Reform Implementation

The Center on Education Policy has released a report based on an October 2010 survey of state education officials, which discusses state education budgets, implementation timeline for initiatives to support the four American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reform assurances, state education agency capacity, and Race to the Top. The full report, More To Do, But Read more about Reform Implementation[…]

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The Media Bullpen

  The Center for Education Reform announces the launch of the Media Bullpen. This new virtual newsroom brings accountability to education news. Each day CER’s “umps” analyze the media on education and score who’s got it right — and who struck out. The Media Bullpen is a fun way to browse education news, but be Read more about The Media Bullpen[…]

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Data for Action 2010

The Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) sixth annual state analysis, Data for Action 2010, reveals that states have made unprecedented progress collecting longitudinal information but have not taken action to ensure data are used to improve student achievement. When the DQC launched in 2005, no state had all 10 Essential Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems. Read more about Data for Action 2010[…]

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Role of the Federal Government in Education

Happy President’s Day! In honor of our federal government, I am sharing an article written by the Center on Education Policy’s CEO Jack Jennings that appeared in the Huffington Post. “Get the Federal Government out of Education? That wasn’t the Founding Fathers’ vision” traces the history of the federal role in education and  addresses the Read more about Role of the Federal Government in Education[…]

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Education Budget Request 2012

 February 14th, President Obama made his education budget request for Fiscal Year 2012. The New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project Summary and Analysis explains the president’s request. This brief covers key education proposals, including: Increases in funding for K-12 programs, such as ESEA Title I and special education grants; Program consolidations for reauthorization of Read more about Education Budget Request 2012[…]

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Strategy for Realizing Digital

Digital learning is disruptive. The personalization of learning that it makes possible is a radical break from the course-and-class model of school with its technology of teacher-instruction. Personalization would change school, change teaching and change learning. What is the best way to go about changing the long-standing system of schooling?  It may be more difficult Read more about Strategy for Realizing Digital[…]

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A Measured Approach to Improving Teacher Preparation

Analysts Chad Aldeman, Kevin Carey, Erin Dillon, Ben Miller, and Elena Silva of Education Sector examine the way the United States currently prepares teachers and offer some specific suggestions on how to improve it. Over the next five years, more than a million new teachers will enter public school classrooms. Analysts from Education Sector claim Read more about A Measured Approach to Improving Teacher Preparation[…]

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Disrupting College: How Disruptive Innovation Can Deliver Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education

Changing circumstances mandate that we shift the focus of higher education policy away from how to enable more students to afford higher education to how we can make a quality postsecondary education affordable. The challenge before the country also mandates a new definition of quality from the perspective of students–so that the education is valuable Read more about Disrupting College: How Disruptive Innovation Can Deliver Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education[…]

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Controversy: Teacher Preparation Program Ranking

Last week, a joint letter from the chancellors of The California State University, the University System of Maryland, and the State University of New York was delivered to Brian Kelly, Editor of U.S. News and World Report. The letter was among many that have been submitted by colleges and universities in protest over a proposed Read more about Controversy: Teacher Preparation Program Ranking[…]

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Closing the Expectations Gap

In direct contrast to the Pathways to Prosperity Project report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (about which I blogged yesterday) Achieve’s sixth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap” report shows that in the six years since the National Governors Association and Achieve co-sponsored the National Education Summit on high schools, the goal of aligning Read more about Closing the Expectations Gap[…]

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College- and/OR Career-Ready?

This one is sure to generate some controversy! Please weigh in with your comments! “College- and career-ready” is a phrase we hear often, in connection with student standards, curricula and new assessments. But should it be College- and/OR Career-Ready? The Pathways to Prosperity Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has released a new Read more about College- and/OR Career-Ready?[…]

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“Quality-Blind” Teacher Layoffs

As education budgets across the nation contract in response to the recent financial crisis, many school districts have been forced to lay off a sizeable number of teachers. This raises two important questions: what determines which teachers will be let go, and is the existing policy offer best for students? Legislators in the state of Read more about “Quality-Blind” Teacher Layoffs[…]

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Effective Classroom Observations

The New Teacher Project’s Teacher Evaluation 2.0, a blueprint for better teacher evaluation, has informed the work of a number of states who are in the process of overhauling their evaluation systems. Now, The New Teacher Project has released a useful tool to support the development of better teacher observation tools. Although the public conversation Read more about Effective Classroom Observations[…]

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National Dashboard Release

The U.S.  Department of Education has launched a web site providing convenient and transparent access to key national and state education data, highlighting the progress being made at every level of the education system and encouraging communities to engage in an informed conversation about their schools.  This first version of the U.S. Education Dashboard (http://dashboard.ed.gov/) Read more about National Dashboard Release[…]

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Seeking Exceptional Professional Development?

Core Education has always been focused on providing exceptional professional development to preservice, induction, and inservice teachers. We are also dedicated to promoting the state and district policies that make this type of professional development possible. Now, new research provides insights into the policies of four states that support outstanding professional development. Learning Forward (previously Read more about Seeking Exceptional Professional Development?[…]

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Commencement Challenge

The White House has opened applications to the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. Students from public high schools across the country are invited to demonstrate how their school prepares them for college and a career by going to www.whitehouse.gov/commencement and submit an application. The winning school will host President Obama as their 2011 Read more about Commencement Challenge[…]

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