Yesterday, I joined Seyward Darby in lauding the impressive improvement in test scores during Arne Duncan’s tenure as CEO of Chicago’s public schools. Dana Goldstein, however, has a useful corrective on this sort of thinking: A major problem of the testing apparatus under No Child Left Behind is that states can make up their own […]
Education in America
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ARNE DUNCAN AND TEST SCORES.
Ezra is absolutely right that the strength of Arne Duncan at the Department of Education will be his ability to synthesize the best approaches of both major camps in the Democratic education wars; those who focus on poverty, and those who focus on shaking up bureaucracies. But just a reminder to Ezra, Seyward Darby, and […]
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MEET ARNE DUNCAN, OBAMA’S EDUCATION PICK.
With the Democratic Party embroiled in internal debate over public school reform, it is very much like Barack Obama to tap Chicago public schools CEO Arne Duncan as education secretary. Duncan is one of the only prominent education leaders in the country who signed both the Broader, Bolder and the Education Equality Project manifestos. Duncan, […]
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The Truth About Abortion Reduction
A coalition of evangelicals and Catholics is trying to lay claim to Obama’s reproductive-freedom agenda. Here’s how the debate is likely to play out in 2009.
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OLD SCHOOL?
Like Dana, I think the oddly ferocious criticism of Linda Darling-Hammond, head of Obama’s education transition team, is is rather overblown. Over at The New Republic, for instance, Seyward Darby penned an article entitled “Old School” that gives us a look at “Obama’s union-loving education guru.” The article pits Darling-Hammond against “reformers,” which in this […]
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STOP THE EDUCATION REFORM HAND-WRINGING.
At The New Republic, Seyward Darby takes at face value the complaints some edu-reformers have about Linda Darling-Hammond, the Stanford teacher quality expert who is leading the transition team’s education efforts. Sample hand-wringing reactions to Darling-Hammond’s appointment: “This is a sign that the president-elect isn’t a bona fide reformer.” “The reform community is scared to […]
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Arnold kling education two…
Arnold kling education two scenarios hc we know it doesnt help
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IS BILL GATES THE APPLE OF EDUCATION?
At the end of Jonathan Alter’s interview with Bill Gates and examination of his work on education policy, Alter writes, “The father of disruptive software is ready for another revolution.” In tech circles, “disruptive” has a very specific meaning: “A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is a technological innovation that improves a product or service […]
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THE EDU-WARS CONTINUE.
Time reports that D.C.’s controversial schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, who self-identifies as a Democrat, admits she would have voted for John McCain had she not been talked out of it by a close friend. “It was a very hard decision,” she said. “I’m somewhat terrified of what the Democrats are going to do on education.” […]
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Why We Need EFCA
Despite its paltry membership, the U.S. labor movement remains the nation’s most potent force for progressive change and the most effective vehicle for electing Democrats.
