The Answer Sheet: duncan


Posted at 05:59 PM ET, 06/18/2013

Education Department listens to (some) reason
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan gives an extra year for implementation of new teacher evaluations linked to Common Core tests.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:59 PM ET, 06/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Common Core State Standards, Gives Flexibility on Test-Linked Evaluations, Teacher Evaluation

Posted at 05:02 AM ET, 05/30/2013

The biggest irony in Chicago's mass closing of schools
By Valerie Strauss
It goes back to the time of Arne Duncan's leadership of the Chicago school system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 AM ET, 05/30/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Chicago Schools Closings, It's About Arne Duncan, Reform Strategies

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 05/10/2013

Michigan parent to Arne Duncan: 'Our schools are at the breaking point'
By Valerie Strauss
An open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 05/10/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Is This What Education Means?', Arne Duncan, School Reform

Posted at 04:42 PM ET, 05/01/2013

Duncan on testing: 'We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater'
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Duncan addresses growing criticism about high-stakes testing in a speech to the American Educational Research Association.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:42 PM ET, 05/01/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Says He Agrees With Some Critics

Posted at 12:02 PM ET, 04/21/2013

Duncan spells out education agenda to Congress
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan makes his case for education budget to congressional subcommittee. Here's his testimony.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:02 PM ET, 04/21/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Defending 2014 Budget Request, Education Budget

Posted at 10:53 AM ET, 04/17/2013

There's a lot of 'acting' at U.S. Education Department

By Valerie Strauss
Nearly six months after the presidential election, the Education Department is still riddled with "acting" officials and Secretary Arne Duncan is losing key aides.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:53 AM ET, 04/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Duncan Losing Top Aides, Education Department

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 04/11/2013

Teacher: Why I won't quit despite 'inane' reform

By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains why she won't give up the classroom even though many of her colleagues are.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 04/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Her Letter to Arne Duncan, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 10:23 AM ET, 03/22/2013

Arne Duncan: Fine coaches when athletes don't graduate
By Valerie Strauss
With March Madness in full gear, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is proposing that colleges and universities start penalizing coaches financially if the athletes on their teams don't graduate.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:23 AM ET, 03/22/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, March Madness

Posted at 01:35 PM ET, 03/05/2013

Arne Duncan: The newest rhetoric vs. the reality
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan sometimes says things that his policies belie. Here's the newest rhetoric and reality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:35 PM ET, 03/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Beyond 'The Pink Slips', School Reform

Posted at 09:18 AM ET, 02/28/2013

To Arne Duncan: 'Check your facts'
By Valerie Strauss
Arne Duncan gets slapped for comments linking teacher layoffs to the sequester.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:18 AM ET, 02/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Sequester, The Exaggerated 'Pink Slips''

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 02/19/2013

Another former public education official working for Murdoch

By Valerie Strauss
This time it is Justin Hamilton, the former press secretary to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:35 PM ET, 02/19/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A New Job, Arne Duncan, Rupert Murdoch, With Joel Klein

Posted at 08:59 AM ET, 02/15/2013

Perk of the job: Arne Duncan in NBA All-Star game
By Valerie Strauss
Duncan played varsity ball at Harvard and professional basketball in Australia. Tonight he hits the courts again.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:59 AM ET, 02/15/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Education Secretary Hits the Court, NBA All-Star Game, Perk of Being Education Secretary

Posted at 01:20 PM ET, 02/14/2013

Duncan warns Congress on impact of 'sequestration' on education programs
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan details who will get hurt immediately in the education world if automatic spending cuts are not stopped by Congress on March 1.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:20 PM ET, 02/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Sequestration, Who Will Get Hurt

Posted at 02:58 PM ET, 02/01/2013

Arne Duncan: We need gun control, more early childhood education
By Valerie Strauss
ducation Arne Duncan made clear in an interview with Bloomberg Radio that he plans to concentrate on early childhood education in President Obama's second term and he said the country must deal with gun violence now. Here are excerpts from the interview.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:58 PM ET, 02/01/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Early Childhood Education, Education Secretary, Excerpts From Interview

Posted at 11:19 AM ET, 12/13/2012

Arne Duncan attends Sandy relief concert
By Valerie Strauss
Lucky Arne. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is said to have watched from the VIP section the relief concert at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night for victims of Hurricane Sandy,

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:19 AM ET, 12/13/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, In VIP Section, Sandy Relief Concert

Posted at 02:22 PM ET, 11/28/2012

Arne Duncan's second term?
By Valerie Strauss
Why would Education Secretary Arne Duncan not directly address questions put to hima bout his second-term agenda at Jeb Bush's school reform summit in Washington D.C. today?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:22 PM ET, 11/28/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, Exotic Dancer?, Obama administration

Posted at 11:14 AM ET, 11/17/2012

Jeb and Arne, together again

By Valerie Strauss
Several months ago Jeb Bush publicly praised President Obama for selecting Arne Duncan as education secretary. Duncan is now scheduled to deliver a keynote address at Bush's fifth annual Excellence in Action Summit late this month in Washington D.C. What's wrong with that?

