Class Struggle - Jay Mathews' Education Blog - April 12, 2009

A High Stakes Test

My colleague Bill Turque writes today in The Post about efforts to prepare D.C. students for the DC-CAS tests, the ultimate measure of public schools in the city. To give you a flavor of the exam, here is an...

Young Teachers Find a Voice

I often refer to the new generation of aggressive and innovative teachers as the Brat Pack. That label was first attached to a clique of young film actors in the 1980s, and not in a positive way. But the 20-...

Extra Credit: Should State Schools Give Free Rides to Non-State Residents?

Dear Extra Credit: As the father of a recent graduate of St. Mary's College of Maryland, I can attest to the charm of the St. Mary's campus and the nurturing educational environment. But as someone who has paid $80,000 in...

Extra Credit: AP Vs. IB

Dear Extra Credit: have been following the Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate debate. I have a grandson who is a junior in an IB program in Northern Virginia. I have had the honor of reading several of the papers he was required...

Admissions 101: The Unusual Stress of Applying to Art School

In Admissions 101 Jay is discussing art school and school stress: A smart parent wrote to challenge my brush off of high school stress in Monday's Post column. I said high school parents "like to blame schools for the stress...

Extra Credit: Teach to the Test or Not?

Dear Extra Credit: The home-schooling parents who criticize public schools' teaching to the test have a point. Because of federal and state mandates, schools do teach to the test, and I believe that approach tends to stunt conceptual learning and,...

A Dissenting View on the Knowledge is Power Program

In discussions about Jay Mathews from around the web, Kentucky School News and Commentary takes issue with Mathew's take on the Knowledge is Power Progam: In his new book, "Work Hard. Be Nice.," Jay Mathews claims that the Knowledge is...

Accelerated Math Challenge, For a Student and Her Mom

Anne McCracken Ehlers's third-grade daughter was not doing well in accelerated fourth-grade math at Whetstone Elementary School in Gaithersburg. Becca was spending far too long on her assignments. She was confused. She was unhappy. Ehlers is a teacher herself, in...

Class Struggle: April 12, 2009 - April 18, 2009