“By the company it keeps.” Andy Smarick talks to Tim Daly about baseball, his football coaching brother, and The New Teacher Project’s new Leap Year—a study that looks at a teacher’s early progress. (Flypaper)

Spending less on students. Public education spending has fallen for the first time in nearly 40 years. The country spent $10,560 per student in 2011, which is 0.04% less than the pContinue Reading »

“My manicurist requires a license to do my nails, but our nation isn’t sure we should license teachers.” Camilla Benbow in an excerpt from John Chubb’s new book, The Best Teachers in the World. (Defining Ideas)*

More Chicago woes. District leaders are working to identify as many as 100 schools eligible for closure. (The Atlantic)

Preparing high-schoolers for life. At least 4Continue Reading »

Push for longer school day in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel pointed out that while traditional public schools meet for 5 hours and 45 minutes, charter schools meet for 7 ½ – 8 hours a day. “I want that to be standard throughout the system — parochial, private, public, charter-public.” Emanuel claims support from 40 ministers and schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard stated that he’s “looking atContinue Reading »

Two districts have come under fire this week for recent or upcoming changes to the way students are paired with schools, commonly called school assignment plans. In Wake County, NC, the school board is considering moving away from its diversity-based plan in favor of a policy called “controlled choice,” while Chicago has seen that its diversity plan has actually increased racial segContinue Reading »

I’m heading to Chicago tonight to attend the annual American Education Research Association conference, where I’ll be participating in a symposium titled Implications of the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education: The Challenges of Assessing Quality in Postsecondary Education – Thursday at 10:35 in the Marriot, Huron room, 10th floor. If you saw the op-ed Tom TContinue Reading »