The materials on EngageNY, the online library of common-core-aligned curricula hosted by New York state’s education department, have now been downloaded more than 45 million times, far surpassing many people’s expectations for the free resource created just five years ago. But with the website’s federal funding source having all but Read more
Between 2002 and 2013, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) funded over 245 projects focused on social-behavioral competencies or outcomes (e.g., social skills, dropout prevention) through the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). Together, the researchers funded by these groups developed Read more
The availability of high-quality and aligned instructional materials is central to successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Achieve is proud to make publicly available the 150th set of instructional materials found to be of high quality and aligned to the CCSS by the Educators Evaluating the Quality Read more
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 Read more
School System 20/20 from Education Resource Strategies presents the first version of School System 20/20 Assessments and Metrics, a detailed set of key questions and metrics used to create the Lawrence case study, and designed to help school systems understand whether their policies, structures, and practices create the conditions for Read more
The Center for Courage and Renewal is launching a new website, Teaching with Heart, Fire and Poetry. It is an online community and resource hub for teachers to explore their work with other teachers. The community was inspired by the books, Teaching with Heart and Teaching with Fire. In these Read more
The states that make up the PARCC Consortium released last year’s test items to better inform and enhance instruction in the areas of mathematics and ELA (English Language Arts). These items were released in order to demystify the questions and assessment items being asked of students and for parents to Read more
School leaders, especially those serving in school turnaround contexts, play an important role in shaping access to excellent educators for all students. As states move forward with Equitable Access Plan implementation, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) is offering two new resources that help to identify the Read more
Public Impact’s newest, five-step, free toolkit, “Evaluation, Accountability, and Professional Development in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Guide”, gives schools, districts, and states what they need to create an evaluation system that helps teachers improve and advance their careers while helping more students. An accompanying State Policy Brief helps policymakers Read more
The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) has announced a new initiative designed to advance teacher preparation and professional development in the use of assessment in teaching and learning. The initiative includes a Task Force that will guide efforts to improve assessment literacy nationwide and the newly expanded AssessmentLiteracy.org website that will Read more
President Obama has announced the launch of a new College Scorecard, meant to help students and parents identify which schools provide the biggest bang for your buck. Designed with input from those who will use it most, the Scorecard offers reliable data on factors important to prospective students, such as Read more
The School Turnaround Learning Community has assembled a collection of reports, policy papers, and tools related to principal evaluation. This collection of resources provides considerations for developing local administrator evaluation systems, examples of implementation and resources in support of these systems, and literature reviews identifying themes and perspectives that might Read more
On September 11, 2015, the Entertainment Industry Foundation launched Think It Up in a star-studded television special that aired on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. Think It Up is an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation created to bring broad cultural attention to the urgency of improving the learning experience Read more
With so much recent emphasis on the importance of state governance in education, it is important to understand that states have widely varying ways of implementing governance structures. The Fordham Institute has categorized states based on the commonalities in their governance systems. Below is an excerpt from their taxonomy: We Read more
In today’s highly competitive and increasingly global economy, students need more than just academic skills and knowledge. They also need employability skills in order to successfully cultivate a career. Employability skills include relationship skills such as interpersonal skills and personal qualities; workplace skills such as resource management, information use, communication Read more
Family engagement positively affects a range of student outcomes, including grades, behavior, enrollment in higher level programs, graduation, and college attendance. REL Mid-Atlantic is offering a free webinar titled Engaging Families in Partnership Programs to Promote Student Success. During this webinar led by Dr. Joyce Epstein, Director of the Center Read more