It’s unbelievable. In fact, I think many people doubted me when I first started pointing out that the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) that Kentucky adopted for all its public schools in 2013 (by governor’s fiat) essentially omits all discussion of electrical circuits. But, when I did a word search in the PDF version of…
The nation takes time today to honor one of our country’s most active civil rights leaders, and we think it is important to note that one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most important efforts involved his desire that all children — no matter their race or socioeconomic backgrounds — could have access to a…
With the discussion about charter schools heating up during the 2017 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, I decided to examine a frequently raised question: Do these public schools of choice discriminate against students with learning disabilities? To investigate this, I used the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which happens to be one of…
A Kentucky Enquirer news article, “Grad requirements: Class of 2018 is in trouble,” talks about the disconnect between what public schools think is an adequate education to earn a high school diploma and what state leaders think should really be required. It appears Ohio’s educators are even upset about requiring the equivalent of just a…
Here’s a Huffington Post article worth your read. Poet Sara Holbrook discovered some of her poems were being used as seventh grade test items in Texas STAAR test. To her dismay, she couldn’t figure out what the answers to the questions really were! And, Ms. Holbrook wrote the poems! By the way, Kentucky, don’t act…
Back before Christmas, we alerted you to a breaking story about a bullying lawsuit now under way in Jefferson County’s Crosby Middle school. One of the state’s most successful and talented lawyers, Teddy Gordon, and three other lawyers filed this suit on behalf of a number of families and their children, alleging serious problems went…
A New Year’s Day article from the Palm Beach Post proclaims, “More PBC parents choosing traditional public schools over charters.” Not surprisingly, the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) instantly jumped on this article, trying to undermine efforts to finally bring these public schools of choice to Kentucky. If the news report were fully on target,…
Kentucky’s Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Hal Heiner, did an interview about what Kentucky needs with charter school legislation recently with CN|2 cable news. Heiner pointed to the obvious need for charter schools in Kentucky to help counter the serious achievement gaps that exist in the state’s traditional public school system. This…
The News-Enterprise reported (subscription) recently that the Elizabethtown Independent School Board had voted to oppose charter schools. The main reasons cited included a mix of incorrect information about charter schools plus something probably more telling – an expressed fear that somehow charter schools would take money away from the public school system in Kentucky. That…
Some at the Herald-Leader might lose their lunch over the idea that they sound like the Bluegrass Institute, but their recent article, “Analysis: Fayette schools stall on achievement gap,” does exactly that. The article presents data on the white minus black achievement gaps in math and reading in each of the district’s high schools, concluding:…