EdPolicy
New Frame for ESEA: Half Right, Big Risk
Message refined, Secretary Duncan is doing the morning show circuit socializing a proposal for the reauthorization of federal education policy. He’s attempting to assemble the first bipartisan coalition of the Obama administration to address a major piece of legislation. It won’t be easy and it probably won’t happen this year…
The School Choice Debate in India
HYDERABAD. After three weeks with Gray Matters Capital, I realized that I landed in India at a very dynamic time of education reform—a very different version than is occurring in the US—perhaps not really reform, but a rapid evolution of a multi-provider system of education with 500 million eager customers.
Thoughts for Charter School Authorizers
Dear Charter Authorizers, 1. Some of you are becoming school districts–bureaucratic and directive. What happened to ‘autonomy for accountability’? Reading some of your renewal reviews, it’s like having a boss all over again. 2. Timelines are so long and apps are so big and expensive to prepare,…
NY could learn some things from LA too
Margaret Raymond’s LA Times piece suggested that LA could learn from NY. That’s true in some areas of school reform, but I think there may be problems with some of her assertions and her timing. 1. She references her study which had obvious flaws regarding matching (i.e., first…
Competition, Civil Rights, and Change Theory
Civil rights advocates are split on the competitive nature of $10 billion in grant programs from the US Department of Education. Some, like Education Equality Project, view it as an opportunity for states and districts with competent leadership to make important performance-promoting and gap-closing advances. Others, like the…
New School Ecosystems
There are interesting parallels between charter schools in the US and affordable private school in India. Both focus on the urban poor, promote choice, and often develop within an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Whether it’s New Orleans or Hyderabad, there are a dozen accelerants that promote access and quality: 1. Incubation…
India's Edu-challenge has Global Consequences
“If 250 million kids get left behind, it’s a liability for India and the world” Sandeep Aneja runs Kaizen, an Indian education investment fund. He warns of widespread unrest, an increase in terrorism, and a massive loss of development potential if half of India’s youth don’t gain access to quality…
Educational Dilemma: Rigor v Relevance
We argue about testing in the US, but the focus on and stakes related to testing is much higher in China and India where the tip of the human funnel is the 12th grade exam; to a large life options hang in the balance. In the US, there are lots…
Developments in Delaware
While updating RttT handicapping I missed important developments in Delaware. It’s an important story for several reasons. It’s a story of strong political leadership. Delaware elected a smart and aggressive governor that will see this through with an empowered Secretary with direct line authority (equivalent of mayoral control at the…
Developments
Developments: Provost Academy launched a virtual high school in CO; Provost is an early example of 2nd gen content developed as learning objects A couple start-ups working around the big guys and developing high school elective content More evidence that charters work as outlined by James Merriman…