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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Teachers’ Ratings Still High Despite New Measures
The figures are resoundingly familiar. In Michigan, 98 percent of teachers were rated effective or better under new teacher-evaluation systems recently put in place. In Florida, 97 percent of teachers were deemed effective or better. (Education Week)
Dana Goldstein: Can Big Data Save American Schools? Bill Gates Is Betting on Yes
Bill Gates trumpeted his numbers-driven approach to philanthropy at a Manhattan meeting with six reporters and writers, including myself, Wednesday afternoon, where he laid out his wish list for how to improve data-gathering efforts to address social, health, and economic problems around the world. (The Atlantic)
School Mistakenly Shared Private Admissions Data
Private schools are fund-raising pros. They keep detailed tabs on families and alumni so they know whom to ask for annual funds, auctions and capital campaigns. (New York Times)
Pupil Assignments Get Another Look in Boston
In Boston, a city where the struggle to desegregate public education through large-scale busing has left deep scars, school leaders are, once again, grappling with new ways of assigning students to schools that are closer to home. (Education Week)
Maryland:
Maryland rejects Montgomery’s teacher evaluation plan and 8 others
The Maryland State Department of Education has rejected new teacher-evaluation proposals from nine of the state’s 24 county school systems, saying that the proposals do not align with state law, federal education reforms or, in some cases, either. (Washington Post)
View Point:
Rick Hess: Data’s a Tool, Not a Talisman
Have been out at Stanford the past couple days. Gave a talk yesterday at the Ed School about Cage-Busting Leadership, where local heavyweights (Terry Moe, Mike Kirst, Bill Evers, Rick Hanushek, et al.) pushed me to explain how far you can really get with cage-busting. Meanwhile, my old friend and dissertation chair, Harvard’s Paul Peterson, had his own fun. Pointing out that Bill Gates has now suggested that data is the answer to all our myriad problems, he asked, why worry about this cage-busting stuff at all? (Education Week – Rick Hess Straight Up)