Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Matt Barnum

hiring help

National
February 6, 2018

School districts struggle when hiring new teachers. A new study suggests L.A. has found a better way

Every spring and summer, America’s school districts face a critical challenge: hiring new teachers. New research suggests that Los Angeles has found a better way.
National
January 31, 2018

The selling of ‘personalized learning’

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make…

Unintended consequences

National
January 30, 2018

Did new evaluations and weaker tenure make fewer people want to become teachers? A new study says yes

After states put in place new evaluation and tenure rules, fewer people were interested in the job, a new study suggests.

Behind the numbers

National
January 29, 2018

Why ‘personalized learning’ advocates like Mark Zuckerberg keep citing a 1984 study — and why it might not say much about schools today

A close look at the 1984 study often cited by personalized learning supporters raises questions about its relevance to modern education debates.
National
January 24, 2018

Chalkbeat’s national newsletter: The new testing debates look a lot like the old testing debates

Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy, fascinating, often controversial efforts to improve education for poor students across the country.
National
January 24, 2018

The new testing debates look a lot like the old testing debates

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

pisa power

National
January 23, 2018

A surprising link: when kids work harder on tests, their countries’ economies grow more

New research finds that a country’s scores on one of those tests, known as PISA, do tend to mirror its economic growth.

failing grade

National
January 19, 2018

Why one Harvard professor calls American schools’ focus on testing a ‘charade’

Harvard professor Daniel Koretz is on a mission: to convince policymakers that standardized tests have been widely misused.

school choice word choice

National
January 18, 2018

The ‘V’ word: Why school choice advocates avoid the term ‘vouchers’

Voters said they narrowly opposed school vouchers, 47 to 49 percent, even though similar approaches won much more support.
National
January 17, 2018

Are charter networks the future or the problem?

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

academic insurance

National
January 17, 2018

Children’s Health Insurance Program is on the brink. Here’s why that matters for education

The fate of the Children’s Health Insurance Program is in Congress’s hands — and children’s education, not just their health, may be at stake.

a closer look

National
January 16, 2018

Fact-check: Weighing 7 claims from Betsy DeVos’s latest speech, from Common Core to PISA scores

Fact-checking seven claims that DeVos made during a recent speech.

DeVos on offense

National
January 16, 2018

DeVos criticizes Bush-Obama policies, saying it’s time to overhaul conventional schooling

One era of federal involvement in education is over, Betsy DeVos said Tuesday, in some of her most expansive public remarks since taking over the department last year.

money matters

National
January 12, 2018

Less money for schools after the recession meant lower test scores and graduation rates, study finds

The evidence is adding up: The Great Recession did real damage to student learning.
National
January 10, 2018

The 1 percent (of these teaching positions that aren’t filled)

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

Choice and consequences

National
Updated January 10, 2018

The cost of charter growth: New research estimates the price tag for districts

As charter schools have expanded, critics have offered a similar complaint: they they drain money from public school districts. A new study puts a price tag on this.

Classrooms without teachers

National
January 9, 2018

In many large school districts, hundreds of teaching positions were unfilled as school year began

In the country’s largest school districts, thousands of students started the school year without a permanent teacher, according to data from public records.
National
January 3, 2018

Looking back and looking forward in 2018

Welcome to 2018, and to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense…

the merit of merit pay

National
January 2, 2018

Big new study finds that performance bonuses for teachers boost test scores (a bit)

A new study shows that performance-based bonuses for teachers boosts student achievement.

2017 in review

National
December 22, 2017

What we’ve learned: 5 lessons from education research to take into 2018

Researchers have worked through 2017 to separate fact from fiction.

choice challenge

National
December 20, 2017

A Betsy DeVos-approved tax change is meant to make private school more affordable. Here’s why it might not work

There’s reason to believe that private schools are likely to raise tuition in response.
National
December 20, 2017

More evidence that personalized learning is ‘in’

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

devos watch

National
December 19, 2017

Four takeaways from Betsy DeVos’s summit on innovation in K-12 education

Betsy DeVos used her bully pulpit on Tuesday to again call for more school innovation, especially technology-infused “personalized learning.” “Washington, D.C. does not have all…
National
December 13, 2017

How efforts to ensure teacher quality can backfire

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

teacher trap

National
December 13, 2017

America’s teachers don’t move out of state much. That could be bad for students.

Teachers are significantly less likely to move between states than others with similar jobs — and past research suggests that students suffer as a result.

war on teachers?

National
December 12, 2017

When union protections disappear, poor schools lose teachers, new research finds

Michigan's teacher-focused policy changes did not increase in teacher turnover. But at schools with lower test scores or more students in poverty, teacher churn jumped.

research shows

National
December 8, 2017

Advocates of the portfolio model for improving schools say it works. Are they right?

