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2007 Winner, Editor's Choice Best Education Blog
-- Performancing.com

2006 Winner, Best K-12 Administration Blog -- "Best of the Education Blog Awards"
-- eSchool News and Discovery Education

2006 Finalist, Best Education Blog
-- Weblog Awards

Least influential of education's most influential information sources.
-- Education Week Research Center

"unexpectedly entertaining"..."tackle[s] a potentially mindfogging subject with cutting clarity... they're reading those mushy, brain-numbing education stories so you don't have to!"
-- Slate's Mickey Kaus

"a very smart blog... [if] you're trying to separate the demagogic attacks on NCLB from the serious criticism, this is the site to read"
-- The New Republic's Ryan Lizza

"everyone who's anyone reads Eduwonk"
-- Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media's Richard Colvin

"full of very lively short items and is always on top of the news...He gets extra points for skewering my high school rating system"
-- Jay Mathews, The Washington Post

"a daily dose of information from the education policy world, blended with a shot of attitude and a dash of humor"
-- Education Week

"designed to cut through the fog and direct specialists and non-specialists alike to the center of the liveliest and most politically relevant debates on the future of our schools"
-- The New Dem Daily

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-- Education Gadfly

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-- Alexander Russo, This Week In Education

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-- Mike Antonucci, Intercepts

"…the big dog on the ed policy blog-ck…"
-- Michele McLaughlin, AFT Blog

"I check Eduwonk several times a day, especially since I cut back on caffeine"
-- Joe Williams, fallen journalist, Executive Director, Democrats for Education Reform

"...one of the few bloggers who isn't completely nuts"
-- Mike Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation

"I have just three 'go to' websites: The Texas Legislature, Texas Longhorn sports, and Eduwonk"
-- Sandy Kress, former education advisor to President Bush and former chairman, Dallas Board of Education

"penetrating analysis in a lively style on a wide range of issues"
-- Walt Gardner, champion letter-to-the-editor writer and retired teacher

"thugs"
-- Susan Ohanian

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EduReading


Collective Bargaining in Education: Negotiating Change in Today's Schools

Edited by Jane Hannaway and Andrew J. Rotherham


Why Newsweek's List of America's 100 Best High Schools Doesn't Make the Grade

By Andrew J. Rotherham
and Sara Mead

A Qualified Teacher
in Every Classroom

Edited by Frederick M. Hess, Andrew J. Rotherham,
and Kate Walsh

America's Teaching Crisis

By Jason Kamras and Andrew J. Rotherham

Rethinking Special Education For A New Century

Edited by Chester E. Finn, Jr., Andrew J. Rotherham
& Charles R. Hokanson, Jr.

Making The Cut: How States Set Passing Scores on Standardized Tests

By Andrew J. Rotherham

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A Constrained Vision
Andrew Pass
a schoolyard blog
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New Leaders for New Schools
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The New Teacher Project
New Vision
Pre-K Now
Harvard's Program On Education Policy and Governance
Progressive Policy Institute
PPI's 21st Century Schools Project
Public Agenda
Public Impact
Reading Reform Foundation
Rick Hess' World HQ
The Savvy Source for Parents
Scholastic Administrator
School Data Direct
Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services
Standards Work
Teach for America
The Teaching Commission
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Trust for Early Education
Uncommon Schools
United States Department of Education
The Urban Institute
WestEd

Opinions on Eduwonk reflect the views of the author, Education Sector does not take institutional positions. Outgoing links do not constitute an endorsement.

Friday, April 15, 2005

ECS Contraband!

Psst…buddy! Want some NCLB data? Via This Week, here's the ECS paper (pdf) that got censored.
Posted at 12:34 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Winner! And, It's All Cool Graphics All Day Today At Eduwonk...
The other day we sponsored a little contest to find out the difference between a "hatchet-job" and an "over-interpretation" of data to score PR points. Winner wins a CD. We got some very funny responses, a few really snarky (and also funny) ones, and lots of clever stuff. But, the winner, hands down, is one J.F. McCullers who is Director of Grants and Program Development for the School District of Lee County, Florida. He has come up with a handy, all-purpose guide for sorting through these issues that you should print and tape to your monitor. It's below, his CD is on the way, and thanks to all who played.

Posted at 11:48 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

The Enemy At Play!
Eduwonk exclusive! Here's Michelle Stockwell, former Lieberman aide and one of the architects of No Child Left Behind, taking a break from tormenting the nation's schoolchildren. Sadly, this day, most of the trout on this stream made adequate progress past her nymph...



