Author Archives: axooms

Advance and hindsight with CSAPs

Back in March, as students were filling in the last of their CSAP ovals, I wrote a post encouraging a discussion of what to look for with 2010 CSAP scores — which were then still 6 months away.  And while I agree … Continue reading

Posted in Charter Schools, School Performance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

State beats Ivy

As a continuation of the discussion of the value of a college education comes the revelation that many companies are more actively recruiting and hiring students from state schools than from the Ivies. And, as the article notes, the underlying economics are thus: College tuition … Continue reading

Posted in Fiscal & Economic, Higher Education | Leave a comment

Small schools math mistake

While it’s true that in education, the topic of math and probability is often viewed as an annoying impediment to passionate opinion, for anyone interested in using data to draw conclusions — and perhaps informing opinion — I highly recommend this … Continue reading

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Loco control

Defeat often begets a scapegoat.  In the wake of the twice-short Colorado application to R2T, this has now solidified: the judges were “perplexed by local control” which led to a lack of objectivity. This is a familiar refrain — them pointy-headed … Continue reading

Posted in District Performance, Innovation, Politics | Leave a comment

R2T: 2, Colo: 0

I confess my interest and knowledge on Race to the Top is at some small distance: I did not follow the nuances closely, believing (correctly) that the Colorado bid was in good hands, and (incorrectly) that the hard work of … Continue reading

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Public schools aren’t all that

This month in Denver, six new public schools open their doors. Both innovation and charter schools operating autonomously from certain district and union regulations, these programs offer novel approaches ranging from environmental sustainability to language immersion in Mandarin Chinese. Their … Continue reading

Posted in Charter Schools, Engagement, Innovation, School Performance, Student Achievement | Tagged | Leave a comment

What’s missing from the DPS pension dispute?

What’s missing? Teachers. And that’s a little odd, isn’t it, since it is their pensions primarily at issue, and individually they have the most to gain or to lose.  Now mix in that the same people crying foul over the … Continue reading

Posted in Fiscal & Economic, Politics, Teacher Unions | Tagged , | Leave a comment