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:14 AM ET, 11/17/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Arne Duncan, Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 03/03/2011

The Diane Ravitch myth

By Valerie Strauss
Anybody reading much of the commentary written on education policy could be forgiven for thinking that education historian Diane Ravitch is somehow the Wizardess of Ed, the woman behind the curtain secretly pulling the strings.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 03/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, charter schools, colbert report, diane ravitch, jon stewart, president obama, school reform, whitney tilson

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011

Obama's mistimed Miami school visit -- with Jeb Bush

By Valerie Strauss
What a tag team. At a time when Wisconsin teachers are protesting to keep their collective bargaining rights, President Obama is traveling to Florida to share a stage with the anti-union Jeb Bush, the former governor who led corporate-driven, standardized test-obsessed school reform and tried to reduce teachers union influence.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, Standardized Tests | Tags:  arne duncan, president obama, president obama and teachers, rick scott, scott walker, wisconsin protests, wisconsin teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 03/01/2011

Ravitch: 'A moment of national insanity'
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch writes: "The reality on the ground suggests that the corporate reform movement ... will set American education back, by how many years or decades is anyone's guess."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Education Secretary Duncan, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, diane ravitch, gates foundation, president obama, president obama and school reform, race to the top, school reform, teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 02/03/2011

The VIVA Project: What teachers told Duncan

By Valerie Strauss
More than 150 public school teachers put their heads together to devise solutions to problems that most affect their profession. Then they got to do something unusual with their conclusions: present them to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 02/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, The Answer Sheet, VIVA project, education, education secretary duncan, evaluation and teachers, performance-based evaluation, school, teachers

Posted at 01:18 PM ET, 01/29/2011

Does Kaya Henderson want to run D.C. schools?

By Valerie Strauss
It just may be that Kaya Henderson, the interim chancellor of D.C. schools who was tapped to succeed Michelle Rhee, doesn’t want the job permanently.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:18 PM ET, 01/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  arne duncan, d.c. schools, d.c. superintendent, kaya henderson, michelle rhee

Posted at 05:47 PM ET, 01/13/2011

Should Duncan have plugged Henderson for D.C. schools boss?
By Valerie Strauss
If Education Secretary Arne Duncan were sitting in the editorial board of The New York Times talking about education, do you think he would put in a plug for a specific candidate to be chancellor of the city's public schools?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:47 PM ET, 01/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  arne duncan, d.c. schools, d.c. schools chancellor, education secretary arne duncan, kaya henderson, mayor gray, mayor vincent gray, vincent gray

Posted at 11:00 PM ET, 01/10/2011

Has American education peaked?
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Marion Brady argues that our current reform road will do nothing to fix our school system, and he offers a way to imagine real alternatives.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 PM ET, 01/10/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  21st century skills, arne duncan, marion brady, obama school reform, president obama and school reform, school curriculum, school reform

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/06/2011

A principal on standardized vs. teacher-written tests
By Valerie Strauss
Educator George Wood urges Congress not to rely on standardized tests to measure achievement. If you don't think that "data-driven decision-making" is really test-driven decision making, consider this: Ohio’s school report cards consist of 26 “data” points, and 24 of them—92%--are test scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/06/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  George Wood, George Wood, George Wood, George Wood, George Wood | Tags:  arne duncan, disaggregated data, education secretary duncan, elementary and secondary school act, esea, esea reauthoraization, george word, nclb, new congress, new york performance assessment consortium, no child left behind, reauthorization of no child left behind, standardized tests

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 01/03/2011

A response to Arne Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a response to a piece Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote in The Washington Post today.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, education secretary arne duncan, esea, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, testing industry

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 12/23/2010

Test scores can't prove whether teacher experience matters
By Valerie Strauss
People such as Bill Gates and Arne Duncan who say teacher experience doesn't matter much are relying on standardized test scores for evidence, even though the tests fail to provide adequate evidence for drawing such a conclusion.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 12/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, standardized tests, teacher assessment, teacher evalution, teachers, test scores

Posted at 12:29 PM ET, 12/20/2010

A 'highly qualified' gift from Congress to Teach for America -- UPDATED
By Valerie Strauss
Is a teacher still in training "highly qualified?" Some of our legislators think so.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:29 PM ET, 12/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Congress | Tags:  CR, continuing resolution, education department, highly qualified teachers, renee v. duncan, teach for america, teachers, tom harkin

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 12/13/2010

Willingham: What causes performance decline across grades?
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist looks at why student performance declines across grades.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  arne duncan, daniel willingham, pirls, pisa, pisa scores, test scores, timss

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 12/12/2010

What international test scores really tell us: Lessons buried in PISA report

By Valerie Strauss
Buried in the data report about the latest international results of PISA are lessons that show how U.S. education policy is failing.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 12/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  PISA, PISA scores, U.S. PISA scores, arne duncan, education policy, how u.s. fares in international rankings, international rankings, international test scores, obama education policy, pisa, the american dream

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010

'If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging'
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the new PISA results are a "wake up call" for him. But is the call he is hearing the right one?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  PISA scores, arne duncan, nclb, no child left behind, pisa, school reform

