Educational Testing Service: A report from ETS’s Policy Information Center, America’s Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation’s Future, looks at the convergence of three powerful sociological and economical forces that are changing our nation’s future: substantial disparities in skill levels (reading and math) seismic economic changes (widening wage gaps) sweeping demographic shifts (less education, … Continue reading America’s Perfect Storm→
Up close, the author finds that politics obscure key educational issues Marc Eisen: Where’s the challenge? I’m no different. I want my kids pushed, prodded, inspired, and challenged in school. Too often—in the name of equity, or progressive education, or union protectionism, or just plain cheapness—that isn’t happening in the Madison schools. Advanced classes are … Continue reading My Life and Times With the Madison Public Schools→
Jason Shephard: Friday afternoon is not an optimal time for academic focus, but when Keesia Hyzer peers over her glasses and commands three minutes of “think time,” the 21 students in English 10 at West High School get busy. “The only thing you’re thinking about right now is what you can get passionate about!” she … Continue reading Differentiate This!→
Jessica Blanchard: The next leader of Seattle Public Schools should be inspirational, able to work well with others, committed to reducing the academic achievement gap and ideally will have experience as an educator, the Seattle School Board agreed. During a marathon work session Wednesday, the board fine-tuned a list of 10 qualifications to create a … Continue reading Seattle School Board creates ‘profile’ of the next superintendent→
From a reader involved in these issues, by Kerry Hill: Demystifying math: UW-Madison scholars maintain focus on effective teaching, learning Tuesday, January 30, 2007 – By Kerry Hill New generation of Math Ed Many people still see mathematics as a difficult subject that only a select group of students with special abilities can master. Learning … Continue reading “No Need to Worry About Math Education”→
Teacher Magazine: Published: January 1, 2007 Tough Love Bill Cosby talks about what teachers need to do better. By Denise Kersten Wills Bill Cosby made headlines in October when he urged teachers to do a better job of explaining to students the importance of the subjects they teach. —Erinn The comedian, best known as the … Continue reading Bill Cosby talks about what teachers need to do better.→
Marc Eisen: I could rattle off a half-dozen reasons why it’s a good thing that Art Rainwater is resigning as Madison’s school superintendent in 18 months. But I won’t. I wish instead that he was staying on the job. Rainwater’s lame duck status and the uncertainty over his replacement come at a particularly bad moment … Continue reading Notes on Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater’s Reign→
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editorial: “Desegregation in Racine and throughout the nation has failed based upon the mechanism used, which is busing,” said County Supervisor Ken Lumpkin, who publishes a black community newspaper. Lumpkin’s partner in a debate held last week, board member Randy Bangs, argued that ending long bus rides would give students more time for … Continue reading Notes on Racine’s Boundary/Busing Decision→
Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater’s recent public announcement that he plans to retire in 2008 presents an opportunity to look back at previous searches as well as the K-12 climate during those events. Fortunately, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web, we can quickly lookup information from the recent past. The Madison School District’s two most … Continue reading Notes and Links on the Madison K-12 Climate and Superintendent Hires Since 1992→
Jo Egelhoff: Wisconsin is failing minority and low-income students. Plain and simple. Of the 10 issue areas featured in the Post-Crescent’s end-of-year “Editorial Agenda Update,” at least six are critically reliant on our schools performing – performing much better than they do now – and performing better and better around the state, not just here … Continue reading Education for all is just a bad dream→
A reader involved in these issues emailed this article by Andrew Rotherham: Second, the story highlights my colleague Tom Toch’s criticism that a lot of tests states are using under NCLB are pretty basic. That’s exactly right. I’m all for better tests, but isn’t that, you know, an indictment of schools that can’t even get … Continue reading NCLB and the Stress Between “Bringing up the Bottom and Supporting High End Kids”→
