Achieve’s ninth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap” report, released recently, shows the progress that states have made in advancing college and career readiness while also revealing that much work remains to be done to ensure that all students are academically prepared to succeed in college and careers after high school. Read more
In a new report, Skills for Success: Supporting and Assessing Key Habits, Mindsets, and Skills in PreK-12, Melissa Tooley and Laura Bornfreund highlight trends and raise important considerations for schools supporting and assessing a more comprehensive set of student “skills for success” and explore how assessments of these skills could Read more
While there are still more questions than answers, the U.S. Department of Education the Department has released a draft framework for the ratings of colleges and is seeking public feedback. The new College Ratings framework is important. Secretary Duncan says, “As a nation, we have to make college more accessible Read more
Khan Academy has a new resource for helping students and parents navigate the college admissions process. It includes video interviews and conversations with successful students from all walks of life and admissions officers and counselors at some of the nation’s top schools. One of the best features is “Making High Read more
The Center for American Progress and the Council of Chief State School Officers are out with a new report looking at next-generation accountability concepts that states have implemented in lieu of zero congressional action on No Child Left Behind. Generally, the accountability reforms fall into 5 categories across the states: Read more
As someone who cares about education, you may already know the value of The Nation’s Report Card – the nation’s gold standard for measuring student achievement. Whether or not you’re new to the report card – also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – there’s a new Read more
The ACT doesn’t only make tests; they also write policy reports. Their newest one, “Communicating College and Career Readiness through Proficiency Standards,” has several policy recommendations for states adopting new educational standards. The brief describes how Kentucky, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia transitioned their state assessments to Read more
A coalition of education organizations has set a goal of 90% graduation by 2020, and the government recently released a report suggesting that the U.S. may in fact get there. The Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm, just released data showing that the four year Read more
Students, particularly low-income students, aren’t really thinking about college rankings when choosing higher education options, according to a new brief released by the American Council on Education. The study comes as the Obama administration works on its highly anticipated college rating system, which ACE says will become a de facto Read more
Last week, the College Board, under the leadership of David Coleman, announced upcoming (Spring 2016) wholesale changes to the format of the SAT, one of the two most common tests needed for students to gain college acceptance. For a few years now, officially every college that accepts the SAT also Read more
A high school diploma is no longer the ticket to the middle class that it used to be. To earn a family-sustaining income and enjoy opportunities for career advancement at a time of rapid change, some kind of postsecondary education – whether at four-year institutions, community colleges or training programs Read more
The Alliance for Excellent Education invites education professionals to attend an upcoming webinar entitled: “The Postsecondary Success Collaborative: Partnerships to Increase College Enrollment.” The free webinar will be held on March 24, 2014 from 1-2 pm, EST. The panelists for the event will be: Maud Abeel, Associate Director for Strategic Read more
A new paper from Bellwether Education Partners argues that the “college for all” debate is beside the point because students are already flocking to colleges. The real question, they say, is how to find low-income students with high potential and how to better inform students so that they’re “smart shoppers” Read more
With all 50 states having adopted college- and career-ready standards (CCR) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics, Achieve‘s eighth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap“ report shows how all states are aligning those standards with policies to send clear signals to students about what it means to be academically prepared for Read more
The U.S. Department of Education announced that 31 applications have been selected as finalists for the Race to the Top-District (RTTT-D) competition. The 2013 RTTT-D program will provide close to $120 million to support locally developed plans to personalize and improve student learning, directly increase student achievement and educator effectiveness, Read more
This blog typically covers topics related to helping students finish their K-12 education successfully, but what about after that? Can American students, once they are college-ready, afford that college tuition? Anya Kamenetz of Third Way offers 6 straightforward ideas for how the cost of a bachelor’s degree could be $10,000. Read more