The commonwealth of Massachusetts is frequently, and with solid justification, considered to be the poster child of successful, systemic, standards-based school reform, but the ultimate goal of the 1993 Education […]
Next steps
Posted inEducation
High-stakes test
Passage of the state’s landmark 1993 Education Reform Act was a rare moment in politics when consensus was forged around a truly big idea that shook up the status quo. […]
Posted inEducation
Ed reform must move beyond MCAS
As mayor of New Bedford, I rely upon the entire community to work together to move our city forward. So it alarms me to watch New Bedford’s best resources, our […]
Posted inOpinion
A diploma means nothing without evidence of skills and learning
Read Counterpoints by: Tom Birmingham Nick Donohue Education reform in Massachusetts was a grand bargain: a massive infusion of state dollars into our public schools in return for high academic […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Laptops rule among students in middle school
INTRO TEXT Deep into their “Unsung Heroes” reports, students worked on monologues about historical figures they’d chosen that would be recorded as iMovies and posted to the school intranet. Tyrone […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
Fewer high school grads in jobs pipeline
INTRO TEXT Massachusetts is facing a serious brain drain. Over the next 15 years, forecasters expect the state’s school-age population to shrink and the number of high school graduates to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Craven gets a grip on the rising costs of school construction
INTRO TEXT School building authorityhead Katherine Craven. Katherine Craven is all about the numbers. On a yellow legal pad page, the head of the Massachusetts School Building Authority jots down […]
Posted inEducation
What about college?
Salvador Pimentel, asenior at Brighton HighSchool, says his jobs haveshown him there’s notmuch to look forward towithout a college degree.The colorful murals that ring the walls of Brighton High School’s […]
Posted inEducation
Sparking the brain
Danielle Pellegrine race downfield in a game of “ultimate ball.” Chasing her, on right, is fellow Millis Middle School student Alex Golash. MUSIC FROM A homemade CD blares from […]
Posted inEducation
Reports from the front line
<!– Illustration by Jon Cannell –>Jesse Gerson-Neider, Somerville Jalene Tamerat, Boston Anna Gelinas, LongmeadowCharter schools show what we can accomplishBy Jessie Gerson-Nieder I am a seventh-grade English and social studies […]
Posted inEducation
One last thing, Mr. President
NOTE: Sen. Edward Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after this edition of CommonWealth went to press.Like any good Democrat, Sen. Ted Kennedy is hoping that his party […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Shock to the system
During the 27 years after Proposition 2 1/2 became law in Massachusetts, the town of Randolph never passed an override of the state property tax cap. Between 2003 and 2007, […]
Posted inEducation
Raising the bar
By most measures, K-12 public education in Massachusetts is in better shape than in other states. We can boast higher scores on standardized tests, more spending per student, and fewer […]
Posted inEducation
The bottom line
set amid the row houses and apartment buildings of the poor, mostly Hispanic community of Bushwick, the New York Harbor School seems a long way from the open water. The […]
Posted inEducation
Prep schools
The Bay State’s public colleges and universities attract a sizeable number of students from Boston, but they seem to be more valued as a higher-ed option in other parts of […]
Posted inEducation
Back to schools
This special issue of CommonWealth catalogues all of the unfinished business of the state’s 15-year-old education reform effort: the achievement gap between rich and poor, the high number of failing […]
Posted inEducation
Natural curiosity
Imagine a baseball team run on the same organizational model as a typical school. Players would join not because they love the game, but because reformers in the 19th century […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Maps: Primary votes as % of general election votes
While we wait for tonight’s returns from the final two Democratic primaries, in Montana and South Dakota, here are a few maps that suggest the strengths and weaknesses of Barack […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Little Windmill on the Prairie
A new report by the US Department of Energy and the Berkeley Lab puffs up wind power in the US, noting that "35 percent of all new electricity-generating capacity added […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Subways pick up speed in Boston, trolleys are faster nationally
The American Public Transportation Association posted more good news for itself yesterday, reporting that mass transit use went up by 3.3 percent nationwide during the first three months of 2008 […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Will the Electoral College even matter?
It’s fun to check in on the latest electoral vote projections, all of which show a close race between Barack Obama and John McCain (see Electoral-Vote.com and FiveThirtyEight.com). But the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Is Ferraro helping to lay the groundwork for Hillary Clinton’s 2012 campaign?
In today’s Boston Globe, former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro proposes a formal study on whether sexism hurt Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign:…a group of women – from corporate executives […]