As with many education policies, the portfolio model is gaining adherents even while an research base is still being built.

local buy-in

National
December 7, 2017

In Kansas City, national push for portfolio model gives way to local group with similar message, different methods

In 2013 a plan to reshape Kansas City’s schools was run out of town. Four years later a group with a similar policy agenda and two of same key funders is making inroads.
National
December 6, 2017

The quiet revolution to remake urban schools

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

inside the playbook

National
December 6, 2017

A ‘portfolio’ of schools? How a nationwide effort to disrupt urban school districts is gaining traction

From Atlanta to Cincinnati to Oakland, a loosely connected network of nonprofit groups is working to reshape the way their school districts function.
National
November 29, 2017

Who gets suspended?

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! We’re Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat’s national team. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy,…

discipline dispute

National
November 28, 2017

As national debate over discipline heats up, new study finds discrimination in student suspensions

Black students in Louisiana are suspended for slightly longer than white students after being involved in the same fight, according to new research that adds to a roiling national debate about school discipline.

More than scores

National
November 26, 2017

New research takes an in-depth look at Chicago charter schools — and finds good news beyond test scores

Chicago's charter high schools seem to help students in the short- and long-run, but those schools also have higher student turnover.

Fact check

National
Updated November 21, 2017

To back up claim that schools must change, DeVos cites made-up statistic about the future of work

Betsy DeVos made a remarkable claim about the future of work — but it appears to have no basis in fact.
National
November 21, 2017

How federal rules might block local school integration

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville here. We’re feeling thankful for the many of you who’ve joined us since last week.

union power

National
November 16, 2017

Gutting Wisconsin teachers unions hurt students, study finds

The high-profile fight to limit union power was replete with drama — including a recall election and state legislators fleeing…

study up

National
November 15, 2017

Trump education nominee pleads ignorance about high-profile voucher studies showing negative results

The nominee to be second-in-command at the Department of Education, said he was not aware of high-profile studies showing that school vouchers can hurt student achievement.
National
November 15, 2017

What the Endrew F. parents want Betsy DeVos to know

Welcome to Chalkbeat’s national newsletter! Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville here. Our goal is to help you make sense of the messy, fascinating, often controversial…

broken promise?

National
November 14, 2017

Common Core tests were supposed to usher in a new era of comparing America’s schools. What happened?

It's difficult to make detailed comparisons across states as a potent mix of technical challenges, privacy concerns and political calculations have kept the data siloed.

money for reform

National
November 13, 2017

Where do the nation’s big charter boosters send their cash? More and more to charter networks

Wealthy charter school backers have directed most of their money to a select number of states, particularly ones where charter schools are better at raising test scores.
National
November 8, 2017

The 2017 election results and what they mean for schools

The Big Story Yesterday was election day. And that means a number of races that will have a big impact on schools.

Fake News

National
November 7, 2017

No, there’s no reason to think DeVos is planning to resign, contrary to viral news stories

Betsy DeVos haters can rejoice it seems: The secretary is planning to resign from Trump’s cabinet, according to a much-shared Salon story. But it’s not true.

races to run schools

National
November 3, 2017

Education is on the ballot in 2017 — here’s what to watch for and why it matters

Education is on the ballot on Tuesday. It’s an off-year election, but that means school board and mayoral contests are especially likely to be on the ballot.

a test of happiness

National
November 2, 2017

When teachers are better at raising test scores, their students are less happy, study finds

A new study finds a negative correlation between teachers’ impact on students’ test scores and those students’ reports of how happy they were in class.

merited pay

National
October 31, 2017

A simple solution for solving teacher shortages: pay incentives for hard-to-find educators

A new study offers a straightforward solution to teacher shortages: give bonuses or provide loan forgiveness to teachers in positions that are hard to staff.

Charter schism

National
October 17, 2017

Independent charter schools look to raise their profile, apart from networks and Betsy DeVos

At a symposium last week number of independent charter school leaders agreed to launch a new national organization.

study shows

National
October 16, 2017

The $100 million question: Did Newark’s school reforms work? New study finds big declines, then progress

It was announced with much fanfare in 2010: changes were coming to Newark’s schools. But are students learning more now than they were then, thanks to the reform effort?

school choice or peer choice?

National
October 11, 2017

A school choice quandary: parents care more about who attends a school than about its quality, in NYC study

A basic tenet of school choice is that families will choose the highest-quality school they can. Now a new study raises questions about this basic premise.

getting what you pay for

National
October 5, 2017

Want more young people to aspire to become teachers? Try paying teachers more

There’s building evidence that higher teacher pay helps encourage people to enter and stay in the classroom.

Roll call!

National
October 3, 2017

What states told Chalkbeat about how they will monitor their chronic absenteeism data

Students’ rates of chronic absenteeism are going to be used to judge schools in most states.