Here are some relatively recent useful articles on education policy issues:

Confronting the Free Marketeers: Will They Plow Through Us? is by Anthony Cody. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run Like Businesses.

Profits, Lies, and Education Innovation is by Audrey Watters. I’m adding it to the same list.

Joel Klein’s Misleading Autobiography is by Richard Rothstein. You should also look at This is Why Our Current Education Debate is Toxic by Sara Mead, who attacks the Rothstein article. Her attack is without merit, but it’s worth reviewing the comments readers left.

Why Teacher Evaluation Shouldn’t Rest on Student Test Scores is from Fair Test. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Take Student Complaints With Caution is by Walt Gardner at Education Week. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers).

Here are some relatively recent useful articles on education policy issues:

More than just test scores by Henry Levin and is lengthy, but important. Thanks to Diane Ravitch for the tip.

The Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: What Happens When Profits Drive Reform? is by Anthony Cody. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run Like Businesses.

Tired of the Tyranny of Data is by Dave Orphal. I’m adding it to The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven.”

On school reform: Broad’s misleading response to critics is by Ken Libby and Stan Karp. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy.

What research really says on teacher evaluation is by Richard Rothstein. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Here are the newest additions to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike:

Deal in Sight, Chicago Strike May End Soon is from The New York Times.

Tentative deal reached with striking Chicago teachers is from The Chicago Tribune.

Chicago Chooses Sides is from The American Prospect.

Teacher accountability and the Chicago teachers strike is by Richard Rothstein.

Why teachers have test anxiety, too is from the Chicago Tribune.

Why Evaluating Teachers is Complicated, No Matter What You Think of the Chicago Strike is by Dana Goldstein.

Are We Asking Too Much From Our Teachers? is from The New York Times.

Here are several recent good posts and articles on education policy issues:

American Students Are Not Failing is a post by Diane Ravitch that talks about the video I’ve embedded below. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test Comparison Demagoguery.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics, or What’s Really Up With Automated Essay Scoring is by Todd Farley. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Computer-Graded Essays.

Computers Grade Essays Fast … But Not Always Well is from NPR. I’m adding it to the same list.

Top 10 List of Public Education Success is from the National School Boards Association.

Here’s a fascinating study that might provide some evidence that “teaching to the test” could provide short-term gains but not be effective over the long-term. I’m just going to reprint the summary from ‘Cengage” (Thanks to Professor Jesse Rothstein for the tip):

At the Air Force Academy, instructors get advance copies of the standardized tests that will be administered to all those taking a given introductory course, and students are randomly assigned to those classes. Instructors must decide how to allocate class time between material that will directly boost test scores and material of perhaps deeper and more lasting value. Scott E. Carrell of UC-Davis and James E. West of the Air Force Academy find that students with less experienced professors perform significantly better in that introductory course, whereas students with more experienced professors perform better in the follow-on related curriculum. One possible explanation is that less experienced professors teach to the test, while more experienced professors offer more comprehensive and more probing analysis. Another possibility is that students who have been spoon-fed test material develop poorer study habits and this shows up in the later courses. A third, more cynical, explanation is that students with the experienced professors work harder in the later courses to make up for the disappointing grade in the introductory course. Regardless, teachers who emphasize the test get better course evaluations than those who provide deeper learning. See “Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from the Random Assignment of Students to Professors,” Journal of Political Economy, 118 (June 2010): 409-432.

Are Charter Schools Public Schools? is by Diane Ravitch. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools.

‘Flipping’ classrooms: Does it make sense? is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post.

Evil geniuses or good simpletons? is by Gary Rubenstein.

The Case of Melinda Gates’ Statement, Solved is by Diane Ravitch.

Taking Teacher Quality Seriously: A collaborative approach to teacher evaluation is by Stan Karp at Rethinking Schools. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Backtracking on Florida Exams Flunked by Many, Even an Educator is from The New York Times.

