This Week In Education
Written by former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, This Week in Education was an opinion blog that covered education news, policymakers, and trends with a distinctly political edge. (For archives prior to January 2007, please click here. For posts after November 2007, please click here.) This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
Early Childhood Reading Gap Statistic Pretty Questionable, Says Freakonomics
There was much controversy when Freakonomics said that reading at home doesn't help test scores. Now the Freakonomics blog points out that the much-cited stat about kids and exposure to words before school is, well, sketchy (A Data Pool of One). The number comes from a 1990 book whose author used her child as the sole point of comparison between rich and poor kids being read to. (There were only 24 low-income children in the study pool all together.) If a stat seems too good to be true, it probably is. Not that the UPK mafia won't keep using it.
School & District Management
Opinion
No "Marshall Law" For DC Public Schools, Says Millot
Conventional wisdom is that Michelle Rhee in DC needs, well, whatever she wants, in order to get the DC schools turned around. Power to fire folks? Sure. Shifting district staff to state (?) offices? Why not. But Marc Dean Millot (pictured), now an EdWeek blogger, says that some of this just isn't necessary: "There's no "state of emergency," no need for dictatorial authority, and no relationship between the real predicament and the requested powers." I'm not sure the comparisons to the war in Iraq work, but he makes a good point: just cuz Rhee says she wants it doesn't mean she should get it, or needs it. Says Millot: "The list of failures cited were not fundamentally ones of the bureaucracy's failure to execute policy, but of the political leadership's decisions about policy."
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Dear School: Don't Be Lonely, We'll Be Back Tomorrow
I'm really into FOUND magazine right now, where folks send in things that they find and explain where they found them. This is a note written by a child and found in a school one day. Do schools get lonely when the kids leave for the day? I'm sure they do. Just like teachers.
Education
Opinion
Mad Crushes, Hypocritical Teachers, Carey Vs. Rothstein, & More
The Post's Jay Mathews is crushing madly on the Edwards education plan, and making mean fun of Richardson's. Charlie Barone points out that, that despite all the complaints about too much testing, teachers in at least one California school still aren't using results to inform instruction. He also agrees that the NYT story was off. Next up, Kevin Carey, who riffs off of an American Prospect article to say that those like Richard Rothstein who think economic reforms are more important than school reforms, over all, still shouldn't attack school reform efforts. Or at least I think that's what he's saying. Last but not least, the BoardBuzz from NSBA has put out a side-by-side (PDF) comparing current law and Miller (and, ugh, their proposals). I love side by sides, but I don't know if this one is any good. Seen a better one? Let us know.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Making Teaching A Career, Not A Drive-By Charity Stop
Over at Teacher In A Strange Land, teacher Nancy Flanagan riffs off of my Teach For America essay from last week. "TFA has done nothing to re-conceptualize the work of teaching as both socially valuable and complex professional practice. In fact, TFA and similar “fellowship” programs have spawned a rash of research projects bent on proving that teacher education isn’t particularly useful—that any smart person can teach." But, like me, Flanagan agrees that the potential is there: "When Wendy Kopp comes up with an idea to keep TFA folks in teaching or reposition teaching as a flexible, entrepreneurial professional career, I personally will carry signs nominating her for a MacArthur grant—or Secretary of Education."
School & District Management
Opinion
Former City Police Chief Takes Over School Security
Remember the New Orleans police chief during and after Katrina? Well that guy is now running security for the NOLA recovery district, trying to improve a security system that was reported to be heavy-handed and ineffective last year, according to this Ed Week Q & A: Q & A With New Orleans’ Security Chief. He's trying to reallocate security officers and provide continuity, and professionalize the appearance of the officers.
Education
Opinion
Two Million Minutes Of High School
There are apparently two million minutes of instruction during high school, and -- no surprise -- we're not using ours very wisely. Here's the trailer for a new, as yet unreleased documentary about the problem:
Education
Opinion
"Super Sexy, Super Sassy, And Education Savvy" That's Me.
Vote for your favorite education blog, especially if it's this one. My favorite nomination so far is the one that calls me "super sexy, super sassy, and education savvy."
Education
Opinion
Stale NCLB Coverage In The NYT
I remain supremely frustrated by articles on NCLB like Diana Jean Schemo's piece in the New York Times today, much as I appreciate the coverage. Here's why: (1) There's this insistence on making a bogeyman of NCLB even though it's admitted later on that the law is pretty toothless. (2) There's the repeated throwing around of big-sounding numbers (schools in need of restructuring, etc.), without percentages for context. (3) There's the implicit blame on the supposed severity of the law, not on reluctant or slow-moving state and district authorities, or a weak law with lots of loopholes. (4) There's an almost entirely unsupported assertion of increased bitterness and adversity on the part of parents and others.
Federal
Opinion
Saving Money By Investing In High-Quality Teacher Retention
I'm moderating an event in Dirksen next Tuesday on the savings that come from investing in high-quality teacher retention programs. The New Teacher Center is releasing a cost-benefit study, and Senator Reed and other luminaries are going to be there. Retention programs (aka mentoring and coaching) are a dime a dozen these days, but NTC has found that you get what you pay for. Intensive induction -- full release coaches, lower staffing ratios, etc. -- makes a difference both on the retention side and on the effectiveness side. I don't know how much of this is already written into Miller and or the Kennedy draft, but it doesn't seem like the door is going to be closed before the 23rd.
Education
Opinion
Veto Threat Over NCLB Reauthorization
It seemed like it was coming, what with Spellings hinting at it last month and all the fun that's been had over the SCHIP veto. And this President has never lacked for confidence, warranted or not. So, yesterday, the President said he'd veto any effort to reauthorize NCLB without maintaining its main provisions (President Bush Discusses The Budget):
Education
Opinion
A Quick Spin Around The Blogs
Conspiracy theorists are ignoring NCLB's lefty origins and labor union funding sources, says EIA. Eduwonk is still selling Spellings for governor. I'm not buying, but what do I know. Press coverage keeps suggesting that NCLB won't get reauthorized anytime soon, observes the AFT blog. That means it will [not] happen soon.