We recently asked readers: “If you could name only one, what school or district practice would you like to see replicated or implemented nationally, and why?” Here are…
The Wilson Quarterly, published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the District, sounds like something you have to read for homework and find excuses not…
Why are teachers unions afraid or performance evaluations and merit based pay? None of the arguments offered in opposition commercial and literature holds water and many of the…
It is an almost universal tribute offered about Michelle Rhee’s 3 1/2 -year tenure of the Washington D.C. school district—that if she accomplished one thing, it was to…
I traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., for the first time in my life last May. It was exciting to visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington…
As Congress wrestles with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), they have a chance to address the issue of teacher quality, once again, says…
“Apollo 20” is a Houston pilot program in which a group of low-performing regular public schools are implementing the so-called “no excuses” education model common among high-profile charter…
We recently asked readers: “If there was one policy/rule that you'd like to have waived for your school/district/state, what would it be and why?” Here are our readers'…
I recently returned from a trip to Europe. In Berlin, I spoke at an international education research conference. Researchers from Europe, Asia, and Latin America were very alarmed…
We recently asked readers: “If you could choose a topic to be the focus of a movie/documentary about education, what would it be and why?” Here are the…
How do you bring focus to students in a system where their education is complicated by budget shortfalls, labor disputes and violent crime in their surrounding neighborhoods? Asks…
Every morning at PS 148 in East Elmhurst, Queens, teacher Monique Bertolotti greets her 27 third graders, who speak English as a second language, with a reading exercise,…
It is settled wisdom among Funderpundits and those to whom they give their education grants that the most important variable in student academic achievement is teacher quality, says…
New Jersey’s public schools are often cited for academic achievement, outperforming most other states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and ranking among top nations on international…
Does the use of textbooks lead to better student achievement? Somebody should do the research. Schools nationwide are spending billions of dollars each year on textbooks, with no…
Anybody paying attention to modern school reform will not be surprised to learn that new SAT results show scores in reading, writing and math are down compared with…
What are we to make of articles (here and here) extolling IMPACT, Washington D.C.’s fledging teacher evaluation system, for how many “ineffective” teachers have been identified and fired,…
Marc Prensky eloquently coined the metaphor of the “digital immigrant” to define an adult who has “immigrated” into the use of technology. This is opposed to a “digital…