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/08/2010

A primer on (and problems with) market-based reform
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a primer on market-based school reform, the vision of its proponents and why their agenda is not the best thing for children.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  andy smarick, arne duncan, checker finn, chester finn, democrats for education reform, dfer, fordham institute, geoffrey canada, green dot charter schools, harlem children's zone, jeb bush, joel klein, kipp, kipp schools, market-based reform, michael bloomberg, michelle rhee, richard barth, rick hess, rick scott, school reform, steve barr, wendy kopp, whitney tilson

Posted at 05:15 PM ET, 12/01/2010

Sponsors tell story of Jeb Bush ed convention

By Valerie Strauss
If you have any doubt about the direction of where school reform is headed in this country, look at the sponsors of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s two-day education conference in Washington D.C.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:15 PM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, educational reform, jeb bush, school reform

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 12/01/2010

Some Education Department spin
By Valerie Strauss
It didn’t long for the Education Department to try to link its school turnaround policy to a new report that says that the number of high school “dropout factories” has declined in the last decade. The problem for the department is that there is no link.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  america's promise, arne duncan, building a grad nation, dropout crisis, dropout factories, education department, high schools, school dropouts, school reform, turnaround models

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/01/2010

First blame the teachers, then the parents
By Valerie Strauss
An educator warns that after teachers have been sufficiently scapegoated for the troubled public education system, parents will be next. And she offers an alternate framework for which to reform schools, one of responsibility rather than phony accountability.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability, arne duncan, department of education, school reform, teachers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/29/2010

What Tom Friedman got wrong about schools and why it matters
By Valerie Strauss
The great New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote in a recent piece that if he were a cub reporter today, he’d want to be “covering the epicenter of national security -- but that would be the Education Department.” If Friedman the cub reporter had turned in this piece, a veteran education editor would have sent it back, asking him to back up his contentions with research. He’d have a hard time.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, education secretary arne duncan, performance pay, public schools, school reform, schools, standardized tests, teacher evaluation, the new york times, tom friedman

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 11/24/2010

The mismatch between Duncan's words, actions
By Valerie Strauss
A veteran teacher writes an open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, saying that the mismatch between Duncan's words and actions makes "a real consensus impossible."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 11/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, arne duncan, education secretary, evaluating teachers, school reform, standardized tests, teacher assessment, value-added

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/23/2010

A new mess at Central Falls High in Rhode Island
By Valerie Strauss
Things aren’t going well at Central Falls High, the Rhode Island school that became famous last spring when all of the teachers were fired and President Obama praised the “accountability” move.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, central falls, central falls high school, president obama, school reform, school transformation, school turnaround, teachers

Posted at 12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010

Why teaching experience really matters
By Valerie Strauss
Bill Gates just urged school districts and states to stop rewarding teachers for their experience in the classroom and/or advanced education degrees. Arne Duncan makes the same argument. But evidence shows that teaching experience DOES matter.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, class size, does experience matter, education department, education secretary duncan, lowering class size, raising class size, research on class size, research on teaching experience, school reform, schools, shankar blog, standardized tests, teacher experience, teacher pay, teacher quality, teacher salaries, teachers, teaching experience, value added

Posted at 06:09 PM ET, 11/18/2010

The NAEP scores problem
By Valerie Strauss
When you live by test scores, you run the risk of dying by them too -- or, at least, the policies that dictated their importance should.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:09 PM ET, 11/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, education secretary arne duncan, naep, naep scores, national assessment of educational progress, standardized tests, test scores

Posted at 09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010

What Ravitch told KIPP and Teach for America

By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch gave a speech at Rice University about school reform in which she directly challenged officials from Teach for America and the Knowledge Is Power Program who were present -- the very people who had invited her.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, charter schools, diane ravitch, finland, finland education, kipp, knowledge is power program, nclb, no child left behind, obama school reform, president obama, rice university, secretary duncan, teach for america, teachers, tfa

Posted at 01:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010

Are Rhee and Florida interested in each other?
By Valerie Strauss
The talk in education circles in Florida is that the governor elect, Rick Scott, may be looking for a new education commission and one name that seems dominant in the discussion is Michelle Rhee, who just resigned as Washington D.C. Schools chancellor.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership | Tags:  arne duncan, florida, florida education, florida education commissioners, florida governor, florida schools, george bush, george w. bush, jeb bush, michelle a. rhee, michelle rhee, rhee, rick scott

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/09/2010

Harvard’s strange ‘Strange Bedfellows’ education event

By Valerie Strauss
You might think, or at least I would, that a ticketed discussion at the Harvard University Institute of Politics on education would include people with different views. But with Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush and John Podesta as the panel, the "discussion" will sound more like an echo chamber.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  arne duncan, charter schools, education department, harvard, harvard university, institute of politics, iop, jeb bush, john podesta, margaret spellings, michelle rhee, no child left behind, obama education reform, president obama, race to the top, school reform

Posted at 09:13 AM ET, 11/05/2010

Who’s NOT on Forbes powerful people list -- but should be
By Valerie Strauss
On the Forbes list of the 68 most powerful people in the world you will find government leaders, bankers, religious figures, a drug trafficker and Oprah Winfrey. But you won't find an educator, and there's one who should have been on the list.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:13 AM ET, 11/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, china president, dalai lama, forbes, forbes magazine, hu jintao, jintao, mark zuckerberg, oprah, oprah winfrey, pope benedict, powerful people list, president obama

