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Posts in category "ISBE / Springfield"

Mixed Feelings About Lightford

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The guy at School Tech Connect has a couple of posts about Senator Lightford and some video illustrating his (and many others’) mixed feelings about the legislator who was central to the enactment of SB7. In the first post (Meanwhile, Down In Springfield) he admires Lightford (and Steans, who follows) for fighting for a restoration... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Friday at 7:39 am
• 2 comments

Grading ISBE's New Star System

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The Tribune’s Diane Rado has a piece exploring the proposed new school rating system from ISBE and the hoped-for NCLB waiver that the state has applied for (State seeks more testing and star ratings for schools). There are going to be more tests, and a new five-star rating system.  Some like PURE’s Julie W. think... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
April 4, 2012 at 7:52 am
• 4 comments

5 Percent Suspicious

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Fresh on the heels of the news that an Oak Park principal has resigned because of ISAT testing irregularities (see below), here’s news about a yearlong investigation by the Cox newspaper chain has looked into suspicious jumps in scores in districts around the country, including CPS.  Looking at results for 69,000 schools in 49 states... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
March 26, 2012 at 9:11 am
• 6 comments
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Too Much Credit For "Stand"?

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Today’s news is dominated with wrapup stories about the primaries — many of them focused on the role Stand For Children IL may have played in the races where it placed bets.  Anyone else curious that Stand is making their role so public (press release, publicity availabilities) given what happened last year?  Also, is it... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
March 22, 2012 at 7:53 am
• 1 comment

Illinois Leads US In Funding Cuts

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This story from the newest The American Prospect (No Funds Left Behind) includes a map showing school funding cuts across the US that notes Illinois — along with Texas, Wisconsin, and that state in the middle that might be Oklahoma — is among just a handful of states that cut per pupil funding by at... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
March 13, 2012 at 7:55 am
• 1 comment

New Groups Vs. Old Ones

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Oh, good.  More folks claiming to represent the interests of children.  Don’t they know that the teachers and the Democratic Party are already doing that job so very well? (Eye roll.) State and national school reform groups are popping up all over the place and WBEZ has an update on the two latest arrivals here... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
March 1, 2012 at 9:31 am
• 2 comments
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Liberals & Conservatives Hate Waivers

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At a White House event this afternoon President Obama will announce that 10 of 11 states that applied for NCLB waivers are getting them — sort of (Ten states given No Child Left Behind waiver AP).  A dozen states applied for the waivers, but the initial review of their applications by the USDE was scathing and... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
February 9, 2012 at 7:54 am
• 1 comment

IL Improves On EdWeek Report

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You might be surprised to find that IL moved from 40th to 29th on EdWeek’s annual report card for states (Quality Counts 2012).  But it’s true.  That’s a C (76.3 points), just below the US average for states.    ... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
January 23, 2012 at 9:00 am
• 1 comment

Charter Closures Since 1998

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A new report from a charter advocacy organization in DC lists 10 Illinois charters that have been closed since 1998 — evidence, according to the report authors, of a 15 percent closure rate for charters nationwide and demonstrated concern about quality. I’m not sure about that, as I wrote earlier this morning on This Week In Education... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
December 21, 2011 at 12:59 pm
• 11 comments
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Angry Task Force Slams Closing Process

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Today’s news includes reactions to the closing and turnaround lists plus coverage of yesterday’s meeting to scrutinize the CPS selection process (which apparently included public commentary that generated no adjustments to the criteria). Explain how schools were picked to be closed, task force demands of CPS Sun Times:  A legislative task force Thursday demanded that Chicago Public... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
December 2, 2011 at 7:38 am
• 2 comments