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<channel><title><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com - Jay Mathews: Class Struggle]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400611.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><description><![CDATA[]]></description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com?nav=rss</link><url>http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif </url></image>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Saving Young Men With Career Academies ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/21/AR2008072100517.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/21/AR2008072100517.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:11:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ By usual measures of student progress, America's high school career academies have been a failure. One of the longest and most scientific education studies ever conducted concluded they did not improve test scores or graduation rates or college success for urban youth. People like me, obsessed with raising student achievement, saw those numbers and said: Well, too bad. Let's try something else. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Saving]]></category><category><![CDATA[Young]]></category><category><![CDATA[Men]]></category><category><![CDATA[With]]></category><category><![CDATA[Career]]></category><category><![CDATA[Academies]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Forget About the Achievement Gap ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071400379.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071400379.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:17:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I don't like talking about the achievement gap. The term has several meanings, none very useful to my mind. There is often a strained silence when I bring this up, since it sounds like I am on some crotchety rant against political correctness. But that is not what I mean. Thankfully, a new study is making my point for me, courtesy of Brookings Institution scholar Tom Loveless. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Forget]]></category><category><![CDATA[About]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Achievement]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gap]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ The Two Worlds of Advanced Placement ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070700477.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070700477.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:07:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Arguing about Advanced Placement, the college-level program found in most U.S. high schools, can be confusing. Some critics say AP courses and tests, like the similar but smaller International Baccalaureate and Cambridge programs, are too deep for most high school students. Other critics say they are too shallow. Some say AP teachers follow a boring, trivia-filled script. Others say AP teachers are the most creative and engaging instructors they know. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[Two]]></category><category><![CDATA[Worlds]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Advanced]]></category><category><![CDATA[Placement]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Looking at the Dropout Issue ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063000016.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063000016.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:44:56 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Some of the most troubling questions about schools, such as what causes dropouts, have few clear answers because there is so little research. And the reason that data is lacking, at least in part, is that educators who would otherwise demand it are too busy with more even pressing issues, such as improving teaching and raising low student achievement. <br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218346998" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218346998" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Looking]]></category><category><![CDATA[at]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Dropout]]></category><category><![CDATA[Issue]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ The Nation's Most Elite Public Schools ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062300297.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062300297.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:13:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Each year when Newsweek publishes its list of America's Top High Schools, I always know what question the largest number of e-mails will ask. To paraphrase, and somewhat soften, the usual language: "Where the devil is my nationally famous magnet school on your dumb list?" ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nation's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Most]]></category><category><![CDATA[Elite]]></category><category><![CDATA[Public]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Raising Minority Graduation Rates in College ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061600199.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061600199.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:18:59 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The Catholic University and Trinity Washington University are well-regarded institutions located next to each other in a verdant section of northeast Washington. Yet there is a huge gap between them in the relative graduation rates of their black and white students. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Raising]]></category><category><![CDATA[Minority]]></category><category><![CDATA[Graduation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rates]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[College]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Is AP Good for Everyone? ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060802345.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060802345.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:31:01 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I am no match for Chester E. Finn Jr. in a debate. The president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and author of "Troublemaker: A Personal History of School Reform Since Sputnik" (Princeton University Press) is feared by many ideological adversaries for his sharp wit and inexhaustible erudition. But I am taking him on anyway in this column because he suggested recently in his own weekly Gadfly column that I was promoting Advanced Placement courses for all students, even those unable or unwilling to handle their difficulties. I thought this would also be a good way to explore the limits of the movement to make high schools more challenging, a very lively issue in our highest-performing schools. Here we go: ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Is]]></category><category><![CDATA[AP]]></category><category><![CDATA[Good]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Everyone?]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Community College Transfer Mess ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060200545.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060200545.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:13:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Like many community college students, Josie Showers saw her classes at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville as the first step toward a four-year degree. She was among the nearly half of American students who start college in two-year community schools. They are told if they work hard, their state's four-year colleges will be happy to accept them as transfers and cheer them on to graduation. But Showers, like many others, discovered those four-year schools are not as helpful as she had been led to believe.