The Answer Sheet: school reform


Posted at 04:03 AM ET, 05/17/2013

The revolution is here
By Valerie Strauss
The revolution is against corporate-based education reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:03 AM ET, 05/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Against Corporate-Based Reform, School Reform

Posted at 05:01 AM ET, 05/14/2013

Why recruiting top talent isn't the best way to reform schools
By Valerie Strauss
What's the most important factor for organizational success in today's knowledge-based economy?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:01 AM ET, 05/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, What Works

Posted at 11:34 AM ET, 05/11/2013

A major school reformer's 'Nixon goes to China' moment
By Valerie Strauss
A discussion on school reform in New York took a surprising turn when a reform heavyweight said, "We're losing the communications game because we don't have a good message to communicate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:34 AM ET, 05/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Paul Vallas, School Reform

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 05/10/2013

Michigan parent to Arne Duncan: 'Our schools are at the breaking point'
By Valerie Strauss
An open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 05/10/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Is This What Education Means?', Arne Duncan, School Reform

Posted at 11:01 AM ET, 04/26/2013

A bad idea in D.C. on school reform -- and a sharp response (update)
By Valerie Strauss
The belief that this process should start with a team of lawyers and not end with one speaks to a fundamental missed opportunity.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:01 AM ET, 04/26/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Stop Hunting and Ask the Crowd', A Bad Idea, D.C. Public Schools, School Reform

Posted at 12:16 PM ET, 04/21/2013

Teacher: How my job went from great to infuriating
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a call for the end of high-stakes standardized tests from a teacher who chronicles how school reform forced him to change how he taught.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:16 PM ET, 04/21/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Effects of NCLB, No Child Left Behind, School Reform, Teachers, What School Reform Did

Posted at 09:46 AM ET, 04/20/2013

When it's not his children's school
By Valerie Strauss
A parent blasts Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his plan to close more than 50 public schools

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:46 AM ET, 04/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Chicago School Closings, School Reform

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/17/2013

'Personalization' of learning: Genuine or slick marketing?
By Valerie Strauss
Is using technological tools to "personalize" student learning the real thing?

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform

Posted at 09:35 AM ET, 04/13/2013

Study: School reform in 3 major cities brings few benefits, some harm
By Valerie Strauss
A new study on the effects of corporate-based school reform in Washington D.C., New York City and concludes that little has been accomplished and some harm has been done to students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:35 AM ET, 04/13/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Chicago, D.C., New York City, School Reform

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 04/12/2013

NY's 2013 'High School Principal of Year' is fighting state over reform
By Valerie Strauss
New York State's new High School Principal of the Year is Carol Burris, a school leader in Long Island who has been a leader in a fight with state officials over reforms

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 04/12/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Opposes Test-Based Accountability, School Reform

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 04/11/2013

Teacher: Why I won't quit despite 'inane' reform
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains why she won't give up the classroom even though many of her colleagues are.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 04/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Her Letter to Arne Duncan, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/11/2013

What teachers need and reformers ignore: time to collaborate
By Valerie Strauss
Darling-Hammond: The reform impulse that gave rise to construction of new learning standards and assessments will only work if we invest in the capacity of educators to work together effectively.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Linda Darling-Hammond, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 01:32 PM ET, 04/04/2013

Why renowned educators -- and new teachers -- are 'occupying' Ed Dept
By Valerie Strauss
Today teachers, students, parents, researchers and other activists are starting the second annual "Occupy the DOE" event on the grounds of the U.S. Education Department to protest corporate-based school reform. A new teacher explains why she is attending.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:32 PM ET, 04/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  New Teacher Explains Why She Is ATtending, School Reform

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/04/2013

An urban school district that works -- without miracles or Teach For America
By Valerie Strauss
To listen to some school reformers, you'd think there are no urban traditional public schools that are successful. Here's a different story, excerpted from David Kirp's new "Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System And A Strategy For America's Schools."

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Book Excerpt, Book Excerpt by David Kirp, School Reform

Posted at 01:01 PM ET, 04/03/2013

Following the school reform money
By Valerie Strauss
Just how well-coordinated and far-reaching is the intersection of school reform and politics?

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:01 PM ET, 04/03/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Intersection of Politics, It's Coordinated, Money in School Reform, Reform, School Reform

Posted at 06:01 AM ET, 03/29/2013

Key education activists protesting in D.C. next week
By Valerie Strauss
Leading education activists are converging on Washington D.C. next week to protest school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:01 AM ET, 03/29/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School R, School Reform

Posted at 08:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013

We didn't need a survey to tell us this
By Valerie Strauss
Do the people of Chicago really want corporate-based school reform? What a survey really tells us.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 03/27/2013

The problem with New Jersey's takeover of Camden schools
By Valerie Strauss
Something had to be done for the kids in Camden public schools, but here's why the newly announced state takeover may not help a bit.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 03/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, State Takeover, The Same Old Thing

Posted at 11:54 AM ET, 03/19/2013

New nonsense about teachers
By Valerie Strauss
There's some new rhetoric from reformers about teachers and I'm already sick of it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:54 AM ET, 03/19/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  About Teachers, Accountability, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 03:21 PM ET, 03/14/2013

What happened when a Rhode Island state senator took a student standardized test?
By Valerie Strauss
A Rhode Island state senator was one of the first of some 50 adults who have agreed to take a version of the state's standardized test, part of an action aimed at protesting a new high school testing graduation requirement that students say is unfair.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:21 PM ET, 03/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How Did She Do?, More Adults Taking Exam, More Adults Taking Test, School Reform, Standardized Tests

Posted at 12:33 PM ET, 03/08/2013

Ravitch forms advocacy group to counter Rhee and other school reformers
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch explains why she she has formed a new advocacy group to fight corporate-based school reform and organizations -- like Michelle Rhee's -- that support it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:33 PM ET, 03/08/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Diane Ravitch, Q & A With Ravitch, School Reform

Posted at 03:05 PM ET, 03/06/2013

Voters send mixed signals to school reformers in L.A.
By Valerie Strauss
Voters keep sending signals that they have very mixed feelings about corporate-based school reform. The latest signs come from Los Angeles, where races for three Board of Education seats resulted in one defeat, one win, and one runoff for supporters of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:05 PM ET, 03/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Board of Education Races, School Reform

Posted at 01:35 PM ET, 03/05/2013

Arne Duncan: The newest rhetoric vs. the reality
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan sometimes says things that his policies belie. Here's the newest rhetoric and reality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:35 PM ET, 03/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Beyond 'The Pink Slips', School Reform

Posted at 01:29 PM ET, 03/02/2013

Where school reform fails to meet classroom reality
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher recounts what she faces every day in the classroom and how much of the school reform movement's talking points ignore reality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:29 PM ET, 03/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, What Really Happens

Posted at 01:48 PM ET, 03/01/2013

Republicans on the ropes? Not everywhere
By Valerie Strauss
Joe Scarborough keeps saying on "Morning Joe" that the GOP is in big trouble, but there is one area of policy where they seem to be doing just fine.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:48 PM ET, 03/01/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Republican Party, School Reform

Posted at 09:54 AM ET, 02/26/2013

Editorial bashes Jeb Bush's education 'reform' efforts
By Valerie Strauss
A Florida newspaper rips apart Jeb Bush's school reform record in the state and takes on his national reputation as a leading education reformer.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:54 AM ET, 02/26/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Undeserved Reputation', Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 02/25/2013

'You can't have that data': 19 months of stonewalling by ed bureaucrats
By Valerie Strauss
In state after state, critics of education reform try to get data from state education departments to see for themselves how well the reforms are working but often get stonewalled. Here's one such story.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:00 AM ET, 02/25/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Reform, School Reform, So Much For Transparency

Posted at 08:32 AM ET, 02/22/2013

Teacher questions value of AP program
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher who taught AP government questions whether all AP courses really make high school students more prepared for college than they would have been if they took other courses.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:32 AM ET, 02/22/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Advanced Placement, Challenging Jay Mathews, He Challenges Jay Mathews, School Reform

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 02/06/2013

Students can't Google everything: Why knowledge matters
By Valerie Strauss
If you mistake advocacy for a knowledge-based curriculum as wistful nostalgia for a better time, or as "old fashioned" you just don't get it, writes Daniel Willingham, in this piece about a school reform debate in Britain that resonates here as well.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:26 PM ET, 02/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, School Reform Debate

Posted at 10:38 AM ET, 02/05/2013

Tennessee lawmaker wants to cut welfare benefits for bad report cards
By Valerie Strauss
There seems to be no end to the number of wacky school reform ideas. Now a Tennessee state senator wants to cut welfare payments to families whose kids get really bad report cards and test scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:38 AM ET, 02/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Idea Gets an 'F', School Reform

Posted at 01:08 AM ET, 02/05/2013

Jon Stewart tests Michelle Rhee, defends teachers (update with video)
By Valerie Strauss
on Stewart invited Michelle Rhee on "The Daily Show" Monday night and, while he didn't skewer her the way some Rhee critics would have liked, he kept challenging her about whether her brand of school reform unfairly targets teachers. He also said what Rhee and other reformers could take to be something of a slight: There has been "no real innovation in education since John Dewey."

