Opinion: Algebra isn’t necessary and STEM is overrated
Whenever I meet anyone who wants to talk about education, I immediately ask them to tell me the quadratic equation. Almost no one ever can. (Even the former…
School Reform Opinion
Three ed reforms parents should worry about most
As summer comes to a close, students are preparing to go back to school. I find that most of them enjoy returning. Certainly, our daughters did, said Carol…
Opinion: Eight problems with Common Core Standards
E.D. Hirsch, Jr.’s book, “Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know,” was published March 1, 1987. So it was probably in March of that year when, sitting…
Ten things teachers, students should expect this year
What do most public teachers and students across the nation have to look forward to as they head back for the 2012-13 school year? Asks Boston educator Larry…
Has Teach for America betrayed its mission?
When Wendy Kopp, just out of Princeton, founded Teach for America in 1989, she dreamed of recruiting 500 elite college graduates to teach the nation's neediest children. "My…
Back to school – and new common standards?
Democracy is like herding cats – and so is education reform. As America’s public schools consider new common standards in subjects such as math and language arts, it’s…
A new way to evaluate teachers — by teachers
Teacher education has been under siege in the last few years, the first line of attack in the growing criticism and more aggressive regulation of higher education, says…
Eli Broad: The world is moving forward, but American education is stagnant
I am old enough to remember when America's K-12 public schools were the best in the world, says Eli Broad for Takepart.com.
How to fix our ‘mediocre to awful’ science standards
Americans have grown accustomed to bad news about student performance in math and science. On a 2009 study administered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 15-year-olds…
Three core values of science, engineering and how ed reform contradicts them
President Obama and countless reports all say that improving science and engineering literacy and ensuring a next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers are vital to our future,…
Why teachers quit — and why we can’t fire our way to excellence
In the last few weeks, two major reports on teacher turnover and retention have been released. One was rolled out with extensive media coverage, and has been the…
Extending the school year for everybody a ‘really bad idea’
July 9 was the first day of school for 26,000 students in North Carolina's Wake County Schools on a year-round calendar. But year-round schools, which were once considered…
Principals: Our struggle to be heard on reform
Several weeks ago, on Meet the Press, Michelle Rhee unveiled her new ad, designed to hammer away at how bad she believes American schools to be. The ad…
10 most inaccurate school reform axioms
Dov Rosenberg lists what he considers the 10 most inaccurate and damaging statements that some school reformers toss around, the Washington Post reports.
Opinion: Can school performance be measured fairly?
More than half the states have now been excused from important conditions of the No Child Left Behind education law, the New York Times reports.
Is a charter school chain called Rocketship ready to soar across America?
Inside a prefabricated beige building hard by the freight tracks, John Danner thinks he has solved one of the nation’s most vexing problems, the Washington Post reports.
Watch: Teen author discusses problems with America’s schools
Fox Business interviewed 17-year-old Nikhil Goyal to get the teen author’s thoughts on how to go about reforming the nation’s school system, the Huffington Post reports.
Opinion: America Has Too Many Teachers
President Obama said last month that America can educate its way to prosperity if Congress sends money to states to prevent public school layoffs and "rehire even more…
Merit pay and ‘loss aversion’
Uh oh, educators, hold onto your hats! It appears that a new catchphrase is coming to school reform, and it's called "loss aversion," explains Larry Ferlazzo, a high-school…
The rat race of childhood: Why we need to balance students’ lives
In Aspen, Colorado each year, intellectual leaders from around the world meet for the Aspen Ideas Festival, presented by the Aspen Institute and the Atlantic. This year’s most…
Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’
I thought I’d heard enough about the Texas Republican Party’s platform that rejects the teaching of critical thinking skills until I heard Stephen Colbert’s take on it, says…
Standardized tests of tomorrow behind schedule, according to insider survey
When asked about the problems associated with standardized testing -- cheating, overtesting, blunt measures of student achievement -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan often points to a…
Education’s pendulum: Thinkers or test takers?
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Readers: Five ways to motivate students
We recently highlighted a report from the Center on Education Policy that looked at how schools can motivate students. Now, here are some of the best ideas from…
Ravitch: Pennsylvania’s cyber-school expansion ‘unbelievable’
Pennsylvania just approved four new cyber-charter schools, bringing the number of online charter schools in the state to 17, writes noted education historian Diane Ravitch on her blog—and…
Column: Why our kids hate math
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Why the Gates Foundation is so puzzling
When one foundation has amassed over $30 billion, it has the financial power to shape the policies of government to its liking, says Diane Ravitch, a research professor…
Is ‘filling the pail’ any way to train teachers?
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” I keep this quote on my desk, says Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South…
How GERM is infecting schools around the world
Ten years ago — against all odds — Finland was ranked as the world’s top education nation. It was strange because in Finland education is seen as a…
One district’s tough road toward equity for all kids
“Unless our children begin to learn together there is little hope that our people will ever learn to live together,” said Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Opinion: Confusing access to information with becoming educated
Claims about the power of new electronic devices to “revolutionize” schooling are a dime a dozen. Yet, if they are nearly worthless, why have smart people said them…
Teachers respond to Mitt Romney on class size
Does a smaller classroom really translate to a better education for public school students? In late May, Mitt Romney said fewer students aren't really the key, citing research…
Column: It’s time to blow up the current grade-level structure
I want to blow up K-12 education! Not the public school system, just the grade-level structure that has defined how our schools are organized since the 19th century.…
Readers: Six ways to rate a high school’s quality
TIME magazine, U.S. News, and other publications have begun to release their "best" school rankings for 2012. Many of these rankings rely on two key factors in particular:…
It’s time to blow up the current grade-level structure
I want to blow up K-12 education! Not the public school system, just the grade level structure that has regulated how our schools are organized since the 19th…
How to have more teachers ‘clamoring’ for low-performing schools
As Obama's top school official came to a city turnaround school Tuesday, he popped a question: How do we get more Tamara Raifords "clamoring" to teach in low-performing…
Why teacher merit pay can’t work today–and what can be done about this
When asked why it’s so hard to pay public employees based on their merit, you often hear a number of answers. Some point to union resistance, while others…
Mitt Romney’s plan to federalize education reform
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The bait-and-switch tactic driving Georgia’s education debate
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Elaine Wynn: Take holistic approach to curbing dropouts
About 75 percent of high school students in the United States graduate on time, but those who never get a diploma often earn less, resulting in lost economic…