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Reviews of Eduwonk.com

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

"peppered with smart and witty comments on the education news of the day"
-- Education Gadfly

"don't hate Eduwonk cuz it's so good"
-- Alexander Russo, This Week In Education

"the morning's first stop for education bomb-throwers everywhere"
-- 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

Education News and Analysis

American Educator
Chronicle of Higher Education
EducationNews.org
Education Next
Education Week
eSchool News
Inside Higher Ed
Jay Mathews' Class Struggle
Phi Delta Kappan
New York Times Education
School Wise Press
Stateline.org
Teacher Magazine

Policy and Political Blogs

The American Scene
Andrew Sullivan.com
Bloggingheads
Booker Rising
The Corner
Daniel Drezner
Dangerous Thoughts
The Democratic Strategist
Foresight
The Has Been
Huffington Post
Instapundit.com
Kausfiles.com
Loose Cannon
Matthew Yglesias
Mojo
Oxblog
The Plank (TNR)
Political Animal (Washington Monthly)
The Politico
Post Global
Real Clear Politics
Scotusblog
Taking Note
Talkingpointsmemo.com
Tank'd
Tapped
Think Tank Town
Volokh Conspiracy
WSJ's Blog Federation
Washington Whispers

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

Education Blogs

A Constrained Vision
Andrew Pass
a schoolyard blog
ASCD
Assorted Stuff
Mr. B-G's English Blog
Barnett Berry
Bill Jackson's Education Blog
Bridging Differences (Meier and Ravitch)
Bulletin Board (NASBE)
Campaign K-12 (Ed Week)
Chaos Theory
Charter Blog (NAPCS)
Charter School Policy Inst. Blog
Chez Dormont
Chris Correa
Class Context
The College Puzzle
College Ready Blog (Athens Learning Group)
The Common School
Conversation Starters
Core Knowledge Blog
Critical Mass
Dangerously Irrelevant
Daryl Cobranchi
Dave Shearon
Dave Saba (ABCTE)
DC Education Blog
D-EDreckoning
Dems for Education Reform
The Deputy Head
Early Ed Watch
Early Stories
edbizbuzz
EdPol
Edspresso
Educated Nation
Educating One Mind
The Education Network
The Education Wonks
EduFlack
Eduoptimists
EdWahoo
Eduwonkette
Edwize (UFT)
Eponymous Educator
Essential Blog
Extra Credit
Flypaper (Fordham)
Fordham Fellows
From The Trenches
The Gadfly
Get On The Bus (Dayton Daily News)
Get Schooled (AJC)
The Gradebook (St. Pete Times)
Grumpy Professor
The Hall Monitor
Higher Ed Watch
Hip Teacher
I Thought A Think
IALA
In Other News (Ed Week)
Inside Pre-K
Instructivist
Intercepts
IvyGate
Jay Greene
Jenny D.
Joannejacobs.com
John Merrow
K-12 Hotlinks
Kindling Flames
Kitchen Table Math
Learning Now (PBS)
The Life That Chose Me
Mathew K. Tabor
Media Infusion
Ms. Frizzle
Moving At The Speed Of Creativity
NCLB Act II (Ed Week)
NCLBlog (AFT)
Newoldschoolteacher
NSBA's BoardBuzz
NYC Educator
Paper Trail (USN)
ParaNews (NCP)
Parentalcation
Paul Baker
Pedablogue
The Portable Princess
The PrincipalsPage
Principal's Policy Blog (NASSP)
Quasi Dictum
Roy Romer
Running on Empty
School of Blog
School Zone (MJS)
Schools for Tomorrow
Science After School
SF Schools
Sherman Dorn
SITE Mentor
Small Talk
Special Education Law Blog
Starting Over (Ed Week)
Swift & Change Able
Teach and Learn
Teacher Voices
Teachers At Risk
Teachers' Lounge
Teaching in the 408
Teaching Rookie
Think Lab
This is how I Swim
This Week In Education
Tim Fredrick
Up The Down Staircase
Urban Angle
VARC
What up, Mz. Smlph?
Whitney Tilson
Why Boys Fail
Why Homeschool

