Stimulating Ideas

Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates has an education idea for that U.S. stimulus money--and it's not just to blindly throw it at school boards as is currently happening.

In his speech to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Gates calls for state legislators to:

1. Embrace common standards and data systems so we can know where we stand and how to move forward.
2. Raise the quality of teaching by measuring teacher effectiveness, encouraging innovation, and spreading best practices.

Good luck.  Where have we heard all that before? However, he does praise KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools and urges that caps on charter schools be lifted.  In light of the previous post on the state of Detroit schools, looks as if they could use some of Gates' intervention:

"But I want to ask you to consider two different schools. In one school, student achievement is low, morale is low, and nothing ever changes -- because nobody expects anything better. In the other school, minority students from low-income families take the toughest classes, get the best teachers, and go on to get college degrees.
Both kinds of schools exist in America. How many of each depends on you.
"You could be tempted to shrug off this responsibility if the schools in your district are pretty good. But America's schools are not pretty good, and they're your schools too.
"This is a national challenge.
"It doesn't really matter whether you are driven by an ethical commitment to equal opportunity or by a long-term economic vision for the country. Both lines of reasoning lead to the same conclusion. We need to measure progress. We need to hold teachers and schools accountable. We need to give all students a chance to make the most of their lives."

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