New Swanson CPI numbers: still flawed
The new Ed Week graduation numbers are out, based on 2003 and 2004 Common Core of Data figures. Among the 50 largest district, the lowest Swanson CPI (cohort progression index) in the nation is still Detroit with 24.9%. And the CPI is still flawed, partly because it relies on the unaudited Common Core of Data figures. As I […]
Listen to chatting on the Gadfly podcast, but skip the singing
With a batch of driving stints this week to Florida Education Association meetings 30 minutes from home, I’ve caught up on the Education Gadfly podcast (feed). They have a new opening song (a rap), which I can definitely confirm was not performed by Mike Petrilli or Rick Hess, after hearing both of them attempt to croon on […]
National Standards as Policy Machismo
Alexander Russo and I agree on National (Yawn) Standards (Again) (his title), regarding last week’s CEP report on state proficiency percentage trends and the NCES comparison of state proficiency cut-scores and NAEP cut-scores and also the double-report week’s politics. In a different way, I also agree with U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in her […]
K-12 teachers of history need close-reading skills
Over the weekend, the American Historical Association Council Endorsed the National Council for History Education’s Statement on Teacher Qualifications. Among the better parts of the statement is developing historical “habits of mind,” including an understanding of how to read and utilize primary sources. That phrase came from the K-5 teacher guidelines. (The 6-12 guidelines insert in […]
No one knows NCLB’s effects
In its new report, Answering the Question That Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?, the Center on Education Policy provides the obvious answer: No one knows. There is some evidence of increasing achievement on some [later: many state test] measures, but attributing that to NCLB is foolhardy. With such ambiguous […]