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218348047" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218348047" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[College]]></category><category><![CDATA[Transfer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mess]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Few Solutions In Book on Charters ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052600422.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052600422.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 May 2008 05:34:58 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Journalists, particularly me, tend to get excited about charter schools, the independently run public schools that have produced -- at least in some cases -- major improvements in achievement for children from low-income families. The charter educators I write about are often young, energetic, witty, noble and pretty much irresistible. But their charter schools, which use tax dollars with little oversight, are relatively new and untried. Like all experiments, they could easily fizzle. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Few]]></category><category><![CDATA[Solutions]]></category><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Book]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charters]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Few Solutions In Book on Charters ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052600310.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052600310.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 May 2008 04:36:58 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Journalists, particularly me, tend to get excited about charter schools, the independently run public schools that have produced -- at least in some cases -- major improvements in achievement for children from low-income families. The charter educators I write about are often young, energetic, witty, noble and pretty much irresistible. But their charter schools, which use tax dollars with little oversight, are relatively new and untried. Like all experiments, they could easily fizzle. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Few]]></category><category><![CDATA[Solutions]]></category><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Book]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charters]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Few Solutions In Book on Charters ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/25/AR2008052502690.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/25/AR2008052502690.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 May 2008 04:36:58 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Journalists, particularly me, tend to get excited about charter schools, the independently run public schools that have produced -- at least in some cases -- major improvements in achievement for children from low-income families. The charter educators I write about are often young, energetic, witty, noble and pretty much irresistible. But their charter schools, which use tax dollars with little oversight, are relatively new and untried. Like all experiments, they could easily fizzle. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Few]]></category><category><![CDATA[Solutions]]></category><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Book]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charters]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Insiders Report on the Challenge Index ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051900549.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051900549.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2008 06:33:01 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ This week, Newsweek magazine and its Web site Newsweek.com unveil this year's Top High Schools list, based on a rating system I invented a decade ago called the Challenge Index. The index ranks schools based on college-level course participation, adding up the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and other college-level tests in a given year for a given school, and dividing that total by its number of graduating seniors.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218350484" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218350484" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Insiders]]></category><category><![CDATA[Report]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Challenge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Index]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Take That AP Test or Flunk ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051200496.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051200496.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2008 06:54:01 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ J. David Goodman's story in the New York Times last week about the new Advanced Placement policy at two high schools in New Jersey at first made me cringe. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Take]]></category><category><![CDATA[That]]></category><category><![CDATA[AP]]></category><category><![CDATA[Test]]></category><category><![CDATA[or]]></category><category><![CDATA[Flunk]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Making Teacher Hiring Less Comfortable ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/05/AR2008050500344.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/05/AR2008050500344.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 10:51:58 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ For those who still think helping children learn is everybody's top priority in our schools, let me cite a disturbing dispute over where to send several hundred teachers at 23 D.C. schools that are about to be closed for inadequate enrollment. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Making]]></category><category><![CDATA[Teacher]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hiring]]></category><category><![CDATA[Less]]></category><category><![CDATA[Comfortable]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ What to Do With Gifted Students? ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702129.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702129.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:22:01 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I received a letter a few weeks ago from a mother in Prince William County, home to one of the Washington area's big suburban school systems. It starkly captured the parental frustration at the heart of the national debate over what to do with very gifted students. I ran her letter, with a short response, in my weekly Post column, "Extra Credit," in which I answer reader mail. That column produced so many letters that I decided to lay out the debate in this column, using the limitless space of the Internet. I have not been very sympathetic with parents of gifted kids. Some of the reaction below echoes things I have said. But I find it difficult to justify forcing Nancy Klimavicz's son to spend valuable time on busywork. If anyone has any good way out of this impasse, e-mail me at mathewsj@washpost.com. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[What]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Do]]></category><category><![CDATA[With]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gifted]]></category><category><![CDATA[Students?]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ New Report From KIPP Charters ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042001762.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042001762.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:20:01 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Educators argue often whether their work should be judged by test scores. There are thoughtful people on both sides of the debate. We journalists tend to focus on exam results because so many of our readers say that is what they want, and such information is relatively easy to get from regular public schools.