In the News: A Clipping Service – August 23, 2010

In this edition of In the News:

  • Evaluating Reform Efforts
  • “Value-Added” Study Measures Teacher Quality
  • Both Ends of the Spectrum, from Gifted to At-Risk
  • Louisiana Education News
  • New Orleans Five Years After Katrina

Evaluating Reform Efforts

Will Charters Save the New Orleans Schools?
The New Republic
– August 18, 2010
It may be too early to say that charters are saving the New Orleans schools, but it’s not too early to say that they’re serving many students well.

Autopsy of a Turnaround District
Education Week
– August 19, 2010
San Diego’s “Blueprint for Success” was an education-reform program that ran for five years before budget cuts and internal conflicts shut it down in 2005. A team of researchers looks at the program’s success and failure and what, if any, long-term impact it might have had.

“Value-Added” Study Measures Teacher Quality

Who’s Teaching Los Angeles’ Kids?
Los Angeles Times
– August 14, 2010
Using seven years of math and English test scores, the Los Angeles Times performed a value-added analysis to estimate the effectiveness of L.A. teachers. Their results show that the quality of instruction varies far less between schools than it does within a single school. Teachers have three times as much influence on students’ academic development as the school they attend.

Both Ends of the Spectrum, from Gifted to At-Risk

Identifying Gifted Students
Education Week
– August 6, 2010
If the U.S. expects to compete in the global economy, we need to nurture our gifted and talented students, but tests designed to identify the gifted and talented for public school programs are limited and often leave African American and Hispanic children behind.

Fewer than Half of Black Males Graduate on Time
The Schott Foundation
– August 17, 2010
The Schott Foundation just released its fourth state-by-state report on African American males in public education, which compares 2007-08 high school graduation rates for black males and white males. Louisiana is among the ten lowest performing states with a black male graduation rate of 39%, and Jefferson Parish is among the ten lowest performing large districts with a rate of 28%.

Louisiana Education News

La. Students’ ACT Scores Hold Steady; Nation’s Decline
The Advocate
– August 19, 2010
Louisiana’s composite ACT score is 20.1, the same as last year, while the national average ACT score dropped from 21.1 to 21.0 this year.

New Orleans Five Years After Katrina
With the fifth anniversary of Katrina almost upon us, here are just a few of the articles that look at our progress since the storm.

Five Years After Hurricane Katrina, How New Orleans Saved Its Soul
The Washington Post
– August 22, 2010
After Katrina, many feared the disaster would give the outside world a chance to convert New Orleans into just another city, but New Orleans fought to hold on to its neighborhoods, its community spirit, its culture and its soul.

Five Years Later, The Big Easy Pushes Forward
Vermont Public Radio
– August 12, 2010
Although New Orleans still faces more than its fair share of challenges, the gains made across the city in just five years are astonishing.

Big Decisions Shape Recovering City
The Times-Picayune
– August 22, 2010
Stephanie Grace looks at five key decisions that changed the course of the city’s recovery.