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

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/30/2012

New teacher evaluations start to hurt students

By Valerie Strauss

New “growth scores” for N.Y. teachers are in — and they are hurting students too.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 09/29/2012

Hollywood propaganda

By Valerie Strauss

Why we should care about the parent trigger film “Won’t Back Down” and the critical response to it.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:30 PM ET, 09/29/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/29/2012

The bottom line on ‘no excuses’ and poverty in school reform

By Valerie Strauss

Placing blame for the achievement gap on bad teachers and schools is dangerous, and here’s why.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:30 AM ET, 09/29/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:01 PM ET, 09/28/2012

What are the 5 most educated nations on Earth?

By Valerie Strauss

A new report with reams of education statistics produced conflicting lists of educated nations. Why?

By Valerie Strauss | 01:01 PM ET, 09/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012

A parent-teacher conference gone wrong — video

By Valerie Strauss

If you think the following video is outrageous, ask teachers about talks they have with some parents.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012

What was Obama talking about on Education Nation?

By Valerie Strauss

Some people took issue with some of the things President Obama said at Education Nation. Here’s a critique.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012

What was Romney talking about at Education Nation?

By Valerie Strauss

Mitt Romney said some perplexing things during his Education Nation interview. Here’s a critique.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:16 PM ET, 09/27/2012

‘Won’t Back Down’: Film critics pan parent-trigger movie — update

By Valerie Strauss

Reviews of the controversial movie from top film critics are distinctly unflattering.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:16 PM ET, 09/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:24 PM ET, 09/27/2012

What is ‘The United States of ALEC?’

By Valerie Strauss

Most people have no idea what ALEC is or does. Now Bill Moyers is helping to get the word out.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:24 PM ET, 09/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012

School district actually expands paddling rule

By Valerie Strauss

In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff department: A Texas school district expands its rules on paddling.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012

Math class shadow — video

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s a well-received video trick that a teacher did for his Nature of Math university class.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012

NFL referees and Chicago teachers

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s a tweet that speaks volumes about public attitudes toward strikes by NFL referees and Chicago teachers.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:00 AM ET, 09/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/26/2012

A people’s education platform

By Valerie Strauss

What if education policy guidelines and political platforms were shaped by rank-and-file citizens?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/26/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:46 PM ET, 09/25/2012

How one teacher dealt with class clown — video

By Valerie Strauss

Check out this video showing how one teacher handled a class clown. Note: This is not recommended.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:46 PM ET, 09/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:45 PM ET, 09/25/2012

President Obama interview for Education Nation — transcript

By Valerie Strauss

President Obama talks about unions and other issues in an NBC interview on education.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:45 PM ET, 09/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:19 PM ET, 09/25/2012

Mitt Romney at Education Nation — transcript

By Valerie Strauss

Mitt Romney says he probably wouldn’t ban teachers strikes — and a lot more in NBC interview.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:19 PM ET, 09/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 09/25/2012

What do SAT, ACT scores really mean?

By Valerie Strauss

SAT and ACT scores for 2012 have been disappointing. But do they have any real meaning?

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 09/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:06 AM ET, 09/25/2012

Science professors biased against females — study

By Valerie Strauss

A study shows science professors rated males more competent than equally qualified female applicants.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:06 AM ET, 09/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:05 PM ET, 09/24/2012

How ACT overtook SAT as the top college entrance exam

By Valerie Strauss

This year the ACT bested its rival in popularity by a slim margin.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:05 PM ET, 09/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012

How schools (even great ones) fail kids with ADHD

By Valerie Strauss

A father writes about the very real difficulties his two sons, both with ADHD, have faced in school.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012

Animal School — video

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s an unusual look at how we educate children today that, unfortunately, speaks volumes.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012

Superintendents fight Ohio’s ‘Third Grade Guarantee’

By Valerie Strauss

Ohio’s law that requires third graders who don’t read at grade level to be retained is being challenged.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:45 PM ET, 09/23/2012

10 great tweets from Education Nation

By Valerie Strauss

Teachers talk about what they really face in the classroom at Education Nation townhall.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:45 PM ET, 09/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:45 PM ET, 09/22/2012

School segregation sharply increasing, studies show

By Valerie Strauss

Researchers say school segregation is now threatening the country’s success as a multiracial society.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:45 PM ET, 09/22/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/22/2012

Three fears about blended learning

By Valerie Strauss

John Merrow says faddiness, greed and limited vision may keep blended learning from its full potential.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 09/22/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/21/2012

How our love for numbers warps school reform

By Valerie Strauss

Our culture’s worshipful regard for numbers, Alfie Kohn writes, has led to some bad education policy.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:30 AM ET, 09/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/21/2012

Tutors for kindergarteners (and younger kids too)