Amanda Paulson: What if the solution to American students’ stagnant performance levels and the wide achievement gap between white and minority students wasn’t more money, smaller schools, or any of the reforms proposed in recent years, but rather a new education system altogether? That’s the conclusion of a bipartisan group of scholars and business leaders, … Continue reading More Notes on Re-Thinking K-12→
Alan Borsuk: The education achievement gaps between African-American and white children in Wisconsin remain among the worst in the United States, according to an analysis released Wednesday by an influential education group. To a degree that’s good news. That’s better than in 2004, when a similar analysis by the Journal Sentinel showed the proficiency gaps … Continue reading On Wisconsin’s Learning Gap→
Kudos to the district for stopping the rush to the middle Rainwater and his assistants have been promoting for East. However, the changes that were pushed onto West should also be backed off while the district has a long overdue, community-wide conversation about what it desires its high schools to provide all students. And this … Continue reading Comments on Redesign of MMSD High Schools→
A lengthy discussion of what it might take to close the minority achievement gap in the New York Times Magazine entitled, ” What It Takes to Make a Student”. The study Larry Winkler has so cogently referenced time and again here is highlighted. The author concludes that low-income minority students need better educational opportunities than … Continue reading What It Takes to Make a Student→
First, I want to say BRAVO, RUTH, for putting it all together and bringing it on home to us. Thanks, too, to the BOE members who overrode BOE President Johnny Winston Jr’s decision to table this important discussion. Finally, deepest thanks to all of the East parents, students and teachers who are speaking out … … Continue reading More Than English 10: Let’s REALLY Talk About Our High Schools→
Sam Dillon: Despite concerted efforts by educators, the test-score gaps are so large that, on average, African-American and Hispanic students in high school can read and do arithmetic at only the average level of whites in junior high school. “The gaps between African-Americans and whites are showing very few signs of closing,” Michael T. Nettles, … Continue reading Schools Slow in Closing Gaps Between Races→
Jason Shephard: Many parents are actively researching educational options for their young children. Increasingly, they are expecting more from public schools than the one-size-fits-all model schools have traditionally offered. Across the state, school districts are opening more charter schools and boosting their offerings of online and virtual classes to diversify educational approaches. Some see these … Continue reading Chartering Change: The push for alternatives underscores the need for school reform→
As a senior adviser and former president of Public Agenda, I’m often asked to interpret public-opinion research in relation to the priorities of major education groups. These groups are seeking information that can help them refine their “messaging” strategies to promote a particular agenda. “Messaging,” when it assumes that the solution is a given, merely … Continue reading Toss Out the PR Playbook→
Winnie Hu: Garfield is a so-called Abbott school district, one of 31 poor districts that have received a total of $35 billion in state aid since 1997 as part of an ambitious court-ordered social experiment to narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor students, whites and minorities. In a decision that set a precedent … Continue reading New Jersey’s “Robin Hood” School Finance System Faces Questions→
Having long believed that there are solid grounds for criticizing the Madison School Board, I am happy to see how well we compare in our conduct and meetings to some school boards. School board has a truancy problem Steve Brandt, Star Tribune State conservation officer Brian Buria was checking a wetland complaint on Deer Lake … Continue reading Could be much worse→
by Superintendent Art Rainwater The purpose of high school is to ensure that all of our students leave ready for college, jobs and civic involvement. Our traditional, comprehensive high schools today look and feel much like they have for generations. However, the world our students will live and work in has changed dramatically. The structure … Continue reading Changing our high schools→
Ken DeRosa: In his new book, Eric Hanushek delivers the smack down on Johnathan Kozol who has been insisting these many years that the funding gap between middle class and inner city schools was the cause of the achievement gap between white and minority kids. Thus, to erase the achievement gap all we had to … Continue reading Money & Academic Success→
