Joe Williams' Blog
NCLB: Four Bubble Observations
The report that was put out earlier this week on the bubble effect caused by NCLB (the theory is that by focusing on the numbers of students who test 'proficient', NCLB has created an incentive for schools to place most of their focus on kids closest to becoming proficient, rather than focusing on the weakest overall performers) has gotten a lot of attention.
I was at the AEI conference in DC on Monday where it was unveilled, and am generally interested in looking closely at the unintended consequences (real or perceived) of major policies like this.
But there were four things I came away feeling needed additional attention after the report was released and hashed-out by a panel of respondents.
Continue reading "NCLB: Four Bubble Observations"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 19, 2007 11:36 AM
July 17, 2007
Where Do The Presidential Hopefuls Send Their Kids To School?
I never know whether this stuff is worth mentioning, because my personal feeling is that no parent should ever send their child to a school that he or she feels is crappy. And I don't think that public officials should sacrifice their childrens' education for the sake of politics, but I have fielded a bunch of emails lately from people who are asking:
What kind of school choice have the current crop of Democratic candidates exercised for their precious bundles?
Continue reading "Where Do The Presidential Hopefuls Send Their Kids To School?"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 17, 2007 6:19 PM
Prez Hopeful Edwards Backs Vouchers? Holy Moses
The Politico has a report out this morning on Sen. John Edwards' forthcoming plans to eradicate the nation's "two America" school systems for the wealthy and the poor.
The dispatch, from Mike Allen, says Edwards plans to offer a million vouchers over five years to "help low-income families move to better neighborhoods. As part of his vow to end poverty, Edwards also wants to phase out housing projects that trap families in buildings that are shoddier and more expensive than private alternatives."
Continue reading "Prez Hopeful Edwards Backs Vouchers? Holy Moses"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 17, 2007 8:15 AM
July 11, 2007
Have The Democrats Lost The MSM On Ed Issues?
The post- Pander-Palooza pile-on on the presidential candidates continues. Today it comes from San Diego Union Tribune columnist Ruben Navarette and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus. (Following, of course the initial blows from Richard Cohen and Marc Lampkin.)
Both columns are hard-hitting and thoughtful, but the larger significance seems to revolve around the fact that they were even written in the first place. A decade ago, when I used to cover the National Education Association's Representative Assembly, the stories reporters (there were only a few of us who joined Mike Antonucci in the press pit back then) filed with their newspapers tended to be buried back in the paper and read only by teachers union members and/or teachers union critics.
But now the opinion-shaping/opinion-reflecting columnists are starting to decend upon the embarrassed presidential candidates like vultures.
Continue reading "Have The Democrats Lost The MSM On Ed Issues?"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 11, 2007 10:37 AM
July 10, 2007
Lampkin Goes Off On NEA And Prez Candidates
Marc Lampkin, of Ed in 08 fame, and writing on the Huffington Post, gave all the candidates who appeared at last week's National Education Association Pander-Palooza an 'F' grade. He even criticized the union for not allowing the candidates to do more than stand there getting stroked by the delegates.
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Posted by Joe Williams on July 10, 2007 9:45 AM
How Important Is Parent Power In Education?
I have long contended that the power dynamic caused by committed parents who decide they are mad as hell and don't want to take it any more will be the lever that moves things once and for all in K-12. The United Federation of Teachers in NYC gets this.
There is a rather amazing piece in this week's The Chief, a newspaper serving New York's organized labor community. It basically describes the work the teachers union in NYC did last spring to organize parents, and how the new bond that was formed represents a healing of past wounds (especially in Brooklyn) caused by battles between black parents and largely white, Jewish teachers.
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Posted by Joe Williams on July 10, 2007 9:32 AM
If Rome Is Burning, There Must Be A Fiddle Somewhere
Former Colorado Governor and L.A. Superintendent Roy Romer has a guest blogger today. (I can honestly say that I never, ever imagined that I would type the previous sentence. Shows how the blog thing has really taken off.)
But Romer's guest at Ed in 08, Fred Bramante, of New Hampshire, wonders why three big television networks have hosted presidential debates and yet - despite a widely acknowledged education crisis facing the nation - questions have tended to center around creationism, gays in the military, and Scooter Libby.
It's a good point. Is it possible that we Americans don't really care about education when you get down to it (as long as our own kids are doing fine)? Or is the topic just too messy for us?
Posted by Joe Williams on July 10, 2007 9:25 AM
