Eric Hoefler

In the Set of All Factors, Money Wins

30. August 2010

This chart pretty clearly illustrates the correlation between student performance and socio-economic status: I have no interest in defending ineffective teachers, but we also have to talk honestly about what schools can and can’t do to help students. I don’t doubt that the effectiveness of a teacher is the single largest factor in determining a [...]

It’s Popular because It’s Easy

27. August 2010

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Marion Brady presents two theories of learning and suggests that the one currently driving reform is based on the notion that learning is all about transferring information from books and teachers into the empty brains of students. No research says how much of what’s recalled at test time remains permanently in memory, nor to what [...]

Experience is Expensive

27. August 2010

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Thousands of veteran D.C. teachers were removed from the classroom recently. Their replacements? 4,500 Teach for America recruits placed in public schools this year after five weeks of summer preparation If that sounds like progress to you, then I suspect your concern has more to do with budgets than with students.

Something about Pigs and Scales

27. August 2010

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This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but apparently it’s news: Pupils show greater motivation, are better behaved and are more likely to be independent and strategic thinkers when teachers are not obsessed by grades.

The Scores Went Down

14. July 2010

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From Mike Klonsky: Suddenly, the entire test-and-punish crowd is explaining to us how test scores dont mean anything and how test scores are tied much more to out-of-school conditions. Fire D.C. Rhee and her entire staff–or at least cut their pay

Spending on Sports vs Spending on Teaching

21. June 2010

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Matthew Yglesias » Spending on Sports vs Spending on Teaching. There’s not much need to say anything here, is there?

Conditioned Helplessness: Raising Wolves

12. June 2010

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Somewhere in here is an analogy for the modern education system: Pet dogs failed basic intelligence tests that wolves and wild dogs passed with ease but proved more adept at social interaction, according to the research … Dogs are great at social tasks … wolves are much, much better at general problem solving. Are we [...]

Teach for America vs. Journalism

9. June 2010

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It’s a little lame to write a post that consists of one long quote, but I think the comment below, posted on Michael Gerson’s op-ed “Teach for America: Education reform in action,” deserves the attention: Experienced journalist Michael Gerson enthusiastically supports the idea that a teacher in a troubled DC school, just “fresh out of [...]

Merit Pay Controlled by Teachers

13. May 2010

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I raised this idea in an earlier post, but I want to be a little more explicit. When it comes to the controversy around merit pay for teachers, I think there are some definite bad ideas out there, like basing merit on student test scores. But the current system, where pay is based on seniority, [...]

Hilarious Mock Questionnaire

6. May 2010

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This mock questionnaire from Ecology of Education highlights the typical misconceptions about teaching in a point-appropriate format. For example: 5. In your professional opinion, the best way to improve public education is to… A. Privatize it. B. Siphon money away from it to strengthen teachers’ and students’ will to survive. C. Reduce benefits for teachers. [...]

Tenure and a Model for Teacher Evaluation

29. April 2010

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This quote, from Tim Daly, president of The New Teacher project, is the heart of the problem with tenure, I think: Tenure says you can’t be dismissed unless you are shown to be incompetent through the evaluation process … but the evaluation process doesn’t work at all, so tenure is seen as an ironclad guarantee [...]

State of Education Reform

18. April 2010

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If you have an interest in education reform and its historical, political, and global context, this video is well worth your time. “What Type of School Reform Do We Really Want?” comes from the NYU Radical Film and Lecture Series. Please also see Doug Noon’s notes, partial transcription, and additional resources in his post. As [...]

Apparently, Rhee lied about that deficit …

14. April 2010

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In the blink of an eye, Rhee’s budget deficit turns into a $34 million surplus. All this book-cooking so Rhee could violate the collective-bargaining agreement and fire 266 teachers at will. Mike Klonsky Here’s the WaPo article.

Tom Chapin – Not On The Test

13. April 2010

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Tom Chapin – Not On The Test Hilarious (or really sad). Click through to see the video.

Can we listen to the teachers yet?

12. April 2010

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Yglesias gives an overview of the options he thinks could work to improve public education. It has an “off-the-cuff” feel to it, but it seems like a pretty good list to me: At the end of the day, to improve academic performance you need policies that specifically focus on that goal. You can shut down [...]