See You At AERA

It is amazing how much education policy gets made without benefit of education research. It's equally amazing how much coverage schools get that makes equally little use of available research.

For those reasons, I'm extremely interested to see how the two panels I'm going to do at the AERA conference next week in Chicago come out. The first, on Tuesday morning, focuses on how research does -- or doesn't -- get out into the education press, and what could be done to improve that situation (Communicating Your Research With The Media). The second, on Thursday morning, focuses on the interactions of the education research world and the political and policy worlds (From Research to Policy to Practice). In between, I'm going to be wandering around to other panels, schmoozing invites to the fancy receptions, and visiting some real live schools.

If you have a chance, check out the two panels I'm on, and if you happen to see me feel free to come up and say hello.

How To Kill A Story: Talk Only To The Teachers

This recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (A lesson in how to kill a school) is a great example of what I feel like I see all the time -- stories told almost entirely from the point of view of adults (and in particular teachers). Much as teachers' perspectives are important, wouldn't it be great -- and all the more compelling -- if we learned in this story (and others) how the kids who had to change school were doing, or what their parents felt about the changes?

Think Vouchers Are Dead? Think Again -- Again.

It's not that I'm particularly enamored or dismissive of voucher proposals. It's just that I think some folks have blinders on about their viability in the current political and policy environment. And, if the Bush Administration is willing to make controversial recess appointments this early in the game (as it did this week), what won't they go for?

"The recent adoption of multiple voucher programs at the state level suggests that demands for increased private school choice have not waned," according to this missive from the National Center on Privatization In Education at Columbia's Teacher College, which lists recent voucher victories and defeats in the states and predicts a Congressional showdown (click below).

Previous Posts:
Vouchers and Charterization Not Off The Table... Yet.
Vouchers & Charterization Proposals Not Necessarily "DOA"

Friday AM News (April 6)

Federal Official in Student Loans Held Loan Stock NYT
A senior official at the Education Department sold more than $100,000 in shares in a student loan company even as he was helping oversee lenders.

Merit-based Rewards for Teachers Pushed on Hill Washington Times
Rewarding effective teachers with more pay has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill as about a dozen House members pushed a bill last week that would help states and localities set up merit–based pay systems for educators.

Subtracting a 'gifted' gap in math education Christian Science Monitor
Project M3 steers often-overlooked students from low income and minority backgrounds into advanced math classes.

Testing service cancels launch of new exam AP
The makers of the GRE graduate school entrance exam have scrapped an extensive makeover of the test, citing concerns they wouldn't be able to accommodate enough students at test centers.

Battle to Win Top Colleges' Nod Escalating WashPost
Beka Badila, a senior at the Oakcrest School in McLean, did everything she was supposed to do to get into a good college.

Teacher disciplined for clothespin justice MSNBC
An Ohio substitute teacher’s tool for silencing chatty kindergartners — clothespins — doesn’t wash with school officials.

Long Beach Up For A Broad Prize -- Again

Long Beach Unified could become the first urban district to win the $1M Broad prize for a second time, based on its nomination as a finalist yesterday along with four other districts (School district named as finalist in Broad contest). Other finalists are Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut, Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, the New York City Department of Education and the Northside Independent School District in northwest San Antonio. Read more about it here (district site), and here (Wikipedia history).

The Walking School Bus

You know the world has changed when people have to invent new words and phrases (land-line, real-world) to describe things that used to be commonplace. Well, 90 percent of kids are driven to school these days, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is giving $500 million to deal with childhood obesity, and 10 year olds weigh 14 pounds more now than they did 40 years ago. One low-tech solution? The Walking School Bus. Otherwise known as walking to school.

Good Things To Watch This Week, Part 2

Yesterday I told you about some of the education-related videos that had won Peabodies (including Dateline's "Teaching Ms. Groves"). Tonight, check out a Learning Matters segment on the PBS NewsHour called Lessons Of War, about schools that teach military kids at Fort Bragg.

While you're at it, check out "Beyond Borders," the video documentary from Learning Matters' youth media division, Listen Up!, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary and won a Peabody -- broadcasting's highest honor. You can view a promo trailer here.

School Reform And Campaign Finance

Catching a rebroadcast of MSNBC's The Countdown last night, I was struck by the comments of one of the guests about what the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation had -- and hadn't done. Obviously, given the early reports of massive fundraising, the law didn't get the money out of politics. It's as big or bigger than ever. But, as MSNBC's David Schuster points out, the law did increase transparency and accountability in campaign finance, giving reporters and the public more information about where they money is coming from and making candidates a little more accountable for what they do. Sound familiar?