Educational Resources and Organizations

AALE Charter School Accreditation
Achieve
Alliance for Excellent Education
American Association of School Administrators
American Educational Research Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Institutes For Research
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Aspen Institute
Asia Society
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Broad Foundation
The Brookings Institution
Building Excellent Schools
Center for American Progress
Center for Education Reform
Center for School Change
Center on Education Policy
Center on Reinventing Public Education
Citizens Commission On Civil Rights
Coalition of Essential Schools
Community College Research Center
Community Training and Assistance Center
Council of Chief State School Officers
Council of Great City Schools
Core Knowledge Foundation
Data Quality Campaign
Democratic Leadership Council
eSchool News
EducationBug
Education Commission of the States
Education Evolving
Education Sector
EdSource
The Education Trust
George Lucas Educational Foundation
Greatschools.net
Haberman Foundation
Hechinger Institute On Education and the Media
IssueLab
Joyce Foundation
Just for the Kids
Knowledge Alliance
Learning Point Associates
Local School Directory
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
The Mind Trust
Montessori
National Academies Center for Education
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
National Association of Charter School Authorizers
National Association of Secondary School Principals
NCLBWorks
National Center for Postsecondary Research
National Center on Education and the Economy
National Charter School Research Project
NCTAF
National Council on Teacher Quality
National Education Association
National Education Writers Association
National Governors Association
National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
National School Boards Association
New Leaders for New Schools
New Schools Venture Fund
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, December 01, 2006

NCLB News

While all the media buzz this week has been about the borderline hopeless appeals of various anti-NCLB lawsuits, the real story is that the judge in the Connecticut case has allowed the NAACP to intervene in the case there on behalf of the Bush Administration. That's a big deal on substance and politics.

Update: Note the change in tone from the state, can't we all just get along? Someone gave the CT Atty. General some bad political advice here....but we know it wasn't the NEA because they'd never sabotage a Democrat to advance their own goals...must have been Professor Plum...in the library with an amicus brief…
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Go Team!
Question: What do Hoosiers like even more than hoops?

Answer:
Screwing-over charter school kids!
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Friday Fish Porn! Alaska Edition
Here's Doug Levin, he runs the ed policy shop at Cable in the Classroom. That's a big king salmon from Alaska he caught this summer. Doug says about 35lbs, and it looks it. He caught his limit that day and had them flown back to Washington, D.C. That's good eating!
Posted at 7:29 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Where You Stand, Where You Sit?
In the LA Times, LAUSD School Board member Julie Korenstein says charter schools, "are still a gamble without really knowing what impact it is going to make on students. You have to start wondering if it's a good idea to gamble with students' education."

By gum, that is a good thing to wonder about! But considering the grim outcomes for students in LA - 258 college graduates a year in South LA from schools serving 60K kids at a half-billion a year cost, charters, despite the variance, somehow don't seem like such bad odds for parents...In fact, Steve Barr's schools, Green Dot Public Schools, which the article is about, have much better numbers, a reasonable parent would be excused for taking that gamble and for thinking it's a good idea! I believe gamblers, should there be any around, would call that a “positive expectation” situation…
Posted at 7:06 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Free Exercise...And EduCleo

As predicted, not a lot of traction for these free exercise cases at the SCOTUS.
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More Urban Schools...And DC Schools
It seems pretty indisputable that whatever one thinks of charter schools, they do cause some changes in school districts where they're present in any significant number. It's a legitimate question whether those changes actually get to the level of teaching and learning, but as the dance Washington D.C. Superintendent Janey is doing illustrates, they do shake things up. You could argue, of course, that charters are merely present in large numbers in places where things are really screwed up and so that, not the charters, causes changes. But I think the evidence runs the other way.

In any event, I was thinking about all that reading Janey's remarks and Mike Casserly's interesting op-ed in Sunday's WaPo. Casserly is exactly right that governance changes alone don't solve anything. Paul Hill made that point in greater depth in this paper a few years back. But where I think Mike gets it wrong, or doesn't engage enough, is the question of the best way to get to alignment and clarity in a place like D.C. I think the notion that consolidating power and accountability and reworking the system that way, with that leverage point, rather than trying to do it through a demonstrably dysfunctional governance arrangement is a very plausible theory of action. And, since the process that puts in place a mayoral takeover, the option on the table now, has to be democratic at some level -- mayoral election, state legislature, etc...I don't see it as illegitimate. Likewise, it doesn't have to be permanent, either. Further, in this case, as Mike points out, the redundancy in education governance in Washington is almost comical. D.C. could do a lot worse than look to Hawaii for some ideas on having a unified state/school district structure since there is only one school district in Washington in the first place. So Mike's right about the core issues, but I'm not sure the process question, how to get there, is nearly as encouraging as he makes it out to be. In other words, I don't have much confidence in the current arrangements in D.C. to bring about the changes, even with the pressure of the growing market share of charters.