Guest Post by John Thompson

When I first followed Larry’s link to Tom Kane’s Op Ed in the Wall Street Journal (see Disappointing Op Ed On Using Tests To Evaluate Teachers By Head Of Gates’ Project), I also was disappointed.  Perhaps I’m naive but, upon reflection, I was struck by Kane’s conclusion.  The Gates Foundation’s scholar concluded that, “as imperfect as the current measures of effective teaching are—and they must be improved—using multiple measures provides better information about a teacher’s effectiveness than seniority or graduate credentials.”  In other words, after investing tens of millions of dollars in research, the best thing he can say about the use of test score growth for evaluations is that it is better than two of the weakest indicators available?

In fact, I wonder why Kane compared his attempts to quantify instructional effectiveness to two issues that have little or nothing to do with that issue.  Seniority is the teacher’s First Amendment in that it protects educators from the whims of their bosses, not to mention politicized fads.  There are many simpler and safer ways to reform seniority without encouraging test-driven evaluations. And, whether you agree or disagree with the policy of providing incentives for graduate courses, that issue has nothing to do with the question of whether an algorithm can be made accurate enough for firing teachers.

Too many economists trying to improve the validity of these value-added models (VAMs) seem to believe that the purpose of these experimental algorithms is making their calculations more reliable, as they seem oblivious to the actual circumstances in schools.  For instance, the study cited by Kane, “Long-term Impact of Teachers” by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Jonah Rockoff, made a big deal out of the consistency of the teacher effects they found when teachers in the 95^th percentile change schools – as if that neat experiment said anything about real-world policy issues.  (If it could be shown that elite teachers in elite schools were transferring in significant numbers to the inner city and producing test score gains, THAT would be relevant.)

In contrast, if the issue is whether value-added is good for students, Catherine Durso’s “An Analysis of the Use and Validity of Test-Based Accountability “ asks the right questions.  The National Education Policy Center study looked at about 800 Los Angeles teachers who changed schools to see whether the different environments had an effect on their value-added.  Only 30% of those teachers stay in the same value-added evaluation category after changing  schools.

The Los Angeles VAMs were most reliable in predicting future performance when they used six years of data (dating from 2004 to 2009.)  But more than a quarter of teachers subject to data-driven evaluations only had one year or data, and the majority had three years or less.  So, Durso devised an ingenious thought experiment.  She took the six years of data from the same teachers and divided it into two three-year periods.  Same teachers, same numbers, but the value-added model using the first of their data was only 40% accurate in predicting performance in the other half of the same teachers’ data.

Durso then took the six year results and predicted ELA teachers’ value-added in the seventh year (2010.)  It compared the VAM results to what actually happened in the seventh year.   The VAM prediction was only 27% accurate in predicting the teachers’ effectiveness category.

The Los Angeles study placed teachers into quintiles while other evaluation rubrics place teachers in categories under different names.  But we must remember what that categorization means in the real world.  What does it mean, real world, when 85% of ELA teachers have scores with a margin of error so great that they could be evaluated as either “less effective,” “average,” or “ more effective?”  

Worse, the NEPC study shows that it is harder for a teacher to raise his or her value-added after being moved to a school with lower value-added. Once value-added is incorporated into evaluations, what type of teacher would commit to the toughest schools? In addition to creating incentives for teaching narrowly to the bubble-in test, value-added evaluations are bound to produce an exodus of the best teachers from the toughest schools and/or the profession. Before long, only incompetents who couldn’t find work elsewhere, saints, adrenalin junkies, and mathematical illiterates would remain in the schools where it is harder to raise test scores.

