1. Grading teachers by the test
“’People who claim to be market-based reformers want to sell the theory that there is a direct correlation between test scores, the effort of teachers and the success of children,’ said Randi Weingarten.”
2. Moskowitz on rigor, backfilling
“Success schools are among the most sought-after charter schools in the city. The network said Monday that it had received more than 19,000 applications for 2,688 open seats this fall. When ranked by performance on state tests, its schools also rank highly — in the top 1 percent of all schools in the state in math and the top 3 percent in English.”
3. America spends $600 billion on schooling
“But nations that spend less on education are faring far better on international tests, and the US isn’t seeing bigger scores as a result of its larger spending … There are a few possible explanations for this. The first is that the US spends less on social programs than some other countries. Finland spends much less per student than the US. But it spends more to reduce poverty, and across the OECD, students in poverty have lower test scores than their higher-income peers … Another explanation is that US education is simply inefficient and could be better run without additional spending.”
“This bet is open to the first VC who would like to take it (though it is not clear to me anyone who wants to take the other side should be investing in startups.) The loser donates $100,000 to a charity of the winner’s choice.”
“…the consequence of these changes, taken together, has been to divide the poor who no longer receive welfare into two groups. The first group is made up of those who have gone to work and have qualified for tax credits. Expanded tax credits lifted about 3.2 million children out of poverty in 2013. So far, so good.The second group, though, has really suffered. These are the very poor who are without work, part of a population that is struggling desperately.”
6. Community control is destroying America’s cities
“There is, however, another way: ignore ‘the community.’ Not the community writ large, but “the community” as a euphemism for those who are already lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that others want to move to, whether it’s a hip, gentrifying neighborhood or an uptight, leafy suburb. Land use governance should be shifted from the local level to the city, state or national level, where governments seem to be more willing to let cities grow.”