In case you missed it, the final Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a new set of voluntary, rigorous, and internationally benchmarked standards for K-12 science education, have been released. Twenty six states and their broad-based teams worked together for two years with a 41-member writing team and partners to develop the standards which identify science Read more about Final Next Generation Science Standards Released[…]
A newly updated and released website, The Future Ready Project, provides college and career readiness advocates with the information, strategies, messages and tools they need to effectively make the case for the college- and career- ready agenda in their states and communities. With customizable resources and fact sheets, stakeholders may take the materials available on Read more about Making the Case for College and Career Readiness[…]
Mathematics education in the U.S. has always been a complicated issue: on the one hand, there is a general consensus that mathematics is a fundamental skill that all students should possess, yet there is also the common – and false – perception that not all students are “good at math” and that it is unfair Read more about Advanced Mathematics for All?[…]
FairTest, an organization that “advances quality education and equal opportunity by promoting fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial evaluations of students, teachers and schools”, has prepared a report on confirmed incidences of schools cheating on standardized tests in recent years. The report includes discussion of multiple means through which schools manipulate results of standardized tests. Read more about Standardized Exam Cheating Confirmed in 37 States and DC[…]
Through the influence of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has provided money for many different educational studies in recent years, Bill Gates has become an influential name in education. It might be expected that Gates would support educational reforms more along the lines of the privatization-corporatization model as well as support reforms that Read more about Bill Gates on Teacher Evaluations[…]
Forty-five states, four territories, the District of Columbia and DoDEA are currently transitioning to full implementation of the Common Core State Standards. While some groups are further along than others, educators across the country are seeking high quality resources to facilitate this process. In this month’s issue brief, we explore resources and information designed to Read more about April Issue Brief: Common Core Implementation[…]
Data from states that have recently begun using teacher evaluations aligned with student performance suggest that the numbers can be deceiving. Very high percentages of teachers are receiving “effective” or higher scores on their teacher evaluations—above 97% in Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee. Depending on whom you talk to, this can mean a number of different Read more about Evaluating the new Teacher Evaluation Systems[…]
The Common Core State Standards are being introduced in all but five states, presenting the need for immediate and far-reaching instructional changes. This exclusive new online-only special report explores the ways classroom educators, in a variety of subjects and with a diverse range of students, are adapting to the new framework for teaching and learning. Read more about Education Week presents Common Core Instructional Opportunities[…]
In the current economic climate, with budget cuts a necessity and many states seeing their education budget battles going to state supreme courts, states and districts need help weathering the storm. DREAM hopes to help states and districts do just that with a “new way to explore school budgets.” DREAM was created by Education Resource Read more about DREAM: The Free Cost-modeling Tool for School Districts[…]
The U.S. Education Department has announced funding for a new AmeriCorps grant program focused on School Turnaround. This action extends the Together for Tomorrow program that focuses on increased community engagement in low-performing schools. Below is the explanation from the Education Department blog: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Wendy Spencer, chief executive officer Read more about Education Department promises $15 million to School Turnaround AmeriCorps program[…]
The Think Twice Think Tank charges that “state grades” reports are mainly helpful to understand the policy agenda of those creating the grades, not as a means to understand the policies of state education departments. The Think Twice think tank review project, part of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado Read more about How helpful are “state grade” reports really?[…]
In AEI’s Cage-busting Leadership and the Culture of Can’t, Frederick Hess argues that many district and school leaders operate under lore rather than legality. They believe their hands are tied, even when they are not, and implement restrictive policy simply because that is how it has always been done. Hess recommends that district and school Read more about “Cage-busting Leadership”: creative leadership for accelerated reform[…]
A new report released by Education First suggests that states have made “significant progress” toward Common Core readiness. Education First and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center have released Moving Forward: A National Perspective on States’ Progress in Common Core State Standards Implementation Planning. A sequel to last year’s Preparing for Change report, this Read more about Will States be Ready for Common Core?[…]
In the first of what will be an annual report on leadership, Education Week’s Leaders To Learn From provides fifteen profiles on forward-thinking education leaders. The importance of effective educational leadership goes almost without saying: Some research suggests leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all the school-related factors that contribute to student learning. Read more about Leaders to Learn From[…]
Frederick M. Hess and Andrew P. Kelly urge a more “measured approach to education reform” from the federal level in their report, What Uncle Sam Can (and cannot) do to Improve K-12 Schooling: Lessons for the next Four Years. The introduction to the report offers a mixed review of the last four years of federal Read more about AEI Education offers check-up on Education Department[…]
In response to the release of the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project final results , which this blog posted about here, the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) has released a review of the long-awaited study on teacher evaluation that strongly questions the spin that has been put on the findings. The MET project, funded Read more about “Un-MET’ Goals”: Questions about Gates Foundation’s MET Study[…]