What we're reading: What does the unrest in Ferguson mean for schools?

The turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri has spread from the streets to schools — and across the country.

  • With classes cancelled in two separate districts, Ferguson area teachers used the days off to send a message about civic responsibility. (NPR)
  • An Alabama teacher is out of the classroom (most likely temporarily) after students re-enacted the shooting that sparked unrest in Ferguson. (EdWeek)
  • Don’t be fooled, says an educator. Preschool and early childhood reform won’t fix the systemic issues that led to the shooting of Michael Brown. (Dissent Magazine)

And the release of last year’s test scores around the country raised questions about what, if anything, we can learn from them.

  • What is a statistician’s responsibility when people criticize tests? A metaphor. (Grand Rounds)
  • Absolute measurements of performance like proficiency rates don’t say anything about a school’s quality. (Shanker Blog)
  • A frequent First Person contributor asks how high-scoring schools should share what they’re doing well. (Ecoschools)

What else?

  • A study following Baltimore students from first grade until their late 20s finds that, in many cases, fate is fixed at birth. (NPR)
  • A new survey shows the Common Core standards — which once received bipartisan support — are becoming increasingly politically polarized. (Education Next)
  • White students will no longer make up the majority in American schools this fall. (Atlantic)
  • A back-to-school take on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s classic “Baby Got Back.” (Huffington Post)
  • Philadelphia’s union head held open office hours to allow members to air concerns. (The Notebook)
  • What’s wrong with the Common Core math standards? A diagnosis. (Curriculum Matters)
  • Thousands of California students never make it out of middle school. But you won’t see that in the state’s dropout numbers. (Hechinger Report)
  • A retiring first-grade teacher got a sendoff that included one of her very first students, from 41 years ago. (IJReview)
  • Why is teacher turnover so high in charter schools? What do schools do about it? (City Limits)
  • How to bridge the divide between scrappy ed-tech innovators and educators. (EdSurge)
  • What do education reporters have to say about the districts they cover? Chicago reporters spill. (Chicago Reader)