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:08 AM ET, 02/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  He Challenges Reforms, He Defends Teachers, Jon Stewart, Michelle Rhee, Polite But Challenging, School Reform

Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 02/02/2013

The inconvenient truth of education 'reform'
By Valerie Strauss
Several important things happened in the education world this week; here's an analysis that answers this question: Whose interests are really being served with school reform?

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:34 PM ET, 02/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, The Costs

Posted at 10:59 AM ET, 01/27/2013

Florida ed reform: 'A danger of all this imploding'
By Valerie Strauss
Educators in Florida have been screaming for some time about the irrationality of the state's standardized test-based school accountability system -- which is being sold around the country by former governor Jeb Bush as a model for education reform. But now the powerful president of the Florida Senate, Republican Don Gaetz, has become part of the chorus.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:59 AM ET, 01/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, Teacher Evaluation

Posted at 12:08 PM ET, 01/10/2013

Parsing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's education agenda
By Valerie Strauss
In his State of the Commonwealth address on Tuesday night, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed a state constitutional amendment that would make it easier for charter schools to open, an A-F system to grade schools, the use of Teach For America members, and more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:08 PM ET, 01/10/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, Virginia schools, Wants More Charter Schools

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 01/09/2013

Education reform as a business
By Valerie Strauss
Here is an example of how school reform has become little more than a business in some arenas (and just how removed some reformers have gotten from classrooms and teachers and students and the actual dynamic of teaching and learning). It's the "Business Plan Competition" being run by the Yale School of Management.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:59 AM ET, 01/09/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education as a Business, Investing in Education, School Reform, The Profit Motive

Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 01/07/2013

Michelle Rhee's new state reform report card
By Valerie Strauss
StudentsFirst, her lobbying organization that has taken aim at teachers unions, just released a "reform" report card that grades states on whether they have followed the reforms that she likes. That means that D.C. schools did better than Maryland and Virginia. Really. Here's more about the report card and what else Rhee is up to.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:06 PM ET, 01/07/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How DC, How Powerful Is She, MD scored, Michelle Rhee, School Reform, VA

Posted at 11:27 AM ET, 01/06/2013

The secret e-mails about Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to Newark schools
By Valerie Strauss
A detail that got buried on the day that Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced he would not challenge Gov. Chris Christie next year was the bit of news that a judge had ordered the release of secret e-mails involving the Booker administration's dealings involving Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to city schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:27 AM ET, 01/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Privatization, School Reform, The Gritty Details

Posted at 09:02 AM ET, 12/21/2012

School reform news vs. 'Les Mis'
By Valerie Strauss
Which is more depressing? School reform news or Les Miserables?

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:02 AM ET, 12/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Les Miserables, School Reform, Tweet, Tweet of The Day

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 12/18/2012

Have teachers changed their minds about reform?
By Valerie Strauss
Where do teachers stand on the current wave of school reform? Education writer Jay Mathews says teachers are now leaning in favor of reform. Researcher Matthew Di Carlo takes a look at that claim.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 12/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Like It or Not?, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 12/10/2012

Moco schools chief calls for three-year moratorium on standardized testing
By Valerie Strauss
Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr, solidifying his role as a prominent critic of President Obama's education policies, says the country needs a three-year moratorium on standardized testing and needs to "stop the insanity" of evaluating teachers according to student test scores because it is based on "bad science."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:35 PM ET, 12/10/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Montgomery County Schools, Problems With Reform, School Reform

Posted at 10:58 PM ET, 11/28/2012

Finnish Lessons' author wins $100,000 education prize
By Valerie Strauss
Finland's Pasi Sahlberg, an international leader in education reform, has won a $100,000 education prize from the University of Louisville for his worldwide best-selling book that explains how Finnish schools were reformed to become among the best in the world.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:58 PM ET, 11/28/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Finnish Lessons, Pasi Sahlberg, Real School Reform

Posted at 09:40 AM ET, 11/26/2012

Who does Jeb Bush think he's kidding?
By Valerie Strauss
Jeb Bush is about to launch his fifth education summit in Washington, in an effort to to further his brand of corporate-based school reform, which he likes to tout except when acolytes get beaten at the polls.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:40 AM ET, 11/26/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012

Why some conservatives oppose vouchers
By Valerie Strauss
While Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Bobby Jindal support vouchers, not all conservatives do, though it's not for the same reasons that fuel opposition from public school advocates. Here's why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School choice, School Reform

Posted at 11:14 AM ET, 11/17/2012

Jeb and Arne, together again
By Valerie Strauss
Several months ago Jeb Bush publicly praised President Obama for selecting Arne Duncan as education secretary. Duncan is now scheduled to deliver a keynote address at Bush's fifth annual Excellence in Action Summit late this month in Washington D.C. What's wrong with that?

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:14 AM ET, 11/17/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/08/2012

How Obama helped Georgia charter measure win
By Valerie Strauss
Georgia's ballot measure to permit the state to create a committee to approve charter schools passed with big support from African Americans -- even though black lawmakers and other leaders in the state said it would lead to the resegregation of public schools. Who helped?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 11/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charter Schools, Election Results, Powerful ad, School Reform

Posted at 12:36 PM ET, 11/08/2012

Bad losers in Tuesdays election
By Valerie Strauss
No sooner had veteran teacher Glenda Ritz upset Tony Bennett as schools superintendent in Indiana's election by questioning his corporate-based school reform agenda than unhappy Republican state leaders threw down the gauntlet to Ritz and her supporters.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:36 PM ET, 11/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Indiana Superintendent, School Reform, The Election

Posted at 04:04 PM ET, 11/07/2012

A call for President Obama to change course on education
By Arthur H. Camins
Here is a call to President Obama and other school reformers to reevaluate the reform initiatives they have undertaken in recent years, framed against the documentary "The Fog of War," in which former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara came to realize how he had ignored evidence in his prosecution of the Vietnam War.

By Arthur H. Camins  |  04:04 PM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, School Reform, The Fog of Education War

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 11/07/2012

Results in key education races
By Valerie Strauss
School reformers sustained some big upsets around the country but also had some wins. Here's what happened.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Election Results, Future of Reform, School Reform

Posted at 12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012

Florida rejects using public funds for religious school tuition
By Valerie Strauss
Florida voters defeated a measure that would have allowed the use of public funds for religious school tuition, effectively turning back an effort that was expected to lead to a state-wide voucher program.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'No' on Vouchers, School choice, School Reform, Vouchers

Posted at 11:26 PM ET, 11/06/2012

Major school reformer ousted by teacher as Indiana schools superintendent
By Valerie Strauss
In a major upset that will delight school reform foes around the country, Indiana voters tossed out controversial state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and elected veteran teacher Glenda Ritz in his place.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:26 PM ET, 11/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, The Election

Posted at 03:18 PM ET, 11/06/2012

A bakers dozen of races that matter to education
By Valerie Strauss
There's at a lot at stake for public education in Tuesday's election. There are initiatives on school funding, the spread of charter schools and vouchers, and plenty more. Here are some key races to watch.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:18 PM ET, 11/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Election Results, Public Education, School Reform

Posted at 10:10 AM ET, 11/05/2012

Whats at stake for public schools in election
By Valerie Strauss
Tuesday's election will determine whether Arne Duncan stays as President Obama's education secretary (Duncan says he wants to stay and Obama has shown no interest in replacing him) or whether Mitt Romney will pick Duncan's successor -- but there's a lot more at stake for public education when Americans go to the polls.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:10 AM ET, 11/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Initiatives and Races, School Reform, The Election

Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 11/01/2012

Just Let Me Teach armbands taking off
By Valerie Strauss
Short summary of story

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:49 AM ET, 11/01/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Fed Up, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 03:53 PM ET, 10/29/2012

Why Obama’s leading education critic will vote for him
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch has savaged President Obama's education policies for years, saying they have harmed public schools. But here's why she has decided to vote for him anyway.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:53 PM ET, 10/29/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Decision, Diane Ravitch, Election, School Reform

Posted at 11:44 AM ET, 10/24/2012

Billionaires put big bucks in Louisiana school board races
By Valerie Strauss
Here is a new case study in our continuing look at how billionaires (and millionaires) are throwing around their money to drive education reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:44 AM ET, 10/24/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Billionaires, Privatization, School Reform

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’
By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Former Marine turned teacher: 'Stop demonizing me and my profession'
By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 03:30 PM ET, 10/19/2012

About the ‘rogue experiment’ that upset researchers
By Valerie Strauss
What's the connection between an experiment by an entrepreneur who dropped 100 tons of iron dust into the Pacific Ocean and school reform initiatives?

