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Here’s another annual “Best…” list, this time focusing on education policy.

You can see my picks for the first six months of the year at what functions as Part One of this list: The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2013 – So Far.

And you might also want to check out my Washington Post piece, Best and worst education news of 2013.

You might also be interested in:

All My 2013 “The Best…” Lists (So Far) On Education Policy In One Place

All My 2012 “The Best…” Lists On Education Policy In One Place

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part One

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — Part Two

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Polcy In 2011 — Part One

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy — 2010

The “Best” Articles (And Blog Posts) About Education Policy — 2009

The “Best” Articles About Education — 2008

The “Best” Articles About Education — 2007

Here are my choices for The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2013 — Part Two:

Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post published an absolutely terrific interview with famed teacher an author Rafe Esquith.

It’s a must-read. In fact, it should go on so many of my “The Best…” lists I’m not sure where to start….

Here’s an excerpt:

Mike-Feinberg-cofounder

Diane Ravitch was on The Daily Show. Here’s her two-part interview, which includes an “extended” portion that only appeared on the Web. You might also be interested in the previous time she was on the show — see Jon Stewart & Diane Ravitch Knock It Out Of The Park!

The Best Posts Interpreting This Year’s NAEP Scores

The Best Posts About The New York Testing Fiasco The Best Resources On Being A Teacherpreneur

The Best Posts & Articles About The Role Of Economists In Education

The Best Posts & Articles On The Tony Bennett Scandal

The Best Posts & Articles On The NCLB Waiver Given To Eight California School Districts (Including Ours)

The Best Resources On Why Improving Education Is Not THE Answer To Poverty & Inequality

The Best Resources For Learning About Scotland’s Schools

The Best Posts & Articles About Why High School Exit Exams Might Not Be A Good Idea

The Best Examples Of School Reformer Irony

A Beginning List Of The Best Posts & Articles On The Charter School CREDO Study

Paying Economists by Hair Color? Thoughts on Masters Degrees & Teacher Compensation by Bruce Baker is one of the best pieces on education policy I’ve read in awhile.

Larry Cuban published an important post titled The Sham and Shame Of Best Practices.

He discusses how the concept of “best practices” is adapted from the medical world, where it has also been criticized.

Here’s a key paragraph where he describes an analysis done of the concept in health care:

According to Groopman, experts who recommended “best practice” treatments (and their advice became Medicare mandates to all physicians) “did not distinguish between medical practices that can be standardized and not significantly altered by the condition of the individual patient, and those that must be adapted to a particular person.” He gives the example of putting a catheter into a blood vessel, a procedure that involves the same steps for every patient to avoid infection. This “one-size-fits-all” mechanical procedure differs from prescribing a “best practice” for a complex disease such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, or breast cancer. Not making this critical distinction leads experts to overreach in their recommendations to practitioners and, in time, turn a “best practice” such as hormone replacement therapy for women into a fad. A similar situation plagues school reform.

And here’s Larry Cuban’s verdict:

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Reliability and Validity of Inferences About Teachers Based on Student Test Scores by Edward H. Haertel from Stanford University was published by The Education Testing Service (ETS). It’s an extraordinary critique of the use of Value Added Measures in teacher evaluation. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.

Forever young: the new teaching career is by Mike Rose. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America.

Here’s a short video shared on Twitter by Arthur Goldstein showing Charlotte Danielson, the present “guru” of teacher evaluation for many districts, saying that student test results should not be used in teacher evaluations:

Teaching Lessons: What KIPP Did—and Didn’t—Learn From America’s “Best” Teacher is an excellent post by Andrea Gabor. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools.

Five basic lessons on public education (short and long versions) is from The Washington Post and was written by Brian Langley. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy.

I’m certainly adding this new piece from The Onion to The Best Education Articles From “The Onion” :

Progressive Charter School Doesn’t Have Students. Here’s an excerpt:

One year into its founding as the purported “bold next step in education reform,” administrators on Monday sang the praises of Forest Gates Academy, a progressive new charter school that practices an innovative philosophy of not admitting any students. “We’ve done something here at Forest Gates that is truly special, combining modern, cutting-edge pedagogical methods with a refreshingly non-pupil-centric approach,” said academy president Diane Blanchard

I’m obviously biased, but I really like ‘Teacherpreneurs Can Lead Reforms’: An Interview With Barnett Berry , a post I did over at Education Week Teacher, and “There Are No Shortcuts”: An Interview With Rafe Esquith, another one of my Ed Week pieces.

Why we can’t all get along over school reform is a post I wrote for The Washington Post.

You might also be interested in seeing all 1,200 of my “The Best…” lists.