the No Child Left Behind law. They spoke at the annual convention of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union. [Word is that HRC has the endorsement locked up.]

PLUS: 'T' is for teachers - and 'terrorists' Philadelphia Daily News via EdNews.org

The 'new' NEA: Reading gets bigger CNN.com
An all-night reading at a local Krispy Kreme of American author John Steinbeck's 1939 classic "The Grapes of Wrath" -- literature amid chocolate iced glazed crullers -- may not rival an afternoon at your local library for quiet. [The 'other' NEA]

From Court, Houston Judge Presides over Class NPR
Judge William Yeoman is seeing a younger crop of defendants in his courtroom: students who act out in class.

School official sues Fox over report parody story in Maine Boston Globe
Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque is seeking $75,000 in federal court in Portland to deter what his attorney Bernard J. Kubetz characterized as irresponsible reporting by Fox News Channel. Via EdNews.org.

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...in answering the AFT's presidential questionnaire (here).

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'No Child' in the Crosshairs Washington Post (editorial)
Act. The federal law is not perfect, but its architecture of But that's the approach being advocated by those who find fault with the No Child Left Behind...

Newer Presidents See Role of Unions Changing, Study Finds EdWeek
The changes are attributed to “new realities” in public education that threaten the future of both teachers’ unions and public schools.

Study: Black Students Lag in Success on AP Tests Boston Globe
Participation in the Advanced Placement program has more than doubled in 10 years, but this surge in college-preparatory testing has not reached most black students, according to an analysis of 2006 exam results in 30 school systems with 5,000 or more black high school students.

Fewer schools bear hero names Salt Lake Tribune
In Florida, five schools are named after George Washington although 11 honor manatees, also known as sea cows.

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Maybe those legal affairs correspondents went a little overboard about the deseg case last week, says Jeff Rosen in the Sunday NY Times: Can a Law Change a Society?

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NCLB News
Over-Reaching On NCLB Predictions At The Washington Post
Reauthorization? We Don't Need No Stinking Reauthorization.

Urban Education
CCCR: Deseg Not Outlawed
Cristo Rey Schools Take Over The World

Teachers & Teaching
America's Most Wanted: Teachers
TAP For TIF: More On Merit Pay Models
"Help Wanted - Chinese Teachers Need to Meet New Craze"

Students
Students Explain Torture Letter Delivered To President Bush
High School Student Takes On Fiery Newscaster Over Sex Ed Talk

Media Watch
Two Good "Time-Lapse" Education Stories
Is Student Violence Necessarily School Violence?
Online Bullying Goes Big Time, Depending How You Define It

The Education Business
Here Come Consulting Firms (Again)
Gates Foundation Advocate Over-Involved In Texas Contracts, Report Says
Raking In The Online High School Sports Dollars

Foundation Follies
Fordham For, Then Against Muslim Charter Schools
Scandalous Mead Video Surfaces On The Internet

School Life
¡Ask a Mexican!
Roller Shoes: Lawn Darts Of The New Millennium
Worst Security Guard Ever

Site News
Blogging...On Facebook

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