By Gary Sands Since the new Legislature convened in January, more than 40 bills related to public education have been introduced. These bills cover a wide range of topics, from funding for pre-kindergarten programs to high school graduation requirements. There is clearly widespread interest in maintaining and improving the quality of elementary and secondary education […]
Michigan school opinions
Posted inPhil's Column
Legislators missed chance to have eyes opened on K-12 reform
In my experience, there are two basic types of conferences: * The rehash, where you see/meet new people but don’t learn much new. * The eye-opener, where you hear something quite new that shoves your thinking in new directions. Tuesday’s gathering in Lansing, sponsored by the Center for Michigan to consider expert response to the report, “The […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: New thinking needed on schools
By Peter B. Ruddell/Wiener Associates The recent series of articles and the report “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education” confirm the policy direction being advanced by the Michigan Public Education Finance Project (“the Project”). Contrary to simplistic analysis portrayed in the article “Online ed expansion, school choice plan murky in 2013”, the Project has far […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Another perspective on ranking ‘valuable’ schools
By Jeff Padden/Public Policy Associates Bridge Magazine published an analysis of the Value-Added Matrix scores for 560 school districts in Michigan, including 52 charter schools and 508 traditional public schools. The VAM scores attempt to correct for differences among the student bodies in schools by looking at the socioeconomic condition of the district, a factor […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Schools need help to better support and evaluate teachers
By Amber Arellano/Education Trust-Midwest Students in Michigan are increasingly falling behind their peers in other states, including states that are making major investments in their teachers. Michigan, meanwhile, has struggled to develop its teachers. A report by my organization, the nonprofit Education Trust-Midwest, helps to explain why: Our local school districts and charter schools have […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: It’s time to stop distorting truth about Common Core
By David Musselwhite/Michigan PTA The Common Core, a comprehensive set of internationally-benchmarked and comprehensive K-12 standards in mathematics and English Language Arts, has fallen prey to exaggerated and dishonest criticism from educators and Washington think tanks. It isn’t difficult to find naysayers who lump the Common Core into arguments against what they call “corporate education reform.” […]
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