Keep high standards alive
In my experience as a math teacher for 15 years at Basalt Middle School, I have taught many different students and can probably tell you 42 different ways that someone might use the Pythagorean theorem. I can also tell you that parents who are involved in their students’ education and have high expectations for learning […]
Read MoreTaming big government by proxy
For the six years of the Obama presidency, or perhaps the last 35 years since Ronald Reagan’s election, American politics has been dominated by a debate on the size and role of the federal government. This argument, while intense and consequential, has often lacked one element: actual knowledge about the size and role of the […]
Read MoreHouston Chronicle: Preparing students for a global society
This week, the Houston Independent School District will host school administrators from across the state, all gathering to discuss the importance of making sure Texas students are globally competitive. It’s no longer enough for our students to simply graduate from high school. They must be ready to compete in a 21st century global society. That […]
Read MoreWashington, we can do this
By now, everyone has heard of the story of baseball’s Oakland Athletics and their 2002 season, immortalized by Michael Lewis in the book (and the movie) Moneyball. Recognizing his team’s limitations and scarce resources, Oakland general manager Billy Beane pioneered the use of performance data, rather than unscientific scouting reports, to drive his player draft […]
Read MoreThe American Dream Can Only Be Fulfilled If Our Top Students Have the Opportunity to Attend Our Top Colleges
When I was a senior in high school growing up in Medford, Massachusetts, I probably would have applied only to local colleges — not Harvard, that was for rich kids who were straight-A students, and I was neither. But I was lucky: I had an after-school job at an electronics company, and one of the […]
Read MoreDefinition of a Great School: Practices Regardless of Poverty Rates
I often brag about the school where I work, explaining to people I meet that it’s a great place for kids and teachers. When I mention that the school is Boston, they ask if I teach in a suburb of the city, or whether it’s a private school. I am constantly disheartened by the perception […]
Read MoreIn politics, does evidence matter?
One of the lovely formulations in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural addressexpressed his hope that “a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion.” Kennedy was talking about the Cold War, but we could use a little of this in the partisan and ideological warfare that engulfs our nation’s capital. And so let us […]
Read MoreTest lets Wisconsin schools see how they stack up internationally
It’s been known for a while that U.S. students trail their counterparts in some other countries on academic performance measures. But some Wisconsin high schools are actually performing above the level of the highest-performing “economy” in the world — Shanghai, China — according to results from an international exam. Last spring, almost 300 high schools, […]
Read MoreThe American Dream Can Only Be Fulfilled If Our Top Students Have the Opportunity to Attend Our Top Colleges
When I was a senior in high school growing up in Medford, Massachusetts, I probably would have applied only to local colleges — not Harvard, that was for rich kids who were straight-A students, and I was neither. But I was lucky: I had an after-school job at an electronics company, and one of the […]
Read MoreA New Push to Get Low-Income Students Through College
The United States fails to do right by most low-income students who excel in school. They overcome long odds and do well enough in high school to show they can thrive in college. Nevertheless, many never receive a bachelor’s degree. Now, though, the country may be approaching something of a turning point. As data has […]
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