Back-to-Back Anti-Choice Lawsuits Make Me Want to Scream and Pull Out My Hair
I don’t have a lot to write about on this manic Monday. But after venturing over to Jay Greene’s blog and finding not one, but two, closely related news stories that make me want to pull my hair out. Well, how could I not share the experience with you? Irony reigns, the world is spinning […]
PDK/Gallup Public Education Survey Has Earned Skepticism, and Here’s Why
Seeing as how it’s back-to-school season, it must be time for my Third Annual “Let’s Take a Closer Look at the PDK/Gallup Public Education Survey” posting. It will teach you to take the headlines with a grain of salt. Without time to delve into every issue and inspect every question, there are a few points […]
Learning about Douglas County K-12 Innovation: Read. Watch. Share. Repeat.
Seeing as how it’s been at least a couple days since I’ve mentioned Douglas County, it seemed like the perfect time to make sure you all also saw my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow’s new op-ed in the Colorado Observer: There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or […]
Forward-Thinking School Reforms Popular in DougCo
As Douglas County leaders continue charting the nation’s boldest course for local education innovation, political foes have taken the fight to a different front. Charges against the reform-minded school board fail in the light of truth but have the chance to catch on with many voters.
Time to Bust Amendment 66 Myths
Colorado is approaching the heat of a statewide campaign to impose a billion-dollar-a-year statewide education tax hike. It’s time to address some of the myths and misinformation cited in support of Amendment 66. Read and listen to find seven of the major pro-tax arguments — some of them often repeated — that don’t stand up under close scrutiny.
Amy Oliver Show: Amendment 66 Fact vs. Fiction
Senior education policy analyst Ben DeGrow sheds light on some claims made by backers of Colorado’s Amendment 66, the billion-dollar-a-year statewide education tax increase proposal.
Teacher Engagement Research Adds to Case for Compensation, Tenure Reforms
Little Coloradans like me have to grudgingly admit that, yes, good ideas and insights can come from Kansas, at least from time to time. In this case, a University of Kansas researcher conducted a study and found that newer teachers are more likely to be engaged at their jobs than many of their senior colleagues. […]
Trying to Measure “Non-Cognitive Skills” Beats “Deja Vu All Over Again”
An old baseball player from a long time ago once famously said, “It’s deja vu all over again” (or so my Education Policy Center friends would have me believe). Little voices have been asking me when I’m going to write something about the latest round of TCAP results — Colorado’s annual state testing for different […]
Amy Oliver Show: Parents Express More Concerns about Common Core
Tyler Hart of Parent Led Reform discusses Colorado’s growing anti-Common Core movement, and how to take on the challenges of withdrawing from the flawed and controversial national standards and testing.
For Aspen, Jeffco, and Others, Billion-Dollar Tax Initiative Also Happens to be Unfair
The Aspen Daily News yesterday reported on the struggle facing school board members in the upscale mountain community as they ponder whether to support the billion-dollar tax hike headed for November’s ballot: Board member Elizabeth Parker told Pitkin County commissioners in a joint meeting Tuesday that she would have a hard time throwing her support […]
Details Will Dictate District Success with Colorado’s New Educator Evaluations
It’s been awhile since I’ve written about good old SB 191, Colorado’s 2010 law passed in an attempt to create a more meaningful teacher and principal evaluation system. As the 2013-14 school year gets underway, school districts across the state are meeting the requirement to put the new system into place. What can we expect? […]
DeGrow Lauds Dougco’s Push for Higher Academic Standards
An American Family Radio News (One News Now) report on the Douglas County Board of Education’s resolution opposing Common Core featured comments by senior education policy analyst Ben DeGrow: “Douglas County is saying that they want to strive for highest academic standards and expectations possible for their students, and the Common Core is not appropriate […]
