In an age of Teach For America, value-added teacher evaluations, and new challenges for teachers such as teaching to Common Core, teacher tenure is as big of an issue as ever. Many studies show that experienced teachers are more proficient, although there is some evidence that teachers can stagnate over time. In addition, the baby Read more about At Charter Schools, Short Careers by Choice[…]
Michele McNeil at Education Week describes in a recent article how the Education Department, under Secretary Arne Duncan, continues to use NCLB waivers to enforce its policy goals. The situation, which we have blogged about before here and here, is essentially that Congress has yet to pass a new version of the Elementary and Secondary Read more about ED Attaches More Strings to NCLB Waiver Renewals[…]
Many have made their careers in the field of education by comparing and contrasting the American education system with those around the world. Marc Tucker, of the National Center on Education and the Economy, is one of those. His book, Surpassing Shanghai: An Agenda for American Education Built on the World’s Leading Systems integrates a Read more about The Smartest Kids in the World[…]
The New York Times recently published an education article that asks, “Do teachers need to have experience?” They asked this question of five different educators who each inhabit different realms of the education field, and as might be expected, they received five unique answers to their question. We have picked out some relevant snippets from Read more about Do Teachers Need to Have Experience?[…]
The Common Core makes for strange allies. On the “for” side, there is the Obama Administration, teachers’ unions, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On the “against” side is the Tea Party, some prominent Republican members of Congress, as well as the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida. So how Read more about Common Core from a Partisan Point of View[…]
Principals are the primary agents of change in schools, and their effectiveness as leaders plays a key role in improving student achievement, a new report from New Leaders finds. The report, “Change Agents: How States Can Develop Effective School Leaders,” encourages states to develop a pipeline for attracting and retaining educational leaders and a high-quality Read more about Change Agents: NLNS Report Examines Principals’ Roles in Student Success[…]
Recently, the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted a webinar, which is now available online on demand, entitled, “Next-Generation Standards and Accreditation Policies for Teacher Preparation and Development. The Alliance, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) held a webinar on the InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment Read more about Alliance for Excellent Education Webinar: New Teacher Accreditation[…]
The first of the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top District grantees proposed reforms for personalized learning environments that challenge every aspect of the traditional school culture, including what is taught, how it is taught, and where it is taught. Now, as the Department of Education invites districts to apply for a portion Read more about Are Personalized Learning Environments the Next Wave of K-12 Education Reform?[…]
In the continuing era of No Child Left Behind, which calls for verifiable data to be used to make decisions about schools and education policy, standardized tests have become increasingly common for most American schools. With more recent questions about how much these test scores should be used to evaluate teachers as well as the Read more about Conflicting Poll Results Reflect Americans’ Mixed Attitudes on Education[…]
Education Evolving wants to give teachers a larger role in their schools through a model that they call “Teacher Professional Partnerships.” Consider the following three propositions: 1. If teachers are to be accountable for student learning, teachers should control what matters for student learning. It’s a serious mistake to be trying to push accountability down Read more about Education Evolving Launches “Teachers in Partnership” Initiative[…]
Improving teacher effectiveness relies on effective professional learning experiences for in-service, induction and veteran educators. With so much in flux — standards, curriculum, assessment, and evaluation — professional learning is more important than ever. In this month’s issue brief, we focus on professional learning, pulling together various resources and offering food for thought. We’d love Read more about September Issue Brief – Professional Development[…]
As states and districts transition to the more rigorous Common Core State Standards, the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) has released a new paper, “Preparing Teachers for the Common Core: Aligning Standards for Teaching with Standards for Learning”, outlining how the TAP Teaching Standards clearly align to the Common Core. This connection allows Read more about TAP System Prepares Teachers for Common Core[…]
As summer winds down and the classroom heats up, turn to practice guides from the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) for practical back-to-school teaching tips. The What Works Clearinghouse is part of the Institute of Educational Sciences and is recognized as a practical and reliable source for research-backed best teaching practices. Core Subjects Read quick tips Read more about Back To School with the What Works Clearinghouse™[…]
About four million U.S. children started kindergarten this fall. We know that learning begins long before children start school. What else do we know about these youngsters? Child Trends, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center on issues pertaining to children and youth, examined a range of available statistics to provide a portrait of the kindergarten class Read more about Ready or Not, Here Comes the Kindergarten Class of 2013[…]
TNTP has recently released the results of a new teacher survey, but it’s not your typical teacher survey. TNTP published “The Irreplaceables” in 2012 to look at how urban schools neglect top teachers. This study led to further questions concerning what high-performing teachers in high-need schools think about their classrooms and careers. So TNTP reached Read more about Perspectives of Irreplaceable Teachers[…]
Here is some welcome news for those involved in preparing Race to the Top-District applications: there is an excellent new research tool available to find out what works in blended and online learning. The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI), a division of Michigan Virtual University, Read more about New Education Research Clearinghouse for K-12 Blended and Online Learning[…]