Snowed in and out of touch? RealClearEducation has all the top education news curated for you right here.
Blaines, baby Blaines and church – state law. Big education implications here. If Bloomberg runs for the presidency that could have big education implications as well.
Over 200 Educators in New York Receive Erroneous Scores Linked to Student Performance
Alt hed:
Half Percent Of Educators in New York Receive Erroneous Scores Linked to Student Performance
I’m not excusing the error (and if it were my job to get people to read articles rather than ensure they understand data in context I’d probably write the headline the same way), the contractor should be held accountable and officials should endeavor to make sure things like this don’t happen. But the context matters to understanding what’s going on and human error is a fact of life in large systems. The article also notes:
It is not the first time there have been errors in test-based ratings. Three years ago, the Washington public school system said that problems in its measurements had led to erroneous ratings for 44 teachers, one of whom was fired as a result of the poor evaluation.
That could also read:
It is not the first time there have been errors in test-based ratings. Three years ago, the Washington public school system said that problems in its measurements had led to erroneous ratings for 44 teachers, one of whom was fired as a result of the poor evaluation. Despite this and other challenges multiple evaluations, including one just out Monday, continue to show the evaluation system is driving substantial improvements in teaching effectiveness in Washington’s schools.
You get the point, context matters.
Here’s a great rags to riches talking point for public schools:
The youngest of six children born to David Payne and a mother, who was a seamstress, Payne attributes her skills to a solid public school education. “I could travel in Europe as good as I did,” she told me, “because of the knowledge I had of maps.
“I had geography. I had algebra,” she said, waxing poetically about her upbringing. “I had home economics and health classes.”
(Actually the quote is “deceptive skills,” she’s one of the most successful jewel thieves ever. It’s a great article).
Elsewhere:
Poker theory at MIT. The human side of our education debates. The 74 profiles EdBuild.
Ken Wagner looks ahead in RI. Patrick McGuinn on education politics and Common Core. Bridgeland and Orszag argue it’s the new federal education law’s focus on evidence that is the long game win. Whitmire on new high school models. Unity in Newark. Being low-income on a high-income parents.
New quality ranking of charter laws from NACPS (pdf). More on that here from Ziebarth and Rees. Charters and alt ed.
Stonewalling parents. Great moments in school administration.
I don’t know the ins and outs of this OCR complaint against Success Academy but if it ends up turning on special education discipline policy it would put some public school interests in an awkward spot. They’ve been for changes in those policies for longer than they’ve been against Success.
Today in poorly chosen education metaphors. Today in obvious studies.
