An Analysis of Trends in New York Times
Reporting on Education in 2010
By Robert Scott
1
, Willie Fullilove
2
, Tyrone Farrakhan Muhammad
2
,
Erick Nava
2
, Luis Saucedo
2
, Earl Walker
2
, William Wells
2
Abstract
We looked at education articles published in the New York Times between January 1 and
December 31, 2010 to create a snapshot of the year’s educational reporting at
The Times .
A total of 99 articles from the Front Page section were reviewed. We describe and discuss these newsworthy stories on the education sector, and we also reflect on the prerogatives of the storyteller. The power of the The Times goes beyond mere reporting to a selfappointed role in framing the discourse. We read The Times critique of US Schools which was directed chiefly toward teachers, unions, and test scores. This was the status quo of educational analysis in 2010, which means that The Times played a role in producing and reproducing the status quo analysis of our nation’s schools.
Introduction
This paper was born partly of necessity. As a group of researchers in an extremely resource deprived institution (a prison in Danville, Illinois) we had zero access to information technology, a tiny library, and clearance protocol standing in the way of each book we might wish to bring into the prison. Undeterred by this challenge, the study of
1 Ph.D. Student in the Department of Educational Policy, Organization, and
Leadership at the University of Illinois. Please direct correspondence to: rscott2@illinois.edu
2 Undergraduate at the University of Illinois. Please direct correspondence to: Coauthor’s Name, Danville Correctional Center, 3820 East Main Street, Danville, IL
61834

education itself motivated our seven-person group. Having organized around the agenda of analyzing the political and historical roots of educational trends in the United States, we started by reading historical texts by John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Carter G.
Woodson. In each case, our discussion drifted to the present state of schools. How does
Dewey’s (1902) proposed balance between “child and curriculum” apply to the era of high-stakes testing? How do we apply the insights of Woodson (1933) in the era of colorblindness? Is the revolutionary pedagogy of Freire (1973) obsolete now that business leaders are chosen to lead school districts? One way to research these questions was to analyze the coverage of the United States’ Education System in 2010, viewed through the lens of the New York Times .
Methods
The study began with a search of the
New York Times’ online archive. The search found 6238 articles in which the word “education” appeared in 2010, spread between 30 sections (see Table 1). For reasons related to the amount of time we would have to prepare a manuscript, we focused on the 286 articles in the Front Page section that mention “education.” Of those, many were not about the school system but issues directly connected with it; two examples would be sexual abuse of school-aged boys by Catholic priests, and year-long constant theme of state budget deficits and the obligatory mantra of cutting “state services” such as education. By contrast, others such as the scandals related to online bullying and text messaging were included because the articles focused on school policies. Finally, articles regarding educational issues faced in foreign countries
2

were excluded. In this narrow sense, we found that 99 articles were published in the Front
Page section of the Times on issues facing our nation’s schools [1-99].
We agreed to divide the 99 articles into seven packets of approximately 14 articles each, and distributed them amongst ourselves. We agreed on a writing assignment: compose no less than one sentence, and no more than one paragraph, on each of the articles one has access to. Upon meeting, we would exchange packets of articles, and work on synthesizing and polishing the writing. Themes emerged, such as the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" contest, or the trend toward evaluating teacher performance in public schools. An (anticipatable) bias toward New York news was detected.
We brought our formulations to the table and began to piece them together.
Patterns emerged, we found many of the stories that made the Front Page section of The
Times to cover stand-alone issues that were not followed up in subsequent editions of The
Times . This suggests a leaning toward sensationalism, however it must be remembered that we are looking at stories that made it to the front page. More systemic coverage likely appears in the 2,157 articles in the Education and US sections of the paper, but those fell outside the scope (and feasibility) of our study. We recognized that we were putting historically-relevant theories of education in relation to recent headlines in a single newspaper, and the project was worthy of our attention. If nothing else, we would learn what educational issues were popularized in 2010, and whether our intellectual forbears had any tools to predict and analyze them. (Rob)
Results
3

