WITH SPRING COMES the annual ritual of MCAS testing in Massachusetts schools. It’s how we gauge the performance of individual students as well as schools and districts. The assessment of basic skills in math, English, and, more recently, science offers a snapshot of academic achievement levels, and it is the central measure used in the […]
Education
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In Newton, the everyday version of “Varsity Blues” scandal
NEVER MIND BRIBING the college tennis coach and all its potential downsides — like a felony conviction and jail time. It turns out going to Newton North High School also sets up students for an extra edge in the college admission race, with the added bonus of being perfectly legal. There were plenty of jaw-dropping […]
Posted inThe Download
In Newton, the everyday version of “Varsity Blues” scandal
Never mind bribing the college tennis coach and all its potential downsides — like a felony conviction and jail time. It turns out going to Newton North High School also sets up students for an extra edge in the college admission race, with the added bonus of being perfectly legal. There were plenty of jaw-dropping […]
Posted inEducation
Homing in on new Boston superintendent
THREE FINALISTS HAVE BEEN NAMED in the search for a new Boston school superintendent, but it’s hard not to wonder whether home field advantage will be what matters in the end. Look no further than the front page of today’s Boston Herald, where Boston Latin graduate and local school leader Oscar Santos gazes earnestly at […]
Posted inThe Download
Homing in on new Boston superintendent
Three finalists have been named in the search for a new Boston school superintendent, but it’s hard not to wonder whether home field advantage will be what matters in the end. Look no further than the front page of today’s Boston Herald, where Boston Latin graduate and local school leader Oscar Santos gazes earnestly at […]
Posted inThe Download
Hampshire college bickering continues, leaving students as a footnote
Financially insecure Hampshire College is hit with another blow with the recent resignation of two trustees amid inner board squabbling. The one thing missing from the story is transparency, and who more than students will suffer from it? Mingda Zhao, who is also an alumnus, stepped down Tuesday, saying he was forced out, and exposing […]
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Charters facing backlash all over country
IT ALWAYS SEEMS to come back to charter schools. Los Angeles teachers went on strike for just over a week and the strike ended with the teachers getting much of what they wanted — smaller class sizes, full-time nurses at every campus, librarians at every secondary school, additional counselors at high schools, a 6 percent […]
Posted inThe Download
Charters facing backlash all over country
It always seems to come back to charter schools. Los Angeles teachers went on strike for just over a week and the strike ended with the teachers getting much of what they wanted — smaller class sizes, full-time nurses at every campus, librarians at every secondary school, additional counselors at high schools, a 6 percent […]
Posted inEducation
Trying times for Hampshire College
IT WAS STILL very much the thick of Eisenhower-era conformity, in 1958, when the presidents of Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst put together a document called The New College Plan. It envisioned a fifth college in the Pioneer Valley that would break from the conventional norms of […]
Posted inThe Download
Trying times for Hampshire College
It was still very much the thick of Eisenhower-era conformity, in 1958, when the presidents of Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst put together a document called The New College Plan. It envisioned a fifth college in the Pioneer Valley that would break from the conventional norms of […]