More than 50 percent of students who have completed Algebra II in high school find themselves in a remedial math course in college. (Even 13 percent of those who complete Calculus do.) How can this happen?

A new report suggests that these students have been pushed through basic math concepts, such as math modeling and complex measurement, so they can complete high school graduation requiContinue Reading »

This guest blog post written by Danny Rosenthal, who is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former high school math teacher. He practices labor and employment law in Washington, D.C.

Two years ago, Florida’s Alachua County was faced with a dilemma. Under the state’s new teacher evaluation law, the county was required to base 40 percent of evaluations on value-added student achievementContinue Reading »

On Tuesday, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued its decision on the state’s private school voucher program, enacted last year with support from Gov. Bobby Jindal. I’m probably one of the few people in education policy who don’t have strong views either way about vouchers.* In general, I see far greater potential in strategies that seek to grow the supply of high-quality, autonomous schools in thContinue Reading »

In my last blog, I examined the alarming statistics on school-based violence and asked whether turning schools into armed camps was the solution. While access to weapons, gang activity, and bullying present real threats that need to be realistically addressed, I am convinced that much of school-based violence and acting-out lies in dysfunctional and alienating school cultures. This blog is abouContinue Reading »

I’m at an age when a lot of my friends are trying to figure out where to send their children to preschool. Because of what I do for a living, and because I serve on a board that oversees charter schools in the District, some of my friends ask me for advice about preschool options. More often, they simply want to complain to me about the frustrations of navigating what is an incredibly fraContinue Reading »

Greenwich, Conn., is home to families who can afford to buy anything and a public school system that can afford to teach everything (including ice-skating). A recent New York Times article recounts the excitement of the Bonillas, a low-income family willing to pay the high cost of living in Greenwich to get access to affluent and academically-sound schools. And they’re not alone.Continue Reading »

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten made a big announcement today by calling for a moratorium on all stakes associated with the Common Core State Standards until students and teachers have been given ample training and time to “master this new approach to teaching and learning.” This is a reasonable statement on its face, but what does it mean in practice?

For someContinue Reading »

Someone needs to tell U.S. News & World Report‘s Robert Morse that data he says he wants to include in his magazine’s high school rankings are already available. In a short interview with the Education Writers Association’s Emily Richmond, Morse said:

The rankings don’t tell us how students do once they leave a high-scoring high school – for exContinue Reading »

Schools can be tough places for our kids. Middle and high schools, in particular, are susceptible to instability and an ambient student culture of intimidation ranging from casual bullying to bona fide violence. The horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December put school safety in the headlines, but schools have been struggling with safety issues for many more years.

UnsContinue Reading »

Diverse schooling carries many benefits but also brings big challenges—namely, juggling multiple academic and socioeconomic levels in the same classroom. Charters across the country recognize there is a growing need for diversity and are cropping up around the country. From a 2012 report on successful diverse charter schools by The Century Foundation and a phone interview with BlacContinue Reading »