Will this generation be the first to be less educated than their parents?
In July, reporter Jon Marcus wrote a piece for The Hechinger Report looking at President Barack Obama’s college graduation goal and how much progress has been made toward reaching it. The news wasn’t so good. Now he’s been interviewed by Boston NPR’s Here and Now program about the fact that this generation of Americans could […]
New poll: Public trusts teachers, likes technology and school choice
A new public opinion poll on the nation’s public schools reveals a number of interesting findings. The poll, conducted every year since 1969 by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup, asked 1,000 people about a variety of education topics—from trust in teachers to the use of technology in classrooms. You can find all of the poll’s […]
Obama Orders Revamp of ‘No Child Left Behind’
Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Monday that President Obama would sign an executive order to allow schools who are falling short of No Child Left Behind to circumvent the law. PBS NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill discusses the policy shift with Justin Snider of The Hechinger Report. Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour. Transcript: GWEN […]
Are texting, multitasking teens losing empathy skills? Some differing views
Psychiatrist Dr. Gary Small recently expressed a sentiment that may have crossed the minds of parents and educators who see how much time teenagers spend chatting online and texting: He worries they may not be learning empathy skills. The digital world has rewired teen brains and made them less able to recognize and share feelings of […]
The Hechinger Report celebrates its first birthday
A year ago today we officially launched The Hechinger Report, and so it seems as fitting a time as any to reflect on our work in the past 12 months. In May 2010, The Hechinger Report was a theory backed by confidence but not evidence. The theory was that news organizations—amid cutbacks and dramatic changes […]
Walcott and Bloomberg push for school “choice”
Hechinger reporter Sarah Garland has another collaboration with Capital New York, this time looking at school choice in the city. The story opens with… Dennis Walcott, the new chancellor of the New York City public schools, said recently that he would push to open more single-sex schools in the city. He’s a “big believer” in […]
Cathie Black out as New York City schools chief
The big news today is that Cathie Black is out as New York City schools chancellor. The former magazine executive had taken over just three months ago, filling the spot of departing chancellor Joel Klein. The New York Times is reporting she resigned at the request of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Her replacement will be Deputy […]
Assignment memo: The growing problem of the Hispanic achievement gap
Reporter Sarah Garland is working on a story about achievement gaps: California has one of the worst gaps in the nation between Hispanic and white students in reading. Only 12 percent of Hispanic fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2009 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card. The […]
Teachers union embraces reforms following Milwaukee newspaper series
The Wisconsin teachers union said this week it is in favor of efforts to improve teacher quality and even would allow student data to be used in teacher evaluations. The announcement comes on the heels of an eight-part series on teacher training and evaluations reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in collaboration with The Hechinger […]
In Republican-controlled House, will many federal education programs be cut?
U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-MN), fresh from re-election to a fifth term and about to be part of the new Republican majority in the House, said this morning that there are 60 federal education programs that could be cut or combined. In an interview on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) with Cathy Wurzer, Kline didn’t list […]
