A day in school I know a young mother who has a child in fourth grade at a Hillsborough County "A" school. Recently, the child came home from school and reported, "I failed my math test today." The mother was aghast, as math is one of the child's best subjects. ...more

March 15, 2010

State and local teachers unions are mobilizing against proposed legislation (Senate Bill 6) that would base a teacher's salary, in part, on student performance, rather than on the educators' years of service and make it easier to fire a teacher. ...more

March 10, 2010

Before the FCAT writing test, teacher Steve Francis sent a note home with his fourth-graders, reminding them to arrive on time and well-rested on test day. ...more

March 6, 2010

Florida is a step closer to receiving federal "Race to the Top" dollars for education reform. ...more

March 5, 2010

The most interesting political developments violate ideological expectations. Why did Bill Clinton fight for NAFTA and accept an end to the welfare entitlement? Why did George W. Bush push a Medicare prescription drug benefit? In each case, some bold political calculation or deep policy conviction was at work. ...more

March 5, 2010

After years of problems, Middleton High School is on the mend. That was the message Hillsborough County schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia delivered to a gathering of school supporters Saturday. ...more

February 28, 2010

The Hillsborough school district took over the Metropolitan Ministries school last year, after years of bad test scores and setbacks. The school district has made major changes, and everyone is hoping the school improves as the FCAT approaches. ...more

February 25, 2010

Gov. Charlie Crist and the legislative leadership want to loosen the costly handcuffs of Florida's class-size law. ...more

January 31, 2010

Selecting new superintendent tops among challenges to come. ...more

December 30, 2009

Detroit's (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation, and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C. Only 3 percent of Detroit's fourth-graders scored proficient on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called "The Nation's Report Card." Twenty-eight percent scored basic and 69 percent below basic. "Below basic" is the NAEP category when students are unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level. It's the same story for Detroit's eighth-graders. Four percent scored proficient, 18 percent basic and 77 percent below basic. Michael Casserly, executive director of the D.C.-based Council on Great City Schools, in an article appearing in Crain's Detroit Business, (12/8/09) titled, "Detroit's Public Schools Post Worst Scores on Record in National Assessment," said, "There is no jurisdiction of any kind, at any level, at any time in the 30-year history of NAEP that has ever registered such low numbers." The academic performance of black students in other large cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles is not much better than Detroit and Washington. ...more

December 26, 2009