John Thompson: Let's Look Before Leaping to Ban Suspensions
Perhaps this is naïve, but isn't it time to stop issuing one risky mandate after another on schools that are already overburdened? Read Full Post >
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June 17, 2013
June 03, 2013
Lesson for Our Leaders: The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Educators have been on the defensive for so long that many s have forgotten that the best defense is a good offense. Read Full Post >
May 29, 2013
Michelle Newsum: Tracking Our Way to Wider Achievement Gaps
Under the fear created by NCLB/RTTT, large scale ability group tracking has made its way back into schools. Because tracking is commonly considered odious, and the research does not support it, no one calls it that. It is now given cuter or more palatable names like 'Walk to Read' or 'Intervention Time' even 'Flexible Grouping.' (Although some schools have flexible grouping and intervention time that takes place in classrooms and is quite lovely.) Read Full Post >
May 23, 2013
Chicago: Time to End the Billionaires' Experiments With Mayoral Control?
Bill Gates suggested that in time teachers and voters would come along to see the benefits of the experiments the billionaire reformers want to do in our schools. That was four years ago - and the experiments have run their course. A research paper by Elaine Weiss and Don Wong took a close look at the results in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago, exactly the three cities touted by Gates as the petri dishes for his market-driven experiments. Read Full Post >
May 15, 2013
Monty Neill: Building Effective Campaigns for Testing Reform
Across the country, many local school boards, superintendents and principals have been speaking out against excessive testing. Parents, teachers, students and community groups should work with them to reduce the number of tests and any stakes attached to them. Those who still support the status quo need to be educated and, if necessary, pressured. In cities with appointed school boards, political pressure often will need to work through other avenues. Read Full Post >
May 13, 2013
Monty Neill: Building a Successful Test Reform Movement
Over the past few months, I've been involved in dialogues and public meetings aimed at furthering the testing reform movement. Our conversations focused on how to win key goals: less testing, lower stakes, and better assessment practices. In this post, I focus on basic goals and strategy for launching a campaign. In subsequent posts, I will discuss the importance of pushing for high-quality assessments, and then propose tactics to educate the public, develop strong coalitions, and persuade policymakers. Read Full Post >
May 10, 2013
John Thompson: An Improbable Tale of Successful Reform
Kirp then dissects the dramatic turnaround of the entire school system of Union City, New Jersey, and he shows how we can build great schools on the strengths of our democratic culture. Its answer did not come from technocrats from the outside, but from a local culture of "abrazos" or caring. Rather than firing our way to the top, Kirp shows that school improvement must come from trusting relationships. The secret sauce of Union City's success is "respeto," or respect. Read Full Post >
May 04, 2013
Rebirth: New Orleans -- Documentary Poses a Moral Dilemma
this highlights for me, the moral dimension that Merrow ignores, when, at the end of the film, he proclaims this experiment a success. How can we accept that a third of the schools in New Orleans have been consigned to the status of dumping grounds for the other two thirds? How can we celebrate the creation of a system that allows schools to wall themselves off from students who are the most damaged by poverty and violence - and relegates those students to schools that cannot possibly succeed in this competitive scheme? Read Full Post >
May 03, 2013
Steve Cohen: From Closing the Achievement Gap to Closing the Opportunity Gap
The kids who come to school with less get less from school. Closing the achievement gap with high-stakes, test-centric teaching combined with low resources, few opportunities and a lack of support has failed. The best way out is to close the mushrooming opportunity gap, create more equitable opportunities and gauge how well states and districts are doing to create those opportunities. Achievement follows from opportunities to learn. Read Full Post >
April 24, 2013
John Thompson: Education Reform Party is Over -- What a Mess!
Guest post by John Thompson. Back when "Dandy Don" Meredith was host of Monday Night Football, when the game was all over but the shouting, he would break into song. We need a 21st century way of saying the obvious. Test-driven school "reform" failed. To borrow a phrase regarding "closing time,"... Read Full Post >
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