The Answer Sheet: school


Posted at 02:54 PM ET, 05/23/2013

The Rev. John Thomas: No act of God caused Chicago schools closings
By Valerie Strauss
A reverend looks at what is really behind the decision by the Chicago Board of Education to go ahead with the largest mass closing of public schools in American history.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:54 PM ET, 05/23/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Chicago School Closings, Largest Mass Closing in U.S. History, The Schools Are Gone Because....

Posted at 05:02 AM ET, 05/23/2013

The billionaires lose one
By Valerie Strauss
Big money doesn't always win the day. At least it didn't in a school board race in Los Angeles.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 AM ET, 05/23/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Reformer Loses L.A. School Board Vote, School Boards

Posted at 01:02 PM ET, 05/20/2013

What's wrong with school 'choice'? Here's what.
By Valerie Strauss
The idea of giving students a choice of where to go school -- with public funds -- may sound good, but there are problems attached.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:02 PM ET, 05/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School choice, Vouchers

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 05/20/2013

Principal: Why our new educator evaluation system is unethical
By Valerie Strauss
The ethical standard by which each evaluation component should be judged -- and why New York's new educator assessment system violates it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 05/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Educator Evaluation, What Makes a Good School

Posted at 05:02 AM ET, 05/18/2013

Are school vouchers losing steam?
By Valerie Strauss
Vouchers have been at the center of the school choice movement for many reformers, but they may be in trouble.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 AM ET, 05/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charters Taking Precedent, School choice, Vouchers

Posted at 10:31 AM ET, 05/17/2013

Three days of marches in Chicago to protest school closings
By Valerie Strauss
Three days of demonstrations to protest the closing of 54 schools in Chicago starts Saturday.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:31 AM ET, 05/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Protests Planned This Weekend, School Closures

Posted at 04:03 AM ET, 05/17/2013

The revolution is here
By Valerie Strauss
The revolution is against corporate-based education reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:03 AM ET, 05/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Against Corporate-Based Reform, School Reform

Posted at 11:22 PM ET, 05/16/2013

Americans: The world's sleepiest students
By Valerie Strauss
An analysis of data on sleepy students collected from countries around the world.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:22 PM ET, 05/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Instruction Affected, Sleep and School

Posted at 01:02 PM ET, 05/15/2013

School rankings: Why even the better ones are questionable
By Valerie Strauss
Here are some of the serious problems affecting even the better school rankings.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:02 PM ET, 05/15/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Rankings, The Problems

Posted at 05:01 AM ET, 05/14/2013

Why recruiting top talent isn't the best way to reform schools
By Valerie Strauss
What's the most important factor for organizational success in today's knowledge-based economy?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:01 AM ET, 05/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, What Works

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 05/13/2013

Insects — a new nutritious ingredient for school lunches?
By Valerie Strauss
A new U.N. report says insects are a good alternative to conventional foods and feed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:14 PM ET, 05/13/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Lunches, U.N. Report on Insect Eating

Posted at 11:34 AM ET, 05/11/2013

A major school reformer's 'Nixon goes to China' moment
By Valerie Strauss
A discussion on school reform in New York took a surprising turn when a reform heavyweight said, "We're losing the communications game because we don't have a good message to communicate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:34 AM ET, 05/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Paul Vallas, School Reform

Posted at 06:01 AM ET, 05/10/2013

'Yuck: A 4th Grader's Short Documentary About School Lunch'
By Valerie Strauss
A fourth grader secretly films what kids are being served in a New York City elementary school and makes an award-winning film about it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:01 AM ET, 05/10/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Lunch, Watch The Trailer

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 06:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013

Colleges, universities tighten security for graduation ceremonies
By Valerie Strauss
The Massachusetts university where one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects attended is restricting the number of people who can attend this weekend's graduation ceremonies.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Boston Marathon bombings, Reaction to Boston Marathon Bombings, School Security

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013

School district closes before academic year is over
By Valerie Strauss
Teachers offered to work for free but liability issues got in the way.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Financial Crisis, School District Closes, Teachers Vote to Work For Free

Posted at 03:44 PM ET, 05/08/2013

Virginia second-graders suspended for pointing pencils at each other
By Valerie Strauss
Have you heard about the two 7- year-old boys who were suspended from school for pointing pencils at each other while making shooting sounds?

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:44 PM ET, 05/08/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A Better Way to Handle It, School Discipline

Posted at 05:19 PM ET, 05/07/2013

Louisiana Supreme Court rules school voucher funding unconstitutional
By Valerie Strauss
The Supreme Court of Louisiana ruled today 6-1 that the way the state funds its school voucher program is unconstitutional.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:19 PM ET, 05/07/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Public Money for Public Schools, School vouchers

Posted at 11:01 AM ET, 05/04/2013

School canceled for 'great weather'
By Valerie Strauss
Snow days are common, but a sun day?

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:01 AM ET, 05/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Closed, Video

Posted at 11:01 AM ET, 04/26/2013

A bad idea in D.C. on school reform -- and a sharp response (update)
By Valerie Strauss
The belief that this process should start with a team of lawyers and not end with one speaks to a fundamental missed opportunity.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:01 AM ET, 04/26/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Stop Hunting and Ask the Crowd', A Bad Idea, D.C. Public Schools, School Reform

Posted at 03:33 PM ET, 04/23/2013

The color of school closures
By Valerie Strauss
Who is most affected by public school closures in major cities?

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:33 PM ET, 04/23/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  An Infographic, School Closures

Posted at 12:16 PM ET, 04/21/2013

Teacher: How my job went from great to infuriating
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a call for the end of high-stakes standardized tests from a teacher who chronicles how school reform forced him to change how he taught.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:16 PM ET, 04/21/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Effects of NCLB, No Child Left Behind, School Reform, Teachers, What School Reform Did

Posted at 09:46 AM ET, 04/20/2013

When it's not his children's school
By Valerie Strauss
A parent blasts Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his plan to close more than 50 public schools

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:46 AM ET, 04/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Chicago School Closings, School Reform

Posted at 09:17 AM ET, 04/18/2013

Gabby Giffords nails it on Senate's failure
By Valerie Strauss
So much for making children and schools safer.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:17 AM ET, 04/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Safety

Posted at 05:32 AM ET, 04/18/2013

Virginia Tech, other colleges tightening security
By Valerie Strauss
Colleges and universities are tightening security around the country for big weekend sporting and other events in the wake of Monday's deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:32 AM ET, 04/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  At Big Events, Boston Marathon bombings, School Security

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/17/2013

'Personalization' of learning: Genuine or slick marketing?
By Valerie Strauss
Is using technological tools to "personalize" student learning the real thing?