Charter Schools Remain the Dominant Alternative in Public School Reform
Charter schools seem to be both the target for President Obama’s “Race to the
Top” competition and its funding incentive. America’s schools are falling behind in comparison to schools in other industrialized nations, thus forcing our country’s schools to compete. Charter schools represent an alternative to traditional public schools and may be the vessel by which the U.S. educational system progresses. However, there are mixed reviews regarding their overall effectiveness:
But for all their support and cultural cachet, the majority of the
5,000 or so charter schools nationwide appear to be no better, and in many cases worse, than local public schools when measured by achievement on standardized tests, according to experts citing years of research. Last year one of the most comprehensive studies, by researchers from Stanford University, found that fewer than one-fifth of charter schools nationally offered a better education than comparable local schools, almost half offered an equivalent education and more than a third, 37 percent, were “significantly worse.” [36]
Can charter schools substitute for conventional schools which are proven to be broken? Yes and no. Clearly, we must explore other options, and charters are a strong candidate for reform. Ineffective charter schools should probably be eliminated as quickly as failing public schools. There is little room left for error as it relates to improving schools in America. Diligent innovation is essential to improving the education atmosphere in schools, but it may come in conflict with the standardized curricula which dominate traditional public schools. This is where charter schools have an advantage: while they are held to national standards, they are at liberty to deviate from the “established norm” concerning curricula. (Willie)
Obama’s “Race to the Top” Challenge is Debuted
But no Major Changes have been made to “No Child Left Behind”
4

During 2010, there were only two articles focused on proposed changes to “No
Child Left Behind” (NCLB), the Education Law signed by George W. Bush in 2002. The first emphasized the Obama administration’s plans to eliminate a 2014 deadline for compliance with NCLB standards, as well as proposed changes to make NCLB more like the “Race to the Top” which was a federal grant program created by the 2009 Federal
Stimulus Bill [7]. While NCLB had introduced measures to evaluate the nation’s schools, the proposed changes would create a more nuanced system of evaluation. Specifically,
Obama proposed to replace “the law's pass-fail school grading system with one that would measure individual students' academic growth and judge schools based not on test scores alone but also on indicators like pupil attendance, graduation rates and learning climate” [16]. Obama’s blueprint for reform was scuttled by the mid-term elections during Fall 2010, which ultimately left the proposals in legislative limbo.
On March 29, 2010, the Department of Education announced that only two states would win grants from the first round of “Race to the Top.” The contest “favored states able to gain support from 100 percent of school districts and local teachers’ unions for
Obama administration objectives like expanding charter schools , reworking teacher evaluation systems and turning around low-performing schools” [28]. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was two relatively small states (Delaware and Tennessee) that could put together 100% support for the objectives, leaving the remainder more than $3 Billion to be dispensed later in the year and closer to the mid-term elections.
On August 24, 2010, the second-round recipients of Race to the Top grants were announced. The Times ’ banner coverage focused on $696 million awarded to New York, and the lack of an award to New Jersey [71, 72]. New York had struck a compromise
5

with teachers unions to increase the number of charter schools from 200 to 460, while also increasing state oversight of them [71]. New Jersey apparently would have won $400 million for its proposed reforms were it not for a simple clerical error, which had cost the state’s educational commissioner his job by the end of the week [72]. The other winners were Massachusetts, Hawaii, Florida, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Maryland,
Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio, but this was not reported in the Front Page section of
The Times .
Teachers Blamed for Failing Schools
In 2010, there was a consolidation of the opinion that teachers are culpable in failing schools. New York City Mayor Bloomberg and his Education Chief Joe Klein put pressure on teachers by branding them “incompetent” and pursuing litigation to legally fire some of the city’s 55,000 tenured teachers [10]. The New York Board of Regents considered allowing alternative programs such as “Teach for America” to become a path to teacher certification, which would be a huge blow to the 1,450 schools of education that currently certify teachers, while increasing competition with untenured teachers [32].
Simultaneously, one sees a trend toward testing existing teachers’ performance. A modeling system known as the value-added methodology was used to evaluate teacher performance on the basis of their effect on student test scores [73]. “The Department of
Education made states with laws prohibiting linkages between student data and teachers ineligible to compete in Race to the Top” [73].
Billionaire capitalist Bill Gates began funding teacher evaluation programs in
2010, using value-added methods as a starting point [93]. The Gates’ Foundation methods involve scoring 24,000 hours of videotaped classroom teaching according to a
6

