Summer 2005
The latest Education Next is out. Its cover story chronicles the $10 billion school food industry and finds a galaxy of interests in play other than kids' well-being. In a second article, a brave food critic lunches in Boston-area school cafeterias and reviews what's on offer there. Paul Peterson and Frederick Hess compare NAEP proficiency levels to state-reported assessment systems; while most states say their proficiency "cut scores" are set high, in fact their NAEP scores prove quite the opposite. Only South Carolina, Maine, Missouri, Wyoming, and Massachusetts get As from the authors for truly rigorous standards, while Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma bring up the rear. In addition, there are two articles on charter schools: Michael Petrilli discusses why they must be held to NCLB accountability standards, while Theodore Sizer explains the importance of innovation for the future of charters and of K-12 education. Lots of good stuff here. Go to http://www.educationnext.org/ for more.