HGSE in the Media

October 2007

‘Reading First’ Panel Awaits Program Evaluation Reports
"It’s the right thing to do to work with the data states have now to get a better understanding of [the results] of the policy that’s been put in place." – Assistant Professor Nonie Lesaux (Education Week, 10/24/07. Registration required.)

To Give Kids a 'Better Shot at Life'
“I think we are at a tipping point in this country where people recognize that schools alone can’t do it.” – Lecturer and Senior Research Associate Heather Weiss (The Tacoma Tribune, 10/15/07)

The Case of Chutes and Ladders
"The attacks ‘are demoralizing to those of us trying to relate neuroscience to education,’ says Kurt Fischer, director of the Harvard Mind, Brain, and Education Program." (Newsweek, 10/12/07)

Linking Community Development and School Improvement
"In this interview, Mark Warren, Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University, argues that collaboration between schools and community development organizations is vital if we hope to revitalize neighborhoods and provide high quality education." (Community Investments Journal, 10/12/07)

How Sputnik Changed U.S. Education
At an Askwith Education Forum on October 4, education experts said that the U.S. may be overdue for a science education overhaul like the one undertaken after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite 50 years ago. (Harvard Gazette, 10/11/07)

New Center to Study Use of Time in School and to Aid Enrichment
"The current school time is insufficient for achieving the goals we have set out … and for allowing a well-rounded education." – Lecturer Paul Reville (Education Week, 10/10/07. Registration required.)

High-Stakes Flimflam
"Daniel Koretz, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, told me in a recent interview that it’s important to ask ‘whether you can trust improvements in test scores when you are holding people accountable for the tests.’ The short answer, he said, is no." (New York Times, 10/9/07)

Graduation Exams Test States’ Will
"Robert Schwartz, the academic dean at the Harvard School of Education who has watched the unfolding of such testing in his state, said even in the face of criticism, state leaders held firm." (Baltimore Sun, 10/8/07)

Leadership Lauded, but Program Panned
"[Professor Thomas] Hehir, who teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said that when segregated, special education students 'get the feeling they are not capable. The curriculum expectations go way down.'" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/5/07)

Learning about 'The War'
"World War II clearly has a status in the American public imagination that distinguishes it." – Assistant Professor Meira Levinson (USA Today, 10/2/07)

Our Schools Must Do Better
"I would say, ‘Hmm, it’s a warning sign.' If we keep getting these kinds of declines, then that’s something we’ve got to start worrying about." – Professor Thomas Kane (New York Times, 10/2/07)

Too Much of A Good Thing?
"The real issue iis getting kids to develop a sense of self-efficacy, along with real competencies and skills. Self-esteem will follow." – Lecturer Richard Weissbourd (Scholastic Instructor, 10/07)

Schoolkids Post Modest Gains in National Test
"One thing we know about school improvement is if it is going to be widespread, it isn't going to be sudden." – Professor Catherine Snow (Wall Street Journal, 9/26/07)