Against a backdrop of the opportunities provided by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the challenges for education posed by the new federal administration, the Annenberg Institute for School Report has released an issue of Voices in Urban Education (VUE) and an online supplement that proposes performance assessment as Read more
Last month, Brookings kicked off a series focused on diversity in the public teacher workforce with an article looking at patterns and trends in the diversity gap across locales, school sectors, and teacher generations. This analysis showed, among other things, that the diversity gap is not monolithic, but varies across Read more
While the importance and impact of school and teacher leadership has been widely understood by policymakers and practitioners, the field has lacked a comprehensive, research-based analysis to identify the specific elements of school and teacher leadership that can increase student achievement. Through a grant from the Carnegie Corporation, the New Read more
A new brief from Education First outlines what teacher educators do and how they can be supported in their practice. To give all students great educational opportunities, we need outstanding teachers in our classrooms. But we can’t forget that, when participating in teacher preparation programs and professional development, teachers are Read more
Imagine this: A community comes together to set a vision for its public schools. In local libraries, neighborhood associations, school cafeterias, and places of worship, families sit down together and share their hopes and dreams for their children. They think about what schools need to do to better equip students Read more
Of all in-school influences on student learning, leadership is second only to teaching quality. Indeed, when it comes to whole-system improvement, some argue that improving the quality of school leadership is a higher strategic priority than improving the quality of individual teachers, due to a principal’s influence across a school. Read more
Karin Chenoweth of Education Week recently wrote about lessons learned from schools with “unexpected” success. Excerpts of the article appear below: Educators in unexpected schools change the fundamental way schools have traditionally been organized. Back in 2000, Harvard researcher Richard Elmore argued that because teaching has primarily been an isolated, Read more
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released new data that provide a more comprehensive look at the percentage of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who are successfully completing postsecondary education. Unlike the previously reported graduation rates, the new Outcome Measures (OM) account for non-traditional students, such as those who attend part Read more
Sam Larson, James W. Dearing and Thomas E. Backer of the Wallace Foundation recently worked with 45 diverse nonprofits to discover successful strategies for scaling successful programs. “Strategies to Scale Up Social Programs: Pathways, Partnerships and Fidelity,” examines how successful organizations address how to scale up, whom to involve Read more
Those of us who care deeply about education often talk about being student-centered. But really putting students at the center means giving them voice and agency to determine their own educational pathways and influence their own schooling. In this month’s issue brief, Core Education explores student agency. We look at Read more
After an extensive organizational review, literature review and stakeholder listening sessions, Education Evolving has released its newly refined vision for student-centered learning. It involves the following seven principles: Positive Relationships – Students have relationships with adults and peers who care about, believe in, and hold them to high expectations Whole Read more
In at least 10 U.S. cities, a new partnership schools model is emerging. This “third way” governance strategy can break through contentious district-charter divides and could help improve struggling schools or increase the number of high-quality neighborhood options. The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has released a new brief Read more
Since 2016, 11 states have passed regulations making it easier for out-of-state teachers to get their licenses. This finding comes from a new report from the Education Commission of the States on teacher licensure reciprocity across all 50 states. This policy report defines and provides a review of teacher license Read more
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that each state meaningfully differentiates its schools based at least on the following indicators: Academic achievement; Another academic indicator (growth and/or graduation rates); English Learner Language proficiency; and An indicator of school quality or student success – The indicator of school quality or Read more
Recently in a Top Performers opinion piece in Education Week, Marc Tucker explored the reasons why differences in teacher performance within schools are so prevalent in America and more rare in other countries. Excerpts from the piece appear below: According to an OECD analysis of variation of student performance in Read more
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has released Transforming Educator Preparation: Lessons Learned from Leading States, a playbook offering specific steps states can take to improve educator preparation. In 2012, CCSSO released Our Responsibility, Our Promise, boldly challenging state education leaders to raise expectations and strengthen policies to Read more