[Not part of the “farewell series,” much more important] TJM SCHOOLS OF HOPE ? TUTORS NEEDED 09/28/06 WISC-TV There are a number of factors that have contributed to the historic closing of the achievement gap in Madison schools including small class sizes and talented and well trained teachers. But there’s no disputing the United Way … Continue reading Schools Of Hope – Tutors Needed→
Elliot H (a 4th grade teacher in Phoenix): Since I finally have a moment to pause and reflect, I thought I would use one of my infrequent posts to put down some of the things I’ve discovered thus far. In no particular order… 1. The achievement gap is very, very real. Most of my fourth … Continue reading Five truths I’ve learned from five weeks of teaching→
Zachary Norris: Like the teacher on the show, I was greeted by a dysfunctional buzzer upon arrival at my school. A fitting symbol of the system’s disarray, they were desperately in need of teachers and couldn’t let me in once I got there. Many of my peers in the program were “surplussed,” bouncing around from … Continue reading “Like Lambs to the Slaughter…”→
Alan Borsuk: It’s the fourth time in three months that a national study has accused state officials of shirking their responsibilities, particularly to minority students and those from low-income homes. Two national education reformers said Monday that Department of Public Instruction officials have misled citizens about their work to improve the quality of education in … Continue reading Fordham Foundation: Wisconsin DPI Academic Standards = D-→
Elissa Gootman: More than a decade after the city created a special institute to prepare black and Hispanic students for the mind-bendingly difficult test that determines who gets into New York’s three most elite specialized high schools, the percentage of such students has not only failed to rise, it has declined. The drop at Stuyvesant … Continue reading In Elite NY Schools, a Dip in Blacks and Hispanics, Plus Letters→
The University of Iowa: Every May a large number of high school students across America take AP exams. In May 2005 over 1.2 million high school students took over 2.1 million AP exams. AP allows students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Over 3000 colleges accept AP exam scores for either college … Continue reading High School Rigor: Iowa AP Index and a Michigan School Board Member→
The impact of growing up impoverished overwhelms these children’s genetic capacities. In other words, home life is the critical factor for youngsters at the bottom of the economic barrel. “If you have a chaotic environment, kids’ genetic potential doesn’t have a chance to be expressed,” Turkheimer explains. “Well-off families can provide the mental stimulation needed for genes to build the brain circuitry for intelligence.”
Bob Sipchen: “The schooling system was in much better shape 50 years ago than it is now,” says Friedman, his voice as confident as reinforced concrete. A big fan of freedom, Friedman objects to public schools on principle, arguing — as he says most classic liberals once did — that government involvement by nature decreases … Continue reading Friedman on Public School Centralization and Vouchers→
Marc Eisen: Most of us have had those eerie moments when the distant winds of globalization suddenly blow across our desks here in comfortable Madison. For parents, it can lead to an unsettling question: Will my kids have the skills, temperament and knowledge to prosper in an exceedingly competitive world? I’m not so sure. I’m … Continue reading Brave New World: Are our kids ready to compete in the new global economy? Maybe not→
Tom Still: A report issued last week by a Washington think tank shows Wisconsin No. 1 in yet another public education index – only this time, being first among the 50 states wasn’t the preferred spot. In a study of how states are carrying out the federal No Child Left Behind education law, a group … Continue reading Rating Our Schools: Are All Wisconsin Schools – and Teachers – ‘Above Average’?→
Madison Metropolitan School District: Madison students tested on the 2005-06 Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) surpassed their state peers in the “advanced” category — the highest category — at all grade levels and in both reading and math, district officials said today. More than 12,000 of the district’s 24,490 students took the tests. This … Continue reading MMSD: “Madison Students Top Peers in WKCE Tests”→
A reader involved in these issues forwarded this article by Kevin Carey: Hot Air: How States Inflate Their Educational Progress Under NCLB [Full Report: 180K PDF] Critics on both the Left and the Right have charged that the No Child Left Behind Act tramples states’ rights by imposing a federally mandated, one-size-fits-all accountability system on … Continue reading Wisconsin’s “Broad interpretation of how NCLB progress can be “met” through the WKCE”→
