Walt Gardner's Reality Check
Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
Limitations of Education Studies
Readers who closely follow media coverage of education know how often studies are used as the centerpiece of reportage and commentary. There's something about research that lends gravitas to whatever is written. But unless the fundamentals of research are understood, it's easy to be misled into drawing false conclusions. I was reminded of this after reading "Analytical Trend Troubles Scientists" on May 4 and "Taking Ideas On a Test Drive" on May 7, both of which were published in The Wall Street Journal.
Education
Opinion
A Closer Look at the Teacher Shortage
The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that public schools will need more than 440,000 new elementary and secondary teachers by the end of the decade to replace retiring baby boomers. Whether this forecast is cause for alarm depends on a variety of factors that are poorly understood.
Education
Opinion
What Happens in Newark Won't Stay in Newark
Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million grant to improve schools in Newark is old news. But for readers who have short memories, it was made on the condition that Mayor Cory Booker would have to come up with matching funds from other wealthy donors. The plan was approved by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie because Newark's schools had been under state control since 1995. So far, obtaining private funding has not been a problem, but boosting student performance certainly has. That's why I believe there are lessons to be learned from there.
Education
Opinion
Union-District Collaboration Becoming Norm
School districts have long been regarded as management and teachers unions as labor. The result has been protracted animosity that has unavoidably affected students. But things are slowly beginning to change in spite of isolated action in a few cities.
Education
Opinion
Teacher Tenure Is Still Needed
Few issues in education trigger such fierce reactions as teacher tenure. With workers in the private sector still being laid off in the protracted recession, there is great resentment about the job protection that tenure laws seemingly provide. Rather than rehash the usual arguments made in defense of tenure, I'm going to focus exclusively on two recent events that made the news because they serve as cautionary tales. They both involve teachers in large urban school districts who had the courage to blow the whistle on blatantly illegal practices at their respective schools.
Education
Opinion
Title I's Complexities
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, was specifically designed to help schools with the neediest students. To qualify for federal money under Title I, a school was required by law to have at least a stipulated percentage of its students eligible for free school lunches. I still don't understand why a threshold is needed because I believe that a school deserves to get Title I funds based on any percentage of poor students it enrolls.
Education
Opinion
Determining Academic Merit
Colleges and universities today declare that they are committed to equity and diversity in admissions. The question is whether it's possible to simultaneously achieve that two-part objective. I was reminded of the daunting challenge in light of the history of Asian Americans and Jews in higher education in this country ("The New Jews," The Weekly Standard, Jun. 11). Their experience is uncannily similar.
Education
Opinion
Credit Recovery Undermines Standards
In a blatant attempt to boost graduation rates, school districts are allowing students who lack sufficient credits to make them up by what is known as credit recovery. The practice is highly controversial because it comes at a time when the value of a high school diploma earned in the traditional way is already suspect.
Education
Opinion
China Can Learn About Schools From U.S.
If there's one thing guaranteed to grab the public's attention, it's a crisis. In this regard, few subjects are better candidates than schools. Reformers claim that what takes place in the classroom is directly responsible for what takes place in the economy. But a closer look at China, which is America's most formidable competitor, calls into question this assertion.
Education
Opinion
Is Louisiana a Harbinger of School Reform?
Long considered an educational backwater, Louisiana is now in the vanguard of the school reform movement. Two recent events there have implications for other states that are grappling with persistently failing schools and budget shortfalls.
Education
Opinion
Molding Opinion About Schools
One of the more effective propaganda techniques is the half-truth. It works so well because there are just enough facts to appeal to the unsophisticated. A case in point is "Why Charter Schools Work" (The Wall Street Journal, Jun. 25). As readers of this column know, I support parental choice, including charter schools. But in order for choice to work the way it is intended, parents need to know all the facts. So let's take a closer look at the writer's argument to see where she comes up short.
Education
Opinion
Is Shorter School Year a Threat?
Reformers confidently assert that reducing the number of days students spend in school will be a disaster. Since most states define a school year as consisting of 180 days of learning, they charge that anything fewer will shortchange students ("Shorter school year is a nonstarter," The Sacramento Bee, Jun. 24). I'm not convinced.
Education
Opinion
The SAT-ACT Duel for Supremacy
The school year is finally over, but the summer will not be the idyllic time of yore for many students. Their days will be spent prepping for either the SAT or ACT, which still remain the gatekeepers for most marquee name colleges and universities.
Education
Opinion
Teacher Turnover Is Predictable
If there's one constant in the debate over how to improve failing schools, it's the demand to get rid of bad teachers and replace them with good ones. After all, the argument goes, it's their job to teach students, and if they can't produce evidence to support their effectiveness, then it's time to sack them.