Sounds a Little Edufishy to Me

According to this article I read today, the newly minted Think Tank Review Panel sounds a little shady. I find it slightly suspect that they chose Cato, Hoover, and Manhatten Institute as their first picks to review. Even more shady was that they found all of the articles reviewed to have "weakness in the analysis" and "omit key information that would allow well-known threats to validity to be addressed in a straightforward way."

(Hmmm...interesting that the three conservative think tanks get a thumbs down....I wonder if certain other think tanks would get the same type of reviews....)

Education has had to defend its street cred compared with the other social sciences when it comes to research and evaluation. (Even the main research association gets slammed from time to time). Education is an incredibly hard subject to research because of all its complexities and unknowns. The last thing this field needs is biased reviews of education policies and research that will confuse our public even more about how to best educate our kids.

From Strip Club to School Board

Not sure what the line of thinking was for electing this guy to the Mehlville School Board in Missouri.

Apparently, former male dancer and current strip club owner, Micheal Ocello, will become the newest member of the school board. Maybe it was his"Buns for Guns" platform that got him elected. For other campaign highlights, see here.

*Let's just hope he's not in charge of aligning high school standards to "skills" needed in the workforce.

(via EIA intercepts)

Too Esoteric for Words?

Apparently not. Per Eduwonk, interesting commentary piece on some of the scholarship on display at AERA this week:

Given the challenges facing our schools, and the fact that most of these researchers are supported and employed by public institutions, it might make sense for educational researchers to devote attention to analyzing public policy, improving teaching and learning, and addressing the practical concerns of parents and teachers.

A valid point. It's quite the paradox-- I'm sure most of the researchers Hess and LoGerfo cite would claim that their studies "work towards a praxis or social change purpose." Personally, I'd rather focus my attention on creating a system where all kids learn to read and write--talk about a social change!

Where the Girls Aren't

A couple months ago, there was a lot of talk, including several posts and discussions about how boys are falling behind girls in school.

Interesting report by the "Girls Coalition of Greater Boston," highlights challenges in girls programming and lack of access to funding. Report also cautions policymakers not succumb to current political thinking of, "girls problem solved, what about the boys?" Here's why:

• Female delinquency has doubled over the last decade
• Overall arrests rates for girls have tripled since 1991
• There are 12 times as many cases of prostitution in 2005 compared to 2003
• Girls are increasingly violent with each other in and out of school
• There have been a decreasing amount of out-of-school time programs serving the needs of girls

While we absolutely need to make sure we address the issues surrounding boys, this report reminds us to not forget about our girls.