The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $3 million “Investing in Innovation” grant to a partnership of educational organizations that will aid in two major educational initiatives: better preparing new teachers and bolstering math and science instruction. The project will operate under the leadership of the National Board for Read more
Jal Mehta, assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-editor of The Futures of School Reform (2012), offers a clarion call to systematic educational reform in the United States. Mehta makes three key points in his article for the American Enterprise Institute: 1. Many efforts to reform Read more
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that 61 applications have been selected as finalists for the Race to the Top-District (RTTT-D) competition. The 2012 RTTT-D program will provide close to $400 million to support locally developed plans to personalize and deepen student learning, directly improve student achievement and educator Read more
The Fordham Institute for advancing educational excellence has teamed up with Education Reform Now to draft a detailed report on the strength of teachers unions throughout the United States. The authors, Amber M. Winkler, Ph.D. , Janie Scull , Dara Zeehandelaar, Ph.D., claim that this is the “most comprehensive analysis Read more
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) demands that “all students have access to qualified teachers, particularly in core academic subjects” and requires that “state and local policies have introduced incentives to attract well-qualified teachers to low-performing and urban schools.” The Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education Statistics have recently released Read more
Education Department Secretary Arne Duncan, in a press conference with the Council of Chief State School Officers last week, implied that he would continue as President Obama’s education secretary for another four years and would continue the course set in the last four years. Duncan’s remarks to the CCSSO were Read more
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed on teacher evaluations, authored by Mathematica senior fellow Brian Gill and senior researcher Duncan Chaplin, recommends comprehensive teacher evaluation that not only relies on achievement gains but also other valid and reliable measures. Multiple measures are a buzzword, but Gill and Chaplin unpack the options, which Read more
Recently, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) submitted its Race to the Top-District proposal without the signature of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). The move will make them ineligible for $40 million in funding. The controversy between LAUSD, headed by Superintendent John Deasy, and UTLA, headed by Read more
TNTP, a nonprofit organization working to ensure that all students get excellent teachers, has opened the application period for the 2013 Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice. The prestigious award is given to no more than five public school teachers a year who demonstrate exceptionally effective teaching with students from Read more
Yesterday, Andrew Rotherham reflected in TIME magazine on the election results and their meaning for public education reform. From the presidential election to local elections and ballot questions, the picture of public support for education is murky, leaving newly elected politicians with no clear roadmap for reform. Rotherham writes about Read more
The United States Census Bureau has released educational statistics that have been compiled as part of its “How Do We Know?” initiative. The statistics are broken down into three categories: enrollment, cost, and outcomes and displayed in a visually appealing infographic. For enrollment, the Census Bureau focuses on showing the Read more
Recently, teacher preparation programs have come under scrutiny, and pressure is mounting to increase program accountability for recruiting and preparing effective teachers. This month’s issue brief offers resources and food for thought related to teacher preparation reform. What are the most promising practices for effective teacher preparation? What evidence is Read more
Kenneth R. Howe and David E. Means of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s National Education Policy Center have recently published a brief entitled “Democracy Left Behind: How Recent Education Reforms Undermine Local School Governance and Democratic Education.” In this brief, Howe and Means describe the negative impact of No Read more
The results of the 2011-2012 Kentucky Performance Rating of Education Progress (K-PREP) test have recently been released, raising questions about the upcoming nationwide transition to tests geared toward the Common Core standards. Kentucky, in 2010, was the first state to officially adopt an educational curriculum determined by the Common Core Read more
The upcoming election day of November 6, 2012 promises to have a significant impact on education policy around the country. Under the larger discussion of fiscal policy, which has consumed much of the Presidential campaigns of both President Obama and Governor Romney, the issue of education has risen to the Read more
Three out of four Americans oppose reducing federal education funding to lessen the debt and deficit, according to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The poll also finds that more than 60 percent of Americans oppose cutting federal funding for college loans. Read more