wpostServer: http://css.washingtonpost.com/wpost

The Answer Sheet: August, 2011

Posted at 07:30 AM ET, 08/31/2011

Imagine a $500,000 Gates Foundation grant to Harvard

It’s no secret that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is heavily involved in education reform, writing checks to many organizations involved in school initiatives that Gates supports. But here is an unusual grant the world’s wealthiest foundation has given to the country’s wealthiest university, Harvard.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:30 AM ET, 08/31/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/31/2011

A different kind of parent involvement — in school policy

The relationship most parents have with their child’s school is through teachers or principals to deal with an issue affecting their child. But sometimes parents want to do more. Here’s how they can.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/31/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:10 PM ET, 08/30/2011

Cold showers at college

For the cost of college these days, which can top $50,000 for room and board at a private university, the least kids should expect is a hot shower.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:10 PM ET, 08/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/30/2011

The plight of great teachers

A veteran teacher asks her colleagues, ”How does it feel to have your profession and classroom become society's laboratory, subject to overhaul at every election cycle?”

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:44 PM ET, 08/29/2011

Why U. of Texas academics blasted Gov. Rick Perry

A Texas foundation linked to Gov. Rick Perry (R) issued a series of proposals that would radically change the state’s public university system. University officials issued a condemnation of the proposals and explained why they would harm Texas.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:44 PM ET, 08/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/29/2011

Warring learning theories: Choose yours

One theory of learning has kids sitting for hours a day “covering the material” in easy-to-remember fragments and then tested. A second theory operates on the belief that the brain likes complexity and the process of sense-making, and promises real learning. Unfortunately, reformers today operate on the first.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:00 AM ET, 08/29/2011

What’s really wrong with ‘parent trigger’ laws

Educator Larry Ferlazzo writes about the real problem with parent trigger laws and how they are perceived and critiqued in the press.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 AM ET, 08/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:56 PM ET, 08/27/2011

International rankings reformers like to ignore

Schools reformers like to talk about the great failure of public education by pointing to American student performance on international tests, which on average show U.S. kids to be average. But there are other comparisons, such as the well-being of kids, they don’t address.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:56 PM ET, 08/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:25 PM ET, 08/26/2011

Understanding hurricanes: Facts and resources

Here’s everything you wanted to know about hurricanes, along with resources that will tell you much more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:25 PM ET, 08/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 08/26/2011

Teacher turnover in charter, traditional public schools

Teacher turnover, which tends to be alarmingly high in lower-income schools and districts, has been identified as a major impediment to improvements in student achievement.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 08/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Matthew Di Carlo

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/26/2011

Teacher: How to address bullying school — and how not to

A teacher writes: “PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support, program that encourages schools to follow a formula for preventing bullying that is heavy on jargon but, from my experience, is light on substance.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:24 PM ET, 08/25/2011

No Child Left Behind on steroids

The Council of Chief State School Officers’ plan for replacing the No Child Left Behind accountability system, suggested as the recipe for attaining a state waiver from the Education Department from the worst provisions of the law, magnifies NCLB’s most ineffective pieces.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:24 PM ET, 08/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

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

The problem school boards have with the public

A veteran school board member analyzes the problem that school board members have with the public and how this negatively affects public education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 08/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:08 PM ET, 08/24/2011

How badly did Arne Duncan want to talk to Matt Damon?

It turns out that people in the Obama administration made several attempts to reach actor Matt Damon just before he spoke at last month’s Save Our Schools rally in Washington D.C., blasting education policies that focus on high-stakes standardized tests.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:08 PM ET, 08/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/24/2011

Why great teachers aren’t enough to make schools work

Our entire narrative about schools seems to revolve around finding good teachers and firing bad ones. Here’s why it doesn’t make much sense.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:00 AM ET, 08/24/2011

How the world looks to today’s college freshmen

According to the latest Mindset List, today’s college freshmen have never lived in a world where antibiotics were not overused. Or where adults didn’t argue about health care policy. And more.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 AM ET, 08/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:47 PM ET, 08/23/2011

