The Fordham Institute has been a staunch supporter of the Common Core standards. But reviewers there have noted specific improvements that a few enterprising states have made to the standards, as well as some other areas where improvement is clearly possible. Their recommendations include the following: Recommendations for English language arts Further develop the disciplinary Read more about Recommendations to Improve on the Common Core[…]
Achieve has released a new report analyzing the English language arts (ELA)/literacy and mathematics standards of the 24 states that have reviewed and revised these standards after initially adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The report, Strong Standards: A Review of Changes to State Standards Since the Common Core, found most states kept their Read more about Strong Standards: A Review of Changes to State Standards Since the Common Core[…]
When the Center for American Progress released its 2012 report, Do Schools Challenge Our Students?, many states had just committed to the Common Core State Standards. The standards were an attempt to raise expectations by establishing a new set of rigorous K-12 academic benchmarks, and the CAP analysis underscored the need for more rigorous standards, Read more about Do Schools Challenge Our Students Now?[…]
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[…]
The educators in Student Achievement Partners’ Core Advocate Network have developed a catalog of recommended tools for targeted teaching. What I Use in My Classroom features more than 30 resources, each endorsed by a teacher in the Core Advocate Network, and includes an explanation from each teacher about how they’ve found the tool to be Read more about New Guide Helps Teachers Find Classroom Tools That Work[…]
Recently, Emily Leibtag of Getting Smart reviewed a new book by Sargy Letuchy, a high school educator from Chicago. The Visual Edge: Graphic Organizers For Standards Based Learning is a compilation of innovative visual instructional tools designed for each Common Core standard, grades 6-12 in the following areas: Reading and Informational Text Reading Literature Text Read more about The Visual Edge[…]
According to Achieve, over the past few years, nearly all states have made significant changes to their mathematics standards in an effort to better align with college- and career-ready expectations. At the same time, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), seen as the “nation’s report card,” continues to play a significant role in providing Read more about Is NAEP Math Out of Step with the States?[…]
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released a synthesis of research it has funded on mathematics teaching and learning, Synthesis of IES- Funded Research on Mathematics: 2002-2013. This synthesis reviews published papers on IES-supported research from projects awarded between 2002 and 2013. The authors identified 28 specific contributions that IES-funded research made to support Read more about IES Releases Synthesis of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning[…]
The materials on EngageNY, the online library of common-core-aligned curricula hosted by New York state’s education department, have now been downloaded more than 45 million times, far surpassing many people’s expectations for the free resource created just five years ago. But with the website’s federal funding source having all but dried up, a new group Read more about New Archive of Free Common-Core Materials[…]
As a result of new, more rigorous college and career standards, many school leaders and educators are asking, “What does a college- and career-ready assignment look like?” Ed Trust answers that question in a new report and interactive assignment tool. “Checking In Update: More Assignments From Real Classrooms” is the second report in Ed Trust’s Read more about College- and Career-Ready Assignments[…]
The availability of high-quality and aligned instructional materials is central to successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Achieve is proud to make publicly available the 150th set of instructional materials found to be of high quality and aligned to the CCSS by the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Peer Read more about 150th Set of Common Core-Aligned Materials from EQuIP Panel[…]
Education Week author Marc Tucker describes what NCEE has learned about the design of the instructional systems used by top-performing countries and suggest ways in which U.S. states can adapt those lessons for use in their own state system under the Every Student Succeeds Act. He defines “instructional system” as a system that combines standards Read more about Building a Powerful State Instructional System for All Students[…]
In California, high school exams that are aligned with the Common Core are being accepted as proof that high school students are ready for college level work. These exam results are also saving students from having to take individual placement tests and remedial not-for-credit courses before being allowed to take for-credit classes. One of the Read more about California’s Common Core aligned High School Exams Save Money[…]
This report, conducted by the Education Commission on the States, looks at the shifting assessment landscape and identifies the types of assessment being given, at what grade levels, and for what subjects. This information was compiled in an effort to keep states and policy makers up to date on the current assessments being given and Read more about State Summative Assessments Report for 2015-2016 School Year[…]
A recent response to the Nation’s Report Card results by the Obama Administration calls for a reduction of redundant tests, in order to improve the nation’s scores in reading and mathematics. Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, believes that this action is “an unfortunate and tragically oversimplified response to the challenges facing our Read more about Opinion: Schools need to Improve, not Tests[…]
The states that make up the PARCC Consortium released last year’s test items to better inform and enhance instruction in the areas of mathematics and ELA (English Language Arts). These items were released in order to demystify the questions and assessment items being asked of students and for parents to become better informed. The ultimate Read more about PARCC Releases Test Items for Use[…]