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218350716" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218350716" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[New]]></category><category><![CDATA[Report]]></category><category><![CDATA[From]]></category><category><![CDATA[KIPP]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charters]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ A Challenge Index Boycott of Sorts ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/14/AR2008041400545.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/14/AR2008041400545.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:06:03 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I received a telephone call two months ago from a high school newspaper reporter in Westchester County, N.Y., asking about a letter she had seen from high schools boycotting the upcoming 2008 Challenge Index rankings of top U.S. high schools in Newsweek. Such letters are rare events. Over the 10 years Newsweek and The Washington Post have used my school rating system, a total of five schools, as best I can remember, have told us they don't want to participate because they don't approve of our method of assessment. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[A]]></category><category><![CDATA[Challenge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Index]]></category><category><![CDATA[Boycott]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sorts]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Favorite Education Blogs of 2008 ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040700387.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040700387.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:12:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Early last year, as an experiment, I published a list of what I and commentator Walt Gardner considered our favorite education blogs. Neither Gardner nor I had much experience with this most modern form of expression. We are WAY older than the Web surfing generation. But the list proved popular with readers, and I promised in that column to make this an annual event. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Favorite]]></category><category><![CDATA[Education]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[2008]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Ways to Measure Schools Without High-Stakes Testing ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/31/AR2008033100704.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/31/AR2008033100704.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:32:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Who is going to be our next education president? I know, but I'm not telling. Most of The Washington Post's political reporters these days are young, strong and potentially dangerous. They have warned me about previous attempts to tread on their turf. So I am going to confine myself to helpful advice for our future chief executive, without revealing that person's name. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Ways]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Measure]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[Without]]></category><category><![CDATA[High-Stakes]]></category><category><![CDATA[Testing]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ A Decade of the Challenge Index: Send Me Your School and Your Opinion ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032400650.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032400650.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:54:29 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The Challenge Index, my device for assessing high schools on college-level course participation, was born 10 years ago this month in The Post and Newsweek. At the beginning it was mostly a way to draw attention to a book I had written, "Class Struggle: What's Wrong (and Right) with America's Best Public High Schools." I feared that my prose was far too stuck in the minutiae of classroom life to win much of an audience but hoped that a list of schools ranked in a new way might tweak some curiosity.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218351481" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218351481" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[A]]></category><category><![CDATA[Decade]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Challenge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Index:]]></category><category><![CDATA[Send]]></category><category><![CDATA[Me]]></category><category><![CDATA[Your]]></category><category><![CDATA[School]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[Your]]></category><category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ 10 Signs of What Is Not a Crummy Poor-Kid School ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031700661.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031700661.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:24:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Two engaging books came out a year ago, each so compelling I planned a major column with guest commentators and debates and confetti and dancers and rock music. Then life intruded. I never got it together. Now my only face-saving option is to make these books the latest selections to our Better Late Than Never Book Club, this column's way of heralding works that I never get around to reading when I should. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[10]]></category><category><![CDATA[Signs]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[What]]></category><category><![CDATA[Is]]></category><category><![CDATA[Not]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Crummy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poor-Kid]]></category><category><![CDATA[School]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Should We Put the Brakes on Advanced Placement Growth? ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031000401.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031000401.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:29:58 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Patrick Mattimore -- lawyer, teacher and freelance journalist -- is one of the most insightful writers about schools I know. So when he published a piece in Education Week criticizing the rapid growth in Advanced Placement courses in the country, I read it carefully and asked him to discuss it with me in this column. Mattimore is not only an astute judge of AP policy, but until recently, he was an AP Psychology teacher in San Francisco. He knows the territory like few others, and unlike many people in the debate over how to use AP, he has accomplished the rare feat of changing his mind after discovering facts at odds with his views. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Should]]></category><category><![CDATA[We]]></category><category><![CDATA[Put]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Brakes]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Advanced]]></category><category><![CDATA[Placement]]></category><category><![CDATA[Growth?]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Let Them Drop Out, Then Get Them Back ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR2008030300659.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR2008030300659.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:26:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Every time I hear from a teacher, I learn something. It may be a new reading report, a promising homework technique, a story of a student's success. And sometimes it is a taboo-busting, eye-widening, troublemaking idea. Consider the e-mail that Michael Goldstein, founder of the MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston, sent, saying that if a kid wants to drop out, let him. