Obama pushes education investment in State of the Union speech; Calls Race to the Top ‘most meaningful reform’ in a generation
President Barack Obama hit the education theme hard in his second State of the Union address last night and set the stage for a fight with Congressional Republicans over federal education spending as he prepares to release his budget for this year. Education was one of the “pillars” of change that he said needs an […]
How will suburban schools handle the new influx of immigrants?
In the next 20 years, the schools in need of the most help may not be the schools in inner cities like Newark or Detroit. Instead, they may be in far-flung suburbs and exurbs, where immigrants are flocking in increasing numbers, according to new projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. We’ve known for a while […]
Is China’s top performance on international tests really so shocking?
Should we really be surprised that China’s students ranked first in the world this week on the international standardized test known as PISA? Probably not. The test, administered every three years, is one of the main international assessments that give countries a sense of how their public school systems stack up against those in other […]
Progress on the dropout crisis?
The Johns Hopkins researchers who in 2002 counted 2,000 “dropout factories” in the U.S. — high schools that graduate fewer than 60 percent of their students within four years — are reporting that there’s been significant progress in reducing the number of those schools. “The number of dropout factories fell by 13 percent – from […]
Experience necessary?
The outcry over Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed appointment of Cathleen Black to head the New York City public schools may have taken his administration by surprise, but perhaps it should have been expected. The controversy over Black is not just about her, or New York City. The choice of Black highlights an issue that is at […]
Turning teacher education “upside down”?
“Bold” is a favorite word among education reformers everywhere, and supporters of a new plan put forward by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to overhaul teacher education are no different. James Cibulka, president of NCATE, is quoted in the Wall Street Journal today saying that teacher education is due for […]
Will the Tea Party try to do away with the U.S. Department of Education?
On the campaign trail, it became “cool” among Tea Partiers to support the elimination of the federal Department of Education. The proposals revive an old Republican idea that lost steam last time it was introduced, once winning candidates faced the reality of day-to-day lawmaking. Whether the new crop of Republicans will actually attempt to do […]
Joel Klein’s legacy of reform, rage and rising graduation rates
Joel Klein, one of the longest-serving chancellors of the New York City public schools, is stepping down. Klein was appointed in 2002, when the state legislature gave Mayor Michael Bloomberg control of the city’s school system. He oversaw a sweeping overhaul of the city’s public schools that was both lauded and condemned. Supporters say his […]
The election and education: What will change?
The short answer to that question might be, not much. The Obama administration has embraced education reforms that are also favored by many conservatives, most particularly charter schools and overhauling how teachers are evaluated and paid. So if Republicans sweep the House today and grab the Senate, too, the direction that education policy has been […]
The ‘expectations gap’ is wider than the achievement gap
The Common Core State Standards, which so far have been adopted by 37 states and the District of Columbia, may seem like a good idea, but new tough standards won’t mean much if students in some states are only expected to learn 30 percent of the material, while students in other states are required to […]