According to the data on DPI’s Web site, the combined percentages for minimum and basic categories (these are below grade level) for MMSD’s 10th graders on the WKCE reading test in November 2004 were: All students – 26% African American – 53% Asian – 29% Hispanic – 51% White – 15% The real shame lies, … Continue reading Shameful reading scores for MMSD sophomores→
NY Times Editorial: This was supposed to be a landmark year for the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires the states to close the achievement gap between white and minority students in exchange for federal education dollars. By this year, states were to have put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom and created … Continue reading School Reform in Danger→
Wisconsin State Journal editorial Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Madison should take a bow and be proud of its decade-long effort to improve early reading skills and boost school achievement for all racial groups. Yet the hard work isn’t over and may be getting harder. UW-Madison education researchers hailed Madison this week for shrinking its racial … Continue reading Keep fighting for school success→
From the Wisconsin State Journal, May 2, 2006 ANDY HALL ahall@madison.com Madison made more progress than any urban area in the country in shrinking the racial achievement gap and managed to raise the performance levels of all racial groups over the past decade, two UW- Madison education experts said Monday in urging local leaders to … Continue reading Work on education gap lauded→
Sandy Cullen: Some parents say the Madison School District’s spending cuts, combined with its attempts to close the achievement gap, have reduced opportunities for higher-achieving students. Jeff Henriques, a parent of two high-achieving students, said one of the potential consequences he sees is “bright flight” – families pulling students with higher abilities out of the … Continue reading The heterogeneous debate: Some say best students get short shrift→
US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings: Few voices have been stronger in support of education reform over the years than your editorial page. Which is why it troubles me to have to respond to your March 24 editorial “Spellings Test.”
The Madison School Board can no longer afford to do business as usual. More to the point, families in the Madison School District can no longer afford a school board unwilling to take bolder action. For that reason, voters should elect to the board on Tuesday two candidates promoting change: Maya Cole and Lucy Mathiak. … Continue reading Wisconsin State Journal Endorses Maya Cole and Lucy Mathiak→
Mitchell Landsberg: The studies, to be completed by the end of the year, will be aimed at giving state officials the information needed to reform the system, with a focus on whether funding is adequate and whether it is allocated efficiently and fairly. That will mean taking on some politically delicate topics such as the … Continue reading Study to Examine California Public Schools→
A letter to the editor Dear Editor: We are dismayed that two of the candidates running for the Madison School Board, Lucy Mathiak and Maya Cole, would work toward reversing access for students by promoting ability-grouping and tracking. In fact, Cole called the district’s efforts to provide more heterogeneous classes that all students could access … Continue reading INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE→
A Cap Times editorial It has been a good long while since Madison Metropolitan School District voters have had an opportunity to vote for a new School Board candidate who is as prepared as Arlene Silveira is to hit the ground running and to have an immediately positive impact on the process. The parent of … Continue reading Cap Times Heartily Endorses Silveira for Seat #1→
Recent post from the Madison United for Academic Excellence (MUAE) list serve: Dear MUAE Friends, When we volunteered to oversee a District-wide “TAG” parents email list back in 2002, it was in part to help out the District “TAG” staff and in part to make the list available for explicit “TAG” advocacy efforts. We never … Continue reading Longtime advocates for academic rigor and educational excellence back Mathiak and Cole→
MAFAAC (the Madison Area Family Advisory/Advocacy Committee) and Communities United (a broadly-based coalition of groups and individuals representing Madison’s minority communities, and other citizens working on behalf of social justice and civil rights) held a school board candidate forum yesterday. MP3 Audio clips are avaible below: Opening Statements: [10.7MB mp3] Question 1: What do you … Continue reading MAFAAC & Communities United School Board Candidate Forum Audio→
