Educational thingamabobs and whatchacallits
I am having an exchange this afternoon with Robert Pondiscio and other friends on Twitter and Facebook over how heinous is the crime of confusing curriculum standards with the taught curriculum. https://twitter.com/rpondiscio/status/249850098467602432 https://twitter.com/shermandorn/status/249862580808609792 https://twitter.com/rpondiscio/status/249868448384053248 https://twitter.com/shermandorn/status/249868786730164224 (Ouch! Standards are…) https://twitter.com/dr_ddennis/status/249869994270289921 https://twitter.com/rpondiscio/status/249870649881931776 In the term as Pondiscio is using it, standards can be a framework for the formal […]
Peer effects: modeling the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day phenomenon
There is a substantial literature on peer effects on achievement, something with important implications for how schools assign students to classes, schools, etc., as well as thinking about how such assignments mediate the judgments we make of school and classroom effectiveness. Most attempts to tackle the problem look at cross-sectional data and assume that the […]
Chicago
I am hesitant to draw too many conclusions about the just-ended Chicago Teachers Union strike. With an overwhelming recommendation by the CTU delegates’ assembly, after talking with the rank-and-file on the picket lines, we can probably assume that the membership as a whole will ratify the tentative agreement. But the practical and political implications of the […]
Chingos/Peterson vouchers study does not support authors’ claims
This morning, I recommend downloading and reading Sara Goldrick-Rab’s review of the Brookings Institute Chingos/Peterson study of vouchers’ effects on college attendance. Bottom line (from p. 7): Policymakers and practitioners interested in the effectiveness of school voucher programs should indeed attend to the results of this study, which—contrary to the interpretation of the authors—convincingly demonstrates that in […]
Brief note on CTU strike
Unfortunately, I’ve got a ton of stuff to do this week, or I’d write a longer note on the Chicago strike. But please read Dana Goldstein’s blog entry today, which has a useful thumbnail history of teachers unions. A few notes: 1. Politics of public-employee unions. While Matthew Yglesias is correct that the politics of […]