Last week, we organized a News Hunt on Education Reform with our partners NOW and PBS Engage. Led by NewsTrust community editor Kristin Gorski, we reviewed 50 stories on this important but under-reported topic, 21 of which received a NewsTrust rating.
Most reporting on education reform was overshadowed by other news coverage throughout the week. Our top stories, however, covered a range of significant issues related to improving schools and education systems.
Some of our top rated stories reported on the viability of charter schools. For example, NewsHour's Jim Merrow wrote about the performance of charter schools in New Orleans. While many charter schools in New Orleans -- called the "national laboratory of the charter movement" in this piece -- are outperforming non-charter schools, some sources said the "characterization" of city has disadvantaged some children. Kristin called this story "both informative and accessible," and other reviewers commented on its meticulous balance of perspectives.
The New Yorker took a more favorable view of charter schools in a profile of Steve Barr, creator of the Los Angeles-based Green Dot school program. Focusing on the main character behind this experiment in education reform, the New Yorker reported that under Barr's leadership, Green Dot schools have outpaced Los Angeles public schools in standardized tests by 20 percent since 2006.
The Christian Science Monitor tapped a new government study on the 30 million illiterate adults in the United States that received little high-profile coverage elsewhere -- "For the first time," the paper reported, "a detailed portrait of America's least literate adults is emerging." The New York Times ran a highly rated local story on the New York City public school Chancellor's decision to stop hiring teachers outside the system, due to poor economic conditions. And the Chronicle of Higher Education asked whether the rumored wide-screen Amazon Kindle could spark an "electronic-textbook revolution."
Opinion on education reform was scarce -- only five made our top stories list -- but one piece in particular garnered high ratings from our community. In a special to the Seattle Times, the former president of the Seattle School Board called the U.S. education system "obsolete," and offered three ideas for fixing it: change the way leaders are selected and treated; modify certification laws; and appoint school boards in urban systems.
Here's a sampling of our top news and opinion on Education Reform:
News
New Orleans charter schools produce mixed results
NewsHour
The Instigator
New Yorker
Klein orders New York schools to stop hiring from outside
New York Times
How a student-friendly kindle could change the textbook market
Chronicle of Higher Education
Why do millions of Americans struggle with reading and writing?
Christian Science Monitor
Opinion
Fix public education
Seattle Times
Education Reform: most trusted stories (full list sorted by rating)
Education Reform: most recent stories (full list sorted by date)
Thanks to our host and partners
Kristin Gorski is one of our shining stars at NewsTrust, and she showed her skills once again while hosting this News Hunt. A freelance writer and editor, and a former middle school teacher (not to mention, a news junkie), Kristin works tenaciously alongside us at NewsTrust and consistently brings valuable insights and ideas to the table. Thanks again for your wonderful participation, Kristin.
We'd also like to thank our partners at PBS Engage and NOW for helping us promote this News Hunt. As always, it is a pleasure to work with you, and we look forward to working on future projects together.
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This Week: Pakistan
Pakistan is our featured topic this week. As Taliban forces edge closer to the Pakistani capital, observers around the world are expressing concerns over the security of this nuclear-armed nation. Can the Pakistani government stave off Taliban militants while maintaining the support of the population? How have Pakistani citizens responded to this conflict? How can the Obama Administration address this problem without compromising Pakistani sovereignty? Help us find the best journalism on this timely topic -- join our News Hunt by reviewing (or submitting) a story on our Pakistan topic page.
-- Derek Hawkins, with Fabrice Florin and Kaizar Campwala
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