Will the Madison district sink or swim? April 4th elections could prove pivotal At the end of an especially divisive Madison school board meeting, Annette Montegomery took to the microphone and laid bare her frustrations with the seven elected citizens who govern Madison schools. “I don’t understand why it takes so long to get anything … Continue reading The fate of the schools→
Madison School Board candidates Juan Jose Lopez and Lucy Mathiak look at what is happening in schools here in very different ways, but on at least one issue they are in complete agreement: Public education here and throughout the Badger State is at a critical crossroads. But the two candidates vying for School Board Seat … Continue reading Candidates agree education is at crossroads→
Isthmus: What thoughts do you have on further reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students in the Madison school district? Devise an in-school lunch menu for one day that would be efficient to prepare, nutritious, and most importantly, edible. The Madison school district is embracing mixed-ability classrooms in middle and high school as … Continue reading Madison School Board Candidate Take Home Test Week 7→
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster issued the following press release: Students will crunch on carrots or cauliflower, or whip up a fruit smoothie while learning the importance of eating fresh produce in 25 schools throughout the state, thanks to a federal grant that brings Wisconsin into the successful U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh … Continue reading Some schools, including Sherman, will get fresh fruit & vegetables→
This is very long, and the link may require a password so I’ve posted the entire article on the continued page. TJM http://www.tcrecord.org/PrintContent.asp?ContentID=11566 Standards, Accountability, and School Reform by Linda Darling-Hammond — 2004 The standards-based reform movement has led to increased emphasis on tests, coupled with rewards and sanctions, as the basis for “accountability” systems. … Continue reading Standards, Accountability, and School Reform→
It’s clear from educational research that “tracking” high school students into low to high-level courses based on their prior academic achievement denies opportunities to low income students and many students of color. De-tracking is clearly in order for school districts seeking to offer equal educational opportunity to all students. However, de-tracking can be done in … Continue reading What about heterogenous classes with high-track curriculum?→
From the Wall Street Journal‘s Opinion Journal CROSS COUNTRY Black Flight The exodus to charter schools. BY KATHERINE KERSTEN MINNEAPOLIS–Something momentous is happening here in the home of prairie populism: black flight. African-American families from the poorest neighborhoods are rapidly abandoning the district public schools, going to charter schools, and taking advantage of open enrollment … Continue reading →
Bridging the Achievement Gap: Positive Peer Pressure – Just the Push Students Need to Succeed Cydny Black: The decisions we make, especially as adolescents, are influenced by the people who surround us, and by how we feel about ourselves. I’ve found that the encouragement of my friends and family, and the examples they set, have … Continue reading The Gap According to Black→
Katherine Kersten: Something momentous is happening here in the home of prairie populism: black flight. African-American families from the poorest neighborhoods are rapidly abandoning the district public schools, going to charter schools, and taking advantage of open enrollment at suburban public schools. Today, just around half of students who live in the city attend its … Continue reading “Black Flight: Minneapolis Exodus to Charter Schools”→
Samara Kalk Derby: Kambwa, who served as emcee for the Closing the Gap conference, gave the younger students five guidelines for bridging the achievement gap: Ask younger students how they’re doing in school. Recommend a good book to a peer or younger student. Help younger students with their homework. Quiz them on their knowledge of … Continue reading Closing the Gap Forum→
This is not meant as a suggestion that MMSD should take this approach but I do think that we should be aware of what similar districts are considering and doing. See also: http://www.evanstonroundtable.com/roundtable022206/schools.html TJM Schools consider Afrocentric curriculum Evanston-Skokie district’s proposal targets achievement gap between blacks and whites By Lolly Bowean, Tribune staff reporter. Freelance … Continue reading Schools consider Afrocentric curriculum→
