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Testing Teachers: Origins of NYC's Evaluation System

2012-02-25T11:13:00.000+12:00

Testing Teachers: Origins of NYC's Evaluation SystemWall Street Journal (blog)By Aaron Rutkoff The traditional method for assessing teachers on-the-job performance has largely relied on principals, peers and other experts visiting classrooms and making observations. In New York City and elsewhere in the US, teachers reviewed in ...New York to release ratings for 18000 teachers; union objectsLos

Gates Defends Teachers, Denounces Public 'Shaming'

2012-02-24T08:55:00.001+12:00

Gates Defends Teachers, Denounces Public 'Shaming'New York TimesI am a strong proponent of measuring teachers' effectiveness, and my foundation works with many schools to help make sure that such evaluations improve the overall quality of teaching. But publicly ranking teachers by name will not help them get better ... Shame Is Not the SolutionNew York TimesSeattle LAST week, the New York State

Diane Ravitch Says New Evaluation System Is 'Madness'

2012-02-23T14:43:00.000+12:00

Testing teaching, teaching testingThe Economist (blog)DIANE RAVITCH, the education-reform advocate famous for having long advocated chartered schools and centralised assessment of teachers only to turn against both reforms in the past few years, has a post at the New York Review of Books railing against ...The Economist (blog) Ravitch Says New Evaluation System Is 'Madness'New York TimesThe

How Should We Teach Our Teachers?

2012-02-22T15:08:00.001+12:00

How Should We Teach Our Teachers? - The Dish | By Andrew ...By Andrew SullivanFinland . . . Only eight universities are permitted to prepare teachers, and admission to these elite teacher education programs is highly competitive: only one of every ten applicants is accepted. There are no alternative ways to earn a teaching license.The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan Teachers are the answer to

Teaching skill trumps tenure

2012-02-21T11:03:00.003+12:00

Teaching skill trumps tenureChicago TribuneIn any school, no priority — such as employee tenure — should outweigh putting the most skilled teacher possible at the head of every classroom. You won't find that sentence in an important decision the Illinois Supreme Court handed down Friday. But that's the de facto impact of a big win for Chicago Public Schools at the expense of the Chicago

Teachers' latest free ride; Santorum Questions Education System

2012-02-20T13:11:00.000+12:00

Teachers' latest free rideNew York PostThen there are the teachers unions. To cut through the complexities of the deals the unions made with Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo, consider this: Under the terms, no public-school teacher in New York state can be fired for incompetence until June ...New York PostSantorum Questions Education System; Criticizes ObamaNew York TimesCOLUMBUS, Ohio — With his

Balance Is Key to Success of the New Evaluation System

2012-02-18T11:28:00.002+12:00

Balance Is Key to Success of the New Evaluation SystemNew York TimesBy Sean P. Corcoran After almost a year of legal wrangling, the New York State Education Department and state teachers' union finally came to an agreement over how to evaluate the state's public school teachers. Under the new system, teachers' job ...Now teacher evaluation movement goes to districtsWall Street JournalCritics of

Lessons from Asia show way forward

2012-02-17T13:17:00.004+12:00

Lessons from Asia show way forwardThe Australian "The lesson from Asia is that the only way to improve students' learning is by improving teaching. Reforming teaching is about behavioural and cultural change, which means changing what teachers do, day in, day out, in every school. Aussie students fall two years behind Asian pupils Herald Sun They would likely be put into the remedial class,"

Administration seeks competition to improve teaching quality

2012-02-16T11:14:00.001+12:00

Administration seeks competition to improve teaching qualityWashington PostWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is hoping competition combined with cash will encourage states and school districts to improve the nation's teaching corps. Education Secretary Arne Duncan planned to announce details of the administration's ...Higher education fundraising up 8.2% to $30.3B in 2011USA TODAYAt those

LAUSD Adult Education Cuts To Be Voted On

2012-02-15T08:52:00.000+12:00

LAUSD Adult Education Cuts To Be Voted On TuesdayBy The Huffington Post News EditorsThousands of students and teachers at the nearly three dozen adult education and occupational centers in Los Angeles could be in for a very bitter Valentine's Day. The Los Angeles Unified School District board is set to vote Tuesday to cut the ...The Huffington Post | Full News Feed Board of largest Minn.

Obama seeks more education funds

2012-02-14T11:23:00.002+12:00

Obama seeks more education fundsWashington Post (blog)To date, the $4.3 billion program has awarded grants to states that have embraced the administration's favored education reforms, such as expanding charter schools, raising academic standards and evaluating teachers and principals based partly on ...Parliamentary Committee to Review Teachers' Salaries as Strike ContinuesAmmon NewsBy Wael

Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor

2012-02-13T08:52:00.001+12:00

Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Show ...The widening achievement gap between affluent and low-income students has received less attention than the divide between white and black students, which ...www.nytimes.com/.../education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-... Education bonus gapSioux Falls Argus LeaderEven Sioux Falls, the state's largest and one of the best-paying school