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:30 PM ET, 10/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Just Saying, School Reform; Science Experiments

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 10/15/2012

French president pushing homework ban as part of ed reforms
By Valerie Strauss
French President François Hollande, would likely win a popularity contest among school children around the world with his promise to end homework as part of a series of reforms to overhaul the country's education system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:00 PM ET, 10/15/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Homework; school reform, International

Posted at 05:02 PM ET, 10/08/2012

Things educators could say but don’t
By Valerie Strauss
Are teachers more humanely motivated than most of the rest of us?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 PM ET, 10/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voices, No Child Left Behind; School Reform

Posted at 03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012

Next on school reformers’ agenda
By Valerie Strauss
Principals can expect to be in the

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, School Reform; School Choice, What's Coming

Posted at 05:35 PM ET, 10/04/2012

What would a President Romney really do in education?
By Valerie Strauss
A conservative says much would stay the same in ed policy under a President Romney -- but not everything.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:35 PM ET, 10/04/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Divining the future, Looking into future, Mitt Romney; Education policy; School reform

Posted at 11:51 AM ET, 03/16/2012

A new poverty-doesn’t-really-matter-much argument
By Valerie Strauss
And so drumbeat keeps getting louder

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:51 AM ET, 03/16/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education, Paul Petrson, School reform, teating

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 03/03/2011

The Diane Ravitch myth
By Valerie Strauss
Anybody reading much of the commentary written on education policy could be forgiven for thinking that education historian Diane Ravitch is somehow the Wizardess of Ed, the woman behind the curtain secretly pulling the strings.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 03/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, charter schools, colbert report, diane ravitch, jon stewart, president obama, school reform, whitney tilson

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011

The Bill Gates problem in school reform
By Valerie Strauss
How our celebrity-obsessed culture affects school reform: If Bill Gates had no money, would anybody care what he has to say about how to fix public schools (especially since he lacks strong evidence to back his positions)?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  bill gates, gates foundation, gates interview, school reform, teacher evaluation teacher effectiveness

Posted at 12:47 PM ET, 03/01/2011

Jon Stewart's hysterical defense of teachers
By Valerie Strauss
Jon Stewart (finally) does a hysterical bit about the preposterous attacks on the nation’s public school teachers, who have been accused by school “reformers” of being lazy, greedy and lousy at their jobs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:47 PM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Laugh and cry, Teachers | Tags:  diane ravitch, jon stewart, school reform, the daily show, wisconsin protests, wisconsin teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 03/01/2011

Ravitch: 'A moment of national insanity'
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch writes: "The reality on the ground suggests that the corporate reform movement ... will set American education back, by how many years or decades is anyone's guess."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Education Secretary Duncan, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, diane ravitch, gates foundation, president obama, president obama and school reform, race to the top, school reform, teachers

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 02/28/2011

Debating Michelle Rhee
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a look at the two central questions posed by "The Bee Keeper," the new book about Michelle Rhee: Why do D.C. schools perform so much worse than many other big city school districts? Was Rhee’s the right approach to improving the schools?

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 02/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Michelle Rhee, Richard Kahlenberg | Tags:  michelle rhee, richard whitmire, school reform, slate magazine, studentsfirst, teacher assessment, the bee eater

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 02/02/2011

The Bartleby Project
By Valerie Strauss
A veteran educator writes about the country's obsession with standardized testing and what might be done about it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 02/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  education reform, president obama, school reform, standardized test industry, standardized tests, test industry, the bartleby project

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 02/01/2011

'It makes no sense:' A dissection of Obama's education view
By Valerie Strauss
Here is a dissection of what President Obama said about education in his State of the Union speech, plus more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 02/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  china and india and education, china education, chinese schools, education, education policy, education reform, indian schools, international competitiveness, obama speech, president obama, president obama school reform, public schools, race to the top, school reform, schools, state of the union, u.s. education

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/27/2011

Parents as tigers and wimps: Cycles in child rearing and schooling
By Valerie Strauss
An educator explains how the media hullabaloo over Amy Chua’s 'Tiger Mom' and angry rebuttals from many parents (and grandparents) are at the root of the traditional vs. progressive cyclical conflicts that have ebbed and flowed over what reforms work best in U.S. schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  amy chua, battle hymn of the tiger mother, history of school reform, larry cuban, parenting, parenting techniques, school reform, tiger mom, tiger mother

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011

Things I’m sick of hearing
By Valerie Strauss
It’s time for school reformers to find new ways to attack their critics. It’s getting tiring hearing the same old refrains, which go something like this.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  charter schools, data-driven reform, michelle rhee, president obama, school reform, standardized tests, teachers unions

Posted at 10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011

Obama’s faulty education logic: What he said and failed to say
By Valerie Strauss
Someone should have told President Obama that there were important contradictions in the education portion of his State of the Union address before he delivered it to Congress.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Poverty, Poverty, Poverty | Tags:  education reform, no child left behind, obama, obama education initiative, obama education reform, obama race to the top, obama speech, obama state of the union, president obama, public school reform, public schools, race to the top, state of the union, state of the union speech

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 01/22/2011

How about a 21-hour school day?
By Valerie Strauss
Educators are talking about extending the school day by a half hour or so. Just maybe, it is posited here, what we need is a 21-hour school day.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 01/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  extending school day, kipp, length of school day, research and school time, school day, school reform, seat time, time in school

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011

The case against NCLB reauthorization
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an argument by someone other than Margaret Spellings against reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  edujobs, elementary and secondary education act, nclb, nclb reauthorization, no child left behind, obama and school reform, president obama, race to the top, reauthorization esea, school reforms

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011

Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?
By Valerie Strauss
While Michelle Rhee is busy trying to build up a national organization to take on the teachers unions, back in Washington D.C., where she was chancellor for 3 1/2 years, the new mayor may be on the road to taking apart her signature reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  IMPACT, IMPACT evaluation system, IMPACT teacher evaluation, d.c. schools, kaya henderson, mayor vincent gray, michelle rhee, school reform, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, vincent gray

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 01/16/2011

Why 'Inside Job' bests 'Waiting for Superman' on school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Now that "Waiting for Superman" has made the short list of documentaries up for an Academy Award, an educator explains why another film on the list, "Inside Job," does a better job of explaining the school crisis even though its not about education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:30 PM ET, 01/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  academy awards, critics choice awards, davis guggenheim, golden globe awards, inside job, oscars, public schools, school reform, schools, waiting for superman

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/13/2011

Are more high-stakes tests inevitable? A teacher says 'no'
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writes that education reformers have promised far more than they can deliver, and that more testing is not inevitable as many teachers, students and parents fear.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, high-stakes standardized tests, high-stakes tests, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, standardized tests

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/11/2011

Joel Klein's snow job
By Valerie Strauss
A New York City teacher takes a critical look at the legacy of Joel Klein, former schools chancellor and a leader of the modern reform movement.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  joel klein, joel klein legacy, klein's legacy, michael bloomberg, new york city schools, nyc schools, school reform

Posted at 11:00 PM ET, 01/10/2011

Has American education peaked?
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Marion Brady argues that our current reform road will do nothing to fix our school system, and he offers a way to imagine real alternatives.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 PM ET, 01/10/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  21st century skills, arne duncan, marion brady, obama school reform, president obama and school reform, school curriculum, school reform

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 01/09/2011

How to be taken seriously as a reformer (don't be an educator)
By Valerie Strauss
In the current upside-down world of education policy, there's one foolproof strategy for being taken seriously as a reformer: Make sure you're not an educator. Here, an educator writes about what counts -- and what SHOULD count -- in the school reform debate.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 01/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Illiinois schools, Performance Counts, bill gates, eli broad, jeb bush, mark zuckerberg, obama and schools, obama daughters and school, oprah, performance counts, president obama and daughters, school reform, sidwell and obama, standardized tests, teacher assessment, teachers

Posted at 12:02 PM ET, 01/07/2011

What really helped Florida's test scores
By Valerie Strauss
Florida, which is increasingly being looked to as a school reform model did achieve considerable improvements in student achievement during the last decade. But it is important to see when, where and why the gains occurred. The real answer, it turns out, is not the one often given.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:02 PM ET, 01/07/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  florida reform, jeb bush, jeb bush and school reform, naep scores, national assessment of educational reform, school reform

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 01/03/2011

A response to Arne Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a response to a piece Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote in The Washington Post today.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, education secretary arne duncan, esea, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, testing industry

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011

The "bad teacher" bogeyman and its consequences
By Valerie Strauss
An educator dissects how the teaching profession is being attacked and what the consequences are for the country.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, assessing teachers, bad teachers, effective teachers, eric hanushek, school reform, standardized tests

Posted at 10:38 AM ET, 12/28/2010

A hard look at education research
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a back-and-forth between authors of a report hailing Florida's school reform and a critique of that report. It shows how controversial education "research" really is.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:38 AM ET, 12/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  education research, florida school reform, florida schools, heritage foundation, school reform

Posted at 09:11 AM ET, 12/26/2010

How the banned student play was created
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an account of how a student play about school reform that was banned was created and how the students reacted when they learned they could not perform it at their school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:11 AM ET, 12/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Arts Education, Arts Education, Arts Education, Arts Education | Tags:  antigone, censored play, joel klein, play banned, school reform, student play

Posted at 02:05 PM ET, 12/21/2010

A sobering look at Florida school reform
By Valerie Strauss
With Florida increasingly being looked to as a national model for school reform, here's a clear-eyed look at exactly what has been going on in the Sunshine State.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:05 PM ET, 12/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter schools, florida school reform, jeb bush, school reform, sherman dorn, standardized tests

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/20/2010

High remediation rates cast doubt on reforms
By Valerie Strauss
If standardized test-driven school reform is so successful, why are college remediation rates still so high?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Community Colleges, Community Colleges | Tags:  jeb bush, joel klein, new york city remediation rates, new york city schools, remediation rates, school reform

Posted at 10:15 AM ET, 12/19/2010

'Burn and churn' among charter school principals
By Valerie Strauss
Seventy-one percent of charter school principals expect to leave their posts within five years, according to a new study. So what’s the big deal about entering and exiting charter school principals?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 AM ET, 12/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter school principals, charter school teachers, charter schools, larry cuban, principal burnout, principals, school reform

