Inside Chicago's school 'renaissance'

CPS bans Twitter

H/t to Russo on this one. It's Huberman's latest edict -- No communicating with students or their families via personal email. No cell phones. No Twitter. No Facebook.

Just a few days after patting itself on the back for enlisting a R&B singer with a MySpace page and lots of Twitter followers, CPS's new email policy (PDF) requiring teachers to use official email for all communications with students has come to light.

Paying for test scores?

National Journal's panel of experts holds forth on paying kids for test scores. Responses are pretty much as expected (except the V.P. of the Chamber of Commerce is opposed).

Alfie Kohn: "Rewards, like punishments, can produce only one thing: temporary obedience. What they can never do is help kids become more effective or enthusiastic learners."

Monty Neill: "Test score 'bribes' for students are like steroids for athletes -- they can temporarily boost performance, but their long-term impact damages the very thing you are trying to improve."

Those in favor include former Bush advisor Sandy Kress and of course, VanderArk.