Urban Education: Lessons From New Orleans
Douglas N. Harris is the director of the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans and a Professor of Economics and the University Endowed Chair in Public Education at Tulane University. He is on twitter at @Era_NOLA. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: urban education.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Problems With the Libertarian Free-Market View of School Reform
I was on a panel on Friday at the libertarian Cato Institute that reminded me of some old problems with school reform debates--and brought up some new ones.
Education
Opinion
Should Louisiana Eliminate Its Voucher Program?
Of all education policies debates, few draw stronger opinions than school vouchers. The issue has almost become a litmus test for Democrats and Republicans. Given the strong passions and interests, I have long argued that this was a topic where research was unlikely to really influence the debate. Maybe I was wrong.
Education
Opinion
Addressing Criticism of New Orleans Progress
My aim with this blog, and really with all the work I do, is to create a vigorous and research-informed debate about the many challenges we face in trying to create an educational system that serves all children well. I believe in the battle of ideas and that we make more progress when critics and supporters of various policies make the strongest cases possible.
Education
Opinion
Hillary Clinton, the Future of Charter Schools, and the Presidency
This year brings the election of the 45th president of the United States. I'll occasionally touch on this and there is no better place to start than with Secretary Clinton who has been talking more about K-12 than just about any candidate not named Jeb Bush. That's not surprising for a candidate who has already been endorsed by both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA). However, in the process, Clinton has dug up some political landmines on the topic of charter schools.
School & District Management
Opinion
Public, Charter, and Private Schools Through the Eyes of New Orleans' Parents
Joshua Cowen of Michigan State University and Jane Arnold Lincove of Tulane University are guest bloggers today and write about their recent ERA-New Orleans' report on school choice.
Education
Opinion
What We Don't Know About Regulation and Vouchers
The debate on Louisiana vouchers and the Over-Regulation Theory continues . . .
Education
Opinion
The First Negative Effects of Vouchers and the Predictable Misinterpretation
An NBER Working Paper made waves this week because it found large negative effects. It is the first study to find large negative effects of vouchers on achievement. It's well done. I believe it.
The question is, why?
Education
Opinion
NCLB 3.0 Could Improve the Use of Value-Added and Other Measures
In my prior post, I argued that the bill to re-authorize ESEA mostly reinforced the principles of NCLB 1.0 and their implications for practice. Here, I am going to focus on a much narrower issue that I have written a lot about in the past: value-added measures.
Education
Opinion
NCLB Isn't Going Anywhere
With a large majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voting for substantial changes in the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), it seems the role of the federal government in the regulation of public schools will be significantly reduced. But does ESEA's proposed new name, the Every Student Succeeds Act, really spell the end of the substance of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)? And what does this mean for urban school reform?
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
The Reform Debate, Part III: Charter and Voucher Rules and Regulation
Three weeks ago, I started a series on arguments for and against regulations on charter and voucher schools. Then, right on cue, came Eva Moskowitz and the Success Academy controversy and Senator Clinton's subsequent claim that "most charter schools, they don't take the hardest-to-teach kids, or, if they do, they don't keep them."
Education
Opinion
The Reform Debate, Part II: The Difference Between Charter and Voucher Schools
There seem to be significant disagreements within the reform family on the regulation question. Here, I'm going to argue that the effects of regulation probably differ for charter and vouchers.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
The Reform Debate: Charters vs. Vouchers and the Role of Regulation
In the school reform family, the holiday conversations this year seem likely to focus on the level of regulation in the various reform models. This has important implications for charter schools and vouchers as reform strategies.
School & District Management
Opinion
NOLA Argument #10: Does Playing With the Numbers Change the Outcome?
One of the most common critiques of the New Orleans success story is that the state government is manipulating data to make the reforms look better than they are. As with most criticisms, this one is half right.
School & District Management
Opinion
NOLA Argument #11: The False Choice and the Role of Leadership, Part II
I have addressed the argument that today's discussions about portfolio reforms tend to present a false choice between traditional and reform/portfolio districts. Another reason it's partly a false choice is that the system isn't all that matters.