Posted at 01:57 PM ET, 11/04/2010

Margaret Spellings: The last NCLB defender?
By Valerie Strauss
It's hard to find strong defenders of No Child Left Behind these days, except, perhaps, for Margaret Spellings.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:57 PM ET, 11/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind | Tags:  arne duncan, diane ravitch, education secretary arne duncan, jay mathews, margaret spellings, nclb, no child left behind, vincent gray

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/04/2010

Where Kline stands on education policy
By Valerie Strauss
The man expected to be the new chairman of the House's education committee has some strong opinions about policy: He immensely dislikes No Child Left Behindy, but wants the Disabilities Education Act fully funded.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress | Tags:  112th congress, IDEA, arne duncan, charter schools, congress, education committee, education policy, gop takeover, gop victory, house education and labor committee, john kline, midterm elections, nclb, no child left behind, president obama, race to the top, rep. john kline, republican victory, special ed, special education

Posted at 09:56 AM ET, 11/02/2010

What other countries are really doing in education
By Valerie Strauss
For a while education mavens keep pointing to other countries as models for education reform. Let's look at what some of them are really doing. Guess what? It's not what we're doing.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:56 AM ET, 11/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, education finland, education singapore, finland, finland schools, finland teachers, singapore, teachers

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/02/2010

Is Duncan out of bounds?
By Valerie Strauss
I have one question about this poster promoting Education Secretary Arne Duncan's speech on school reform at UNESCO headquarters in Paris this week: Who thought showing Duncan playing basketball with President Obama was a good idea?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, education department, president obama, school reform, secretary arne duncan, secretary duncan, unesco

Posted at 11:14 AM ET, 10/28/2010

Do we really need an ed 'enemies list'?
By Valerie Strauss
The University Council for Educational Administration Review has published an education "enemies list." I wish it hadn't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:14 AM ET, 10/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, e.d. hirsch, enemies list, rick hess, school reform

Posted at 03:36 PM ET, 10/24/2010

Saving public education: the 'Dolly Solution'
By Valerie Strauss
An educator proposes a new model for school reform: cloning, which, in three easy steps, is the surest route for improving public education. It makes perfect sense.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:36 PM ET, 10/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, cloning, dolly parton, dolly the sheep, education department, george washington, jaime escalante, led zeppelin, no child left behind, public schools, race to the top, school reform, schools, stairway to heaven, stand and deliver, teachers, ted williams

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010

Kohn: The pretend reformers
By Valerie Strauss
Alfie Kohn writes: " Real education reform would require us to consider the elimination of many features that we’ve come to associate with school, so perhaps the reluctance to take such suggestions seriously is just a specific instance of the 'whatever is, is right' bias that psychologists keep documenting."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  alfie kohn, davis guggenheim, duncan, george bush, george w. bush, joel k lein, obama, school reform, seymour papert, waiting for superman

Posted at 01:24 PM ET, 10/21/2010

Afterschool programs in funding jeopardy
By Valerie Strauss
Thousands of afterschool programs are in danger of losing their funding because of a proposal that would allow federal money now used to support these programs to instead pay for longer school days. That may sound like it makes sense, but it doesn't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:24 PM ET, 10/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning, Learning | Tags:  afterschool alliance, afterschool funds, afterschool programs, arne duncan, extending school day, lights on afterschool, longer school day, president obama, quality afterschool, school reform, student achievement

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 10/19/2010

Reduce standardized testing to improve accountability, school quality
By Valerie Strauss
FairTest's Monty Neill writes that reducing the amount of standardized testing, and lowering the stakes connected to the result will result in more accountability and school quality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 10/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, quality reviews, race to the top, school-based assessments, standardized tests, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, testing

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010

Radical idea: Public schools aren't an awful mess
By Valerie Strauss
A longtime educator writes about public education: "Backed into a corner, beat up and wildly uneven in quality, yes." But an unmitigated disaster? No.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  ariana huffington, arne duncan, gerald bracey, guest bloggers, hurricane katrina, katrina nation, nancy flanagan, pisa, public education, school reform, teachers, waiting for superman, wendy puriefoy

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/01/2010

Why won't Congress admit NCLB failed?
By Valerie Strauss
Monty Neill asks and answers: Why is Congress so unwilling to recognize both research and public opinion and overhaul the most basic fact of No Child Left Behind: Its high-stakes standardized testing regime has failed?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, congress, congress nclb, fairtest, finland education, finland schools, gallup poll, nclb, no child left behind, singapore education, singapore schools

Posted at 02:41 PM ET, 09/27/2010

The elephant that Obama and Lauer ignored: Poverty and student achievement
By Valerie Strauss
When President Obama sat down for an interview about school reform with NBC's Matt Lauer, they walked right up to the link between poverty and student achievement, but wound up ignoring the elephant in the room. And that tells you what you need to know about the Obama administration's school reform policy.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:41 PM ET, 09/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  arne duncan, education nation, obama, obama nbc, obama school reform, obama schools, president obama, president obama; obama interview; obama lauer interview; obama education interview; student achievement poverty; poverty and schools, race to the top

