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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
For years now we’ve been hearing from school reformers that traditional teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities are awful and that what we need is deregulation and market competition. In the following post, two academics evaluate the argument that these programs have failed as well as the value of the programs that school reformers embrace to replace them. (The Washington Post)
Nearly a decade ago, as president of Teachers College at Columbia University, I led a national study of the state of education schools in America, which produced reports on the education of school teachers, school leaders, and education researchers. While strong programs were identified in each area, the reports were critical of current practices regarding program quality and admission standards. (Huffington Post)
A new analysis of New York City school data shows that teachers who scored low in the city’s evaluation system are concentrated in struggling schools that tend to serve poor and minority students, while teachers with strong ratings are most likely to be found in schools where students test well and tend to be white and Asian. (The Washington Post)
Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t need a federal Education Department, arguing that its recommendations to state and local governments often turn into mandates tied to money. (U.S. News)
GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush talked school vouchers, college affordability, and immigration Tuesday morning at a town hall meeting with high school students at La Progresiva Presbyterian School in Miami. (Education Week)
NEW ORLEANS—A more or less orderly line of 4-year-olds, the boys in uniform blue polo shorts and the girls in plaid-checked jumpers, line up in the corridor of St. Rita Catholic School in the neighborhood known as Uptown. (The Atlantic)
Every year, thousands of high school students get ready for the SAT by using The Princeton Review’s test preparation services. But few, if any, realize that the prices for The Princeton Review’s online SAT tutoring packages vary substantially depending on where customers live. (Huffington Post)