The new mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, the city’s first Democratic mayor since 1993, won his election in a landslide victory, gaining over 73% of the vote. His election means that there will be a traditional liberal, and one who has been outspoken about education issues, taking charge of one of the Read more about Duncan’s advice to de Blasio[…]
In a lengthy article in The Atlantic Monthly, former NYC Chancellor Joel Klein writes that New York’s system has seen dramatic reforms over the past nine years, but “is still not remotely where it needs to be.” Klein points to several inhibitors — unions, politicians, bureaucrats, and vendors — and characterizes them as well-organized and Read more about Joel Klein on the Political Forces Preventing Reform[…]
For the past four years, New York City has experimented with merit pay. Recently their experiment came to a halt, after $57 million and no increase in test scores in schools that received bonus money. Why did NYC’s merit-pay program fail? According to the Wall Street Journal, one reason is that unlike other incentive programs, Read more about Merit Pay in NYC[…]
Want to see some incredible models for true educational reform? New York City’s iZone is one to watch. The iZone school designs are characterized by five core principles: –Performance assessment & mastery-based grading –Personalized learning plans –Multiple learning modalities (e.g., a combination of independent student work, small group instruction, one-on-one instruction, student collaborative activities, Read more about NYC’s iZone[…]