Getting College- and Career-Ready Standards Right

Posted on October 13, 2016October 8, 2016 by coreeducation

Over four weeks last spring, the Learning First Alliance convened a “Practitioner Think Tank” consisting of a cross-section of education practitioners: teachers, principals, school counselors, parents, technology directors, superintendents, teacher educators, school board members and other ground-level educators. This group began the process of creating a new report that explores what is needed to achieve Read more about Getting College- and Career-Ready Standards Right[…]

ESSA’s Evidence-Based School Improvement

Posted on October 12, 2016October 8, 2016 by coreeducation

Much will change in practice and policy as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaces the law, regulations, and guidance established through NCLB; but two elements of the new legislation stand out: the shift away from federal mandates toward greater state and local authority, and the emphasis on evidence-based school improvement practices. A new report Read more about ESSA’s Evidence-Based School Improvement[…]

School Inspections Offer a Diagnostic Look at Quality

Posted on October 11, 2016October 8, 2016 by coreeducation

Educators have gotten used to poring over spreadsheets filled with test scores to get a sense of their students’—and schools’—strengths and weaknesses. What they don’t often see is feedback from other teachers, administrators, and students who can offer a fresh perspective on where a school stands when it comes to instruction, resources, climate, financial efficiency, Read more about School Inspections Offer a Diagnostic Look at Quality[…]

The NEW What Works Clearinghouse Website

Posted on October 6, 2016September 30, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences is pleased to launch the new What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) website, making it easier for users to find educational interventions that make a difference. The new WWC website includes: An enhanced Find What Works (FWW) feature that allows educators and policymakers to find interventions that scientific evidence shows have had Read more about The NEW What Works Clearinghouse Website[…]

The U.S. Education Innovation Index: Prototype and Report

Posted on October 5, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Bellwether Education and the Digital Promise Innovation Clusters have released the U.S. Education Innovation Index (USEII). USEII is the field’s first foray into measuring education innovation at the city level. The index measures innovation activities and conditions of urban schools along 42 indicators in nine categories: Innovation Culture Need for Academic Improvement Collaboration and Coordination Read more about The U.S. Education Innovation Index: Prototype and Report[…]

New Survey Helps Schools Identify Best Practices for Improving School Performance

Posted on October 3, 2016September 30, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences’ Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest has released a new survey tool that will help education leaders assess to what degree schools are engaging in practices associated with high performance. The survey and associated guide were developed in partnership with REL Midwest’s School Turnaround Research Alliance. The School Survey of Practices Read more about New Survey Helps Schools Identify Best Practices for Improving School Performance[…]

10 High School Redesign Projects Win $100 Million in ‘XQ Super School’ Contest

Posted on September 28, 2016September 23, 2016 by coreeducation

Writing for Education Week, Catherine Gewertz reports on one of the nation’s biggest school-redesign competitions, through which 10 teams won a collective $100 million to create new high schools or transform existing ones across the country: Each of the winners of XQ: The Super School Project will have $10 million over the next five years Read more about 10 High School Redesign Projects Win $100 Million in ‘XQ Super School’ Contest[…]

No Time to Lose: An Urgent Call to Action

Posted on September 21, 2016September 16, 2016 by coreeducation

A new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State, wastes no time in getting to the point. “The bad news,” it says in the very first sentence, “is most state education systems are falling dangerously behind the world in a Read more about No Time to Lose: An Urgent Call to Action[…]

Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education

Posted on September 15, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

AEI has released a new series on Competency-Based Higher Education (CBE), titled Innovate and Evaluate: Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education. The authors, Andrew P. Kelly and Rooney Columbus say, “Clearly, the benefits of expanding access to CBE could be substantial. But, what does existing research suggest about the likely effect of reforms to promote CBE? Read more about Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education[…]

The Art of Teaching

Posted on September 13, 2016September 9, 2016 by coreeducation

Karin Klein writes in the Los Angeles Times about a new initiative funded by the Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching that seeks to improve teaching and learning through intensive mentoring by master teachers. She writes: Creating better teachers is more complicated — and more expensive — than claiming we can drastically improve education Read more about The Art of Teaching[…]

CTQ Releases Consensus Papers

Posted on September 12, 2016September 9, 2016 by coreeducation

The Coalition for Teaching Quality, a group of more than 100 national, state and local teacher, principal, civil rights, disability, rural, youth, higher education, and related education advocacy organizations has released three consensus policy papers to help inform state and district implementation of ESSA. Building a Strong and Diverse Teacher and Principal Recruitment Read more about CTQ Releases Consensus Papers[…]

Stopping the Churn in the Principal’s Office

Posted on September 7, 2016September 3, 2016 by coreeducation

Matthew Clifford and Eva Chiang in Real Clear Education write about the constant churn of principals in our nation’s schools, which they claim has reached epidemic proportions. To stop the churn, they recommend five things that districts can do this school year to hire, retain, and develop their principals: Hire for Now and the Future. Read more about Stopping the Churn in the Principal’s Office[…]

What Exactly is a Non-Academic Indicator?

Posted on September 6, 2016September 23, 2021 by coreeducation

In the American Youth Policy Forum, Jennifer Brown Lerner writes a thoughtful piece about the terminology that the education sector is using to refer to ESSA’s fifth indicator, the “non-academic” indicator. The language in the legislation names student engagement; educator engagement; access to and completion of advanced coursework; postsecondary readiness; school climate and safety as Read more about What Exactly is a Non-Academic Indicator?[…]

Agile in Education

Posted on August 30, 2016August 26, 2016 by coreeducation

There is a new movement in education called the Agile Schools Movement. The approach models classroom instruction and school reform itself on the principles of Agile software development and related methods like Lean, Kanban, and Scrum. Agile in Education is not about the use of technology products and services. Instead, the focus is on the Read more about Agile in Education[…]