By Valerie Strauss

How obsessed have schools become in preparing young kids to take tests and achieve in academics? This much: Tutors for kindergarteners — and younger kids — are proliferating. Really.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/21/2012

A primer on gap years

By Valerie Strauss

There is some evidence that more American students are taking a gap year before college. Here’s what you need to do about gap years.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/21/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 09/20/2012

Why the ‘rithmetic of school reform doesn’t add up

By Valerie Strauss

Sometimes things about school reform just don’t add up.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:00 PM ET, 09/20/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/20/2012

New research casts doubt on key theory of vocabulary learning

By Valerie Strauss

An influential theory about how kids learn vocabulary has been cast in doubt by new research.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:30 AM ET, 09/20/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/20/2012

Schools chief loves Twitter — 29 (plus 3) times a day

By Valerie Strauss

A growing number of school superintendents around the country spend part of their day on Twitter, and one of the most prolific — if not the most — is Joshua P. Starr, superintendent of the high-achieving Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/20/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 09/19/2012

What teachers say they won in Chicago strike

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s a chart from the Chicago Teachers Union on what was won.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:30 PM ET, 09/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:17 PM ET, 09/19/2012

Is The New York Times wrong (again) on teacher evaluation?

By Valerie Strauss

Here are two critiques of a New York Times editorial defending the controversial practice by school reformers of making student test scores an important part of teacher evaluation.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:17 PM ET, 09/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 09/19/2012

Is poverty destiny? Ideology vs. evidence in school reform

By Valerie Strauss

The answer to this question — “Is poverty destiny?” — is central to which education reform agenda the United States should embrace.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 09/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:02 AM ET, 09/19/2012

Tennessee punishing Nashville for refusing to open charter school

By Valerie Strauss

Tennessee officials are withholding $3.4 million from the Nashville public schools because the state told the system to open a controversial charter school and the local school board refused.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:02 AM ET, 09/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:57 PM ET, 09/18/2012

Who won the Chicago teachers strike?

By Valerie Strauss

The strike by Chicago teachers is suspended. Did Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel win or did the union?

By Valerie Strauss | 11:57 PM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:41 PM ET, 09/18/2012

A critical analysis of Common Core math standards

By Valerie Strauss

Much criticism of the Common Core has been about the English Language Arts Standards. Here’s a highly critical look at the math standards.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:41 PM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:58 PM ET, 09/18/2012

The 9th problem with the Common Core standards

By Valerie Strauss

Veteran educator Marion Brady follows up his “Eight Problems with the Common Core State Initiative” with a ninth problem.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:58 PM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 09/18/2012

Meet Jack Andraka, 15-year-old cancer researcher

By Valerie Strauss

Meet Jack Andraka, who was 14 years old (he’s all of 15 now) when he began looking for a simple way to detect early pancreatic cancer, his interest sparked by a relative’s death from the disease. Find out what he discovered.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:30 PM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:18 AM ET, 09/18/2012

Why schools alone can’t cure poverty

By Valerie Strauss

School reformers often say that great teaching can overcome the effects of poverty. Here’s an argument that the current reform narrative is missing the central infection of poverty while treating only single organs.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:18 AM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/18/2012

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time

By Valerie Strauss

We hear a lot about the problem of bullying but less about programs that actually help curb the problem. Here are some programs that are working in different communities and school districts.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/18/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 09/17/2012

On Constitution Day, test your knowledge

By Valerie Strauss

Today is the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:00 PM ET, 09/17/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 09/17/2012

A defense of Common Core State Standards

By Valerie Strauss

The 2010 National Teacher of the Year says that the Common Core State Standards are a positive development in school reform, and disagrees with critics, saying, “It’s not the standards themselves that are dangerous, it’s the way in which they may get misinterpreted or implemented in checkbox kinds of ways that could create unintended consequences.”

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 09/17/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:35 PM ET, 09/16/2012

How reformers (unfortunately) get captivated by experimental technology

By Valerie Strauss

The promise of a mechanized quality-control process

By Valerie Strauss | 02:35 PM ET, 09/16/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:05 PM ET, 09/16/2012

What research really says on teacher evaluation

By Valerie Strauss

The Chicago teachers strike has put the issue of teacher evaluation front and center in the education debate. Here an expert shows how the research evidence is weighty in support of the view that “value added” methods, popular with school reformers, should not be used.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:05 PM ET, 09/16/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:15 AM ET, 09/14/2012

Why people look down on teachers

By Valerie Strauss

People like to say that they have the highest regard for teachers because, after all, teachers have such an important job. But then why do so many folks hold them and their unions in contempt?