point system. There remains, however, huge doubts about teacher evaluation in general.
There are reports of teachers ranking high one year and low the following year, and of teachers with glowing reputations that perplexingly have received low ranks [98].
We see value in the developing practices of teacher evaluation. At the same time, we would like to recognize the social utility of unmeasurable efforts that teachers represent to our youth. Teachers have been the socio-emotional fulcrum holding lives together by piecemeal. As a society steeped in ideological hegemony, teachers have represented the proverbial glue of our young democracy. Though marginalized by the prevailing issues of our day, teachers (as a whole) have consistently demonstrated integrity without wavering in their duty to educate our children in mass. (Malik) Union leaders’ claim that “teachers are made the scapegoats” for failing schools [81]. The only way to balance a seemingly lopsided blame is for it to be shared. (Willie)
The Role of Unions and the Fate of Teachers
On October 15, Trip Gabriel wrote in The Times that “what many reformers see as the chief obstacle to lifting dismal schools: unions that protect incompetent teachers” and that “for the first time, Democratic president, Barack Obama, is espousing ideas that have been anathema to teachers’ unions – chiefly, encouraging school choice through charter schools and holding teachers accountable for student learning” [81]. If rooting out incompetent teachers is the aim then unions must cooperate or face the wrath of the legislature which has the power to collapse union strangle hold of power over states.
(Will)
Discussion
7

Is the Public School System supposed to function like a Business Sector?
When speaking of the problems of the public education system, we hear a lot about finances. Lawmakers never stop to consider that the financial problems are not the issue. The problem is that what is being taught in these institutions is outdated: thus it cannot possibly be interesting or helpful to our youth. Somehow we continue to associate all school problems with mismanagement of funds instead of people and structures. Then, in order to maintain access to funding, schools dumb down their tests in order to advance the perception that students are learning something. (Erick)
The financialization of education can severely complicate the agenda of education.
Incentive-laden programs such as “Race to the Top” seem to only engage teachers and administrators in a process of meeting arbitrary standards to secure employment and acquire funds [55]. I believe programs like this only deprive students of quality education and reduce student to mere products. Schools have become factories that have minimal safety standards so the produced products (do not come out defective) do not harm the consumers namely other businesses and factories. (Earl)
For profit education companies are coming under fire. Stanley H. Kaplan of
Kaplan University along with other for-profit education companies came under federal investigation for deceptive practices ranging from recruitment to graduation rates [85].
(Will) Student loans are big business—Sallie Mae offered $22 Billion in loans in 2009, and Obama wanted to overhaul the loan system to hand more of the money to students.
Unsurprisingly, the banks called the proposed measure a “government takeover.”
However, Sallie Mae does not have any problem with earning interest on loans they
8

originate with tax-dollars. In 2009, $80 Million went to subsidize student loans originated by Sallie Mae, who then earned debt interest on the loans with almost no risk [8]. (Rob)
For-profit colleges have also targeted the military for student recruitment, and they’re attracting veterans to enroll for their G.I. Bill benefits and misleading students into programs that they are accredited, while in fact they are not. Be all you can be in the for-profit colleges! Veterans are being enrolled into online programs/classes for their G.I.
Bill benefits, which colleges depend on students to enroll and collect their benefits [95].
(Luis) Again we see the profit motive retarding the educational agenda, with basically no tools or mechanisms being proposed to rein in the administration of for-profit colleges— at least none that were reported in The Times . (Rob)
The Blame Game: Teachers
We are rather quick to place blame on teachers. We blame teachers for their students’ failings, then try to fire them for incompetence. Then we spend millions hiring lawyers to legally fire a few teachers, while at the same time we continue to pay the teachers that are not working because of they stand accused. This is a waste of money and time. Yes, there are some incompetent teachers out there, but this is not a solution to the fundamental problems of the school system. Neither is shutting down whole schools the solution. To come up with a solutions we have to talk to the people that are being affected. Currently, solutions are hatched between administrators who will never send their kids to these struggling schools.
Most lawmakers have no idea what these families are going through, so how can they propose solutions to their problems? They have to talk to the people that are being affected: students and their families. They have to include teachers’ opinions.
9