Posted at 04:25 PM ET, 12/15/2010

What Rhee wrought
By Valerie Strauss
Anyone who thinks that Michelle Rhee was a whiz as chancellor of D.C. public schools and should be heading a national "reform" movement ought to read about a high school she attempted to “transform” in the nation’s capital.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:25 PM ET, 12/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  d.c. schools, dunbar, dunbar high, dunbar high school, friends of bedford, michelle rhee, rhee, school reform, school transformation, transformation schools

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 12/15/2010

Joel Klein's business model and the drowning of Nicole Suriel
By Valerie Strauss
The principal of the New York City elementary school where a field trip to a beach ended in the drowning death of a sixth grader has finally been fired. But not because of his responsibility in the botched trip.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 12/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  joel klein, mayor bloomberg, new york city schools, nicole suriel, nyc schools, school reform, student drowning

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010

What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools
By Valerie Strauss
An educator explains what the United States can learn from Norway's education system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  OECD, PISA, PISA results, finland education system, finland schools, norway, school reform

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010

'If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging'
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the new PISA results are a "wake up call" for him. But is the call he is hearing the right one?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  PISA scores, arne duncan, nclb, no child left behind, pisa, school reform

Posted at 02:10 PM ET, 12/09/2010

Teachers: What we need to do to fix schools
By Valerie Strauss
Fourteen teachers from urban schools around the country worked for a year to study how to improve troubled schools. Here are the results.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:10 PM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers, Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  larry ferlazzo, quality teachers, school reform, teacher assessment, teacher development, teacher planning, teachers, teachers leadership network, urban schools, urban teachers

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010

How poverty affected U.S. PISA scores
By Valerie Strauss
How did the effects of poverty affect the latest scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  pisa, pisa results, pisa scores, school reform, standardized tests, stephen krashen

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010

Kohn: Remember when we had higher standards? Neither do I
By Valerie Strauss
When, Alfie Kohn asks, haven't we been complaining about low standards in public schools and calling for accountability? The answer: Apparently, never. A golden period never existed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  accountability, alfie kohn, common standards, education system, nation at risk, reagan administration, school reform, standards

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/08/2010

A primer on (and problems with) market-based reform
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a primer on market-based school reform, the vision of its proponents and why their agenda is not the best thing for children.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  andy smarick, arne duncan, checker finn, chester finn, democrats for education reform, dfer, fordham institute, geoffrey canada, green dot charter schools, harlem children's zone, jeb bush, joel klein, kipp, kipp schools, market-based reform, michael bloomberg, michelle rhee, richard barth, rick hess, rick scott, school reform, steve barr, wendy kopp, whitney tilson

Posted at 11:39 AM ET, 12/07/2010

Ravitch to Gates: Let's talk
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch invites Bill Gates to a public discussion on education reform, and explains why public schools must remain public.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:39 AM ET, 12/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  bill gates, checker finn, diane ravitch, education policy, federal control of schools, local control of schools, obama and school reform, republicans in congress, school reform, school reform policies, wall street journal

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 12/06/2010

Michelle Rhee, celebrity, goes national
By Valerie Strauss
Running the Washington D.C. schools wasn’t a big enough platform for the super star Michelle Rhee. She's onto her next act.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership, Educational leadership, Educational leadership | Tags:  joel klein, michelle rhee, public schools, school reform, students first

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010

Willingham: Close to a magic bullet in education
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes about something that he says may come as close to being a magic bullet in education as anything.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, daniel willingham, education research, gender gap, school reform

Posted at 01:52 PM ET, 12/05/2010

When teachers are their own worst enemies
By Valerie Strauss
An educator/author argues that teachers, however unwittingly, helped create the accountability movement that is now "choking" them.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:52 PM ET, 12/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability movement, california standards test, common core standards, common standards, criterion-based tests, public schools, school reform, standardized test, standards movement, teachers

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 12/02/2010

Rhee, Ackerman and 'cultural competence' in urban reform
By Valerie Strauss
Are any school superintendents who helicopter into big cities for a few years "culturally competent" to do the job well?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  arlene ackerman, michelle rhee, philadelphia schools, public schools, school reform, the notebook, washington d.c. schools

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/02/2010

Is progress in Florida schools exaggerated?
By Valerie Strauss
Florida’s public school system is frequently held up as an exemplary example of how specific school reforms -- vouchers, charter schools, on-line schooling, high-stakes standardized tests, etc. -- can improve student achievement. But things aren't always what they seem.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Accountability, Accountability, Accountability | Tags:  achievement gap, charter schools, florida, florida's schools, jeb bush, school reform, vouchers

Posted at 05:15 PM ET, 12/01/2010

Sponsors tell story of Jeb Bush ed convention
By Valerie Strauss
If you have any doubt about the direction of where school reform is headed in this country, look at the sponsors of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s two-day education conference in Washington D.C.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:15 PM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, educational reform, jeb bush, school reform

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 12/01/2010

Some Education Department spin
By Valerie Strauss
It didn’t long for the Education Department to try to link its school turnaround policy to a new report that says that the number of high school “dropout factories” has declined in the last decade. The problem for the department is that there is no link.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  america's promise, arne duncan, building a grad nation, dropout crisis, dropout factories, education department, high schools, school dropouts, school reform, turnaround models

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/01/2010

First blame the teachers, then the parents
By Valerie Strauss
An educator warns that after teachers have been sufficiently scapegoated for the troubled public education system, parents will be next. And she offers an alternate framework for which to reform schools, one of responsibility rather than phony accountability.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability, arne duncan, department of education, school reform, teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/30/2010

Ravitch answers Gates
By Valerie Strauss
Bill Gates, in an article by Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, poses some questions to education historian Diane Ravitch, who Alter inexplicably calls the Microsoft founder's "chief adversary." Here she answers Gates' questions.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  bill gates, charter schools, diane ravitch, jonathan alter, microsoft, newsweek, school reform, teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/29/2010

What Tom Friedman got wrong about schools and why it matters
By Valerie Strauss
The great New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote in a recent piece that if he were a cub reporter today, he’d want to be “covering the epicenter of national security -- but that would be the Education Department.” If Friedman the cub reporter had turned in this piece, a veteran education editor would have sent it back, asking him to back up his contentions with research. He’d have a hard time.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, education secretary arne duncan, performance pay, public schools, school reform, schools, standardized tests, teacher evaluation, the new york times, tom friedman

Posted at 08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010

Why non-educator school chiefs aren't the answer
By Valerie Strauss
Historian Larry Cuban looks at how big-city school systems decided to reach into the corporate ranks to find school superintendents, and why they are no silver bullet to improving schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership, Educational leadership, Educational leadership | Tags:  cathie black, cathleen black, educational leadership, qualifications for superintendents, school reform, school superintendents, schools, superintendents

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 11/24/2010

The mismatch between Duncan's words, actions
By Valerie Strauss
A veteran teacher writes an open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, saying that the mismatch between Duncan's words and actions makes "a real consensus impossible."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 11/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, arne duncan, education secretary, evaluating teachers, school reform, standardized tests, teacher assessment, value-added

Posted at 12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010

Murdoch buys education technology company
By Valerie Strauss
This didn't take long: Joel Klein announces on Nov. 9 that at year’s end he will resign as York City’s Schools chancellorship to become executive vice president at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Yesterday the company announced it was buying a technology company with big financial ties to the New York City school system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  education technology, joel klein, new york city public schools, news corp., news corporation, nyc schools, public schools, rupert murdoch, school policy, school reform, schools, wireless generation

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/23/2010

A new mess at Central Falls High in Rhode Island
By Valerie Strauss
Things aren’t going well at Central Falls High, the Rhode Island school that became famous last spring when all of the teachers were fired and President Obama praised the “accountability” move.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, central falls, central falls high school, president obama, school reform, school transformation, school turnaround, teachers

Posted at 12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010

Why teaching experience really matters
By Valerie Strauss
Bill Gates just urged school districts and states to stop rewarding teachers for their experience in the classroom and/or advanced education degrees. Arne Duncan makes the same argument. But evidence shows that teaching experience DOES matter.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, class size, does experience matter, education department, education secretary duncan, lowering class size, raising class size, research on class size, research on teaching experience, school reform, schools, shankar blog, standardized tests, teacher experience, teacher pay, teacher quality, teacher salaries, teachers, teaching experience, value added

Posted at 09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010

What Ravitch told KIPP and Teach for America
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch gave a speech at Rice University about school reform in which she directly challenged officials from Teach for America and the Knowledge Is Power Program who were present -- the very people who had invited her.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, charter schools, diane ravitch, finland, finland education, kipp, knowledge is power program, nclb, no child left behind, obama school reform, president obama, rice university, secretary duncan, teach for america, teachers, tfa

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010

Lisa Simpson and why reform isn't really reform
By Valerie Strauss
What we’re seeing today in the world of education is most accurately labeled “intensification,” not reform. It’s changing things, but it’s changing them in the same direction we’ve been moving for well over a decade. Lisa Simpson

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  charter schools, kevin welner, lisa simpson, school reform, the simpsons

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010

Teacher: Data, my new dirty word
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains how an obsession with data has led to the redefinition of teaching and learning: "Teaching itself has become redefined as generating, collecting, and using data, and learning has become redefined as the curve connecting data points. This is a fundamental shift in how educators think, talk, and go about educating our children. Unfortunately, it is not a shift that serves anyone but the data-collectors very well."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  data, education, educational data, mad math minutes, mad minutes, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, schools, teachers, teaching and learning, test data

Posted at 09:40 AM ET, 11/12/2010

What’s wrong with releasing names and scores?
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writing about plans by the NYC Department of Education to release teachers’ names and value-added ratings to the press, says: "Is this sheer stubbornness on the part of school leaders, or do they not understand the harm this would cause?"

