Today we bring you a replay of one of the most popular episodes of The Education Exchange from 2018.
A study based on data from North Carolina finds that grade inflation increased over the last decade and that grade inflation was more severe in schools attended by affluent students than in those attended by lower-income pupils.
Seth Gershenson, the author of “Grade Infla...
Month: December 2018
Ten Education Stories We’ll Be Reading in 2019 – by Frederick Hess
As we bid adieu to 2018 and look forward to another year of tranquility and comity, it’s time for my annual prognostications. Now, some have noted that my soothsaying is mostly renowned for its record of unfailing inaccuracy, but I shall soldier on undaunted by the sniping of those bean-counting naysayers. Thus, without further ado, here’s my best guess at ten big e...
In the News: Kansas Supreme Court Says State Education Spending Is Too Low
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the state’s low spending on public education violated the state’s constitution. As Mitch Smith and Julie Bosman explain in the New York Times,
In a unanimous ruling, the court said black, Hispanic and poor students were especially harmed by the lack of funding, pointing to lagging test scores and graduation rates. Th...
"Okay, I will say in Korean and then in American": Translanguaging practices in bilingual homes
Building on the research on translanguaging practices in classrooms (e.g. García, 2009; Sayer, 2011) and immigrant families’ literacy practices (e.g. Gregory et al., 2004; Li, 2006), this qualitative study explores the nature of translanguaging practices of four Korean bilingual children and…
School Choice Goes To the Movies
Everything anyone needs to know about school choice – who benefits from it and who opposes it – was summarized in the first few minutes of the movie Hidden Figures … and in the trailer right before it.
Hidden Figures, which won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson of Empire, and singer Janelle Monae, as three...
Rocky Start for ProPublica “Alternative Schools” Series
Pretty much everybody loves ProPublica, the nonprofit outfit dedicated to high-quality journalism. And they really should. The outlet generally does great work — including its education coverage.
But even the best journalists and newsrooms make mistakes sometimes, and the latest ProPublica story on the spread of low-quality alternative schools may be an example.
Crossed fingers...
Balancing voice and protection in literacy studies with young children
One of the tensions in conducting participatory literacy research with young children is finding the balance between protection and voice. In this paper, we describe how we sought to create participant-centred research techniques within the evolving design of a yearlong…
In the News: Applications Double for Boston Charter Schools Under New Enrollment System – by Education Next
Boston charter schools this year received 35,000 applications, more than double the 13,000 applications that were received last year. As Sarah Tully notes on Ed Week’s Charters and Choice blog, this spike in applications comes four months after voters in Massachusetts defeated a ballot measure that would have lifted the cap on charter schools in the state.
Families in Bos...
EdNext Podcast: Rebooting Professional Development – by Education Next
Can professional development for teachers be personalized?
Michael Horn joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss a new way of doing professional development. Teachers identify the skills they want to acquire, receive specialized training, and are certified as having these new competencies, receiving a micro-credential, something akin to a merit badge.
For more, read &...
A Troubling Contagion: The Rural 4-Day School Week – by Paul Hill
Americans are waking up to the plight of rural and small town areas. Rural students and workers need government and philanthropic help to link to jobs, higher education, and career opportunities, whether near their homes or in cities.
But rural residents need to avoid making matters worse for themselves. One troubling development, adopted totally by local initiative, is for ru...