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/20/2010

Has education reform jumped the shark? A teacher says 'yes'
By Valerie Strauss
A veteran teacher looks at recent events in the education world and concludes that yes, indeed, education reform has jumped the shark, and the signs of its collapse are everywhere.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  anthony cody, arne duncan, bill gates, education nation, gates on oprah, michelle rhee, nbc education nation, oprah, race to the top, rhee on oprah, teachers and reform, teachers town hall

Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 09/19/2010

Ravitch: Why civil rights groups oppose the Obama agenda
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch looks at the Obama administration's insistence on embracing competition in federal education funding and more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:34 PM ET, 09/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, bridging differences, civil rights groups, civil rights report, diane ravitch, equity in education, guest bloggers, no child left behind, race to the top

Posted at 04:00 PM ET, 09/16/2010

Why 'Waiting for Superman' premiere was chilling
By Valerie Strauss
Something chilling happened at the Washington D.C. premiere of "Waiting for Superman" that involved Michelle Rhee and the A-list audience.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 PM ET, 09/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  adrian fenty, al franken, arne duncan, charter schools, d.c. schools, david axelrod, fenty and gray, george miller, melody barnes, michelle rhee, movie premiere, obama and refoms, obama reform, president obama and school reform, research and education, research on charter schools, rhee and gray, superman film, superman premiere, teachers and unions, vincent gray, waiting for superman, what will rhee do?, when will rhee leave?, who will replace rhee

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 09/13/2010

Obama ed policy lacks scientific support -- Willingham
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham calls into question President Obama's judgment on the administration's education policy, saying that it has no scientific support.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 09/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  common core standards, daniel willingham, duncan and policy, duncan and reforms, naep, national assessment of educational progress, obama and education policy, obama and inaugural address, obama and school reform, president obama and education, race to the top, race to the top requirements, science and obama administration, teacher assessment

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010

Ravitch: Welcome back to school "reform"
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch predicts that the 2010-11 school year will be another year in which "teachers and principals will be blamed and punished" unless their students' test scores go "up and up," more principals will be fired and more schools will be closed. And more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  diane ravitch, education secretary duncan, guest bloggers, no child left behind, obama and blueprint, obama and school reform, race to the top, race to the top winners, rttt winners, the death and life of the great american school system, top ooool reboamael

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/26/2010

Why the National Writing Project should be saved
By Valerie Strauss
If Arne Duncan supports classroom teachers as he says he does, then why, a highly certified teacher asks, does he want to stop funding the National Writing Project, the best professional development program this teacher has experienced in nearly 30 years of teaching?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, national board certified teachers, national writing project, professional development and teachers

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 07/30/2010

Obama, education, Snooki, civil rights and Bryan Bass
By Valerie Strauss
It's hard to make sense out of what happened in the world of education this week. But let's try.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 07/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  al sharpton, arne duncan and urban league, civil rights leaders and obama, obama and snooki, obama and urban league, obama mentions snooki, obama's education speech, obama's speech to urban league, snooki, snooki and jersey shore, urban league convention

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/28/2010

New analysis blasts Obama’s school turnaround policy -- and tells how to fix it
By Valerie Strauss
The Obama administration’s approach to improving the country's most troubled schools are nothing more than a toughened version of largely unsuccessful strategies concocted under president Bush and should be replaced with a flexible system that involves parents and communities, according to a new report that includes a list of more than 2,000 targeted schools and a demographic analysis.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  civil rights leaders and education, duncan and urban league, education framework, how to turnaround schools, no child left behind, no child left behind and school turnaround models, obama and urban league, report on school turnaround, school transformation models, school turnaround models

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 07/27/2010

Duncan being too 'modest'
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan was being too modest when he said today in a speech at the National Press Club that the Obama administration is playing a “modest role” in sparking a “quiet” revolution in education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 07/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Equity, Equity, Equity | Tags:  duncan and finalists, duncan and race to the top, duncan names race to the top finalists, race finalists, race to the top, race to the top and round 2, race to the top finalists, round 2 finalists and race to the top, rttt finalists

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010

Duncan and education’s “quiet revolution”

By Valerie Strauss
Some things speak for themselves. That includes this blogpost on the Education Department’s website about a major speech Secretary Arne Duncan is giving today. The post talks about a “quiet revolution” in education now sweeping the country, one in which...

