In the first two parts of this blog, I outlined compelling evidence about the extensive and probably excessive use of readers for Kentucky’s students with learning disabilities. These kids even get readers on the state’s reading assessments. That prevents education leaders and the public from knowing if any real effort is being expended to teach…
In a real break with her own national leadership and many other state level teachers’ union organizations, the head of the Kentucky Education Association (KEA), Sharron Oxendine, is saying some very nice things about the Teach for America program (TFA). TFA is placing college graduates from some of the nation’s finest universities into K to…
Much of increase comes from AdvanceKentucky schools The Kentucky Department of Education just issued a news release about our high school students’ performance on the Advanced Placement tests. This table, taken from the release, tells some of the important story. Between 2008 and 2012 the number of individual students taking at least one AP exam…
It’s exactly what we wanted Richmond Register’s editor Bill Robinson took time yesterday to comment on some of the issues we raised in our new “Bang for the Buck 2012: How efficient are Kentucky’s schools” report. Robinson’s thoughtful comments about efficiency and spending priorities in Kentucky’s public schools are exactly the type of discussion we…
In yesterday’s Part 1 of this blog, I pointed out that high proportions of Kentucky’s students with learning disabilities are getting all tests, including the state’s reading tests read to them. As a consequence, we have no way to know if any effort is being expended to teach these students to really read. Why are…
Sunday Special Lead Article Too many Kentucky schools may be expending little, if any, effort to teach children with learning disabilities to read. At the same time, highly questionable testing practices provide an inflated picture of the true reading performance of students across the commonwealth. And, many Kentucky teachers are expending a tremendous amount of…
As I earlier mentioned the now infamous teacher strike in Chicago didn’t impact the charter schools there, which enroll many thousands of students. It was school as usual for charter school students while chaos reigned in the traditional public schools. The strike has renewed interest in charter schools in Chicago. Over at the J. P.…
WFPL Radio reports that heavy campaign funding by Kentucky’s teachers’ unions is drawing some opposition. Campaign finance records obtained by the Bluegrass Institute show that the Jefferson County Teachers Association sometimes has spent more than $100,000 in “Independent Expenditures” to support individual candidates that union favored in past school board races. It is difficult to…
It’s not a secret. The Bluegrass Institute pushed to get Teach for America (TFA) teachers in Kentucky schools for some time (see here and here). Finally, during the 2010 Regular Session, the Kentucky Legislature passed Senate Bill 180. This bill changed the state’s teacher certification laws so that Teach for America teachers could qualify for…
Thanks to the elimination of red tape – including troublesome teachers’ union restrictions – not all schools in Chicago are closed for the disruptive, child-hostile teachers strike. The Chicago charter schools are still open. I’ll bet charter school enrollment explodes in Chicago next year. Or, maybe even right now, if the schools have openings. I…