Writing for EdNote, Erin Whinnery recently shared four new education policy tools. Excerpts from the piece appear below: How can education leaders better support students, families and teachers in these unprecedented times? What needs can be met with policy changes? Education Commission of the States supports education leaders with four unmatched state policy resources. The State Read more about 4 Education Policy Tools to Use[…]
Released by ERS, ESSER Hold’em is a modified version of Budget Hold’em for Districts that helps districts plan, focus investments, and navigate tradeoffs in spending ESSER dollars among the 5 Power Strategies that have been identified. These five strategies address critical student needs now and lay a sustainable foundation for lasting improvement. The game will Read more about ESSER Hold’em for Districts[…]
A new guide from Education Evolving is designed to help teams design learning that equitably honors the unique assets and needs of students. It provides tips, stand-out examples, and discussion questions for teams to work through, focused on each of Education Evolving’s seven principles of student-centered learning. The guide draws wisdom from 11 brilliant educators Read more about Equity in Student-Centered Learning Design[…]
Writing for EdNote, authors Alyssa Rafa and Cassidy Francies present three state policy levers to support teacher mental health. Excerpts from the piece appear below: While state policymakers have been working to improve student mental health for years, there has not been much legislative action related to teacher mental health. It is, however, an issue Read more about 3 State Policy Levers to Support Teacher Mental Health[…]
Writing for Common Sense, Richard V. Reeves explores the gender issues affecting boys and men today. Excerpts of the piece appear below: In 1970, on American campuses males dominated. In undergraduate enrollment they were 58 percent of students to females’ 42 percent. Men got more than 85 percent of PhDs. In law schools, about 90 Read more about The Boys Feminism Left Behind[…]
Writing for FutureEd, Phyllis Jordan and Bella DiMarco explore trends in federal COVID ed aid spending. Excerpts from the piece appear below: To understand state and local policymakers’ strategies for bolstering teaching resources in the wake of the pandemic, FutureEd analyzed the COVID relief spending plans of 5,000 districts and charter organizations, representing 74% of Read more about 7 Ways 5,000 Districts & Charter Networks Are Spending Relief Funds on Teachers[…]
Education Next recently published a piece from Nathan Jones and Marcus A. Winters exploring the research on the effect of co-teaching on students with and without disabilities. Excerpts from the piece appear below: For nearly 50 years, special education law has mandated that students with disabilities be served in the “least restrictive environment” possible. This Read more about Are Two Teachers Better Than One?[…]
Inequality in educational outcomes is substantial and persistent in the United States. Students from high-income families outperform those from low-income families on achievement tests, are more likely to graduate high school, and are more likely to earn a college degree. Black and Hispanic students also earn lower scores on standardized tests, on average, and are Read more about Estimating the Effective Teaching Gap[…]
Since 2014, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has hosted the annual Summit on Improvement in Education. It is a key moment where individual practitioners and teams from schools, districts and charter school organizations, institutions of higher education, and intermediaries come together to learn and connect with fellow improvers in the field. In Read more about Living Improvement: Resources from the 2021 Carnegie Summit[…]
Recently, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) released a toolkit focused on reimagining the teaching job. An overview of the resources included appears below: Students deserve teachers who thrive in a job that is dynamic, rewarding, collaborative, and sustainable—especially as we all work to recover from the learning, family, and community losses of the past two years. Read more about Reimagining the Teaching Job[…]
For too many students, the misalignment of high school and postsecondary mathematics requirements is an unnecessary barrier to reaching their academic and career goals. Although the nature of careers has evolved over time, mathematics curriculum and instruction have largely remained unchanged; but in recent years, some states’ postsecondary and K-12 systems have begun to adjust Read more about Re-Envisioning Mathematics Pathways to Expand Opportunities[…]
Recently in The 74, Kevin Mahnken looked at long-term scores from NAEP that show unprecedented score declines for nine-year-olds in math and generational literacy loss. Two decades of growth for American students in reading and math were wiped away by just two years of pandemic-disrupted learning, according to national test scores. Dismal releases from the Read more about ‘Nation’s Report Card’: Two Decades of Growth Wiped Out by Two Years of Pandemic[…]
Writing for the Fordham Institute, Scott J. Peters and Jonathan Plucker recently reviewed the research on student ability grouping in middle and high schools. Excerpts from the piece appear below: One of the most contentious debates in American education focuses on whether to group students into classrooms using some measure of prior achievement. Whole class Read more about Should schools group students by ability?[…]
A new piece from the 74 explores the lagging enrollment in teacher preparation programs at the university level, as well as steps teacher ed is taking to ward off local shortages. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The pandemic has exacerbated a troubling national trend: Fewer potential teachers are entering the profession. Nearly every state Read more about Traditional University Teacher Ed Programs Face Enrollment Declines, Staff Cuts[…]
Writing for the Fordham Institute, Amber Northern recently reviewed what happened after the British government abandoned step and lane pay scales for teachers. Excerpts from the piece appear below. In 2013, the British government ended the use of “annual progression” pay scales for teachers. These were similar to U.S.-style “step and lane” models but were Read more about What happens when school leaders are allowed to abandon “step and lane” pay scales[…]
Designing for and implementing deeper learning across classrooms and schools that serve communities disadvantaged by the U.S. educational system is challenging. A new paper from the Carnegie Foundation illuminates this challenge by asking the question: What would designers of interventions at the classroom, school, and district levels have to take into consideration when they want Read more about Designing for Deeper Learning: Challenges in Schools and School Districts Serving Communities Disadvantaged by the Educational System[…]