By Valerie Strauss | 11:15 AM ET, 09/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/14/2012

The ‘human touch’ in computer-based learning

By Valerie Strauss

The importance of a good relationship between teacher and student is no surprise. More surprising, writes cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, is that the “human touch” is so powerful it can improve computer-based learning. Here’s research that shows how and why.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/14/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:15 PM ET, 09/13/2012

Meet Ashley, a great teacher with a bad ‘value-added’ score

By Valerie Strauss

The big problem with linking test student test scores to a teacher’s evaluation is that the “value added” formulas that are used are unreliable and sometimes label very effective teachers as ineffective, and vice versa. How can that happen? Here’s a case that tells you how an excellent teacher got a low value-added score. This story is not an aberration.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:15 PM ET, 09/13/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:55 AM ET, 09/13/2012

How things look to a returning Chicago teacher

By Valerie Strauss

A teacher who just returned to a Chicago public schoolclassroom after teaching at a university for years writes: “So Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the Chicago Teachers Union is engaging in a ‘strike of choice.’ I’d say it’s more like a strike of choices.” Here he explains.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:55 AM ET, 09/13/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/13/2012

Is technology sapping children’s creativity?

By Valerie Strauss

Early childhood expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige takes a deep look at the impact of technology on young children through the lens of how youngsters best grow and develop. The trends are alarming.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/13/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:53 PM ET, 09/12/2012

Why Rahm Emanuel and The New York Times are wrong about teacher evaluation

By Valerie Strauss

Even if everyone says it, that doesn’t make it true.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:53 PM ET, 09/12/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/12/2012

Obama between a rock and a hard place with Chicago teachers strike

By Valerie Strauss

Among the signs that striking Chicago teachers are carrying are ones that say, “Obama don’t ignore us.”

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/12/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/12/2012

Why shouldn’t Chicago teachers ask for air- conditioned schools?

By Valerie Strauss

One of the seemingly smaller issues that striking Chicago teachers are asking for is air conditioning in schools where there isn’t any.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/12/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:14 PM ET, 09/11/2012

Did prof go too far by breast-feeding sick baby while lecturing?

By Valerie Strauss

An assistant anthropology professor at American University is saying that students who criticized her for breast-feeding her child while she was lecturing created a “hostile work environment” for her.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:14 PM ET, 09/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 09/11/2012

Bullying at school?

By Valerie Strauss

Watch this cellphone video of students and a teacher at Kopachuck Middle School in Washington state. Is it bullying?

By Valerie Strauss | 01:14 PM ET, 09/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:19 PM ET, 09/11/2012

‘Tis true: Virginia kids don’t have to go to school

By Valerie Strauss

Virginia has a compulsory education law requiring children ages 5 to 18 to attend school, with some pretty standard exceptions (health reasons, for example). But one exception is unique to Virginia: religious opposition to going to school—any school.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:19 PM ET, 09/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 09/11/2012

The real problem with Rahm’s school reforms in Chicago

By Valerie Strauss

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been pushing a school reform agenda backed by the Obama administration that has helped push the city’s teachers union to strike.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 09/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/11/2012

On school reform: Broad’s misleading response to critics

By Valerie Strauss

The Chicago teachers strike has made school reform national news, and here’s a post that helps explain some of the controvery. This piece delves into the foundation run by Eli Broad, one a group of billionaires who are using their extreme wealth to privatize the making of education policy and to create powerful political advocacy networks to implement it.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:43 PM ET, 09/10/2012

Chicago teachers strike: The issues

By Valerie Strauss

The teachers strike in Chicago is about more than money.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:43 PM ET, 09/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:43 AM ET, 09/10/2012

Why are Chicago teachers on strike?

By Valerie Strauss

They couldn’t make a deal in Chicago, so more than 350,000 public school kids won’t have class on Monday. W

By Valerie Strauss | 07:43 AM ET, 09/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 09/10/2012

The achievement gap: By the numbers

By Valerie Strauss

If you want to understand the achievement gap, look a these new statistics on educational access and persistence just released by the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:00 AM ET, 09/10/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:19 PM ET, 09/09/2012

Chicago increases offer but teachers may still strike

By Valerie Strauss

Rumor has it that Chicago officials who have been feverishly negotiating with the Chicago Teachers Union to avert a Monday strike have significantly increased their offer, but the union’s leaders may not bring the offer to members because it doesn’t go as far as they want.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:19 PM ET, 09/09/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 09/09/2012

Is Michelle Rhee taking over the Democratic Party?

By Valerie Strauss

An Atlantic magazine article is entitled, “How Michelle Rhee Is Taking Over the Democratic Party.” Is she really?

By Valerie Strauss | 01:00 PM ET, 09/09/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:17 PM ET, 09/09/2012

10 things never to do to students

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s a list of things that parents, teachers and other adults should not do to students — assembled with the help of kids and young adults.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:17 PM ET, 09/09/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 09/08/2012

Did Malia, Sasha go to school on day after convention?

