GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Last night, at the GothamSchools party, I had the opportunity to say hello to David Cantor, Press Secretary for the New York City Department of Education.  As he turned to talk with an angry parent, a piece of paper fell out of his pocket, and I picked it up.  It looked like a draft of (more…)

What is it about the Harlem Children’s Zone that causes pundits and reporters to suspend disbelief?  Perhaps it’s the deep desire for evidence that the large and persistent racial gap in educational achievement can be overcome.  The enduring racial inequalities in educational and social outcomes in the U.S. are a blight on our society, and (more…)

Monday afternoon, I had the opportunity to respond to Merryl Tisch, Chancellor of the Board of Regents, and David Steiner, the New York State Commissioner of Education, as they talked about the future of P-16 education in New York State at the Phyllis L. Kossoff Policy Lecture at Teachers College, Columbia University.  I wasn’t sure (more…)

I’m not sure how much credibility the Progress Reports at the heart of the NYC Department of Education’s accountability system have left.  The elementary and middle school Reports issued earlier this fall were ridiculed for their inability to distinguish one school from another, since 97% of the school’s received A’s or B’s (and 84% received (more…)

A few years ago, the New York State lottery’s slogan was “Hey, you never know.”  In its original formulation, the slogan sought to motivate New Yorkers to play the lottery, a game of chance, on the grounds that you never know unless you play if you are a winner.  But the slogan is a double (more…)

Is there anything that gets people’s dander up faster these days than comparisons of charter schools and traditional public schools?  On Thursday, reporter Meredith Kolodner filed a story in the Daily News on the relative performance of charter schools and what the NYC Department of Education calls “district” schools.  A fall, 2009 presentation emanating from (more…)

Down in DC yesterday, Chancellor Michelle Rhee faced sharp questioning from the D.C. Council about her office’s handling of hirings and layoffs of teachers and other staff members over the past several months.  The DC Public Schools hired 934 teachers during the spring and summer, with an average age of 32.  Faced with a budget (more…)

I missed Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s speech at Teachers College on Thursday because I was working on his behalf in Washington.  I was one of about 17 researchers on a panel evaluating a batch of research proposals on school reform for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the federal Department of (more…)

Today’s New York Daily News published a bold editorial on the progress of New York City schoolchildren under the administration of Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein.  “You would be better off arguing that the world is flat, or that the sun revolves around the Earth, than to dispute that New York City kids (more…)

“I think there’s nothing wrong with anything.”  So spoke Chancellor Joel Klein at yesterday’s release of the 2009 elementary and middle school progress reports.  As Anna Phillips reported, 84% of the schools received a letter grade of A, and an additional 13% received a B.  Only two schools out of 1,058 received an F, and just five (more…)