What all East Coast schools should do now

The earthquake that rocked the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday is a reminder that schools need to brush up on quake protocol — and while they are at it, throw in a lesson about plate tectonics and why temblors actually occur.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:47 PM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:34 PM ET, 08/23/2011

Rhee’s quake tweet

Nothing, apparently, not even a strong earthquake, takes Michelle Rhee’s eye off the issue of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:34 PM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:06 PM ET, 08/23/2011

Earthquake resources to educate your kids (and yourself)

Here is basic information on why earthquakes occur and other information that teachers and parents can use to educate their kids.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:06 PM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 08/23/2011

New principal development effort launched

A major new initiative is launched to improve the pipeline of quality principals in six urban school districts around the country, including Prince George’s County.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/23/2011

School rules in 1911: What do you recognize?

Here are the rules and regulations for schools in the territory of Hawaii 100 years ago, in 1911. Some of them will seem familiar. Some won’t. See for yourself.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/23/2011

Rethinking a flawed education agenda

Alabama’s former governor once seemed like a friend to public education. His new agenda — which is similar to the agenda of modern school reformers — is something else.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:09 PM ET, 08/22/2011

Philadelphia pushes out schools chief Arlene Ackerman

Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman is being pushed out with a $900,000 buyout just as school is about to start.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:09 PM ET, 08/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:36 PM ET, 08/22/2011

Back-to-school facts: $7 billion-plus in shopping and everything else

Here’s everything you ever wanted to know — even if you didn’t know you wanted to know it — about the back-to-school season.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:36 PM ET, 08/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 08/22/2011

A tale of two schools: Who’s to blame for the differences?

A school vice president compares two schools where he has worked — one a high-achieving school and one a troubled institution.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 08/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/22/2011

Why parents should leave their kids alone at college

It’s time for parents who are sending their kids to college to quit trying to prolong their childhood and remove themselves from the daily lives of their children. A psychology professor explains why, and says colleges have to do their part too.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 08/22/2011

The Texas Charter Schools Visa® Platinum Card (for real)

And now, in Texas, there’s a charter schools Visa® Card, making it ever so easy for people to contribute to the cause — even though a new state report shows charter schools not doing much to help kids improve academically.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 08/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools

Posted at 10:22 AM ET, 08/21/2011

Students: the Achilles heel of test-based teacher evaluation?

A teacher tells a story about how some of his students rendered a standardized test entirely uesless by writing about squirrels rather than answering the essay question, showing a big potential weakness of value-added teacher evaluation.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:22 AM ET, 08/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teacher assessment

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/20/2011

There are more successful schools than you think (see for yourself)

To listen to the news about public education, you’d think there are very traditional public schools that are successful. You’d be wrong. Here are some things you don’t know about schools that work.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/20/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011

What to do when your child leaves for college

Yes, child-parent relationships change alot when kids go to college. Here a therapist gives some advice on how parents can handle the transition.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011

D.C.’s move toward charter-centric school system

There is new evidence that suggests that the D.C. public school system is intentionally being shaped into a system dominated by charters.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, Charter schools

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011

The right way to lengthen the school year

Lengthening the school year to give students more time on task sounds like it makes sense to boost student achievement but it may not for some students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:44 PM ET, 08/18/2011

Arne Duncan blasts Rick Perry and Texas schools

Is anybody surprised that Education Secretary Arne Duncan went after Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who recently jumped into the race for the Republican presidential nomination and doesn’t waste a minute attacking the Obama administration?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:44 PM ET, 08/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 08/18/2011

What we don’t know about new teacher evaluation systems (and why it’s a problem)

Despite absurd declarations to the contrary, what we don’t know about new teacher evaluation systems outweighs what we know by an order of magnitude, writes Matthew Di Carlo.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 08/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Matthew Di Carlo

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 08/18/2011

How shaky is President Obama’s support among teachers?

