GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Class sizes across the city could increase by an average of 13 percent next year if the city decides to cut more than 6,000 teaching positions, according to a report the teachers union released today.

The United Federation of Teachers’ report doesn’t consider whether the city will lay off teachers by seniority — as is currently mandated by law. Nor does it factor in Mayor Bloomberg’s desire to lay off teachers based on how their principals have rated them, or how many unexcused absences they’ve accumulated, among other factors. Instead, it takes a blunt measurement of what the loss of over 6,000 bodies in classrooms could do to class sizes across the city and in certain districts.

The calculations don’t appear to take into account many of the complicated details behind how schools distribute their teachers. Often, schools will keep class sizes low for younger students, then increase them for older ones. Schools that separate their advanced students from those who are struggling are also likely to keep class sizes high for the former and low for the latter. (more…)

Did you hear about the big report that came out this week? You know, the one that “shows” that NYC charter schools are better than traditional non-charter public schools? It has gotten a ton of attention, probably because it uses “‘the gold standard’ method[ology].” The report is not subtle about this. It is right there in the very first sentence of the executive summary, “The distinctive feature of this study is that charter schools’ effects on achievement are estimated by the best available, “gold standard” method: lotteries.” It even uses the term “gold standard” four more times throughout the report.

Everyone wants to follow The Gold Standard — or at least be able to say that they do. Of course! I mean, who wouldn’t? But I do not think that we actually have a gold standard in education research. In fact, I am quite sure that we do not, and appropriating biomedical research’s gold standard does not make it appropriate for us.

However, if we are going to borrow their standard, can we not at least get it right? (more…)