A new book released this month by Education|Evolving associate Tim McDonald examines strategies for making schools more cost-effective and productive. Federal stimulus funding for K-12, McDonald argues, has created an impression that schools are suffering today because of the economic downturn. This is true. But the downturn is not the Read more
A recent article by Sandy Kress, Stephanie Zechmann, and J. Matthew Schmitten published in the Harvard Journal on Legislation provides a well-researched look at NCLB and other national experiments in consequential accountability. “The “consequential accountability” model of education reform involves creating explicit standards for students, testing against those standards, and Read more
Four new education titles top my list for must-reads: A New Culture of Learning, The Influence of Teachers, Too Simple to Fail: A Case for Educational Change, and Teaching the Taboo. For those who are looking forward to what schooling might become, “A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination Read more
The Center on Education Policy has released a report based on an October 2010 survey of state education officials, which discusses state education budgets, implementation timeline for initiatives to support the four American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reform assurances, state education agency capacity, and Race to the Top. The full Read more
Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) co-authored with the Organization for Economic and Co-operation and Development (OECD) the recently released report, “Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education”. The report examines in detail success stories from high-performing and fast-improving nations and highlights for policymakers, Read more
Want to see some incredible models for true educational reform? New York City’s iZone is one to watch. The iZone school designs are characterized by five core principles: –Performance assessment & mastery-based grading –Personalized learning plans –Multiple learning modalities (e.g., a combination of independent student work, small group instruction, Read more
The 15th edition of the Quality Counts Report was released today. Quality Counts 2011 contains in-depth coverage investigating persistent concerns over the halting economic recovery and emerging opportunities for innovation, as state and local officials attempt to move forward despite depleted budgets. It also provides a 50-state update in critical Read more
Today, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) released a new report on states’ progress and plans for implementing the voluntary K-12 common core state learning standards. As more states sign onto common core standards in English language arts and math, CEP identifies the major changes these states plan to make, Read more
Who were the top educational reformers of 2010? Van Schoales, the Executive Director of Education Reform Now, has posted a Top Ten Education Reformers of 2010 list. There are some interesting picks here! From Education Reform Now: So here’s my “best of” list for education reformers and reforms in no Read more