First Bell 5-24-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 24, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

Yesterday, the House passed legislation—mainly along party lines—to stop a doubling of student-loan interest rates by tying rates to prevailing market trends and ending federal subsidies. (Politics K–12 and New York Times)

Rhode Island has become the first state to officially adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. (Curriculum Matters)

After Chicago announced that it would close fifty public schools, the CTU renewed its promise to oust Mayor Emanuel. (Huffington Post)

The Hechinger Report profiles the transition to Common Core in Washington, D.C.

A team of MIT researchers report that Boston’s charter school students perform better than their traditional public school peers. (Charters & Choice)

A study finds that minority students are less likely to be diagnosed with autism. (On Special Education)

Politics K–12 takes a closer look at the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 school-finance data on per-pupil spending.

» Continued

First Bell 5-24-13

First Bell 5-23-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 23, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

In the largest mass school closure in any major U.S. city, Chicago officials have officially voted to shutter forty-nine public schools this year and one next year. (Washington Post, New York Times, Huffington Post, and Chicago Tribune)

ACT Inc. has jumped into the Common-Core-assessments arena, announcing that they are an alternative to the Smarter Balanced and PARCC tests. (Curriculum Matters)

A new report finds that while two-year colleges enroll more poor and minority students, they receive lower levels of federal resources. (New York Times)

Kansas lawmakers have dropped from a state budget bill a measure that would have blocked spending on Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. (Curriculum Matters)

The U.S. Department of Education reports that even as more Americans than ever are earning bachelor’s degrees, the nation’s international lead is slipping. (Hechinger Report)

A new report finds that schools are flooded with data that

» Continued

First Bell 5-23-13

By the Company It Keeps: Tim Daly

yes Andy Smarick / May 22, 2013

Our first guest on By the Company It Keeps is Tim Daly, President of TNTP. I’m a huge fan of Tim and his organization. In addition to being a highly talented and endlessly affable guy, he’s helped lead TNTP into rarified air. It is as influential on policy and practice as any education-reform organization around.

Tim was a guiding force behind the seminal publication The Widget Effect and played a major role in the production of other top-flight TNTP reports like The Irreplaceables and Leap Year.

Earlier in his career he was a TFA corps member (having taught in Baltimore) and helped establish and expand the New York City Teaching Fellows program. With TNTP CEO Ariela Rozman (another total star), he received the 2012 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.

If future interviews turn out half as well as Tim’s, I’ll be thrilled. We learn a great deal, and the subject’s smarts, curiosity, and humility shine through. He even enlightens us about Garry Wills and Stan Musial.

As a matter of fact, the totality is so good that I’m willing to look past his grievous error about Sandy Koufax (he only had 165 career wins!).

Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Daly.

1.   How would you summarize

» Continued

By the Company It Keeps: Tim Daly

First Bell 5-21-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 21, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

On Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that three more states—Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia—will be granted NCLB waivers, bringing the total to thirty-seven. (Politics K–12 and Associated Press)

Chiefs for Change, a group of state education leaders, are pushing back against calls for a moratorium on the use of standardized tests in student or teacher evaluations. (Curriculum Matters, Washington Post, and Education Gadfly Show Podcast)

Khan Academy—with a little help from a $2.2 million Helmsley grant—plans to develop online, Common Core–aligned mathematics tools for teachers and students. (Curriculum Matters)

The D.C. charter board has approved two new schools and rejected seven more. (Washington Post)

Today, most New York residents will vote on their school districts’ budgets. (Wall Street Journal)  

With the successes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and David Karp on the mind, the Wall Street Journal wonders: When is it okay for a high flyer to drop out of

» Continued

First Bell 5-21-13