The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else).

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/31/2012

Justin Bieber’s hilarious high school commencement

By Valerie Strauss

Justin Bieber just graduated from high school school — really — and Ellen DeGeneres staged a hilarious commencement ceremony for him. Watch it here.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/31/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/31/2012

What parents say testing is doing to their kids

By Valerie Strauss

What do parents really think about standardized testing that is forced on their children? Here are the results of an informal poll,

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/31/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:24 PM ET, 05/30/2012

Spelling Bee words: Could you spell them?

By Valerie Strauss

Here are some of the words given Wednesday to the 278 contestants in the National Spelling Bee — the ones that were missed and ones that were spelled correctly.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:24 PM ET, 05/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 05/30/2012

Are charter schools still public?

By Valerie Strauss

Education historian Diane Ravitch reviews the evolution of public charter schools and asks whether they are still fundamentally public institutions.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:00 PM ET, 05/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/30/2012

High-stakes testing protests spreading

By Valerie Strauss

Opposition to high-stakes standardized testing is growing around the country, with more parents choosing to opt their children out of taking exams, more school boards expressing disapproval of testing accountability systems and even a group of superintendents joining the fight.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/30/2012

Is teaching a science or an art?

By Valerie Strauss

Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham delves into the true nature of teaching and, in the video below, answers the question: “Is teaching a science or an art?”

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:01 PM ET, 05/29/2012

Tina Fey protests cuts in her old school district

By Valerie Strauss

It’s not a bad thing when someone who is high-profile lends their name to a good cause. This time it is Tina Fey.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:01 PM ET, 05/29/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/29/2012

Geniuses: born or made?

By Valerie Strauss

A 15-year-old developed a brilliant way to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages. A 6-year-old is the youngest student ever to qualify for the National Spelling Bee. How did they get so smart?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/29/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/29/2012

The mistake policymakers make about teaching

By Valerie Strauss

A veteran educator explains how policymakers misunderstand quality teaching by ignoring the difference between good teaching and successful teaching.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/29/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:05 AM ET, 05/28/2012

Memorial Day quiz: Test yourself

By Valerie Strauss

How much do you really know about Memorial Day and the U.S. history that led to its establishment and annual observance? Here’s a quiz to test yourself.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:05 AM ET, 05/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:35 AM ET, 05/27/2012

For Memorial Day: A different way to commemorate

By Valerie Strauss

Have you ever read the poems “In Flanders Fields” or “Dulce et Decorum es”? Here they are, as well some of the other greatest poems about war and soldiers ever written.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:35 AM ET, 05/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/27/2012

Does Ed Secretary Duncan agree with Romney on class size?

By Valerie Strauss

Mitt Romney made news recently when he visited a charter school and suggested that class size isn’t a particularly important factor in student achievement. The Obama campaign criticized him for saying it — but Arne Duncan has said similar things in the past.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:15 PM ET, 05/26/2012

VP Biden commencement speech to ‘9/11 generation’ at U.S. Military Academy

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s the complete text of Vice President Joe Biden’s speech at commencement ceremonies on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:15 PM ET, 05/26/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/26/2012

How ed policy is hurting early childhood education

By Valerie Strauss

A coalition of early childhood experts are speaking out about their growing concerns that new federal education policy is harming early childhood education and care.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/26/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/26/2012

Useless college majors (according to Andy Samberg)

By Valerie Strauss

Harvard University welcomed comedian Andy Samberg at its 2012 commencement ceremonies this week, where he gave a speech at Senior Class Day.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/26/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/25/2012

A lesson in sticktoitiveness — an amusing commencement speech by Garry Marshall

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s the highly amusing commencement speech that award-winning director Garry Marshall delivered at Lafayette College, explaining the importance of sticking to something you believe in no matter what the obstacles. In Marshall’s case, obstacles included being fired once by a pupplet.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 05/24/2012

Romney’s education vision

By Valerie Strauss

Anybody who thinks President Obama’s education policy has been unfriendly to public education should pay close attention to Mitt Romney’s newly announced school reform vision. Because whatever it is you don’t like about Obama’s, you will like even less about Romney’s.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:00 AM ET, 05/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/24/2012

Ravitch: What is NCTQ? (and why you should know)

