Archive
component:for-whom.reports
Good Urban Schools: A Portfolio Approach
This paper, first written in 2004 with Jim Shelton, is one of the first descriptions of the portfolio approach to urban education.
Quality Counts Tidbits
I’ve been carrying EdWeek’s Quality Counts issue around with me for a month and finally used a two hour plane ride to read it cover to cover. I was reminded of the great work that David Driscoll (with lots of help from folks like Tom Payzant) did in…
RttT Plans: Detailed, Compliant, Insufficient
I spent the last two days reading Race to the Top plans. Here’s a few observations: 1. The plans are comprehensive and detailed. They all slavishly follow the Department of Education scoring rubic. As I’ve repeatedly said, RttT is a great program, but this isn’t ‘loose on means’.
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…
KIPP has optimized the Standards v1.0 school
Standards and common assessments were introduced 15 years ago. KIPP took the expectations expressed by state tests seriously and made numerous process improvements to the old model of school. At the middle school I visited Monday, 100% of the Kipsters had passed the state math test. This KIPP school…
Scrap credits/time as measures of progress
It’s time to scrap credit accumulation and seat time as the measures of student progress. Seat time requirements are the enemy of performance-based education. We’ve been spouting the mantra ‘vary time not learning’ for a generation but have seldom broken the mold. It’s great to see ED and CCSSO (and…
Leaders & Laggards: a call to action
The Leaders and Laggards report is an important scorecard showing why, how, and where America is losing the education race. We pride ourselves on innovation but this report suggests there isn’t much of that in education. A bipartisan group of think tanks scored states on school management, finance,…
Dropout prevention reports…and the rest of the solution
NASBE recently released a dropout prevention report that included some typical recommendations (data, training, community partnerships, multiple pathways). I’m glad the state boards on on the case. NGA also issued a report which better describes the solution set including a recommendation to “provide rigorous, relevant options for…
RTT, data and teachers
The National Journal question of the week was, “Are Race to the Top Criteria Fair?” More specifically, “states that prohibit linking student achievement data to teacher and principal evaluation will not be eligible to apply. Is this fair?” The short answer is yes! Thank goodness that Jon…
June is the new Friday
Most PR specialists tell you to drop bad news on Friday. Maybe the same is true for end of the school year. We’ve certainly had bad news this month. Diploma Counts 2009, the annual EdWeek graduation rate study commissioned by the Gates Foundation, said “ While long-term trends have…