Standardized Exam Cheating Confirmed in 37 States and DC

Posted on April 25, 2013 by coreeducation

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[…]

Is the Teacher Incentive Fund a Good Investment?

Posted on April 3, 2013April 10, 2013 by coreeducation

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 as a $600 million plan to “support efforts to develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need schools” and bolstered in 2009 under the Obama Administration, has now been functioning long enough to evaluate some of its results. Five districts are nearing the end Read more about Is the Teacher Incentive Fund a Good Investment?[…]

How helpful are “state grade” reports really?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by coreeducation

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?[…]

Cultivating Great Principals: The District Role

Posted on March 7, 2013 by coreeducation

We know that principal leadership is crucial to success of schools and students, particularly urban ones, but the Wallace Foundation’s new report, Districts Matter, adds that school districts can cultivate that strong leadership and “ensure they have principals capable of boosting teaching and learning.” The new report “draws on a decade of foundation research and Read more about Cultivating Great Principals: The District Role[…]

The Looming Clash between Common Core and Standardized Testing

Posted on March 4, 2013 by coreeducation

Recently, Joshua Starr, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools (MD), one of the wealthiest, largest, and high-achieving school districts in the United States, went public with his idea that there be a three-year moratorium on federally mandated standardized testing. He is not fundamentally opposed to all standardized testing, but he does have a problem Read more about The Looming Clash between Common Core and Standardized Testing[…]

Could school districts own their students’ work?

Posted on March 3, 2013 by coreeducation

Last year, we posted about the emerging issue of whether or not teachers should be allowed to sell their lessons plans for a profit (https://www.coreeducationllc.com/blog2/should-teachers-be-allowed-to-sell-their-lesson-plans/). More recently, this issue has cropped up in the greater Washington DC area. Prince George’s County Public Schools has recently tabled a proposal designed to gain ownership of all material Read more about Could school districts own their students’ work?[…]

Education Department Demands more Evidence

Posted on February 19, 2013 by coreeducation

Big changes may be coming in the way the Department of Education selects grant recipients. Last year, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo to federal agencies requiring them to demonstrate the use of evidence in their fiscal 2014 budget requests. This new requirement signals a shift of emphasis toward the use of Read more about Education Department Demands more Evidence[…]

Federal Education Funding: What do we know?

Posted on February 18, 2013 by coreeducation

Jason Delisle and Clare McCann at Ed Money Watch have put together a very helpful breakdown of what all of the Congressional complications surrounding the budget mean for education. We have shortened their summary into a few definitions of key terms to understand: Continuing Resolution: As of now, the US budget is functioning under a Read more about Federal Education Funding: What do we know?[…]

AEI Education offers check-up on Education Department

Posted on February 11, 2013 by coreeducation

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[…]

ASCD sets 2013 Legislative Agenda

Posted on February 4, 2013 by coreeducation

ASCD, one of the largest international organizations of teaching professionals, has set their 2013 legislative agenda, and that agenda, quite simply, is legislation. The “key priority” for ASCD and its members in 2013 in terms of federal public policy priorities is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), of which the most Read more about ASCD sets 2013 Legislative Agenda[…]

New Pathways for Teachers, New Promises for Students

Posted on January 30, 2013 by coreeducation

In a recent AEI Teacher Quality 2.0 report, Timothy Knowles argues persuasively for radical changes with a practical mindset. His article is called “New pathways for teachers, new promises for students: A vision for developing excellent teachers.” Knowles, John Dewey Director of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute, writing as part of the American Read more about New Pathways for Teachers, New Promises for Students[…]

Education Department releases new guidelines on ESEA flexibility

Posted on January 28, 2013September 12, 2020 by coreeducation

With the release of new guidelines broken down into five categories, the US Education Department has offered increased clarity to state and local school systems wondering about specifics of government education stipulations. As this blog posted about recently, the increased clarity is particularly important in light of the combined facts of continuing budgetary difficulties on Read more about Education Department releases new guidelines on ESEA flexibility[…]

Charters still face Upward Climb

Posted on January 24, 2013 by coreeducation

The Center for Education Reform has just issued its annual Charter School Law Report Card, and most states do not make the grade. The majority of states, according to the report, are only making “satisfactory” progress, and only 13 states have “strong” charter school laws. Among the nation’s 43 states with charter school laws, only Read more about Charters still face Upward Climb[…]

California’s Request for NCLB Waiver Rejected

Posted on January 14, 2013 by coreeducation

The California Department of Education, currently the lightning rod for national education policy, was recently denied a No Child Left Behind waiver by the U.S. Department of Education. A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia have thus far been granted NCLB waivers, with 10 more states’ waiver applications pending. This means that Read more about California’s Request for NCLB Waiver Rejected[…]

The delayed Fiscal Cliff: Where does Education stand?

Posted on January 7, 2013September 12, 2020 by coreeducation

The budgetary compromise reached by the House and Senate on January 1 that puts off major funding decisions until March has been hailed by some, especially those who see it as preventing some of the largest ever across-the-board cuts to government programs and those hoping that it will act as a building block to a Read more about The delayed Fiscal Cliff: Where does Education stand?[…]

10 States Face Education Funding Lawsuits

Posted on January 6, 2013September 12, 2020 by coreeducation

10 states, with another 4 more having recently wrapped up litigation, currently face lawsuits regarding increased funding for education. This phenomenon is not new. Lawsuits supported by pro-school funding organizations have been taking place for decades, although the economic recession of the last five years has reignited a long-standing debate about school funding. In 1973, Read more about 10 States Face Education Funding Lawsuits[…]