Class Struggle Archive: Metro Monday

D.C. expose--one teacher's evaluation

Overall, the evaluator gave the teacher only 2.3 out of a possible 4 points. Goldfarb got only 1 out of 4 points in one section for failing to post or say what the objective of the lesson was--to me unnecessary kid’s stuff for an AP class. He also got only 1 out of 4 points for not catering to multiple learning styles, even though some experts, like Willis D. Hawley of the University of Maryland, call learning style analysis “bunk.”

Want to eliminate at-risk kids? Call them something else.

I sympathize with those who may not be comfortable with the latest plan to rid our schools of at-risk kids. Several educators across the country, including Alexandria city schools superintendent Morton Sherman, have decided not to call them that...

Forget about rating teachers---rate schools instead.

Those unfortunate people in the District may worry about the quality of their teachers, and wait anxiously for the results of the school system’s controversial new evaluation of classroom techniques and test score improvement. But those of us in...

Perils of rating teachers--Part one, the District

In the last half of the 19th century, many inventors pursued the dream of building an airplane. Duds and crashes were frequent and skeptics numerous. Only a decade before the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight, British physicist and engineer Lord...

Two D.C. high schools get a New York makeover

After days of frantic blogging on the latest D.C. schools crisis and trading speculation with interested readers, I find it refreshing to visit three educators who are making major changes in two of the city’s lowest-performing high schools. Unlike...

Test that makes U.S. look bad may not be so good

Politicians and pundits are using results from the Programme for International Student Assessment|(PISA) tests to say our kids are falling behind the rest of the world, so maybe we should get some PISA practice. Brookings Institution scholar Tom Loveless, a...

Older Entries in This Category »

School Rules Stifle Gifted Student, Jay Mathews , October 5, 2009

Despite Test Scores, Shaw Is on the Right Track, Washington Post editors , September 28, 2009

Elite Schools Don't Make Elite People, Jay Mathews , September 21, 2009

Retest D.C. Classes That Had Dubious Exam Results in '08, Washington Post editors , September 14, 2009

Certification Of Teachers as Painful Farce, Washington Post editors , September 7, 2009

When a Gifted Teacher Has to Jump Through Hoops Just to Keep His Job, Change Is Needed, Jay Mathews , August 24, 2009

Metro Monday: Here's a Wise Investment: Help Students Who Need Money to Finish College, Washington Post Editors , August 10, 2009

IB Teacher Takes Risks, With Impressive Results, Jay Mathews , August 3, 2009

Barring Gifted But Poor Students from College, Jay Mathews , July 27, 2009

Metro Monday: What Is Montgomery Schools' Secret?, Washington Post editors , July 20, 2009

Metro Monday: Should High Schools Bar Average Students From College-Level Courses and Tests?, Washington Post Editors , July 13, 2009

New School Board Member Has Influenced a Legion of Educators, Washington Post Editors , July 6, 2009

Metro Monday: Note to Union: Don't Mess With Success at This High-Achieving Charter Middle School, Washington Post Editors , June 29, 2009

Grading the Column's First Year, Washington Post Editors , June 15, 2009

Is AP for All A Formula For Failure?, Washington Post Editors , June 8, 2009

Charter Schools Provide Good Model on Teacher Pay, Washington Post Editors , June 1, 2009

At-Risk Need a Mix of Good Teachers, Social Services Help, Washington Post Editors , May 25, 2009

Senioritis Is One Symptom of a Creative Deficit in Class, Washington Post Editors , May 18, 2009

A $100 Billion Question: How Best to Fix the Nation's Schools?, Washington Post Editors , May 11, 2009

Rare Alliance May Signal Ebb In Union's Charter Opposition, Washington Post Editors , May 4, 2009

Senior Projects Encourage Insight Via Sustained Effort, Washington Post Editors , April 27, 2009

Schools May Pass High Stakes Tests, But Fail Low Performing Students, Washington Post Editors , April 20, 2009

Accelerated Math Challenge, For a Student and Her Mom, Washington Post Editors , April 13, 2009

You've Been Wait-Listed. Here's What You Do Now., Washington Post Editors , April 6, 2009

Some Happy D.C. 8th-Graders Moving Up Without Moving On, Washington Post Editors , March 30, 2009

Saying 'When' On D.C. School Voucher Program, Washington Post Editors , March 23, 2009

One Principal Knows What to Do With Stimulus Money. Do Others?, washingtonpost.com editors , March 16, 2009

St. Mary's Builds New Path To College, Washington Post Editors , March 9, 2009

Better Teachers, Not Tinier Classes, Should Be Goal, Washington Post Editors , March 2, 2009

Creative Leaders' Will to Succeed Is Key to KIPP, Washington Post Editors , February 23, 2009

Boosting Schools' Value Without Spending a Dime, Washington Post Editors , February 16, 2009

Test Scores Provide Valuable Measure Of Success in D.C., Washington Post Editors , February 9, 2009

In Cutting Sports Funding, Everyone Loses, Washington Post Editors , February 2, 2009

Despite Flaws, Site Rating Preschools Fills a Critical Need, Washington Post Editors , January 26, 2009

Sorting Children Into 'Cannots' and 'Cans' Is Just Racism in Disguise, Washington Post Editors , January 19, 2009

What is Metro Monday?, Washington Post Editors , November 30, 2008