Without True Education Reform, Waivers Will Have to Suffice

2012-02-11T11:46:00.003+12:00

Without True Education Reform, Waivers Will Have to SufficeThe AtlanticJanet Barresi, Oklahoma's schools superintendent and an elected Republican, told Education Week that "I almost hate to use the word 'waiver' because it sounds like we are relaxing things, when in fact it will allow us new flexibility to refocus and be ...The Atlantic Next-gen textbooks? It's the ecosystem, not the device |

10 states given waiver on No Child Left Behind learning laws

2012-02-10T14:52:00.000+12:00

Official: 10 states given waiver on No Child Left Behind learning lawsmsnbc.comPresident Obama will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind laws on education standards. By BEN FELLER, KIMBERLY HEFLING WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict ... School sex-abuse scandal: Teachers say LAUSD 'failed to do its

Education Department's obsession with test scores deepens

2012-02-09T15:57:00.002+12:00

Education Department's obsession with test scores deepensWashington Post (blog)By Valerie Strauss Apparently it's not enough for the Obama administration that standardized test scores are now used to evaluate students, schools, teachers and principals. In a new display of its obsession with test scores, the Education Department ...Mexico's Failing Education System Illuminated in FilmFox

Teachers Want to Lead Their Profession's Transformation

2012-02-08T07:25:00.000+12:00

Teachers Want to Lead Their Profession's TransformationEducation Week NewsBut implicit in his speech was a challenge to America and to teachers to rebuild and strengthen the profession—a challenge that teachers are more than eager to accept. As 2011-12 US Department of Education teaching ambassador fellows, we have heard ...Education Week News School sex abuse scandal: Removal of all teachers

LA school to be closed for two days for sex-abuse investigation

2012-02-07T09:56:00.002+12:00

LA school to be closed for two days for sex-abuse investigationLos Angeles TimesMiramonte Elementary School, where two teachers have been arrested for alleged lewd activity with students, will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as sheriff's detectives and district officials continue their investigation into the allegations.Girl was victim of both teachers charged in LA child abuse cases: reportNew

Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms?

2012-02-06T07:40:00.000+12:00

Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms?Los Angeles TimesPlacing them in the classroom "does not automatically inspire teachers to rethink their teaching or students to adopt new modes of learning." At last week's dog-and-pony show, Duncan bemoaned how the US is being outpaced in educational technology by...Los Angeles TimesThe college learning debateLos Angeles TimesA

Obama E-Textbook Plan Calls for Tech-Education Partnership

2012-02-04T07:24:00.000+12:00

Obama E-Textbook Plan Calls for Tech-Education PartnershipMobilediaBy Janet Maragioglio | Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:38 am The Obama administration is urging a nationwide transition to digital textbooks, underscoring a need for partnership between tech companies, publishers, and schools to improve learning. Education ...MobilediaEllen DeGeneres: Public education's new funding streamWashington Post (blog

Digital Learning: It's for All Students and Teachers

2012-02-03T09:30:00.002+12:00

Digital Learning: It's for All Students and TeachersEducation Week News (blog)That's the ditty that was running through my head as I sat at a town hall meeting for the first DigitalLearning Day. I was there to represent the Pearson Foundation, one of the sponsors. The Alliance for Excellent Education, led by former West ... Are American teachers the problem?Philadelphia InquirerAccording to

Digital Learning Day

2012-02-02T07:38:00.000+12:00

On Digital Learning Day, iNACOL Focuses on Top Policy NeedsSacramento Bee1, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To mark Digital Learning Day (February 1), the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) today highlights the important education policy reforms needed to ensure K-12 students have access to ...California Teachers' Pension May Be Fully Funded in 52 Years, Report

Measuring effective teaching

2012-02-01T09:09:00.000+12:00

Measuring effective teaching | Harvard GazetteMeasuring effective teaching. One key appears to be supporting varied skills in teachers. By Colleen Walsh. Harvard Staff Writer. Monday, January 30, 2012. 605. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer. Thomas Kane, professor of education and economics, spoke at the Graduate School of Education about the most recent findings of the "Measures of

Live by your Word, Mr. President

2012-01-31T12:44:00.000+12:00

Live by your Word, Mr. PresidentHuffington Post (blog)Teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn." Was it Diane Ravitch? No! Alfie Kohn? Sorry! Charlie Sheen? Are you nuts? The answer is President Obama. Teaching union accepts pension dealThe Press AssociationA teaching union has decided to accept the

Chicago Teachers Union organizer welcomes Occupy Chicago

2012-01-30T07:36:00.000+12:00

Video: Chicago Teachers Union organizer welcomes Occupy ...By John RuberryIn the new documentary A Tale of Two Missions, Juan Williams said, "If the Chicago Teachers Union would put as much effort into improving as they do into protesting, then perhaps Chicago wouldn't be so burdened by violence, crime, and lack of economic mobility all borne of bad schools." Yesterday afternoon one of those ...

Obama decries rising cost of college education

2012-01-28T10:27:00.001+12:00

Obama decries rising cost of college educationCBS NewsPresident Barack Obama called Friday for an overhaul of the higher education financial aid system, warning that colleges and universities that fail to control spiraling tuition costs could lose federal funds. The election year proposal was also a ...Get schooled: education apps at your fingertipsFox NewsHere are a few apps to help students