Matthew Di Carlo discusses an idea of correlating teacher value-added estimate with teachers' opinions of their colleagues.  It would have to carefully designed, and would probably require some financial investment. But I think it would be well worth it.

Kristina Costa discusses “What works” platforms, which are important and useful even without being perfect, but the federal government should be doing more to incentivize their use and to accelerate the creation and testing of evidence-based interventions in education and elsewhere.  In short, the government should evaluate and invest in programs that "work."

William Mathis discusses school choice in a Vermont op-ed.  When sweeping choice schemes are contemplated, however, an array of issues are raised that can inadvertently change the entire nature and purpose of education, and thus society – and not always for the common good.

http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT_Keefe_Compensation.htm

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2012/02/getting_real_about_turnarounds_1.html

David B. Cohen puts value-added teacher evaluations on trial.

Matthew Di Carlo discusses the various ways in which Charter Schools and Public Schools are often compared.  They do not, by themselves, suggest that we should open more charter schools any more than they suggest we should close charters and replace them with regular public schools.

Nancy Flanagan discusses teacher evaluations, their impact on administrator workloads, and her prediction that unreasonable mandates will force schools to opt for the cost effective manner of evaluating teachers (with test data and technology).

Amanda Paulson investigates the impact of Race to the Top legislation aimed at improving teacher evaluations.  Unfortunately, many administrators are drowning in a sea of paperwork.

Teacher Ken Bernstein discusses a recent article published by Rethinking Schools about "School to Prison Pipeline."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/29/1059598/-The-School-to-Prison-Pipeline

We shared the original article last week: http://www.truth-out.org/stop-school-prison-pipeline/1326636604

Nancy Flanagan addresses the cost of professional development and suggests that schools would be better to use their own talent to professionally develop their staff.  Why don't schools routinely tap their best teachers to organize and deliver custom-tailored professional development to their peers?

Kevin Welner, Director of the National Education Policy Center, announces a list of 64 researchers that was published by the NEPC.  "Our list is...for reporters who are seeking information about the quality of the research evidence relevant to a given policy."

Link to NEPC's List:
http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/researchers-as-resources

Stephen Sawchuk discusses two reports on teacher evaluation and professional development.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2012/01/reports_dont_forget_profession.html

Kevin Carey, policy director of Education Sector, discusses school choice.

Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, looks at outside factors that impact education that are often ignored by reformers. "Systems cannot improve if prescriptions rely on flawed diagnoses."

Even if you think the Obama administration’s signature education program, Race to the Top, will not help a single child in America learn more, you have to admire its bureaucratic magnificence.  It has had a major effect — reaching into most public schools in America — while costing the Obama administration next to nothing.

The Shanker Institute's Matthew Di Carlo responds to an Op-Ed published in the New York Daily News by former D.C Chancellor Michelle Rhee.  Her comments "cheapen[s] the debate and perpetuates a flawed understanding of the uses of data and research to inform policy. That benefits nobody, especially students."

Link to Rhee's Op-Ed in the New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/bloomberg-plan-offer-great-teachers-20-000-bonuses-city-schools-article-1.1007906

Policymakers and pundits are intrigued by the new value-added study released two weeks ago by Harvard and Columbia economists.  However, they are misreading and misusing the data in ways that they shouldn't.

Matthew Di Carlo discusses the rush to implement new ways of evaluating teachers and the limitations that exist in current research.

Diane Ravitch discusses the value-added study by Harvard and Columbia economists.  In this blog post from her Bridging Differences blog, she lists her comments and provides valuable links to access more information.

Michael Winerip discusses Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman's study on teacher value added, which was shared last week.  Winerip reveals that much of the data used in the study was based on data from the 1990s, which was before the high-stakes testing era and No Child Left Behind.

Rethinking Schools tackles the issue of the school-to-prison pipeline.  The school-to-prison pipeline begins in deep social and economic inequalities, and has taken root in the historic shortcomings of schooling in this country.

Dana Goldstein asks an important question about the largest-ever study of teachers’ “value-added” ratings.  Teachers matter.  Now what?

Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York, discusses the failures of current education policy.  The agenda to turn our public schools over to profiteers while destroying the professionalism of public educators becomes clearer every day.  With one voice we need to say, no more.  The time of playing school with scantrons must end.

