Low-Hanging Fruit: How Automatic Enrollment in Advanced Coursework is Leveling the Playing Field

PIE Network members in Colorado, North Carolina, and Washington State recently shared details about automatic enrollment policies (also known as academic acceleration), which ensure that students with qualifying test scores in a particular subject are automatically enrolled in advanced coursework in the same subject area. As a result, more students who have proven they’re ready Read more about Low-Hanging Fruit: How Automatic Enrollment in Advanced Coursework is Leveling the Playing Field[…]

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Experienced teachers key in California districts that ‘beat the odds’

John Fensterwald, writing for California’s EdSource, recently reviewed a study of 156 California districts that ‘beat the odds’ in student achievement for underserved students and distilled the characteristics of those districts that had the most impact on results. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Research released this week identified 156 California school districts with higher Read more about Experienced teachers key in California districts that ‘beat the odds’[…]

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Mind the Gap: Will All Students Benefit From 21st Century Learning?

In an economy driven by technological innovation and a complex social landscape, schools must invest in instructional approaches that allow students to express more agency over their learning and create space to apply what they learn to solve real-world problems. Based on a two-year study of personalized learning in 39 schools across the country and Read more about Mind the Gap: Will All Students Benefit From 21st Century Learning?[…]

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Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force

Has the elementary and secondary teaching force changed in recent years? And, if so, how? Have the types and kinds of individuals going into teaching changed? Have the demographic characteristics of those working in classrooms altered? To answer these questions, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania embarked on an exploratory research project to try to Read more about Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force[…]

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Outstanding Learning for All, Secure & Healthy Learners, and Culture of Equity

To close achievement gaps, education leaders must adopt more complete approaches to outstanding learning for all, secure and healthy learners, and a culture of equity within low- and moderate-poverty schools. A shortfall in any of these three areas within a school magnifies the impact of unequal access to resources-educational, personal, and sociopolitical-outside of school. In Read more about Outstanding Learning for All, Secure & Healthy Learners, and Culture of Equity[…]

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Teachers in the US Are Even More Segregated than Students

Michael Hansen and Diana Quintero, writing in a Teacher Diversity in America series for the Brown Center on Education Policy, recently explored the distribution of teachers of color and find that teachers in the US are even more segregated than students. As we know, an increasing amount of evidence shows that alignment in the racial Read more about Teachers in the US Are Even More Segregated than Students[…]

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Recruiting Students for Voluntary Summer Learning Programs

Many public school districts are in the midst of voluntary summer learning programs, especially for children from low-income families. But program availability does not always translate to consistent student attendance. A new recruitment guide on how to market summer learning to parents and students offers guidance and detailed templates that districts and others can use Read more about Recruiting Students for Voluntary Summer Learning Programs[…]

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July Issue Brief: Education and Inequity

Education is supposed to be the great equalizer, the ticket to the American dream. But if educational opportunities are not offered equitably to all students, the American dream remains out of reach for under-served youth. In Core Education’s July issue brief, we explore inequities in education such as access to effective teachers and rigorous curriculum, Read more about July Issue Brief: Education and Inequity[…]

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Latinos, African-Americans have Less Access to STEM Classes

Recently, Carolyn Jones, writing for California’s EdSource, shared the findings of a recent research report that focuses on equitable access to math and science courses for students of color. Excerpts of her piece appear below: African-American and Latino students were less likely to attend schools that offer advanced math and science classes, new data shows. Read more about Latinos, African-Americans have Less Access to STEM Classes[…]

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Disadvantaged Kids Need Equal Access to Great Teachers

Kevin Mahnken, writing for The 74, recently reviewed a new working paper by the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Resear (CALDER). The study, conducted by CALDER director and University of Washington professor Dan Goldhaber, synthesizes two separate research topics: the influence of teacher quality on student achievement, and the inequities in access Read more about Disadvantaged Kids Need Equal Access to Great Teachers[…]

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Getting Real About Equity

The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) has released a new video series called Courageous Conversations about Race in School. Educators care deeply about all students getting the education they deserve, but they often find themselves stuck in the same unsatisfying conversations about race where people speak in generalities, point to deficits Read more about Getting Real About Equity[…]

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Out of the Loop

Nearly 20 percent of the country’s students are enrolled in rural schools, yet are not provided the same focus in national policy or research as students in urban and suburban school districts. “Out of the Loop,” a new report from the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA), Center for Public Education (CPE), finds that poverty, isolation Read more about Out of the Loop[…]

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States Fall Short in Plans to Address Major Inequalities for Vulnerable Students

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently completed an analysis of what each of the 50 states intends to do to provide a more equitable education to all students, as described in their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans. The analysis from NCTQ highlight strengths and opportunities, ultimately demonstrating that most states are not Read more about States Fall Short in Plans to Address Major Inequalities for Vulnerable Students[…]

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The Impact of Poverty on Education

AdvanceED has released a collection of articles and videos exploring the impact of poverty on education.  It is AdvanceED’s hope that “Education Advantage,” a three part video series on poverty and education, will spark conversation and action in education reform. This video series includes: The Poverty Paradigm (Video 1) Separate but Not Equal (Video 2) Read more about The Impact of Poverty on Education[…]

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New Guide from NCTQ Highlights Educator Equity Work in State ESSA Plans

By September of this year, states will be submitting their state plans to meet the new standards under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As part of the equity requirements of the policy, states are required to formulate policies that ensure historically disenfranchised students are not disproportionately taught by ineffective or inexperienced teachers. As of Read more about New Guide from NCTQ Highlights Educator Equity Work in State ESSA Plans[…]

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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in California Schools

EdSource’s John Fensterwald recently reported on a new multimeasure school rating system for California and the data it uncovers. The Oakland-based nonprofit GreatSchools analyzed these data and produced Searching for Opportunity, a fresh look at a stubbornly persistent problem: racial and ethnic gaps in student achievement in California schools. Among the findings in Searching for Read more about Racial and Ethnic Disparities in California Schools[…]

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