In the News
Review Gives Many States 'D' or 'F' for Science StandardsEducation Week, January 31, 2012
A new report offers a "bleak picture" of the state of state science standards across the nation, with just over half earning a grade of D or F. Among the 10 states to receive a failing grade were Idaho, Oregon, and Wisconsin. (See the full list below.) Only California and the District of Columbia were given a solid A, while four states were handed an A-minus, according to the review by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
Del. limits link of test scores to teacher payDelaware Online, January 31, 2012
For this year, the only teacher evaluations that will have a tie to student test scores are certain grade levels in math and reading -- areas that are tested on the state's Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System. Previously, the state had floated ideas that included asking teachers of untested subjects and grade levels to be evaluated using scores from other subjects.
Report critical of W.Va.'s education systemHerald Dispatch, January 31, 2012
A nonpartisan research and education policy group concludes that West Virginia's public education system is among the nation's worst.
How Many Students Really Graduate From High School? WAMU, January 30, 2012
Ask a random sampling of D.C. residents about the dropout rate of District public school students, and their guesses actually aren’t that far off. Many of them guess that 70-80 percent of students graduate; the actual official graduation rate hovers around 76 percent.
Teen's anti-bullying plea makes its debutPhilly.com, January 29, 2012
Ben Harowitz, a speck of an eighth-grader from Swarthmore who plays sax and loves Harry Potter, had reason to fear the reaction of his peers. Being bullied is hardly a cool calling card; broadcasting the slights carried a social risk. Opening up was the point, he insisted. Too many kids suffer needlessly in silence when telling an adult can bring instant relief. "I wanted to give victims a voice," Harowitz told me excitedly before the assemblies. "When you say something, you get it to stop."
Reading Classes Dropped at Howard County, MD Middle SchoolsEducation News, January 27, 2012
Pending a vote, the Howard County, Maryland board of education is set issue a new schedule for their middle schools that will drop traditional reading classes.
Teachers Discuss the Troubles of Teaching in Rural AmericaEducation News, January 27, 2012
The White House recently received the latest class of National Board Certified teachers, and asked those who were from some of America’s most remote and distant rural communities about the realities of what it is like to teach in rural America.
Dropouts bill put on holdDelaware Online, January 26, 2012
A day after President Barack Obama called on states to increase the compulsory age for public education to 18, lawmakers in the Delaware House raised questions about the cost and implications of such a move.
Many public schools in D.C.’s poorest area should be transformed or shut, study says; more charters recommendedWashington Post, January 26, 2012
A new study commissioned by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray recommends that the city turn around or close more than three dozen traditional public schools in its poorest neighborhoods and expand the number of high-performing charter schools.
Virginia Bill No Longer Require 3rd Grade Students To Take History And Science Standardized Tests Huffington Post, January 25, 2012
The state Senate voted to pass a bill Tuesday that scales back Standards of Learning testing for 3rd graders. The proposal, introduced by Democratic state Sen. John Miller, would only require standardized testing for math and English, and aims to allow teachers to focus on improving 3rd grade reading proficiency and test scores.
Public Schools in DC Better Funded Than Charters, Says ReportEducation News, January 23, 2012
The subsequent ‘Levy Report’ revealed that DCPS received operating funds of between $72 million and $127 million a year that weren’t available to charter schools.
Reform for English Language LearnersEducation Week, January 19, 2012
In my first post, I addressed educational drawbacks that English language learners may encounter in schools. In today's post I would like to address how schools and districts can be more resourceful in closing the achievement gap. Experts believe the way schools support, assess, and track could be pivotal in meeting the needs of this diverse group of students.
State of the state: Markell’s remarks on educationDelaware Online, January 19, 2012
The biggest driver for a business when deciding where to locate and expand is the quality of the workforce. That talent will determine whether the business becomes an innovation leader or gets left behind in the creative dust of its competitors. The late Steve Jobs put it bluntly: “Apple employs seven hundred thousand factory workers in China because it can’t find the thirty thousand engineers in the U.S. that it needs on site at its plants.” We need to do something about that. This is why, when the history of our time here is written, the determined push we are making to raise student achievement will prove to be the biggest game-changer of all.
Study Finds Single-Sex Schools Benefit Some—But Not All Education Week, January 18, 2012
A study on publicly run schools in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has found that, while single-sex schools may benefit female students who prefer a single-sex environment, they are not inherently beneficial for boys or most girls.