Steve Kolowich takes a look at U.S. News and World Report's first-ever ranking of online college programs.

Bruce Baker outlines 6 things he’d like to see in education reform for 2012.  Baker, a self-describe critic of unproven education reforms wants to see a more research-based approach to education reform.

You can also find more information about Baker’s wish list here: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20120101/NJNEWS10/301010003

Illinois State professor Andrew Hartman takes a look at the impact of Teach for America on America’s schools.

“If we as teachers know that policy changes to testing and curriculum are detrimental to children, then why do we continue to exercise these changes in our classroom? Why do we ignore our own moral compass, our own judgment, in favor of policy simply because someone else tells us to?”

A front-page story in the New York Times highlights Washington’s new teacher evaluation system and merit pay.

Teacher blogger Anthony Cody discusses education reform in 2011.  This year, the gloves came off, as teachers faced unprecedented attacks on our right to collective bargaining, as well as continued attempts to tie our pay and job security to test scores.

The Scandinavian country is an education superpower because it values equality more than excellence.

There’s a strange dynamic going on inside the online education reform debate in which the well-funded reformers play the role of wimpy David and the scrappy traditional educators are Goliath.

The American Federation of Teachers and over 40 partners from business, foundations, non-profits and labor announced that they will lead an effort to bring educational improvement and brighter economic prospects to McDowell County, WV, one of the poorest areas in Appalachia.  Teacherken takes a closer look.

Eric Hanushek and Terry Moe, Hoover senior fellows and members of the K-12 Education Task Force, discuss Moe's recent book on teacher union power titled Special Interest.

The New York Times' Stephanie Saul takes on online charter schools.  Thought to be a panacea for school choice, many are finding that they aren't what they seem.

In the first of a series of articles, Scott Hiaasen and Kathleen McGrory investigate Florida’s charter school movement.  Charters in Florida have grown into $400-million-a-year powerhouse backed by real-estate developers and promoted by politicians, but with little oversight.

Guest written by Lisa Guisbond and Monty Neill of FairTest, the Answer Sheet blog takes on the common misuse of the term multiple measures in education reform today.

In the December 5 issue of the Nation, Lee Fang investigates the corporate take over of public schools by promoting an unproven education model for corporate gain.  "The rush to privatize education will also turn tens of thousands of students into guinea pigs in a national experiment in virtual learning—a relatively new idea that allows for-profit companies to administer public schools completely online, with no brick-and-mortar classrooms or traditional teachers."

http://educationnext.org/the-nation%E2%80%99s-online-learning-omission/

From the success of the Save Our Schools March, the emergence of Shanker Blog, and the decline of Michelle Rhee, Larry Ferlazzo takes on the best and worst in education.

Gail Collins discusses the growth of virtual education in public schools.

When approaches have been tried unsuccessfully over a couple of decades with less-than-stellar outcomes, we might expect the next policy, or at the very least the next “change,” to lean in a new direction. But the seemingly permanent wave of test-based accountability, privatization, and choice has managed to soar past its silver anniversary almost entirely unscathed by the depredations of time and evidence.

A new $50 million federal investment will help bring the program to more high-poverty schools—even as its results are mixed at best.

Diane Ravitch takes on for-profit online education providers.  "I find myself uncomfortable about the very idea of making a profit by providing public education. Isn't it—or shouldn't it be—a basic public service available to all at public expense?"

John Spencer writes about how the education reform movement is seeking solutions to problems that might not exist.  Instead of focusing on how bad our education system is or isn't, shouldn't we be thinking about possibilities?  "Possibilities allow us to build on what works rather than making blanket statements about how it's all failing."

Virtual schools are on the rise in this country, are they providing a high-quality educational experience?

As standards are reduced in Texas, more teachers are seeking their certificates through an online, for-profit alternative certification program, a nontraditional route to teaching that is becoming more common in Texas.

This blind faith in technology is extremely troubling at a time when the demand is for decisions that are evidence-based. But when the money to be made is so great, companies will not be deterred from lavishly spending on wooing legislators with their fairy tales. At some point even the most skeptical among them caves in. When that happens, another step is taken along the road to privatization.

There’s no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward more such teachers. But here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children’s education can also make a huge difference in a student’s achievement.

