The welfare state includes the military
I had a discussion with a doctoral student this afternoon about a directed-reading course for the fall, and I was explaining that the welfare state reached across different organizations and sectors. When financial advisors explained about the three-legged retirement support structure (Social Security, pensions, and private savings), they’re talking about welfare. When we say that […]
RAND researchers estimate Pittsburgh graduation, call for confirmed/audited withdrawal codes
John Engberg and Brian Gill’s new study of Pittsburgh graduation rates estimates a longitudinal 5-year graduation rate by assuming that transfers have the same risk of graduation/dropping out as those who stay in the system. They also repeat my call for documentation and auditing of transfer exit codes. And their report is getting flack from […]
Increasing graduation, part III
I've discussed in-school issues in two earlier entries on increasing graduation (part I, part II). This morning, I'll write a bit on the historical push-pull relationship between schools and labor markets. To focus entirely on what happens inside a school does not fully explain the trends in high school attendance over the past century. Teen […]
The subtler points of charter schools and teachers unions
So I’m coming late to the “party” on the firing of Nichole Byrne Lau from a New York charter school. (More discussion by Leo Casey, AFT’s NCLBlog, Andrew Rotherham, Joe Williams, and Sara Mead.) There are a few aspects here that haven’t been covered yet, I think: