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What “average effect” means and does not mean

Earlier this month, Politico education reporter Stephanie Simon wrote an article on what she describes as minimal positive effects of vouchers on student achievement. Rick Hess wrote one of the more visible responses, which repeated the following from an Ed Week column last year he was a co-author on: Among voucher programs, random-assignment studies generally find modest […]

Whom the gods would destroy, they first give international comparisons

The first question these kinds of studies raise is, ‘If we’re so dumb, why are we so rich?’ — Anthony Carnevale, quoted in New York Times, October 8, 2013 Last week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published an initial international comparison of adult skills in several areas. The Survey of Adult Skills has […]

I did not have to apply to be Florida’s education commissioner

Fortunately, Florida’s Board of Education decided not to conduct a full search for a new state commissioner of education. Instead, they decided that their second-time-around interim commissioner Pam Stewart would have the job. Whew! When Tony Bennett resigned in the summer, I wondered if the board of education would try to snag a supposed star […]

Confusion about the cognitive utility of test-prep

Late one Wednesday night in late July, I became entangled in an interesting Twitter thread about testing. It began with Jennifer Borgioli’s tweet: https://twitter.com/DataDiva/status/360208829687926784 … which she followed up with https://twitter.com/DataDiva/status/360210628901744640 NSVF’s Benjamin Riley approved at least of the first: +1 RT @DataDiva: If test is worthy of students, how is teaching to the test […]

On Ravitch, Reign of Error

Bottom line: Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error captures the bulk of concerns that critics voice about the current wave of American school reform. The primary audience includes teachers, and others who hold views similar to Ravitch’s. It also is useful as a quick reference guide to the arguments by reform critics, as most of the […]