Consideration must be given to the problems that face students outside of school. The only time one hears of parents or teachers in the media is when they’re involved in trying to save their own school from being shut down. We don’t see them as part of the solution-making process that lawmakers participate in. Perhaps the most common image of parents in the news media is when their child has been beaten up or murdered. The press asks parent for their opinion of the situation only after their child has been killed.
(Erick)
The Blame Game: Unions
The multi-year sustained critique of teachers that has recently transpired has led many to wonder how on earth they could continue to be teaching, which has made teachers’ unions another target of educational critique. (Rob) Education researcher of the
Century Foundation Richard D. Kahlenberg said that President of the American
Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten “has shrewdly recognized that teachers’ unions need to be part of the reform” [81]. Ms. Weingarten championed an evaluation system to rate teachers performance in which resistors not only called her “a sell-out” but Variety reportedly wrote that she is depicted as a “foaming satanic beast” in the education documentary “Waiting for Superman” [81]. (Will)
One of the central successes of teachers’ unions has been in keeping class size down, however now the very administrators who are pushing larger class sizes are vilifying the unions for making it impossible to fire teachers. Learning together does not mean being elbow to elbow in classrooms—in this context, the level of distraction is huge. In classrooms with thirty students, teachers are converted into babysitters. It’s a zoo,
10

not a class. Teachers are not teaching what is needed because they’re busy teaching
(trying to teach) order in the class [87].
We have to stop wasting money and time trying to fire teachers. We have to stop acting as though the amount of money you give or take from a school district is the only mechanism to help the people of the community. You can have a brand new school with all the new technical advancements, new books, and teachers with a whole bunch of credentials that will make people feel that the money that was well spent, but the root of the problem will never be addressed by money by itself. The root of the problem is not the bad grades, violence or incompetent teachers in our schools. The problem is that nobody bothers to ask or involve the community, the family, or even the church of the students that are being scarred for life by these failing public schools. (Erick)
In the Interest of Students
In our final discussion about this paper at the Danville Correctional Center, we posed the question “whose side are we on?” and someone answered “the students!” If there is one feature that marks the
New York Times’
coverage of educational issues in the year 2010, it is the total absence of student voice. We recognize that references to test scores and graduation rates are implicitly referring to students in schools. We recognize that the drive for “accountability” and “excellence” is ultimately waged in the name of future generations currently being educated. But isn’t it odd that so many theories of how to improve are schools are discussed without ever surveying the students themselves for a response? (Rob)
The child is the most important entity of any society. Unfortunately it is also true that children are the most underserved by parent, teachers, and government. It is in this
11

light Charter Schools are nothing more than band-aids for educational system in need of surgery. If the state or government were to invest in public school as it has with the defense department, our schools would better serve its future citizens; after all, it is the future citizenry who enlist and ultimately die for the republic. (Malik)
Bi-Partisan Support for the Business Model
Whether we are for or against the Charter School model, “choice” or whatever they want to call it, we recognize that the shift to privately managed schools is a policy that has recruited both Democratic and Republican support. Given that a Republican president (G.W. Bush) actually framed the most recent push for national standards with
“No Child Left Behind” the conservative movement has had to focus their educational agenda on what they call “social issues”. For instance, the debate over global warming was attached to evolution in 2010 as conservative Christians continued to deny that human beings were the cause of global warming [11]. (Luis) That is to say that with universal support for financialized, tracked, precarious schools, the debate moves to moral issues such as the teaching of evolution, writing Jefferson out of the history textbooks in Texas, and the emerging role of technology in the classroom.
Put more strongly, the coverage provided by the New York Times provided hardly any perspective on what students or parents thought about contemporary educational issues. With a few exceptions, teachers were mainly posited as a barrier to school reform.
With few exceptions, school reform was equated to improved test scores and graduation rates, and/or the implementation fiscal austerity measures. There was hardly any counternarrative to the story that solvency and standards constitute school reform. What then should we do, as a reading group that studies what are reputed to be some of the classic
12

