Fifty years ago next week, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech to 250,000 people in Washington D.C. It remains one of the greatest speeches in American history, offering a sweeping vision of hope and equal opportunity in the midst of so much fear and[Read More…]
Tag: achievement gaps
Study: Students in faith-based schools have academic edge over public school peers
For many school choice supporters, enrollment growth across many sectors is reason to cheer. But new research may give policymakers pause about whether they’re pursuing the options that result in the best academic outcomes. William Jeynes, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, and a senior fellow at the[Read More…]
Florida roundup: charter school politics, teaching to the test, school safety & more
Teaching to the test. The FEA is rallying members to a petition started by UFS Professor/blogger Sherman Dorn. Gradebook. Charter schools. In a vote along party lines, the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee approves a bill that would allow charter schools to move into unused district buildings. redefinED. Coverage also from the[Read More…]
Education Week: Florida public schools rank No. 6 in education quality
For the fifth year in a row, Florida’s public school system ranks among the best in the country, according to the latest annual analysis by Education Week. Released this morning, the highly anticipated “Quality Counts” report puts Florida at No. 6 among states this year, trailing only Maryland, Massachusetts, New[Read More…]
redefinED roundup: Tony Bennett in Florida, voucher parents in Louisiana, charters in Washington & more
Florida: Tony Bennett is selected the state’s new education commissioner (redefinED). He tells reporters afterwards that he champions school choice first and foremost because of the social justice component (redefinED). A new group headed by T. Willard Fair, co-founder of the state’s first charter school, aims to create a pipeline[Read More…]
Florida roundup: Teacher evals, vocabulary gaps, ed reform pileup & more
More on teacher evaluations. Problems with teacher evaluation data this week are the latest in a string of mistakes involving the DOE, writes Gradebook. Lower-profile reports are dogged with inconsistencies, too, though it’s not always the state’s fault, notes StateImpact Florida. Ultimately, the revised numbers released Thursday aren’t much different[Read More…]
Florida roundup: Teacher evaluations, boundary jumpers, Marco Rubio & more
Teacher evaluations. Errors mar the release of new teacher evaluation data. Coverage from Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Florida Times Union, Lakeland Ledger. More on race-based achievement goals. NPR interviews Emily Richmond from the Education Writers Association about these goals in Florida and elsewhere.[Read More…]
Florida education leader: No Child Left Behind is a “colossal failure”
The decade-old No Child Left Behind Act is the epitome of top-down ed reform, and in some ways it parallels Florida’s test-heavy accountability system for public schools. So it was noteworthy today when one of Florida’s top education leaders referred to it in less than glowing terms. Florida Board of[Read More…]