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/15/2013

The problem with school superintendents
By Valerie Strauss
Two trends have characterized the urban school district superintendency in recent years, neither of them good.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/15/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Needed: Continuity, Not Change, School Superintendents

Posted at 09:35 AM ET, 04/13/2013

Study: School reform in 3 major cities brings few benefits, some harm
By Valerie Strauss
A new study on the effects of corporate-based school reform in Washington D.C., New York City and concludes that little has been accomplished and some harm has been done to students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:35 AM ET, 04/13/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Chicago, D.C., New York City, School Reform

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 04/12/2013

NY's 2013 'High School Principal of Year' is fighting state over reform
By Valerie Strauss
New York State's new High School Principal of the Year is Carol Burris, a school leader in Long Island who has been a leader in a fight with state officials over reforms

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 04/12/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Opposes Test-Based Accountability, School Reform

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 04:01 AM ET, 04/11/2013

What teachers need and reformers ignore: time to collaborate
By Valerie Strauss
Darling-Hammond: The reform impulse that gave rise to construction of new learning standards and assessments will only work if we invest in the capacity of educators to work together effectively.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/11/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Linda Darling-Hammond, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 04/05/2013

Georgia students fight segregated proms
By Valerie Strauss
A group of black and white students who have been friends for years are fighting to end a whites-only prom at a Georgia high school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:10 AM ET, 04/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  in 2013, School Segregation, Yes

Posted at 01:32 PM ET, 04/04/2013

Why renowned educators -- and new teachers -- are 'occupying' Ed Dept
By Valerie Strauss
Today teachers, students, parents, researchers and other activists are starting the second annual "Occupy the DOE" event on the grounds of the U.S. Education Department to protest corporate-based school reform. A new teacher explains why she is attending.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:32 PM ET, 04/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  New Teacher Explains Why She Is ATtending, School Reform

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/04/2013

An urban school district that works -- without miracles or Teach For America
By Valerie Strauss
To listen to some school reformers, you'd think there are no urban traditional public schools that are successful. Here's a different story, excerpted from David Kirp's new "Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System And A Strategy For America's Schools."

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Book Excerpt, Book Excerpt by David Kirp, School Reform

Posted at 01:01 PM ET, 04/03/2013

Following the school reform money
By Valerie Strauss
Just how well-coordinated and far-reaching is the intersection of school reform and politics?

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:01 PM ET, 04/03/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Intersection of Politics, It's Coordinated, Money in School Reform, Reform, School Reform

Posted at 12:17 PM ET, 04/02/2013

How to arm our schools
By Valerie Strauss
What is the best way to protect students at school?

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:17 PM ET, 04/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Security, The Right Resources

Posted at 06:01 AM ET, 03/29/2013

Key education activists protesting in D.C. next week
By Valerie Strauss
Leading education activists are converging on Washington D.C. next week to protest school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:01 AM ET, 03/29/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School R, School Reform

Posted at 08:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013

We didn't need a survey to tell us this
By Valerie Strauss
Do the people of Chicago really want corporate-based school reform? What a survey really tells us.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 03/27/2013

The problem with New Jersey's takeover of Camden schools
By Valerie Strauss
Something had to be done for the kids in Camden public schools, but here's why the newly announced state takeover may not help a bit.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 03/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, State Takeover, The Same Old Thing

Posted at 11:55 PM ET, 03/26/2013

Barricades erected before mass protest against Chicago school closings
By Valerie Strauss
Here's how you know that Chicago officials are expecting a rowdy turnout at a mass rally called for Wednesday afternoon to protest the announced closings of more than 50 schools this year:

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 PM ET, 03/26/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Civil Disobedience Expected, School Closings

Posted at 11:14 PM ET, 03/22/2013

Rihanna shows up at school nearly 5 hours late -- and stays 16 minutes
By Valerie Strauss
Things didn't go as planned at a high school Rihanna was scheduled to visit.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:14 PM ET, 03/22/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Bad Manners?, School Visits, Way Not to Go

Posted at 08:38 PM ET, 03/21/2013

Chicago closing 54 schools; union leader blasts 'outrageous' plan
By Valerie Strauss
Chicago says it will close 54 schools this year; Chicago Teachers Union leader says the closings are a travesty -- and worse.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:38 PM ET, 03/21/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'An Insult', Chicago Schools, School Closings

Posted at 05:20 PM ET, 03/20/2013

How big is the school counselor shortage? Big
By Valerie Strauss
As a national debate continues about how to make schools safer, the student-counselor ratio in some states remains shockingly high.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:20 PM ET, 03/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Counselors, Why It Matters

Posted at 11:54 AM ET, 03/19/2013

New nonsense about teachers
By Valerie Strauss
There's some new rhetoric from reformers about teachers and I'm already sick of it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:54 AM ET, 03/19/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  About Teachers, Accountability, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 10:13 AM ET, 03/15/2013

Threatening a school, Charlie Sheen? Really?
By Valerie Strauss
Sheen tweeted "a legitimate call to arms" against Viewpoint School in Calabasas, Ca.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:13 AM ET, 03/15/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charlie Sheen, School Security, Ugh

Posted at 03:21 PM ET, 03/14/2013

What happened when a Rhode Island state senator took a student standardized test?
By Valerie Strauss
A Rhode Island state senator was one of the first of some 50 adults who have agreed to take a version of the state's standardized test, part of an action aimed at protesting a new high school testing graduation requirement that students say is unfair.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:21 PM ET, 03/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How Did She Do?, More Adults Taking Exam, More Adults Taking Test, School Reform, Standardized Tests

Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2013

The unreasonable 'Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013
By Valerie Strauss
You won't believe what a bill called "The Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013" and introduced in the Maryland legislature is intended to accomplish. Think Pop-Tarts and guns.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Discipline, Think Pop-Tarts and Guns

Posted at 12:33 PM ET, 03/08/2013

Ravitch forms advocacy group to counter Rhee and other school reformers
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch explains why she she has formed a new advocacy group to fight corporate-based school reform and organizations -- like Michelle Rhee's -- that support it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:33 PM ET, 03/08/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Diane Ravitch, Q & A With Ravitch, School Reform

Posted at 08:09 PM ET, 03/07/2013

Philadelphia to close 23 public schools; Randi Weingarten arrested at protest (update)
By Valerie Strauss
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was arrested along with 18 other activists today in Philadelphia as they were protesting a hearing by the School Reform Commission on a plan to close nearly 30 public schools in the city.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:09 PM ET, 03/07/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Handcuffed, Randi Weingarten, School Closings

Posted at 03:05 PM ET, 03/06/2013

Voters send mixed signals to school reformers in L.A.
By Valerie Strauss
Voters keep sending signals that they have very mixed feelings about corporate-based school reform. The latest signs come from Los Angeles, where races for three Board of Education seats resulted in one defeat, one win, and one runoff for supporters of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:05 PM ET, 03/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Board of Education Races, School Reform

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 12:34 PM ET, 03/03/2013

Student videotapes teacher allegedly stealing from student backpacks
By Valerie Strauss
Here's how a student caught a teacher who was rifling through student backpacks and apparently stealing cash.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:34 PM ET, 03/03/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Caught, School Security

Posted at 02:14 AM ET, 03/03/2013

Schools put on lockdown when 'Fresh Prince' song is misinterpreted
By Valerie Strauss
Schools in a Pennsylvania county were put on lockdown after a receptionist misunderstood the words of the theme song of the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" that a student had as his cell phone greeting.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:14 AM ET, 03/03/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Security, You Can't Be Too Careful

Posted at 01:29 PM ET, 03/02/2013

Where school reform fails to meet classroom reality
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher recounts what she faces every day in the classroom and how much of the school reform movement's talking points ignore reality.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:29 PM ET, 03/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, What Really Happens

Posted at 01:48 PM ET, 03/01/2013

Republicans on the ropes? Not everywhere
By Valerie Strauss
Joe Scarborough keeps saying on "Morning Joe" that the GOP is in big trouble, but there is one area of policy where they seem to be doing just fine.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:48 PM ET, 03/01/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Republican Party, School Reform

Posted at 04:14 PM ET, 02/28/2013

Welfare for the rich? Private school tax credit programs expanding
By Valerie Strauss
What sequester? Some states are using public money to pay private school tuition through controversial tax credit programs that benefit the rich. And the programs are expanding..

