From Chicago...
The guys at Freakonomics like him and have complimentary things to say...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A place where you can find out what I think about life, the universe, and everything - in small, intermittent bites. Now I guess that I'll have to make this interesting. *sigh*
4 comments:
New math, "gay" high school proposal, and a 17% "reading at grade level" rate says it all for me.
Yeah, he reduced social promotion, so now kids getting their diploma read five years below grade level instead of six, but please. Aren't there any number of rural school district superintendents who actually produce graduates who can read that we ought to consider before this guy?
And why do Levitt et al like Duncan? Could it have something to do with him allowing them to analyze CPS's database for their book? And agreeing to use the U. of Chicago's highly flawed math program?
Is this a meaningful endorsement, or is this Chicago "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine!" politics?
Duncan's an amazingly blessed guy. Just a BA, and he's head of CPS? Usually they won't let you even be a principal without at least an MA in education, and generally you need a doctorate.
Hmmmmmm......
Thanks, Bert!
I knew that you'd have something interesting to say about it.
Levitt says that this guy made some changes based on their findings.
Perhaps he'd be willing to make reality-based changes in the future. Will he ever be exposed to any more?
Probably not.
:^) True.
I actually approve of some of the stuff Duncan did--using statistical methods to root out cheaters is, after all, a bit of genius. He has made the CPS a place where someone might actually want to work.
I also actually approve of the fact that a guy with a "mere" BA (kinda like Isaac Newton) got the job. I just don't know how it could have happened in Chicago without something "interesting" happening.
That said, the core issues affecting education--things like how reading and math are taught--really haven't been touched by Mr. Duncan. So at the core, his worldview is the same as the USDOE has been using to afflict all of us since the first Obama adminstration created it in 1977.
Post a Comment