Is there a national teacher shortage? Here’s what we know and don’t know
Students across the country are heading back to school. Will there be enough teachers waiting for them?
Washington Post
How to mine Sochi Olympics for teaching and learning
This is an updated version of a piece that Jeffrey S. Hacker, a teacher at Beall Elementary School in Rockville, wrote years ago for The Washington Post.
A really scary headline about kindergarteners
Rob Saxton is Oregon’s deputy superintendent of public instruction, reports the Washington Post.
Ravitch: The ‘White House’s obsession with data is sick’
Education historian and activist Diane Ravitch has been blasting the Obama administration for a long time for education policies that have expanded the importance of standardized tests and…
Charter experiment ‘spinning out of control’
What is happening in Durham County, N.C., is exactly what charter school critics have long feared: the destabilization of the ... Read more
Why support for Common Core is sinking
“Hit the delay button.” That was the message New York’s senators sent to state Education Commissioner John King during last week’s hearing, the Washington Post reports.
Beware Chinese data: Its schools might not be so great
For much of my life, I have been obsessed with China, Jay Mathews reports for the Washington Post.
Some schools need $100 million for online Common Core tests
A new report from Maryland’s Education Department to the legislature says that the vast majority of schools in many of the state’s counties are not technologically prepared to…
A real school reform agenda for 2014
If you remember your No Child Left Behind history, 2014 is the year that all children were supposed to be scoring proficient on standardized tests, the Washington Post…
Funding formula shows potential to help disadvantaged
Weighted student budgeting comes and goes in American school districts, the Washington Post reports.
America’s most challenging high schools
America's Most Challenging High Schools ranks schools through an index formula that's a simple ratio, reports the Washington Post.
Is teacher education a disaster?
One of the biggest debates in public education today is over how to best educate student teacher for the rigors of the classroom, the Washington Post reports.
Why teachers think Gov. Christie is a bully
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s not a bully, but there are plenty of teachers in New Jersey who would disagree, the Washington Post reports.
How lasting are the benefits of preschool?
As President Obama advocates for a dramatic expansion of publicly funded preschool, there is growing debate about whether preschool pays off academically for kids, says Michael Alison Chandler…
Should principals stop visiting classrooms?
Principals are above all supposed to be “instructional leaders” but exactly what that means — or how to be effective in that role — isn’t entirely clear, the…
I’m no Common Core fan, but give it a chance
As our national battle over the Common Core standards escalates this year, remember that new standards and curricula rarely improve schools, says Jay Mathews for the Washington Post.
D.C. teacher at Friendship Tech Prep charter quits, says he was pressured to inflate grades
Caleb Rossiter recently quit his job as a ninth-grade algebra teacher at the Friendship Tech Prep public charter school in Southeast Washington because, he says, his supervisors pressured…
The link between early childhood education and PISA scores
Buried under the headlines of the last week about the newly released Program for International Student Assessment results — which showed American 15-year-old students nowhere near the top…
Parents say they don’t need state test results
Last month, I asked whether parents and grandparents were worried about threats to annual testing caused by the national switch to the Common Core standards, the Washington Post…
Why educating the educators is complex
Smack in the middle of the fiery debates about teacher education is the troublesome fact that we lack a fitting and consensual definition of teaching itself, the Washington…
Gates, Zuckerberg chip in to fund broadband in schools
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are among several philanthropists who have pledged $9 million to a nonprofit organization that is trying to bring the…
Steubenville school superintendent indicted for obstruction in teen rape case
A school superintendent has been indicted on charges of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence by a grand jury investigating the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Steubenville,…
In New York City, all-male public schools aim to help at-risk boys
Once seen as sexist and outdated, the all-male educational model has been resurrected to serve New York City’s poorest boys, a group feared to be more likely to…
The fetishization of international test scores
Not one, not two, but 10 national educational organizations are planning to host a blowout digital event to talk about (what else?) international standardized test scores, the Washington…
What poor children need in school
Most educational policy elites, whether in government or in the nonprofit sector, mean well, the Washington Post reports.
Sad tales of AP tests gone wrong
With this region’s high concentration of Advanced Placement tests, AP stress, scores and credit are hot topics, The Washington Post reports.
Why the ‘GREAT Teachers and Principals Act’ is not great
During the last few years, The New Schools Venture Fund (NSVF), a major private funder of K-12 charter schools, has been intensely involved in creating and promoting a…
The failures of for-profit K-12 schools
The Washington Post reports that for all of the three-decade hype about how business practices applied to K-12 schools will make them more efficient and high performing.
Education reform advocate John White: We’re in danger of becoming the enemy
Advocates for charter schools, teacher evaluations and other changes to public education that have become mainstream in recent years are at risk of turning into the establishment they…
Veteran teacher: The key failing of school reform over decades
The tug of war over standardized tests is just the latest round of a struggle I’ve watched many times before, The Washington Post reports.
Bill Gates: ‘It would be great if our education stuff worked but…’
“It would be great if our education stuff worked, but that we won’t know for probably a decade.” That’s what Bill Gates said on Sept. 21 (see video…
School superintendents speak out on key issues
Have Washington area school systems been hurt by federal budget cuts? Are students being bombarded with too many standardized tests? asks the Washington Post.
Is education about increasing earning power?
The Washington Post reports: In “The Smartest Kids In The World,” journalist Amanda Ripley’s new book about effective educational systems around the globe, there’s a scene in which…
What are educators talking about?
If you have ever tried to get through a meeting at school and struggled over the terminology that educators threw at you, you will share Liz Willen’s feelings…
L.A. sheriff: Pay for preschool, not prisons
The man who runs the nation’s largest jail system came to Washington on Monday to promote what he considers a potent tool in crime-fighting: universal pre-school, The Washington…
Should teachers be parents first?
Should people who want to be teachers become parents first? asks The Washington Post. The idea is raised in this ... Read more
How much ‘value’ can teachers really add to student achievement?
As a high school English teacher, it’s heartening to think I can “add value” to all of my students, according to The Washington Post.
The most ridiculous ed idea of the week (so far)
The Washington Post reports that the most ridiculous ed idea of the week so far comes to us from Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott organized a three-day education…
What we know about schools — but choose to ignore
Here’s an important piece on school reform by P.L. Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina, the Washington Post reports.
Stephen Colbert adds new subject to science education
Stephen Colbert had some fun Monday night talking about science education with guest Rep. Rush Holt, The Washington Post reports.