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:14 PM ET, 02/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Just Another School Choice, School choice, Tax Credits

Posted at 02:05 PM ET, 02/27/2013

Education innovator wins $1 million TED prize
By Valerie Strauss
The winner of the first $1 million TED Prize for education innovation is (no, not Sal Khan) Sugata Mitra, for his plan to start this year the "School in the Cloud." What's that?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:05 PM ET, 02/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'School in the Cloud', Education Innovation

Posted at 09:54 AM ET, 02/26/2013

Editorial bashes Jeb Bush's education 'reform' efforts
By Valerie Strauss
A Florida newspaper rips apart Jeb Bush's school reform record in the state and takes on his national reputation as a leading education reformer.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:54 AM ET, 02/26/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Undeserved Reputation', Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 02/25/2013

'You can't have that data': 19 months of stonewalling by ed bureaucrats
By Valerie Strauss
In state after state, critics of education reform try to get data from state education departments to see for themselves how well the reforms are working but often get stonewalled. Here's one such story.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:00 AM ET, 02/25/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Reform, School Reform, So Much For Transparency

Posted at 08:32 AM ET, 02/22/2013

Teacher questions value of AP program
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher who taught AP government questions whether all AP courses really make high school students more prepared for college than they would have been if they took other courses.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:32 AM ET, 02/22/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Advanced Placement, Challenging Jay Mathews, He Challenges Jay Mathews, School Reform

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 02/16/2013

Colbert skewers Phoenix school 'gun posse' and trainer Steven Seagal
By Valerie Strauss
In the you-can't-make-up-this-stuff-category, an Arizona sheriff recruited actor Steven Seagal to train volunteers to be part of an armed posse to patrol Phoenix-area schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 02/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guns in Schools, It's Hilarious, School Security, This Video Is Hilarious

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 02/06/2013

Students can't Google everything: Why knowledge matters
By Valerie Strauss
If you mistake advocacy for a knowledge-based curriculum as wistful nostalgia for a better time, or as "old fashioned" you just don't get it, writes Daniel Willingham, in this piece about a school reform debate in Britain that resonates here as well.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:26 PM ET, 02/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, School Reform Debate

Posted at 10:38 AM ET, 02/05/2013

Tennessee lawmaker wants to cut welfare benefits for bad report cards
By Valerie Strauss
There seems to be no end to the number of wacky school reform ideas. Now a Tennessee state senator wants to cut welfare payments to families whose kids get really bad report cards and test scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:38 AM ET, 02/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Idea Gets an 'F', School Reform

Posted at 01:08 AM ET, 02/05/2013

Jon Stewart tests Michelle Rhee, defends teachers (update with video)
By Valerie Strauss
on Stewart invited Michelle Rhee on "The Daily Show" Monday night and, while he didn't skewer her the way some Rhee critics would have liked, he kept challenging her about whether her brand of school reform unfairly targets teachers. He also said what Rhee and other reformers could take to be something of a slight: There has been "no real innovation in education since John Dewey."

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:08 AM ET, 02/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  He Challenges Reforms, He Defends Teachers, Jon Stewart, Michelle Rhee, Polite But Challenging, School Reform

Posted at 12:19 PM ET, 02/04/2013

Second-graders correct NFL players' tweets
By Valerie Strauss
Second graders at Elmwood Franklin Elementary School in Buffalo, N.Y., used their grammar lessons to correct tweets from NFL players.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:19 PM ET, 02/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Elementary School, Getting It Right

Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 02/02/2013

The inconvenient truth of education 'reform'
By Valerie Strauss
Several important things happened in the education world this week; here's an analysis that answers this question: Whose interests are really being served with school reform?

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:34 PM ET, 02/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, The Costs

Posted at 02:17 PM ET, 01/30/2013

Six best e-mails on National School Choice Week
By Valerie Strauss
It's School Choice Week, which is not easy to forget if your email queue fills up every few hours with messages that have subject lines like the ones below. There are, according to the website, "3,600 events and counting!" to celebrate school choice, which has become one of the primary focuses of school reformers in America today.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:17 PM ET, 01/30/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Happy Hours and More, Lots of Events, School choice

Posted at 02:01 PM ET, 01/29/2013

National school boards group blasts U.S. Education Department
By Valerie Strauss
The National Schools Board Association today blasted the Obama administration's education policies, saying that the Education Department under Secretary Arne Duncan has pushed "unnecessary and counter-productive federal intrusion" onto local school districts.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:01 PM ET, 01/29/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, Hits 'Federal Intrusion', School Boards

Posted at 10:59 AM ET, 01/27/2013

Florida ed reform: 'A danger of all this imploding'
By Valerie Strauss
Educators in Florida have been screaming for some time about the irrationality of the state's standardized test-based school accountability system -- which is being sold around the country by former governor Jeb Bush as a model for education reform. But now the powerful president of the Florida Senate, Republican Don Gaetz, has become part of the chorus.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:59 AM ET, 01/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, Teacher Evaluation

Posted at 03:53 PM ET, 01/23/2013

Teacher may lose job over students with mouths taped shut
By Valerie Strauss
Some of you may remember when Michelle Rhee addressed a group of new teachers back in 2010 and disclosed that when she was a second-grade teacher at Baltimore's Harlem Park Elementary, her class-management skills were so bad that she taped the mouths of her students. The incident didn't have any effect on Rhee's career as an education reformer, but a teacher in Ohio isn't going to be so lucky.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:53 PM ET, 01/23/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Discipline, Teachers, Who Does That Sound Like?

Posted at 04:13 PM ET, 01/16/2013

PTA criticizes Obama's call for more armed school guards
By Valerie Strauss
The National Parent Teachers Organization said today it was pleased with much of President Obama's new proposals to improve school security but that his call for more armed guards at schools "comes as a disappointment."

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:13 PM ET, 01/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Group Opposes Guns on Campus, Gun Violence in Schools, guns, School Security

Posted at 02:14 PM ET, 01/16/2013

Obama's proposals on school safety
By Valerie Strauss
Here's what President Obama proposed today to make schools safer as part of his expansive new initiative to reduce gun violence.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:14 PM ET, 01/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  President Obama, School Safety, Targeting Gun Violence

Posted at 12:08 PM ET, 01/10/2013

Parsing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's education agenda
By Valerie Strauss
In his State of the Commonwealth address on Tuesday night, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed a state constitutional amendment that would make it easier for charter schools to open, an A-F system to grade schools, the use of Teach For America members, and more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:08 PM ET, 01/10/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, Virginia schools, Wants More Charter Schools

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 01/09/2013

Education reform as a business
By Valerie Strauss
Here is an example of how school reform has become little more than a business in some arenas (and just how removed some reformers have gotten from classrooms and teachers and students and the actual dynamic of teaching and learning). It's the "Business Plan Competition" being run by the Yale School of Management.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:59 AM ET, 01/09/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education as a Business, Investing in Education, School Reform, The Profit Motive

Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 01/07/2013

Michelle Rhee's new state reform report card
By Valerie Strauss
StudentsFirst, her lobbying organization that has taken aim at teachers unions, just released a "reform" report card that grades states on whether they have followed the reforms that she likes. That means that D.C. schools did better than Maryland and Virginia. Really. Here's more about the report card and what else Rhee is up to.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:06 PM ET, 01/07/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How DC, How Powerful Is She, MD scored, Michelle Rhee, School Reform, VA

Posted at 11:27 AM ET, 01/06/2013

The secret e-mails about Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to Newark schools
By Valerie Strauss
A detail that got buried on the day that Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced he would not challenge Gov. Chris Christie next year was the bit of news that a judge had ordered the release of secret e-mails involving the Booker administration's dealings involving Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to city schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:27 AM ET, 01/06/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Privatization, School Reform, The Gritty Details

Posted at 01:11 PM ET, 12/21/2012

Virginia superintendents, principals reject guns in schools
By Valerie Strauss
Three educators' associations in Virginia just issued a release on school safety that says they are concerned about Gov. Bob McDonnell's suggestion that state residents have a discussion about allowing guns in schools

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:11 PM ET, 12/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guns in Schools, Keeping Schools Safe, School Safety

Posted at 09:02 AM ET, 12/21/2012

School reform news vs. 'Les Mis'
By Valerie Strauss
Which is more depressing? School reform news or Les Miserables?