ADHD Is So 90's -- Bipolar Disease Is All The Rage

I haven't found an online version yet, but there's a great article in the New Yorker this week about how diagnoses of bipolar disease (aka manic depression) have replaced ADHD as the fashionable diagnosis for troubled children who may or may not actually have the disease (here).

Thursday AM News (April 5)

Testing rules to be eased Gannett
After months of pressure from states, the Bush administration said Wednesday that schools would be able to administer easier and more-suitable tests to certain students with disabilities who have struggled on traditional exams.

NCLB changes will allow more alternate tests AP
The change, outlined in final regulations Wednesday, would triple the number of children who can take tests that are easier than those given to most students under the 2002 law.

Chicago School Innovates, Rewrites Rules NPR
In the push for innovative schools, one Chicago principal has thrown out the rule book. Kindergartners go to school with 12th-graders. And the older kids teach the younger ones.

$500 Million Pledged to Fight Childhood Obesity NYT
The $500 million public health initiative by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is one of the largest ever tried by a private philanthropy.

Software's benefits on tests in doubt MSNBC
Educational tools, a $2 billion-a-year industry, has no significant impact on student performance.

Substitute Teacher Tells History Firsthand NYT
Arnold Blume, 81, has carved out a niche at the intersection of teaching and oral history.

Gingrich Hates Bilingual Education -- In Spanish

Trying to recover from his ill-considered rant against bilingual education and Spanish speakers, Newt Gringrich today posted this video on YouTube. He still prefers immersion to bilingual education, but now he says so in what seems like really bad Spanish:

Now if Hillary would just apologize to the tutoring industry and return the hostage students in time for Easter, all would be well in the world of education again.

"The Education Of Ms. Groves" Wins Peabody Award

There are at least two education-related pieces I hadn't seen among this year's recently-announced Peabody Awards (here), including Left Behind: The Failure of East St. Louis Schools (which appears to have nothing to do with NCLB and was produced by KMOV-TV, St. Louis, MO) and The Education of Ms. Groves ("Inspiring but not schmaltzy, this program tracks the learning curve of a wide-eyed, first-year middle-school teacher in Atlanta who discovers her job demands skills and resources as well as idealism." Produced by Dateline NBC).

Is Universal Pre-K Stalling Out Already?

Some things you might not have seen before, courtesy of Baird & Co's business-oriented Class Notes (PDF): "In its annual report on preschool funding, “The State of Preschool 2006: State Preschool Yearbook,” the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) found that states are equally as likely to cut public funding for preschool education as they are to increase funding".... and... "only two states, Oklahoma (70%) and Georgia (51%) enrolled more than half of the four-year olds in their state."

Tutoring Industry Denies Terrorism Halliburton Charges

Better late than never, the Education Industry Association, which represents the tutoring companies in Washington, has finally put out a press release in response to Senator Clinton's "Halliburton all over again" charge from last weekend (see below) saying that they are surprised by the remarks and have worked with Clinton on tutoring legislation last year. The statement (below) doesn't acknowledge the mishaps and questionable practices that have popped up, or the difficulties districts and states have had weeding out bad apples, but says SES participation and satisfaction rates are up, and that 500K children are participating now.

How Many States Tried To Roll Back NCLB? All Of Them.

Things heated up towards the end of last night's PBS NewsHour segment on reauthorizing NCLB (here), with Philly superintendent Paul Vallas touting the benefits of the law and Nebraska state supe Doug Christiansen describing its deficiencies. It's an argument we've all heard before.

What jumped out at me, though, was the intro to the discussion, which said that 20 states had tried to roll back all or parts of the law. I'd never heard that number before, and frankly it seemed both low and somewhat misleading.

Hasn't pretty much every state tried to get out of the law's requirements? And isn't the real point that none of the states actually did withdraw from NCLB, much as that outcome was expected?

More Coverage For Community Colleges -- And Better, Too?

It may come as a surprise to some that news coverage of particular topics -- science, international news, education -- is commonly subsidized by foundations and other organizations seeking additional coverage for a topic that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle.

Such is the case with the new Lumina Foundation-funded fellowship program for education reporters covering community colleges that's recently been announced by the Hechinger Institute (here) for 15 interested journalists that includes a $7,500 stipend for some participants.

No doubt, coverage of community colleges is in many ways often inadequate. The trick, of course, is to beef up coverage without losing the critical eye that provides new information and insights. "Our mission is neither to tout community colleges nor to condemn them," said Richard Lee Colvin, Director of the Hechinger Institute. "Rather, it is to help journalists tell the terrific stories yet to be told about this uniquely American educational enterprise."

