The Boston school system rated 93 percent of its teachers as exemplary or proficient under a new evaluation system, although ratings varied fairly significantly from school to school. Overall, 13.5 […]
Elementary and Secondary Education
Posted inEducation
Rocky road
It was an unwelcome, but not unfamiliar, spot for the Renaissance Charter Public School to find itself in. In February, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted for […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
MAYOR MATTERS: Steady start
Fifth in a series Boston’s next mayor will face a range of crucial issues when he assumes office in January. Three areas that should receive particular attention, however, are the […]
Posted inEducation
Boston schools embrace autonomy in hiring
Boston officials say they plan to give leaders at every public school the autonomy to fill teacher vacancies with anyone they want while steering unplaced tenured teachers into professional development […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State taking over 4 different schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEThe state will take over four chronically under-performing schools that have been “stuck” as other troubled schools have made “quite good progress,” Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
MCAS scores highlight 3d-grade reading problem
Last month’s release of 2013 MCAS results generated some good news. Concealed in the results, however, is a hidden story that is cause for concern: 43 percent of the state’s […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Record MCAS scores but news not all good
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEFourteen Massachusetts schools designated “underperforming” in 2010 have met three-year turnaround goals and will shed their Level 4 status, but four turnaround schools could fall into state […]
Posted inEducation
Lawrence test scores improve, sources say
Standardized test scores due out later this week are expected to show that the state takeover of the Lawrence school system is having a positive impact, according to three people […]
Posted inEducation
Teacher prep gets failing grade
If our public schools are struggling, maybe it’s no wonder. According to a recent study, the colleges and universities that train American teachers do an abysmal job, churning out graduates […]
Posted inEducation
Moving backwards
I AGREE WITH Commissioner Chester that some around K-12 education are enthusiastic about Common Core. Washington, DC-based trade groups like the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governor’s […]
Posted inEducation
Educating for the 21st century
THIS SUMMER MARKS the 20th anniversary of the Commonwealth’s landmark Education Reform Act of 1993. That law ushered in a new era of clear, measurable academic standards for all students […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Group pushes school autonomy
Twenty years ago this month, as Tom Menino was about to take office as Boston’s acting mayor, the state adopted the landmark 1993 education reform law. It was, in many […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
Lawmakers should maximize investment in young children
By July 1, Massachusetts will most likely have a state budget for fiscal year 2014. A six-member conference committee is currently meeting to negotiate differences between the House and Senate […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Slain teen’s parents call for relationship ed
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICETHE PARENTS OF SLAIN WAYLAND TEENAGER Lauren Astley made a heartfelt plea to lawmakers on Tuesday to implement comprehensive teen relationship and violence education in public schools, […]
Posted inEducation
Teacher lessons
A CENTRAL FOCUS of education reform efforts over the last decade has been the premise that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school variable affecting student learning. The idea […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
More school time needs to be part of broader effort
THERE IS GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE a longer school day for students in high-poverty school districts could make a big difference in closing the persistent achievement gap that leaves poor […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
New Jersey pre-K holds lessons for Mass.
In 1998, in the landmark Abbott v. Burke school finance ruling that the New York Times called “the most significant education case” since Brown v. Board of Education, the New […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
Charter schools work
Charter schools are one of the great success stories of Massachusetts education reform, but thanks to a state law limiting enrollment, their growth is about to hit the wall. Last […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
The messy politics of school assignment
A recent Atlantic Cities look at school performance in Washington, DC, helps illustrate why school assignment in Boston is such a politically thorny issue to tackle. DC recently opened a […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
What is a ‘rigorous’ preschool curriculum?
SOME QUESTIONS HAVE ARISEN about the “rigorous curriculum” called for in President Obama’s proposal for universal access to preschool, starting with children from low- and moderate-income families. My own daughters […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Early education funding needed
WITH GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK proposing substantial new investments in high-quality early education and President Obama calling for universal access to preschool in his State of the Union address, momentum […]
Posted inEducation
Reville reflects
WITH HIS PROPOSAL TO PUMP as much as $1 billion a year more into school programs, Gov. Deval Patrick says he wants to make good on the promise of providing […]
Posted inEducation
Schooling outside the box
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS A RICH HISTORY as the birthplace of public education in the United States. These days it’s giving rise to new forms of public schooling in response […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Prep school scandal
In a bizarre email to alumni and parents, the Brooks School in North Andover disclosed that its former headmaster had engaged in inappropriate relationships with a student and escorts and […]