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  duncan anounces race to the top finalists, duncan speech, quiet revolution and education, race to the top finalists, rttt finalists

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 07/26/2010

Civil rights groups skewer Obama education policy (updated)
By Valerie Strauss
It is most politely written, but a 17-page framework for education reform being released today by a coalition of civil rights groups amounts to a thrashing of President Obama’s education policies and it offers a prescription for how to set things right.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 07/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  civil rights and duncan, civil rights leaders and education, duncan and urban league, framework for education and civil rights groups, framework for providing all students an opportunity to learn, obama and urban league, obama speaks to urban league, the urban league, urban league convention

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/19/2010

A letter to Secretary Arne Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
A businesswoman and education activist writes a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about the difference between his words and his policies.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, failure of nclb, nclb, obama's education blueprint, race to the top grants, rita solnet, school reform

Posted at 12:31 PM ET, 07/06/2010

Senators' logic for fighting cuts to Race to Top flawed
By Valerie Strauss
A letter that 13 senators wrote in opposition to proposed cuts to three of President Obama’s main education programs has some flawed reasoning.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:31 PM ET, 07/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  bayh letter, cutting race to the top, duncan and race to the top, legislation and teachers, legislation to save teachers jobs, obey and education bill, obey and teachers, race to the top and second round, race to the top and winners, race to the top applications, race to the top criteria

Posted at 02:26 PM ET, 07/02/2010

Favorite quote of the week (by Obey)
By Valerie Strauss
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey uttered my favorite quote of the week. In a town not known for its humor, this made me laugh.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:26 PM ET, 07/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  cuts to race to the top, david obey, education jobs at risk, edujobs bill, house passes war bill, house rules committee, obey duncan, race to the top, race to the top and duncan, saving education jobs

Posted at 11:42 AM ET, 06/27/2010

Obama policy blamed for popular principal's reassignment
By Valerie Strauss
A popular principal is being reassigned in Lincoln, Neb., and district officials say that the U.S. Education Department is to blame.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:42 AM ET, 06/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  de ann currin, duncan and obama and school reform, elliott elementary school, lincoln public schools, obama administration and education policy, obama's education policy, replacing the principal, restructuring and school, restructuring models, schools and federal intervention, stimulus money for education, title 1 money, title 1 schools

Posted at 05:30 AM ET, 06/22/2010

Ravitch to Obama: 'Change course before it is too late"
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch talks about meeting thousands of teachers and parents who are "unhappy, frustrated and demoralized" at the Obama administration's education policies. And she explains what she would tell President Obama if he gave her the chance.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:30 AM ET, 06/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, death and life of the great american school system, diane ravitch, diane ravitch's book, no child left behind, obama blueprint for reform, race to the top, teachers, teachers unions and reform

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 06/21/2010

Christian churches oppose Race to the Top, Obama blueprint

By Valerie Strauss
An extraordinary letter sent to President Obama and U.S. lawmakers by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA -- which represents churches that have a combined membership of 45 million people -- should erase any doubt that the opposition to the Obama administration's education policies is wide and deep.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 06/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind | Tags:  arne duncan and school reform, charter schools and pastoral letter, churches of christ, education reform, elementary and secondary school act and reauthorization, esea reauthorization, national council of the churches of christ, national council of the churches of christ in the usa, obama and blueprint and education reform, obama and school reform, pastoral letter, pastoral letter and obama and education, president obama's blueprint for education reform, race to the top, reauthorization of no child left behind

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 06/16/2010

Ravitch: 'Are we in an era of National Stupidity?'
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch looks at the accumulating evidence revealing how our "accountability policies are a great fraud," and asks: "Are we in an era of National Stupidity or National Insanity?"

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 06/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Diane Ravitch, accountability and nclb, accountability movement, accountability policies, bridging differences, diane ravitch and deborah meier, holding teachers accountability, how to hold teachers accountable, narrowing the curriculum, president obama and education bluerpint, president obama and school reform, teachers and merit pay

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 06/08/2010

Arne Duncan's 'learning story'
By Valerie Strauss
The following is a story that Education Secretary Arne Duncan told about his most powerful learning experience. It is one in a regular series of “learning stories” that I am starting to publish and that are focused on effective teaching and learning.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:35 PM ET, 06/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, effective teaching, learning stories, powerful learning

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 06/04/2010

Florida’s Race to Top application: Not what it seems

By Valerie Strauss
No sooner had the deadline passed for the second round of applications from participating states in the Obama administration’s $4 billion Race to the Top contest than we learn that at least one bid isn’t quite what it seems.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 06/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top | Tags:  arne duncan and race to the top, florida and race to the top, florida's rttt application, obama and race to the top, race to the top, school reform and obama, second round and race to the top

Posted at 05:16 PM ET, 06/01/2010

The desperation of Race to the Top

By Valerie Strauss
Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell should stop sounding so defensive about why the state opted out of the second round of the $4 billion Race to the Top contest. Virginia and at least 20 other states did the right thing.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:16 PM ET, 06/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  duncan and race to the top, education secretary arne duncan, race to the top, race to the top second round, rttt second round, school reform and arne duncan, states and race to the top

Posted at 01:38 PM ET, 06/01/2010

Chicago's teacher performance-based pay didn't work -- new analysis
By Valerie Strauss
A study released today shows no evidence that performance-based compensation for teachers in Chicago improved student math and reading tests when compared with a group of similar schools that did not use the system. Meanwhile, states are rushing to implement this kind of payment system without real evidence that it works.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:38 PM ET, 06/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research | Tags:  analysis on performance-based pay, chicago tap, chicago tap and report, chicago tap program, duncan and chicago, education secretary arne duncan, performance-based pay, race to the top, report on performanced-based pay, tap

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 05/26/2010

Ravitch's 10 reasons to 'no' to Race to the Top
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch lists her top 10 reasons for why states should say "no" to Education Secretary Arne Duncan and refuse to participate in Race to the Top.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 05/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, bridging differences, diane ravitch, no child left behind, race to the top, ravitch and race to the top

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/11/2010

John Lennon and Arne Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is visiting the Department of Education today, and we imagine what it would be like if Education Secretary Arne Duncan fully supported arts education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 05/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, John Lennon and music, John Lennon bus, John Lennon bus and Education Department, an, arts education, arts education and Arne Duncan

Posted at 10:20 AM ET, 05/10/2010

Say what, Secretary Duncan?