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:40 AM ET, 11/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  diana senechal, la times, la times teachers, new york city schools, new york times, new york times teachers, nyc doe, school reform, schools and teachers, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, teachers, the los angeles times, value added, value added assessment

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/11/2010

De-legitimizing public education
By Valerie Strauss
The quality of American education is going to get worse. Count on it. And contrary to the conventional wisdom, the main reason isn’t going to be the loss of funding accompanying economic hard times. Educator Marion Brady explains why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  bill gates, marion brady, public education, school reform

Posted at 02:24 PM ET, 11/09/2010

Antidote to an educator’s depression
By Valerie Strauss
An educator writes: "After spending a few weeks watching films about the proclaimed 'Crisis in American Education' -- The Lottery, The Cartel, and Waiting for Superman -- I considered calling my doctor to prescribe an anti-depressant. I also wondered if I should have pursued a different career, maybe driving a truck or making shoes.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:24 PM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  educational films, mark phillips, school reform, the cartel, the lottery, waiting for superman

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 11/09/2010

Schools in a banana republic
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Anthony Cody takes a hard look at how today's economy is affecting public school students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  achievement gap, anthony cody, guest bloggers, poverty, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/09/2010

Harvard’s strange ‘Strange Bedfellows’ education event
By Valerie Strauss
You might think, or at least I would, that a ticketed discussion at the Harvard University Institute of Politics on education would include people with different views. But with Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush and John Podesta as the panel, the "discussion" will sound more like an echo chamber.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, charter schools, education department, harvard, harvard university, institute of politics, iop, jeb bush, john podesta, margaret spellings, michelle rhee, no child left behind, obama education reform, president obama, race to the top, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/08/2010

A public school teacher’s distress
By Valerie Strauss
A school teacher writes a letter about why she fears for the future of public education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  charter schools, diane ravitch, no child left behind, school reform, tax levy, taxes, teachers, toldeo schools

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 11/06/2010

How Bill Maher got D.C. school reform wrong
By Valerie Strauss
The myth-making about the course of D.C. school reform and why Mayor Adrian Fenty was voted out of office in the nation’s capital continued last night, this time on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 11/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  adrian fenty, bill maher, d.c. schools, hbo, mayor fenty, michelle rhee, real time with bill maher, school reform, the wall street journal, the washington post

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/02/2010

Is Duncan out of bounds?
By Valerie Strauss
I have one question about this poster promoting Education Secretary Arne Duncan's speech on school reform at UNESCO headquarters in Paris this week: Who thought showing Duncan playing basketball with President Obama was a good idea?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, education department, president obama, school reform, secretary arne duncan, secretary duncan, unesco

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 10/29/2010

Waiting for sanity in education reform
By Valerie Strauss
This fall brought a lot of noise in the education world: A movie, a manifesto and a mayoral election. Now comes news Now comes the news that, in light of whatever is going to happen on Nov. 2nd, the Obama administration is looking for ways to work with the next Congress and is targeting No Child Left Behind to reauthorize. George Wood says: "Yikes."

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 10/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  diane ravitch, george wood, jon stewart, jon stewart rally, mike rose, no child left behind, restore sanity, sanity rally, school reform, stephen colbert, stewart colbert, waiitng for superman

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/29/2010

And now, a tragicomic conversation on 'differentiation'
By Valerie Strauss
If you liked a video I posted this week showing a funny but scary conversation about collaborative planning and teaching, here's a different one, this on "differentiation." Watch the new one even if you didn't like the first one.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  collaboration, differentiation, education video, planning meeting, school reform, teacher collaboration, teachers, you tube

Posted at 11:14 AM ET, 10/28/2010

Do we really need an ed 'enemies list'?
By Valerie Strauss
The University Council for Educational Administration Review has published an education "enemies list." I wish it hadn't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:14 AM ET, 10/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, e.d. hirsch, enemies list, rick hess, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/27/2010

7 Class size myths -- and the truth
By Valerie Strauss
Across the country, class sizes are increasing at unprecedented rates. Budget pressures are weighing on school districts, but there has also been a fierce attack on the value of class size reduction. Here are the most common myths about class size (No 1: It is an unproven, ineffective reform) along with the facts.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Class size, Class size | Tags:  class size, class size matters, class size reduction, education department, florida class size, leonie haimson, school reform, texas class size

Posted at 11:33 AM ET, 10/25/2010

Willingham: Is a paradigm shift really needed?
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham critiques a popular video that insists that we "do not simply need to fix or improve our schools but to completely rethink how they operate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:33 AM ET, 10/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  cognitive science, daniel willingham, reformation, renaissance, rousseau, school reform, sir ken robinson

Posted at 03:36 PM ET, 10/24/2010

Saving public education: the 'Dolly Solution'
By Valerie Strauss
An educator proposes a new model for school reform: cloning, which, in three easy steps, is the surest route for improving public education. It makes perfect sense.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:36 PM ET, 10/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, cloning, dolly parton, dolly the sheep, education department, george washington, jaime escalante, led zeppelin, no child left behind, public schools, race to the top, school reform, schools, stairway to heaven, stand and deliver, teachers, ted williams

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 10/23/2010

Building teacher accountability from the ground up
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Anthony Cody spells out the practices that help improve instruction and that build teacher accountability into schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 10/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability, anthony cody, national certified teacher, school reform, teacher assessment, teacher magazine, teachers

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010

Kohn: The pretend reformers
By Valerie Strauss
Alfie Kohn writes: " Real education reform would require us to consider the elimination of many features that we’ve come to associate with school, so perhaps the reluctance to take such suggestions seriously is just a specific instance of the 'whatever is, is right' bias that psychologists keep documenting."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  alfie kohn, davis guggenheim, duncan, george bush, george w. bush, joel k lein, obama, school reform, seymour papert, waiting for superman

Posted at 01:24 PM ET, 10/21/2010

Afterschool programs in funding jeopardy
By Valerie Strauss
Thousands of afterschool programs are in danger of losing their funding because of a proposal that would allow federal money now used to support these programs to instead pay for longer school days. That may sound like it makes sense, but it doesn't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:24 PM ET, 10/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning, Learning | Tags:  afterschool alliance, afterschool funds, afterschool programs, arne duncan, extending school day, lights on afterschool, longer school day, president obama, quality afterschool, school reform, student achievement

Posted at 12:27 PM ET, 10/21/2010

On school reform, by Philadelphia's mayor and superintendent
By Valerie Strauss
Philadelphia's mayor and schools superintendent write: "To read the news coming out of Washington, D.C., you’d think the only way to reform public schools is by firing teachers, closing schools, and battling it out in the media. Not so."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:27 PM ET, 10/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arlene ackerman, engagement, michael nutter, parent involvement, philadelphia schools, school reform, teachers, teachers union

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 10/20/2010

Threats to school reform ... are within school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Mike Rose writes: "There is a crisis in American education, and it involves mostly poor children, and thus it is a moral as well as educational outrage. But it is just not accurate to characterize public education itself as being in a 30-year crisis."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:30 PM ET, 10/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Harlem children's zone, KPP, Teach for America, a nation at risk, curriculum, deborah meier, how to fix our schools, joel klein, manifesto, mike rose, narrowing of curriculum, no child left behind, poverty and schools, race to the top, reform manifesto, school reform, stephen j. gould

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/20/2010

The Chamber of Commerce's flawed 'Superman' school reform guide
By Valerie Strauss
In a shameless act of movie flacking, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just published a guide for business leaders on school reform that is linked to and reinforces the skewed vision of public education portrayed in the movie “Waiting for Superman.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  batman, business leaders, business leaders and school reform, chamber of commerce, charter schools, clark kent, davis guggenheim, effective teachers, finland and teachers, reform guide, school reform, superman, superman and clark kent, teach for america, waiting for superman, what superman would do

Posted at 04:00 PM ET, 10/19/2010

Missing from reform debate: The power of caring
By Valerie Strauss
The founder of YouthBuild programs writes: "We are woefully off the mark when the conversation is all about superintendents and principals needing power to fire inept teachers and not about using their power to create a caring, learning community."

