Sorry for the long layoff -- it turns out that taking over a class a week into the semester while trying to advance both one's dissertation and other papers can be quite time consuming. Or I could just say I've been busy. Either way, until I find time to expound on some of the ideas that have been bouncing around my head recently, here are a few of the things I've found interesting recently:
-Pittsburgh has shut their schools down for the entire week. Why? Well, 29 inches of snow spread out over 5 days hasn't helped, but the main problem seems to be an inexplicable delay in the plowing and salting of roads. 4 inches of snow canceled school for 5+ straight calendar days here in Nashville, but that's because we don't have the equipment or know how to deal with snow. Pittsburgh does. Or at least it did. The strangest part of the story: Last Saturday the entire county declared a state of emergency as it tried to shovel and plow itself out from 21.1 inches of snow . . . meanwhile, boy Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was off in the mountains "celebrating his 30th birthday". Maybe now that he's turned 30 he'll get his act together. Because a city that's made all sorts of headlines with its plans for an educational turnaround doesn't need mayoral incompetence getting in the way of student learning.
-Meanwhile, the rule in Nashville seems to be one day off per inch of snow. Guess what was supposed to be happening while school was canceled due to mildly slushy sidewalks most of last week? State tests. Which serves as another reminder how fallible one high-stakes test is.
-On the other end of the spectrum, it appears that NYC finally canceled a day of school after getting blitzed with snow yesterday. During my two years in the city we had exactly zero official snow days. I say "official" because we had three days where all the suburbs called off and no more than about half the staff or students showed up. One of those was the day after NYC got 19 inches of snow. And all three were a waste of a day . . . we simply lined everybody up in the cafeteria at 8am, divvied them up between teachers, and babysat all day. I guess the moral of the story is that while canceling too much school isn't a good thing, never canceling school doesn't solve the problem.
-It looks like NYC is finally going to start using test score data as part of tenure decisions. Except that 90% -- yes, 90% -- of teachers up for tenure this year didn't teach the same tested subject for two consecutive years. Which serves as another reminder that value-added scores won't solve all of our system's problems.
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Pittsburgh has decided not to levy a 1% tax on college tuition as the mayor and 5 out of 9 council members (and possibly nobody else) wanted. Council was due to vote on the measure today, and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl had promised the vote would occur unless non-profits volunteered $15 million per year in funding for the city. Instead, the city has joined with a group of non-profits to form the "New Pittsburgh Coalition," which will work toward finding a solution to the funding problem.
-Jay Mathews takes a teacher to task for not updating his/her class website so that parents could follow along with assignments and such. Fair enough, but let's not forget this is a two-way street. During my first year of teaching I went out of the way to create a class website and spent hours updating grades and telling parents to check them. Three months later only two parents had logged on.
-Robert Pondiscio asks if teachers should care about research. My immediate reaction was "of course." But one teacher says she doesn't care what researchers say b/c she knows what works best for her students. This is the type of thing that makes researchers cringe, but it's also the type of thing researchers don't adequately address. The degree of hubris involved in many researchers' school and classroom interventions annoys me to no end. Countless studies have failed b/c teachers and administrators did not implement the curriculum or reform in the manner intended by the researcher(s). And guess who gets blamed for this when the research is discussed? Not the researcher(s). Once again, it's a two-way street: both parties depend on one another and have a lot to learn from each other. While research can, without question, help teachers researchers also need to respect the vast body of "soft" knowledge that teachers have acquired over their years in the classroom.
-Jay Mathews takes a teacher to task for not updating his/her class website so that parents could follow along with assignments and such. Fair enough, but let's not forget this is a two-way street. During my first year of teaching I went out of the way to create a class website and spent hours updating grades and telling parents to check them. Three months later only two parents had logged on.
-Robert Pondiscio asks if teachers should care about research. My immediate reaction was "of course." But one teacher says she doesn't care what researchers say b/c she knows what works best for her students. This is the type of thing that makes researchers cringe, but it's also the type of thing researchers don't adequately address. The degree of hubris involved in many researchers' school and classroom interventions annoys me to no end. Countless studies have failed b/c teachers and administrators did not implement the curriculum or reform in the manner intended by the researcher(s). And guess who gets blamed for this when the research is discussed? Not the researcher(s). Once again, it's a two-way street: both parties depend on one another and have a lot to learn from each other. While research can, without question, help teachers researchers also need to respect the vast body of "soft" knowledge that teachers have acquired over their years in the classroom.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-If nothing else, I like the title of this LA Times story: "Controlling a classroom isn't as easy as ABC" (hat tip: Flypaper). Speaking from my experiences both teaching and working with and talking to other beginning teachers, there are an awful lot of little things about classroom management that seem obvious to veteran teachers and aren't to newbies.
-Jay Mathews says that the achievement gap is "useless as a measure of school improvement". I sort of see his point that a school (or school system) could get worse while, at the same time, the achievement gap shrinks. But that's only a reason to not make the achievement gap the only measure we examine.
-A new study finds that teachers in charter schools are 76% more likely two switch schools or leave the profession at the end of any given year, and that most of the attrition and turnover is due to dissatisfaction with their school. My initial reaction is that this is probably largely b/c charter schools tend to hire different teachers -- namely younger, more idealistic teachers who may be less intent on making a career of teaching and at the same time are more willing to explore different schools and careers instead of committing to one.
-Diane Ravitch compares the support of charter schools by social elites to "origins of free schooling in certain northeastern cities in the early 19th Century, when wealthy men decided that it was their civic duty to help civilize the children of the poor". I don't know if the motives of many donors are quite so paternalistic, but I do share her concern that the reliance of charter schools on this funding means that "our society will increasingly rely on the good will of wealthy patrons to educate children of color".
-Jay Mathews says that the achievement gap is "useless as a measure of school improvement". I sort of see his point that a school (or school system) could get worse while, at the same time, the achievement gap shrinks. But that's only a reason to not make the achievement gap the only measure we examine.
