Recent research reveals that although districts spend large amounts of money on professional development, PD has a poor reputation for actually improving instructional practice, and research shows that current approaches are not having the desired effect on teacher practice or student achievement. In the May issue brief from Core Education, Read more
As states and districts work to develop new accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act, six California districts who received federal waivers under the Obama administration are getting the first hints of how more holistic accountability systems might work. Researchers and district officials discussed the first evaluations of the Read more
A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides a snapshot of teacher professional development among U.S. public school teachers. The report uses data collected through the 2011–12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) Public School Teacher Questionnaire. This report relies on data provided by public school teachers about Read more
Between 1987 and 2012, the teacher workforce in America’s schools grew by 46 percent and became more racially and ethnically diverse, according to a new report. The National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences released the new statistical analysis report, entitled A Quarter Century of Changes Read more
If you ever attend an amateur comedy contest, you’ll notice that beginning comics face some of the same classroom-management-style issues that pop up in an inexperienced teacher’s classroom. As with teaching, experienced comics can make “owning the room” look easy. That’s because they’ve had years to develop their material and Read more
Igniting the Learning Engine, a new report from Education Resource Strategies, examines how leaders in four school systems have successfully re-organized resources to create the type of effective, job-embedded professional learning that teachers are asking for. The report describes three inter-related elements that these systems have in common: (a) Rigorous, Read more
A new report by Ross Wiener and Susan Pimentel of the Aspen Institute makes the case for integrating curriculum into professional learning so teachers can focus on creating engaging learning environments, responding to the needs of their students, and continuously improving their craft. Practice What You Teach: Connecting Curriculum and Read more
Twelve states and the District of Columbia have submitted plans for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. These states include Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Vermont. The U.S. Department of Education has already informed two of Read more
Stanley Pogrow has produced a paper concluding that most education research is of little value to people in schools. Research validating programs to develop the reading skills of students born into poverty, for example, validates programs that are not effective in practice, he says. Pogrow’s paper analyzes in easy-to-understand language Read more
Research from three studies has found that intensive, content-focused professional development (PD) improved teachers’ knowledge and some aspects of their practice, but did not improve student achievement. The studies are summarized by AIR in its brief, Does Content-Focused Teacher Professional Development Work? The PD examined in the three studies emphasized Read more
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has published a vast set of online guidance and practical tools to help school districts and schools systemically implement practices that promote social and emotional learning (SEL). The SEL District Resource Center includes more than 500 resources that address priorities from Read more
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) opens up new possibilities for more meaningful approaches to assessing student learning and teacher and school success. The law broadens the concept of student learning, requiring that assessments measure “higher order thinking skills and understanding,” and explicitly allowing the use of multiple assessments – Read more
A new study authored by researchers from Brown and Harvard universities points to one promising strategy for helping current teachers improve: one-on-one coaching. Teacher coaching has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional models of professional development. Authors reviewed the empirical literature on teacher coaching and conducted meta-analyses to estimate Read more
The Behavioral Science and Policy Association recently published Reimagining Accountability in K–12 Education. This paper reviews the extensive behavioral science literature that shows outcome-based accountability, commonly used in education, is only one of multiple forms of accountability that should be considered for new accountability structures. Author Brian Gill recently commented Read more
Matt Barnum, writing for The 74, reviews new research that shows that years after having even one black teacher in elementary school, black students experience major benefits, from being less likely to drop out of high school to being more likely to aspire to college and take college entrance exams. Read more
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and Education Strategy Group (ESG) have released Destination Known, a report which includes recommendations to support states as they develop accountability systems that value college and career readiness and better support all students in achieving success after high school. The Every Read more