Stop blaming teachers for poor student performance

Educational activist says Baltimore City Council should be commended for supporting event that questions high-stakes testing

By Myles B. Hoenig

Horizon Report 2011 K-12 Edition - Summer Reading

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:20 AM PDT

How to cut special-ed spending without sacrificing quality

With the right strategies, spending can decrease at the same time student achievement increases, one expert says

By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

eSchool News…

Southold's Journey Towards Fluency

by student —Blaise Lynn

 from Ian Jukes' The Committed Sardine

America and education: two words that used to go hand in hand. Not too long ago America was ranked number one internationally in education. Now we’re typically described as “mediocre.” The problem lies in the fact that the world has changed a lot since our system’s inception, but the American education system has not. As…

COMMENTARY

Principals: An Antidote to Educational Malpractice

By David Schimmel, Matthew Militello, and Suzanne Eckes

“You’ll hear from my lawyer,” or “I’m going to sue you!”

Statements like these are made regularly in schools around the country. Though they often are hollow threats, they nevertheless can have a paralyzing effect on educators. This is because a vast majority of teachers (85 percent, according to our research)…

Let Them Tend Cows

Meredith F. Small is professor of anthropology at Cornell University and the author of "Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent."

Take Age Out of the Equation

NY Times

Mary Benson McMullen is a professor of early childhood education, the coordinator of the doctoral program in curriculum studies and the co-director of the infant and toddler specialists at Indiana University-Bloomington.…

Judge the Class, Not the Kid

NY Times

Beth Graue, a former kindergarten teacher, is a professor of early childhood education and the associate director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Remember, Kindergarten Is Free

NY Times

Jerlean Daniel, a child care center director for 18 years, is the executive director of theNational Association for the Education of Young Children.

Age Doesn't Matter

NY Times

Hermine H. Marshall was coordinator of the early childhood education and master’s degree programs at San Francisco State University, where she is professor emerita.

The Path to Equity Starts Earlier

NY Times

Robert C. Pianta is the dean of the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. He advises federal and state agencies on early education.

How to Pay Teachers

by Tom Vander Ark

Huffington Post

Summit Prep, a model high school south of San Francisco, has the smartest teacher development and compensation system I've seen -- and they are part of a coherent school model I wrote about last week. It's primarily a skill-based system that is focused on what teacher's need to know and be able to do to accelerate student achievement. It is closely linked to the most extensive professional development program I've…

Lecture is Better?

What Sherlock Holmes could teach us about the twin dangers of

lowering the barriers to publication and rapid dissemination

Joe Prisinzano…

Too Much For Tests to Bear by Clara Hemphill

NY Times

Clara Hemphill is senior editor at the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School. She is the founding editor of Insideschools.org and the author of New York City’s Best Public Elementary…

Trust Principals, Not Tests by Michael J. Petrilli

NY Times

Michael J. Petrilli is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and executive vice president at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He blogs at …

Driving Away the Best Teachers by Francesca Burns

NY Times

Francesca Burns has taught at middle schools and elementary schools in New York City since 1989. She currently teaches literacy to third- and fourth-grade students.

One Factor Among Many by Kevin Carey

NY Times

Kevin Carey is the policy director of Education Sector, a research group, and a columnist forThe Chronicle of Higher Education.