Category Archives: Research

Adults can be strange sometimes. Create a government program. Make it about helping little kids like me. Give it a catchy name like “Head Start.” Spend billions of dollars. And then when the evidence repeatedly shows it doesn’t work? Just ignore it. Wait, huh? Okay, not all adults have that mindset. But it’s funny to see the reaction some have when the idea of cutting 15 percent of Head Start’s budget is introduced. Writing at National Review, Mona Charen takes on the Washington Post‘s E.J. Dionne. She criticizes him for being “impervious to evidence,” and then opines the following:

Indiana is one of those states where an ambitious education reform push is underway. Interestingly, the Indianapolis Star reports today on some new evidence (H/T American Federation for Children) bolstering part of the legislative package supported by Governor Mitch Daniels and State Superintendent Tony Bennett: The Star looked at charter schools’ scores on ISTEP [Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress] and new end-of-course exams in math and English for high school students last year and compared them with scores in Indianapolis Public Schools. The comparison showed: Charter schools’ overall performance on ISTEP very closely matched that of IPS, but charters ranked somewhat higher on year-over-year improvement for their students compared with those who had similar scores in English.

It’s Friday, so allow me to tease you a bit. Na na nanny boo boo. No, not like that. I mean “tease,” as in the broadcast media lingo for giving you just a little bit of info and a heads-up, while making you wait for the real deal. But first, my own curiosity was drawn in by this new Education Next article by Stuart Buck and Jay Greene, who both come from that bastion of education reform intelligence at the University of Arkansas. Taking a look at data from Vanderbilt’s National Center on Performance Incentives, they provide some interesting perspective on the whole teacher merit pay debate:

A few weeks ago I told you about the “voucher bogeyman” fearmongering around Colorado House Bill 1048 (PDF) — which would provide non-refundable tax credits to parents or donors supporting a student’s private school tuition or home education. (And therefore, not a “subsidy” as was headlined and reported with a strong anti-choice slant on the Denver Post‘s blog. To expound further by quoting from said post might get me in legal trouble, and I’m too young to be able to afford a lawyer.) Well, the bill finally got a hearing yesterday afternoon before the House Finance Committee. A fairly long one. And ultimately an indecisive one. Education News Colorado has the best account I’ve seen: After dark had fallen and the witness list was exhausted, [committee chair Rep. Brian] DelGrosso said, “I think we have raised several questions” and that “trying to piecemeal some amendments might not be the wisest decision.” “I’m going to lay it over a couple of weeks,” he told [bill sponsor Rep. Spencer] Swalm. “Maybe you can give the committee a couple of different options.” So now it’s time to hurry up and wait again. I’m learning that’s just sometimes how it goes in the big […]

February is a big month for awards. There’s the Oscars for movies and the Grammys for popular music. Before both of them comes the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the winner of the most-watched sporting event: the Super Bowl. So I thought today would be a great opportunity to highlight a couple of freshly-announced education-related awards. First and foremost, the group Stand for Children Colorado yesterday announced well-deserved recognition, along with giving out $1,000 each, to 10 superhero teachers across the state: At Stand for Children, we’ve seen the impact a great teacher can make. And after reading nearly 100 nominations for outstanding teachers across the state, we know you have, too. Please join us in celebrating the ten teachers listed below who have won $1,000 to recognize and reward their commitment. The list includes teachers from Evans to Grand Junction and all along the Front Range, teachers who represent the elementary and middle and high school levels, as well as six neighborhood schools, three charters and an alternative school. Congratulations to each and every one of them! Read the entries to see what their nominations had to say about them. Now for something mostly different. Matt Ladner this morning has […]

“Cars are cars all over the world…” goes an old song my parents told me about. While cars are cars, it kind of goes without saying that Kids Aren’t Cars, right? But a new series of online short movies by that name reminds us that it’s past time to move beyond the old assembly-line model of education because “our schools shouldn’t be dropout factories.” Produced by Kyle Olson and the Education Action Group Foundation, the first episode debuts today: One of the points hammered home in the film is that many school districts are weighted down by the regulated work rules of collective bargaining agreements — reminiscent of the United Auto Workers. One of the key figures interviewed in the film is Indiana state superintendent Tony Bennett (pictured in the video freeze frame above). Interestingly, the legislature in his state is debating a bill that would limit public school union collective bargaining, including what tax-funded policies can be discussed behind closed doors.

Aren’t there any child labor laws in effect here? This National School Choice Week phenomenon is great, but the good folks of the Education Policy Center have me blogging overtime. I talked about going on strike, but they just laughed and patted me on the head. How condescending!* Anyway, rather than write any more, I wanted to highlight another one of the great series of Reason TV School Choice Week video interviews. In this edition, Andrew Coulson from Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom talks about the impact of school choice on social conflict and the promise of tuition tax credits:

In the second edition of special National School Choice Week blog posts, I’m mostly going to take a break and point you to another great video in reason.tv’s topical series. Last week it was former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Today it’s Dr. Jay Greene, a preeminent education scholar from the University of Arkansas — perhaps most personally notable for saying I have “one of the best education blogs, period” — telling Nick Gillespie what’s at the top of his reform wish list: How many of you were surprised at the answer? Raise your hands. That’s what I thought. Not too many. Still looking for a way to celebrate National School Choice Week? Other than the Colorado events I told you about yesterday, you also can visit the fabulous, one-of-a-kind School Choice for Kids website to learn how you can take advantage of the education options we already enjoy.

If you’re stuck in the education bubble, the big news for this week is Education Week‘s release of its annual “Quality Counts” report. The national publication uses a wide range of metrics to rate states on their K-12 performance and policies. Since I can guarantee you that some prominent official or media figure in 2011 will turn to “Quality Counts” to make this or that case about Colorado K-12 education, I figure a little up-front clarification is in order. First of all, let me say that the report produced by Education Week contains a lot of valuable information — and especially in the categories of K-12 Achievement; Standards, Assessment and Accountability; and the Teaching Profession. But I admit to find it confusing that one-third of the overall rankings is built around two factors that rely heavily on inputs, rather than outputs. I’m talking about Chance of Success and School Finance.

Well, it’s that time of year again…. Hey, stop giving me those blank stares! Time to preview Colorado’s upcoming legislative session and the debates over bills and policies that could affect K-12 education in our state. Session starts in two days, and Ed News Colorado has posted the annual preview by Todd Engdahl — a must-read for local education transformers. Of course, anyone who has been paying attention or reading what I have to say, knows what the driving theme will be. Engdahl’s story hammers it home: