Beyond Superman: Research
Research
‘Mass Customized Learning’: The key to education reform?
Would you still drive a car if it was the Ford Model T? No? Even if the paint was new and it had air conditioning? The answer would…
Nielsen: Tablets replacing TV, teachers and babysitters
Need a way to keep your kids quiet while traveling, entertained at a restaurant or just want to teach them some facts? More and more parents are letting…
Scientist: Education can solve religion-science conflicts
A perceived conflict between science and religion has led Americans to rank nearly last among industrialized countries in understanding evolution, educators told a major science conference this weekend, the…
Obese American children outgrowing school desks
Schools across the country are pioneering big changes in the classroom--to accomodate the 17 percent of U.S. children who are overweight or obese, according to data from the…
Author: Only community can save public education
Think of it this way: Would you support a presidential candidate you knew nothing about? What does this candidate think about taxes? How is this candidate helping those…
New report IDs problems with international school rankings
A new report that tackles a number of hot-button education issues argues that U.S. academic performance might not be as poor as originally thought when compared to other…
$5 billion program would focus on teacher quality
The Obama administration is hoping that competition combined with cash will encourage states and school districts to improve the nation's teaching corps.…
Seven misconceptions about how students learn
Will Rogers once said, “It isn’t what people don’t know that hurts them. It’s what they do know that just ain’t so.” That’s the introduction to a list…
Education gap grows between rich and poor, studies say
Education historically was considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults. But a body of…
Opinion: The loss of solitude in schools
In education discussions, we hear about the need for more concrete standards, or for less testing, or for more testing, or for richer curriculum, or for better facilities,…
Florida offers look at problems with education law
By almost any measure, Norma Butler Bossard Elementary School is a top performing school in Miami. Yet when it comes to the federal No Child Left Behind law,…
Michigan gov. ties school cash to scores
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is tying lots of strings to the extra cash he's offering public schools, universities and communities in next year's budget.…
A first-hand look inside a flipped classroom
There have been many school reform trends over the past few years: student response systems, video games for math, mobile phones for learning—but none have completely transformed the…
Official: 10 states get NCLB waivers
President Barack Obama on Feb. 9 will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that…
The best and worst states for science education
"Don't know much about science" may be a good description of many students in U.S. public schools, at least if you're swayed by a new report issued by…
Tennessee teacher evaluation systems have rough road ahead
Rebecca Sellers, an eighth-grade English teacher at the Lester Pre-K-8 school in Memphis, looked wary as she walked into the teachers' lounge on a Monday afternoon last fall,…
Watch: Teachers union calls CPS unused vacation, sick days payout report ‘unfair’
The Chicago Teachers Union on Friday stated that a report finding that Chicago Public Schools, since 2006, paid out $265 million to ex-employees due to their unused vacation…
Opinion: The difference between good schools and effective schools
I just found a book review I wrote for The Elementary School Journal in 1986. The book I reviewed was McDonogh 15: Becoming a School by Lucianne Bond…
Pictures on lunch trays help students pick and eat their vegetables
Getting young children to eat their servings of fruits and veggies, particularly in school, has been a long and hard struggle for parents, schools and lawmakers over the…
Value-added teacher evaluation goes on trial—literally
I’ve taken the liberty of dreaming up the court transcript ahead of time (using Q for the defense attorney’s questions and A for the plaintiff’s answers). Enjoy this…
New report examines international ed-tech policies
A new report comparing educational technology use of K-12 students in 21 countries found that, despite global economic uncertainty, many countries are still investing in technology to improve…
Florida ‘Trigger bills’ ready to start power battle with educators
I'm a mom. I'm also a teacher. I have taught thousands of kids over the last 20 years of my career. When I walk into a school or…
Ravitch: Does Obama understand Race to the Top?
I don't know about you, but I am growing convinced that President Barack Obama doesn't know what Race to the Top is, says education historian Diane Ravitch for…
Viewpoint: The education competition myth
It's not whether competition works or whether it doesn't work; the question is whether it can exist at all. Just like capitalism is predicated on the free…
ED: States applying for NCLB waivers should do more to reach students
In its initial review of No Child Left Behind waiver requests, the U.S. Education Department highlighted a similar weakness in nearly every application: States did not do enough…