texts on education in the West (Dewey 1902, Freire 1973, Woodson 1933)? The one thing that seems to unify the classical theorists of education is their opposition to the universalization of standards, the conversion of schools into factories, and deskilling of teachers and narrowing of school budgets. In the end we must admit that they would turn over in their graves to witness the apartheid, the poverty, and social violence brought to bear on the students of urban schools in 2010.
Bibliography
Dewey, John. The Child and the Curriculum . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press,
1902.
Freire, Paulo. Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Continuum, 1973.
Woodson, Carter G. The Mis-education of the Negro.
Washington D.C.: Associated
Publishers, 1933.
Notes
1. Winnie Hu, “As Honor Students Multiply, Who Really is One?” New York Times, January 1, 2010.
2. Lisa W. Foderaro, “From the Battlefield to Ivy League, on the G.I. Bill,” New York Times, January 9, 2010.
3. Ian Urbina, “As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards,” New York Times, January 12, 2010.
4. Hakim, Danny, and Nicholas Confessore, "Paterson Seeks Huge Cuts and $1 Billion in Taxes and Fees," New York Times,
January 20, 2010.
5. Lewin, Tamar, "If Your Children Are Awake, Then They're Probably Online," New York Times, January 20, 2010.
6. Barnard, Anne, "Haiti’s Aftershocks Felt at a School in New York," New York Times, January 22, 2010.
7. Dillon, Sam, "Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child’ Law," New York Times, February 1, 2010.
8. Lichtblau, Eric, "Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans," New York Times, February 5, 2010.
9. Hartocollis, Anemona, "Expecting a Surge in U.S. Medical Schools," New York Times, Februrary 15, 2010.
10. Medina, Jennifer, "Progress Slow in City Goal to Fire Bad Teachers,” New York Times, February 23, 2010.
11. Kaufman, Leslie, "Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets," New York Times, March 3, 2010.
12. Medina, Jennifer, “Pressed by Charters, Public Schools Try Marketing,” New York Times, March 9, 2010.
13. Dillon, Sam, “Panel Proposes Single Standard for All Schools,” New York Times, March 10, 2010.
14. Elliott, Andrea, “Federal Panel Finds Bias in Ouster of Principal,” New York Times, March 12, 2010.
15. Goodman, Peter S., "In Hard Times, Lured Into Trade School and Debt,” New York Times, March 13, 2010.
16. Dillon, Sam, “Obama Proposes Sweeping Change In Education Law,” New York Times, March 14, 2010.
17. Hu, Winnie, "Forget Goofing Around: Recess Has a New Boss,” New York Times, March 14, 2010.
18. Gabriel, Trip, “Despite Gains, Charter School Is Told to Close,” New York Times, March 18, 2010.
19. Lewin, Tamar, “Rethinking Sex Offender Laws for Youth Texting,” New York Times, March 20, 2010.
20. Pogrebin, Robin, “N.Y.U. Plans to Expand Campuses by 40 Percent,” New York Times, March 23, 2010.
13