I would have hoped that economists manipulating education statistics would at least consider the concept of “rational expectations,” and the laws of supply and demand.  Who would commit to a career where there is a 10% or 15% or whatever other percent chance, PER YEAR, of the career being damaged or destroyed by circumstances beyond your control? Also missing from the work of value-added advocates are footnotes showing that they have considered qualitative research such as that of Aaron Pallas and Jennifer Jennings, or Linda Darling Hammond, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Edward Haertel, and Jesse Rothstein.  But, they will be reading Catherine Durso’s analysis.  Had they had the benefit of her findings before they committed to test-based accountability, I still find it hard to believe that believe that they would have even started down the high-stakes value-added road.

John Thompson taught for 18 years in the inner city.  He blogs regularly at This Week in Education, Anthony Cody’s Living in Dialogue, the Huffington Post and Schools Matter.  He is completing a book, Getting Schooled, on his experiences in the Oklahoma City Public School System. 

Editor’s Note: I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.

Here are several recent good education policy-related posts and articles:

High School Reunion is by Mike Rose.

What Can Voucher Fans Learn from the Space X Mission? is by Bill Ferriter. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why School Vouchers Are A Bad Idea.

Do Our Public Schools Threaten National Security? is by Diane Ravitch. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On The Education & National Security Report.

Yong Zhao in Conversation: Education Should Liberate, Not Indoctrinate is from Education Week.

What Do NAEP Scores Mean? is by Diane Ravitch.

The worst eighth-grade math teacher in New York City is by Aaron Pallas. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles About The New York Court Decision Releasing Teacher Ratings.

Student surveys for children as young as 5 years old may help rate teachers is from The Washington Post. This ridiculous idea is just another example of how “school reformers” can take an idea that has great potential and warp it so everyone gets harmed. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers).

The fantasies driving school reform: A primer for education graduates is by Richard Rothstein. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Teachers’ performance pay ‘does not raise standards’ is from The BBC. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea.

The Paradox Of Performance Pay is from Farnam Street. I’m adding it to the same list.

Where should we focus our efforts? is from Delta Scape.

Here are some recent good articles and posts on education policy issues:

Higher Dropout Age May Not Lead To More Diplomas is from NPR. I’m adding it to The Best Commentaries On The President’s Proposal For Students To Stay In School Until They’re Eighteen.

“Why Do Good Policy Makers Use Bad Indicators?” is by Larry Cuban. I’m adding it to The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven.”

Finland Schools’ Success Story: Lessons Shared At California Forum is from The Huffington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources To Learn About Finland’s Education System.

The Illusions of School Choice is by Renee Moore.

The Ivory Castle? is from The Line. I’m adding it to The Best Posts About Public Officials (& Non-Elected “Reformers) Sending Their Children To Private Schools.

‘Reformers’ playbook on failing schools fails a fact check is by Richard Rothstein. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy.

Getting Teacher Evaluation Right: A Background Paper for Policy Makers is by Linda Darling-Hammond and colleagues. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

At My “Persistently Low-Achieving” School is from Gotham Schools.

How Can Smart People Do Dumb Things? is by Larry Cuban.

Here’s a collection of recent good school reform-related posts and articles:

Coaching is Good for Doctors and Teachers Both is by John Thompson. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Instructional Coaching.”

NCLB bill: The problem with ‘continuous improvement’ is by Richard Rothstein. I”m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Standardized tests for everyone? In the Internet age, that’s the wrong answer. is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On How To Prepare For Standardized Tests (And Why They’re Bad).

Getting Serious About Teacher Evaluation is from Education Week. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Here are some good recent posts and articles on school reform issues:

Principals rebel against ‘value-added’ evaluation is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.

Turning the Tables: VAM on Trial is by David B. Cohen, and I’m adding it to the same “The Best…” list.

In Which I Cite My Sources in an Attempt to Deflate the Hot Air from the Teacher Quality Debate is by Dana Goldstein. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Reforming the Teaching Profession: A Look at Teacher Quality Policy is a video of UC Professor Jesse Rothstein. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Some new very important pieces on school reform have recently been published:

We need to fix the economy to fix education was written by David Sirota and appeared in Salon. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Making the wrong “Data-Driven Decisions” is by Carl Anderson (thanks to Dean Shareski for the tip). I’m adding it to The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven.”

