eduwonkette
Through the lens of social science, eduwonkette took a serious, if sometimes irreverent, look at some of the most contentious education policy debates in this opinion blog. Find eduwonkette’s complete archives prior to Jan. 6, 2008 here. This blog is no longer being updated.
Federal
Opinion
Why We Should Care About Test Score Inflation
Kevin Carey’s dismissal of “test score inflation” provides an ideal opportunity to talk about the book I finished this weekend, Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us, by Dan Koretz, a psychometrician at the Harvard Grad School of Education – hardly an opponent of testing.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Bold and Broad Brain Scan: It's Not an Either/Or, and No One Said It Was!
It didn't take long for the blogosphere to use its heralded
Federal
Opinion
Big Props for a "Broader, Bolder Approach to Education"
The potential effectiveness of NCLB has been seriously undermined, however, by its acceptance of the popular assumptions that bad schools are the major reason for low achievement, and that an academic program revolving around standards, testing, teacher training, and accountability can, in and of itself, offset the full impact of low socioeconomic status on achievement.
Education
Opinion
ATRs Continued: The UFT's Policy Recommendations
At the end of last week, the UFT responded to the New Teacher Project report on ATRs in NYC. (If you missed the backstory, see Why You Should Read the Fine Print in the New Teacher Project Report, Why Buy the Teacher When You Can Have the Teaching for Free?, Tim Daly on the New Teacher Project report, and Joel Klein Blames Teachers for $4 Gas, Subprime Crisis).
Federal
Opinion
NCLB This Week: The Trailer
In this Time article, Susan Neuman, who served as Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education during George W. Bush's first term, lets us in on her doubts about NCLB and the administration's missteps. Buried at the bottom of the article is a good reason to keep your eyes on the papers tomorrow:
Teaching Profession
Opinion
A Plea to Stop the Drama on Teacher Misconduct
Providing shock and awe news on the gritty trespasses committed by teachers is a cottage industry. Now there are entire blogs committed to this enterprise, the most disgusting of which is Detention Slip. Rather than discussing these stories in a productive way, something that more astute observers have consistently done (See Scott McLeod on cell phone videos or Corey Bower on teachers losing their cool), the goal is to discredit teachers and public education in general.
Education
Opinion
Should Kids Protest? The Case of New York City's Budget Cuts
No one expected that Graeme Frost, a 12-year old who suffered brain stem injuries in a car accident, would become a political target after he delivered a late September radio address in support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Commentators demurred that if a political party "send[s] a boy to do a man’s job, then the boy is fair game." The episode raised difficult questions over the role of children in political debate. Are they mini-protesters, learning the ropes of democracy, or simply political pawns?
School & District Management
Opinion
Fewer Teens Having Sex Than in the 1990s, Says CDC
The new Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a survey of 14,000 American high school students conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control, shows that African-American and white teens are less likely to be sexually active than they were in 1991, though the declines are more precipitous for African-Americans.
Education
Opinion
What Do Public Servants Owe the Public When They Make Mistakes?
Imagine that you are a public servant. This year, you've left families in a lurch by centralizing an enrollment system that you lacked the organizational capacity to run effectively. It is June, and kids and families are still in the dark about their middle and pre-school placements for September. How should you react?
Education
Opinion
Isn't It Ironic? Bonuses for NYC Administrators at 4 "F" and 5 "D" Schools
Administrators at four New York City schools that received F’s on their Progress Reports, and five that earned D’s, are eligible for bonuses, which range from $5,500 to $15,000 for principals and from $2,750 to $7,500 for assistant principals. One of my favorite haiku pretty much sums up this story:
Education
Opinion
Move Over Grey's Anatomy! Thursday Night TV With Joel Klein
McDreamy? McSteamy? You decide.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
A Texas Tall Tale Remembered, and Demolished, One More Time
In December 2000, the New York Times introduced us to the president elect's choice for Secretary of Education, a former football coach with a penchant for "snake-, lizard-, ostrich- or alligator-skin boots." In that article, Jacques Steinberg reported that under his leadership as the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, Rod Paige "helped nudge test scores steadily upward in the Houston district, which is largely black and Hispanic. It now ranks among the highest-performing in the state." Houston, the commentators cooed, was nothing short of a miracle. In 2002, the district won the first Broad Prize for Urban Education.
School & District Management
Opinion
Should You Count on Diplomas Count?
Ed Week's Diplomas Count report is out today, as is a warning from four distinguished academics that its figures are "exceedingly inaccurate." And having read the two papers below, I have to agree. The following is the statement issued by Jim Heckman, Paul LaFontaine, Larry Mishel, and Joydeep Roy:
School & District Management
Opinion
Why Has the Education Press Missed the Boat? The Case of Small Schools
With the release of Scott McClellan's tell-all, everyone's been asking whether the press did its due diligence on the Iraq war. Closer to home, last week's Newsweek article provides similar occasion for us to reflect on the press coverage of small schools over the last six years.