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:02 AM ET, 12/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Les Miserables, School Reform, Tweet, Tweet of The Day

Posted at 07:42 PM ET, 12/20/2012

Dozens of Michigan schools close early because of rumors of violence
By Valerie Strauss
Dozens of Michigan schools started the holiday break two days early because of distractions caused by rumored threats of violence and issues with end-of-the-world prophecies. Following are statements from officials in the two counties explaining why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:42 PM ET, 12/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Our Communities Are Anxious', School Closings, School Shootings

Posted at 02:01 PM ET, 12/20/2012

Teachers unions reject arming educators in schools
By Valerie Strauss
The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, with a total of some 4.5 million members, said in a joint statement that arming teachers won't make schools safer/. What will, they say, are mental health services, bullying prevention and gun safety legislation.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:01 PM ET, 12/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Mental Health Services Needed, Newtown, School Safety

Posted at 03:17 PM ET, 12/18/2012

1947 video on school discipline
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a 1947 video on school discipline that you will find either illuminating or amusing, or both. It's one of the videos that educator Larry Ferlazzo has on his 2012 list of best videos for educators.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:17 PM ET, 12/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Best Videos for Educators, School Discipline

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 12/18/2012

Have teachers changed their minds about reform?
By Valerie Strauss
Where do teachers stand on the current wave of school reform? Education writer Jay Mathews says teachers are now leaning in favor of reform. Researcher Matthew Di Carlo takes a look at that claim.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 12/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Like It or Not?, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 11:34 AM ET, 12/15/2012

U.S. school districts react to Newtown shootings
By Valerie Strauss
School districts in the greater Washington area and around the country respond to the deadly shootings at a Connecticut elementary school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:34 AM ET, 12/15/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Safety Issues Addressed, School Shootings, School Violence

Posted at 03:37 PM ET, 12/14/2012

How to talk to children about violence against children
By Valerie Strauss
ANSWER SHEET | From the National Association of School Psychologists is advice on how to talk to children about violence.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:37 PM ET, 12/14/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Dealing With Crisis, School Shootings, Violence Against Children

Posted at 01:16 PM ET, 12/14/2012

Proposed Loudoun charter gets initial 'no' vote
By Valerie Strauss
A three-member select committee of the Loudoun School Board have voted against recommending that the full panel approve what would be the first public charter school in the county because of questions involving curriculum and other operational issues.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:16 PM ET, 12/14/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charter Schools, Full School Board to decide

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 12/10/2012

Moco schools chief calls for three-year moratorium on standardized testing
By Valerie Strauss
Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr, solidifying his role as a prominent critic of President Obama's education policies, says the country needs a three-year moratorium on standardized testing and needs to "stop the insanity" of evaluating teachers according to student test scores because it is based on "bad science."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:35 PM ET, 12/10/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Montgomery County Schools, Problems With Reform, School Reform

Posted at 05:37 PM ET, 11/30/2012

Why a Louisiana judge ruled school vouchers unconstitutional
By Valerie Strauss
A Louisiana state judge sided today with opponents of Gov. Bobby Jindal's sweeping private school voucher program, ruling that is unconstitutional because it improperly diverts public state and local money intended for public schools to private institutions.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:37 PM ET, 11/30/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Is Indiana Next?, School vouchers

Posted at 10:58 PM ET, 11/28/2012

Finnish Lessons' author wins $100,000 education prize
By Valerie Strauss
Finland's Pasi Sahlberg, an international leader in education reform, has won a $100,000 education prize from the University of Louisville for his worldwide best-selling book that explains how Finnish schools were reformed to become among the best in the world.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:58 PM ET, 11/28/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Finnish Lessons, Pasi Sahlberg, Real School Reform

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/27/2012

Superintendent who led schools' response to Aurora movie massacre stepping down
By Valerie Strauss
John Barry, the superintendent of public schools in Aurora, Colorado, who oversaw a detailed response for the state's sixth largest school district in the wake of the massacre last July at an Aurora movie theater, is stepping down.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 11/27/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School superintendent, The resignation email

Posted at 09:40 AM ET, 11/26/2012

Who does Jeb Bush think he's kidding?
By Valerie Strauss
Jeb Bush is about to launch his fifth education summit in Washington, in an effort to to further his brand of corporate-based school reform, which he likes to tout except when acolytes get beaten at the polls.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:40 AM ET, 11/26/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Jeb Bush, School Reform

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012

Why some conservatives oppose vouchers
By Valerie Strauss
While Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Bobby Jindal support vouchers, not all conservatives do, though it's not for the same reasons that fuel opposition from public school advocates. Here's why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School choice, School Reform

Posted at 01:52 PM ET, 11/18/2012

D.C. vouchers: What you need to know
By Valerie Strauss
Hundreds of D.C. student who receive money from the congressionally created voucher program attend unaccredited schools, including one school whose curriculum is based on a Bulgarian psychotherapist's philosophy and one Nation of Islam school. There's plenty more in a Post investigation.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:52 PM ET, 11/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A Post Investigation, D.C. vouchers; Voucher Programs, School choice

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 03:40 PM ET, 11/09/2012

Sprouts for sprouts
By Valerie Strauss
It isn't a vegetable that kids gravitate to, but brussel sprouts were the centerpiece of a bunch of concoctions at a taste test for D.C. school children. Picture from the D.C. Central Kitchen.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:40 PM ET, 11/09/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  D.C. Public Schools, School Food

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 11/08/2012

Washington charter initiative STILL undecided update
By Valerie Strauss
It turns out that election results for Washington's initiative to allow charter schools to open in the state are incomplete and the outcome remains unknown despite the fact that a bunch of billionaires spent millions to get it approved.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 11/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Big Money, Charter Schools, School reforfm

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/08/2012

How Obama helped Georgia charter measure win
By Valerie Strauss
Georgia's ballot measure to permit the state to create a committee to approve charter schools passed with big support from African Americans -- even though black lawmakers and other leaders in the state said it would lead to the resegregation of public schools. Who helped?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 11/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charter Schools, Election Results, Powerful ad, School Reform

Posted at 12:36 PM ET, 11/08/2012

Bad losers in Tuesdays election
By Valerie Strauss
No sooner had veteran teacher Glenda Ritz upset Tony Bennett as schools superintendent in Indiana's election by questioning his corporate-based school reform agenda than unhappy Republican state leaders threw down the gauntlet to Ritz and her supporters.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:36 PM ET, 11/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Indiana Superintendent, School Reform, The Election

Posted at 04:04 PM ET, 11/07/2012

A call for President Obama to change course on education
By Arthur H. Camins
Here is a call to President Obama and other school reformers to reevaluate the reform initiatives they have undertaken in recent years, framed against the documentary "The Fog of War," in which former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara came to realize how he had ignored evidence in his prosecution of the Vietnam War.