By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan must have been kidding when he said he has no public opposition to his education reforms. Because if he isn't kidding, the alternative is far worse.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:20 AM ET, 05/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Education Secretary Duncan, Race to the Top, Race to the Top opposition, Wall Street Journal and Duncan, public opposition to reform, race to the top proposals, states pull out of race to the top

Posted at 05:02 PM ET, 05/09/2010

Charter schools: Is this the way it was supposed to work?

By Valerie Strauss
With Education Secretary Arne Duncan promoting the expansion of publicly funded charter schools as if they had been proven to be the silver bullet for school reform (they haven’t), it seems reasonable to look at what can happen when schools are opened without enough regulation.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 PM ET, 05/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Central Avenue School, Duncan and charter schools, Education Secretary Duncan, Florida and charter schools, Imagine Schools, New York Times and charter schools, St. Petersburg Times and charter schools, charter schools

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 04/22/2010

Obama should call an education summit
By Valerie Strauss
By Mark Phillips. President Obama should call an education summit meeting if he wants to have credibility as a leader of school reform. It should include our most eminent educational leaders as well as teacher organization heads. It is not too late to reshape his policies but this must happen in a hurry.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 04/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  Arne Duncan and schools, President Obama and schools, Race to the Top, school reform

Posted at 10:30 PM ET, 04/19/2010

Maryland’s big education mistake
By Valerie Strauss
Education officials in state after state are moving to contort their elementary and secondary school systems to align with the priorities of Education Secretary Arne Duncan to win some of the $3 billion being dangled by the Obama administration in its Race to the Top competition. It is especially unfortunate to Maryland, a state with a well-regarded education system, promote reforms that include some that have no basis in research--or in common sense.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 PM ET, 04/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Race to the Top | Tags:  Duncan and Race to the Top, Maryland Race to the Top proposal, Maryland schools, Obama and Race to the Top, Obama and schools, Race to the Top, performance pay and teachers, teacher pay, teacher pay for performance, teachers, value added models

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 04/08/2010

Obama ed "blueprint" will widen achievement gaps
By Valerie Strauss
By Lisa Guisbond and Monty Neill. Trapping the poorest children in NCLB’s negative cycle and somewhat freeing the rest, will only add to what Jonathan Kozol called "The Shame of the Nation," widening gaps in educational opportunity and quality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 04/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Duncan and blueprint, Duncan and school reform, FairTest, Fairtest, No Child Left Behind, Obama and blueprint, Obama and school reform, Obama's blueprint, Race to the Top

Posted at 11:50 AM ET, 04/02/2010

Why Obama's education reform plan can't work
By Valerie Strauss
In an open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, educator Jim Horn explains why the Obama administration's approach to school reform in its Blueprint for rewriting No Child Left Behind rests on bad assumptions and ignores real evidence.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:50 AM ET, 04/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 03/31/2010

Teachers fighting back in Florida

By Valerie Strauss
Even if you don’t live in Florida, you should pay attention to what is going on there. State lawmakers seem intent on passing legislation that opponents see as the sharpest attack on teachers in the country, and teachers and their supporters are fighting back. This could all spread beyond the borders of the Sunshine State.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 03/31/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Florida, NCLB, teacher tenure bill

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/30/2010

Florida's terrible teachers bill a test for Duncan
By Valerie Strauss
The state of Florida could prove to be a big test for Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Legislators in the Sunshine State are moving with all due speed to pass legislation that would go a long way to making sure no...

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 03/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Ed Secretary Arne Duncan, Florida, Race to the Top

Posted at 04:25 PM ET, 03/29/2010

Arne Duncan the heartbreaker and Race to the Top
By Valerie Strauss
So Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the first two winners of Race to the Top education reform money. Frankly, the process sounds a little too much like "Project Runway" to my taste.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:25 PM ET, 03/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, NCLB, Race to the Top

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 03/27/2010

More on Duncan’s VIP list in Chicago
By Valerie Strauss
There are new details about a list of VIPS and others who asked then Chicago Schools Superintendent Arne Duncan for help in getting certain children into top public schools. And here's an interesting discussion about the list and Duncan's record in Chicago.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 03/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Chicago public schools, Ed Secretary Arne Duncan

Posted at 10:39 AM ET, 03/26/2010

Duncan silent on Florida’s education mess
By Valerie Strauss
Despite a growing chorus of opposition from teachers, students and even school superintendents, the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature is intent on passing a bill that would make eliminate teacher tenure, link teacher pay to student standardized test scores, and add a heap more tests on already test-plagued students. Education Secretary Arne Duncan doesn't have a word to say about it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:39 AM ET, 03/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Florida, NCLB

