Learning More: Why did U.S. schools make so much progress in the 1990s and early 2000s?

Posted on May 24, 2022May 22, 2022 by coreeducation

In the New York Times newsletter, David Leonhardt works against bad-news bias and covers a positive and mostly overlooked trend in American education: the educational progress of the 1990s and early 2000s. Excerpts of the piece appear below: For years, you’ve probably been hearing that our schools are in crisis. And K-12 education in the Read more about Learning More: Why did U.S. schools make so much progress in the 1990s and early 2000s?[…]

Still Rising: Charter School Enrollment and Student Achievement at the Metropolitan Level

Posted on April 26, 2022April 17, 2022 by coreeducation

In the wake of the biggest education crisis in living memory, the need for transformational change is palpable and urgent. Accordingly, a new report from the Fordham Institute takes a fresh look at a question that is fundamental to the goals of many education reformers: Can a rising tide of charter schools carry students in Read more about Still Rising: Charter School Enrollment and Student Achievement at the Metropolitan Level[…]

State of the States: State Reporting of Teacher Supply and Demand Data

Posted on April 13, 2022April 11, 2022 by coreeducation

For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable—largely for the lack of the most basic information. In a new analysis Read more about State of the States: State Reporting of Teacher Supply and Demand Data[…]

The Future of Testing in Education

Posted on April 7, 2022April 4, 2022 by coreeducation

In a new series, the Center for American Progress examines how assessments in public schools can become effective instruments that help to measure whether schools and educators are meeting the goals of education. It considers how assessments are designed and how their results are used and understood, and emphasizes that when done purposefully, these tests Read more about The Future of Testing in Education[…]

Smart State Strategies for Building Intensive Tutoring Systems

Posted on April 6, 2022April 4, 2022 by coreeducation

In May 2021, Education Trust, Education Reform Now, and FutureEd published State Guidance for High-Impact Tutoring to help states implement successful tutoring programs. Now, a new follow-up publication outlines the features of effective and equitable state tutoring initiatives and provides examples of states that show promise in implementing them, to further support the work of Read more about Smart State Strategies for Building Intensive Tutoring Systems[…]

America’s Democracy Can’t Afford for Our Public School Experiment to Fail

Posted on March 24, 2022March 21, 2022 by coreeducation

Writing for the Bush Institute, Ann Wicks recently penned an opinion piece about the need for public education in a democracy. Excerpts from the piece appear below: A district superintendent, a school board member, a teacher, and a concerned parent walk into a bar, arguing about COVID-19 protocols, year-end testing, and book lists. Who pays Read more about America’s Democracy Can’t Afford for Our Public School Experiment to Fail[…]

How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds

Posted on March 3, 2022February 27, 2022 by coreeducation

Recently in The 74, Phyllis Jordan and Bella Dimarco reviewed a new FutureEd analysis of plans for spending ESSER III emergency relief funds, including more than 2,600 school districts serving 53 percent of the nation’s public school students. The analysis suggests that the higher the poverty rate in a district’s student population, the more likely Read more about How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds[…]

Fourth American School District Panel Survey Reveals Concerns about Mental Health, Political Polarization

Posted on March 1, 2022February 22, 2022 by coreeducation

Policymakers had hoped that the 2021–2022 school year would be a chance to recover from COVID-19 pandemic–related disruptions to schooling. Instead, media reports of staff shortages, heated or even violent school board meetings, increased student misbehavior, low student and teacher attendance, and enrollment declines suggest increased — rather than decreased — problems during this third Read more about Fourth American School District Panel Survey Reveals Concerns about Mental Health, Political Polarization[…]

Getting Real About Sustainability & ESSER Funding

Posted on February 2, 2022January 31, 2022 by coreeducation

A new 90-second video can be used to help school systems explain their efforts to invest ESSER funds with a sustainable “Do Now, Build Toward” approach. It begins by walking through three approaches to ESSER spending and then digs into what sustainability looks like in this moment — thinking beyond using ESSER dollars for one-time Read more about Getting Real About Sustainability & ESSER Funding[…]

Finding Common Ground in the Education Wars

Posted on December 2, 2021November 21, 2021 by coreeducation

A few months ago, Michael Petrilli wrote a piece exploring the common ground that most everyone can agree on related to education’s culture wars about critical race theory, anti-racist education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. As it looks like these school board feuds are ramping up rather than dying down, I wanted Read more about Finding Common Ground in the Education Wars[…]

Advancing Equitable Access To And Success In Work-Based Learning

Posted on November 4, 2021October 29, 2021 by coreeducation

The economic and societal instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic compounded and laid bare the inequities in American education and workforce systems. It also forced policymakers to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that programs remained accessible. Amid these unprecedented challenges, the states in the National Governors Association Center’s Policy Academy on Scaling Work-Based Read more about Advancing Equitable Access To And Success In Work-Based Learning[…]

Smart Money 2.0

Posted on September 16, 2021September 14, 2021 by coreeducation

The National Council on Teacher Quality recently released a report by Patricia Saenz-Armstrong comparing the salary trajectories of teachers in 90 large school districts across the country. Excerpts from the piece appear below: “Teacher pay is low.” It has been said hundreds of thousands of times before. The search term “teacher pay is low” produces Read more about Smart Money 2.0[…]

Restructuring the High School-to-College Transition

Posted on September 8, 2021September 8, 2021 by coreeducation

The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) has released a series of resources focused on providing design principles for policymakers at the federal level looking to expand support for college in high school programs like dual enrollment and early college. Federal Design Principles are provided for: Creating a Dual Enrollment State Grant Program Proposes the Read more about Restructuring the High School-to-College Transition[…]

Dr. Pedro Noguera & Dr. Frederick Hess on Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K-12

Posted on September 7, 2021September 5, 2021 by coreeducation

At a time of bitter national polarization, there is a critical need for leaders who can help us better communicate with one another. In A Search for Common Ground, Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera, who have often fallen on opposing sides of the ideological aisle over the past couple of decades, candidly talk through their Read more about Dr. Pedro Noguera & Dr. Frederick Hess on Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K-12[…]

Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Through Early Pathways

Posted on September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 by coreeducation

Writing for Education Strategy Group (ESG), Nicole Osborne recently reviewed promising initiatives that serve to diversify the teacher workforce by engaging high school students in an educator pipeline. Excerpts of the piece appear below: There are bright spots within programs across the country with strong practices in place that can serve as signposts for building Read more about Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Through Early Pathways[…]

The Changing Role of School Leaders

Posted on August 31, 2021September 28, 2021 by coreeducation

Among all in-school factors that impact student learning, teachers carry the most weight — but school leaders are not far behind. Decades of research have proven the positive influence principals can have on student achievement, school climate and teaching quality. New evidence suggests that their impact may be even greater than previously thought, as principals Read more about The Changing Role of School Leaders[…]