By Arthur H. Camins  |  04:04 PM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, School Reform, The Fog of Education War

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 11/07/2012

Results in key education races
By Valerie Strauss
School reformers sustained some big upsets around the country but also had some wins. Here's what happened.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Election Results, Future of Reform, School Reform

Posted at 12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012

Florida rejects using public funds for religious school tuition
By Valerie Strauss
Florida voters defeated a measure that would have allowed the use of public funds for religious school tuition, effectively turning back an effort that was expected to lead to a state-wide voucher program.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'No' on Vouchers, School choice, School Reform, Vouchers

Posted at 11:26 PM ET, 11/06/2012

Major school reformer ousted by teacher as Indiana schools superintendent
By Valerie Strauss
In a major upset that will delight school reform foes around the country, Indiana voters tossed out controversial state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and elected veteran teacher Glenda Ritz in his place.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:26 PM ET, 11/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School Reform, The Election

Posted at 03:18 PM ET, 11/06/2012

A bakers dozen of races that matter to education
By Valerie Strauss
There's at a lot at stake for public education in Tuesday's election. There are initiatives on school funding, the spread of charter schools and vouchers, and plenty more. Here are some key races to watch.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:18 PM ET, 11/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Election Results, Public Education, School Reform

Posted at 10:10 AM ET, 11/05/2012

Whats at stake for public schools in election
By Valerie Strauss
Tuesday's election will determine whether Arne Duncan stays as President Obama's education secretary (Duncan says he wants to stay and Obama has shown no interest in replacing him) or whether Mitt Romney will pick Duncan's successor -- but there's a lot more at stake for public education when Americans go to the polls.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:10 AM ET, 11/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Initiatives and Races, School Reform, The Election

Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 11/01/2012

Just Let Me Teach armbands taking off
By Valerie Strauss
Short summary of story

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:49 AM ET, 11/01/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Fed Up, School Reform, Teachers

Posted at 03:53 PM ET, 10/29/2012

Why Obama’s leading education critic will vote for him
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch has savaged President Obama's education policies for years, saying they have harmed public schools. But here's why she has decided to vote for him anyway.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:53 PM ET, 10/29/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Decision, Diane Ravitch, Election, School Reform

Posted at 12:03 PM ET, 10/26/2012

Study: Demography remains destiny in NYC despite school choice reforms
By Valerie Strauss
School reformers like to say demography is not destiny. But a new study of New York City's reform effort, which made school choice a priority, has failed to bring about educational equity.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:03 PM ET, 10/26/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Research, Research, School choice

Posted at 11:44 AM ET, 10/24/2012

Billionaires put big bucks in Louisiana school board races
By Valerie Strauss
Here is a new case study in our continuing look at how billionaires (and millionaires) are throwing around their money to drive education reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:44 AM ET, 10/24/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Billionaires, Privatization, School Reform

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’
By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Former Marine turned teacher: 'Stop demonizing me and my profession'
By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 03:30 PM ET, 10/19/2012

About the ‘rogue experiment’ that upset researchers
By Valerie Strauss
What's the connection between an experiment by an entrepreneur who dropped 100 tons of iron dust into the Pacific Ocean and school reform initiatives?

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:30 PM ET, 10/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Just Saying, School Reform; Science Experiments

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 10/19/2012

Playing hardball over a Tennessee charter school
By Valerie Strauss
Well, they went ahead and did it. Tennessee education officials actually lived up to their petulant threat to withhold $3.4 million from Nashville public schools as punishment for refusing to allow a controversial charter school to open.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:26 PM ET, 10/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charter Schools, School choice

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 10/15/2012

French president pushing homework ban as part of ed reforms
By Valerie Strauss
French President François Hollande, would likely win a popularity contest among school children around the world with his promise to end homework as part of a series of reforms to overhaul the country's education system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:00 PM ET, 10/15/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Homework; school reform, International

Posted at 05:02 PM ET, 10/08/2012

Things educators could say but don’t
By Valerie Strauss
Are teachers more humanely motivated than most of the rest of us?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 PM ET, 10/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voices, No Child Left Behind; School Reform

Posted at 03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012

Next on school reformers’ agenda
By Valerie Strauss
Principals can expect to be in the

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, School Reform; School Choice, What's Coming

Posted at 02:59 PM ET, 10/05/2012

Ex-Teach For America member changes his mind
By Valerie Strauss
A Los Angeles educator finds that change is much harder than he thought.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:59 PM ET, 10/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voices, School Reforms, Teach for America, Teacher preparation

Posted at 05:35 PM ET, 10/04/2012

What would a President Romney really do in education?
By Valerie Strauss
A conservative says much would stay the same in ed policy under a President Romney -- but not everything.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:35 PM ET, 10/04/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Divining the future, Looking into future, Mitt Romney; Education policy; School reform

Posted at 11:51 AM ET, 03/16/2012

A new poverty-doesn’t-really-matter-much argument
By Valerie Strauss
And so drumbeat keeps getting louder

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:51 AM ET, 03/16/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education, Paul Petrson, School reform, teating

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 08:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011

The Bill Gates problem in school reform
By Valerie Strauss
How our celebrity-obsessed culture affects school reform: If Bill Gates had no money, would anybody care what he has to say about how to fix public schools (especially since he lacks strong evidence to back his positions)?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 03/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  bill gates, gates foundation, gates interview, school reform, teacher evaluation teacher effectiveness

Posted at 12:47 PM ET, 03/01/2011

Jon Stewart's hysterical defense of teachers
By Valerie Strauss
Jon Stewart (finally) does a hysterical bit about the preposterous attacks on the nation’s public school teachers, who have been accused by school “reformers” of being lazy, greedy and lousy at their jobs.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:47 PM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Laugh and cry, Teachers | Tags:  diane ravitch, jon stewart, school reform, the daily show, 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 07:00 AM ET, 02/28/2011

Debating Michelle Rhee
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a look at the two central questions posed by "The Bee Keeper," the new book about Michelle Rhee: Why do D.C. schools perform so much worse than many other big city school districts? Was Rhee’s the right approach to improving the schools?

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 02/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Michelle Rhee, Richard Kahlenberg | Tags:  michelle rhee, richard whitmire, school reform, slate magazine, studentsfirst, teacher assessment, the bee eater

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 02/27/2011

2 false claims that drive school reform
By Valerie Strauss
"Accountability" and "merit" are compelling concepts, especially when we are talking about adults who are charged with educating our children. But the concepts have been misused in school reform, writes an educator.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 02/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Accountability, Charter schools, Guest Bloggers, Performance pay, Teacher assessment | Tags:  accountability movement, charter schools, geoffrey canada, merit pay, michelle rhee, performance pay, school choice, teacher pay, teachers, waiting for superman

Posted at 09:45 AM ET, 02/03/2011

Why aren't public school parents protesting?
By Valerie Strauss
A public school parent in New York writes about money and privilege, and private and public schooling in New York City.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:45 AM ET, 02/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Avenues, Avenues The World School, Joel Klein, Mom Blog, barry diller, beccarama, manhattan private schools, new york city, new york city schools, private schools

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 11:30 AM ET, 02/02/2011

The Bartleby Project
By Valerie Strauss
A veteran educator writes about the country's obsession with standardized testing and what might be done about it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 02/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  education reform, president obama, school reform, standardized test industry, standardized tests, test industry, the bartleby project

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 02/02/2011

Obstacles to better school counseling -- and what to do about it
By Valerie Strauss
School counselors know full well that they can't always be there to help students. A counseling expert says that the problem is that counselors can’t change things by themselves.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 02/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  counselors, national school counselors week, school counselors

Posted at 09:19 PM ET, 02/01/2011

Arlington principal resigns: Read the letter
By Washington Post editors
Here's the text of an extraordinary letter released to the Arlington public school community by Williamsburg Middle School Principal Kathleen Francis, who just announced her unexpected resignation. In the letter, she blames Arlington Schools Supt. Patrick K. Murphy for creating a hostile environment.

