Contributor
Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Publisher, Education Sector
Related Link:
http://www.eduwonk.com
Biography provided by participant
Andrew J. Rotherham is Co-Founder and Publisher of Education Sector, a national education policy think tank. He also writes the blog Eduwonk.com, which an Education Week study cited as among the most influential information sources in education today, as well as a regular column for U.S. News & World Report. Rotherham previously served at The White House as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Clinton Administration and is a former member of the Virginia Board of Education. He is the author of more than 100 articles, book chapters, articles, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics and is the author or editor of four books on educational policy. Rotherham serves on advisory boards and committees for a variety of organizations including The Broad Foundation, Harvard University, and the National Governors Association. Rotherham is also a member of the board of directors for the Indianapolis Mind Trust and Democrats for Education Reform.
Recent Responses
September 8, 2009 07:04 AM
Most education observers and analysts agree that schools need to do a better job of teaching students how to think and a substantial subset believe that schools also must do a better job imparting content and knowledge to students as well. The concerns of this first group gave rise to the "21st Century Skills" movement and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. But along the way some of the manifestations of the 21st Century Skills idea have prompted a backlash. That debate is pitting the second group of reformers, those concerned with content, at odds with many of those promoting…
Read moreAugust 25, 2009 09:36 AM
There is one straightforward change that policymakers in every state could make to help improve not only college readiness but more general post-secondary readiness as well: Make the college prep curriculum the default curriculum for all students. Under this model, instead of having to try to get their children into more challenging classes parents would have to opt them out – after being informed of the consequences – and vocational education and other pathways would augment, not substitute for the core curriculum. Of course, even though college graduation is the most effective social mobility strategy we have, not…
Read moreJuly 27, 2009 11:42 AM
What Kati said. This is a frustrating issue because many of the barriers are political and institutional. The outcome disparities we see are the result of a host of policy choices and social policies. If we focus on systemically improving key levers such as American education's approach to human capital, customization and choice, curricula, and teaching reading (it looks like no one has yet mentioned that we did have a billion dollar reading program targeted at the early grades that was eliminated in a political crossfire a few years ago) to students in the very early grades we'll see marked improvements --…
Read moreJune 29, 2009 08:07 AM
The ARRA has always been schizophrenic when it comes to at once saving jobs and reforming schools. From the perspective of the federal budget it’s a false choice: Stimulating the economy and improving schools are not inherently mutually exclusive goals. Money spent on reform also goes into the economy just as money spent on status quo activities does. Under the ARRA, however, most of the money was intended to avert layoffs and overall the statute was not constructed as an education reform initiative. Yet it was sold politically as a reform initiative. To his credit, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan…
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