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 PM ET, 10/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  curriculum, harlem schools, learning process, parent involvement, school reform, teachers development, youthbuild

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/19/2010

How billionaire donors harm public education
By Valerie Strauss
Today the foundation set up by billionaires Eli and Edythe Broad is giving $2 million to an urban school district that has pursued education reform that they like. On Friday a Florida teacher is going to run 50 miles to raise money so that he and his fellow teachers don’t have to spend their own money to buy paper and pencils, binders (1- and 2-inch), spiral notebooks, composition books, printer ink. Together the two events show the perverted way schools are funded.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  bill gates, broad prize, charter schools, eli broad, facebook, mark zuckerberg, newark schools, school reform

Posted at 11:25 AM ET, 10/18/2010

Willingham: Should teachers be so important?
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes: "Teacher quality is the most important in-school factor that influences kids’ schooling. I’m not so sure that’s a good thing."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:25 AM ET, 10/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  daniel willingham, education, school reform, schools, student achievement, teachers

Posted at 09:17 AM ET, 10/17/2010

Rothstein: Why teacher quality can't be only centerpiece of reform
By Valerie Strauss
Richard Rothstein on the Klein/Rhee manifesto: "Making teacher quality the only centerpiece of a reform campaign distracts our attention from other equally and perhaps more important school areas needing improvement, areas such as leadership, curriculum, and practices of collaboration.... ut most important, making teacher quality the focus distracts us from the biggest threat to student achievement in the current age: our unprecedented economic catastrophe and its effect on parents and their children’s ability to gain from higher-quality schools."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:17 AM ET, 10/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  achievement gap, joel klein, manifesto, michelle rhee, poverty, richard rothstein, school manifesto, school reform, teacher quality

Posted at 11:34 AM ET, 10/16/2010

Supt. Ackerman's critique of 'manifesto'
By Valerie Strauss
Philadelphia Schools Supt. Arlene Ackerman writes why she doesn't agree with the "reform manifesto" approved by 15 other big city school district chiefs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:34 AM ET, 10/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arlene ackerman, charter schools, joel klein, manifesto, michelle rhee, school reform, teachers

Posted at 02:02 PM ET, 10/15/2010

Superintendent Ackerman withdraws name from 'manifesto'
By Valerie Strauss
So it turns out that Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman doesn’t really agree with the “reform manifesto” that appeared this week in the Washington Post and signed by 16, scratch that, now 15, big-city school district chiefs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:02 PM ET, 10/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arlene ackerman, buffalo public schools, james raymond, joel klein, jonathan raymond, klein manifesto, manifesto, philadelphia schools, reform manifesto, sacramento schools, school manifesto, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/15/2010

Are we still capable of educating for 'us-ness?'
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Marion Brady writes: Maintaining a viable democracy requires an educated citizenry willing, able, even eager, to talk about matters like these, matters having to do with who we are as a people, why we do the things we do, and where we’re headed. Those conversations require at least some understanding of the past, national character, economics, politics, government, science, religion, and so on-intellectual tools that allow us to trace the trends of our era, the curves of history, the causes and consequences of change. Those were the kinds of conversations thoughtful educators used to try to encourage ... Now, not so much."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  common standards, gettysburg address, joel klein, marion brady, michelle rhee, ronald reagan, school reform

Posted at 01:41 PM ET, 10/14/2010

Michelle Rhee's greatest hits
By Valerie Strauss
Here are some of the most memorable things that Michelle Rhee said during her tenure as chancellor of Washington D.C. schools. I think my favorite is the one about taping students' mouths shut.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:41 PM ET, 10/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  d.c. schools, greatest hits, michelle rhee, rhee, rhee quits, rhee's greatest hits, rhee's tenure, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010

Radical idea: Public schools aren't an awful mess
By Valerie Strauss
A longtime educator writes about public education: "Backed into a corner, beat up and wildly uneven in quality, yes." But an unmitigated disaster? No.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  ariana huffington, arne duncan, gerald bracey, guest bloggers, hurricane katrina, katrina nation, nancy flanagan, pisa, public education, school reform, teachers, waiting for superman, wendy puriefoy

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/13/2010

A different vision from a different superintendent
By Valerie Strauss
Jonathan P. Raymond, superintendent of Sacramento schools, offers a starkly different vision of school reform than that portrayed in a manifesto signed by 16 of his colleagues, including the soon-to-be-departing Michelle Rhee of Washington D.C.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  jonathan p. raymond, klein rhee manifesto, manifesto, michelle rhee, reform manifesto, sacramento schools, school reform, supt. raymond

Posted at 05:30 AM ET, 10/13/2010

Rhee’s big legacy: Being a whirlwind
By Valerie Strauss
She came in like a whirlwind, kicking up dust wherever she went, and now, Michelle Rhee, all-powerful chancellor of D.C. public schools, is leaving after three years, securing her place in the history of D.C. public education as, well, mostly a whirlwind.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:30 AM ET, 10/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  d.c. schools, michelle rhee, michelle rhee quits, michelle rhee resigns, reformer quits, reformers, rhee leaving, rhee quits, rhee resigns, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010

'Manifesto' should be resignation letter
By Valerie Strauss
Educator and researcher Kevin G. Welner writes that none of the reforms discussed in a "manifesto" for school reform by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and 14 other schools chiefs are grounded in research and are nothing more than fads and gimmicks.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  charter schools, fixing schools, joel klein, klein manifesto, klein rhee, manifesto, merit pay, michelle rhee, obama and school reform, obama and schools, president obama, reform manifest, rhee manifesto, school reform

Posted at 02:55 PM ET, 10/08/2010

P.S.: Stephen Colbert blew it on schools, too
By Valerie Strauss
It wasn't enough that Lewis Black was unsuccessful in adequately skewering modern school reform on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" earlier this week. Last night Steven Colbert blew it too.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:55 PM ET, 10/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  charter schools, colbert nation, comedy central, davis guggenheim, jon stewart, lewis black, school reform, steven colbert, the colbert report, the daily show, waiting for superman

Posted at 09:29 AM ET, 10/08/2010

Still trying to make sense of NBC's Teacher Town Hall
By Valerie Strauss
A special education teacher who attended NBC's Teacher Town Hall is still trying to make sense out of the event, saying that it did not turn out as advertised.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:29 AM ET, 10/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  education nation, nbc, school reform, teachers

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 10/07/2010

Jon Stewart and Lewis Black blew it on schools
By Valerie Strauss
Lewis Black’s piece on “the public school crisis” that aired on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” the other night left me wondering why education reform hasn’t been more of a high value target for Stewart or, for that matter, Steven Colbert.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:30 PM ET, 10/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  charter schools, colbert report, jon stewart, lewis black, school reform, steven colbert, the colbert report, the daily show, waiting for superman

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/07/2010

An education film that gets it (No, not 'Superman')
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Mark Phillips writes that real success in improving schools requires attention to the emotional and psychological lives of kids, a point captured in the film "Race to Nowhere." It demonstrates an understanding of real learning that other education films, such as "Waiting for Superman," don't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  madeleine levine, race to nowhere, school reform, the cartel, the lottery, waiting for superman

Posted at 12:03 PM ET, 10/06/2010

Down the education rabbit hole
By Valerie Strauss
David B. Cohen writes, referring to Lewis Carrol's "Alice's Adventures: "Much of the education reform debate has been down the rabbit hole for a while, but I keep expecting people to act with some common sense."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:03 PM ET, 10/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  bush initiative, bush institute, education nation, newsweek, principals, school reform, teachers

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 10/06/2010

Ravitch: Why teachers should never be rated by test scores
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch writes: "...Value-added assessment should not be used at all. Never. It has a wide margin of error. It is unstable. A teacher who is highly effective one year may get a different rating the next year depending on which students are assigned to his or her class. Ratings may differ if the tests differ. To the extent it is used, it will narrow the curriculum and promote teaching to tests. Teachers will be mislabeled and stigmatized. Many factors that influence student scores will not be counted at all."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 10/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  diane ravitch, how to assess teache, l.a. times, l.a. times database, los angeles times, ravitch book, rigoberto ruelas, school reform, teacher and suicide, teacher assessment, teacher commits suicide, teacher database, teacher evaluation, teachers, test scores, value added

Posted at 03:26 PM ET, 10/04/2010

What public school teachers really need
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher at the SEED Public Charter School in Washington D.C., which was featured in the film "Waiting for Superman," explains what makes his school work for teachers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:26 PM ET, 10/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  center for teaching quality, certified teachers, charter schools, dan brown, davis guggenheim, guest bloggers, school reform, seed charter, seed public charter school, seed school, superman, superman film, waiting for superman

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/04/2010

Book blasts research base for Obama reform plan
By Valerie Strauss
A new book analyzes the research base for President Obama's blueprint for education reform and finds that it is, at best, very weak.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  diane ravitch, education research, esea, no child left behind, obama blueprint, obama schools, reform blueprint, research, research summary, school reform, welner

Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 10/01/2010

The poverty gap: There are always exceptions, but they make bad education policy
By Valerie Strauss
Part 2 of the elephant that President Obama and Matt Lauer failed to acknowledge in this week's interview: Of course there are some teachers and schools in impoverished areas that are successful. But they are exceptions that don't prove the rule.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:49 AM ET, 10/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  harlem children's zone, hcz, obama, obama and eform, promise neighborhoods, race to the top, school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/30/2010

The strange media coverage of Obama's education policies
By Valerie Strauss
School reform has suddenly caught the attention of mainstream news organizations in a big way. Why aren't they more skeptical about President Obama's reform agenda?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  $100 million newark, education nation, journalism, nbc, school reform, waiting for superman, zuckerberg

Posted at 02:41 PM ET, 09/27/2010

The elephant that Obama and Lauer ignored: Poverty and student achievement
By Valerie Strauss
When President Obama sat down for an interview about school reform with NBC's Matt Lauer, they walked right up to the link between poverty and student achievement, but wound up ignoring the elephant in the room. And that tells you what you need to know about the Obama administration's school reform policy.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:41 PM ET, 09/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  arne duncan, education nation, obama, obama nbc, obama school reform, obama schools, president obama, president obama; obama interview; obama lauer interview; obama education interview; student achievement poverty; poverty and schools, race to the top

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/27/2010

Willingham: 'Superman' is entertainment, nothing more
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham says that in its quest for movie simplicity, "Waiting for Superman" Wa

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 09/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  back to the future, dan willingham, michael j. fox, school reform, waiting for superman

Posted at 01:03 PM ET, 09/26/2010

Will Rhee be a footnote in school reform history?
By Valerie Strauss
Like Hugh Scott, the first African American superintendent in Washington D.C., Michelle Rhee will be a footnote in a doctoral dissertation on the D.C. schools a generation from now, educator Larry Cuban writes.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:03 PM ET, 09/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  $100 million and newark, $100 million newark schools, adrian fenty, gray and schools, larry cuban, mark zuckerberg, michelle rhee, newark schools, rhee and fenty, rhee and vincent gray, school reform, teacher assessment, teachers, will rhee stay, zuckerberg and newark

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 09/25/2010

Season of the education film: Do they help or hurt?
By Valerie Strauss
We are in the season of the educational documentary. There has been a lot written about several films, including "Waiting for Superman," but the real question is what happens after the final credits roll. Will there be any lasting impact?