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Let]]></category><category><![CDATA[Them]]></category><category><![CDATA[Drop]]></category><category><![CDATA[Out,]]></category><category><![CDATA[Then]]></category><category><![CDATA[Get]]></category><category><![CDATA[Them]]></category><category><![CDATA[Back]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Ten Tips for Picking a Good School ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:45:59 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ This is the time of year many parents seek advice on how to find a good elementary, middle or high school, public or private, for their children. Usually I send them a Washington Post article I wrote on this subject three years ago. But this is such an important topic to so many families, I decided to update my thoughts. Here are 10 suggestions, in no particular order. As you'll see in recommendation number 10, your own thoughts and feelings should always be the deciding factor.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352070" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352070" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Ten]]></category><category><![CDATA[Tips]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Picking]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Good]]></category><category><![CDATA[School]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ The Most Irritating Education Expert in America ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021800688.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021800688.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:12:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I am breaking the rules of book-reviewing by admitting right away that I like Chester E. "Checker" Finn Jr., whose memoir, "Troublemaker: A Personal History of School Reform Since Sputnik," just came out. For an education reporter, Finn is a godsend -- the most quotable man in his field. But that also means he is funny, irreverent and often as irritating as he can be. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[Most]]></category><category><![CDATA[Irritating]]></category><category><![CDATA[Education]]></category><category><![CDATA[Expert]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[America]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ One Dad's Campaign to Save America ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021100644.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021100644.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:15:58 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Bob Compton may be wrong about American students losing out to our hard-working Indian and Chinese competitors, but he is astonishingly sincere in his views. Even if his country doesn't react to the international threat, he will. He has hired special tutors for his daughters, even though they already have top grades at a premier private school. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[One]]></category><category><![CDATA[Dad's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Campaign]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Save]]></category><category><![CDATA[America]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Can Education Research Save Us? An Upbeat View ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020400739.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020400739.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:36:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Editor's note: With today's column, Class Struggle from Jay Mathews moves to Mondays from Tuesdays, to coincide with the Post's weekly Schools & Learning page in the newspaper's Metro section. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Can]]></category><category><![CDATA[Education]]></category><category><![CDATA[Research]]></category><category><![CDATA[Save]]></category><category><![CDATA[Us?]]></category><category><![CDATA[An]]></category><category><![CDATA[Upbeat]]></category><category><![CDATA[View]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Bad Parents Don't Make Bad Schools ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012901040.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012901040.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:09:59 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ A Washington Post poll this month revealed, once again, that D.C. residents put the most blame for their failing public schools on apathetic and uninvolved parents. Many Americans feel the same way about the same school troubles in their areas. They are wrong, but in such a convoluted way that it is difficult for us parents to get a good grasp on what role we play in making our schools bad or good.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352312" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352312" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Bad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Parents]]></category><category><![CDATA[Don't]]></category><category><![CDATA[Make]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Charter Schools and the Next President ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012200879.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012200879.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:28:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ It is an exciting month for us political junkies. I come to work groggy from staying up late watching the victory speeches. I scour the Net for the latest polls. But the part of me that cares about schools is not that thrilled. Education issues are not stirring up anybody's electoral base, so they don't get mentioned. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Charter]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Next]]></category><category><![CDATA[President]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Dropout Solutions That Work ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011501323.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011501323.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:08:01 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I am starting this column with a chart, something journalists are never supposed to do. I found it on page 179 of a new book with one of those titles, "The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education," that scholars consider necessary but discourages readers. I beg you to stay with me, because this particular chart is surprising and important (I have changed the formatslightly to make it easier to absorb). ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Dropout]]></category><category><![CDATA[Solutions]]></category><category><![CDATA[That]]></category><category><![CDATA[Work]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Asian American Students and School Stereotypes ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010802038.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010802038.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:57:55 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The surge in the number of Asian Americans the past four decades has affected many sectors of society, particularly public schools. On the whole, Asian American students tend to perform well on standardized tests and have a high rate of acceptance into some of the most selective high schools and colleges. The energy and ambition shown by many of these students has both improved our schools and fueled stereotypes. For example: All those hard-working Asian kids, some people say, are raising the grading curve and putting too much pressure on the rest of us. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Asian]]></category><category><![CDATA[American]]></category><category><![CDATA[Students]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[School]]></category><category><![CDATA[Stereotypes]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ How to Fix Coolidge High ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/25/AR2007122500283.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/25/AR2007122500283.