-A new study finds that teachers in charter schools are 76% more likely two switch schools or leave the profession at the end of any given year, and that most of the attrition and turnover is due to dissatisfaction with their school. My initial reaction is that this is probably largely b/c charter schools tend to hire different teachers -- namely younger, more idealistic teachers who may be less intent on making a career of teaching and at the same time are more willing to explore different schools and careers instead of committing to one.
-Diane Ravitch compares the support of charter schools by social elites to "origins of free schooling in certain northeastern cities in the early 19th Century, when wealthy men decided that it was their civic duty to help civilize the children of the poor". I don't know if the motives of many donors are quite so paternalistic, but I do share her concern that the reliance of charter schools on this funding means that "our society will increasingly rely on the good will of wealthy patrons to educate children of color".
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Apparently Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve school lunch quality in the U.K. may have led to improvement in both attendance and performance on standardized tests
-Speaking of odd things that influence academic performance, this piece in Newsweek runs down a few decades worth of research into the relationship between noise and academic performance (hat tip: Alexander Russo). I've been reading some of this research for a project I'm working on, and there's actually more evidence that noisy environments (both at school and at home) negatively influence test scores than there is regarding all but a few other social/environmental factors.
-There was some hoopla about teachers selling their lesson plans. But that's the not the right question. The right question is why teachers should have to buy lesson plans.
-Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he has the needed votes in city council to pass the tuition tax he proposed last week. Five of the nine city council members stepped forward at a press conference today and said they'd vote to levy a 1% tax on college tuition in the city of Pittsburgh to help address longstanding budget problems.
-Speaking of odd things that influence academic performance, this piece in Newsweek runs down a few decades worth of research into the relationship between noise and academic performance (hat tip: Alexander Russo). I've been reading some of this research for a project I'm working on, and there's actually more evidence that noisy environments (both at school and at home) negatively influence test scores than there is regarding all but a few other social/environmental factors.
-There was some hoopla about teachers selling their lesson plans. But that's the not the right question. The right question is why teachers should have to buy lesson plans.
-Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he has the needed votes in city council to pass the tuition tax he proposed last week. Five of the nine city council members stepped forward at a press conference today and said they'd vote to levy a 1% tax on college tuition in the city of Pittsburgh to help address longstanding budget problems.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Pittsburgh has found a unique solution to their budget woes. They want to charge a 1% college education privilege tax on all tuition bills. Yes, you read that right -- all college students in the city of Pittsburgh (and there are a lot of them) would pay an additional 1% on top of their tuition bills for the privilege of receiving an education there. The proposal does actually solve a problem -- an inordinately high percentage of property in Pittsburgh is occupied by non-profit institutions (mostly hospitals and colleges/universities), robbing them of quite a bit of tax revenue.
-Jay Mathews suggests we should scrap rating teachers and rate schools instead. His argument is mainly that rating teachers is a waste of time since they all get positive reviews anyway. I sort of buy that argument, though I think there are stronger ones. And I think there are a ton of good reasons why incentivizing whole schools may work better than incentivizing individual teachers.
-Ruben Navarette regurgitates all the typical talking points on CNN's website. I have trouble taking any analysis seriously when its central thesis is that teachers are lazy, incompetent, and self-serving. There are all sorts of rational reasons for teachers to behave the way they do, and tons of good, passionate teachers out there. As such, reforms based on this premise usually fail to transform schools, and analyses based on this premise are inevitably short-sighted.
-Jay Mathews suggests we should scrap rating teachers and rate schools instead. His argument is mainly that rating teachers is a waste of time since they all get positive reviews anyway. I sort of buy that argument, though I think there are stronger ones. And I think there are a ton of good reasons why incentivizing whole schools may work better than incentivizing individual teachers.
-Ruben Navarette regurgitates all the typical talking points on CNN's website. I have trouble taking any analysis seriously when its central thesis is that teachers are lazy, incompetent, and self-serving. There are all sorts of rational reasons for teachers to behave the way they do, and tons of good, passionate teachers out there. As such, reforms based on this premise usually fail to transform schools, and analyses based on this premise are inevitably short-sighted.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-College enrollment is at an all-time high, according to an article in the NY Times, at about 40% of the nation's 18-24 year-olds. But I wonder how meaningful that number is. It seems like the percent who are completing college is more important. As I pointed out before, the rate of college completion seems to have stalled out somewhat -- with slightly below 30% of 25-29 year-olds possessing a bachelor's degree or higher. If that number shoots up over the next few years, I'll be more excited about the increase in enrollment.
-How do we reduce recidivism among juvenile offenders? I'd imagine the answer is somewhat similar to the best solutions for discipline problems in schools. According to a reliable source, forthcoming research finds that programs like boot camps increase recidivism while programs involving things like extra counseling reduce recidivism. I'll have more on this if and when I get my hands on the actual research. But for now, here's a local article on a counseling program that has supposedly reduced recidivism rates.
-Susan Engel described a worthwhile idea on how to attract and retain talented teachers in the Times a couple days ago -- essentially by creating a residency program not dissimilar to the way med schools do it. I don't know if it would work or not, but I'd definitely like to see some ed schools try to more closely mimic the med school model. Other than a possibly prohibitive cost, I see two problems here though: 1.) The fact that you immediately get your own classroom is a big draw for TFA and TNTP -- I probably wouldn't have taught if I had to wait a year or two before I got a chance, and I have to believe other overly eager and ambitious recent college grads feel the same way. 2.) Engel wants the program to be selective, and sets a rather arbitrary 3.5 GPA as one criterion for acceptance. Maybe I'm missing something. Can anybody show me the research that says people with a 3.6 GPA are better teachers than those with a 3.4, all else equal? This is, of course, the problem with any certification process -- there's never really a good place to draw the line.
-Don't expect anything else from me this week, as I'm up against a deadline today and conferencing the rest of the week.
-How do we reduce recidivism among juvenile offenders? I'd imagine the answer is somewhat similar to the best solutions for discipline problems in schools. According to a reliable source, forthcoming research finds that programs like boot camps increase recidivism while programs involving things like extra counseling reduce recidivism. I'll have more on this if and when I get my hands on the actual research. But for now, here's a local article on a counseling program that has supposedly reduced recidivism rates.
