I Got to Be a Fly on the Wall in a Room Full of Teachers

On a recent afternoon, I spent two hours listening to eight public school teachers talk about their work. All but one of them teaches in…

New York Times Makes AP Courses Sound Like a Waste for Low-Income Students of Color, Here’s What They Missed

The New York Times Magazine has its eye on education in America with its latest issue, but it has blinders on. Alina Tugend’s piece on…

Education, Politics, Media and Chicago

Paraphrasing Yogi Berra, education in Chicago is 50 percent teaching and learning and 90 percent money and politics. No matter how much we emphasize the…

Americans Support Testing: Someone Tell PDK

PDK International has been polling on the subject of education for decades, releasing annual reports that generate a lot of media coverage and drive public…

One Progressive Education Reformer’s Manifesto in the Age of Trump

Chalkbeat recently reported about a March meeting of progressive education reformers where former Education Secretary Arne Duncan encouraged charter leaders to resist the Trump administration’s…

We Used to Be One of the Worst Schools in California. Not Anymore.

With high suspension rates, low achievement scores and ineffective teachers, Pacoima Elementary had the dishonor of being one of the worst schools in California. So…

Here’s What I Learned When I Sat Down for All the Standardized Tests My Students Take

Many people—not just students—cringe when they hear the word test because it triggers fear in some and anger in others. Educators know that tests are…

Young, Gifted And Black? Prepare To Fight For Your Education

When I moved from California to Texas at age 4, I was reading full books and writing at a first-grade level. After being iced out…

A Parent’s Guide to the Changes Coming to Florida Schools

Let’s just start with the bottom line: Florida lawmakers passed a big education bill Monday that is mostly good for kids: It protects recess for…

Opting Out of a Third-Grade Test Is Bad But Passing Third-Graders Who Can’t Read Is Worse

If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on in the case of the opt-out moms versus the state of Florida, it’s that Michelle Rhea’s…