U.S. News rankings
Like many faculty, I’m of two minds about the U.S. News rankings. On the one hand, it can bring recognition to the work of colleagues. In particular, there are three programs in my department that have had successful grant writers, and they all contribute to the rankings of my own college in the graduate-school issue […]
The third grading turning point and other myths
A few weeks ago, Sara Mead wrote about Combatting The Third Grade Slump in the Early Ed Watch blog, and she repeated a phrase that always bewilders me a bit: We know that third grade is a major transition point in children’s education. It’s when they make the switch from learning to read, to reading […]
When your definition of rigor depends on the market
The news in this morning’s Washington Post that the College Board is cutting several AP programs should make educators think at least a second time before tying their curriculum to an outside entity’s financial fortunes. While it is non-profit, the College Board made decisions to cut French and Latin literature, Italian, and one of the […]
A dozen questions for an official graduation rate
When the OMB clears the draft regs on counting dropouts, we can expect another wave of stories on graduation rates and what they all mean. Sharp reporters and other observers will ask the following questions of the draft regs: Does the definition of graduation include or exclude non-standard completion categories such as GEDs and “certificates […]
Is Bush the worst?
I agree with K.C. Johnson: James Buchanan was a worse president than George W. Bush. I don’t agree with him on why historians are inclined to judge Bush worse than anyone else, but it is a bit disappointing to see a clear majority picking Bush. I mean, there are so many bad presidents from whom […]