-Susan Engel described a worthwhile idea on how to attract and retain talented teachers in the Times a couple days ago -- essentially by creating a residency program not dissimilar to the way med schools do it. I don't know if it would work or not, but I'd definitely like to see some ed schools try to more closely mimic the med school model. Other than a possibly prohibitive cost, I see two problems here though: 1.) The fact that you immediately get your own classroom is a big draw for TFA and TNTP -- I probably wouldn't have taught if I had to wait a year or two before I got a chance, and I have to believe other overly eager and ambitious recent college grads feel the same way. 2.) Engel wants the program to be selective, and sets a rather arbitrary 3.5 GPA as one criterion for acceptance. Maybe I'm missing something. Can anybody show me the research that says people with a 3.6 GPA are better teachers than those with a 3.4, all else equal? This is, of course, the problem with any certification process -- there's never really a good place to draw the line.
-Don't expect anything else from me this week, as I'm up against a deadline today and conferencing the rest of the week.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Credit Robert Pondiscio with some excellent investigative journalism. At first, we thought that Thomas Sowell was a little harsh when he responded rather brusquely to an 11 year-old's letter. Thanks to Pondiscio, we now know that Sowell was completely off target. The 11 year-old that wrote him did so on his own volition b/c he looked up to Sowell and wanted to know what he thought about the economy. Meanwhile, Sowell's response was that the kid was being manipulated into frittering away his time by a school that was more concerned with feelings than educating their students. Oops.
-Yesterday's Sunday Commentary is a little different than what you normally see on this blog in that it's more of an emotional response to their experiences than it is a discussion of various policy options and their ramifications. But I think it's equally important. The writer, to put it mildly, is exactly the type of person you want teaching your kids. She is one of the finest individuals I've had the privilege to know and, as such, I listen when she talks about her experiences. Her experiences in an inner-city school were very different than mine in many ways, but the end result was the same: the school turned a devoted teacher into a dispirited former teacher. And our worst schools simply cannot afford to do that.
-Interesting piece on "snitching" here (hat tip: Gotham Schools). When taken to extremes, the whole "stop snitching" thing drives me batty -- and I let the kids know as such when I was teaching. But while I'm tempted to simply condemn the practice, I notice that few articles on it try and figure out why it started and why it exists. I don't think everybody has a well thought out rationalization for their refusal to snitch, nor does everybody refuse to share information for the same reason, but it seems overly simplistic to simply say that people don't snitch because they're bad, stupid, or scared. My best guess is that some segment of the population feels persecuted and/or distrusts authority. Listen to what students had to say and come up with your own explanation.
-Yesterday's Sunday Commentary is a little different than what you normally see on this blog in that it's more of an emotional response to their experiences than it is a discussion of various policy options and their ramifications. But I think it's equally important. The writer, to put it mildly, is exactly the type of person you want teaching your kids. She is one of the finest individuals I've had the privilege to know and, as such, I listen when she talks about her experiences. Her experiences in an inner-city school were very different than mine in many ways, but the end result was the same: the school turned a devoted teacher into a dispirited former teacher. And our worst schools simply cannot afford to do that.
-Interesting piece on "snitching" here (hat tip: Gotham Schools). When taken to extremes, the whole "stop snitching" thing drives me batty -- and I let the kids know as such when I was teaching. But while I'm tempted to simply condemn the practice, I notice that few articles on it try and figure out why it started and why it exists. I don't think everybody has a well thought out rationalization for their refusal to snitch, nor does everybody refuse to share information for the same reason, but it seems overly simplistic to simply say that people don't snitch because they're bad, stupid, or scared. My best guess is that some segment of the population feels persecuted and/or distrusts authority. Listen to what students had to say and come up with your own explanation.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Did you know that half of pro football players and 21% of pro basketball players have college degrees? I assume that baseball and hockey are lower due to the high number of people drafted out of high school in the former and the high number of people playing in junior leagues in the latter. Perhaps more striking is that 60% of pro basketball players are broke within 5 years of retiring -- and the number might be even higher for pro football players. So if you have any kids in your class who refuse to try in school b/c they're going to be a rich and famous pro athlete, you might want to let them know that that's even less likely than they might think.
-Some completely unsurprising (but still important) statistics regarding education and crime. 16 to 24 year-olds that drop out of high school are 47 times more likely to be incarcerated at any given moment than are those who have completed a 4 year college degree. Of course, even the most enthusiastic education advocate will understand that this is at least as much due to who drops out and who completes college as it is to how much more education helps.
-I really wish that charter school advocates would stop claiming that the recent report proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that charter schools are the best invention since sliced bread. The report provides important evidence, but it still leaves a number of unanswered questions (not to mention that it only covers one city).
-Keep your eyes open for a special piece on Sunday that answers the question "should we educate poor kids differently" from another angle.
-Some completely unsurprising (but still important) statistics regarding education and crime. 16 to 24 year-olds that drop out of high school are 47 times more likely to be incarcerated at any given moment than are those who have completed a 4 year college degree. Of course, even the most enthusiastic education advocate will understand that this is at least as much due to who drops out and who completes college as it is to how much more education helps.
-I really wish that charter school advocates would stop claiming that the recent report proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that charter schools are the best invention since sliced bread. The report provides important evidence, but it still leaves a number of unanswered questions (not to mention that it only covers one city).
-Keep your eyes open for a special piece on Sunday that answers the question "should we educate poor kids differently" from another angle.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Principals in Philadelphia will now be judged, in part, on how many students eat breakfast at their school. While I applaud the effort to both make sure kids don't come to school hungry and make somebody accountable for the program, I can't fathom how this is going to work. What happens when kids eat at home? Will principals be punished for that? How will they avoid incentivizing principals to encourage bad parenting ("don't feed your kids breakfast: we'll take care of it")?