21. Goodstein, Laurie, “Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Boys,” March 24, 2010.
22. Goodstein, Laurie, and David Callender, “For Years, Deaf Boys Tried to Tell of Priest’s Abuse,” New York Times, March 26,
2010.
23. Otterman, Sharon, “Judge Rules City Can't Close 19 Schools on Brink,” New York Times, March 27, 2010.
24. Luo, Michael, “Overqualified? Yes, but Happy to Have a Job,” New York Times, March 28, 2010.
25. Bosman, Julie, “City Will Stop Paying the Poor for Good Behavior,” New York Times, March 30, 2010.
26. Anderson, Jenny, “Inventive New Private School Hits Old Hurdles,” New York Times, March 31, 2010.
27. Eckholm, Erik, and Katie Zezima, “Questions for School on Bullying and a Suicide,” New York Times, April 1, 2010.
28. Dillon, Sam, “States Skeptical About ‘Race to Top’ School Aid Contest,” New York Times, April 4, 2010.
29. Lee, Trymaine, and Russ Buettner, “Tax Files Show Harlem Art School’s Path to Ruin,” New York Times, April 8, 2010.
30. Medina, Jennifer, “Teachers Set Deal With City on Discipline Process,” New York Times, April 15, 2010.
31. Kaufman, Joanne, “Girls in Private Schools Ask, Thin Mints or Samoas?” New York Times, April 16, 2010.
32. Foderaro, Lisa W., “Alternate Path for Teachers Gains Ground,” New York Times, April 18, 2010.
33. Strom, Stephanie, “For Charter School Company, Issues of Spending and Control,” New York Times, April 24, 2010.
34. Medina, Jennifer, “Last Teacher In, First Out? City Has Another Idea,” New York Times, April 24, 2010.
35. Medina, Jennifer, “City Pushes Shift for Special Education,” New York Times, April 28, 2010.
36. Gabriel, Trip, “Despite Push, Success at Charter Schools Is Mixed,” New York Times, May 1, 2010.
37. Lewin, Tamar, “Teenage Insults, Scrawled on Web, Not on Walls,” New York Times, May 5, 2010.
38. Anderson, Jenny, “Private School Screening Test Loses Some Clout,” New York Times, May 6, 2010.
39. Thomas, Katie, “No Tackling, but a Girls’ Sport Takes Some Hits,” New York Times, May 15, 2010.
40. Hu, Winnie, “Teachers Facing Weakest Market in Years,” New York Times, May 19, 2010.
41. Medina, Jennifer, “New York State Votes to Expand Charter Schools,” New York Times, May 28, 2010.
42. Medina, Jennifer, “Mayor to Cancel Teachers’ Raises, Averting Layoffs,” New York Times, June 2, 2010.
43. Gabriel, Trip, “Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper With Tests,” New York Times, June 10, 2010.
44. Hu, Winnie, “Studying Engineering Before They Can Spell It,” New York Times, June 13, 2010.
45. Eckholm, Erik, “U.S. Cracks Down on Farmers Who Hire Children,” New York Times, June 18, 2010.
46. Otterman, Sharon, “A Struggle to Educate the Severely Disabled,” New York Times, June 19, 2010.
47. Medina, Jennifer, “Success and Scrutiny at Hebrew Charter School,” New York Times, June 24, 2010.
48. Hu, Winnie, “How Many Graduates Does It Take to Be No. 1?” New York Times, June 26, 2010.
49. Hoffman, Jan, “Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray,” New York Times, June 27, 2010.
50. Chen, David W., and Jo Craven McGinty, “Mayor Falls Far Short of a Vow on Diversity,” New York Times, June 28, 2010.
51. Saluny, Susan, “Graduation Is the Goal, Staying Alive the Prize,” New York Times, July 1, 2010.
52. Lewin, Tamar, “International Program Catches On in U.S. Schools,” New York Times, July 2, 2010.
53. Gabriel, Trip, “To Stop Cheats, Colleges Learn Their Trickery,” New York Times, July 5, 2010.
54. Carey, Benedict, and John Markoff, “Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot,” New York Times, July 10, 2010.
55. Lewin, Tamar, “Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools,” New York Times, July 21, 2010.
56. Leonhardt, David, “The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers,” New York Times, July 27, 2010.
57. Medina, Jennifer, “Standards Raised, More Students Fail Tests,” New York Times, July 28, 2010.
58. Hartocollis, Anemona, “In Medical School, Without a Pre-Med Degree,” New York Times, July 30, 2010.
59. Gabriel, Trip, “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age,” New York Times, August 1, 2010.
60. Otterman, Sharon, “Diversity Debate Convulses Elite High School,” New York Times, August 4, 2010.
61. Morgenson, Gretchen, “PAYBACK TIME; Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt,” New York Times, August 6, 2010.
62. Cooper, Michael, “Governments Go to Extremes as the Downturn Wears On” New York Times, August 6, 2010.
63. Hu, Winnie, “Little as They Try, Students Can’t Get a D Here,” New York Times, August 7, 2010.
64. Preston, Julia, “Students Spared Amid an Increase in Deportations,” New York Times, August 8, 2010.
65. Medina, Jennifer, “Schools Are Given a Grade on How Graduates Do,” New York Times, August 9, 2010.
66. Clifford, Stephanie, “Scissors, Glue, Pencils? Check. Cleaning Spray?” New York Times, August 15, 2010.
67. Otterman, Sharon, and Robert Gebeloff, “Triumph Fades on Racial Gap in City Schools,” New York Times, August 15, 2010.
68. Rich, Motoko, “Given Money, Schools Wait on Rehiring Teachers,” New York Times, August 17, 2010.
69. Wade, Nicholas, “Harvard Finds Scientist Guilty of Misconduct,” New York Times, August 20, 2010.
70. Cohen, Patricia, “Scholars Test Web Alternative to Peer Review,” New York Times, August 23, 2010.
71. Medina, Jennifer, “New York Wins Nearly $700 Million for Education,” New York Times, August 24, 2010.
72. Otterman, Sharon, “New Jersey Schools Chief Fired After Grant Error,” New York Times, August 27, 2010.
73. Dillon, Sam, “Formula to Grade Teachers’ Skill Gains Acceptance, and Critics,” New York Times, August 31, 2010.
74. Hu, Winnie, “In a New Role, Teachers Move to Run Schools,” New York Times, September 6, 2010.
75. Hernandez, Javier C., “Education Rift Fuels Spending in State Races,” New York Times, September 10, 2010.
76. Foderaro, Lisa W., “Unlikely Group Accuses CUNY Of Ethnic Bias,” New York Times, September 15, 2010.
77. Vitello, Paul, “Cutbacks Part of Plan to Save Parochial Schools,” New York Times, September 20, 2010.
78. Dillon, Sam, “4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong,” New York Times, September 27, 2010.
79. Hu, Winnie, “Making Math Lessons as Easy as 1, Pause, 2, Pause ...” New York Times, September 30, 2010.
80. Medina, Jennifer, “On New York School Tests, Warning Signs Ignored,” New York Times, October 10, 2010.
81. Gabriel, Trip, “Despite Image, Union Leader Backs School Change,” New York Times, October 15, 2010.
82. Goodnough, Abby, “Needing Students, Maine School Hunts in China,” New York Times, October 26, 2010.
83. Gabriel, Trip, “Learning in Dorm, Because Class Is on the Web,” New York Times, November 4, 2010.
84. Otterman, Sharon, and Jennifer Medina, “New York Schools Chancellor Ends 8-Year Run,” New York Times, November 9,
2010.
85. Lewin, Tamar, “Scrutiny Takes Toll on For-Profit College Company,” New York Times, November 9, 2010.
86. Chen, David W., and Michael Barbaro, “Bloomberg Took Secret Path to a New Schools Chief,” New York Times, November 10,
2010.
14