This week, Baker discusses the NJDOE waiver proposal to “reward” successful schools and sanction and/or takeover “failing” ones.  Baker claims that the right to "take over" schools enables states and agencies to experiment (using unproven methods) on minority and low income children.

Sparks discusses the role that Value-Added formulas have changed the dialog in teacher evaluations.

Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York, addresses problems in distinguishing fact from opinions in education reform.

The National Education Writers Association's Stephen Sawchuck prepares a brief on key research findings as they relate to teacher effectiveness.  The brief focuses on many of the truths and myths in education reform today.

Brief:http://www.ewa.org/site/DocServer/TeacherEffectiveness.final.pdf?docID=1981

Summary by Valerie Strauss - The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/research-doesnt-back-up-key-ed-reforms/2011/11/12/gIQAPRoWFN_blog.html

Shanker Blogger Matthew DiCarlo reviews The New Teacher Project's "fact sheet" on value-added measures.

Shanker Blog: http://shankerblog.org/?p=4170
TNTP Fact Sheet: http://tntp.org/files/TNTP_ValueAdded.pdf
NEPC Link: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/when-legend

Meier addresses the need for creative resistance to education reforms.   She reminds us of Ted Sizer's work, and that educational reforms should be to develop strong habits of mind that will sustain personal passions as well as the nation's passion for democracy.

Baker addresses the key challenges facing education schools as they prepare school leaders to be managers and research experts.  Because the knowledge for many administrators is limited, key education reforms are being watered down into easily digested material, often with inaccuracies.

Elden, a teacher, addresses the problems with current reforms and the need for teacher buy in.

Two new reports about public charter schools expose serious issues about the way they are run and their effectiveness

Arne Duncan addresses a study released by the American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation that claims that teachers are overpaid and under educated.

What would happen if one of the wealthiest men in the world decided to remake the institution of public education in America?  Blogger Anthony Cody takes a look at educational policies Bill Gates is funding.  Is Gates creating his own research to push his agenda on America's schools?

A new national study on the effectiveness of networks that operate charter schools finds overall that their middle school students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies aren’t significantly better than those of students in regular public schools.

Blogger Mike Klonsky discusses the impact of education cuts on schools, class-sizes, and public education.

Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author, discusses the problems associated with high-stakes standardized testing.

The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute have put out a report purporting to show that public school teachers are overpaid.

Although the United States spends more per student than any other country except Luxembourg, Marc Tucker explains why the U.S. K-12 education system doesn't add up and cautions, “We cannot fire our way to a world-class teaching force.”

The University of Michigan unveiled a new organization that will help teacher-training programs—and the teacher-education field in general—develop a more systematic approach to preparing their candidates.

As an increasing number of cash-strapped states turn to virtual schools — where computers replace classmates and students learn via the Internet — a new study is raising questions about their quality and oversight.

Mark Phillips, professor of secondary education at San Francisco State University, discusses a new book by Pasi Sahlberg, the leading scholar on Finland's education system.

Schools have a lot to learn from business about how to improve performance, say Bill and Melinda Gates

Stan Karp, director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center and an editor of the 25-year-old Rethinking Schools magazine, discusses the thinking behind the education reform movement.

So despite the clear failure of NCLB as effective public policy, why does the philosophy behind that policy still have such a strong grip at our leadership levels? Jeff Bryant explores the economic philosophy behind the market reforms destroying public education.

Retired educator, now blogger, Nancy Flanagan discusses how tests can be used to actually improve educational practices.  Appropriate tests are tightly linked to what was taught, and used to inform instruction, rather than sorting and ranking students or punishing their teachers.

Ravitch discusses blogger Gary Rubinstein's debunking of miracle school claims by education reformers and policy makers.  The message is don't believe the hype!

To put it bluntly, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) should stop focusing exclusively on the "Three R's" (reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic), and should focus much more on the Four C's: Creativity, Complexity, Curiosity, and Collaboration. Without a solid grasp on these, we are not preparing students to be meaningful contributors in the current and future world. Ironically, by focusing on the basics, NCLB is increasing the gap between students' abilities to be successful, not decreasing them.

Ravitch discusses two major reports released in spring 2011 that showed what a risky and foolish path the United States has embarked upon.