By Washington Post editors  |  09:19 PM ET, 02/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership | Tags:  arlington principal, arlington principal resigns, arlington public schools, arlington schools, principal resigns, williamsburg middle, williamsburg middle school

Posted at 09:10 AM ET, 02/01/2011

Texas student fined $637 for cursing in class
By Valerie Strauss
A student was slapped with $637 in fines for cursing in class. Is it a good or bad idea for schools to fine kids for this?

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:10 AM ET, 02/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Discipline | Tags:  cursing, cursing in class, cussing, discipline, school discipline, student fined for cursing, swearing

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 02/01/2011

'It makes no sense:' A dissection of Obama's education view
By Valerie Strauss
Here is a dissection of what President Obama said about education in his State of the Union speech, plus more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 02/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  china and india and education, china education, chinese schools, education, education policy, education reform, indian schools, international competitiveness, obama speech, president obama, president obama school reform, public schools, race to the top, school reform, schools, state of the union, u.s. education

Posted at 05:28 PM ET, 01/31/2011

Letter to President Obama: Who is a 'highly qualified' teacher?
By Valerie Strauss
More than 50 organizations sign a letter to President Obama about legislation that would codify a Bush-era regulation that allows states to label teachers as “highly qualified” when they are still in training – and, in many cases, just beginning training – in alternative route programs. alternative route programs.Bamajoin in

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:28 PM ET, 01/31/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  continuing resolution, definition of highly qualified, education groups, h.r. 3082, highly qualified, highly qualified teacher, letter to obama, president obama, public school teachers

Posted at 01:07 PM ET, 01/29/2011

Study: Most high school biology teachers don’t endorse evolution
By Valerie Strauss
The central theory of biology is evolution yet a new study shows that most high school biology teachers are reluctant to endorse it in class.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:07 PM ET, 01/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Science, Science | Tags:  biology, biology teachers, charles darwin, creationism, darwin, evolution, evolutionary biology, high school biology, high school science, intelligent design, study on evolution

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/27/2011

Parents as tigers and wimps: Cycles in child rearing and schooling
By Valerie Strauss
An educator explains how the media hullabaloo over Amy Chua’s 'Tiger Mom' and angry rebuttals from many parents (and grandparents) are at the root of the traditional vs. progressive cyclical conflicts that have ebbed and flowed over what reforms work best in U.S. schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  amy chua, battle hymn of the tiger mother, history of school reform, larry cuban, parenting, parenting techniques, school reform, tiger mom, tiger mother

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011

Things I’m sick of hearing
By Valerie Strauss
It’s time for school reformers to find new ways to attack their critics. It’s getting tiring hearing the same old refrains, which go something like this.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  charter schools, data-driven reform, michelle rhee, president obama, school reform, standardized tests, teachers unions

Posted at 10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011

Obama’s faulty education logic: What he said and failed to say
By Valerie Strauss
Someone should have told President Obama that there were important contradictions in the education portion of his State of the Union address before he delivered it to Congress.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Poverty, Poverty, Poverty | Tags:  education reform, no child left behind, obama, obama education initiative, obama education reform, obama race to the top, obama speech, obama state of the union, president obama, public school reform, public schools, race to the top, state of the union, state of the union speech

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 01/25/2011

Teaching without classroom teachers
By Valerie Strauss
Florida is the state that keeps on giving, at least to education writers. What it gives to its students is another question. One thing it isn’t giving to all of its students these days is classroom teachers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 01/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  florida, florida education, florida schools, florida virtual school, gov. rick scott, online classes, rick scott, virtual classrooms

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 01/22/2011

How about a 21-hour school day?
By Valerie Strauss
Educators are talking about extending the school day by a half hour or so. Just maybe, it is posited here, what we need is a 21-hour school day.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 01/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  extending school day, kipp, length of school day, research and school time, school day, school reform, seat time, time in school

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011

The case against NCLB reauthorization
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an argument by someone other than Margaret Spellings against reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  edujobs, elementary and secondary education act, nclb, nclb reauthorization, no child left behind, obama and school reform, president obama, race to the top, reauthorization esea, school reforms

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011

Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?
By Valerie Strauss
While Michelle Rhee is busy trying to build up a national organization to take on the teachers unions, back in Washington D.C., where she was chancellor for 3 1/2 years, the new mayor may be on the road to taking apart her signature reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  IMPACT, IMPACT evaluation system, IMPACT teacher evaluation, d.c. schools, kaya henderson, mayor vincent gray, michelle rhee, school reform, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, vincent gray

Posted at 02:35 PM ET, 01/17/2011

Are college campus smoking bans draconian?
By Valerie Strauss
Is it fair to ban smoking anywhere on a college campus?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:35 PM ET, 01/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  College Life | Tags:  bans on smoking, nonsmokers rights, smoking, smoking at school, smoking bans, smoking on campus, smoking rights

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 01/16/2011

Why 'Inside Job' bests 'Waiting for Superman' on school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Now that "Waiting for Superman" has made the short list of documentaries up for an Academy Award, an educator explains why another film on the list, "Inside Job," does a better job of explaining the school crisis even though its not about education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:30 PM ET, 01/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  academy awards, critics choice awards, davis guggenheim, golden globe awards, inside job, oscars, public schools, school reform, schools, waiting for superman

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/14/2011

Math class: What’s the right order?
By Valerie Strauss
In what order should students take math? Should Geometry come before or after Algebra II? Here are some of the ways schools around the country are experimenting.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Math | Tags:  STEM, algebra 1, algebra 2, algebra II, calculus, geometry, high school, high school math, math classes, order of math class, pre-caculus

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/13/2011

Are more high-stakes tests inevitable? A teacher says 'no'
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writes that education reformers have promised far more than they can deliver, and that more testing is not inevitable as many teachers, students and parents fear.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, high-stakes standardized tests, high-stakes tests, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, standardized tests

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/12/2011

How to talk to kids about violence
By Valerie Strauss
High-profile acts of violence can scare and confuse children. Here is advice on how to talk with them about the Arizona shooting rampage.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents | Tags:  arizona shooting, gabby giffords, gabrielle giffords, jared lee loughner, loughner, school psychologists, talking to kids about violence, tucson shootings

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/12/2011

A critical shortage of school counselors
By Valerie Strauss
Public schools in the United States on average give each school counselor more than twice the recommended number of students to help. And in some states, including Arizona, the ratio is much higher.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Student Life, Student Life | Tags:  counselors, jared lee loughner, jared loughner, loughner, loughner and mental health, mental health, mental health issues, mental illnesses, school counselors

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/11/2011

Joel Klein's snow job
By Valerie Strauss
A New York City teacher takes a critical look at the legacy of Joel Klein, former schools chancellor and a leader of the modern reform movement.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  joel klein, joel klein legacy, klein's legacy, michael bloomberg, new york city schools, nyc schools, school reform

