Ph.D.'s turn toward public schools

November 14, 2002

In a tough job market, people with doctorates in other disciplines are seeking employment in K-12 education, trading the high-wire uncertainties of university teaching for the stability of public school tenure. While their numbers are still small - about 1.7 percent of teachers held doctorates in subjects other than education as of 1996 - they are believed to be growing. This could bode well for public education, though private schools also attract many such professionals who are reluctant to jump through the teacher-certification hoops. "Scholars in a teenage wasteland," by Brian Hanson-Harding, The New York Times, November 10, 2002

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Ph.D.'s turn toward public schools

Post-election policy watch

November 14, 2002

While pundits dissect last week's election results - two-thirds of all education measures on the ballot were approved - policymakers sweat over where to find the money for smaller classes, after-school programs, school construction and, in Florida, universal preschool. Faced with big deficits, states will be hard-pressed to fund such popular but pricey programs - some in the tens of billions range - without unwelcome tax hikes and painful policy tradeoffs. But it's not just budget priorities that stand to change. With power shifting in the U.S. Senate, expect to see heightened emphasis on results and accountability - not just funding - in upcoming reauthorization battles over special ed and higher ed. Although Republican leaders say they don't expect to re-open the No Child Left Behind Act, they may seek to expand its testing and school choice provisions. Meanwhile, GOP gains in state legislatures have given vouchers a "second wind," or so says The Wall Street Journal.

"62% of measures win approval," by John Ritter, USA Today, November 7, 2002; "The Education Election," by Tamar Lewin, The New York Times, November 10, 2002; "GOP Foresees Expansion of Party Themes on Education," by Diana Jean Schemo, The New York Times, November 10, 2002; and "Republicans' Election Gains Give Vouchers Second Wind," by Robert Tomsho, The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2002 (subscribers only)

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Post-election policy watch

Raising standards in Massachusetts is a group effort

November 14, 2002

As Massachusetts high school students who failed the MCAS gear up for re-tests, schools must "get smarter" about developing ways to help them pass, quote the Globe in a recent editorial. Educators should teach beyond the test, not only by arming students with lessons in English and math, but also analyzing test question patterns, identifying curricular weaknesses and sharing teaching methods that work. Bay State education leaders must also publicize the most effective practices. West Roxbury High School has followed the Globe's prescription with success, raising its MCAS achievement dramatically. Will other schools follow suit? "Improving on the MCAS," editorial, The Boston Globe, November 12, 2002

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Raising standards in Massachusetts is a group effort

Texas charter schools to close for poor academic performance

November 14, 2002

Texas education commissioner Felipe Alanis has ordered five charter schools in the Lone Star State (including two in Houston) to close by the end of the school year because they have failed for three years in a row to meet state standards. The closures would be the first to occur for purely academic reasons since the legislature authorized charters in 1995. We call this a belated sign of a healthy accountability system. "State to shut 2 other local charter schools," by Rad Sallee and Melanie Markley, Houston Chronicle, November 7, 2002

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Texas charter schools to close for poor academic performance

Top Chicago schools fail to close achievement gap, new analysis reveals

November 14, 2002

An analysis of new Illinois data revealed "startling disparities" between test scores of white and black students at some of the Chicago area's most esteemed suburban schools. Masked by strong average scores in years past, the disparities were forced to light by NCLB's mandate that schools disaggregate their performance data by race, income, etc. The new data, which come as a shock to many who are "unaccustomed to seeing their schools cast in such a poor light," are Exhibit A in the case for a rigorous system of standards, testing and accountability for all schools. "Scores reveal surprise gap," by Stephanie Banchero and Darnell Little, Chicago Tribune, November 13, 2002

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Top Chicago schools fail to close achievement gap, new analysis reveals

What works?

November 14, 2002

Sunday's New York Times Magazine contained a brace of insightful pieces by crack journalist James Traub. "Does it Work?" explores the tension between education practitioners who prize "a priori beliefs about the way children ought to learn [and] about the relative value of different kinds of knowledge," and those at the Education Department and on Capitol Hill who seek to mandate the use of "scientifically based research" by U.S. schools. No Child Left Behind, writes Traub, may mark a turning point in the battle; classroom practices will henceforth have to meet explicit criteria to prove they "work" in order to qualify for federal grants. His second piece, "Success for Some," casts a skeptical though not unfriendly eye upon three prominent whole-school reform models - Success for All, Accelerated Schools and Core Knowledge - which represent the scripted, progressive and traditional approaches to classroom transformation. Created to assess evidence of scientific effectiveness, the Bush administration's newly minted "What Works Clearinghouse" will devote much time and treasure to examining such models. See "Does it work?" and "Success for Some."

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What works?

Yale, Stanford drop early decision

November 14, 2002

Yale and Stanford universities last week became the most elite campuses to end the early decision process, whereby successful applicants must accept offers of admission months ahead of schedule, no matter where else they are eventually accepted. Besides devaluing the senior year of high school, an effect noted by Diane Ravitch and others [see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=76#1073], early decision can harm low-income students by wiping out their leverage in negotiating financial aid packages. Both schools plan to adopt an "early action" system in which early applicants are notified of but not bound to accept admission. "Yale, Stanford abolish early decision process," by Jay Mathews, The Washington Post, November 7, 2002

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Yale, Stanford drop early decision

Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2002

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 14, 2002

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
2002

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has turned into a valuable source of comparative international education data. Its latest 376-page update is chockablock with important information, too much of which signals trouble for the United States. When it comes to high school graduation, for example, 9 OECD countries now surpass us. Checking rates of entry into university-style postsecondary education, we see a similar pattern. It was once the case that, while other countries outpaced the U.S. in the quality of their education programs, we led the world in quantity, especially in number of years of schooling. That's still true among the older population (e.g. we have the greater percentage of high school graduates in the 55-64 year old cohort) but no longer among the young. This OECD report also addresses dozens of other issues, including literacy, math and science attainments among 15 year olds - the U.S. is middling here - and a wide variety of gauges of education investments, outcomes and rates of return. There are also data on teacher-student ratios - the U.S. is again near the middle - and school policies and resources. Though often presented in dense tables and laborious prose, this report contains a trove of information that any serious policy wonk will want close at hand. You can order a (pricey $49) hard copy at http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/1110332108/Product/View/962002031P1 or download a (bulky but free) version by surfing

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Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2002

Homeowners, Property Values, and the Political Economy of the School Voucher

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 14, 2002

Eric Brunner and Jon Sonstelie, National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
October 2002

This "occasional paper" by Eric Brunner of San Diego State University and Jon Sonstelie of the University of California at Santa Barbara is number 56 in the LONG series emerging from the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education. Based on an analysis of who voted for and against California's voucher referendum in 2000, the authors conclude that homeowners without children probably base their stance toward vouchers on their defense of property values. Which is to say, childless homeowners in neighborhoods with good public schools are more apt to oppose vouchers because vouchers would be more apt to depress their property values, inasmuch as they would (presumably) reduce the demand for high-quality public schools. Conversely, homeowners in areas with bad public schools are more apt to favor vouchers. The authors suggest that this may be why it's so difficult to enact voucher programs in the U.S. It's an interesting argument - a tantalizing complement to Tom Nechyba's suggestion that vouchers would lead to greater residential integration because education-minded families would become more apt to buy homes in lower-priced neighborhoods. Still, it's the sort of analysis that only an economist could do with a straight face, because it assumes that economic self-interest is the dominant consideration in everybody's decisions about everything and it ignores the possibility that selflessness, civic-mindedness, or concern

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Homeowners, Property Values, and the Political Economy of the School Voucher

Leaving Safe Harbors: Toward a new progressivism in American education and public life

Terry Ryan / November 14, 2002

Dennis Carlson
2002

This book intrigues and infuriates. Author Dennis Carlson exposes the reader to big ideas that span human history, admirably explaining, for instance, the significance of Plato's "cave analogy" in The Republic. That analogy, he writes, is a dichotomy between knowing and knowledge, logos and mythos, which in turn is the basis for the two primary views of education - progressive and traditional. He also explores the work of such other major thinkers as Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Saint Augustine. But his book - billed by the publisher as a "tour de force" - is also dangerous because it's filled with contradiction, faulty analysis, and political bias. In typical progressivist fashion, Carlson laments that today's students spend too much time learning facts, and not enough on developing new knowledge. He spends much time espousing radical leftist theories, decrying the "dominant hegemonic order," and commending such outrages as 1999's lawless anti-globalism protests in Seattle. Building on a synthesis of philosophy and trends in current affairs and economics, Carlson seeks to construct a new progressivism. But his model veers far left of many progressive educators. The extent of his fanaticism becomes obvious when readers encounter statements that run counter to all research and conventional wisdom, such as this one: "Conservative professors still outnumber progressive professors on most campuses, and especially in liberal arts institutions; and conservative professors have, more than progressives, engaged in 'indoctrinating' students into accepting a 'correct' truth about the world.

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Leaving Safe Harbors: Toward a new progressivism in American education and public life

The Miseducation of Women

Krista Kafer / November 14, 2002

James Tooley
September 2002

Recently published in the U.S., a new book by the University of Newcastle's James Tooley is certain to stir up as much controversy here as it has across the sea. Though characterized by British critics as another "putting-women-in-their-place" tract aimed at returning the fair sex to the kitchen and nursery, the book is actually a thoughtful, reasoned look at whether current education policies benefit women in the U.K. and U.S. Tooley questions whether "gender equity" practices and relentless efforts to push women into traditionally male domains like math and science - prompted by Title IX, the Women's Education Equity Act, and their British equivalents - have actually helped women. Calling it "the Bridget Jones Syndrome," he points to the dissatisfaction of thirty-something career women like Miramax's fictional (big-screen) character who find themselves alone and unhappy despite professional success. Women who are pushed to be like men will ultimately be unfulfilled, Tooley suggests, because they have different innate preferences. Tooley builds his case on evolutionary psychology to explain cognitive and behavioral differences between men and women. To undo the damage he believes feminist education has wrought - devaluing domesticity and overvaluing work in the public domain - Tooley recommends doing away with gender education prohibitions and programs. He believes we should end our obsession with numerical equivalency and allow greater variation in how boys and girls are taught. Some readers will have coronaries. Others will find this book a

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The Miseducation of Women

Tutor Quest: Finding Effective Education for Children and Adults

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 14, 2002

Edward E. Gordon
September 2002

This useful, 122-page book by Edward E. Gordon, who runs the Chicago-based Imperial Tutoring firm, is a consumer's guide to tutoring services: how to find a good one, what to look for, what to expect, what it will cost, etc. There's a catalog of several dozen tutoring outfits, even a Better Business Bureau list of standards for this line of work. Parents seeking tutors for their kids may find this helpful. So should state and local education officials struggling with the "supplementary services" provision of the No Child Left Behind act, under which (limited amounts of) Title I dollars may be deployed for the purchase - by parents - of tutoring services (and other supplements) from private providers that make it onto state-approved lists. The ISBN is 0873678400. The publisher is Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. You can get more information from http://www.pdkintl.org/products/npf021.htm.

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Tutor Quest: Finding Effective Education for Children and Adults