Duncan vs. Duncan
“Poverty isn’t destiny,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is fond of saying. Taken literally, it’s a ridiculous statement. If “destiny” is defined as an inevitable or predetermined end state, it...
View ArticleOff the charts: Bad statistics and bad public policy
(Note update at end of article—6/8/12) Autonomy in exchange for accountability. That’s been the value proposition offered by the charter school movement from its inception. Freed from the bureaucracy...
View ArticleWhy teachers quit—and why we can’t fire our way to excellence
In the past few weeks, two major reports on teacher turnover and retention have been released. One was rolled out with extensive media coverage, and has been the subject of much discussion among...
View ArticleWhy Won’t Back Down won’t last long
A short quiz. The possible answers: A. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, in which a young girl cavorts with vampires and werewolves. B. Playing for Keeps, which features Gerard Butler as a...
View Article‘Sharp focus’ on teacher-prep programs falls flat
Last week, the New York City Department of Education issued its first ever Teacher Preparation Program Reports. The Department was judicious in not describing the reports as an evaluation of the...
View ArticleWhen policymakers don’t understand basic statistics
Imagine, if you will, that the Stuarts have two children, Kylie and Frederick. Kylie was born in 1997 and Frederick was born in 2001, both in Toledo, Ohio. The Stuarts measure Kylie’s height when she...
View ArticleResistance to the Common Core isn’t just about suburban soccer moms and their...
Somewhere, David Labaree is smiling. Actually, I have a pretty good idea where this is: Palo Alto, Calif., where Labaree teaches the history and sociology of education at the Stanford University...
View ArticleThe soft bigotry of no expectations
One of the most memorable phrases crafted by former President George W. Bush’s speechwriters was “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” The phrase first gained prominence in a 1999 campaign speech on...
View ArticlePageantry at the U.S. Department of Education
Every week, the U.S. Department of Education circulates a bulletin of news via email. A recent bulletin featured the Department’s Back-to-School bus tour through Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The...
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