It is about student achievement, right?
Well, one would hope.
Sadly, that doesn’t always (usually?) seem to be the case. From Detroit… Detroit News Editorial: “Detroit Federation of Teachers should make school district a model of change.“
In an editorial board interview this week, he noted that the current teacher contract has about 43,000 words in it — none of which includes the phrase “student achievement.”
Sad, but not entirely surprising.
The Editorial Board of the Detroit News adds, “That kind of contract must be replaced.”
And they’re absolutely right. Let’s put the focus back on the kids- and let’s expect them to succeed.
CNN reporter: “U.S. ‘Soviet-style’ education system not cutting it”
CNN Reporter Clark Howard reports:
Our educational system is essentially a Soviet-style government-run monopoly that could only be loved by the likes of Lenin and Stalin.
Now, I know that’s a strong opening statement, but consider this: The government decides where your kids go to school; what curriculum they’ll study; and even develops long-term educational plans just like the Communists devised five-year plans.This kind of “one-size-fits-all” approach really punishes kids.
We’ve said it before- trying to fit all kids in one model of education just doesn’t make a lot of sense. And the results are telling.
And the United States? We come in at No. 29 in science, No. 35 in math, and a recent U.S. reading score which wouldn’t even track in the top 10 countries in the world.
What do Sharpton, Gingrich and Duncan have in common?
Education. More specifically, education reform. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
…the Rev. Al Sharpton, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will put aside political differences and come together on a national tour of cities showing promise in reforming public schools.
…
Free workshops are scheduled with experts discussing charter schools, school choice, bullying, the slow-closing achievement gap between minorities and whites, graduation rates and other issues affecting students.
We’ve said it before, education reform isn’t about politics, it’s about kids. And while we certainly have some differences about the kinds of reforms that are needed, we applaud these three for pushing for much-needed education reforms, including school choice and charter schools.
“Charter Schools Don’t Hurt Traditional Schools”
A study conducted by the RAND Corporation looks at the impact of charter schools, and finds that charter schools do not negatively impact public schools.
From the Heartland Institute’s School Reform News:
A new study by the RAND Corporation found charter schools do not harm conventional public schools and charter students are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college than other public school children.
The study took a closer examination of the topic than any previously released, according to its authors. Researchers mapped the test scores and post-graduation achievement of millions of students at thousands of schools.
Of the findings:
* Charter schools are not “skimming the cream” of students, as some critics have worried. Students’ academic achievement was comparable to that of students at traditional public schools. Furthermore, demographics and racial/ethnic compositions also were comparable between the charter schools and the public schools the students had left.
* Traditional public schools are unharmed by charter growth. The research showed no effect, either positive or negative, on the academic achievement of nearby public school students’ performance as charter schools expanded into their districts.