Update: Sara Mead, who knows much more about D.C.'s education scene than most, makes some good points about going the Hawaii route and I should have been clearer. I'm not saying that D.C. should adopt the HI model whole hog. Rather, I'm merely saying that there is a lot of redundancy and even considering the pluralism around charter schools and the dual responsibilities of being a state and a school district, there are ways to structure governance that are a lot more streamlined, aligned, and effective than the system now and HI shows that.
Posted at 9:44 AM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

New Edublog: Early Stories

You probably need another edublog like you need one of these, but here's one worth checking out: Early Stories. It's the blog of Richard Colvin, who runs the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media. Richard's a big wheel in education journalism and knows early-childhood issues so keep your eye on his blog -- especially if you want to know what went wrong/right when a big edustory breaks or if early-childhood is your thing. There's been some hoping Richard would stick his toe in the bloggy swamp, and now he's here. Welcome.
Posted at 4:59 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

'Be adequite'
Lindsey Lohan gives new meaning to "Hot For Education"...
Posted at 4:48 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

NYT Mag

I've gotten a slew of emails asking why I haven't written anything about Sunday's NYT mag piece by Paul Tough. Well, what is there to say? Most important education article written this year.
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WSF Or WWF?
Edspresso is hosting a debate on weighted-student-funding, worth checking out.
Posted at 10:53 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Eduwonk The Propagandist!
I'm the eduversion of Rosie the Riveter, but doing my patriotic duty for Uncle Sam!
Posted at 10:31 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Restructure, Or Not? And Ed Next Rocks On
ES' Sara Mead says beware the restructuring ruse in the new Ed Next. ES' Joe Williams and Tom Toch look at one effort in San Diego in this report.

BTW--while you're at Ed Next, check the whole thing out. They deserve some credit, creating an interesting mag/journal isn't all that hard in the first 24 months or so when you can clear the shelves of good ideas and writing. But keeping it interesting for a lot longer than that is not such an easy feat and they've done it very well. It's a must read among a wide swath of folks. This issue, Guthrie, Davis, Williams, and Peterson (Julie! But Paul is there, too...), it's great stuff.
Posted at 10:21 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Aha! It's About The Funding!
It's no wonder they taught me that it was cool to club seals when I was in school....
Posted at 10:16 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Edujob
If you like edupolicy, can edit, and want to work in a deadline oriented environment, then check out this opening at ES.
Posted at 10:13 PM | Comments: 0 | Link to this item | Email this post

Monday, November 27, 2006

A Reprieve?

In his comprehensive write-up of likely Bush Administration targets for more aggressive oversight and investigations in National Journal's election post-mortem issue ($), Brian Friel, who covers the edubeat for NJ, didn't highlight Reading First? The CW is that incoming Chairman Miller wants his committee to look into it, does Friel know something he's not spilling? Or is this issue just considered way too B-list to matter?
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Great Scott! Or Delayed Rheeax?
All you need to know about where education politics are heading over time can be found in the tag line of this Ed Week commentary...but the whole thing is worth reading. Cue the AFTies to tell us how deluded we all are and what dupes those CA legislators were.
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Events, The Acceptable Alternative To Work!
Why actually produce work, when you can go to events, see your friends and colleagues, eat someone else's food, and all under the guise of doing your job? Here are two in the next two weeks for you to check out. First, tomorrow (28th), at the National Press Club, The Century Foundation is hosting a prebut session about race and integration in schools (pdf). With the SCOTUS set to hear arguments on two cases next month, now's your chance to get up to speed. They've compiled a diverse group.

Next week, on Weds the 6th, the National Charter School Research Project at U of W is hosting a release event for this year's issue of Hopes, Fears, and Reality (pdf). It's at the Urban Institute from 11:30AM to 1:30PM. Should be a lively time, last year's was. Disclosures all over the place on this one, I'm on the advisory board and co-wrote a chapter, but go anyway...
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Thanks Jal
Jal covered a lot of ground in three days, read down to see if you missed it. A big thanks for the pinch hitting.
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