Diane Ravitch: Feds should only do what it can
Diane Ravitch’s Huffington Post entry last Sunday is both a solid description of what NCLB requires for accountability and a sharp criticism. The money quote: In the future, the federal government should do only what the federal government can competently do. Its historic role has been three-fold: one, to collect and disseminate information about the […]
Unions and masters degrees
Kevin Carey asks, Why do unions support pay steps for masters degrees? As an historian, I think the question is a bit backwards, but then I think the same of many other policy questions. After all, bureaucratically-oriented salary schedules existed long before the UFT’s successful NYC strike in the 1960s and still exist in plenty of districts […]
Charter schools and accountability
The Orlando Sentinel has been running a series of articles, Missing the Grade, on the double standard of accountability in Florida public education. Apparently, Escambia Charter School rented out its students “to cut roadside grass and weeds during class time for about 32 hours per week.” I don’t think this is what Florida Governor Charlie […]
Accountability Frankenstein is now printed!
Copies of Accountability Frankenstein appeared in my mailbox this afternoon. Hurrah! You can buy it directly from the publisher. (Yes, it’s available at Amazon.com, but for small publishers, I understand that Amazon is much like Wal-Mart, and I want to make clear that I’m putting the link in for convenience, not because I prefer you use […]
The yoke’s on me
My fellow faculty union members elected me chapter president for the next year. So why do the by-laws stipulate that I take office on April Fool’s Day? I’ve already received congratulations and condolences from several colleagues, and I hope my judgment over the next year justifies the selection.