Patricia Gándara Policy Information Center, Educational Testing Service December 2005 The achievement gap usually refers to the chasm between low- and higher-performing students. But, as this study makes clear, disparities are just as pronounced among separate groups of high-achieving students. For example, in 2002 the top fifth of Latino test-takers scored means of 598 and … Continue reading Fragile Futures: Risk and Vulnerability Among Latino High Achievers→
At this past week’s meeting, Adam Gamoran from the UW Center for Educational Research spoke to the Board about ability grouping. Dr. Gamoran talked about how ability grouping often ends up grouping students by race and SES because these students enter school having had different early childhood experiences and different educational opportunities (recall Donna Ford … Continue reading Notes from Performance & Achievement Meeting on Ability Grouping→
WisPolitics.com is hosting a lunch for Republican Gubernatorial candidates Mark Green and Scott Walker who are facing off to run against incumbent Democrat Jim Doyle this fall. Cost is $15 for Madison Club members and $19 for non-members. Call Loretta to RSVP at the Madison Club, 608-255-4861. This is perhaps one of the best local … Continue reading WisPolitics Lunch (2/3/2006): Mark Green and Scott Walker→
Madison United for Academic Excellence [www site] held a Madison School Board candidate forum Tuesday evening, January 17, 2006. Maya Cole, Michael Kelly, Lucy Mathiak and Arlene Silveira participated (election website). Candidate statements and questions appear below:
Talk of the Nation: Four years ago this week, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, designed to raise test scores and close the achievement gap between rich and poor and white and minority students. What has it achieved so far? audio
Message from the East Attendance Area Task Force regarding rationale for Removing School Closings from Consideration. It reflects contributions from several Task Force members. This is another reason to be impressed by the hardwork of both the East and West/Memorial Task Forces.
Cydny Black: In high school now, at Madison Memorial, I see this achievement gap more clearly than ever. Where are all the minority students in my advanced placement classes? Or more specifically, where are all the black students? In my advanced classes I can count them on one hand. And of these students, most are … Continue reading The Gap According to Black→
Two of the most popular — and most insidious — myths about academically gifted kids is that “they’re all rich, white kids” and that, no matter what they experience in school, “they’ll do just fine.” Even in our own district, however, the hard data do not support those assertions.
When the District analyzed dropout data for the five-year period between 1995 and 1999, they identified four student profiles. Of interest for the present purpose is the group identified as high achieving. Here are the data from the MMSD Research and Evaluation Report from May, 2000: Group 1: High Achiever, Short Tenure, Behaved
This group comprises 27% of all dropouts during this five-year period.
Characteristics of this group:
Tamar Lewin writes in the New York Times January 8, 2006, about Advance Placement Classes – students and parents believe AP classes are important preparation for college, colleges have mixed feelings about students who take AP classes. “We’ve been put off for quite a while about the idea of teaching to the test, which is … Continue reading The Two Faces of Advance Placement Courses→
Here are two stories from the December 23, 2005, issue of the West HS student newspaper, The Regent Review. I reprint them here just as they appear in print (that is, with all misspellings, grammatical errors, etc.). (Note: the faculty advisor for The Regent Review is West HS English teacher Mark Nepper. Mr. Nepper has … Continue reading West HS students speek/speak out on English 10→
The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide network of educators, school board members, parents, community leaders, and researchers. Its Wisconsin Adequacy Plan — a proposal for school-finance reform — is the result of research into the cost of educating children to meet state proficiency standards. Washburn joins list of districts in budget … Continue reading School-funding update from Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES)→
Channel3000: During its 10 years, the project has been making a difference to local children, WISC-TV reported. Since then, the achievement gap has narrowed between students of color and white students who complete algebra by the 10th grade. At Friday’s Schools of Hope Annual Meeting, the group declared their first goal of closing the gap … Continue reading “Schools of Hope” is 10 Years Old: 3rd Grade Reading Scores→
