Last Wednesday, during his remarks at the National Urban League conference in New Orleans, President Obama announced he would sign an Executive Order to improve outcomes and advance educational opportunities for African Americans. The President has made providing a complete and competitive education for all Americans – from cradle to Read more
The Center for American Progress has released a report on student surveys regarding how challenged they feel at school. Along with the report, CAP has provided an interactive map breaking down key results by state. Popular assumption is that the nation’s teenagers are drowning in schoolwork. Images of sullen students Read more
Preparing all students to succeed in today’s increasingly complex world requires a shift from a teacher-centric culture to learner-centered instruction that recognizes students’ individual learning needs, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. The report, Culture Shift: Teaching in a Learner-Centered Environment Powered by Digital Learning, Read more
To serve the dual purpose of encouraging students to achieve more, and save money in education budgets, states are beginning to push students to graduate early from high school through “ramped up” curricula and college scholarship programs. It is anticipated that such policies, which emphasize proficiency rather than seat time, Read more
In a recent article for The Atlantic, Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, reflects on wages and education. Using examples like Japan, Finland, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Tucker claims that until the U.S. finds a way “to educate our future work force to the Read more
District-led, dramatic change efforts in failing schools-including turnarounds and school closures-often face strong resistance from families and communities. Resistance may be based on district-community tensions, failed past school improvement efforts, or a lack of understanding about what is possible in schools. In this new presentation by Public Impact, nine strategies Read more
A new report, Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma. For readers who can’t master even basic skills Read more
The PIE Network’s most recent report, “Schools in High Gear: Reforms That Work When They Work Together” is a set of essays written by the network’s policy partners, leaders from the five policy organizations that support the network. The policy partners span the ideological spectrum but come together around the Read more
After adjusting for inflation, education spending per student has nearly tripled over the past four decades. But while some states and districts have spent their additional dollars wisely-and thus shown significant increases in student outcomes-overall student achievement has largely remained flat. To spark a national dialogue about educational productivity, the Read more