Did the Chetty Teacher Effectiveness Study Use Data that are No Longer Relevant?
In a two steps forward, one step back dance worthy of Vladimir Lenin himself, the New York Times properly gave front-page coverage to the breathtaking new teacher effectiveness study by Raj Chetty and his colleagues, but then allowed Michael Winerip space to give teacher unions a denial opportunity.
What We’re Watching: A Day in the Life of the National Online Teacher of the Year
Kristin Kipp teaches 11th and 12th grade English virtually from her home in Colorado.
Making Sense of the Whole “Are Teachers Overpaid?” Thing
I’m much more interested in the broader issue of how we can rethink the profession, make fuller use of talented teachers, and wisely spend the dollars we do have than in debating what the “right” wage level should be.
Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Digital Learning and Excellent Teachers Go Well Together
Rather than seeing a painful (and politically volatile) trade-off between technology and teachers, we propose that digital education needs excellent teachers and that a first-rate teaching profession needs digital education.
Studying Teacher Moves
A practitioner’s take on what is blocking the research teachers need
A practitioner’s take on what is blocking the research teachers need
Educators Answer Questions About the Flipped Classroom
I’ve received a number of questions and comments on my recent article, The Flipped Classroom. Most gratifying have been the rich exchanges in comment threads and on twitter, primarily from educators explaining their experiences, challenges, and discoveries from “flipping” their classrooms.
Reformers: We Must Be Much Bolder to Reach Every Child with Excellent Teachers
Here’s the problem: even if our nation fully implemented most of the recommended legislation in the next decade, we still would be far behind other nations that made bolder changes years ago. In contrast, of course, many conservatives want to leave education up to state legislators, on whose watch K-12 education has plateaued and declined.
The State of the Teaching Profession
The American Public School Teacher is a comprehensive report on the state of the teaching profession in the United States based on a 5-year study by the National Education Association.
Up With Teachers, Not So Much With Unions
The new Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup survey makes clear that most adults value their children’s teachers.
Fixing Teacher Pensions
Is it enough to adjust existing plans?
Is it enough to adjust existing plans?
What Ed Sector Gets Wrong
Hey Education Sector, how about a little less skepticism, and a little more love, for one of the gutsiest projects in education reform history?
Principled Principals
New evidence from Chicago shows they fire the least effective teachers
New evidence from Chicago shows they fire the least effective teachers
Managing the Teacher Workforce
The consequences of “last in, first out” personnel policies
The consequences of “last in, first out” personnel policies
Flawed Comparison from OECD
The OECD has a report, Education at a Glance 2010, that provides a shockingly flawed comparison of the amount of time U.S. teachers work relative to teachers in other countries.
Creating a Corps of Change Agents
What explains the success of Teach For America?
What explains the success of Teach For America?
Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness
Can classroom observations identify practices that raise achievement?
Can classroom observations identify practices that raise achievement?
The Education School Master’s Degree Factory
Simply by giving up the extra payment awarded to teachers with master’s degrees, school districts in Florida could save better than 3 percent of their teaching personnel costs without losing any of their classroom effectiveness.
A Modest Proposal for Pension Reform
Fundamental reform—based on tying benefits to contributions—is needed to fix these broken systems.
Teachers and Their Bitter Harvest
“Teachers wonder, why the heapings of scorn?” is the front page headline over a Trip Gabriel story in today’s New York Times. And, indeed, teachers have been taking it on the chin of late.
Blocked, Diluted, and Co-opted
Interest groups wage war against merit pay
Interest groups wage war against merit pay
The Dead End of Scientific Progressivism
In Education Myths I argued that we needed to rely on science rather than our direct experience to identify effective policies. Our eyes can mislead us, while scientific evidence has the systematic rigor to guide us more accurately. That’s true, but I am now more aware of the opposite failing — believing that we can resolve all policy disputes and identify the “right way” to educate all children solely by relying on science.