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 09/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  education documentaries, education films, race to nowhere, school reform, the cartel, the lottery, waiting for superman

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/24/2010

Meier: White knights and false villains in education
By Valerie Strauss
Prominent education reformer Deborah Meier writes: "We're now entering the age when "tough love" is the plot when it comes to teachers and parents. Only it's they who we need to be tough on. It's all those smart young people who went into teaching in the late 1960s and '70s (some to avoid the draft) with their permissive spoiled-brat histories who become the villains of the new wave of school-based romances. Neither tough-love imposed by elite Ivy League grads nor the generous-love imposed by elite draft-dodgers—forgive the unfair labels—will do."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 09/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Deborah Meier, Deborah Meier, Deborah Meier | Tags:  deb meier, deborah meier, diane ravitch, ivy league, school reform, school reformers, tough love, waiting for superman

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 09/24/2010

Turning schools into robot factories
By Valerie Strauss
Longtime educator Joanne Yatvin writes about how too many public schools are being turned into robot factories.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 09/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Elementary School, Elementary School | Tags:  joanne yatvin, school reform

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 09/23/2010

Ravitch: Why Fenty, Rhee really lost
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch, writing about Mayor Adrian Fenty's loss, says: "Journalists attributed Fenty’s loss to the power of the teachers’ union, but such an explanation implies that black voters, even in the privacy of the voting booth, lack the capacity to make an informed choice. When the Tea Party wins a race, journalists don’t write about who controlled their vote, but about a voter revolt; they acknowledge that those who turned out to vote had made a conscious decision."

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:30 PM ET, 09/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  D.C. schools, Diane Ravitch, adrian fenty, bill perkins, democrats for education reform, dfer, fenty loses, gray rhee, gray rhee summit, michelle rhee, school reform, tea party, teacher unions, vincent gray

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/22/2010

Are charter schools really innovative?
By Valerie Strauss
A key school reform is driven by an assumption that charter schools are wellsprings of new ideas. Unfortunately, with rare exceptions, that’s not the case, writes educator Marion Brady.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter networks, charter school movement, charter schools, charters and innovative, expanding charters, marion brady, school reform

Posted at 01:02 PM ET, 09/21/2010

Oprah and her warrior woman, Michelle Rhee
By Valerie Strauss
When Oprah Winfrey aired “Waiting For Superman - The Movie That Can Transform America’s Schools,” on her television show, viewers should have realized that they were watching an entertainment show with a show woman -- not an educator -- as host. Guests Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates and Davis Guggenheim all played their parts, not letting facts get in the way.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:02 PM ET, 09/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  bill gates, bill gates and oprah, d.c. schools, davis guggenheim, guggenheim film, michelle rhee, michelle rhee and oprah winfrey, oprah, oprah and gates and rhee, oprah and rhee, oprah show, oprah winfrey, rhee on oprah, school reform and rhee, waiting for superman, waiting for superman and rhee, will rhee go?, will rhee stay?

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 09/20/2010

What Americans really think about public schools
By Valerie Strauss
In an era of unrelenting bashing of public education by “experts,” a new poll shows that most Americans actually like their neighborhood public schools -- though they don’t seem to like public schools in general -- and they have trust in teachers. And the Obama administration’s education agenda gets mixed reviews in the 2010 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 09/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research | Tags:  content standards, failing schools, gallup poll, kappan magazine, obama and education, obama and school reform, pdk poll, phi delta kappa, public schools, school funding, standardized tests, teacher quality, teachers and pay, teachers and respect, what americans think about education

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010

Schools would be great if it weren't for the kids
By Valerie Strauss
Education author Alfie Kohn, referring to a Robert Samuelson column that blames failing schools on unmotivated students, writes: "Blaming students is the next logical step after blaming teachers. In fact, the two reflect the same general perspective on education, one in which commentators look down from their aeries and inform us that the trouble lies with the people in the classrooms rather than with the policies imposed on them."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  alfie kohn, how to motivate students, motivated students, newsweek, robert samuelson, samuelson column, school reform, unmotivated students

Posted at 05:30 PM ET, 09/16/2010

While we wait for ‘Superman,’ let's focus on teaching
By Valerie Strauss
he founding director of a center that fosters best teaching practices saw "Waiting for Superman" and writes: "Conventional thinking tells us the best way to improve teacher effectiveness is to remove the ineffective teachers and replace them with effective ones. No doubt, this strategy is needed. But if we’re going for a fundamental shift in what we expect from schools, then a wholesale cast change won’t be the fix we imagine. We’ll risk ending up with a new batch of well-intentioned, but improperly prepared players in a flawed system."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:30 PM ET, 09/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  center for inspired teaching, firing teachers, how to fix schools, inspired teachers, inspired teaching, professional development, school reform, superman movie, teacher development, teachers, waiting for superman

Posted at 04:00 PM ET, 09/16/2010

Why 'Waiting for Superman' premiere was chilling
By Valerie Strauss
Something chilling happened at the Washington D.C. premiere of "Waiting for Superman" that involved Michelle Rhee and the A-list audience.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 PM ET, 09/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  adrian fenty, al franken, arne duncan, charter schools, d.c. schools, david axelrod, fenty and gray, george miller, melody barnes, michelle rhee, movie premiere, obama and refoms, obama reform, president obama and school reform, research and education, research on charter schools, rhee and gray, superman film, superman premiere, teachers and unions, vincent gray, waiting for superman, what will rhee do?, when will rhee leave?, who will replace rhee

Posted at 10:33 PM ET, 09/15/2010

Is that so, Chancellor Rhee?
By Valerie Strauss
So, it turns out, the problem with school reforms in D.C. -- which contributed to the defeat of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary -- wasn’t that some of them were punitive and nonsensical. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said in an interview today that the people just didn’t get it. It’s the people’s fault.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:33 PM ET, 09/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  adrian fenty, d.c. schools, gray and fenty, is reform dead?, michelle rhee, msnbc, rhee, rhee and blame, rhee interview, school reform, vincent gray, will rhee stay

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 09/15/2010

Meier: Trust and skepticism in public schools
By Valerie Strauss
Renowed school reformer Deborah Meier looks at the issue of what "well-educated" really means and how we get there.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 09/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  adrian fenty, deb meier, deborah meier, michelle rhee, school reform

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/15/2010

Mass personalization: Is this good for education?
By Valerie Strauss
The principle of “mass personalization” is straightforward: by gathering data on individual customers, a company can target its advertising. What would “mass personalization” look like in education?

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 09/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  National Standards, National Standards, National Standards | Tags:  common core standards, diana senechal, mass personalization, school reform

Posted at 06:40 AM ET, 09/15/2010

What Gray, Rhee should do now for D.C. schools
By Valerie Strauss
D.C. school kids and parents and teachers don’t need uncertainty about who is going to be in charge of the system. That means Vincent Gray and Michelle Rhee have to figure out quickly if they can work together or not.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:40 AM ET, 09/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  d.c. school reform, fenty loses, gray and rhee, gray wins, is rhee leaving, michelle rhee, rhee and fenty, rhee and gray, what now for d.c. schools, will rhee leave?