By Valerie Strauss

Education historian Diane Ravitch explains what NCTQ is and why anybody who cares about public education should know what it is and what it is up to.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:48 PM ET, 05/23/2012

Romney’s education speech — text

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s the full text of Mitt Romney’s speech on education policy that he delivered on Wednesday at The Latino Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit in Washington, D.C.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:48 PM ET, 05/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/23/2012

Cory Booker has crossed the aisle before — on school reform

By Valerie Strauss

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, has been in the news for blasting President Obama’s campaign ads attacking Mitt Romney’s career with a private-equity firm. But this

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:41 AM ET, 05/22/2012

School prom in same venue as porn convention

By Valerie Strauss

Miami Beach High prom-goers were surprised to learn that the building housing their festivities was hosting a porn convention at the very same time. Parents were not amused.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:41 AM ET, 05/22/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/22/2012

Do comprehension strategies make reading boring? — Willingham

By Valerie Strauss

Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham explains why using excessive reading comprehension strategies on kids — especially after 7th grade — turn what should be a labor of love into a boring chore.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/22/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:49 PM ET, 05/21/2012

Obama’s Joplin High School commencement speech — text

By Valerie Strauss

Here are the remarks that President Obama made at Joplin High School’s graduation ceremonies a year after a tornado devastasted the city and killed 161 people.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:49 PM ET, 05/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:29 PM ET, 05/21/2012

Test scores plummet — so Florida drops passing grade

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s the latest disaster in Florida’s standardized test-based school accountability system in Florida, which has been touted as a model for education reform around the country since it was developed by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:29 PM ET, 05/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/21/2012

Why college-for-everybody is a sham: Ravitch

By Valerie Strauss

Education historian Diane Ravitch explains why education reformers who tout college for everybody are misunderstanding history and data.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 05/20/2012

‘Is this really what education is about?’

By Valerie Strauss

The director of “Race to Nowhere” and a Stanford University education professor write about how standardized tests for high stakes are eroding educational experiences for children and what parents should be doing about it.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 05/20/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/19/2012

Best commencement speeches never given

By Valerie Strauss

Ever heard about the Vonnegut commencement speech in which he tells students to wear sunscreen? Never happened. Here are the speeches that people think were given but never actually were.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/18/2012

How standardized tests are affecting public schools

By Valerie Strauss

A new white paper from the Central Florida School Board Coalition details how Florida’s standardized testing program — seen as a model by other states — is harming public schools and negatively impacting student learning.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/18/2012

Why college tuitions are rising: A contrarian view

By Valerie Strauss

Here is a contrarian view of why college tuitions keep rising, one that takes issue with President Obama and Congressional Republican positions.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/17/2012

What teachers don’t need (but are getting anyway)

By Valerie Strauss

A veteran educator writes about all the things that education officials and reformers insist on giving to teachers, but that they don’t need.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/17/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/17/2012

The (college) kids are alright

By Valerie Strauss

Have you heard that today’s college kids don’t know anything and can’t think critically? Would you be surprised to know that this an age-old complaint? Read on.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/17/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/16/2012

Meet the ‘worst’ 8th grade math teacher in NYC

By Valerie Strauss

Meet the woman who learned from a report assessing teacher effectiveness by the results of student test scores that she was the worst eighth-grade math teacher in New York City. Here’s how this happened to her and what it means.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/16/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/16/2012

Why education inequality persists — and how to fix it

By Valerie Strauss

A new report shows that the communities where most of the city’s poor, black and Hispanic students live suffer from New York policies and practices that give their schools the fewest resources and their students the least experienced teachers.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/16/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/15/2012

A radical idea to transform what kids learn in school

By Valerie Strauss

Educator Marion Brady offers a radical alternative for today’s mandated, standardized curriculum.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/15/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/15/2012

2012-13 Common Application previews available

By Valerie Strauss

Previews of the 2012-13 Common Application for colleges and universities are now available online, meaning that today’s high school juniors can get an early start on their college admissions hunt.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/15/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:51 PM ET, 05/14/2012

Obama’s Barnard commencement speech — text

By Valerie Strauss

President Obama addresses graduating students at Barnard College’s commencement ceremony on Monday, telling them not to believe they can’t better the country.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:51 PM ET, 05/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:49 PM ET, 05/14/2012