What Works in School Turnarounds? Education Week, January 18, 2012
There is, in fact, a knowledge base about how to transform struggling schools, and it is drawn from the small but significant number of failing schools that have been transformed into models of success.
Audit Calls for Restructuring Education in West VirginiaEducation News, January 17, 2012
The Education Efficiency Audit of West Virginia’s Primary and Secondary School System has declared that West Virginia has one of the most highly-centralized and impermeable education systems in the country.
Philadelphia teacher's methods make math add upPhilly.com, January 13, 2012
This snippet of student-driven discussion is a glimpse of the style and approach that have earned Gaffey national and international recognition. He placed second in Microsoft's U.S. Innovative Education Forum in August, then represented the United States at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum in South Africa and was named a semifinalist.
Few States Cite Full Plans for Carrying Out StandardsEducation Week, January 12, 2012
Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have adopted a common set of academic standards, but only seven have fully developed plans to put the standards into practice in three key areas, according to a studyRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader released last week.
Four in a Row for Maryland Public SchoolsMSDE, January 12, 2012
The Maryland public school system has now made this a habit: ranking first in nation for the fourth consecutive year, according to an independent national report being released today.
On Policy, Student Achievement, States Pressing to Measure Up Education Week, January 12, 2012
The 16th edition of Quality Counts continues the report's tradition of tracking key education indicators and grading the states on their policy efforts and outcomes. Each year, Quality Counts provides new results for a portion of the policy and performance categories that constitute the framework for the report's State of the States analysis. The 2012 edition presents updated scores and letter grades, for the states and the nation as a whole, in five of six areas perennially tracked by the report.
Almost one-third of counties aren't meeting school funding requirements, state saysBaltimore Sun, January 12, 2012
Education advocates and state leaders say that school funding cuts by nearly one-third of the state's 24 local jurisdictions will undermine progress at public schools that have been repeatedly ranked as the nation's best. Class sizes are rising, teachers are not getting the support they need, and school buildings are not being well maintained, said interim state school Superintendent Bernard Sadusky.
Virginia Schools Earn High Marks from Education WeekVDOE, January 12, 2012
The nation’s leading education journal today ranked Virginia as fourth in the nation in overall educational quality and performance. Education Week’s Quality Counts 2012 report awarded the commonwealth a letter grade of B, up from a B- in 2011, when the commonwealth also ranked fourth.
Program aims to help girls, minorities succeed in math and scienceBaltimore Sun, January 9, 2012
A new teacher training program designed to help girls and minorities succeed in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is focusing on how small actions in the classroom can affect a student's achievement.
Justices Decline Appeals on Special Education, Title IXEducation Week, January 9, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear appeals in cases involving special education and Title IX.
Out-of-School Time Drawing Girls Into STEMEducation Week, January 5, 2012
A group of high school girls listen eagerly for their mission: Use the tools on hand to design a self-propelled boat that can cross water with 50 passengers on board. The passengers: pennies. The tools: pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, and balloons. The water: an inflatable kiddie pool.
Three school districts here will merge teaching effortsLancaster Online, December 28, 2011
The open campus project will blur the lines between school districts and alter the traditional school schedule, while helping to preserve teaching jobs, cut costs and stem the tide of students fleeing public schools for cybercharters, school officials say.
School Bullying Report Makes Recommendations To Address Issue, Support Victims Huffington Post, December 17, 2011
According to a report released Friday by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, victims of bullying are often, as a result of social and emotional hurdles, distanced from learning, disadvantaged academically and more likely to fall behind in school attendance. Although the researchers did not find a strong direct correlation between victimization and truancy, the study is limited in its quantitative analysis of just 6th graders within a single suburban Denver school district.
Teachers union leads effort that aims to turn around West Virginia school systemWashington Post, December 15, 2011
The American Federation of Teachers, vilified by critics as an obstacle to school reform, is leading an unusual effort to turn around a floundering school system in a place where deprivation is layered on heartache.
Civil Rights Office Expands Its Reach Into SchoolsEducation Week, December 14, 2011
In the 21 months since U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stood on an iconic bridge in Selma, Ala., and pledged to aggressively combat discrimination in the nation's schools, federal education officials have launched dozens of new probes in school districts and states that reach into civil rights issues that previously received little, if any, scrutiny.