President Obama has some very large problems heading into 2012, and one that might surprise those inside the D.C. beltway is an area that should be a bulwark of support for any Democratic candidate: education, teacher Anthony Cody writes.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 08/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/18/2011

What’s the link between time in school and achievement?

In a response to a post that argued that the debate over seat time in school as it relates to student achievement is “absurd,” the argument is made that the school year does indeed need to be lengthened in many places for kids to learn what they need to know.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:03 PM ET, 08/17/2011

Virginia ACT test takers top Maryland, D.C. students

Virginia students who took the ACT test in the 2011 high school graduating class a did slightly better on average than their counterparts in Maryland, and a lot better than those in the District according to scores released Wednesday.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:03 PM ET, 08/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  SAT and ACT

Posted at 08:30 AM ET, 08/17/2011

Should children have to compete for their education?

A Washington state school board leader

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:30 AM ET, 08/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top, Education Secretary Duncan

Posted at 03:00 AM ET, 08/17/2011

2011 ACT scores show problems with college readiness

Newly released 2011 ACT scores show that most test-takers aren’t meeting all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. And the achievement gap grew slightly, according to the results.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 AM ET, 08/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  SAT and ACT

Posted at 05:03 PM ET, 08/16/2011

Sherlock Holmes book removed from school reading list for being anti-Mormon

A Virginia school district decides to ban a Sherlock Holmes book because a parent complained that it was anti-Mormon.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:03 PM ET, 08/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Reading

Posted at 09:47 AM ET, 08/16/2011

Could D.C. special ed bus program be more incompetent?

For more than a decade D.C. officials have been trying to get right a system that transports several thousand special education students to their schools, and then home again. Why is this a mission impossible?

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:47 AM ET, 08/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, The Answer Sheet, D.C. Schools

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/16/2011

D.C. teacher tells chancellor why IMPACT evaluation is unfair

A D.C. public school teacher wrote an open letter to Chancellor Kaya Henderson about her problems with the IMPACT teacher evaluation system. Here it is.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  D.C. Schools, Teacher assessment

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/16/2011

The ‘absurd’ debate about length of school year

Discussions about whether the school year is too long or too short don’t meet minimal standards of effective problem solving.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Mark Phillips

Posted at 02:04 PM ET, 08/15/2011

The corporate lobby and public education

My colleague Steven Pearlstein wrote a scathing column about the corporate lobby’s role in the country’s economic woes. It isn’t a big jump to connect it to education.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:04 PM ET, 08/15/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/15/2011

The wrong — and right way — to manage a school district

A veteran educator talks about the right way and the wrong way to manage a school system as he takes on a double role this academic year: high school principal and district superintendent.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/15/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  George Wood

Posted at 11:48 AM ET, 08/14/2011

The Perry-Obama education fight

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is pretty much the total opposite of President Obama when it comes to education policy, and we should expect some new clashes between the Education Department and the state of Texas now that Perry is going after Obama’s job.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:48 AM ET, 08/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top

Posted at 11:47 AM ET, 08/14/2011

To students, it’s all about the (boring) content

The problem for students is not that teachers are ineffective, that schools aren’t accountable or that the textbook is an inefficient technology for delivering content. Their problem is the content itself.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:47 AM ET, 08/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Curriculum

Posted at 11:22 AM ET, 08/13/2011

Virginia and the NCLB mess Congress left behind

Virginia’s 2011 scores on the Standards of Learning have left more than 60 percent of public schools labeled as failing under No Child Left Behind.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:22 AM ET, 08/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Answer Sheet, No Child Left Behind

Posted at 11:43 AM ET, 08/12/2011

How Duncan’s NCLB waivers could look in 2013 (to Ed Sec Bachmann)

Rick Hess writes: “The Obama administration steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the problems with ED's "backdoor blueprint" waiver strategy or the ugly precedent that it's trying to set. But those with even a glimmer of imagination can see where this is going...”

