Tag Archives: rankings

New Ranking of Education Blogs Available

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Teach100 | Teach.comTeach.com has recently launched what it calls “a first of its kind ranking of the 100 best and most influential education blogs and news sites.” Known as Teach100, and available here, the list, which is updated daily, allows users to “quickly see the education blogs their community is reading, explore topics the blogs are covering, and decide which blogs they want to follow or add to their existing reading list.” The list also functions as an excellent introduction to the education blogosphere.

Teach100 will consider any blog that focuses on education, ranging from early childhood to postsecondary education. “Blogs may feature topical issues such as teaching styles, education reform, the hard sciences or other education-related topics.” New bloggers may submit their blogs to be ranked, provided that they meet the criteria of at least half of the content pertaining directly to education, the blog being at least six months old, and the blog having more than 50 individual posts.

Teach100 ranks each education blog on the following factors:

  • Social (40%) – Engagement as determined through combined Facebook shares, Tweets and StumbleUpon visits to the blog. Ranking is also based on the number of shares pointing back to the blog’s 10 most recent posts and its main domain.
  • Activity (20%) – The frequency of a blog’s updates. The more frequently a blog is updated, the higher its activity score.
  • Authority (20%) – The overall authority and influence relative to the rest of the web as determined by the number of sites linking to the blog. This methodology is one of the foundations of the Google Search Algorithm and is a commonly used measure of a website’s authority.
  • Teach Score (20%) – This is the single subjective factor in the evaluation of Teach100. The Teach Score considers how media is used throughout a blog, how topics in education are discussed, the timeliness of blog content, the capacity to inform and the overall presentation of the blog

This blog is currently ranked 120th.

For more information please visit the following website:

www.Teach.com/Teach100

 

 

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Education Week releases annual Quality Counts Report: MD 1st for 5th year in a row

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Education Week: January 10, 2013In addition to ranking states’ educational quality in an annual education report card, Education Week made Code of Conduct their theme for Quality Counts 2013. The report focuses on “the impact of a school’s social and disciplinary environment on students’ ability to learn and on the teachers and administrators tasked with guiding them.”

After last year’s tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, but also based on other factors, Education Week decided to highlight the impact of school environment on those who learn and work in schools. In addition to the pressing issue of school safety, “strong peer and student-teacher relationships, effective and positive ways to address student misbehavior, supports for social and emotional development, and the involvement of parents and community groups” are all issues highlighted in their detailed annual report.

Christopher B. Swanson, Vice President of Editorial Projects in Education, the nonprofit organization that publishes Education Week, said, “there is growing agreement that a school’s broader climate profoundly affects student achievement and serves as a precursor for effective instruction, deep engagement in learning, and academic success.”

For an excellent resource on the theme of school climate, see Education Week’s on demand webinar entitled “Quality Counts: Involving Students in School Climate” at this link: http://www.edweek.org/ew/marketplace/webinars/webinars.html?intc=ml

Beyond the particular focus on school climate, Education Week included their annual report on state education, in which Maryland again ranked first.

Maryland received solid grades in each of the five categories employed by Education Week to make their rankings:

  • Chance for Success – Maryland received a B+ grade (sixth in the nation).  This category includes such factors as parental education, family income, student performance, and graduation rates.
  • Transitions and Alignment – Maryland was among eight States with an A grade.  This category includes early childhood education, college readiness policies, and workforce policies.
  • School Finance – Maryland received a B grade (eighth in the nation).  This category is based on school funding and equity in finance.
  • K-12 Achievement – Maryland received a B grade (third in the nation, 2012 data).  This category includes National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores and an analysis of achievement gaps.
  • Standards, Assessments, and Accountability– Maryland received a B+ grade (2012 data).  Maryland has a long history of high standards and detailed statewide accountability programs.
  • The Teaching Profession – Maryland ranked third in the nation with a B grade (third in the nation, 2012 data).  Maryland continues to improve the quality of its education workforce.

Reacting to the positive news, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley said, “From the earliest days of our Administration, job creation and its primary ingredient, education, have topped our agenda.  Every year of this Administration, even during the toughest of times, we have invested to make this a reality.”

State Superintendent Dr. Lillian M. Lowery added, “Maryland public schools are so fortunate to have bipartisan support throughout the State. Our schools have the benefit of strong support from the Governor, other elected officials, educators, parents, business leaders, and the public at large.  This ranking could not be achieved without the support of every partner, and we won’t be able to continue our improvement without that broad coalition.”

Maryland received a B+ overall, and the nation as a whole received a C+ ranking, up from a C last year.  These grades come across as quite positive compared with those given last week by StudentsFirst in their state report cards.

For more information, please visit these links:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/index.html

http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2013/01/10/

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/pressrelease_details/2013_01_10

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/quality-counts-education-rankings-2013_n_2451431.html

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The Center for Education Reform Launches New Hub

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The Center for Education Reform (CER) recently launched their new, interactive website, which they hope will become the central hub for all things related to education reform.  The CER, founded in 1993 to help bridge the gap between education policy and practice, says that it re-designed their site in order to “serve [the public’s] daily information needs and provide ready access to opportunities to become more engaged.”

The site is packed with content, but some of the most notable and interesting are:

1. An interactive state map that includes rankings for governors, media reliability, charter school law, and teacher quality; rankings for digital learning and what they call the “parent power index” will be available soon.

2. A section devoted to issues such as teacher quality, federal policy, the “unions and establishment,” and online learning.

3. A “Take Action” section that breaks down ideas for becoming involved into categories like “10 minute ideas” up to “1 day per week ideas.”  They also provide resources for bigger ideas, such as a starter kit for starting a charter school.

4. The “Media Bullpen,” a news section devoted to “bringing accountability to education reporting.”  This section features national stories, analysis, and data from across the country, and also a specific focus on education news from towns and individual districts.

To explore the site, please visit http://www.edreform.com/

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