Now that Congress has reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and given states control over their own accountability systems, what will states do with the new flexibility? Pretty much the same thing they have been doing for the past four years, says a report released by the Council of Chief State School Officers. More Read more about States’ Continued Commitment to Next-Generation Accountability Systems[…]
America’s traditional teacher preparation programs are under siege; enrollment is dwindling, as prospective teachers turn to increasingly popular alternative programs. There are calls for regulators to step in to shut down the worst institutions and help many others improve. But where should experts look for best practices? A panel of education experts, assembled to discuss Read more about What High Performing Countries Teach us about Teacher Training[…]
Great teachers routinely innovate by trying new lessons, modes of content delivery, or types of student activities to enrich the educational process. The Yale-Lynn Hall Teacher Action Research Prize recognizes and supports the leadership of teachers who continually work to improve their practice through action research. How it Works Develop an intervention to improve student Read more about 2016 Lynn Hall Teacher Action Research Prize [Deadline extended!][…]
A recent article by Kaylan Connally from EdCentral examines the implications for states’ evaluation systems moving forward and how ESSA may influence other state teacher quality efforts. ESSA will affect the way teacher preparation, teacher equity, teacher growth and advancement are handled by states. Teacher Preparation – Through ESSA Title II formula funds, states can Read more about How Will ESSA Influence States’ Teacher Quality Efforts?[…]
In the past few weeks, Colorado dropped PARCC for the SAT at the high school level, and Delaware and Montana have dropped Smarter Balanced for the SAT (Delaware) and ACT (Montana). New flexibility under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) makes the use of college readiness exams for high school accountability easier than ever. States Read more about Consequences of Using College Readiness Exams for High School Accountability[…]
This past fall, Roxanna Elden, author of the book See Me After Class, began offering teachers a lifeline. Aware that many teachers leave their jobs mid-year, she began offering what she called a Disillusionment Power Pack: an email subscription service that would send teachers constant notes of encouragement and reflection for one month. As an Read more about Help for Drowning Teachers[…]
Did you know that parents and teachers can view PARCC test items from last year’s test? Almost 850 of the test questions are online in the Partnership Resource Center. This guide is designed to help you easily navigate the many test questions and related materials, including sample student responses to open-ended test questions, such as Read more about Your Guide to Finding and Using PARCC Test Items[…]
With the authorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act, all eyes are on State Education Agencies (SEAs) for direction and leadership related to education reform. There is no doubt that SEAs will serve an essential role in the future of our country’s educational system, but the scope of that role will be largely determined by Read more about January Issue Brief: Effective State Education Agencies[…]
Recently, Tom Vander Ark from Getting Smart published an insightful to-do list for education leaders. Vander Ark states, “Being an education leader is complicated and challenging. The politics are personal and multilayered. It can be the best and worst job in the world at the same time. But there is no role where an individual Read more about 7 Things Education Leaders Should Do Right Now[…]
Discovery Education, a leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, invites superintendents and curriculum leaders to attend a unique new series of professional learning events exploring critical topics in education leadership. This series, which launches on January 28 in Hershey, PA, will explore critical topics in education including equity, personalized learning, Read more about Free Instructional Leadership Series from Discovery Education[…]
Heather McGowan has published an intriguing new article examining the need for a focus on learning, rather than knowing, in order to prepare students for the 21st century. A portion of her article is excerpted below: Students will have to be prepared to adapt and be more adept at critical thinking and problem-solving rather than Read more about The Paradox of Education: Learning Over Knowing[…]
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has released new standards that provide a clear, practical definition of what the supervisors of school principals should know and be able to do to improve the effectiveness of principals. With support from The Wallace Foundation, a team of educators from across the nation has spent more Read more about Principal Supervisor Professional Standards[…]
Is a principal’s educational experience, professional behavior, or leadership style related to increased student learning? This systematic review of the literature conducted by Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast with support from the Institutes of Education Sciences answers these questions. The research team identified 52 peer-reviewed studies that met the review criteria, including: One experimental study that Read more about The Relationship between Principal Characteristics and Student Achievement[…]
PARCC has announced that it will now offer states the option of buying parts of its testing system and choosing their own vendor. Previously, states could purchase only the entire system, and they had to use Pearson for test administration. This announcement comes as testing plans for 2015-16 show a dwindling number of states using Read more about PARCC Allows States to Customize Tests[…]
The 2016 edition of Education Week’s Quality Counts report—Called to Account: New Directions in School Accountability—examines how new state and federal strategies are transforming the assessment of school performance and reshaping the consequences for poor results. In addition to the special focus on accountability, Quality Counts 2016 features the report’s hallmark report card on the Read more about Education Week Releases Quality Counts 2016[…]
How do teachers learn? What are the implications of teacher learning (or the lack thereof) for students? What is the value of a teacher who really learns? During the month of November, members of the CTQ Collaboratory tackled these questions and more during a round table discussion centered on the topics of professional development, personalized Read more about Center for Teaching Quality: How do teachers really learn?[…]