‘Extreme Makeover’ for teachers
“In deference to a world enthralled by shows like ‘Extreme Makeover’ and ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians,’ the public school district in Washington has hired a reality television company to produce...
View ArticleIs BASIS too tough for D.C. students?
BASIS, which runs very rigorous, very high performing charter schools in Arizona, will expand to Washington, D.C. this fall. The school will start with grades 5 through 8, then add a high school. Fifth...
View ArticleHow schools can keep their best teachers
Rated “highly effective” as a Washington D.C. special-ed teacher, Allison Frieze received a $15,000 bonus, but she quit her low-performing, high-poverty school to teach similar students at a charter...
View ArticleWhen students grade teachers
When students evaluate their teachers, they’re remarkably good at identifying who’s effective and who’s not, writes Amanda Ripley in The Atlantic. Students evaluations have proved to be “more reliable...
View ArticleParents want just a little diversity
As urban neighborhoods gentrify, “emotionally charged, racially tinged fights over neighborhood school boundaries” are increasing, writes Mike Petrilli. Middle-class parents want a little diversity —...
View ArticleIn D.C., expulsion is rare — except at charters
Washington D.C.charter schools expel students at far higher rates than district-run schools, reports the Washington Post. During the 2011-12 school year, when charters enrolled 41 percent of the city’s...
View ArticleRhee’s D.C. legacy
The Education of Michelle Rhee will run on PBS’ Frontline tonight. Rhee’s group, Students First, gave low grades to states on education reform: No state got an A and 11 failed. The two highest-ranking...
View ArticleSchool choice pays off in D.C.
Washington D.C’s federally funded school vouchers produced $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent, concludes a study in Education Finance and Policy by Patrick Wolf and Michael Q. McShane. More than...
View ArticleD.C. debates growth of charter schools
The majority of public school students in Washington D.C. could be attending charter schools in a few years, reports the Washington Post. Rocketship Education, a California nonprofit group that blends...
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Tiger Rhee
In Radical: Fighting to Put Students First, Michelle Rhee touts her skills at firing people — and buying them off — writes Naomi Schaefer Riley in a Wall Street Journal review of the book. To get union...
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Charters get $4,000 less per student
Charter schools received one third less per-pupil funding — about $4,000 less per student — than district-run schools in Denver, Milwaukee, Newark, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in 2007 to 2011,...
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Public school spending falls for the first time
U.S. public-education spending per student fell in 2011 for the first time since 1977, reports the Census Bureau. Public schools spent $10,560 per student, a drop of 0.4 percent from the year before....
View ArticleD.C. plans ’9th-grade academies’
District of Columbia plans “ninth-grade academies” to separate new ninth-graders from repeaters with bad attitudes, reports the Washington Post. First-time high school students will get extra support...
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How to measure preschool quality
Advocates for preschool always say they want “high-quality” preschool. Preschool quality can be measured, but not the way states are trying to do it, writes Daniel Willingham. Most have adopted Quality...
View ArticleStudy: Evaluation works in DC
The District of Columbia’s teacher evaluation system — with rewards for the best and firing for the worst — is working, according to a a new study. ”Teachers on the cusp of dismissal under D.C.’s...
View ArticleTennessee, D.C. lead ed reform
Tennessee and District of Columbia schools are making the fastest reading and math gains in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) , writes Richard Whitmire in a USA Today...
View ArticleAs urban charters grow, where’s the tip?
Urban students are choosing charters in growing numbers, according to a new report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Nationwide, one in 20 students now attend charter schools. In...
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D.C. charters outpace district schools
Washington D.C. schools are improving, but D.C. charters are improving even faster, writes Matthew Ladner on Jay P. Greene’s blog. National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data compares general...
View ArticleD.C. renovates schools, but kids don’t come
Washington, D.C. neighborhoods are gentrifying. “Controlled choice” could integrate D.C. schools, write Sam Chaltain, Mike Petrilli and Rick Kahlenberg in a Washington Post op-ed. Should integration...
View ArticleD.C. faces middle-school slump
As Washington D.C. gentrifies, more educated parents are sending their children to neighborhood elementary schools. But choosy parents aren’t choosing district-run middle schools, reports the...
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