It’s not news to us, but the popular press is running an Associated Press (AP) article about the fact that high school dropouts can often be spotted by the fourth grade as though this is a stunning new revelation (this article also ran in many other news sources such as Education Week [subscription]). This will…
– Data in new report shows Kentucky ranks low for college graduation rates A new report from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is bound to raise eyebrows in Kentucky, especially once people see the ranking of college graduation rates I assembled below from the data in that report. Of course, this ranking shouldn’t be a…
Harvard professor Caroline Hoxby is one of the more knowledgeable researchers on charter schools in the country. If you want to see an excerpt of what she has to say about these public schools (no, charters are not private schools!) to better understand why the US Secretary of Education is pushing them, click on this…
After spending “billions” to develop small enrollment high schools, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has abandoned that idea. The Gates organization found out that better teachers, not class size, are the key to better student learning. Here in Kentucky the dubious “small school” fad was pushed by members of the “KERA Amen Chorus” (as…
It looks like grade inflation on student tests isn’t the only issue where “Lake Woebegon” effects are alive and well in our education system. That name refers to humorist Garrison Keelor’s mythical town where all children are above average. The name has been associated for some time with inflated test score results, but up until…
What began with only about half the states participating has now expanded to become almost a 100 percent nationwide effort. The Washington Post reports that 46 states and several US territories have signed on to a program to develop common education standards. This effort was started by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council…
– Having no charter school law could amount to the same thing The US Secretary of Education is a big supporter of charter schools – public schools that operate under reduced rules – often including freedom from union restraints – because they are overseen by a chartering organization. In fact, the Secretary is putting our…
– Meanwhile, Kentucky’s reporting founders Oregon just announced improved high school graduation rate reporting next year. Once that starts, an Oregon Department of Education spokesperson admitted the state’s high school dropout rate will probably rise dramatically, but Oregon is clearly intent on joining other states like California that are getting honest about this important information.…
– State’s student tracking software has major problem Infinite Campus is the new student tracking software program that the Kentucky Department of Education just brought on line. – Well, sort of. It turns out the software is fouling up the calculation of absolutely critical average daily attendance figures for every school district in Kentucky. Those…
Say what you will about it, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) definitely renewed interest in high school graduation rates. That new interest comes none too soon, because far too many kids in Kentucky and around the rest of the country are not graduating from high school. In today’s economy this spells trouble not…