87. Otterman, Sharon, “Class Sizes Grew in City Despite Deal to Cut Them,” New York Times, November 17, 2010.
88. Halbfinger, David M., Michael Barbaro, and Fernando Santos, “A Trailblazer With Her Eye on the Bottom Line,” New York
Times, November 19, 2010.
89. Nir, Sarah Maslin, “No Boo-boos or Cowlicks? Only in School Pictures,” New York Times, November 19, 2010.
90. Richtel, Matt, “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,” New York Times, November 21, 2010.
91. Hernandez, Javier C., and Sharon Otterman, “Education Chief Raises Doubts on Pick by Bloomberg,” New York Times,
November 23, 2010.
92. Hernandez, Javier C., “Mayor and State Reach Deal on a Schools Chief,” New York Times, November 26, 2010.
93. Dillon, Sam, “Teacher Ratings Get New Look, Pushed by a Rich Watcher,” New York Times, December 3, 2010.
94. Otterman, Sharon, “New York Teachers Still in Idle Limbo,” New York Times, December 7, 2010.
95. Lipton, Eric, “Profits and Scrutiny for Colleges Courting Veterans,” New York Times, December 8, 2010.
96. Santos, Fernanda, “New Schools No. 2 Wants More and Better Testing,” New York Times, December 13, 2010.
97. Hartocollis, Anemona, “Medical Schools in Region Fight Caribbean Flow,” New York Times, December 22, 2010.
98. Otterman, Sharon, “Hurdles Emerge in Rising Effort to Rate Teachers,” New York Times, December 26, 2010.
99. Gabriel, Trip, “Cheaters Find an Adversary in Technology,” New York Times, December 27, 2010.
15

Tables
Table 1: Location of articles on “education” in New York Times during the year 2010.
NYT Section
Education
U.S.
Opinion
New York and Region
Business
World
Arts
Health
Style
Front Page
Technology
N.Y. / Region
Washington
Sports
Movies
Books
Science
Magazine
Obituaries
Theater
Week in Review
Corrections
Real Estate
Dining and Wine
Sunday Magazine
Travel
Home and Garden
T:Style
Job Market
Autos
Number of articles
1141
1016
949
814
614
601
558
324
319
286
264
234
233
213
203
168
147
141
124
83
54
40
39
27
23
22
19
11
8
4
Source: Website of the New York Times, January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 search for the term “education”
16