Taupo New Zealand News Center
Charter Schools and the Next President
May 17, 2008It is an exciting month for us political junkies. I come to work groggy from staying up late watching the victory speeches. I scour the Net for the latest polls. But the part of me that cares about schools is not that thrilled. Education issues are not stirring up anybody's electoral base, so they don't get mentioned.
Dropout Solutions That Work
May 17, 2008I am starting this column with a chart, something journalists are never supposed to do. I found it on page 179 of a new book with one of those titles, "The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education," that scholars consider necessary but discourages readers. I beg you to stay with me, because this particular chart is surprising and important (I have changed the formatslightly to make it easier to absorb).
Asian American Students and School Stereotypes
May 17, 2008The surge in the number of Asian Americans the past four decades has affected many sectors of society, particularly public schools. On the whole, Asian American students tend to perform well on standardized tests and have a high rate of acceptance into some of the most selective high schools and colleges. The energy and ambition shown by many of these students has both improved our schools and fueled stereotypes. For example: All those hard-working Asian kids, some people say, are raising the grading curve and putting too much pressure on the rest of us.
How to Fix Coolidge High
May 17, 2008 In November, Washington Post readers encountered two of the most disheartening stories we have ever published about inner-city education. Staff writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker went deep into the life of Jonathan Lewis, a senior at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in the District. In depressing detail, Parker explained why Jonathan, despite being healthy and bright, was coming so close to not graduating. (The Coolidge High series continued in Sunday's front page article "Lessons in Reality.")
Five Ways Out of the Homework Trap
May 17, 2008Tom Loveless, senior fellow and director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, has been making trouble again. His latest report asks, "How Well Are American Students Learning?" It upends hitherto highly regarded research based on data from several countries that says more time for instruction and homework has a negative correlation with achievement -- in other words, the more teaching at school and more homework at home, the less you learn.
Insiders' Guide to AP and IB
May 17, 2008The Washington Post sports pages this weekend were full of detailed analyses of our beloved local football, basketball and baseball teams. It was inside stuff, lapped up by readers like me who care about these sports and love to see the latest numbers.
Andy and Me: Two Ways to Rate High Schools
May 17, 2008On Dec. 13, The Washington Post will mark the 10th year of the Challenge Index, my high school rating system, with our latest ranked list of all 185 public schools in the Washington area. Since 1998, Newsweek magazine also has been publishing its national best high schools list using the same method.
The Secret Gripes of Professor Klein: An AP-IB Drama
May 17, 2008 David Klein, a mathematics professor at California State University at Northridge, says he was pleased to review Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate math courses for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He respects institute President Chester E. "Checker" Finn Jr., a longtime leader in the movement to improve U.S. schools. Among the views Klein shares with Finn is that overuse of calculators can interfere with students' mastery of analytical skills.
How to Fix Struggling High Schools
May 17, 2008Last week, The Washington Post ran two articles by staff writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker that revealed, in a remarkable way, the abject hopelessness of inner-city American high schools. They tell the story of just one D.C. student, Calvin Coolidge Senior High School senior Jonathan Lewis, and his uncertain path to a diploma. But every step on his journey exposed another failure of the educators, parents and students on whom the public school system depends.
AP vs. IB vs. Neither: A Plea for Peace and Love
May 17, 2008Watch out. Tumultuous days are ahead in the war of advocates for college-level high school courses such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, particularly with the rise of some schools that say their teachers can do a better job without AP or IB.
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