What We’re Reading: What does Ferguson mean for schools?

The turmoil in Ferguson has spread from the streets to schools in town — and across the country.

  • With classes cancelled in two separate districts, Ferguson area teachers used the days off to send a message about civic responsibility. (NPR)
  • An Alabama teacher is out of the classroom (most likely temporarily) after students reenacted the shooting that sparked unrest in Ferguson. (EdWeek)
  • Don’t be fooled, says an educator. Preschool and early childhood reform won’t fix the systemic issues that led to the shooting of Michael Brown. (Dissent Magazine)

And the release of last year’s test scores around the country raised questions about what, if anything, we can learn from them.

  • What is a statistician’s responsibility when people criticize tests? A metaphor. (Grand Rounds)
  • Absolute measurements of performance — like proficiency rates — don’t say anything about a school’s quality — just where its students came in. (Shanker Blog)
  • For schools with high test scores, how to share what they’re doing well — and to make sure they really are. (Ecoschools)

What else?

  • A study following Baltimore students from first grade until their late 20s finds that, in many cases, fate is fixed at birth. (NPR)
  • A new survey shows opinion of the Common Core standards — which once received bipartisan support — becoming increasingly politically polarized. (Education Next)
  • White students will no longer make up the majority in American schools this fall. (Atlantic)
  • A back-to-school take on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s classic “Baby Got Back.” (Huffington Post)
  • Philadelphia’s union head held open office hours in outside to allow members to air concerns. (The Notebook)
  • What’s wrong with the Common Core math standards? A diagnosis. (Curriculum Matters)
  • Thousands of California middle schoolers never make it out of middle school. But you won’t see that in the state’s dropout numbers. (Hechinger Report)
  • A retiring first grade teacher got a sendoff that included one of her very first students, from 41 years ago. (IJReview)
  • Why is teacher turnover so high in charter schools? What do schools do about it? (City Limits)
  • How to bridge the divide between scrappy edtech innovators and educators. (EdSurge)
  • What do education reporters have to say about the districts they cover? Chicago reporters spill. (Chicago Reader)