-Alexander Hoffman has kicked off what looks to be an excellent series on the utility of standards (especially national standards) in schools. I think I know how I'd like to respond, but I'll wait for part 6 to see if he covers my objection to his argument (so far) or not.
-Kevin Carey wonders why researchers refuse to acknowledge which institution or city they studied when it's blatantly obvious to any reader. Personally, I blame overly sensitive Institutional Review Boards, but there may be a more complex reason.
-Alexander Russo has a somewhat interesting table of past and current educational trends. Though I'm not sure all of the things he mentions in the "then" column are really in the past.
-Alexander Hoffman has kicked off what looks to be an excellent series on the utility of standards (especially national standards) in schools. I think I know how I'd like to respond, but I'll wait for part 6 to see if he covers my objection to his argument (so far) or not.
-Kevin Carey wonders why researchers refuse to acknowledge which institution or city they studied when it's blatantly obvious to any reader. Personally, I blame overly sensitive Institutional Review Boards, but there may be a more complex reason.
-Alexander Russo has a somewhat interesting table of past and current educational trends. Though I'm not sure all of the things he mentions in the "then" column are really in the past.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Here's a handy little post with some graphs of SAT scores by income. I was actually more interested in the comments than in the post. I guess I know I've been spending too much time in the Ivory Tower when I'm surprised at how surprised some people are by the strong correlation between income and SAT scores. On the other hand, I'm possibly more surprised by how some people seemed to toss aside the differences as though they were nothing. If you look at a chart of SAT percentiles, you'll see that the differences in SAT reading scores between the lowest and highest income brackets translate into the 27th and 70th percentiles on the test. That seems like a huge difference to me -- especially considering that those are the average scores for students coming from families in those income brackets.
-Since economics was one of my undergrad majors, I've had somewhat of an affinity for thinking like an economist. At the same time, the further I progress in my studies the stupider some of the assumptions economists make seem to me. When I started reading this post about thinking like an economist, I thought it was going to be a cute little example of it can be a good thing. And then I got to the end, where he says "When a friend asks me to help them move, I write them a check to pay professional movers instead. It’s just more efficient," and remembered why economists frustrate me sometimes. Helping somebody move isn't really about doing what's most efficient -- it's about helping out your friend(s). Aiming for efficiency can do a lot of good, but sometimes it's ok to just relax and enjoy life.
-The NY Times has a strongly-worded editorial today praising the Race to the Top funding calling it "indefensible" for unions to block tying student achievement to performance ratings for teachers. Part of me agrees. I think it's inevitable that this is going to happen, and the unions should focus on implementing a good system rather than just fighting it. On the other hand, it's also indefensible to imply that tying student achievement to performance ratings is a panacea. For three main reasons:
1.) Only about 1/3 of teachers teach a subject that is on a state test
2.) Given measurement errors, poorly formulated tests, etc. value-added and gain score measures are still highly unreliable. One recent study found a correlation of .2 between teachers scores from year to year (that's really low for you non-mathematicians)
3.) Even if we can measure growth in student achievement accurately, we're not all that sure exactly what it means. So the kid got better at taking the 6th grade state math test . . . and?
-I'm wondering exactly what bar we need to set before we declare a policy a success. Martin West says the results of a study on the NYC principals academy "suggests [the program] is yielding positive results." FYI, the study found a gain of .06 SD in math, and no gain in English test scores for principals of schools who graduated from the academy. To me, that seems utterly meaningless -- which means that we should evaluate the principals academy on some other grounds. Especially considering all the methodological problems involved with evaluating the program.
-Since economics was one of my undergrad majors, I've had somewhat of an affinity for thinking like an economist. At the same time, the further I progress in my studies the stupider some of the assumptions economists make seem to me. When I started reading this post about thinking like an economist, I thought it was going to be a cute little example of it can be a good thing. And then I got to the end, where he says "When a friend asks me to help them move, I write them a check to pay professional movers instead. It’s just more efficient," and remembered why economists frustrate me sometimes. Helping somebody move isn't really about doing what's most efficient -- it's about helping out your friend(s). Aiming for efficiency can do a lot of good, but sometimes it's ok to just relax and enjoy life.
-The NY Times has a strongly-worded editorial today praising the Race to the Top funding calling it "indefensible" for unions to block tying student achievement to performance ratings for teachers. Part of me agrees. I think it's inevitable that this is going to happen, and the unions should focus on implementing a good system rather than just fighting it. On the other hand, it's also indefensible to imply that tying student achievement to performance ratings is a panacea. For three main reasons:
1.) Only about 1/3 of teachers teach a subject that is on a state test
2.) Given measurement errors, poorly formulated tests, etc. value-added and gain score measures are still highly unreliable. One recent study found a correlation of .2 between teachers scores from year to year (that's really low for you non-mathematicians)
3.) Even if we can measure growth in student achievement accurately, we're not all that sure exactly what it means. So the kid got better at taking the 6th grade state math test . . . and?
-I'm wondering exactly what bar we need to set before we declare a policy a success. Martin West says the results of a study on the NYC principals academy "suggests [the program] is yielding positive results." FYI, the study found a gain of .06 SD in math, and no gain in English test scores for principals of schools who graduated from the academy. To me, that seems utterly meaningless -- which means that we should evaluate the principals academy on some other grounds. Especially considering all the methodological problems involved with evaluating the program.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Flypaper has a piece on the startling drop in enrollment in traditional public schools in Washington D.C. (down 17% from last spring). It seems enrollment is at 37,000 right now compared to a little over 44K last year. Apparently everybody is leaving city schools for charter schools. Except for one little detail that the Washington Post reports: not everybody enrolls on the first day of school. In fact, last year at this time enrollment stood at 15,000. I'm not going to pretend to know whether or not 7,000 more students will enroll before the Oct. 1st deadline (deadline for funding purposes, that is), but I think I'd wait a couple weeks before panicking if I were running the D.C. schools.
Besides, the more interesting part of the piece (to me, anyway) is why enrollment has surged from 15K to 37K. Not only was the start of enrollment moved up a couple months, but principals have been hosting BBQs and recruiting parents at other community events. I've always wondered exactly how traditional public schools would respond to competition from charter schools. It seems that this might be one way D.C. has chosen to respond. Of course, for the good of society I think we'd hope they're response would to make their schools better. But maybe BBQs are a first step in that direction.
-Tennessee has had one of the more restrictive charter school laws in the country. It's my understanding that only students who fail state tests or attend schools deemed in need of improvement are eligible to enroll in charter schools. And we have relatively few of them here. But of those few, one has had trouble dropping kids off on time (9pm one night), and another is now on academic probation for low test scores (story here). I was told a while back that the KIPP here is one of the lowest performing in the country -- I have absolutely no evidence to present of this, it's simply what I heard from somebody who volunteered there. And I can't help but wonder if severely limiting who can enroll in charters in this manner makes it much more difficult for charters to succeed. Given that these are the kids that charter laws are supposed to help, that would be somewhat troubling.
-the SAT results are being parsed, and it doesn't look good for anybody who was hoping to see a shrinking achievement gap. Aaron Pallas points out that the average Asian student in NYC outscores the average Black student in NYC by 151 points in math and Whites outscore Hispanics by 108 points in writing. Elsewhere, Checker Finn argues that the lack of closure in the gap between students of different races and socioeconomic statuses means that reform hasn't yet penetrated high schools. I think there's more to it than that, but most of the recent reform has been focused on grades 3-8.
Besides, the more interesting part of the piece (to me, anyway) is why enrollment has surged from 15K to 37K. Not only was the start of enrollment moved up a couple months, but principals have been hosting BBQs and recruiting parents at other community events. I've always wondered exactly how traditional public schools would respond to competition from charter schools. It seems that this might be one way D.C. has chosen to respond. Of course, for the good of society I think we'd hope they're response would to make their schools better. But maybe BBQs are a first step in that direction.
-Tennessee has had one of the more restrictive charter school laws in the country. It's my understanding that only students who fail state tests or attend schools deemed in need of improvement are eligible to enroll in charter schools. And we have relatively few of them here. But of those few, one has had trouble dropping kids off on time (9pm one night), and another is now on academic probation for low test scores (story here). I was told a while back that the KIPP here is one of the lowest performing in the country -- I have absolutely no evidence to present of this, it's simply what I heard from somebody who volunteered there. And I can't help but wonder if severely limiting who can enroll in charters in this manner makes it much more difficult for charters to succeed. Given that these are the kids that charter laws are supposed to help, that would be somewhat troubling.
-the SAT results are being parsed, and it doesn't look good for anybody who was hoping to see a shrinking achievement gap. Aaron Pallas points out that the average Asian student in NYC outscores the average Black student in NYC by 151 points in math and Whites outscore Hispanics by 108 points in writing. Elsewhere, Checker Finn argues that the lack of closure in the gap between students of different races and socioeconomic statuses means that reform hasn't yet penetrated high schools. I think there's more to it than that, but most of the recent reform has been focused on grades 3-8.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Very clever piece in the Miller-McCune magazine (hat tip: idea of the day blog) about evaluating schools based on how the boys' bathrooms look, along with other qualitative measures. The author says he relies mostly on test scores to judge schools, but it seems to me that he can learn more about them from the measures he mentions. In addition to looking at bathrooms, he looks for these indicators (and a number of others):
• Classroom windows and/or the vertical slits on school doors are covered over with dark construction paper. Trust me, it's seldom for purely decorative purposes.
• Students continually ask, "Will this be on the test?" (The unstated premise: "If not, we'll just ignore it.")
• Adults frequently YELL belittling language. Or: Like a restaurant with bad acoustics, the school's overall sound quality —whether too loud or too quiet — is just downright unpalatable.
• Administrators are unwilling to let credentialed visitors roam. Instead, they insist on "giving a tour" of the usual, safe suspects.
My school would have failed all of these miserably. We actually kept the bathrooms locked -- students had to ask a teacher for a key to get access (or wait by the door for another kid to come out). And only a handful of teachers had keys. Even so, they were a disaster. The janitor was constantly pulling all sorts of things out of the toilets.
-I noticed this piece in the NY Times Science section last week on how the brain deals with stress. There's new research that finds that "chronically stressed rats lost their elastic rat cunning and instead fell back on familiar routines and rote responses, like compulsively pressing a bar for food pellets they had no intention of eating." There's already research showing that living in poverty creates stress that has multiple negative implications for people. Maybe this is another reason that kids from low SES background perform so poorly in school. "Robert Sapolsky, a neurobiologist who studies stress at Stanford University School of Medicine, said, 'This is a great model for understanding why we end up in a rut, and then dig ourselves deeper and deeper into that rut.'"
-Among other things that the Race to the top funds don't take into account are what types of punishments states allow. In case you weren't aware, 20 states still allow corporal punishment. I have to say that I didn't find the idea of corporal punishment nearly as distasteful while I was teaching as I did before I started, but my sense is that it's neither appropriate nor conducive to a good school environment. Though, of course, an out of control school isn't helping anybody either.
• Classroom windows and/or the vertical slits on school doors are covered over with dark construction paper. Trust me, it's seldom for purely decorative purposes.
• Students continually ask, "Will this be on the test?" (The unstated premise: "If not, we'll just ignore it.")
• Adults frequently YELL belittling language. Or: Like a restaurant with bad acoustics, the school's overall sound quality —whether too loud or too quiet — is just downright unpalatable.
• Administrators are unwilling to let credentialed visitors roam. Instead, they insist on "giving a tour" of the usual, safe suspects.
My school would have failed all of these miserably. We actually kept the bathrooms locked -- students had to ask a teacher for a key to get access (or wait by the door for another kid to come out). And only a handful of teachers had keys. Even so, they were a disaster. The janitor was constantly pulling all sorts of things out of the toilets.
