Six Unifying Education Policy Ideas for 2017
Polarization was the theme of 2016, and we’d be kidding ourselves to think that will be much different in 2017. Still, there has rarely been more need for new ideas that people can begin to come together around, especially in education. Here are six to start us off. What are yours? 1. High expectations […]
Will DeVos Learn From Detroit’s School Choice Mistakes?
With Donald Trump’s recent nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education, people in the education world have picked sides faster than in a Super Bowl office pool. A common subject of debate, raised by Doug Harris in a New York Times op-ed, is the education track record in Ms. DeVos’s home state of Michigan. […]
Collaboration and the Calendar Invite: Building Trust through the Dreaded Meeting
Animosity between school districts and charter schools has been the norm since the nation’s first public charter school opened in 1992. In some cities, however, these deeply divided factions are now finding ways to come together to increase equitable access to schools; in a few cities, these partnerships have even helped to improve some of […]
“Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick”: Why State Chiefs Should Do Both
In the ongoing debate about federal and state roles in K–12 public education, states got a leg up with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). It renounces the strong regulatory role that the federal government had come to play, in favor of a return to state control. Now that the federal government […]
Will the New Administration Love School Choice to Death?
My education policy friends were frustrated that education didn’t get more air time during the presidential campaign season, but I was relieved. I cringed every time I heard candidate Donald Trump and his surrogates talk about education. All I could think of was the analysis I did eight years ago of George W. Bush’s school […]
Incomplete Reform in Baltimore: An Interview with CRPE research director Betheny Gross
Five years ago, Baltimore City Public Schools seemed on the brink of a breakthrough. By almost all accounts, the district-led portfolio system—traditional and charter school options, all authorized and managed by City Schools’ central office—was working. But today, progress appears to have stalled. CRPE research director Betheny Gross and analyst Ashley Jochim researched Baltimore to […]
The “Noble Lie” of Evidence-Based Turnaround Strategies
The Every Student Succeeds Act abandons the prescriptive approach to school improvement embraced by both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Obama Administration’s flexibility waivers. Instead, states are empowered to craft their own “evidence-based” strategies to turn around struggling schools and districts. But what does an evidence-based turnaround strategy look like? CRPE recently […]
Linking State and Local School Improvement
The new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives heavy deference to “local control.” School districts, charter schools, and communities are meant to be in the driver’s seat. And they are. States don’t improve student outcomes—schools and families do. State agencies have limited authority to intervene in low-performing schools, for example, and have limited staff, […]
Can Civil Rights Institutions Keep Up as Public Education Evolves?
The NAACP’s resolution to oppose charter schools left thousands of black families whose children attend charter schools stunned. How could such a revered institution fail to recognize their beliefs and interests? Organizations like NAACP have earned our trust and respect. Decades of fighting on behalf of the powerless have given them good standing among politicians, […]
Coming to a City Near You: Common School Performance Measures
One of the great promises of public school choice was the opportunity for diverse schools to develop unique performance measures, but the price has proven to be high. When schools set their own bar for success, families faced with a dizzying array of options can struggle to meaningfully compare the quality of public schools in […]