By Valerie Strauss

President Obama said in his convention speech in Charlotte that his daughters had to go back to school next day. Did they?

By Valerie Strauss | 12:35 PM ET, 09/08/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 09/07/2012

A caveat on reading fiction in school

By Valerie Strauss

The new Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts call for students to read a lot more non-fiction than they used to, a requirement that has caused some consternation among educators. Here’s a different look at the issue of fiction and non-fiction, written by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 09/07/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 09/07/2012

Why kids hate school — subject by subject

By Valerie Strauss

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 09/07/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:36 PM ET, 09/06/2012

What Obama said about education in speech

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s what President Obama said about education and school reform in his speech to the Democratic National Convention.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:36 PM ET, 09/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012

The real wall of separation in public schools

By Valerie Strauss

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012

The ed speech Obama should give to help him win

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s the speech that President Obama should give on school reform — written by education historian Diane Ravitch — that could help him win over teachers who are angry at his school reform policies.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012

A new Finnish lesson: Why gender equality matters in school reform

By Valerie Strauss

The author of the best-selling “Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland?” gives us a new Finnish lesson. This one is about the importance of gender equality and how it factors into effective school reform.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/06/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:59 PM ET, 09/05/2012

Bill Clinton’s ‘big ideas’ for education

By Valerie Strauss

Here’s a video in which Bill Clinton offers some of his big ideas for improving education internationally and here in the United States. Some of what he says may surprise people who think he would have taken a very different reform road from President Obama.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:59 PM ET, 09/05/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:57 PM ET, 09/05/2012

The sad, sad school district Michelle Obama mentioned

By Valerie Strauss

The school district that Michelle Obama referred to in her speech to the Democratic National Convention is in worse straits than she probably knows. What is happening in the Pennsylvania district is a sorry story in school reform.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:57 PM ET, 09/05/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:36 PM ET, 09/05/2012

How Democrats have changed on school reform

By Valerie Strauss

You can track the changes in the way the Democratic Party views various elements of school reform by looking at the education sections of party platforms.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:36 PM ET, 09/05/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:24 PM ET, 09/04/2012

What Democratic platform says on education

By Valerie Strauss

Here are the portions of the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform, which was approved Tuesday by convention delegates meeting in Charlotte, N.C., that mention education.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:24 PM ET, 09/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 09/04/2012

The supplies kids really need for school

By Valerie Strauss

The average American will spend $688.62 to outfit his or her K-12-age children for the new school year in 2012. The average for college-age students and their families is $907.22. Here’s a piece on what kids really need to be successful at school.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:00 AM ET, 09/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 09/04/2012

Lifelong Democrat ready for fight in Charlotte over school reform

By Valerie Strauss

The Democrats are opening their political convention on Tuesday with hopes of rallying the troops for the fall campaign ahead — but on one issue they can expect some pushback from activists within the party: school reform. Here one lifelong Democrat explains why she is ready to fight in Charlotte.

By Valerie Strauss | 05:00 AM ET, 09/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 09/03/2012

A 16-year-old’s worthwhile summer

By Valerie Strauss

A high school junior describes her experiences trying to teach young people in Uganda during a trip this summer that taught her more than she could have expected.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:34 PM ET, 09/03/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:31 PM ET, 09/03/2012

How school textbooks distort labor history

By Valerie Strauss

The history of the labor movement is barely taught in U.S. schools , and when it is, it’s often inaccurately.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:31 PM ET, 09/03/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:32 PM ET, 09/02/2012

Labor Day facts

By Valerie Strauss

For well over a century Americans have been celebrating Labor Day on the first Monday in September, yet it may be the federal holiday about which kids — and plenty of adults — know the least. Here are some facts and figures about the work force we celebrate on Labor Day.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:32 PM ET, 09/02/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:22 AM ET, 09/02/2012

Q & A: Chiefs of five school districts talk reform — and describe their biggest wish

By Valerie Strauss

The leaders of public schools in the District, Montgomery County in Maryland and the Virginia school districts of Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Alexandria talk about teacher evaluation, how to measure school success and more — including the one thing they would do if they had a magic wand.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:22 AM ET, 09/02/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:34 PM ET, 09/01/2012

Yes, they cheat at Harvard, too

By Valerie Strauss

The scandal at Harvard University involving a probe of nearly half of a class of 279 students raises the question: Does everybody cheat?

By Valerie Strauss | 02:34 PM ET, 09/01/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/10/2001

Things no teacher ever said

By Valerie Strauss

Can you imagine a teacher ever saying this? “You know what we’re not doing enough of? Testing kids.” Here are other things no teacher would ever say.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/10/2001 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

The Answer Sheet: September, 2012