The Baltimore Sun compares the leadership styles of two reform-minded supes: Andres Alonso and Michelle Rhee. Their conclusion? The low-key, consensus-building Alonso, a man who “eschews drama,” is the person whose leadership style “is more likely to produce the kind of improvements in student achievement that people in both cities want.”
In this new Education Sector report, co-authors Erin Dillon and Robin V. Smiles discuss the growing problem of students defaulting on their student loans. Based on the experiences of a small group of Texas HBCUs and a new statistical analysis of cohort default rates, they argue that institutions play a significant role in helping students avoid default./a>
College and Career-Ready: Using Outcomes Data to Hold High Schools Accountable for Student Success
In this Education Sector report, Policy Analyst Chad Aldeman calls for a new approach to high school accountability. He argues that the best way to measure whether students are prepared for college or a career is by looking at what actually happens when students arrive at their intended destination.
Lowering Student Loan Default Rates: What One Consortium of Historically Black Institutions Did to Succeed 
03/19/10 | Ben Miller is quoted on college graduation rates and the NCAA Tournament in the Detroit Free Press.
03/19/10 | Linda Perlstein links to Education Sector's "College- and Career-Ready" event.
03/17/10 | Ben Miller's column on graduation rates and NCAA Tournament eligibility is mentioned on The Wall Street Journal's The Daily Fix.
03/17/10 | Kevin Carey's critique of Diane Ravitch's latest book is quoted in Doublethink's Conventional Folly blog.
03/15/10 | Ben Miller pens an op-ed for US News & World Report on using graduation rates to determine NCAA Tournament eligibility.
Thanks for the comment. Improving student achievement requires focus and consistency. (Hardly anyone learns to divide fractions the first time out.) Teachers need these things, principals need them, and that means superintendents have to model them.
Larry Cuban has been making this point for a while. He contrasts the “sprinter” superintendents with the “marathon runners.” He believes marathon runners win out in the end.
Another marathon runner who has had great results and little public attention: Beverly Hall in Atlanta. Aldine, TX is another marathon-running district, and they received fleeting attention after earning recognition from the Broad Foundation.