Who Is This Man?

His name's Pedro Garcia (not "Gonzalez,: as he was once introduced by Senator Jim Sasser), and he is, according to this Nashville Scene article ( Best Foes Forever), the second longest-serving urban superintendent in the nation.

Who knew? Not I. Who's the longest-serving urban supe these days? No idea.

Wednesday Morning News (April 4)

Effectiveness of No Child Left Behind Debated PBS
President Bush's No Child Left Behind education law, passed in 2002 to help close the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, is set to expire this year. Two education administrators discuss the law and give their views on its effectiveness.

D.C. Schools Takeover Gets Initial Approval Washington Post
The D.C. Council granted preliminary approval yesterday for a dramatic shift in power for the city's public schools, giving the mayor control over the budget, key administrative functions and the blueprint for modernizing every dilapidated building in the 55,000-student system.

Explaining No Child Left Behind Arizona Republic
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is visiting with Valley politicians and business leaders today after visiting Monday with first-graders at Mesa Arts Academy, a high performing K-8 charter school. Via EdNews.

A Great Year for Ivy League Schools, but Not So Good for Applicants to Them NYT
It was the most selective spring in modern memory at America’s elite schools, according to college admissions officers.

Computerized Tutoring

First there was private-sector tutoring, whose evil effects we all know well. Then there was outsourced tutoring (from India, etc.), which was clearly anti-American from top to bottom. Now, according to this EdWeek story, there's an even more pernicious tutoring variation: "machine-based" tutoring (New Breed of Digital Tutors Yielding Learning Gains). What's next? A computerized tutoring system run by Halliburton and outsourced to India. I can see it now.

The Chinese Way

This post from Get On The Bus (Seeking a liberal arts education ... in China?) includes a roundup of several interesting NYT school life stories from the past few days, including one about Chinese vs. American schools: "Critics of the American system must have choked on their Corn Flakes at the thought of China emulating the U.S. education system rather than the other way around."

LA Unified Slaps Down Green Dot Charter Proposal

"Who do you think you are -- KIPP?" muttered one of the LA unified board members who voted down the Green Dot proposal to start eight new charters. No, not really, but they did vote down the proposal after lengthy negotiations, which has gotta hurt anyway (L.A. Unified rejects charter expansion LAT). The editorial board says the board did wrong.

Political Rhetoric Ratchets Up

Not to be outdone by Hillary (see below re tutoring), Newt plays to his base on the issue of bilingual ed, as noted by the Wonks (Newt Criticizes Bilingual Ed.). According to Newt, "We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."

Clinton Calls Tutoring Industry Terrorists Republican Contractors

Apparently trying to ease the NEA's pain at being called a terrorist organization, Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton recently told an NEA audience that the tutoring industry was like "Halliburton all over again" (Clinton promises education improvements).

Halliburton doesn't have quite the same visceral bite as the "terrorist" line originally had, but it was definitely an effort to please the Democratic base, which has always viewed the NCLB tutoring provision as a watered-down version of vouchers (which it was). However, it's not like all teachers want the SES program to go away. Many of them teach in the after-school programs to make extra cash. They just want the programs to be better (than what?) and don't want the programs to be run by outside companies.

Over at EdBizBuzz, Marc Dean Millot takes another view, ascribing the vitriol to the tutoring industry's lack of coalition-building with moderate Democrats.

Wanted: Better Reasons To Leave Transfer Rules Intact

This recent EdWeek article (Administration Wants Districts Free to Transfer Teachers) repeats what seem to me like some widespread fallacies surrounding the ability of teachers unions and Congressional Democrats to ward off efforts to restructure failing schools including overriding teacher assignment rules, the legality of such measures, and the appropriateness of telling teachers where to work.

Three months in, we already know that the Democratic majority is slim and in some ways weak (think "surge"). The unions are largely focused on Wal-Mart, health care reform, and getting back the White House. The legality of conditioning billions in federal education funds on changes in collective bargaining doesn't seem nearly as settled as some seem to make it. And employees of all kinds get told where to work all the time.

I'm not saying that the proposal is the best (or worst) idea in the world. I'm just saying that its opponents need to come up with better reasons and strategies to block it, and that reporters and editors need to be current and balanced in describing and headlining the situation. (In its last paragraphs, the EdWeek article describes how things might not turn out the same way they did in 2001. But who makes it to the end of an article, anyway?)

