OTHER STORIES

• Tarnished silver anniversary of ‘Nation at Risk’ report

  Twenty-five years ago, the Reagan-appointed National Commission on Excellence in Education issued “A Nation at Risk,” which reported poor academic performance at nearly every school level and warned that the education system was “being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity.”

• South African longshoremen refuse to unload weapons bound for Zimbabwe

  Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe used to be a hero, a liberation fighter and a symbol of freedom worldwide.

• Mooney Institute melds unionism with school reform

  Tom Mooney left a legacy, and not just in the stronger, militant union federation he worked so hard to build, but in instilling a vision that incorporated a professional and social-justice emphasis into the union’s work.

• Smaller class sizes no panacea? No kidding.

  A Columbia University Teachers College researcher argues that a review of the class-size literature shows that shrinking class size by itself does not improve learning or perform miracles. How do you spell straw horse?

• All the school supervision money can buy

  They’re called “rock star school superintendents,” the alleged turn-around-artist administrators whom beleaguered school districts look to hire to meet No Child Left Behind mandates and who can take the heat and not break out in a sweat. Oh, yes, and educate kids, too.

• College Board to drop four AP subjects

  High school students looking to take advanced placement classes and exams after the next school year will see a smaller menu of options.

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