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Dec 2007 06:08:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ In November, Washington Post readers encountered two of the most disheartening stories we have ever published about inner-city education. Staff writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker went deep into the life of Jonathan Lewis, a senior at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in the District. In depressing detail, Parker explained why Jonathan, despite being healthy and bright, was coming so close to not graduating. (The Coolidge High series continued in Sunday's front page article "Lessons in Reality.")<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352696" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218352696" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[How]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fix]]></category><category><![CDATA[Coolidge]]></category><category><![CDATA[High]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Five Ways Out of the Homework Trap ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121800716.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121800716.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:23:58 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Tom Loveless, senior fellow and director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, has been making trouble again. His latest report asks, "How Well Are American Students Learning?" It upends hitherto highly regarded research based on data from several countries that says more time for instruction and homework has a negative correlation with achievement -- in other words, the more teaching at school and more homework at home, the less you learn. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Five]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ways]]></category><category><![CDATA[Out]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Homework]]></category><category><![CDATA[Trap]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Insiders' Guide to AP and IB ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121100793.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121100793.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:11:59 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The Washington Post sports pages this weekend were full of detailed analyses of our beloved local football, basketball and baseball teams. It was inside stuff, lapped up by readers like me who care about these sports and love to see the latest numbers. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Insiders']]></category><category><![CDATA[Guide]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[AP]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[IB]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Andy and Me: Two Ways to Rate High Schools ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120400645.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120400645.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:28:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ On Dec. 13, The Washington Post will mark the 10th year of the Challenge Index, my high school rating system, with our latest ranked list of all 185 public schools in the Washington area. Since 1998, Newsweek magazine also has been publishing its national best high schools list using the same method.  ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Mathews]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Andy]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[Me:]]></category><category><![CDATA[Two]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ways]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rate]]></category><category><![CDATA[High]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ The Secret Gripes of Professor Klein: An AP-IB Drama ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112700971.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112700971.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:08:02 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ David Klein, a mathematics professor at California State University at Northridge, says he was pleased to review Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate math courses for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He respects institute President Chester E. "Checker" Finn Jr., a longtime leader in the movement to improve U.S. schools. Among the views Klein shares with Finn is that overuse of calculators can interfere with students' mastery of analytical skills.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218354560" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=30218354560" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[Secret]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gripes]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Professor]]></category><category><![CDATA[Klein:]]></category><category><![CDATA[An]]></category><category><![CDATA[AP-IB]]></category><category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ How to Fix Struggling High Schools ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/20/AR2007112000571.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/20/AR2007112000571.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:17:58 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Last week, The Washington Post ran two articles by staff writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker that revealed, in a remarkable way, the abject hopelessness of inner-city American high schools. They tell the story of just one D.C. student, Calvin Coolidge Senior High School senior Jonathan Lewis, and his uncertain path to a diploma. But every step on his journey exposed another failure of the educators, parents and students on whom the public school system depends. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[How]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fix]]></category><category><![CDATA[Struggling]]></category><category><![CDATA[High]]></category><category><![CDATA[Schools]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ AP vs. IB vs. Neither: A Plea for Peace and Love ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111300695.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111300695.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:23:58 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Watch out. Tumultuous days are ahead in the war of advocates for college-level high school courses such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, particularly with the rise of some schools that say their teachers can do a better job without AP or IB. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[AP]]></category><category><![CDATA[vs.]]></category><category><![CDATA[IB]]></category><category><![CDATA[vs.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Neither:]]></category><category><![CDATA[A]]></category><category><![CDATA[Plea]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Peace]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[Love]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Seven Warnings and One Mistake in High School Reform ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110600549.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110600549.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:52:02 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ I receive many reports on how to improve our schools. This is an occupational hazard. Reading them is often confusing, depressing, disorienting and maddening. But there is no help for it. The academic papers, commission recommendations and task force action plans are usually written by some of the smartest experts in the country. They have stuff I need to know, so I plow through them. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Seven]]></category><category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[One]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mistake]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[High]]></category><category><![CDATA[School]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reform]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
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