Achievement Gap
All Over the Cap: The Fight for the Future of Massachusetts’ Charter Schools
In early October technicians working the master controls at local TV stations across Massachusetts will unleash a torrent of education issue ads—the first shots fired in what is likely to be one of...
Poverty
What Does It Mean to Be in a ‘Good’ School Versus a ‘Bad’ One?
Five years ago, I left a failing school. Having taught in struggling schools for my entire career, the choice was difficult because I left a school that eventually closed, for a high-achieving one....
California
California Families Need Clear School Quality Reports, Not a Rubik's Cube
California is currently revamping its school quality reports, moving away from abstract, numerical values of school quality to a set of more comprehensive ratings. It comes a little over a year after...
student achievement
What's So Hard About Telling Me How My Kid Is Doing in School?
Everyone agrees and research confirms that actively engaged parents produce more successful students. Nevertheless, school systems often conspire to deny parents the answer to the one question on...
Standards
The Common Core Emphasizes Close Reading. Its Critics Should Try That Sometime.
Note the nuance in a press release from the ACT regarding an analysis of the Common Core State Standards based on a survey of 9200 K-12 and college educators (emphasis mine): New research from ACT...
Teaching
Teachers Are Picking Up Where Presidential Candidates Are Falling Short
It was a student who pointed it out to me. “Hey Miss! Why aren’t the presidential candidates talking about our schools?” My sociology students were engaged in high-level analysis, combing through the...
