How to Make Better Math and Science Teachers

By Mary Ellen Flannery There was one kid who never showed up to algebra class at his Washington State middle school. Then one day, he sidled in and his classmates showed him how to use the classroom’s new hand-held technology. “He’s been coming to class every since,” his teacher said. It’s hard to resist a [...]

How Do We Increase Teacher Quality in Low-Income Schools?

By Cindy Long An eighth grade math class in Oakland, California, had so many substitute teachers in one year the students couldn’t keep track of them, let alone remember all their names. They live in a high-poverty neighborhood where school funding is so low the district finds it cheaper to hire a series of substitutes [...]

Report Calls For More Experienced Teachers in Low-Performing Schools

By Mary Ellen Flannery When school boards don’t create incentives for experienced, highly qualified teachers to teach in their poorest schools, the kids in those schools are denied the same resources and opportunities to learn that middle-class kids get every day, says a newly report from Appleseed, a national network of public interest justice centers. [...]

Leading Economist: Gates Value-Added Research Deeply Flawed, Ignores Its Own Data

By Kevin Hart One of the country’s leading economists is warning that a Gates Foundation study on value-added teacher evaluation not only fails to meet key academic standards, but that it dangerously misinterprets its own data. Last month, the Gates Foundation released the first report of the Measures of Effective Teaching project, and the report [...]

New York Judge Says “Value-Added” Scores Can Be Released

By Alain Jehlen Even if “value-added” scores are unreliable, teachers’ names and their scores can still be released publicly, a New York judge ruled this week. The United Federation of Teachers, representing New York City’s public school teachers, immediately announced it would appeal the ruling. UFT President Michael Mulgrew pointed out that the scores “are [...]

Long Days, Growing Challenges

By Kevin Hart There’s an old saying that a teacher’s work is never done — and a new poll on teacher work hours seems to prove it. While the average school day in America may last from 7-8 hours, the real work day for many teachers begins before the sun rises and ends well into the evening, as [...]

New Board-Certified Teachers Join Distinguished Fraternity

By Mary Ellen Flannery When sixth-grade teacher Cynthia Walker thinks back to the two-year process of national board certification, she recalls the months of sleepless nights but also the days of thoughtful discussion with her colleagues. “You start sharing ideas – what are you trying to accomplish (in the classroom)? And why?” she said. “I [...]

NEA Announces National, Independent Commission on Teacher Quality

By Michelle Hudgins Saying there is a fundamental need to shake up the nation’s thinking on quality teaching, the NEA this past week announced that it is creating a national, independent commission to study the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel first spoke about plans [...]

The Economics Behind International Education Rankings

By Cynthia McCabe This week’s release of international education rankings placing U.S. students in the middle of the pack for reading and science and below average in math contained few surprises. But what might have been overlooked in the horse race coverage of how the students stacked up is an economic link that further supports [...]

PISA 2009: U.S. Students in the Middle of the Pack

by Tim Walker The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the results of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) on Tuesday morning, showing that U.S. students are ranked average in reading and science, and below average in math. Among the 34 OECD countries, the United States ranks 14th in reading, 17th [...]

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