Teacher Professional Development Can Improve Student Achievement

Posted on July 10, 2017June 25, 2017 by coreeducation

A study released from the Learning Policy Institute demonstrates how well-designed teacher professional development programs significantly improve student achievement, challenging the logic behind the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for those programs. The new report, “Effective Teacher Professional Development,” reviewed 35 scientifically rigorous studies conducted over the past 30 years which showed significant gains in Read more about Teacher Professional Development Can Improve Student Achievement[…]

June Issue Brief: Clinically-Based Teacher Preparation

Posted on June 26, 2017June 25, 2017 by coreeducation

In the past, it was common for teacher candidates to spend long hours in university classrooms before ever encountering a child. Student teaching was the ultimate capstone where prospective teachers finally had a chance to apply years of accumulated theory. Now, however, teacher preparation programs are reconfiguring themselves to infuse clinical- and practice-based experiences in Read more about June Issue Brief: Clinically-Based Teacher Preparation[…]

Can Teacher Residencies Help With Shortages?

Posted on June 8, 2017June 2, 2017 by coreeducation

At a recent meeting of the American Education Research Association (AERA), The Learning Policy Institute presented findings from a comprehensive study of teacher residencies across the nation. There are currently approximately 50 such programs. The best include the following key characteristics: Strong district/university partnerships Coursework about teaching and learning tightly integrated with clinical practice Full-year Read more about Can Teacher Residencies Help With Shortages?[…]

Landscape in Secondary Teacher Preparation

Posted on May 30, 2017May 22, 2017 by coreeducation

The National Council on Teacher Quality has followed its study of undergraduate elementary teacher preparation programs with a new study focused on secondary teacher preparation, Landscape in Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate Secondary Education. Since rules and procedures for selectivity in admissions, student teaching, and classroom management cut across teacher prep programs at an institution, whether preparing Read more about Landscape in Secondary Teacher Preparation[…]

The Shortcomings of Efficiency in Education

Posted on May 26, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Andy Smarick, writing for AEI, has penned a piece on the shortcomings of efficiency as an educational goal. Excerpts from his article appear below: There are very good reasons to resist (or at least be skeptical of) efforts to drive “efficiency” in public education. One of the biggest reasons is that any attempt to maximize Read more about The Shortcomings of Efficiency in Education[…]

The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment

Posted on May 10, 2017May 5, 2017 by coreeducation

Stanley Pogrow has produced a paper concluding that most education research is of little value to people in schools. Research validating programs to develop the reading skills of students born into poverty, for example, validates programs that are not effective in practice, he says. Pogrow’s paper analyzes in easy-to-understand language the validity of the gold Read more about The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment[…]

Do Schools Challenge Our Students Now?

Posted on March 23, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

When the Center for American Progress released its 2012 report, Do Schools Challenge Our Students?, many states had just committed to the Common Core State Standards. The standards were an attempt to raise expectations by establishing a new set of rigorous K-12 academic benchmarks, and the CAP analysis underscored the need for more rigorous standards, Read more about Do Schools Challenge Our Students Now?[…]

Leverage Points

Posted on March 22, 2017March 16, 2017 by coreeducation

Results for America and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) recently released Leverage Points, a new report that spotlights 13 opportunities for states to accelerate their use of data and evidence to improve K-12 schools. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires in some parts (and encourages in others) the use of evidence-based Read more about Leverage Points[…]

How to Learn What’s Working in Your Setting

Posted on December 15, 2016December 9, 2016 by coreeducation

The Regional Educational Laboratories Program has released a new video series that explains how schools, districts, states, and their research partners can use a cost-effective approach, known as “opportunistic experiments,” to test the effectiveness of programs. Under the right circumstances, this type of research study can generate evidence for informing your education decisions. What is Read more about How to Learn What’s Working in Your Setting[…]

Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admissions Standards in Teacher Prep

Posted on December 1, 2016November 22, 2016 by coreeducation

A strong body of research, and the example of other nations, supports a relationship between student performance and the selectivity of admissions into teacher prep programs. Therefore, America’s institutions training teachers should set high standards to admit only the best candidates to become the teachers. According to a new report by the National Council on Read more about Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admissions Standards in Teacher Prep[…]

Instruments for Measuring the Performance of Professional Learning Communities

Posted on November 2, 2016October 28, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences has released a new guide that can help researchers and practitioners who are planning, implementing, and evaluating professional learning communities (PLCs). The guide, from Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, compiles 49 valid, reliable, and tested measures of key performance indicators of teacher PLCs. The guide features an annotated bibliography that identifies Read more about Instruments for Measuring the Performance of Professional Learning Communities[…]

National Coalition of Teacher Prep Programs Calls For Transparency of Outcomes

Posted on September 19, 2016September 19, 2016 by coreeducation

A coalition of nine teacher preparation programs released a letter to the Department of Education and Congress calling for clear guidance to states seeking to enhance the quality of teacher preparation programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Urban Teachers–along with Aspire Public Schools, Blue Engine, Boston Teacher Residency, Match Teacher Residency, National Center Read more about National Coalition of Teacher Prep Programs Calls For Transparency of Outcomes[…]

Evaluating Teacher Preparation: The problems with inputs — and outputs

Posted on February 25, 2016February 18, 2016 by coreeducation

In a recent article in RealClear Education, Ashley LiBetti Mitchel and Chad Aldeman explore the difficulty with evaluating teacher preparation. Excerpts of “Our Failed Investments in Teacher Preparation” appear below: Each year, new teachers collectively spend about $4.85 billion dollars and 302 million hours on their preparation work. But there is no evidence that any Read more about Evaluating Teacher Preparation: The problems with inputs — and outputs[…]

Deeper Teaching: Students at the Center of Learning

Posted on January 4, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Most high school students are accustomed to learning in two ways: by listening to the teacher and by reading books and other texts. These familiar ways of learning work for them so long as their teachers demand only that they grasp and remember the given content. However, if the goal is to help students learn Read more about Deeper Teaching: Students at the Center of Learning[…]

Sustainability Rubric for Local Educational Agencies

Posted on November 5, 2015October 31, 2015 by coreeducation

The Sustainability Rubric for Local Educational Agencies is a tool developed by the United States Education Department for LEAs to assess the sustainability of a specific priority reform that they are undertaking. This rubric is flexible enough to help LEAs with wide-ranging reform goals, but also will help the Agency create practical ways to evaluate Read more about Sustainability Rubric for Local Educational Agencies[…]

Pearson offers Interactive Efficacy Tool

Posted on January 15, 2014 by coreeducation

Pearson Education has used its Efficacy Tool in its consultations with clients for years. Now the Efficacy Tool is available online in an interactive version for districts, schools, and others looking to evaluate the efficacy of tools, apps, hardware, and programs. This interactive tool asks 12 questions to help a planning team explore what efficacy Read more about Pearson offers Interactive Efficacy Tool[…]