"We know the statistics," Jim Brown said firmly. "I'm sick of the statistics; we could fill a book with them."

They hardly needed repeating. Standing in a school built atop a reclaimed strip mine, the McDowell County School Superintendent spoke about the pride he...

Late last week, news broke that 75 probationary (non-"tenured") teachers who were improperly fired under then-DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee would be re-instated.

In covering the coverage, a writer over at the Washington City Paper said,

Rhee's acolytes, no doubt, will say that it is another case of a...

"The development of common standards and shared assessments radically alters the market for innovation in curriculum development, professional development, and formative assessments. Previously, these markets operated on a state-by-state basis, and often on a district-by-district basis. But the adoption of common standards and shared assessments means that education entrepreneurs will...

Denver Public Schools recently voted 4-3 to approve innovation status for three new schools in Far Northeast Denver. In doing so, they almost certainly broke the law.

For those who don't know, SB 08-130 (The Innovation Schools Act) grants schools and districts that receive innovation status the...

A couple of weekends ago, I found myself chatting with a local parent who was born and raised in Europe. Once we exchanged information about our careers, the conversation naturally turned to education, and recent news coverage of education issues:

"I have to say, I find this really strange. I...

Over the past few months, I've started to feel cautiously hopeful that things might be taking a turn for the better. It started when I read and signed the Declaration of Professional Conscience for Teachers earlier this year, and continued as I watched groups like Parents Across America...

Though researchers have repeatedly warned of instability and high-error rates as they caution against the use of value-added measures (VAM) of teacher performance for high-stakes purposes, "reformers" of a certain kind remain infatuated with the practice -- as does much of the media. I've written about VAM in the past,...

It's another one of those first-meetings I have a lot recently. I'm sitting in a bar/grill/café/I-don't-know-what-but-don't-care-as-long-as-they-serve-beer-place, across from someone who "works in education," but not really. Everybody "works in education" now, but few people want to actually work in education anymore, and I understand. Teaching is freakin'

The recent release of two important reports led me to ask this question.

The National Education Policy Center shared a brief that reviews available research on several different aspects of teacher evaluation and makes recommendations for a comprehensive approach to teacher evaluation. If different measures, like observation (by peers...

Recently, Education Secretary Arne Duncan set Reformy listeners' hearts aflutter when he declared that public schools need to adjust to "The New Normal" of lean budgets and sacrifice. It's clear that we're in really tough economic times, and I agree with Secretary Duncan that we should be thinking...

I originally wrote this several weeks ago, but I'd like to publish it again in the hopes that I can help advance a more serious (and genuine) conversation about education in this country. Before we move any further down a path to "reform," we need to take some time to...

I've been called a lot of names in my life; some good, some bad, most true. But recently, a new adjective has been added to the mix: radical.

At first, I was kind of offended. After all, Americans don't really take too well to so-called radicals, and being "radical"...

Last week, The Huffington Post readers were invited to share their stories of inspirational teachers. I had many great teachers throughout my public school career -- and when I tried to pick just one, or even a couple, I realized it would be faster to list those who...

"There is a Crisis in America's schools," the story goes. In 1983, the Reagan administration told us that our nation was at risk. Since then, we've been told loads of distressing things about our public schools. We've spent more money and more attention on education in response. Still,...