Dear Carol, First, let me say a hearty and heartfelt “thank you” for replying to my 12/2 email request — and so promptly. One of the major frustrations parents have experienced over the many months we have been expressing our concerns about what’s happening at West HS is the chronic non-responsiveness of the people we … Continue reading Reply to Carol Carstensen re: West HS→
I came across this article from the Black Commentator written by Paul A. Moore. It is very interesting and I thought I would share it. I agree with much of it, however, some of it I don’t. I have never been a fan of talking about “The Achievement Gap.” I even argued about this with … Continue reading Storm Warnings for America’s Public Schools→
Here is a synopsis of the English 10 situation at West HS. Currently — having failed to receive any reply from BOE Performance and Achievement Committee Chair Shwaw Vang to our request that he investigate this matter and provide an opportunity for public discussion — we are trying to get BOE President Carol Carstensen to … Continue reading West HS English 9 and 10: Show us the data!→
NY Post: Under the pilot, a national testing firm will devise a series of reading and math exams to be given to students at intervals throughout the school year. Students will earn the cash equivalent to a quarter of their total score — $20 for scoring 80 percent, for instance — and an additional monetary … Continue reading Paying Children for Performance→
The following letter was hand delivered to Shwaw Vang a week ago, and email copies were sent to the Board, Superintendent Rainwater, and Assistant Superintendent Pam Nash. There so far has been no response. A follow up email was sent yesterday to the Performance and Achievement Committee again asking that they look into why the … Continue reading Letter to Performance and Achievement Committee→
The nation’s 4th graders may not stack up quite so well against their peers around the globe as previously thought, but also may not post as big a drop-off in achievement when they get to high school, a new analysis of international-test comparisons concludes. The study, conducted by the Washington-based American Institutes for Research and … Continue reading Study Indicates Changes in Global Standing for U.S.→
Jay Matthews:The group surveyed 5,500 teachers and 257 principals at California public elementary schools with large numbers of low-income students. They compared the methods used at each school with the average score on the 200-to-1,000-point API scale, which is based on state test results. The four practices most closely associated with high student performance were … Continue reading Parents Effect on Achievement→
By Nick Anderson Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 22, 2005; A01 The Bush administration has begun to ease some key rules for the controversial No Child Left Behind law, opening the door to a new way to rate schools, granting a few urban systems permission to provide federally subsidized tutoring and allowing certain states … Continue reading Bush Administration Grants Leeway on ‘No Child’ Rules→
Brent Staples: The United States will become a second-rate economic power unless it can match the educational performance of its rivals abroad and get more of its students to achieve at the highest levels in math, science and literacy. Virtually every politician, business leader and educator understands this, yet the country has no national plan … Continue reading Look to Japan for Better Schools?→
Stan Gibson: Underlining the challenge, Romney said leaders of one technology firm in Massachusetts anticipated that 90 percent of its skilled labor would be in Asia in 10 years. He also pointed to statistics that show the United States graduating only 4,400 mathematics and science PhDs each year compared with 24,900 math and science PhDs … Continue reading Romney Calls for More Tech Innovation→
I’m not sure if this is still the case, but at one time, MMSD offered a college entrance test prep course in an 8-week summer session. But for many reasons, needing to work among them, not all students can take advantage of this opportunity. What if high school seniors or adult volunteers tutored their younger … Continue reading Test Prep Help for Students Who Can’t Afford Kaplan→
Here is the full text of SLC Evaluator Bruce King’s recent report on the plan to implement a common English 10 course at West HS. Evaluation of the SLC Project at West High School The 10th Grade English Course M.Bruce King, Project Evaluator 608-263-4769, mbking1@wisc.edu 2 November 2005 The development and implementation of the common … Continue reading Evaluation of the SLC Project at West High School→
A telling conclusion of the report was that schools with the highest
achievement levels among black students – such as Clayton, Webster Groves and Kirkwood – often also had the greatest gap in achievement levels between whites and blacks.