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/24/2010

Disaster for Florida teachers: Senate Bill 6
By Valerie Strauss
A bill in the Florida Senate would go a long way to destroying the teaching profession in the state: It would eliminate job security, and link most of a teacher's pay to how well students perform on standardized tests. The bill takes to extremes the notion, supported by President Obama, of linking teacher evaluation to test scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 03/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Florida legislature, President Obama, standardized tests, teacher pay, teachers

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/23/2010

Ravitch's NCLB book an unexpected best seller
By Valerie Strauss
Education policy books aren't usually best sellers, but Diane Ravitch's new "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," has become so popular that many bookstores are sold out.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 03/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Diane Ravitch, President Obama

Posted at 01:45 PM ET, 03/13/2010

Obama and NCLB: The good--and very bad--news

By Valerie Strauss
Today we learned the vision that President Obama has for the American public education system in the post-No Child Left Behind era. Unfortunately, it doesn't look different enough. George Bush probably never realized how much of a friend Obama would be to NCLB.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:45 PM ET, 03/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  Arne Duncan, No Child Left Behind, President Obama, school reform

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 03/13/2010

Obama’s contradictions on education

By Valerie Strauss
President Obama has said repeatedly that his education goal is to make sure that every child has a quality education and the opportunity to graduate from college -- and he displayed his commitment to that by donating some of his Nobel Prize money to organizations that help underserved children get ready for college. But his education policies are guaranteed not to reach that goal.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 03/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind | Tags:  Arne Duncan, No Child Left Behind, President Obama, Race to the Top

Posted at 03:51 PM ET, 03/01/2010

Obama's unfortunate comments on teacher firings
By Valerie Strauss
President Obama unfortunately waded today into a debate about the firings last week of all of the educators in a high school in Rhode Island. Someone apparently has never told the president that these kinds of restructuring efforts rarely work well.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:51 PM ET, 03/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, president obama, school reform

Posted at 03:51 PM ET, 01/29/2010

Duncan’s own Hurricane Katrina

By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said to an interviewer that Hurricane Katrina was the best thing that happened to the New Orleans school system, I’m sure he wasn’t retroactively wishing a catastrophe to decimate the city and its school buildings. But he seems to be confusing metaphor with reality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:51 PM ET, 01/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  secretary arne duncan

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/19/2009

Diagnosed with “over-comprehension:” My standardized test nightmare

By Valerie Strauss
This really happened (and I hope Arne Duncan, Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich read this): Second grade. Everglades Elementary School in Miami. Mrs. Hirsch, my classroom teacher, passed out the first standardized test I had ever taken. Math and language arts. I took the exam and declared that I had done very well. Soon after the outstanding Everglades principal, Mrs. Kazer, called my mother and said, “Libby, we have to talk....” I got every answer wrong. Why?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 11/19/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind | Tags:  Arne Duncan, standardized tests

Posted at 11:15 AM ET, 10/30/2009

Levine: Ed schools should grab Duncan's lifeline--and not 'carp' about his critique
By Valerie Strauss
By Arthur Levine. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's speech at Columbia University's Teachers College represents a reversal of a recent trend: Government and philanthropy have tended to turn away from education schools, increasingly viewing them as poor in quality and unwilling to change..... He called for "revolutionary change" at these schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:15 AM ET, 10/30/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Secretary Arne Duncan, education schools

Posted at 02:51 PM ET, 10/08/2009

Teachers, Scientists and The Dalai Lama Hold a Different Kind of Education Conference
By Valerie Strauss
An education conference began in the nation’s capital today but it was not about standardized tests, national content standards, merit pay for teachers, or charter schools. Educators, scientists, the Dalai Lama and others came together to discuss how to cultivate in students the qualities not normally given much attention in most schools: social responsibility, self-control, compassion.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:51 PM ET, 10/08/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Civics Education, Civics Education, Civics Education, Civics Education | Tags:  Arne Duncan, Linda Darling-Hammond, Marian Wright Edelman, The Dalai Lama, school reform

Posted at 01:57 PM ET, 09/29/2009

How Do Americans View Their Public Schools?
By Valerie Strauss
The following was submitted by educator Stephen Krashen to Kappan, the magazine of Phi Delta Kappa International, in relation to the 41st annual PDK/Gallup poll on how Americans view public education, published in the September 2009 issue. Do you agree or disagree with him? How do you rate your neighborhood public school?

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:57 PM ET, 09/29/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  education secretary arne duncan, gerald bracey, public education, stephen krashen

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 09/22/2009

CHECKING IT OUT: The Push for National Standards--and Why You Should Care

By Valerie Strauss
The new release of a draft of national standards for math and language arts brings into sharp focus an effort to reform public education--based on the notion that all Americans should have the same basic foundation of knowledge and skills. The impetus behind national standards is understandable, but the bottom line is that Americans don't all have the same educational needs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 09/22/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  National Standards, National Standards | Tags:  content standards, education secretary arne duncan, national standards, no child left behind, school reform