"And for the most part, not all, but many of them consider the requests coming from parents and teachers - they think it's a nuisance." Not the best rhetorical strategy for DC Public Schools' new boss.   more »

It's a false choice. The arts contribute to literacy and numeracy, and there's no reason the stuff of math and reading can't be the great works of world culture. School improvement providers that fuse the two worlds can only do well as educators wake up to the possibilities.   more »

Norm-referenced tests aimed at an accountability regime based on average student performance give way to criterion-referenced tests based on every student’s performance. There are industry implications.   more »

It's unconscionable, but rational, hard to prove, and might make it easier to serve the kids. Still....   more »

If the back office doesn't work, why should the shop floor?   more »

The battleground is the school district, not the state capital. The antagonsts are parents, not policy wonks. The school improvement industry has an interest and a possible opening.   more »

Better late than never, Superintendent Roosevelt decides teachers should be part of curriculum reform. And an interesting admission from Kaplan management.   more »

School managers serve a purpose beyond raising achievement; it's not clear whether providers dodged a bullet or took one; it will take more than marginal improvements to current operations to get politically significant improvements in student performance.   more »