Jay Mathews discusses a report released by the University of Michigan which finds: "enrollment in selective colleges has become a horse race in which wealthier students always remain at the head of the pack."  Despite the recent gains made by low-income students, wealthy students still have the upper hand.

Ferlazzo begins his blog with a question: "What are the major critiques of standardized tests and what are alternatives to them?"  He then invites education gurus David Berliner and Yong Zhao to help him answer the question.  Zhao concludes: "regardless of the technical improvements we make, high-stakes standardized testing cannot shake off the collateral damage that is too great for any benefits it may bring."

Baker takes a closer look at the Department of Education's plan to grade teacher colleges based on student outcomes.  Baker declares that it is not only irresponsible to use this data for this reason, the information is invalid and unreliable.

Phi Delta Kappan investigates data on Teach for America.  The revolving door transfer of teachers from the schools that most need skilled, experienced teachers remains a serious problem.

Newport, a retired teacher and principal, explains his evolution of thinking about teaching.  "The most important work in public education occurs in the classroom between teachers and kids. It’s not easy work."

Bruce Baker examines the Department of Education's plan to rate schools of education based on test scores.  In a speech last week, Arne Duncan spoke "of the need to crack down on those god-awful schools of education that keep churning out teachers who don't get sufficient value-added out of their students."

Welner and Burris discuss the role that educators can play in informing policymakers with research, solid evidence.

Teachers' unions are often portrayed by their opponents as standing in the way of efforts to reform our schools. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing.

Even those who support VAM don’t support the use of names.  “If we listened to those who know, the current national "reform" movement would wither and disappear.”

Teacher blogger Anthony Cody discusses the confusing statements being made by Melinda Gates at Education Nation.

Collaboration is needed in school reform.  The problem with schools isn't teachers; it's a management system that pushes them aside.  In education as in industry, progress toward quality will require collaboration among administrators, teachers and their unions.

Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, discusses the value and limitations of standardized testing.  "There is also the question of whether any standardized test is adequate or needed to evaluate certain sorts of student learning."

Teachers should be a priority.  Education remains the trickiest part of attempts to reform the public sector. But as ever more countries embark on it, some vital lessons are beginning to be learned.

Just who will fund these reforms?  As budgets across the United States are tightened, can states, districts continue to fund education reforms?  Many are abandoning programs, not do to lack of research, but lack of resources.

Tough tackles character education and the concept of students needing hardships to “overcome” – and parents protecting their children has robbed kids of the need to overcome failures and mistakes.

A response to Tough's article--http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/09/paul_toughs_new_york_times.html

Gardner, a proponent of school choice, asks the question: What happens when there are too many choices available to parents? Not enough choice is a problem, but too many choices complicate the issue and create information overload.

New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Daniel Pink discusses motivation and how it relates to student education experiences.

Some parents and education experts believe the free schools programme has failed to raise standards and caused segregation.

Pechthalt and Kocivar address inadequate funding as a central issue missing to be able to provide a quality education; placing an entire generation at risk.

EPI’s Richard Rothstein questions why more policy isn’t focused on confronting poverty and practical programs that could improve children’s ability to flourish in school.

*Here's the link to the original article from Ravitch: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2011/08/16/lifestyle/features/american-schools-crisis.html

Charles Blow celebrates "a group that is often maligned: teachers."

Bruce Baker makes the case that neither VAM nor student growth percentile are accurate ways to measure teacher or school quality.

Smithsonian Magazine tackles the success of Finland's schools.

Jamie Vollmer discusses the need for all stakeholders to work together and share in school accountability.

David Moshman discusses the importance of teacher tenure.

Laura Clawson shares her thoughts on Freddie deBoer's piece: "Why should government subsidize choices that don’t work?" and investigates the single-minded approach of several prominent education reformers and the lack of research to back of charter school claims.*Heres the link to the original article: http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/08/24/why-should-government-subsidize-choices-that-dont-work/

David Cantor discusses President Obama's state of the union and student achievement.  Who is responsible for student achievement?  Parents, teachers, administrators?  As policymakers, education wonks, education activists, and politicians once again tackle this question, they need to keep in mind this sense of frustration that those we depend upon to implement changes are feeling.