Green Dot Public Schools (GDPS), a charter school network operating in inner urban Los Angeles, announced earlier this month the approval of a contract with its teachers that includes a pay-for-performance evaluation tool. Though the agreement does not “make the critical link between teacher compensation and student performance,” it does position the charter group to Read more about Green Dot Announces Pay-for-Performance Agreement[…]
In a recent article for The Education Gadfly, Michael J. Petrilli offers his take on how we should proceed with education reform, particularly as it concerns teachers. Excerpts from his article are below: For all of its victories over the last couple of years, including Scott Walker’s on Tuesday night, the school reform movement finds Read more about How to Push for Reform Without Alienating Teachers[…]
On May 30, the Fordham Institute released a new report evaluating the potential cost of implementing the Common Core, the first in a wave of such evaluations. This report addresses three key questions: What are the short-term costs of moving to the Common Core? In other words, what will be the initial expenses (instructional materials, Read more about Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core[…]
A new report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) finds that leaders in the charter sector hire teachers based on their fit with a school’s mission, not just their individual characteristics and talent, as a way to build strong schools. The report, Managing Talent for Coherence: Learning from Charter Management Organizations, details how Read more about Managing Talent for Coherence: Learning from CMOs[…]
The Center on Education Policy at George Washington University has released a series of papers examining the role of student motivation in current reform efforts. The summary paper, Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform, pulls together the research from six background papers, each addressing different aspect of student motivation. Each report in the Read more about Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform[…]
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined seven fellow national education leaders last month in signing a shared vision for the future of the teaching profession during the opening 2012 Labor Management Conference in Cincinnati. “Lessons and best practices from talented teachers is the driving force behind this shared vision for transforming the teaching profession,” Read more about Shared Vision for the Next Generation of Teaching[…]
The National Center for Education Statistics released The Condition of Education 2012 last week, an annual publication mandated by Congress. The report summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 49 indicators on the status and condition of education. The indicators are grouped under three main areas: (1) Read more about The Condition of Education 2012[…]
In a recent article in the Shanker Blog, Esther Quintero discusses how teachers are coping with the increased uncertainty in the education world that is a result of the lack of “coherent education infrastructure” in the U.S. In response to this uncertainty, teachers are becoming more reliant on collaboration and close-knit social networks from which Read more about Staff Matters: Social Resilience in Schools[…]
A new report from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) argues that principal evaluation systems should not be based only on student achievement gains, but on the quality of principal leadership and performance. Additionally, principals and other school-based leaders are being left out of education reform discussions. The report, called “The Ripple Effect,” also noted Read more about New Framework for Principal Evaluation Challenges National Model[…]
Instructional approaches usually associated with special education are gaining traction as states and districts are faced with implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), reports Education Week. Two strategies, universal design for learning (UDL) and response to intervention (RTI), have been frequently cited in NCLB waiver requests for CCSS implementation in the section about how Read more about Special Education Approaches Go Mainstream[…]
In a recent op-ed piece for the Huffington Post, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discusses his views on how to improve the teaching profession by sharing conversations he’s had with educators across the country. He captures a sentiment common among educators: they “love teaching though they wouldn’t mind a little more respect for their challenging Read more about Duncan: Ask the Teachers[…]
In a recent post for the Shanker Blog, Matthew Di Carlo discusses the current policy focus on teacher quality as a way to improve schools. He observes that “some (but not nearly all) components of this all-hands-on-deck effort are perplexing to the many teachers, and have generated quite a bit of pushback…what drives it is Read more about The Allure of Teacher Quality[…]
The US Department of Education kicked off Teacher Appreciation Week by initiating a dialogue on improving teaching profession, as well as the public perception of America’s teachers. A vision document for reforming the teaching profession created by active classroom teachers working temporarily for the U.S. Department of Education was posted for public comment on the Read more about National Dialogue on Strengthening and Elevating the Teaching Profession[…]
Finland, with its high-achieving public schools, has been held up as a standard for the US as we slog down the path of education reform. However, are there things we can’t learn from Finland’s model? Pasi Sahlberg, author of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland?, recently wrote an article Read more about What the U.S. Can’t Learn from Finland[…]
What makes for an effective principal, and how can effectiveness be measured? Thirty states have recently passed legislation to improve principal evaluation systems and are now grappling with these questions. New legislation recognizes that leadership is the second most influential factor in student achievement, after classroom teaching, but there is a lack of agreement about Read more about Proven Strategies for Designing Principal Evaluations[…]
The persistent failure of public schooling in low-income communities is a pressing civil rights and social justice issue, but too few policy- and decision-makers know what to do about it, write Keith Catone and Mark Warren on the Annenberg Institute for School Reform website. However, a recent call for a “community organizing” approach to school Read more about A Match on Dry Grass[…]