It is astonishing to realize the extent to which education debates are now framed and dominated by economists, not by educators or sociologists or cognitive psychologists or anyone else who actually spends time in classrooms. Read Full Post >
Somewhat ironically, the success of Chinese students on recent international tests has been met with a mixture of embarrassment and soul-searching back home, according to a Los Angeles Times story. Read Full Post >
The U.S. is not exactly a world leader in producing top-tier performers in math and science. Read Full Post >
Mixed into the optimistic visions of the folks working on new assessments for the common standards are some more-skeptical strains. One recent example I've come across: a prediction from George Wood, the executive director of the Forum for Education and Democracy, that the new tests won't prove, in ... Read Full Post >
[Correction: This blog post should have said that the NAEP math items examined in the Brookings Institution study were, on average, two to three years below the 8th grade math recommended by the common-core standards. The algebra items were at about the 6th grade level. The items from the "numbers" ... Read Full Post >
New guidance from the Department of Education warns states not to wander too far from their Race to the Top plans. Read Full Post >
The federal government intends to provide grants for the development of English-language-proficiency assessments that are aligned with the national common core standards. Read Full Post >
No serious discussion can take place among people who hold so many different pictures of both current and past realities and have no patience for digging further. Read Full Post >
So long as we continue to avert our gaze from the festering problems bred by deep poverty and racial isolation, it seems unlikely that any school reform agenda can produce the transformation that our society seeks. Read Full Post >
In an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan highlights several areas where Democrat and Republican lawmakers should be able to agree when it comes to revamping the No Child Left Behind Act. Read Full Post >