Some 70 parents were in attendance at Monday evening’s PTSO meeting to hear about West High School’s plans for 10th grade English. This was the largest turnout for a PTSO meeting in recent history. Approximately one-third of those there were parents of elementary and middle school students who will be attending West at some point … Continue reading Report from West High PTSO Meeting→
I’ve attended many of the School Board meetings where equity issues came up. I listened to parents and representatives from the Northside Coalition talk about their concerns about equity issues over the past several years, including concerns about the application of the equity formula over the past several years frustrated, in part, that the School … Continue reading Equity and School Board – Hard Work Needed by School Board AND Equity Task Force→
On Monday, October 31st, the Madison School Board voted to establish an equity policy task force even though a board equity policy exists – http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/policies/9001.htm. The existing equity policy goals are twofold: (1) that all students will be provided an equitable educational opportunity in a diverse setting and (2) that all students will achieve in … Continue reading MMSD Equity Policy Exists – Board Not Overseeing Policy→
Barbara Golden: The Madison Metropolitan School District HAS NOT CLOSED THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP. Black third graders are still not reading at the same level as white students, most school arrests involve African Americans and the graduation gap is as wide as ever. Black students are disproportionately referred to special education (and once in, rarely get … Continue reading Barbara Golden: Is Art Rainwater Doing a Good Job?→
Barack Obama: But we don’t make much progress for our kids when we constrain ourselves like this. It appeared for a brief moment that the President, working with leaders like Senator Kennedy understood this, and many of us were initially encouraged by the passage of No Child Left Behind. It may not be popular to … Continue reading Obama on No Child Left Behind→
Hedrick Smith: This web site follows our production team into classrooms from coast to coast to see how some American communities are creating a small revolution in our schools. Don’t expect one magic formula. You’ll see different strategies. The common denominator is results – lifting scores and closing achievement gaps, not just for a few … Continue reading Making Schools Work: Hedrick Smith→
Wisconsin students stayed above national averages in test results released Wednesday, but a Journal Sentinel analysis of the data shows that the gap between black and white students was among the largest in the nation. In eighth-grade reading and in fourth-grade math, the gaps were larger than in any other state in the country. By … Continue reading State’s learning gap still vast→
Madison Board of Education President Carol Carstensen released this Report on Evaluation of the Superintendent earlier today. (PDF), or click below to read the release.
News Statement from the Madison Board of Education Report on Evaluation of the Superintendent Hiring, supervising and evaluating the Superintendent are major responsibilities for the Board of Education. It is important to remember that this is a collective task for the Board and represents the combined views of seven very different individuals. Download file
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has made good on his nearly 5-month-old threat to sue the U.S. Department of Education over the No Child Left Behind Act, making his state the first to take its objections about the law to the federal courts. Filed Aug. 22 in U.S. District Court in Hartford, the state’s complaint … Continue reading Conn. Files Long-Awaited Lawsuit Challenging No Child Left Behind Act→
The current issue of The Simpson Street Free Press includes pieces by both Jazmin Jackson and Andrea Gilmore on the importance of arts education. This issue also has a letter to the editor from School Board member Johnny Winston, Jr. on the arts funding issues facing the District.
On Thursday July 21st, I was asked to speak to a group of students at the Simpson Street Free Press regarding the recent budget cuts and threats to music and fine arts programming in the MMSD. I have to say that I really enjoy the opportunity to speak with students. I feel it is very … Continue reading Simpson Street Free Press→
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Study shows that Direct Instruction is successful, particularly with hard to reach students. The study is on-line at http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume18/Vol18no4.pdf Summary: Education That Works in the Milwaukee Public Schools: The Benefits from Phonics and Direct Instruction by Sammis White, Ph.D. A phonics-based teaching technique (Direct Instruction) is proving successful in some Milwaukee … Continue reading Milwaukee Public Schools Direct Instruction Study→
George Archibald: “There are no secret agendas here. Divergency [of views] in the classroom is being stifled. More and more, what we can say in the classroom is being restricted,” said Mr. Jackson, a high school English teacher from Kennewick, Wash. Teachers have a responsibility “to instruct students how to think, not to indoctrinate,” he … Continue reading “No” on Intellectual Pluralism→