Romney’s Liberty U commencement speech — text

By Valerie Strauss

Mitt Romney makes jokes, quotes Jerry Falwell and talks to graduates about their future in his Liberty University commencement speech. Here’s the text.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:49 PM ET, 05/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/14/2012

Why we’re getting the homework question wrong

By Valerie Strauss

Are American students spending too much of their lives at their desks? And is putting in that grueling second shift of homework paying off in the long-term?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/14/2012

How to really appreciate teachers: Stop the stupid jokes — and more

By Valerie Strauss

If you really want to show appreciation teachers, you can do more than just say how inspirational they are. Here’s how to do it right.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:32 AM ET, 05/13/2012

Why Mother’s Day founder came to hate her creation (and more on moms, gifts, baby names etc.)

By Valerie Strauss

The founder of Mother’s Day came to resent her creation because it had become too commercialized and tried to get it stopped — to no avail. This and other facts about Mother’s Day.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:32 AM ET, 05/13/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:45 AM ET, 05/13/2012

The fantasies driving school reform: A primer for education graduates

By Valerie Strauss

Richard Rothstein gives a commencement speech that unpacks the conventional wisdom driving education policy and finds that it doesn’t always resemble the truth.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:45 AM ET, 05/13/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:39 AM ET, 05/12/2012

IQ: Willingham on the newest thinking

By Valerie Strauss

Cognitive scientist Daniel William explains the latest thinking on the controversial topic of intelligence, distilling a new report from a group of eminent scientists.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:39 AM ET, 05/12/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Daniel Willingham

Posted at 01:18 PM ET, 05/11/2012

Teachers: Tell us what you’re doing this summer

By Valerie Strauss

We want teachers to tell us what they are planning to do this summer. Getting a job? Taking a trip? Here’s how to let us know what you are going to do.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:18 PM ET, 05/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:52 PM ET, 05/10/2012

Chinese students use IV amino acids to study for high-stakes tests

By Valerie Strauss

How’s this for extreme? Students at a Chinese high school were hooked up intravenously to amino acid supplement drips to study for high-stakes exams in an effort to boost their performance.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:52 PM ET, 05/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 05/10/2012

What Romney should have said to schoolchildren about his ‘prank’ and bullying

By Valerie Strauss

Mitt Romney reacted to a Washington Post story about a particular mean “prank” during high school by saying he doesn’t remember it but “I’m afraid I gotta say sorry for it.”

By Valerie Strauss | 01:14 PM ET, 05/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012

Student video: How high-stakes tests affect kids

By Valerie Strauss

There is one voice rarely heard in the screaming debate about the role of high-stakes tests in education: that of students. Here’s a student-produced video that tells how students are affected by having to take the FCAT, Florida’s standardized testing system.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012

The ironies of Teacher Appreciation Week

By Valerie Strauss

This is Teacher Appreciation Week, but the truth is that honoring teachers has pretty much become a thing of the past.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012

How high-stakes assessments affect doctors (and the lesson for teachers)

By Valerie Strauss

There is a full-court press that policymakers, saturated with data, have mobilized to standardize medical decision-making to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Just like with teachers.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/09/2012

Teacher evaluation: What it should look like

By Valerie Strauss

A new report from Stanford University researcher Linda Darling-Hammond details what the components of a comprehensive teacher-evaluation system should look like at a time when such assessments have become one of the most contentious debates in education today.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/09/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 PM ET, 05/08/2012

Ben Carson's creationist views spark controvery over commencement speech

By Valerie Strauss

An unusual controversy has erupted at Emory University over the choice of famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson to deliver this year’s commencement address because he does not believe in evolution.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:30 PM ET, 05/08/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 05/08/2012

Thoughts on teachers — from Socrates to Lady Gaga

By Valerie Strauss

Here is some of the best thinking on teachers and the teaching profession from Alexander the Great and Socrates to Lady Gaga and Jon Stewart .

