HGSE in the Media

March 2007

Tough Report Card on Day Care
"There were four main findings that we reported. The first finding is actually good news and that is that children who attended high quality childcare programs were more likely to score higher on vocabulary tests in grade 5." – Dean Kathleen McCartney (On Point, NPR, 3/27/07)

Women Trailblazers Set an Example
"[Drew Faust has] a sharp analytic mind, a broad universitywide perspective, outstanding people skills and a deft administrative style that enables her to get things done." – Professor Judith Singer (Star Gazette, 3/26/07)

Putting Assessments to the Test
"A test itself is not valid or invalid. The conclusion you base on the result is valid or invalid." – Professor Daniel Koretz (The Washington Post, 3/26/07)

The Achievement Gap, a Look Into Causes
"It's not sustainable for society to educate some people and not others." – Assistant Professor John Diamond (Harvard Gazette, 3/22/07)

New Center Asks: Does Merit Pay Work?
"The only caution I would have is that when you look at the evidence on the stability of these rankings of teacher effectiveness as measured by student gains, you see nontrivial differences across subject areas or from year to year." – Professor Richard Murnane (Education Week, 3/19/07. Free registration required.)

Foreign Aid
"[There is] no evidence of increased postsecondary enrollment among eligible students in spite of the stated goal to increase access to higher education." – Associate Professor Bridget Terry Long (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 3/16/07)

Easing Rules Over Schools Gains Favor
"It’s pretty clear to everybody that simply granting autonomy isn’t going to be enough. What will make or break this experiment is the support, guidance, direction, additional capacity-building the state is able to give these schools." – Lecturer Paul Reville (Education Week, 3/16/07. Free registration required.)

A Vacation from Education?
"The conversation should focus on what is [homework’s] purpose, what are the indicators that identify effective and ineffective homework practices and how does homework contribute to or detract from students' achievement." – Senior Lecturer Thomas Payzant (The Harvard Independent, 3/15/07)

The Getting-Into-Preschool Puzzle
"If you can cull evidence from a test, a play session, a home visit, letters of recommendation (yes, the mind boggles), and they point to a consistent pattern, then you know a lot. If, on the other hand, they are wildly inconsistent, you should either watch out or select more data." – Professor Howard Gardner (Slate.com, 3/15/07)

Campus Insider
"It will be a partnership with the campuses.... We will be asking campus boards to look at needs, assess their current strengths, look at the mix, and identify any gaps in skills or experience or expertise." – Senior Lecturer Judith McLaughlin (The Boston Globe, 3/11/07)

No Parent Left Behind
"The nation's education law has raised awareness about the importance of involving families in the education of their children... People are more aware of the positive link of homeschool partnerships and academic outcomes." – Lecturer Karen Mapp (Southeast Missourian, 3/10/07)

Bush Claims About NCLB Questioned
"There’s not any evidence that shows anything has changed." – Professor Daniel Koretz (Education Week, 3/9/07. Free registration required.)

HGSE Sponsors Alumni of Color Conference
"An academic conference for students of color in graduate education is unique in the United States, said Richard Reddick, a fifth-year doctoral student at HGSE who is one of 39 founders of the AOCC. 'We couldn’t find anything to copy,' he said of inventing the format a few years ago. 'So we made our own.'" (Harvard Gazette, 3/8/07)

What Made Execs Do What They Did?
"A study we published in 2004 found that, although young professionals declared an understanding of, and desire to do, good work, they felt that they had to succeed by whatever means [they needed]." – Professor Howard Gardner (Atlantic Journal Constitution, 3/7/07)

Young Scholars Show Findings at HGSE Student Research Conference
"[HGSE's annual Student Research Conference] — in its 12th year, and the only one of its kind in the country — provides a way for first-time education researchers to mingle with their peers, practice presentation skills, and get a sense of emerging scholarship." (Harvard Gazette, 3/1/07)

Community Schools and Community-Building
"The school becomes a place to build relationships and get to know each other’s children. It becomes a place where parents can discuss common issues they face raising their children or trying to get GEDs for themselves." – Associate Professor Mark Warren (PTA, 3/07)