Coal to Newcastle
The one quick observation I have about reporting that Waiting for Superman is the feature for an upcoming Florida legislative movie night, sponsored by the governor-elect: Florida already has a vigorous charter sector. So the message of the movie in concrete terms would be to change what for the state, precisely?
Consequences of poisoning the well…
Less outing of individual teachers and more analysis like this would help move this issue to a more productive place. via Eduwonk » Blog Archive » LIFOsuction At The LAT. Andy Rotherham is right in explaining how the L.A. Times shot themselves in the foot with the first wave of articles using value-added measures. The […]
The Louis Rukeyser Memorial Award for Overplaying Results
…a slight jump in their test scores at schools where teachers received performance-based pay… [emphasis added] via Texas study suggests teacher merit pay works [St. Petersburg Times Gradebook blog]. Anyone see the mismatch between the headline and the text? Reminds me of a common stock-market reporting tactic: "The Dow Jones fell more than 14 points […]
Brief notes on Scott’s transition team on education
Just a brief note this morning on the headline in Florida: Rick Scott announced his transition team in education yesterday, and the headline almost everywhere was about one member of the team: Michelle Rhee. Controversial education reformer Michelle Rhee was named to Gov.-elect Rick Scott's education transition team Thursday, fueling rumors that she may become […]
Two program notes
By Sherman Dorn on December 2, 2010
It's the tail end of the semester, which means I have to fight off a horrid case of Shiny Bright Object Syndrome. I need to remind myself that the reason why I have an almost-irresistible urge to blog on a number of topics, read great books, attempt the Bartok or Penderecki viola concertos,* and try […]
Posted in Education policy, Random comments, The academic life