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 02:00 PM ET, 01/09/2011

Banned student play will go on!
By Valerie Strauss
A student-written play about school reform in New York that was banned by two school principals because it was critical of former chancellor Joel Klein will now be allowed to be performed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 01/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Arts Education, Arts Education | Tags:  antigone, banned play, jamaica high school, principals reverse decision, student play

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 01/09/2011

How to be taken seriously as a reformer (don't be an educator)
By Valerie Strauss
In the current upside-down world of education policy, there's one foolproof strategy for being taken seriously as a reformer: Make sure you're not an educator. Here, an educator writes about what counts -- and what SHOULD count -- in the school reform debate.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 01/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Illiinois schools, Performance Counts, bill gates, eli broad, jeb bush, mark zuckerberg, obama and schools, obama daughters and school, oprah, performance counts, president obama and daughters, school reform, sidwell and obama, standardized tests, teacher assessment, teachers

Posted at 12:02 PM ET, 01/07/2011

What really helped Florida's test scores
By Valerie Strauss
Florida, which is increasingly being looked to as a school reform model did achieve considerable improvements in student achievement during the last decade. But it is important to see when, where and why the gains occurred. The real answer, it turns out, is not the one often given.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:02 PM ET, 01/07/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  florida reform, jeb bush, jeb bush and school reform, naep scores, national assessment of educational reform, 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 10:10 AM ET, 01/04/2011

Obama girls miss two days of school; when is it okay to keep a kid out of school?
By Valerie Strauss
Malia and Sasha Obama are missing two days of school to stay on vacation with their parents, the president and the first lady. When is it okay to keep a child out of school?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:10 AM ET, 01/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Student Life | Tags:  malia, malia and sasha, malia and sasha obama, malia obama, michelle obama, obama and hawaii, obama and sidwell, obama daughters, obama daughters miss school, obama trip, obama vacation, president obama, sasha, sasha obama, sidwell friends

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 04:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011

The "bad teacher" bogeyman and its consequences
By Valerie Strauss
An educator dissects how the teaching profession is being attacked and what the consequences are for the country.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  anthony cody, assessing teachers, bad teachers, effective teachers, eric hanushek, school reform, standardized tests

Posted at 10:38 AM ET, 12/28/2010

A hard look at education research
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a back-and-forth between authors of a report hailing Florida's school reform and a critique of that report. It shows how controversial education "research" really is.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:38 AM ET, 12/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  education research, florida school reform, florida schools, heritage foundation, school reform

Posted at 09:11 AM ET, 12/26/2010

How the banned student play was created
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an account of how a student play about school reform that was banned was created and how the students reacted when they learned they could not perform it at their school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:11 AM ET, 12/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Arts Education, Arts Education, Arts Education, Arts Education | Tags:  antigone, censored play, joel klein, play banned, school reform, student play

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/24/2010

The line between sacred and secular in school
By Valerie Strauss
A music educator writes: "'Time for mistletoe and holly. Also, the perennial Music Teacher Question: What about Santa?"

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  christmas music, christmas music and school, music in school, sacred music and school, santa claus and school

Posted at 02:05 PM ET, 12/21/2010

A sobering look at Florida school reform
By Valerie Strauss
With Florida increasingly being looked to as a national model for school reform, here's a clear-eyed look at exactly what has been going on in the Sunshine State.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:05 PM ET, 12/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter schools, florida school reform, jeb bush, school reform, sherman dorn, standardized tests

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/20/2010

High remediation rates cast doubt on reforms
By Valerie Strauss
If standardized test-driven school reform is so successful, why are college remediation rates still so high?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Community Colleges, Community Colleges | Tags:  jeb bush, joel klein, new york city remediation rates, new york city schools, remediation rates, school reform

Posted at 10:15 AM ET, 12/19/2010

'Burn and churn' among charter school principals
By Valerie Strauss
Seventy-one percent of charter school principals expect to leave their posts within five years, according to a new study. So what’s the big deal about entering and exiting charter school principals?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 AM ET, 12/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter school principals, charter school teachers, charter schools, larry cuban, principal burnout, principals, school reform

Posted at 04:25 PM ET, 12/15/2010

What Rhee wrought
By Valerie Strauss
Anyone who thinks that Michelle Rhee was a whiz as chancellor of D.C. public schools and should be heading a national "reform" movement ought to read about a high school she attempted to “transform” in the nation’s capital.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:25 PM ET, 12/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools, D.C. Schools | Tags:  d.c. schools, dunbar, dunbar high, dunbar high school, friends of bedford, michelle rhee, rhee, school reform, school transformation, transformation schools

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 12/15/2010

Joel Klein's business model and the drowning of Nicole Suriel
By Valerie Strauss
The principal of the New York City elementary school where a field trip to a beach ended in the drowning death of a sixth grader has finally been fired. But not because of his responsibility in the botched trip.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 12/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  joel klein, mayor bloomberg, new york city schools, nicole suriel, nyc schools, school reform, student drowning

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/14/2010

Where education reform is heading: From extreme to extremum
By Valerie Strauss
If you want to understand where public education reform is heading, look south and east to Florida, where the governor-elect, Rick Scott, is talking about a new funding student formula that is more likely to destroy the public school system than accomplish anything else.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  florida schools, jeb bush, opportunity scholarships, private schools, public education system, public schools, rick scott, school choice movement, school funding formula, universal voucher program, universal vouchers, vouchers

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010

What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools
By Valerie Strauss
An educator explains what the United States can learn from Norway's education system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  OECD, PISA, PISA results, finland education system, finland schools, norway, school reform

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 02:10 PM ET, 12/09/2010

Teachers: What we need to do to fix schools
By Valerie Strauss
Fourteen teachers from urban schools around the country worked for a year to study how to improve troubled schools. Here are the results.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:10 PM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers, Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  larry ferlazzo, quality teachers, school reform, teacher assessment, teacher development, teacher planning, teachers, teachers leadership network, urban schools, urban teachers

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010

How poverty affected U.S. PISA scores
By Valerie Strauss
How did the effects of poverty affect the latest scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  pisa, pisa results, pisa scores, school reform, standardized tests, stephen krashen

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010

Kohn: Remember when we had higher standards? Neither do I
By Valerie Strauss
When, Alfie Kohn asks, haven't we been complaining about low standards in public schools and calling for accountability? The answer: Apparently, never. A golden period never existed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  accountability, alfie kohn, common standards, education system, nation at risk, reagan administration, school reform, standards

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 11:39 AM ET, 12/07/2010

Ravitch to Gates: Let's talk
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch invites Bill Gates to a public discussion on education reform, and explains why public schools must remain public.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:39 AM ET, 12/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  bill gates, checker finn, diane ravitch, education policy, federal control of schools, local control of schools, obama and school reform, republicans in congress, school reform, school reform policies, wall street journal

Posted at 04:40 PM ET, 12/06/2010

Michelle Rhee, celebrity, goes national
By Valerie Strauss
Running the Washington D.C. schools wasn’t a big enough platform for the super star Michelle Rhee. She's onto her next act.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:40 PM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership, Educational leadership, Educational leadership | Tags:  joel klein, michelle rhee, public schools, school reform, students first

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010

Willingham: Close to a magic bullet in education
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes about something that he says may come as close to being a magic bullet in education as anything.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, daniel willingham, education research, gender gap, school reform

