Teachers-in-training deemed ‘highly qualified’ by Congress
Congress was busy the week before Christmas, capping off a legislative session that saw the most laws passed since the 1960s. In the final days of the lame-duck Congress, the Senate and House passed items ranging from the high-profile James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and new food-safety legislation to a “continuing resolution” that […]
A chance at higher education for illegal immigrants
With the news that Congressional Republicans have quietly collected signatures on a pledge to vote down practically any Democrat-backed legislation that comes their way, it seems certain that the DREAM Act is once again headed for failure when the Senate votes on it, likely sometime in the next few days. The bill, which would give […]
Competition and public schools: A look at Florida
Will injecting competition into the educational system save America’s schools? The idea — that if public schools are forced to compete for students (and therefore for funding), they’ll find ways to improve themselves — has been around for decades. Without the pressure of competition, proponents of school-choice argue, schools stagnate. This thinking has led to […]
When the best and brightest aren’t really the best (or brightest)
It’s no secret that students in the U.S. stack up poorly against their international peers on math assessments. But even our best and brightest don’t match up with the highest achievers internationally, according to a new comparison. In the Winter 2011 volume of Education Next, “Teaching Math to the Talented” — by Eric Hanushek, Paul […]
How a student’s college major shapes experience in classroom and beyond
Picking a major isn’t easy for many college students. For some, the decision is an important step toward realizing a lifelong dream; for others, it’s nothing but stress and uncertainty until the deadline to declare arrives, and then the tiniest of factors might tip the scales in favor of one concentration over others. We all […]
School Pride gives hope — and mixed messages
It’s a familiar argument by leading education reformers: school improvement isn’t about the bricks and mortar, it’s about the people in the classroom. NBC’s School Pride takes an entirely different approach, though. The new reality makeover show features a comedian, journalist, SWAT commander and former Miss USA as they head to schools that are falling […]
Seventy-five to a class — and proud of it!
“Average class size” – most of the time, it’s a statistic that schools with small classes eagerly advertise and schools with large classes bemoan, using the number as evidence that a given school system needs more money. One middle school in Houston is bucking the trend, though. Average class size there is 75 students. And […]
Evaluating teachers: Looking to the future
How should we evaluate teachers? It’s a huge question right now. And it seems like everyone has an opinion. But the one thing many people seem to agree on is that our current evaluation systems are inadequate. What a better system might look like – well, that’s still up for discussion. With so many stakeholders, so many different […]
Overhauling how we recruit, support, evaluate and reward teachers: Where to start?
The topic of teacher effectiveness has taken center stage in national conversations about education reform. Educators and policymakers clash on how to measure “effectiveness,” and School Improvement Grants and other federal dollars have been tied to the idea of firing poorly performing teachers and rewarding those who already do well. But many have argued that we […]
Federal court rules that teachers-in-training don’t count as ‘highly qualified’
After three years of court dates, appeals and petitions, Public Advocates, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco, scored a major victory yesterday when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that teachers-in-training cannot legally be considered “highly qualified.” Under 2001’s No Child Left Behind Act, if a student does not have a “highly qualified teacher” in […]
