Author Archives: axooms

Playing games to sneak kids into good schools

Posted on September 14, 2009 by axooms

Students across Denver have now put aside their summer games and trotted off to school. Where they head, however, is often decided by how well their parents play the games afforded by the public education system. The most egregious example … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, School Performance | 2 Comments

College one-two punch

Posted on September 12, 2009 by axooms

Two fascinating articles.  The first is a futuristic view of online higher education: In less than two months, she had finished four complete courses, for less than $200 total. The same courses would have cost her over $2,700 at Northeastern Illinois, $4,200 … Continue reading →

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

Reunion prompts diversity questions

Posted on August 31, 2009 by axooms

My wife had her 20th high school reunion recently.  She attended a large public high school noted then, as now, for the diversity of its student body.  But attendees of the reunion itself were not nearly as diverse as the … Continue reading →

Posted in College and Career Preparation, Poverty, Student Achievement | Leave a comment

New Orleans as Phoenix

Posted on August 27, 2009 by axooms

One of the interesting thought experiments of the past decade is the question: what if you could redo an entire school district including a large percentage of independently managed schools with different models, instead of the usual one-size-fits-all central bureaucracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, District Performance | Leave a comment

Boettcher evaluation: More facts, please

Posted on August 26, 2009 by axooms

I am generally leery of statements in education which begin “It’s a fact…”  I am even more so when these facts overwhelmingly support the organization making the claim in a sort of self-congratulations (though this is extraordinarily common).  So I … Continue reading →

Posted in Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Preparation | Leave a comment

California dreaming?

Posted on August 26, 2009 by axooms

Sweet dreams or nightmares?  Say what one wants about the advantages or disadvantages of what follows, but the pace of change — not minor, incremental, paper-shuffling change; but bold, substantial, systematic change — quickens: In a startling acknowledgment that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, District Performance | Leave a comment

Why measuring growth matters

Posted on August 12, 2009 by axooms

Last week’s CSAP results were coupled with the Colorado Growth Model in a way that began to peel the onion back on school and district performance.  However, one major piece was, to my mind, still missing. The growth model does not differentiate … Continue reading →

Posted in District Performance, Poverty, Student Achievement | Leave a comment