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Click here for part I Click here for part II So far the panelists have had two rounds to discuss what the they think the cause of the achievement gap is and also what some possible remedies are. Only Rhee, as expected, thinks that more accountability will be a significant part of the solution. Amazingly,…

Click here for part I Part I ended with Michelle Rhee’s lengthy answer about how the achievement gap was caused, in part, by poor school management, two-prong outlets, and, of course, lack of teacher accountability. Her knowledge of the causes and remedies of the achievement gap must be put into some perspective as this blog…

On August 18th 2011, in the quiet town of Edgartown in Martha’s Vineyard, in a small church, there was a panel discussion on the achievement gap. What made this even particularly notable was the fact that the two faces of the education reform debate, Diane Ravitch and Michelle Rhee, were co-panelists. While most people concerned…

Whitney Tilson and I are engaged in a pretty fierce debate about the key issues in education reform. As he is the only corporate reformer who is willing to engage in a debate, I’m impressed he’s been willing to do this in a public way. Most of them clam up as soon as evidence is…

One problem in the current ed reform debate is that there is not enough genuine debating. Really, there’s no communication at all between the two sides who I see as the ‘corporate reformers’ (Duncan, Klein, Rhee, and even Kopp) and the ‘realistic reformers’ (Ravitch, Cody, Valerie Strauss, and others including me). Without direct communication all…

Click here for Part I Click here for Part II This discussion now moves to the question and answer portion. I already have a sense of who this audience is and where they stand, based on the applause they give to certain points. Also, knowing what other speakers they have come to see in Aspen,…

Click to read Part I first Part 1 ended with Wendy Kopp misquoting an already exaggerated claim by a charter network as her proof that “it” is happening all over. Ravitch was surely skeptical of this claim, but without time to research it and refute it, she had to let it go. That was certainly…

On June 29th 2011, two of the most important people in the current ed reform debate squared off for a ‘discussion’ at the Aspen Ideas Festival. As they are opposed on many of the vital issues, this had the makings of a heavyweight title fight. At the core of the conflict, I’ll try to summarize…