Featured Topic
Standards, Testing, and Accountability
Accountability was widely embraced as a reform strategy in the 1990s, but skepticism has grown about whether the approach is working. Amid mounting evidence that state-level accountability systems have been built on wildly differing expectations for student performance, there has been increased interest in the development of common academic standards that could be adopted by all 50 states.
Government and Politics
Recent Topics
School Policy
A Courageous Look at the American High School
The legacy of James Coleman
—
Video: Paul E. Peterson talks with Nathan Glazer
Inside Schools
We Need Fewer Teachers, Not More
In Sunday’s NYT, Elizabeth Green explains beautifully the challenges of classroom teaching. She says we will need millions of additional teachers to cover baby boom retirements, and wonders how we can find enough good ones. The answer is that we can’t.
Government and Politics
A Virtual Race to the Top
Now that the first round of Race to the Top awards have been announced, we can appreciate the impact that this new federal initiative is having on stimulating new thinking at state and local levels. Promising money to states if they come up with sensible ideas seems to work more effectively than punishing schools and districts for low performance. But some of the truly bold new ideas in education today are escaping the attention of RttT policymakers.
Government and Politics
A Virtual Race to the Top
Now that the first round of Race to the Top awards have been announced, we can appreciate the impact that this new federal initiative is having on stimulating new thinking at state and local levels. Promising money to states if they come up with sensible ideas seems to work more effectively than punishing schools and districts for low performance. But some of the truly bold new ideas in education today are escaping the attention of RttT policymakers.
A Pernicious Parlor Game
So, the announcement of the round one Race to the Top finalists is upon us. In the run-up, a pernicious parlor game in edu-policy circles has been “name the RTT finalists.” Thankfully, it’s about to come to a close. Unfortunately, it’ll be followed by “name the RTT winners.”
What Happened When Kindergarten Went Universal?
Benefits were small and only reached white children
Will the Common Core Standards Prove Safe and Effective?
Even though they still haven’t seen the light of day in draft form, much less been joined by any assessments, the evolving “common core” standards project of the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is already being laden with heavier and heavier burdens. This is enormously risky and, frankly, hubristic, since nobody yet has any idea whether these standards will be solid, whether the tests supposed to be aligned with them will be up to the challenge, or whether the “passing scores” on those tests will be high or low, much less how this entire apparatus will be sustained over the long haul.
Strange Bedfellows
Students find unexpected ally in the Christian Right
Inside Schools
We Need Fewer Teachers, Not More
In Sunday’s NYT, Elizabeth Green explains beautifully the challenges of classroom teaching. She says we will need millions of additional teachers to cover baby boom retirements, and wonders how we can find enough good ones. The answer is that we can’t.
High School 2.0
Can Philadelphia’s School of the Future live up to its name?
Finding Time for Tennis and Thoreau
My online education
Tennis Players Choose Virtual Schooling
Video: Three of America’s top junior tennis players (Mallory Burdette, Sloane Stephens, and Jarmere Jenkins) talk with Education Next about attending a virtual high school.
Book Excerpt: Richard Whitmire Reads from Why Boys Fail
Ed Next is teaming with authors of newly released books to provide 15-minute audio excerpts from those books for your listening pleasure.
First up, Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail, reads from the introduction of his book.
You can listen to the excerpt from the book through your computer’s speakers or download the excerpt to an [...]
School Policy
A Courageous Look at the American High School
The legacy of James Coleman
—
Video: Paul E. Peterson talks with Nathan Glazer
Will the Common Core Standards Prove Safe and Effective?
Even though they still haven’t seen the light of day in draft form, much less been joined by any assessments, the evolving “common core” standards project of the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is already being laden with heavier and heavier burdens. This is enormously risky and, frankly, hubristic, since nobody yet has any idea whether these standards will be solid, whether the tests supposed to be aligned with them will be up to the challenge, or whether the “passing scores” on those tests will be high or low, much less how this entire apparatus will be sustained over the long haul.
Atlanta Grades
A story last week in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that fully 191 schools in the state of Georgia, 10 percent of the total number of elementary and middle schools, are up for investigation for altering test answer sheets. The next day’s story put the count at one in five Georgia public schools.
Book Excerpt: Kay Merseth Reads From Inside Urban Charter Schools
Last fall, Ed Next published a short review of a new book, Inside Urban Charter Schools, by Kay Merseth of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Now we bring you a 15-minute audio excerpt from that book (read by Kay), which you can access here.
You can listen to the excerpt from the book through your [...]
Expanding Choice in Elementary and Secondary Education
An upcoming Brookings Institution report — “Expanding Choice in Elementary and Secondary Education” — will make interesting reading. The preview for a release event says that the report will discuss “how to expand school choice to increase equity and create a market within the public sector for school quality.” Given the expertise and background of the panelists who will present next week, how they define equity, the public sector, and school quality will be quite significant.
Sponsored Results
Sponsors
Most Popular Articles
Sign Up To Receive Notification
when the latest issue of Education Next is posted
In the meantime check the site regularly for new articles, blog postings, and reader comments