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:43 AM ET, 08/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/12/2011

Are 21st century 5-year-olds cognitively ready to read?

Here is an analysis of the explicit and implicit assumptions within the Common Core State Standards regarding formal reading instruction in kindergarten: the dumbing down of kindergarten texts and the pushing down of reading instruction to kindergarten.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Reading

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/12/2011

How much do some private school heads earn? A bundle

The heads of some private schools in the greater Washington area and elsewhere across the country make very big bucks. Here are some of the salaries.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:20 PM ET, 08/11/2011

Back to School important phone numbers and dates for D.C., Va. and Md.

While you prepare for your child to start a new school year, be sure to familiarize yourself with these important dates and phone numbers.

By Staff Reports  |  04:20 PM ET, 08/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Answer Sheet

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/11/2011

The link between ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ and testing

What does the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes have with standardized testing? Watch the movie and you quickly realize things aren’t going well for the humans. In both cases, people ignore warning signs telling them of danger ahead.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests

Posted at 02:08 PM ET, 08/10/2011

Teaching strategies that work!  But for what?

Alfie Kohn writes: “Lots of educators cheerfully declare that they don’t care about theories; they just want something that works.  But this begs the (unavoidably theoretical) question:  What do you mean by ‘works’?”  

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:08 PM ET, 08/10/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/10/2011

Are school boards part of the problem or the solution?

Here’s a defense of local school boards, which have come under attack in many areas of the country.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/10/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/09/2011

Where is Barack Obama the teacher?

Educator Mike Rose writes that President Obama has failed to effectively be teacher-in-chief to explain education and other policy to the country.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Mike Rose

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/09/2011

Why states should refuse Duncan’s NCLB waivers

Monty Neill of FairTest writes that states should refuse to accept the Education Department’s waivers from key provisions of No Child Left Behind because they have to give up too much in exchange.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind

Posted at 04:14 PM ET, 08/08/2011

Obama administration’s NCLB waivers and strong-arm tactics

The Education Department says it will grant waivers to states for relief from key provisions of No Child Left Behind, but only if they follow education reform the Obama administration supports.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:14 PM ET, 08/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  No Child Left Behind

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/08/2011

Delusions of adequacy in D.C. reform effort

The reform effort in D.C. schools started by former chancellor Michelle Rhee is now in its fifth year, and newly released test scores, Rhee’s self-selected measure of progress in closing the achievement gap, don’t show much. Who is surprised?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap

Posted at 11:28 AM ET, 08/07/2011

How many testing scandals do we need as a wake-up call?

Focusing solely on Atlanta, or even other recent cheating cases around the nation, including our nation’s capital, is a mistake. Here’s why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:28 AM ET, 08/07/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 PM ET, 08/04/2011

A conversation: Kopp, West, Smiley on Teach for America

Here is the transcript of a conversation with Wendy Kopp, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West on Teach for America, which took place in January. Interesting reading.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 PM ET, 08/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 08/04/2011

The concerns of a first-year teacher

A soon-to-be first-year teacher entering a school in the Washington D.C. area writes about her concerns about the assault by some school reformers on her profession.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:00 AM ET, 08/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/03/2011

How to improve teacher education now (and why Teach for America isn’t the answer)

Former Teachers College president Arthur Levine writes why it is now time to change the way teachers are prepared for their jobs and how we should do it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Guest Bloggers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/03/2011

A missed opportunity for the White House

White House officials and Save Our Schools leaders did not meet to discuss their conflicting education issues. It was a missed opportunity.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:30 PM ET, 08/01/2011

Darling-Hammond: The mess we are in

Renowed educator Linda Darling-Hammond explains the mess public education is in and why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:30 PM ET, 08/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 08/01/2011

Teacher: What Save Our Schools march accomplished — and didn’t

A veteran teacher assesses how much the Save Our Schools March in Washington accomplished in and what the next steps are to try to get a change in Obama administration education policies.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 08/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Teachers

 

© 2011 The Washington Post Company
Section:/Blogs