-I noticed this piece in the NY Times Science section last week on how the brain deals with stress. There's new research that finds that "chronically stressed rats lost their elastic rat cunning and instead fell back on familiar routines and rote responses, like compulsively pressing a bar for food pellets they had no intention of eating." There's already research showing that living in poverty creates stress that has multiple negative implications for people. Maybe this is another reason that kids from low SES background perform so poorly in school. "Robert Sapolsky, a neurobiologist who studies stress at Stanford University School of Medicine, said, 'This is a great model for understanding why we end up in a rut, and then dig ourselves deeper and deeper into that rut.'"
-Among other things that the Race to the top funds don't take into account are what types of punishments states allow. In case you weren't aware, 20 states still allow corporal punishment. I have to say that I didn't find the idea of corporal punishment nearly as distasteful while I was teaching as I did before I started, but my sense is that it's neither appropriate nor conducive to a good school environment. Though, of course, an out of control school isn't helping anybody either.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-By now you've probably heard that Philadelphia is planning a reality show where Tony Danza is a high school teacher. If I thought for a second that it would show what life is really like inside our urban schools, I would be all for it. But Stephen Lentz captures the likely outcome -- handpicked students, special treatment, and an unrealistic view of what's actually happening -- nicely. Nancy Flanagan has a slightly different guess of what will be shown, pointing out that tv producers wanted to show drama, not great teaching, when they came to her school. That could happen as well, but I think the odds are in favor of them scripting a happy ending one way or another -- and that's often not a realistic view into the life of a first-year teacher in an urban school. Hopefully this show never happens, but if it does I hope we're all wrong about how it will play out.
-The NY Times has a set of opinions on the value of graduate degrees for teachers. It seems like everybody these days is willing to deride the value of ed schools or the utility of rewarding teachers for earning master's degrees from such worthless institutions (Martin Kozloff wins the award for the most derisive piece), but they did find a couple people to step up and defend the idea. As little as I gained from my experience in ed school, I'm still somewhat hesitant to decry all ed schools or the whole notion of rewarding teachers for furthering their education. Can't we find a way to reward teachers for attending programs that help them become better teachers?
-Speaking of rewarding teachers, I continue to be baffled by the fact that so many seem to think that merit pay is a simple undertaking. Even if we assume that standardized test scores are accurate, around 2/3 of teachers don't teach a tested subject. Test scores are going to play some sort of role (and probably a large one) in evaluation of teachers and schools for the foreseeable future, but I hope Sherman Dorn is right and that we're also developing evaluation models that take a myriad of factors into account.
-The NY Times has a set of opinions on the value of graduate degrees for teachers. It seems like everybody these days is willing to deride the value of ed schools or the utility of rewarding teachers for earning master's degrees from such worthless institutions (Martin Kozloff wins the award for the most derisive piece), but they did find a couple people to step up and defend the idea. As little as I gained from my experience in ed school, I'm still somewhat hesitant to decry all ed schools or the whole notion of rewarding teachers for furthering their education. Can't we find a way to reward teachers for attending programs that help them become better teachers?
-Speaking of rewarding teachers, I continue to be baffled by the fact that so many seem to think that merit pay is a simple undertaking. Even if we assume that standardized test scores are accurate, around 2/3 of teachers don't teach a tested subject. Test scores are going to play some sort of role (and probably a large one) in evaluation of teachers and schools for the foreseeable future, but I hope Sherman Dorn is right and that we're also developing evaluation models that take a myriad of factors into account.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Fascinating article on self-control in the New Yorker (hat tip: Alexander Russo). I still maintain that self-control is one of two major differences I noticed between successful and unsuccessful students while I was teaching. Of course, figuring out how to teach self-control has to be a lot harder than simply figuring out that kids with more of it do better.
-I'm going to hold off on more comments on the David Brooks/Promise Academy/Harlem Children's Zone/No Excuses debate until Sunday. A lot to think through on this.
-Was the "Obama Effect" real? A new study profiled in Newsweek says it might not have been (hat tip: GothamSchools). It should be noted that the new study was done only with only 119 pre-med students taking an MCAT section, and before the November election (but after the Democratic Convention). The authors plan to re-try the experiment soon.
-At some point a couple of weeks ago or so that chapter I helped write on supplemental educational services finally got published (ch. 33). Considering that I wrote the first two drafts in the spring of 2007, it seems like that was long overdue. I'm have distinctly mixed feelings about the way the final version turned out, but I guess you have to start somewhere. Considering the book is $295, I'm not holding my breath waiting for the publisher to send me a copy.
-I'm going to hold off on more comments on the David Brooks/Promise Academy/Harlem Children's Zone/No Excuses debate until Sunday. A lot to think through on this.
-Was the "Obama Effect" real? A new study profiled in Newsweek says it might not have been (hat tip: GothamSchools). It should be noted that the new study was done only with only 119 pre-med students taking an MCAT section, and before the November election (but after the Democratic Convention). The authors plan to re-try the experiment soon.
-At some point a couple of weeks ago or so that chapter I helped write on supplemental educational services finally got published (ch. 33). Considering that I wrote the first two drafts in the spring of 2007, it seems like that was long overdue. I'm have distinctly mixed feelings about the way the final version turned out, but I guess you have to start somewhere. Considering the book is $295, I'm not holding my breath waiting for the publisher to send me a copy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Can one "bad apple" ruin an entire classroom? Any teacher will tell you that they can. Robert Pondiscio reports on a pair of economists whose findings agree with this observation. I've speculated before about the potentially positive effects of expulsion, and this does little to change my mind.
-I'm not the only person flabbergasted by Brooks' piece on Friday. Claus Van Zastrow had a similar reaction ("What?!?") to the one I did. Diane Ravitch also thinks that Brooks learned the wrong lessons from the Promise Academy's success. Robert Pondiscio thinks Brooks should take some time to read Paul Tough's book that he recommended his readers check out. And a number of readers wrote letters to the editor that weren't exactly glowing.