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 05/08/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/08/2012

Teacher on flawed tests: ‘We can ill-afford to be silent while our very jobs are at stake’

By Valerie Strauss

A teacher writes: “The most recent NYS Grade 7 Math exam demonstrates how dangerous these exams can be for our students, teachers and schools. A few points in either direction can mean the difference between a student moving onto the next grade, a teacher being rated ineffective, a teacher being publicly humiliated in the newspaper, a teacher being fired or a school closing. This means just one question (particularly on the free-response section of the test) can be the difference. “

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/08/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 05/07/2012

Ravitch: Pearson’s expanding role in education

By Valerie Strauss

Ever since the debacle of Pineapplegate, it is widely recognized by everyone other than the publishing giant Pearson that its tentacles have grown too long and too aggressive. It is difficult to remember what part of American education has not been invaded by Pearson’s corporate grasp.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:00 PM ET, 05/07/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:54 AM ET, 05/07/2012

Report: Some charters spend more than traditional schools

By Valerie Strauss

A new report concludes that charter schools operated by major charter management organizations usually spend more to educate children than the surrounding public schools..

By Valerie Strauss | 09:54 AM ET, 05/07/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/07/2012

Guess when this warning about testing was written

By Valerie Strauss

This piece warns about the dangers of attaching high stakes to standardized test results and about the growing dependence on these assessment in public education. It

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/07/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:21 PM ET, 05/06/2012

Major groups beg Congress to rewrite NCLB

By Valerie Strauss

A coalition of 10 groups of local and state government officials sent a letter to Congress urging it to rewrite No Child Left Behind. The letter is a study in diplomatic language.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:21 PM ET, 05/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/06/2012

Funniest commencement speeches

By Valerie Strauss

If you have ever sat at a commencement speech and listened as a speaker droned on and on and on and on and on, then you might appreciate the following excerpts from some of the funniest speeches ever delivered at a graduation.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:32 PM ET, 05/05/2012

Using comic books (like ‘The Avengers’) to get kids to read

By Valerie Strauss

Parents and teachers often overlook a major weapon in the literacy arsenal: comic books.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:32 PM ET, 05/05/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:00 PM ET, 05/04/2012

Studying the Kentucky Derby: More than a horse race

By Valerie Strauss

Good teachers know how to wrap a lesson around almost anything (when they are allowed to). Take the Kentucky Derby. It offers lessons, among other things, in history, science, statistics, math, culture, economics, health and even fashion.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 PM ET, 05/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/04/2012

Principal urges state ed chief to take standardized tests to see problems with exams

By Valerie Strauss

A New York school principal is urging the state’s education commissioner to review the standardized math assessments recently given to students in grades 3-5 because of a host of serious problems with their design. In a powerful letter, she also told him to take the tests to see the problems for himself.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:05 PM ET, 05/03/2012

D.C. cutting school librarians

By Valerie Strauss

At a time when D.C. public schools is pushing hard on literacy education, officials are proposing to cut funding for nearly 60 school librarian positions for the 2012-13 academic year.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:05 PM ET, 05/03/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/03/2012

A state that just says ‘no’ to charters, other reforms

By Valerie Strauss

Quietly marching to its own drummer, Washington state has mostly turned its back on the education reform movement sweeping much of the rest of the country.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/03/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 05/02/2012

13 charged in hazing death of Florida A&M student

By Valerie Strauss

Thirteen people to be charged in the case of a Florida A&M band drum major who died after being hazed.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:10 AM ET, 05/02/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/02/2012

Ravitch: A primer on the group driving school reform

By Valerie Strauss

Education historian Diane Ravitch

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 05/02/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/02/2012

Colbert hilarious on ‘don’t say gay’ in school bill

By Valerie Strauss

Stephen Colbert hilariously skewers legislation in Missouri that would ban anybody from talking about homosexuality in public schools.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/02/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 05/01/2012

Teacher: Why computerized standardized testing is ‘frightening’

By Valerie Strauss

A teacher explained the chaos that ensued when she had to give her students standardized tests on computers even though her classroom only has a few computers for her to work with. And she calls computer standardized testing a “frightening use” of advancing technology.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 05/01/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 05/01/2012

The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests

By Valerie Strauss

For some students in Georgia, the standardized testing season doesn’t end with the last standardized test they take. Here’s what is going on.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 05/01/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 05/17/2009

What

By Valerie Strauss

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By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 05/17/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

The Answer Sheet: May, 2012