Alexander Russo

As she recently noted on Facebook, education reporter Beth Fertig (above) just celebrated 20 years at WNYC, the local NPR affiliate covering the NYC metro area: “Twenty years ago today, after the constriction of print media and a difficult journey in the freelance desert, I was officially hired as a reporter by WNYC Radio… Who knew that […]

Graphs from a recent WBEZ Chicago Public Radio story on poverty and academic performance. In a recently-published study, EdWeek researcher Holly Yettick writes that the News Media Feeds the Public a Meager Diet of Education Research. Indeed, there’s very little use of research in education coverage, and lots of it that is used doesn’t come from […]

Today’s news includes guidance for districts trying to reduce testing burdens, NCLB waivers/extensions for eight states, and an exit interview with Newark’s controversial superintendent Cami Anderson: State Chiefs Group Offers Guidance on Reducing Testing EdWeek: Several states and districts are using Achieve’s assessment inventory to get a more accurate look at the amount of time students spend […]

The Seventy Four, former CNN host Campbell Brown’s much-anticipated new education site, went live last night with a tweet and the above somewhat Shining-like video introduction, and will start pumping out original commentary and content in a couple of weeks. According to the WSJ,  the outlet will start with 13 employees and $4 million in […]

Perhaps I’m reading the story wrong, but a quick look at the NYT’s new piece about Common Core test scoring suggests that reporter Motoko Rich has provided perhaps the most emphatic, critical take on the scoring process among the several other outlets that have also covered it in the past few weeks. But the underlying […]

Today’s news includes the departure of Newark superintendent Cami Anderson, an update on the fate of a widely-admired LAUSD teacher (Rafe Esquith), and a much-read NYT story about part-time temps grading Common Core tests from home: Cami Anderson, Picked by Christie, Is Out as Newark Schools Superintendent NYT: Ms. Anderson, who oversaw the New Jersey city’s troubled […]

Looking back, I had the balance wrong; I put too much emphasis on the negative aspects, and they were too high in my story… I made a minor change in the story to try to address that [imbalance], but it did not go far enough. That’s a quote from NYT reporter Adam Nagourney, responding to […]

Kudos to Rachel M. Cohen [@rmc031] for her American Prospect piece about charter school unionization (When Charters Go Union), which is a timely update on a small but important issue no matter which side of the reform/critic divide you happen to occupy. As Cohen lays them out, the challenges to both unions and charter advocates are […]

Over at The New Republic, researchers Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine rip the media a new one over its coverage of their Sesame Street study.   It’s a useful example of a tendency in journalism to render differences starkly and create false conflicts — and a great illustration of the good that researchers can do […]

Today’s news includes teachers alleging major problems at K12 virtual schools, and also Texas’ decriminalization of truancy, 48 New York schools that give projects instead of using standardized tests, and a big piece from Chicago’s WBEZ radio about poverty and school performance.  Teachers allege problems at California virtual schools run by Va.-based company K12 Inc. Washington […]