Want a Better Assessment? Start by Asking the Right Question.

In state after state, politicians, parents, advocacy groups and educators are re-evaluating the role that end-of-year tests should play in K-12 education. Given the high…

It Is No More Progressive to Take Dollars From Teachers Union Lobbyists Than It Is to Take Dollars From the NRA

This is for my fellow progressives and Democrats. Beware those who lambaste charter schools in the name of “public education.” Beware those who decry “privatization.”…

No Teacher Should Be an Island

I didn’t quite understand what it meant to be an “island” until I started teaching eight years ago. For years, I was the only United…

Teachers, Can You Explain This Survey to Me? Because I’m Really Confused.

Dear Teachers, I just read some of the results of a survey and I’m confused. The good people over at Educators for Excellence asked a…

Coffee Break: How Arthur VanderVeen Is Lighting a Spark Under PARCC

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, is a standardized test developed with federal funding to determine if students are meeting…

How New Mexico Is Becoming a Quiet Leader in the Education Reform Movement

While much of the education reform world was convening in Austin for the annual charter schools conference this week, I snuck off to Albuquerque for…

Here’s the One Thing We Just Can’t Agree on When It Comes to Schools

Ask any parent and they’ll tell you they want their child to go to a good school. But ask them what makes a good school,…

Chicago’s Students Are Standing Still on Test Scores But That’s Good News

Sometimes no progress represents real progress, especially when you’re talking about an urban school district roiled by financial woes and a national exam that has…

Nice to See the Right and the Left Agree on Something, Too Bad They’re Both Wrong

Two former U.S. secretaries of education, Margaret Spellings, who served under President George W. Bush, and Arne Duncan, who served under President Barack Obama, think…

Does Standardized Testing Help Students?

Every state uses standardized tests to find out how students in public schools are doing. Federal law requires it. But why? And how do standardized…