Category: Politics & Policy

Education Evolving Launches “Teachers in Partnership” Initiative

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Education Evolving wants to give teachers a larger role in their schools through a model that they call “Teacher Professional Partnerships.” Consider the following three propositions: 1. If teachers are to be accountable for student learning, teachers should control what matters for student learning. It’s a serious mistake to be trying to push accountability down Read more about Education Evolving Launches “Teachers in Partnership” Initiative[…]

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Education Department Seeks Your Input

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The U.S. is in the midst of an important shift in K-12 education. Nearly all states are beginning to implement college- and career-ready content standards and are in the process of developing new aligned assessment systems to measure whether their students have the knowledge and critical skills they need to be ready for tomorrow’s jobs. Read more about Education Department Seeks Your Input[…]

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Waivers for States, Waivers for Districts?

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The Obama administration recently approved eight California school districts (Fresno Unified, Long Beach Unified, Los Angeles Unified, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified, San Francisco Unified, Sanger Unified, and Santa Ana Unified) for a one year district waiver from No Child Left Behind (NCLB), in exchange for locally developed plans to prepare all students for college Read more about Waivers for States, Waivers for Districts?[…]

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The Path to Protecting Humanities and Social Sciences

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A new report by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and spearheaded by a list of who’s who in humanities, social science, and the arts, recommends that the nation take 12 key steps to ensure that humanities and social sciences maintain an important place in American classrooms. “The Heart of the Matter,” issued recently Read more about The Path to Protecting Humanities and Social Sciences[…]

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Report Explores Opportunities to Promote Data in Classrooms

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A new report from Ed Money Watch explores the use of student achievement data to improve classroom instruction. The paper, Promoting Data in the Classroom: Innovative State Models and Missed Opportunities, highlights examples from two states, Oregon and Delaware, of federally funded, state-driven efforts to equip teachers with the tools they need to utilize student Read more about Report Explores Opportunities to Promote Data in Classrooms[…]

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Governing American Education: Marc Tucker’s Opus

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Marc Tucker, of the National Center on Education and the Economy, was recently commissioned by the Center for American Progress to write a report in which he would outline his plans for education reform in the United States. Tucker, a veteran voice in American education debates, has long studied the similarities and differences between the Read more about Governing American Education: Marc Tucker’s Opus[…]

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A Waiver from the Waivers

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The U.S. Department of Education has decided that due to ambitious timelines for the implementation of college and career-ready standards, new assessments aligned with those standards, and new teacher and principal evaluations, states may request waivers to ensure that there is sufficient time to prepare teachers for implementation of the new standards before stakes are Read more about A Waiver from the Waivers[…]

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The ESEA Rewrites in the Works

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Originally signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) technically expired in 2007. On several occasions over the last few years, various attempts have been made by both political parties in Congress to rewrite the law, but they ultimately fell short. Since 2012, President Read more about The ESEA Rewrites in the Works[…]

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Choosing the Right Battles: Secretary Duncan’s speech at AERA

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently gave a speech to the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. His remarks addressed the issue of testing, specifically with Common Core implementation becoming ever more imminent. Here are some excerpts from the speech: Introduction: With federal support, 44 states plus DC are part of two Read more about Choosing the Right Battles: Secretary Duncan’s speech at AERA[…]

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Reflecting on NCLB: Are States playing by the same rules?

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A new report from four researchers associated with Columbia University suggests that arcane rules, not any sort of objective and standardized measure of AYP (adequate yearly progress), drive outcomes under NCLB. Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog posted recently about this important new report: “Fifty Ways to Leave a Child Behind: Idiosyncrasies and Discrepancies Read more about Reflecting on NCLB: Are States playing by the same rules?[…]

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Federal Education Budget Update

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New America’s education experts have deciphered the 2013 and 2014 budget actions, with a particular view to how they affect education. In the report, “Federal Education Budget Update: Fiscal Year 2013 Recap and Fiscal Year 2014 Early Analysis,” Jason Delisle and Clare McCann explore congressional budget actions over the past year and describe the effects Read more about Federal Education Budget Update[…]

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Education Spending Data from FY 2010

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The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released a detailed report outlining revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary school districts for School Year 2009-10 (FY 10). In addition to providing data with breakdowns by students, states, and districts as well as breakdowns adjusted for median income and inflation, the report revealed the Read more about Education Spending Data from FY 2010[…]

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Threats to the Common Core

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Anne Hyslop at the New America Foundation has pointed out the new partisan tone of debate that has emerged around the Common Core Standards. Hyslop makes clear that the Common Core state initiative is just that—a state led initiative.  While the Obama Administration has indeed supported Common Core and has tied its Race to the Read more about Threats to the Common Core[…]

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Will the Common Core assessment consortia wither away?

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Chester E. Finn, Jr. of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute believes that Smarter Balanced and PARCC, the two federally-backed Common Core assessment consortia, will lose their place over the next few years to the comprehensive testing apparatus of College Board/ETS and ACT/Pearson. In a new opinion piece for the Fordham Institute’s education blog, the Flypaper, Read more about Will the Common Core assessment consortia wither away?[…]

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California: Hot Seat for Contentious Education Issues

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Last month, the Democratic Party in California held a three day convention. The convention, at which the California Teachers Association was prominently represented, sparked a wave of rhetoric that reveals at least a temporary rift among some members and former members of the Democratic Party in California.  The rift concerns how much school choice and Read more about California: Hot Seat for Contentious Education Issues[…]

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RESPECT: The Obama Administration’s new Blueprint for Teaching

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Two years ago, active classroom teachers working temporarily at the U.S. Department of Education launched a national dialogue with their classroom colleagues to talk openly and honestly about the challenges and aspirations of America’s teachers. The Education Department engaged more than 5,700 educators nationwide to develop and refine a vision of teaching and leading that Read more about RESPECT: The Obama Administration’s new Blueprint for Teaching[…]

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