NEW! Check out our podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/We
Browse our collection of public school success stories: http://www.publicschoolins
Browse our collection of public school success stories: http://www.publicschoolins
Information
- Location:
- Washington, DC, 20008
Notes
3 of 237 notesSee All
- The Difference a School Can Make 5:04am Nov 6|1 Comment
- Tables Turned 7:10am Nov 5|2 Comments
- Cassandra or Pollyanna? 9:36am Nov 3
Photos
1 albumSee All
Public School Insights PodcastCreated about 4 months ago
No one has added fan photos.
Yesterday I spent the morning at Viers Mill Elementary School In Maryland. You might know the school. President Obama paid it an unexpected visit a couple of weeks ago. If ever you want to renew your spirits in these dismal days, visit a school like Viers Mill...
Public School Insights
For those who missed it when it came out a few days ago, a new federal study confirms what many had suspected: Many states (nearly a third) have lowered their academic proficiency standards in recent years.
You can read the federal government's report at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/stu
Or the New York Times has an easy to read summary.
Source: www.nytimes.com
A study shows that nearly a third of the states lowered their academic standards to avoid the penalties under the No Child Left Behind law.
Consider, for a moment, the following three quotations, which I drew from various media sources: "The candidate said he will build more public schools if the charter schools do not step up to the plate and improve." "Traditional public schools can be a mixed bag, but the best of them are achieving...
A while back, I suggested we pay pundits for their performance. Now is as good a time as any to start. First up for evaluation: Jonathan Alter. He should brace himself for a pay cut. Let's review his most recent performance in this week's Newsweek magazine...
Nurture Shock author Ashley Merryman came out in defense of public schools this morning. Her main argument: "US School Kids Are Doing Better Than Ever – But You Never Hear It!" She takes the doomsayers to task: Last week, I was at a conference, participating in a discussion on education reform. ...
Public School Insights
Another thought on school closings…
Education reporter Debra Viadero blogged today about a simulation tool that helps superintendents decide whether to transform under-performing schools or shut them down and start from scratch. Jim Connell, founder of the Institute for Research and Reform in Education, developed it ba...sed on the experiences of that (nonprofit) organization.
To learn more, check out Viadero’s post. (Note: We haven’t seen the tool and don’t endorse it—we’re just spreading the word!)Read More
Education reporter Debra Viadero blogged today about a simulation tool that helps superintendents decide whether to transform under-performing schools or shut them down and start from scratch. Jim Connell, founder of the Institute for Research and Reform in Education, developed it ba...sed on the experiences of that (nonprofit) organization.
To learn more, check out Viadero’s post. (Note: We haven’t seen the tool and don’t endorse it—we’re just spreading the word!)Read More
Source: blogs.edweek.org
The report out last week on the results of a study looking at Chicago's efforts to close down failing schools got me thinking. In its study, the Consortium on Chicago School Research examined the impact on students of shutting down 18 chronically low-performing elementary schools in the Windy City. ...
Jack Grayson has been many things in his 86 years. A farmer, FBI agent, journalist, importer/exporter, professor, business school dean, and member of three presidential commissions...
Just when you thought New York City charter schools were the Best Things Ever, a new report calls their quality into question. According to the city's education department, students in charters made less academic progress than students in traditional public schools did...
Public School Insights
In recent years, several urban school districts have closed some of their lowest-performing schools. Yet there is very little evidence on how displaced students fare after those schools are closed.
One new study from the Consortium on Chicago School Research takes on that topic. Their conclusions could (should) have... important policy implications:
"Overall, we found few effects, either positive or negative, of school closings on the achievement of displaced students. The lack of a more substantial positive effect of transferring students out of these schools is likely due to the types of receiving schools that students transferred into. Displaced students who enrolled in receiving schools with strong academic quality or with high levels of teacher support had higher learning gains than displaced students who enrolled in other receiving schools. However, the number of displaced students who attended these strong schools was small. Only 6 percent of displaced students enrolled in academically strong schools, while 42 percent of displaced students continued to attend schools with very low levels of academic achievement."Read More
One new study from the Consortium on Chicago School Research takes on that topic. Their conclusions could (should) have... important policy implications:
"Overall, we found few effects, either positive or negative, of school closings on the achievement of displaced students. The lack of a more substantial positive effect of transferring students out of these schools is likely due to the types of receiving schools that students transferred into. Displaced students who enrolled in receiving schools with strong academic quality or with high levels of teacher support had higher learning gains than displaced students who enrolled in other receiving schools. However, the number of displaced students who attended these strong schools was small. Only 6 percent of displaced students enrolled in academically strong schools, while 42 percent of displaced students continued to attend schools with very low levels of academic achievement."Read More
Source: ccsr.uchicago.edu
» HOME » SEARCH » E-NEWSLETTER » CONTACT US » CAREERS
Russ Whitehurst: [T]he creation of common standards will have little impact on our future in and of itself. Common core standards may be a precondition for other reforms...
Public School Insights
Interesting tidbit: All schools in England are now community schools. Though they are called "extended schools" on that side of the pond, the concept is the same: They use the school's physical space and access to families to deliver a wide variety of services, including health care, youth development activities and p...arenting support. And while this setup is now universal in England, it is particularly beneficial in low-income communities that tend to lack access to such services.
If you are interested in learning more about community schools, the Center for American Progress just released a report that describes the concept, reviews the evidence and shares successful models from the US. It also discusses federal policy's role in supporting community schools and talks about England's national initiative to turn every school into an extended school, drawing key lessons for those looking to hoping for similar reforms in the United States.Read More
If you are interested in learning more about community schools, the Center for American Progress just released a report that describes the concept, reviews the evidence and shares successful models from the US. It also discusses federal policy's role in supporting community schools and talks about England's national initiative to turn every school into an extended school, drawing key lessons for those looking to hoping for similar reforms in the United States.Read More
Source: www.americanprogress.org
Children living in poverty face many obstacles outside the classroom that can hinder their success in the classroom. Unaddressed health care needs interfere with learning and cause low attendance. Inadequate and inconsistent housing may deprive students of a safe and quiet place to study. ...
The received wisdom these days is that the United States will sink into permanent economic ruin because its youth are just awful, awful at STEM. (To the uninitiated: that's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.) Yet new research punches some holes in that assumption...
Emily and Bryan Hassel have an idea: Don't get too hung up on plans to make teachers better. Instead, figure out how to help the best teachers reach far more students. After all, they argue, the top 20 percent of teachers are three times as effective as the bottom 20 percent...
How you measure a school's progress matters. A lot. Just ask Beth Madison, principal of a school that is thriving by common-sense measures and failing by official measures. George Middle School has made robust gains over the past decade...
This week, the education community lost two giants: Jerry Bracey and Ted Sizer. I never met Bracey, and I often didn't agree with him, but his passion for public education set him in a class all his own....