-Speaking of Brooks' suggested reading, let me point out that I do agree with him that both Sweating the Small Stuff (my review here) and Whatever it Takes (I'll have some more thoughts on it in the next week or so) are both worthwhile reads. It's worth nothing that Brooks could've written nearly the exact column that he did referring only the schools in the former book and he wouldn't have been too out of line -- but I still can't get over his reaction to the success of the Promise Academy. I'd love to hear the reaction of Paul Tough and Geoffrey Canada to that column as well. And, while I'm thinking of it, Fordham but a free copy of Whitman's book online earlier this year -- I've lost the link, but I have the pdf if anybody is interested.
-I'm not the only person flabbergasted by Brooks' piece on Friday. Claus Van Zastrow had a similar reaction ("What?!?") to the one I did. Diane Ravitch also thinks that Brooks learned the wrong lessons from the Promise Academy's success. Robert Pondiscio thinks Brooks should take some time to read Paul Tough's book that he recommended his readers check out. And a number of readers wrote letters to the editor that weren't exactly glowing.
-Speaking of Brooks' suggested reading, let me point out that I do agree with him that both Sweating the Small Stuff (my review here) and Whatever it Takes (I'll have some more thoughts on it in the next week or so) are both worthwhile reads. It's worth nothing that Brooks could've written nearly the exact column that he did referring only the schools in the former book and he wouldn't have been too out of line -- but I still can't get over his reaction to the success of the Promise Academy. I'd love to hear the reaction of Paul Tough and Geoffrey Canada to that column as well. And, while I'm thinking of it, Fordham but a free copy of Whitman's book online earlier this year -- I've lost the link, but I have the pdf if anybody is interested.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-I've had another 24 hours to think about, and I still think that Brooks' op-ed was sloppy and irresponsible. And I still think that he owes his readers an apology. Actually, the more I think about it the more problems I see with it. To imply that the only important part of the Promise Academy's program is its "no excuses" approach is simply ridiculous. I'm going to take some time to comb back through both Tough's book and Dobbie and Fryer's working paper and will have some more thoughts on this on Wednesday or Thursday.
-I'm also annoyed at the generally sloppy reactions of many to the phasing out of the D.C. voucher program. I can see an argument for maintaining it, but the notion that the program has been proven to work is not one. Everyone needs to understand that the evaluation of the program found found decidedly mixed results. The normally reliable blog on American politics run by the Economist stumbled over this. Kevin Carey, meanwhile, raises a different and interesting argument -- that the voucher program was never going to grow large enough to transform education in the district.
-I always wondered what would happen to alt cert programs if the teacher shortage in high-poverty schools ended. NYC isn't looking to hire many people this year, and it seems much more willing to discourage traditionally certified applicants than it does TFA members or NYC Teaching Fellows. Meanwhile, would people lay off the teachers in the teaching reserve? Yes, some of them shouldn't be teaching anymore but a lot of them are there through no fault of their own. Encouraging principals to hire more of these teachers is long overdue.
-I have a backlog of posts I want to write, but my yardwork is coming along nicely. With a little help (ok, a lot of help) from friends, family, and contractors I expect my yard to look quite nice by the end of the month. I'll try to find time for some interesting and thoughtful posts to find during downtime.
-I'm also annoyed at the generally sloppy reactions of many to the phasing out of the D.C. voucher program. I can see an argument for maintaining it, but the notion that the program has been proven to work is not one. Everyone needs to understand that the evaluation of the program found found decidedly mixed results. The normally reliable blog on American politics run by the Economist stumbled over this. Kevin Carey, meanwhile, raises a different and interesting argument -- that the voucher program was never going to grow large enough to transform education in the district.
-I always wondered what would happen to alt cert programs if the teacher shortage in high-poverty schools ended. NYC isn't looking to hire many people this year, and it seems much more willing to discourage traditionally certified applicants than it does TFA members or NYC Teaching Fellows. Meanwhile, would people lay off the teachers in the teaching reserve? Yes, some of them shouldn't be teaching anymore but a lot of them are there through no fault of their own. Encouraging principals to hire more of these teachers is long overdue.
-I have a backlog of posts I want to write, but my yardwork is coming along nicely. With a little help (ok, a lot of help) from friends, family, and contractors I expect my yard to look quite nice by the end of the month. I'll try to find time for some interesting and thoughtful posts to find during downtime.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-No Sunday Commentary this week, I'm immersed in the final term paper of my grad school career.
-Maybe I was right when I speculated about the possibility of an Obama presidency reducing the achievement gap. A new poll out from the NY Times has the percentage of Blacks reporting that race relations in the country are generally good consistently around 30% the last couple decades (29% in July '08) and this month it's at 59%. A couple other interesting cross-tabs: 0% of Blacks disapprove of the way that Obama is handling his job, and from last July to now the percentage of Blacks who report thinking that the country is on the right track has risen from 3% to 70%. Full story on the poll here.
-This piece on how we should restructure universities is now the most e-mailed article on the NY Times website. I think he correctly diagnoses a lot of the problems, but am I the only who thought he went off the deep end when proposing some of his solutions?
-It continues to amaze me that people blindly quote from the Urban Institute's TFA study, apparently oblivious to its limitations. This is why it's really important for researchers to avoid making claims not backed up by their findings -- irresponsible research begets irresponsible journalism.
-I tend to be more caustic during finals time, so I'm going to stop there before I say something really mean.
-Maybe I was right when I speculated about the possibility of an Obama presidency reducing the achievement gap. A new poll out from the NY Times has the percentage of Blacks reporting that race relations in the country are generally good consistently around 30% the last couple decades (29% in July '08) and this month it's at 59%. A couple other interesting cross-tabs: 0% of Blacks disapprove of the way that Obama is handling his job, and from last July to now the percentage of Blacks who report thinking that the country is on the right track has risen from 3% to 70%. Full story on the poll here.
-This piece on how we should restructure universities is now the most e-mailed article on the NY Times website. I think he correctly diagnoses a lot of the problems, but am I the only who thought he went off the deep end when proposing some of his solutions?
-It continues to amaze me that people blindly quote from the Urban Institute's TFA study, apparently oblivious to its limitations. This is why it's really important for researchers to avoid making claims not backed up by their findings -- irresponsible research begets irresponsible journalism.