Posted at 9:38 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Doyle Report On Pay-For-Performance
Good look at where the Governator has swung, and missed, by David DeSchryver.
Posted at 9:24 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Another NYT Ed Research Special!

Ordinarily, when an organization releases a study with the caveat that its sample is "not nationally representative" a national news organization wouldn't then run a big story on it as somehow indicative of a national trend. But not The New York Times when it's education and chance to pop No Child Left Behind in the nose.

This new study, while actually very interesting, is not as negative as the NYT story or headline indicate, and is not nationally representative because about 75 percent of the sample is from just four states. In addition, urban districts are underrepresented as are African-American students (substantially). Also, in 7 of the 23 states that make up the sample, only one or two school districts even participate.

The bottom line is that the law is basically three years old, less in the case of many provisions, so it's just too soon to know if "it's working", which is too broad a question anyway.

But while you're reading The Times, do read this outstanding Freedman column about what Rudy Crew is up to in Miami.
Posted at 10:39 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Sternberg V. Spellings
Now CT is demanding an apology from Secretary Spellings for allegedly labeling them "un-American" over their resistance to NCLB. You can argue it either way, it looks like Spellings was responding more to the example of CT put forward by the interviewer than CT itself. Though you can argue it the other way, too. Regardless, this looks more like a publicity stunt from CT officials than anything else.

Ordinarily, in a debate like this you'd give the clear edge to Spellings. However, in light of the Department's press operation, today's line is even money.

Transcript is here. Decide for yourself.

Also, bottom of the article, the beginning of the answer to this question.
Posted at 10:03 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

ESEA History

From LBJ to NCLB, Ed Week's Robelen wraps it up for you in this article.
Posted at 5:19 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

More Mathews (Now He's Single-handedly Destroying Honors Programs!), And More AP!
Per this, Jay Mathews and Patrick Welsh square off in The Washington Post about AP courses.

Says Welsh:

Fairfax County teachers I've talked to say you have single-handedly destroyed their traditional college prep honors programs and are responsible for watering down their AP courses. "Kids now are being pushed out of honors into AP courses because of Mathews's index," one told me. "All principals care about are head counts -- how many kids take, not pass, AP tests. Teachers are furious that administrators have caved in" to the challenge index.

Says Mathews:

Show me some data that support your point. As for watering down AP in Fairfax, here are some real numbers: The percentage of students getting scores of 3 or above on the AP tests decreased from 75 to 61 percent when the program was opened to all in 1998. Fairfax teachers went to work, and despite giving more AP tests than ever this year, that passing rate is up to 70 percent -- above the national average -- and getting higher. The AP teachers I speak to say average students are better off in their classes, struggling to reach a college standard rather than sitting in a regular class being given good grades for much less challenging work.

Plenty more, worth reading.
Posted at 4:41 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Fast From The Gate
The Achievement Alliance takes on CT and unpacks growth models for NCLB in its new newsletter (doc).
Posted at 2:39 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Must-Read Mathews
Both sides of a difficult situation, a lot in this story.
Posted at 2:36 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Sandi Charters
Ongoing series on charters and charters in San Diego, worth reading, shows the evolution of the policy.
Posted at 10:38 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Monday, April 11, 2005

CT NCLB

As this AP story points out, CT is going to put itself on the hot seat with its NCLB lawsuit. One question that might get asked, and that they better have a good answer for, is what exactly did all the money they got from the feds to develop new assessments get spent on anyway? If the feds decide to play hardball, they might ask that, too...
Posted at 11:01 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

LA Story
This is going to be quite a debate in LA. Romer wants to do the right thing but it's not going to be easy.
Posted at 11:00 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

I'm Rick Hess, Bit*h!
Rick Hess' recent article in Philanthropy has stirred up quite hornet's nest and some interesting discussion. You can read responses from several key foundations here.
Posted at 10:22 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

NCLB In MD
Writing in the Baltimore Sun, Andy Smarick urges Maryland to stay away from the CT-UT parade.
Posted at 9:49 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

FL Sup't Blog
Clayton Wilcox, the superintendent of schools in Pinellas, FL now has a blog. It's good stuff, particularly for local citizens, and it allows comments (and there have been many so people are paying attention). Naturally, the very first comment attacked the superintendent and called the blog a waste of money (right, communicating with the public, must stop that!) but there is thoughtful stuff there as well. A lot on choice and high schools.

Via Dave Shearon.
Posted at 9:13 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post