Five education practices that should be replicated nationally
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…
School Reform Opinion
Making school free through 14th grade
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…
Opinion: Teachers unions should applaud merit pay initiatives
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…
Opinion: The impact of Michelle Rhee’s ‘culture of urgency’
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…
Student: How I know trainees aren’t highly qualified teachers
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…
Veteran teacher on what ‘highly qualified’ really means
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…
Opinion: What “no excuses” model really teaches us about reform
“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…
Readers: These 10 education policies need to go
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'…
Ravitch: Why Finland’s schools are great (by doing what we don’t)
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…
Fifteen education documentaries that need to be made
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…
Could more vocational programming save public schools?
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…
Tradeoffs: Reduce class sizes or increase teacher pay?
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,…
Opinion: It’s not all about the teachers
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…
Opinion: 5 myths about Gov. Chris Christie’s ed reform in New Jersey
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…
On ed tech, we’re asking the wrong question
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…
Improving public education isn’t a mystery
We know how children learn. It is not a mystery. If children and schools are failing, it is not because we lack the knowledge to provide them with…
Opinion: Thank test-driven reform for poor scores on SAT
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…
Opinion: Why education reform keeps failing
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,…
Viewpoint: A rational approach to student-teacher ratios
What number of students should each teacher teach? How many is “too many”? It turns out that the right answer is: It depends.
Our digital natives are immigrating
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…
Editorial: Poised on the brink of opportunity
As in Joplin, Mo., the nation’s leaders have a critical opportunity to reinvent the future of education. Here’s hoping they have some of the same courage personified in…
Schools need relief from onerous regulation
Our schools are overwhelmed by regulatory mandates that have been heaped upon them by NCLB, writes AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech. In spite of the harsh economic reality…
Editorial: God bless taxes
Poor results from a national civics exam can hardly be seen as a surprise, when the nation’s own captains of industry have failed at the topic themselves.
Editorial: Bully for teachers
There’s a better way to improve the quality of teaching in the nation’s schools than to bully principals and instructors.
Viewpoint: School leaders need more help, and not red tape, to transform education
Our public system of education seems to be under constant attack from the media and self-appointed “reformers.” Regardless of the opinion those outside of education might hold, it…
Editorial: Public school employees under attack
Conservative lawmakers are targeting educators as part of a broader attack on public-sector employees in states from coast to coast—and the fallout could have lasting implications for the…
Viewpoint: Why education is not like business
Much of the recent political chatter has claimed that government is inefficient, inept, and wasteful, and the oft-cited remedy for such failures is to make government—including public education—act…
Viewpoint: How we should improve on NCLB
From Feb. 17-19, the “Great Education Conversation” will take place in Denver as part of the American Association of School Administrators’ national conference. It will be a dialogue…
How—and why—to teach innovation in our schools
It’s wonderful to hear President Obama call for a nationwide emphasis on innovation, but it raises an interesting challenge: Where will all those innovators come from? Currently, we…
Opinion: A nation being left behind
President Obama is absolutely right: America can’t afford to dither while other countries pass us by. But his message will be a hard sell to a House of…
Reducing bullying and cyber bullying
As in many states, K-12 teachers in Massachusetts now have new responsibilities to respond to, report, and address bullying and cyber bullying. The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC)…
Opinion: Corporate policy making would result in a net loss
The future of digital-age learning could hinge on the boardroom deals being made by giant corporations as they seek to head off “net neutrality” regulations—and education leaders ought…
Editorial: Media illiteracy
President Obama caused quite a stir among the technorati with his commencement address at Hampton University last month.
Lots of technology, but we’re missing the point
No matter how much technology we throw at our students, they will flounder if they do not know how to handle information effectively.