Ravitch: Why college-for-everybody is a sham
The corporate reformers like to say that everyone must go to college if they want to have good jobs in the future, says education historian Diane Ravitch for…
School Reform Opinion
Why we’re getting the homework question wrong
Hayley Eaton was always an academic achiever. Like many American teens, college was uppermost in her mind, as well as that of her parents and guidance counselors. She…
Teacher on flawed tests: ‘We can ill-afford to be silent while our very jobs are at stake’
I received the following email from a New York State math teacher, says Valerie Strauss, columnist for the Washington Post.
Striking new tone, Chris Christie says education reform is led by GOP
Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, said Thursday that Republican politicians are leading the way for better educational opportunities for poor and minority children through voucher…
NY principals: A ‘wrecking ball’ of reform aimed at schools
This is an open letter that a group of New York principals sent this week to the New York State Board of Regents about school reform and the…
‘Dear President Obama … We can’t test this country into excellence’
Speaking during her organization’s 72nd annual conference, Mary Broderick, outgoing president of the National School Boards Association, described a letter she wrote to President Obama urging him to…
What the U.S. can’t learn from Finland about ed reform
As the United States is looking to reform its public school system, education experts have increasingly looked at other countries for examples on what works and what won’t,…
How corporations can really support U.S. public education
Common-sense recommendations are fine, but if U.S. corporations really want to support public education, there's a better way.
What teachers know vs. what education policymakers do
We heard a lot last month about the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher. It showed that teachers across the nation are demoralized and that their job satisfaction…
Online learning: Disruptive innovation in progress
As online learning has grown rapidly in K-12 education, news stories have captured several angles about the phenomenon. But the news coverage has largely failed to capture two…
Readers: Financial literacy is a school’s responsibility
In a time where budget cuts are the norm, student loan debt has reached an all-time high, and the economy shows slow improvement, a recent report reveals that…
Parents: Publicly releasing teacher ratings will improve performance
While teachers and most education reformers remain highly uncomfortable with having test-based teacher evaluations aired in public, one survey suggests parents take a different view, the Huffington Post…
These core beliefs are critical to the success of U.S. public schools
AASA believes that public education is the cornerstone of democracy and a civil right. As such, we will aggressively defend against all actions that undermine public education, such…
Opinion: Who wins when educators cheat?
This week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released results of an investigation of standardized test scores in school districts across the nation, says Tavia Fuller Armstrong for Yahoo! News.
Readers: Parents not experienced enough to run failing schools
It must be exasperating to be a parent whose child is in a "failing" school, with nowhere else to go. But should parents be allowed to take over…
Flipped learning: A response to five common criticisms
Flipped learning has created quite a stir. Some argue that this teaching method will completely transform education, while others say it is simply an opportunity for boring lectures…
Bribing students: Another ‘magical solution’ that doesn’t work
The Goethe poem “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” made into the classic Disney film “Fantasia,” tells the story of an apprentice who is tired of doing the hard work of…
What Florida is doing to its public schools
Horace Mann called public education the “great equalizer.” Quite simply, he believed that without a strong system of public schools in this country, the elite would get an…
Why releasing teacher ‘rankings’ is a bad idea
New York City on Feb. 24 became the latest municipality to release the “value-added” rankings of thousands of public school teachers. Here’s why the city’s move is seriously…
What public school administrators want from policy makers
We have little hope that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be reauthorized prior to the elections. And that’s a shame, because there is substantial agreement between…
Viewpoint: Tests don’t measure teachers
This article is no longer available.
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…
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…
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 flow…
Column: It’s time to strengthen the P-16 continuum
If we are to realize President Obama’s goal of leading the world in the percentage of citizens who are college graduates, we will need to break down the…
Opinion: Require kids to stay in school? Not so fast….
Anytime you hear government officials mandating new behaviors to a broad swath of the population, that mandate is likely to run afoul of the First Amendment, says Sam…
Watch: Bishop slams public schools: Hitler and Mussolini ‘Would love our system’
Religious leaders in Philadelphia are frustrated with the battle over school choice, to the extent that Harrisburg Bishop Joseph McFadden says fascist leaders Hitler and Mussolini "would love"…
Rothstein: The facts that school reformers ignore
Education “reformers” have a common playbook, says Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, for the Washington Post.
Opinion: Are bonuses the key to motivating teachers?
A December 2011 article in the New York Times highlighted teachers in Washington, D.C. who were rewarded with large cash bonuses and significant pay raises, says Todd Pheifer…
Opinion: Startlingly sensible achievement gap fix
You cannot understand modern education policy without a grasp of the achievement gap, says Jay Mathews, columnist for the Washington Post.
Debate: Do schools need a longer school day?
A policy brief released last month concluded that contrary to popular perception, most U.S. public schools require at least as much or even more instructional time for students…
Experts share their ed-tech predictions for the new year
We recently asked a handful of education and ed-tech experts for their thoughts on what the future holds for 2012—and beyond. Here's what these experts had to say.
U.S. education is still the best in the world—but here’s what we can learn from others
Defending public education in America is a daunting task. The fact that we have to defend public education in the first place is puzzling. Here we sit as…
How much should teachers be paid?
With U.S. schools facing enormous pressure to improve, even as state and local budgets continue to evaporate, teacher compensation is the latest flashpoint in debates about education reform.
Opinion: Quality teachers have nothing to fear from performance-based pay
Ohio Gov. John Kasich's administration on Dec. 13 will release a report detailing teacher perceptions on performance based pay, says a columnist for Yahoo! News.
Opinion: Top five ways to fix the American education system
The American education system is broken. Politicians, educators and parents have debated how to reform public schools in the U.S. for the nearly 20 years, yet little to…
Opinion: How children’s ‘play’ is being sneakily redefined
1. Children should have plenty of opportunities to play. 2. Even young children have too few such opportunities these days, particularly in school settings. These two propositions—both of…
Four fallacies of the ‘teachers are overpaid’ argument
The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute have released a new paper arguing that public school teachers are overpaid relative to the private-sector market. The paper is…