A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education examines how implementing rigorous and engaging curriculum aligned with college- and career-ready standards fosters positive school climates in which students are motivated to succeed, achievement gaps narrow, and learning and outcomes improve. The report, Climate Change: Providing Equitable Access to a Read more
The National Academy of Education recently released its report, “Evaluation of Teacher Preparation Programs: Purposes, Methods, and Policy Opinions”. The report begins by suggesting that there is consensus on the importance of teachers for students but also admits that there is far from a consensus on how exactly teachers become Read more
A new paper from Bellwether Education Partners argues that the “college for all” debate is beside the point because students are already flocking to colleges. The real question, they say, is how to find low-income students with high potential and how to better inform students so that they’re “smart shoppers” Read more
Who wrote the narrative, the frame through which we view the world of public education? Today the (often unstated) assumptions seem firmly in place: “America is losing the education race, test scores can be trusted, and teachers are the key to learning.” Once you accept all that, it’s logical to Read more
Most every education official and pundit agrees that effective teachers are the largest determining factor of student success within control of the education system. Many have suggested various methods by which teacher training programs, principals, schools, school districts, and even states can act to ensure a greater number of quality Read more
The Secretary of Education is planning a publicity blitz aimed at recruiting “the best & brightest to the profession,” as he recently tweeted. Public service announcements will run on TV and radio, online and in print. Emissaries to dozens of college campuses will talk up teaching as a savvy career Read more
In the overwhelming majority of American classrooms, pupils are divided roughly equally among teachers of the same grade in the same school. Parceling them out uniformly is viewed as fair to teachers-and doing otherwise might be seen as unfair. Parents might wonder, too. But what if more students were assigned Read more
With so many reports on new standards, evaluations, and assessments in K-12 education, sometimes it seems that teacher preparation receives little attention. But the landscape of teacher preparation and licensure is shifting as well. In this month’s issue brief, we focus on new standards, accreditation policies and licensure regulations that Read more
To ensure that America has the most competitive global workforce, President Barack Obama articulated a goal that, by 2020, every American should continue their educational training after high school so that the United States will increase its proportion of college graduates. This ambitious policy objective will require our postsecondary education Read more
A new report from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder argues that the U.S. should consider adopting a European-style accountability system, where schools self-evaluate and then receive feedback from trained site visitors. The U.S. test-based accountability model holds schools and teachers accountable for student outcomes Read more
With all 50 states having adopted college- and career-ready standards (CCR) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics, Achieve‘s eighth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap“ report shows how all states are aligning those standards with policies to send clear signals to students about what it means to be academically prepared for Read more
Recognizing the rising pressure to hold teachers and administrators responsible for student achievement and increased pressures on new teachers, the University of Southern California’s college of education is offering its graduates a guarantee – if they’re struggling with part of their jobs, the college will have their backs. In a Read more
Principals are key to improving teaching and learning in schools, but how can school district central offices give principals the support they need? Three tools designed by education researchers at the University of Washington are meant to help. Two focus on the redesign of central offices in ways that foster Read more
For 24 hours on Dec. 11, 2013, the University of Maryland is calling on all supporters of education to come together to support scholarships for prospective teachers. Need to purchase a teacher gift for a child’s teacher? Make a donation in his/her name. The University’s Scholarship Day will support financial Read more
A new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality indicates that by and large, teacher evaluations are becoming more stringent. The “State of the State” report is entitled, “Connect the Dots: Using evaluations of teacher effectiveness to inform policy and practice.” The report suggests that 35 states and DC Read more
As advanced technologies enter the mainstream of everyday life, more than half of K-12 school districts are already offering – or interested in starting – blended and online learning programs. Though new school programs are evolving to personalize learning for every student using new tools and new methodologies, a national Read more