Thursday, October 12, 2006
Something New
The ABCTE goes Marxist saga continues...word is that the hypercapable, hyperenergetic, and uber Democrat, Danica Petroshius, formerly chief education aide and chief of staff for Senator Edward Kennedy is consulting for them, too. ABCTE's critics have been peddling the line that it’s just a conservative ploy…time for some new talking points…
In The Times Sam Freedman looks at teacher credentialing as it relates to No Child Left Behind. But this one is squarely on the states. NCLB only requires subject matter expertise and state certification, what certification looks like is left to the states and unfortunately today it's usually, well, what's the word I'm looking for here...oh yeah...archaic.
This NYT column about school fundraisers made me think of Chris Howard's work about the size of the American welfare state (pdf). Howard points out that the American welfare state isn't really so exceptional comparatively once various subsidies, that often are not transparent, are factored in. In other words, we spend a lot, too, just in different ways. Likewise, the ongoing school fundraisers reveal the tension between the need to pay for something and the inability to just do it through policy in a straightforward way. $1.7 billion raised through selling grapefruit, wrapping paper, or whatever is not a small subsidy, even in the context of a $450 billion budget.
On October 25, from 9:30 - 11:30AM Education Sector is hosting an event to discuss how colleges should or shouldn't be ranked and larger implications for higher education accountability. If you liked this Kevin Carey opus, you'll love the event...
The Center for American Progress is hosting a teacher quality event on October 16, 9:30-11AM, to look at teacher labor markets in an international context. New analysis from Marc Tucker and Susan Sclafani on international labor market comparisons.
Your Chance To Hang With The AFTies!
In a transparent attempt to gin up more comments for their blog the AFTies are launching a series of policy forums, which do promise to be interesting and worth your time. The first one is tomorrow (Tuesday, the 10th) at AFTie HQ. You can RSVP here. Paul Barton will release a new paper "Failing or Succeeding Schools: How Can You Tell," and a panel -- Jack Jennings, Raul Gonzalez, and me -- will discuss it.