Posted at 12:03 PM ET, 09/14/2010

A state ranking scandal: Not So Smart, ALEC
By Valerie Strauss
Principal George Wood dissects a ranking system of states on school performance and reform that doesn't make sense.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:03 PM ET, 09/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  George Wood, George Wood, George Wood | Tags:  ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Councilranking, NAEP and states, florida and ranking, george wood, louisiana and ranking, massachusetts and ranking, michigan and ranking, new hampshire and ranking, new mexico and ranking, new york and ranking, performance rankings, performance ratings, ranking states, reform rankings, school reform rankings, state ratings, state school rankings, vermont and ranking

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 09/14/2010

Obama picked wrong school to give speech
By Valerie Strauss
The Philadelphia school chosen for President Obama’s second annual “back to school” speech to students around the country is consistently ranked as a great public college-preparatory institution. That’s why he should have picked a different school to visit.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 09/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  central falls high school, elliott school, obama and back to school, obama and back to school speech, obama and masterman school, obama and school reform, obama and speech, obama and speech and students, obama speech, president obama and back to school, president obama and school reform, restructured schools, t.c. williams, t.c. williams high school, urgent need of reform list

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 09/13/2010

Obama ed policy lacks scientific support -- Willingham
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham calls into question President Obama's judgment on the administration's education policy, saying that it has no scientific support.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 09/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  common core standards, daniel willingham, duncan and policy, duncan and reforms, naep, national assessment of educational progress, obama and education policy, obama and inaugural address, obama and school reform, president obama and education, race to the top, race to the top requirements, science and obama administration, teacher assessment

Posted at 01:02 PM ET, 09/12/2010

If Rhee leaves ... if Rhee stays
By Valerie Strauss
If D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee leaves, the schools won't crumble. If she stays, and there is a good argument to be made for consistency in leadership, she should broaden her view of how to evaluate teachers and schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:02 PM ET, 09/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  IMPACT, NAEP, Rhee and IMPACT, d.c. school reform, d.c. schools, fenty and gray, future of D.C. schools, michelle rhee, rhee and fenty

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010

School board president: Ed reformers ‘just don’t get it’
By Valerie Strauss
A school board president blasts current education reformers, saying "They simply just don’t get it. They don’t realize what true education is and they have no clue the challenges we face in helping students engage in it."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  charlotte hummel, education reform, school reform, william penn school district

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010

Ravitch: Welcome back to school "reform"
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch predicts that the 2010-11 school year will be another year in which "teachers and principals will be blamed and punished" unless their students' test scores go "up and up," more principals will be fired and more schools will be closed. And more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  diane ravitch, education secretary duncan, guest bloggers, no child left behind, obama and blueprint, obama and school reform, race to the top, race to the top winners, rttt winners, the death and life of the great american school system, top ooool reboamael

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 08/16/2010

Willingham: Can reformers control their own reforms?
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, looking at Paul Peterson's book "Saving Schools," writes about education reformers and the problem they have historically encountered in keeping control of the reforms they launch. How this pattern will affect the Common Core standards is a big question, he says.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 08/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  common core standards, daniel willingham, national standards, paul peterson, paul peterson's book, saving schools, school reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/16/2010

The problem with favoring high schools in turnaround grant program
By Valerie Strauss
The Obama administration has doled out a disproportionate amount of school turnaround funds to high schools, even though no one knows exactly how to improve them.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Tier 1, Tier 2, obama and education policies, obama and school reform, school improvement grants, school turnaround grants, school turnarounds

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/13/2010

Data, testing, accountability: The wrong words for reform
By Valerie Strauss
Language matters, and Sam Chaltain writes that we need to find new words to more accurately describe the changes we seek for children. Enough with data, testing and accountability.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability and data, hamlet, sam chaltain, school climate, school reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/12/2010

Dogs: An unusual guide to school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Marion Brady writes that if we want to look at how to reform schools, we should look at dogs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  marion brady, no child left behind, race to the top, school reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/11/2010

The problem with ‘Race to the Top’ is the race
By Valerie Strauss
Diana Senechal writes that President Obama is correct when he says we need to shake things up to improve the schools. The problem is that we are shaking up the wrong things.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  common core standards, diana senechal, obama and race to the top, obama and school reform, race to the top

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/10/2010

The truth behind the get-tough success stories in school reform
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher takes apart the myths surrounding Joe Clark and his baseball bat, Michelle Rhee and her broom, and the whole notion that bullying tactics can actually improve a school long-term.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  joe clark, joe clark and baseball bat, michelle rhee, rhee and broom, school leadership, urban school reform

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 08/06/2010

Principal: Not the change I had in mind
By Valerie Strauss
A principal writes: "I am still not over the sadness and anger I feel over what happened to my colleague, [principal] Joyce Irvine.... Parents are grateful for her leadership, she knows all of her students, she launched innovative programs, her teachers and her superintendent give her high marks, and even her U.S. senator has praised her work. And she has been fired."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 08/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  George Wood, George Wood, George Wood, George Wood | Tags:  George Wood, Joyce Irvine, Race to the top, education reform, principal fired, race to the top policies, school reform, vermont principal

Posted at 07:08 AM ET, 07/31/2010

Do we need another hero?
By Valerie Strauss
Does education reform really need more heroes?

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:08 AM ET, 07/31/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  ed week, guest bloggers, jay mathews, lean on me, michelle rhee, school reform, sousa middle school

Posted at 07:53 AM ET, 07/21/2010

Alexander Russo on Jay Mathews and Harlem Children's Zone
By Valerie Strauss
There's nothing like a good fight to spice up a hot July day, so here, Alexander Russo of "This Week in Education" takes on my esteemed colleague Jay Mathews over the Harlem Children's Zone.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:53 AM ET, 07/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  alexander russo, brookings and harlem children's zone, brookings and hcz, criticism of harlem children's zone, geoffrey canada, harlem children's zone, hcz and hype, jay mathews, poverty and school reform, poverty and student achievement, promise academy, promise charter academies, this week in education

Posted at 07:25 AM ET, 07/21/2010

Primer for ed reformers (or, it’s the curriculum, stupid!)
By Valerie Strauss
A curriculum expert says school reformers are ignoring this truth: "I say the familiar “core curriculum” in use in America’s schools and colleges is a problem-plagued, dysfunctional,19th Century relic that fits the 21st Century about as well as the first Model T Ford fits into I-75 traffic." And here's how to fix it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:25 AM ET, 07/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  changing the curriculum, common core standards, curriculum reform, how to design curriculum, how to reform a school, marion brady, national standards, primer for reforms, race to the top, school reform, the answer sheet

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/19/2010

A letter to Secretary Arne Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
A businesswoman and education activist writes a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about the difference between his words and his policies.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, failure of nclb, nclb, obama's education blueprint, race to the top grants, rita solnet, school reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/02/2010

Reality check on school accountability movement
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writes about how off-base today's accountability movement has become.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  obama and school reform, school reform

Posted at 11:42 AM ET, 06/27/2010

Obama policy blamed for popular principal's reassignment
By Valerie Strauss
A popular principal is being reassigned in Lincoln, Neb., and district officials say that the U.S. Education Department is to blame.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:42 AM ET, 06/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  de ann currin, duncan and obama and school reform, elliott elementary school, lincoln public schools, obama administration and education policy, obama's education policy, replacing the principal, restructuring and school, restructuring models, schools and federal intervention, stimulus money for education, title 1 money, title 1 schools

Posted at 11:30 PM ET, 06/24/2010

Principal: How to REALLY turn around a school
By Valerie Strauss
A principal talks about how he and his staff successfully improved a school--but not in the way advocated by today's school reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 PM ET, 06/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  obama and school reform, race to the top, school reform, school restructuring, teachers, turning around schools

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 06/21/2010

Christian churches oppose Race to the Top, Obama blueprint
By Valerie Strauss
An extraordinary letter sent to President Obama and U.S. lawmakers by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA -- which represents churches that have a combined membership of 45 million people -- should erase any doubt that the opposition to the Obama administration's education policies is wide and deep.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 06/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind | Tags:  arne duncan and school reform, charter schools and pastoral letter, churches of christ, education reform, elementary and secondary school act and reauthorization, esea reauthorization, national council of the churches of christ, national council of the churches of christ in the usa, obama and blueprint and education reform, obama and school reform, pastoral letter, pastoral letter and obama and education, president obama's blueprint for education reform, race to the top, reauthorization of no child left behind

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 06/16/2010

Ravitch: 'Are we in an era of National Stupidity?'
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch looks at the accumulating evidence revealing how our "accountability policies are a great fraud," and asks: "Are we in an era of National Stupidity or National Insanity?"

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 06/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Diane Ravitch, accountability and nclb, accountability movement, accountability policies, bridging differences, diane ravitch and deborah meier, holding teachers accountability, how to hold teachers accountable, narrowing the curriculum, president obama and education bluerpint, president obama and school reform, teachers and merit pay

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 06/15/2010

How homicides affect test scores - study
By Valerie Strauss
School reformers who say that poverty and family circumstance are only excuses for poor student performance might do well to look at a new study which found African-American children in Chicago scoring a lot lower on reading and vocabulary tests within a week of a homicide in their neighborhood--even if they did not directly witness the violence.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 06/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  effects of homicide on schoolchildren, effects of poverty on school performance, effects of violence on children, new york university research, school reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 06/04/2010

Florida’s Race to Top application: Not what it seems
By Valerie Strauss
No sooner had the deadline passed for the second round of applications from participating states in the Obama administration’s $4 billion Race to the Top contest than we learn that at least one bid isn’t quite what it seems.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 06/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top | Tags:  arne duncan and race to the top, florida and race to the top, florida's rttt application, obama and race to the top, race to the top, school reform and obama, second round and race to the top

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 06/03/2010

Movies and School Reform: Lessons from ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
By Valerie Strauss
By Frederick M. Hess. I can’t recall how many times over the years I’ve heard from school reformers, "We need our own ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’ " You know, a cinematic indictment of the educational status quo jarring enough to stir a lethargic public. Well, all of a sudden, we’ve got a whole bunch of them, and we’re about to see how much they matter.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 06/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  documentaries on education, education movies, education reform, frederick hess, guest bloggers, movies and school reform, the cartel and movie, the lottery and movie, waiting for superman