Interesting study of charter high schools in Chicago by the Illinois Public Policy Institute here.

"Waiting for Superman" has put the spotlight on charter schools as an innovation tool. I'd love to see what goes on at some of them myself.

 Paul E. Peterson's chock-full-of-disturbing-facts article from the Wall Street Journal about the public's fairly accurate assessment of what's going on in the public schools.

A few highlights:

- High school graduation rates are lower today than they were in 1970.
- Our 15 year olds rate 24th in the world for math.
- Schools spend an average of $ ( Read more... )

"When President Obama chose Arne Duncan to lead the Education Department, he cited Mr. Duncan's success as head of Chicago's public school system from 2001 to 2008, " says Saturday's Wall Street Journal article "Second City Ruse."

Obama lauded Duncan for improving Chicago's test scores so that 67% of students meet state standards, instead of just ( Read more... )