Education ‘Miracles’ Don’t Survive Scrutiny is by Mike Rose. I’m adding it to The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools.

‘The Acquisition of 16,905 Students’ is by Kevin Welner. I’m adding it to A Beginning “The Best…” List On The Dangers Of Privatizing Public Education.

Principals as Management, Teachers as Labor is by Walt Gardner at Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run Like Businesses.

Holding Accountability To Account is a report by Richard Rothstein that was written in 2008, but it’s new to me. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea.

Closing the Poverty Gap: The Way Forward for Education Reform is the title of guest column in Ed Week by Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville.

After citing some pretty irrefutable data documenting the role of poverty in student achievement, here are some excerpts from what he writes:

Some want to make the absurd argument that the reason low-income youngsters do poorly is that, mysteriously, all the incompetency in our education systems has coincidentally aggregated around low income students. In this view, all we need to do is scrub the system of incompetency and all will be well. An equally absurd variant on this theme is that poor performance in low-income districts is a function of, again coincidental, misalignment between state standards and local curriculum. Get these in line and all will be fine say the ideologues. Others want to banish any discussion of socio-economic status (SES) and educational performance for fear that it suggests that SES is destiny. It does not. We all know of notable individual exceptions to this rule, but they are exceptions. The averages tell the story….

It is now blatantly apparent to me and other education activists, ranging form Geoffrey Canada to Richard Rothstein to Linda Darling-Hammond, that the strategy of instructional improvement will not, on average, enable us to overcome the barriers to student learning posed by the conditions of poverty.

As others have argued, we need “a broader, bolder” approach, one that meets every child where he or she is and gives to each one the quality and quantity of support and instruction needed to attain the standards. Those of us who have the privileges of affluence know how to do this at scale with our children. We wrap services and supports around these children from the pre-natal period through their twenties. We know how to do it, but do we have the will to do it for “other people’s children”? And do we know how to institutionalize the necessary services and supports that are best provided through families?

I’d strongly encourage you to read the entire column.

I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Here are a few good articles and posts on school reform issues that I’ve read over the past couple of days:

Nelson Lichtenstein: ‘A governor like Walker is completely correct that it’s in his self-interest to ignore public opinion.’ comes from Ezra Klein’s Washington Post column. I’m adding the link to The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin.

Fact-Challenged Policy is by Richard Rothstein, and is a longer version of a previous piece of his I’ve shared. I’m adding the link to The Best Posts Responding To Bill Gates’ Appallingly Clueless Op-Ed Piece.

The Education of Diane Ravitch is a nice question and answer session with Diane Ravitch. It appeared in Mother Jones.

Gates spends millions to sway public on ed reform is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. I’m adding the link to The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy.

Again, today, there have been a number of very useful articles, videos and blog posts related to school reform issues. They include (a few are older than today, but I’ve just learned about them):

* Richard Rothstein has written a great piece titled Fact-Challenged Policy. It challenges claims made recently by Bill Gates. I’m adding it to The Best Posts Responding To Bill Gates’ Appallingly Clueless Op-Ed Piece.

* Study: $75M teacher pay initiative did not improve achievement is a new report on the failed use of teacher merit pay in New York City. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea.

* Here’s an MSNBC video of Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters explaining why smaller classes are the key to success.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter.

* Evaluating New York Teachers, Perhaps the Numbers Do Lie is an article from The New York Times. Check-out the equation above the headline! I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.

* Think Again: Education: Relax, America. Chinese math whizzes and Indian engineers aren’t stealing your kids’ future is from Foreign Policy Magazine. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test Comparison Demagoguery.

* We Must Change the Narrative About Public Education is very good piece by Diane Ravitch at Edutopia.

* Gates’ Measures of Effective Teaching Study: More Value-Added Madness is by Justin Baeder at Ed Week. I”m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.