Fordham Gets Pranked By A Pretend Pretend Gadfly Blog

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the good folks at Fordham should feel mighty flattered. Riffing off of the Gadfly's annual April Fool's edition (which this year featured a pretend blog written by Checker who hates blogs), someone's decided to come up with a pretend blog making fun of the pretend blog.

Called Double Checked ("Standards-Based Blogging At Its Finest"), it's double pretend, which is almost like being real. Here's the "real" Gadfly blog. Like George Clooney says, it wasn't me.

March 2007: The Month In Review (Updated)

NOW WITH NOISE REDUCTION

Blogs are usually all about the moment, and not so much about the long view.

To help address that, and to try something new, here's a roundtable that includes me and three All-Star journalists (Schemo, Banchero, and Toppo) talking about the biggest stories of the month, winners and losers, and other things. Download and listen here. Or, if you're feeling fancy and want to try an embedded audio player, here:

Get past the amateurish hosting and so-so sound quality and you'll hear about Bong Hits For Jesus, whether states can hold out if NCLB doesn't reauthorize until 2009, if and how Reading First is a big story, the big Gates gifts to KIPP and DC students, and even a little bit about the Nelnet giveaway. Who was the month's loser -- Gene Hickock, Reading First, or the Fordham folks?Listen and find out.

Morning Round-up April 3, 2007`

Report puts pacifier on 'smart baby' debate USAT
Many efforts to build "brighter babies" are doomed to failure because they are built on misinterpretations and misapplications of brain research, a report says.

Plans for Revamped G.R.E. Are Abandoned NYT
After spending four years and $12 million on research, the Educational Testing Service has abandoned plans to introduce a revamped Graduate Record Exam this fall.

Settlement reached in New York student loan probe CNN.com
A settlement with three dozen schools and a major lender announced Monday will make the student loan process more fair to students and their families, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.

Ed Trust Staffs Up

The Ed Trust has hired a new communications director, snagging Stephanie Germeraad from NAGB, where she was a public affairs specialist. Her predecessor, Fredreka Schouten, had come from Gannett and is now the money and politics reporter at USA Today. Congrats to all involved.

So That's Where They Got It From -- "I Was A Teenage Werewolf"

Remind you of anything? Yes, the new NCLB logo, according to one of the commenters on this design geek blog called Brand New (Logo by a Child Left Behind). Colleague Josh Benton blogs about this over at The Big D. For previous posts on this, see here.

New Blog: Does The Message Reach The Real World?

By now, you may have heard that there's a new education blog out there called Eduflack. What you may not know is that the blog is authored by Patrick Riccards, a longtime education PR pro who is currently VP for public affairs for Lipman Hearne, a PR firm for nonprofits whose clients include the National Governors Association, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and International Baccalaureate. Riccards says his focus is "seeing if the message behind the reform is effectively taking hold (or if we are merely having researchers or wonks talk to researchers or wonks." Welcome, and condolences.

Where's Maggie?

Monday, April 2
1:00 p.m. MST Secretary Spellings will travel to Mesa Arts Academy, a charter school operated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley in Mesa, Arizona.

Tuesday, April 3
9:30 a.m. MST Secretary Spellings will participate in a roundtable discussion with Arizona business leaders, hosted by the Arizona Business and Education Coalition at the University Club in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thursday, April 5
11:30 a.m.CDT Secretary Spellings will attend an event at the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce where she will meet with Representative John Kline (R-MN) and Minneapolis business leaders to discuss the President’s proposals for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind this year.

1:00 p.m. CDT Secretary Spellings will travel to Grainwood Elementary School in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to visit classrooms and participate in an assembly with students and faculty. Secretary Spellings will discuss President Bush’s proposals for reauthorization of No Child Left Behind this year.

The Best Of The Blogs

We read them so you don't have to:

Voucher action heats up in the states BoardBuzz (NSBA): Lots of activity in state legislatures this week on private school vouchers, including South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Georgia...11 Cents on the Dollar? AFT Blog: Teachers had a tough year in 2005 and that the 2006 data we’ve seen is not much better. And that comes on top of a decade of pretty bad news...There must be a macro D-Ed Reckoning: I don't think a week goes by that I don't read some version of this story in today's Daily Mail...ABCs for Latino Children; Roadmap for Journalists Early Stories: Maria Glod of the Washington Post did a nice job over the weekend of reporting on the efforts of pre-school programs to get Latino parents on board....The Unions Come Clean The Quick & The Ed: Over at EdWise, Leo Casey finally reveals the answer to the Master's degree mystery...Diane Ravitch: Feds should only do what it can Sherman Dorn: "In the future, the federal government should do only what the federal government can competently do."...Where We Stand Doublechecked: Before Fordham was for NCLB, we were against it. After we were for NCLB, we were against it. In between, we were for it....Online Tutoring: Outsourcing activities that are already "outsourced" EdBizBuzz: The challenge of providing value ("results at a price") in this market will drive every tutoring firm to a mix of "on-site/online" and "human/artificial intelligence" services...High-Income Blahs Jay Mathews: "We know you are going to college. We can't stop you from going to college. But we can and will keep you from taking courses and tests that will prepare you for college."