Posted at 01:52 PM ET, 12/05/2010

When teachers are their own worst enemies
By Valerie Strauss
An educator/author argues that teachers, however unwittingly, helped create the accountability movement that is now "choking" them.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:52 PM ET, 12/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  accountability movement, california standards test, common core standards, common standards, criterion-based tests, public schools, school reform, standardized test, standards movement, teachers

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 12/02/2010

Rhee, Ackerman and 'cultural competence' in urban reform
By Valerie Strauss
Are any school superintendents who helicopter into big cities for a few years "culturally competent" to do the job well?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  arlene ackerman, michelle rhee, philadelphia schools, public schools, school reform, the notebook, washington d.c. schools

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/02/2010

Is progress in Florida schools exaggerated?
By Valerie Strauss
Florida’s public school system is frequently held up as an exemplary example of how specific school reforms -- vouchers, charter schools, on-line schooling, high-stakes standardized tests, etc. -- can improve student achievement. But things aren't always what they seem.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Accountability, Accountability, Accountability | Tags:  achievement gap, charter schools, florida, florida's schools, jeb bush, school reform, vouchers

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, 11/30/2010

Ravitch answers Gates
By Valerie Strauss
Bill Gates, in an article by Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, poses some questions to education historian Diane Ravitch, who Alter inexplicably calls the Microsoft founder's "chief adversary." Here she answers Gates' questions.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  bill gates, charter schools, diane ravitch, jonathan alter, microsoft, newsweek, 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 08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010

Why non-educator school chiefs aren't the answer
By Valerie Strauss
Historian Larry Cuban looks at how big-city school systems decided to reach into the corporate ranks to find school superintendents, and why they are no silver bullet to improving schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership, Educational leadership, Educational leadership | Tags:  cathie black, cathleen black, educational leadership, qualifications for superintendents, school reform, school superintendents, schools, superintendents

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 12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010

Murdoch buys education technology company
By Valerie Strauss
This didn't take long: Joel Klein announces on Nov. 9 that at year’s end he will resign as York City’s Schools chancellorship to become executive vice president at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Yesterday the company announced it was buying a technology company with big financial ties to the New York City school system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  education technology, joel klein, new york city public schools, news corp., news corporation, nyc schools, public schools, rupert murdoch, school policy, school reform, schools, wireless generation

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 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 05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010

The sad story of an L.A. school labeled 'failing'
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher at a Los Angeles middle school writes about why her school was just declared to be "failing" and why the designation is patently unfair: "In today’s world of testing and sanctions, best efforts are irrelevant if scores do not increase at a fast enough rate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  failing schools, la schools, los angeles unified school district, public school choice, schools, teacher assessment, teachers, value-added measurement

Posted at 09:21 AM ET, 11/15/2010

NYC Chancellor Cathie Black, in her own words
By Valerie Strauss
In an effort to learn about Cathleen Black, the woman that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg chose to succeed Joel Klein as head of the city’s public schools, I turned to the book she wrote: “Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life.)”

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:21 AM ET, 11/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership | Tags:  basic black, cathie black, cathleen black, educational leadership, joel klein, leadership, mayor bloomberg, naep, new york city schools, nyc schools, school leadership

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010

Lisa Simpson and why reform isn't really reform
By Valerie Strauss
What we’re seeing today in the world of education is most accurately labeled “intensification,” not reform. It’s changing things, but it’s changing them in the same direction we’ve been moving for well over a decade. Lisa Simpson

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform, School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  charter schools, kevin welner, lisa simpson, school reform, the simpsons

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010

Teacher: Data, my new dirty word
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains how an obsession with data has led to the redefinition of teaching and learning: "Teaching itself has become redefined as generating, collecting, and using data, and learning has become redefined as the curve connecting data points. This is a fundamental shift in how educators think, talk, and go about educating our children. Unfortunately, it is not a shift that serves anyone but the data-collectors very well."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  data, education, educational data, mad math minutes, mad minutes, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, schools, teachers, teaching and learning, test data

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 11/13/2010

So you want to be a professor? A laugh/cry video
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a sad/funny video showing an optimistic student in conversation with her realistic (some would say jaded) professor about going to graduate school and becoming a humanities instructor.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 11/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Higher Education, Higher Education, Higher Education | Tags:  college professors, college recommendations, getting a phd, grad school, graduate school, humanities, studying the humanities, video, you tube

Posted at 09:40 AM ET, 11/12/2010

What’s wrong with releasing names and scores?
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writing about plans by the NYC Department of Education to release teachers’ names and value-added ratings to the press, says: "Is this sheer stubbornness on the part of school leaders, or do they not understand the harm this would cause?"

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:40 AM ET, 11/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  diana senechal, la times, la times teachers, new york city schools, new york times, new york times teachers, nyc doe, school reform, schools and teachers, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, teachers, the los angeles times, value added, value added assessment

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/12/2010

Palin: Parents should decide what kids eat in school
By Valerie Strauss
An effort by the Pennsylvania Board of Education to encourage public schools to limit sweets and introduce more healthy foods has attracted an unlikely critic: Sarah Palin.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  banning sweets, child nutrition act, cookies, michelle obama, nutrition, nutrition guidelines, obesity, obesity epidemic, palin cookies, pennsylvania board of education, sarah palin, school breakfast, school lunch

Posted at 08:13 AM ET, 11/11/2010

Yes, you can teach kids to eat broccoli
By Valerie Strauss
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, but at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington D.C., chef Lisa Dobbs runs a food program that has young students relishing broccoli, tilapia encrused with panko, boureks with beef or vegetables, and other foods not commonly embraced by kids.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:13 AM ET, 11/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  bill shore, charter schools, child nutrition act, elsie whitlow stokes, first lady michelle obama, jeff bridges, lisa dobbs, michelle obama, nutrition education, obesity, school lunch, share our strength, stokes charter school, whole foods

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

De-legitimizing public education
By Valerie Strauss
The quality of American education is going to get worse. Count on it. And contrary to the conventional wisdom, the main reason isn’t going to be the loss of funding accompanying economic hard times. Educator Marion Brady explains why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  bill gates, marion brady, public education, school reform

Posted at 02:24 PM ET, 11/09/2010

Antidote to an educator’s depression
By Valerie Strauss
An educator writes: "After spending a few weeks watching films about the proclaimed 'Crisis in American Education' -- The Lottery, The Cartel, and Waiting for Superman -- I considered calling my doctor to prescribe an anti-depressant. I also wondered if I should have pursued a different career, maybe driving a truck or making shoes.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:24 PM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  educational films, mark phillips, school reform, the cartel, the lottery, waiting for superman

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

Schools in a banana republic
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Anthony Cody takes a hard look at how today's economy is affecting public school students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 11/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody, Anthony Cody | Tags:  achievement gap, anthony cody, guest bloggers, poverty, school reform

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 06:00 AM ET, 11/08/2010

A public school teacher’s distress
By Valerie Strauss
A school teacher writes a letter about why she fears for the future of public education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  charter schools, diane ravitch, no child left behind, school reform, tax levy, taxes, teachers, toldeo schools

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

How Bill Maher got D.C. school reform wrong
By Valerie Strauss
The myth-making about the course of D.C. school reform and why Mayor Adrian Fenty was voted out of office in the nation’s capital continued last night, this time on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 11/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools | Tags:  adrian fenty, bill maher, d.c. schools, hbo, mayor fenty, michelle rhee, real time with bill maher, school reform, the wall street journal, the washington post