-I tend to be more caustic during finals time, so I'm going to stop there before I say something really mean.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-I've seen write-ups about the new study finding a link between poverty and working memory (the longer kids were in poverty they more stress they reported and the less working memory they had) all over the place. I think the write-up in the Economist is probably the best one I've seen. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any coverage that links to the actual article. I'll be tracking that down shortly and we'll see if I still think the Economist's coverage was good. Here's the article from the Washington Post as well. Update: Here's a link to the article abstract, and I believe anybody can open a pdf version of the full article from the site as well.
-Joseph Nye has an op-ed in the Washington Post expressing dismay that professors of political science are too busy writing about theory and methodology to actually examine real-world policy. Indeed, a friend of mine in a Poli Sci doctoral program says that those who examine public policy are shunned in the field. I suspect that Poli Sci professors are worse at this than in most fields, and that it matters more than in most fields, but the disconnect between academic research and the real world continues to frustrate me (though, to be fair, education policy is more connected to the real world than are the vast majority of academic fields).
-There's a point to my last blog post, I swear.
-Joseph Nye has an op-ed in the Washington Post expressing dismay that professors of political science are too busy writing about theory and methodology to actually examine real-world policy. Indeed, a friend of mine in a Poli Sci doctoral program says that those who examine public policy are shunned in the field. I suspect that Poli Sci professors are worse at this than in most fields, and that it matters more than in most fields, but the disconnect between academic research and the real world continues to frustrate me (though, to be fair, education policy is more connected to the real world than are the vast majority of academic fields).
-There's a point to my last blog post, I swear.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
Sorry for disappearing. Don't worry, I'm still alive -- I just got busy. I should be back in full swing next week. In the meantime, here are a few things that caught my eye.
-The NY Times has an interesting piece on ideology in medicine. I continue to wonder whether education research can ever truly be considered research or whether ideology will simply bias results. I always thought that research would be more reliable in fields like medicine and physics where there's little reason to take a rooting interest in a particular research outcome or to believe something works (or doesn't work) regardless of what the research says. According to David Neumann, I was wrong to believe that about medicine. He says that "The practice of medicine contains countless examples of elegant medical theories that belie the best available evidence."
-Meanwhile, a piece in Slate asks if you're hurting your local public schools by sending your kid to private school. Interesting question, easy answer -- of course you are. Unless, of course, your kid is some sort of detriment to their school (e.g. they have major behavioral problems). About 10% of students in the United States attend private schools. Would public schools improve if they didn't? Of course they would.
-In other news, the federal government has just announced grants of between $2.5 and $9 million dollars (a total of $150 million over five years) to 27 states to develop longitudinal data systems. On the one hand, this is good news. But, on the other, I have to wonder how much cheaper it would be for the DOE to develop one data system instead of paying states to develop 27.
-The NY Times has an interesting piece on ideology in medicine. I continue to wonder whether education research can ever truly be considered research or whether ideology will simply bias results. I always thought that research would be more reliable in fields like medicine and physics where there's little reason to take a rooting interest in a particular research outcome or to believe something works (or doesn't work) regardless of what the research says. According to David Neumann, I was wrong to believe that about medicine. He says that "The practice of medicine contains countless examples of elegant medical theories that belie the best available evidence."
-Meanwhile, a piece in Slate asks if you're hurting your local public schools by sending your kid to private school. Interesting question, easy answer -- of course you are. Unless, of course, your kid is some sort of detriment to their school (e.g. they have major behavioral problems). About 10% of students in the United States attend private schools. Would public schools improve if they didn't? Of course they would.
-In other news, the federal government has just announced grants of between $2.5 and $9 million dollars (a total of $150 million over five years) to 27 states to develop longitudinal data systems. On the one hand, this is good news. But, on the other, I have to wonder how much cheaper it would be for the DOE to develop one data system instead of paying states to develop 27.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Today's Random Thoughts
-Did you hear the news? People do better when they procrastinate (sometimes). Which means my dissertation is going to be awesome.
-When I saw the headline -- "5 myths about education" -- I was sure we were in for some sort of ridiculous rhetoric. Just as we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, I guess we can't judge an op-ed by its title. Kalman Hettleman actually offers up some good advice, rebutting a lot of the most common rhetoric we hear (plus it's pretty short, so it's definitely worth a read).
-In case you thought I hate charter schools, here's something good (I think) that many are doing -- finding innovative ways to reduce class size. Team-teaching and mentoring won't always work out, but these sound like some worthwhile ways to both develop junior teachers and give kids more attention.
-Here's one of those ideas that just seems like it will work no matter no matter how hard I try to convince myself that it would fail and/or raise large ethical concerns. Rather than creating magnet schools that draw the best students from traditional schools, this teacher says "What should have been done was to pull out the bottom ten percent." I really can't underscore how large of an impediment behavioral issues are in some schools, and it sure seems like this would help alleviate that (though who knows -- things never seem to work out as planned). What we do with the removed students, of course, raises huge issues.
-When I saw the headline -- "5 myths about education" -- I was sure we were in for some sort of ridiculous rhetoric. Just as we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, I guess we can't judge an op-ed by its title. Kalman Hettleman actually offers up some good advice, rebutting a lot of the most common rhetoric we hear (plus it's pretty short, so it's definitely worth a read).
-In case you thought I hate charter schools, here's something good (I think) that many are doing -- finding innovative ways to reduce class size. Team-teaching and mentoring won't always work out, but these sound like some worthwhile ways to both develop junior teachers and give kids more attention.
-Here's one of those ideas that just seems like it will work no matter no matter how hard I try to convince myself that it would fail and/or raise large ethical concerns. Rather than creating magnet schools that draw the best students from traditional schools, this teacher says "What should have been done was to pull out the bottom ten percent." I really can't underscore how large of an impediment behavioral issues are in some schools, and it sure seems like this would help alleviate that (though who knows -- things never seem to work out as planned). What we do with the removed students, of course, raises huge issues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)