The Reading First Zombie: It's Not Alive, But It's Not Quite Dead Either

The Reading First story isn't alive, really, but it won't die, either. Just like a zombie. That's in large part because while the news about the politics and implementation of the program continue to be unsettling, states and districts (many of them at least) report that they have benefited from the program. Over the weekend, news spread that Congress would continue looking into Reading First, including an April 20 hearing.

Harsh Grades For Teachers Hit A Nerve

Based on the results of an NIH study published in Science magazine, this article from USA Today (Study gives teachers barely passing grade in classroom) contains some harsh observations about classroom teaching -- calling most classrooms "dull, bleak places" for learning. Apparently, the piece has hit a nerve -- there are 95 comments and counting.

Charter Reform May Be Coming To FLA

Based in part on an excellent and disturbing four-part series in the Orlando Sentinel last week, reform may be coming to Florida's charter efforts (Expect charter reforms, state says). Among the reforms that are being considered, according to the article, are online reports showing the academic performance and annual audits of charters, strengthening academic and financial standards that charter schools must meet, and bans on operating deficits.

Morning Round-up April 2, 2007

Taking the Trick Out of Tapping Into Federal Aid WaPo
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is filled out by 14 million students each year who apply for federal financial aid. But the questionnaire is so mind-bogglingly complicated that many others just give up and miss out on government grants.

For Girls, It's Be Yourself, and Be Perfect , Too NYT
“Amazing girls” translation: Girls by the dozen who are high achieving, ambitious and confident (if not immune to the usual adolescent insecurities and meltdowns). Girls who do everything: Varsity sports. Student government. Theater. Community service. Girls who have grown up learning they can do anything a boy can do, which is anything they want to do.

Assessment Coach Is Always Being Tested WaPo
The proliferation of testing coordinators, once an unheard-of position, is part of the response to the boom in standardized testing.

Growth Models for NCLB Accountability Are Weighed EdWeek
Not all states have the data capabilities to operate so-called growth models, and many others would need to revise their testing programs to take full advantage of them.

Vouchers and Charterization Not Off The Table... Yet

Nobody who knows anything seems to think that voucher and charterization proposals like the ones in the Administration's NCLB 2 proposals stand a chance in Congress, but I continue not to be convinced. Specialized voucher proposals (for a geographic area, or a particular kind of student) are particularly hard to argue against, especially once you've already voted for them (as many in Congress have for Katrina and DC), and are in fact spreading at the state level (Vouchers Eyed for Students With Disabilities EdWeek).

It's nothing that a few good voucher abuse and ineffectiveness stories wouldn't erase. My current favorite is the one from Ohio about private school parents enrolling their kids in public schools for the last couple of days of the year in order to qualify for Ohio's voucher program.

Week in Review March 26 - April 1

Best Of The Week
The Month in Review (Audio)
How Reading First Is Like Gonzales-Gate

NCLB News
Make That 13 States With Computerized Testing
Illinois Goes For Broke On AYP Avoidance Strategies
Another Set Of Experts, Another Set Of Predictions
Son of NCLB

Teaching & Learning
The $8.5 Billion Master's Degree
Rifts In Universal Pre-K
Accountability Isn't Just For Schools And Students
Extended Learning Reality Check / Roundup
Cloning Charters, And Letting Parents Pick Principals

Foundations & Think Tanks
More Obama-CAP Connections
Reform-Minded Union Leader Named To Broad Board
Education's "Ethanol"
Why Research Goes Unused

Media Watch
Valid And Reliable Education Coverage?
Internet Predator Tactic Works Better For Journalists
"Citizen Journalism" At Work On The Education Beat
WSJ Reporter John Hechinger: New Face, Familiar Name

The Business of Education
Business-Minded Blog Joins The Fray
Milken Education Empire Getting Bigger

School Life
The Choking Game
The Craze That Overtook The 5th and 6th Grade
Seven Years For Shoving A Hall Monitor
Teen Tanning Is The Latest Thing States Are Banning