The incentives are critical, but they’re not responsible for critical choices
Today's David Brooks op-ed column ends with a mild zinger about overzealous test-prep being the choice of individual school officials rather than inevitable from high-stakes testing systems. That is precisely the argument I made in class yesterday with a handful of students, and it is absolutely in the capacity of school officials with authority to […]
Not the Presidential Daughter Gambit, please
“Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time,” the president said, in a tone of rising exasperation. “They don’t wait until the night before. They’re not pulling all-nighters.” President Barack Obama, June 29, 2011, at a daytime press conference. "I had a discussion with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before […]
Homework is a “sticky” practice, but how sticky and where?
What's wrong with the following sentences written by Time reporter Kayla Webley? Beginning July 1, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will likely spend significantly less time on homework each week thanks to a new policy that says homework assignments can account for no more than 10% of a students' final grade…. With […]
School boards losing perspective
One sign that a school board under pressure is losing focus is when you see unworkable proposals floated under the guise of process: Last week’s Pinellas school board workshop about Superintendent Julie Janssen’s performance raised an interesting side issue: Should one of the district’s attorneys, who now report to general counsel Jim Robinson, report to […]
Does neglectful oversight of vouchers violate IDEA?
An article published today in the weekly Miami New Times about allegedly fraudulent and dangerous vouchers schools using Florida's McKay voucher program for children with disabilities raises interesting questions about the state's obligations under the federal government's basic special education law. I do not know the veracity of the claims in the article, but if […]