The Truth About Testing: Authentic Assessments in Public Schools
An excerpt from The Politics of Education K-12, available on Amazon. by Lonnie Palmer Jim McMahon, a rookie English teacher in upstate New York, took a risk. Instead of relying on weekly spelling tests and bubble sheet drills, he had his “school group” students those with weaker academic skills and frequent discipline issues perform a […]
Another of China’s Five-Year Great Leaps Forward
An excerpt from “The Politics of Education K-12,” available on Amazon. by Lonnie Palmer On June 1, 2013, I started a one-year stint as interim school superintendent for Berne-Knox-Westerlo (BKW) Central School District located 25 miles southeast of Albany, New York. The first item on my list of things to do during that school year […]
It’s the health insurance, stupid
An excerpt from “The Politics of Education K-12” chapter: Where has all the money gone? by Lonnie Palmer When I started my first job as school superintendent in Albany, NY, in 1997, I quickly learned how teacher health insurance costs schools millions, draining budgets and complicating contract negotiations. I like many rookies who gained their […]
Why Education Spending Keeps Rising Without Results
An excerpt from “The Politics of Education K-12,” available on Amazon. by Lonnie Palmer Almost every time I told someone I was writing a book about education they asked the same question: Where has all the money gone? The American public knows we’re spending more on education than we have in the past. They also […]
How charter schools sort students
An excerpt from “The Politics of Education K-12,” available on Amazon. by Lonnie Palmer Charter schools sort students, often by quietly excluding those with special education needs and struggling learners, creating a false picture of success in education. Most charter schools select their students by what appears to be an open and fair lottery. However, […]
If Sinn Féin and South Africa can do it, so must Israel
by Lonnie Palmer While it is understandable Israel would want retribution for the brutal attacks by Hamas on October 7th, using retribution as a primary goal is counterproductive, to say the least. Just ask Ireland, South Africa and the United States. Israel’s stated goal with Hamas is to never allow Hamas to have any leadership […]
What happened with the eighth-grade teacher?
by Lonnie Palmer In 2005, I was hired as an interim school superintendent for a 5,000-student school district living in the aftermath of a financial apocalypse prompted by two things: the school board’s refusal to raise property taxes for five years in a row and a misguided effort to improve student performance. I say misguided […]