The Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by more than 40 states, are one of the most important reforms to American public education in decades. However, despite the many benefits of the Common Core, its bipartisan support, and the widespread adoption and integration into state plans to redesign their education systems, the success Read more about 9 Steps to Successfully Implementing the Common Core[…]
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), in partnership with Creative Commons U.S., recently released a policy brief for state and district education leaders focused on strategies for equipping educators to effectively and legally navigate the use of digital content. The brief, Clarifying Ownership of Teacher-Created Digital Content Empowers Educators to Personalize Education, Address Individual Read more about Who Owns Teacher-Created Content?[…]
An increasing number of states are mandating that teacher performance be considered in employment decisions, including tenure and layoffs, according to a 50-state policy review of teacher-tenure laws by the Education Commission of the States. Three states — Florida, Kansas, and North Carolina — have attempted to eliminate tenure or are phasing it out. Florida Read more about Teacher tenure laws across the country[…]
A California judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprive students of their right to an education under the California state Constitution. The decision hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case, one that could radically alter how California teachers are hired and fired and prompt challenges to tenure laws in other states. Read more about Vergara vs. California Verdict[…]
Ten years ago, education leaders, policy makers, and philanthropists caught on to what parents already knew: In a school, teachers are the most important factor determining whether a student succeeds in the classroom. A decade ago, the Joyce Foundation decided to fund research and advocacy on the importance of placing a highly effective Read more about Ten Years of Research on Teacher Quality[…]
Today, well more than a decade since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and because of its demands for states to keep statistics on students’ access to highly qualified teachers, we know much more about the impact of high-quality teaching on student achievement. We also know that teacher characteristics once Read more about Attaining Equitable Distribution of Effective Teachers in Public Schools[…]
In recent years, policymakers and reform advocates have viewed State Education Agencies (SEAs) as the lead organizations for implementing sweeping reforms and initiatives in K-12 education—everything from Race to the Top grants and federal waivers to teacher-evaluation systems and online schools. But SEAs were not built, nor do they have the technical expertise, to drive Read more about The State Education Agency: At the Helm, Not the Oar[…]
In a time when the Obama Administration’s tenure is winding down and when Congress has yet to make any significant progress toward a remake of ESEA, some measured thoughts about the role of the federal government in American education are quite timely. Frederick M. Hess and Andrew P. Kelly, of the American Enterprise Institute, have Read more about Hess and Kelly: What should a federal education agenda look like?[…]
Michele McNeil of Education Week recently sat down with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at his Washington D.C. office to ask him a wide range of questions about the goals of federal education policy in the time remaining before the next presidential election. Duncan stressed a few key issues: the transition to new standards and Read more about What does Sec. Duncan plan to accomplish before 2016?[…]
A new report released by CompetencyWorks, titled Progress and Proficiency: Redesigning Grading for Competency Education, helps education leaders think through how to design grading policies that communicate academic performance to students and parents. As more schools and districts begin to develop competency-based pathways that allow students to progress based on demonstrated mastery of content knowledge Read more about Progress and Proficiency: Redesigning Grading for Competency Education[…]
The new mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, the city’s first Democratic mayor since 1993, won his election in a landslide victory, gaining over 73% of the vote. His election means that there will be a traditional liberal, and one who has been outspoken about education issues, taking charge of one of the Read more about Duncan’s advice to de Blasio[…]
With Common Core implementation imminent or underway, questions remain about the extent to which state education officials and teachers support Common Core and are working toward its implementation. Even among those who agree on the importance of Common Core, there is disagreement about how quickly tests aligned with Common Core should be implemented. One side, Read more about The Pace of Common Core Implementation[…]
The Common Core makes for strange allies. On the “for” side, there is the Obama Administration, teachers’ unions, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On the “against” side is the Tea Party, some prominent Republican members of Congress, as well as the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida. So how Read more about Common Core from a Partisan Point of View[…]
A new report by Kaitlin Pennington of the Center for American Progress highlights the increase of teacher-voice groups. These groups allow teachers to continue teaching while also having a chance to impact education policy more directly. Furthermore, they provide current teachers with more active leadership positions. In addition, these groups allow for a greater multiplicity Read more about What role will teacher-voice groups play?[…]
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[…]
Have you ever wondered whether you, as an educator or someone in the field of education, should get on Twitter? And even if you did join Twitter, how would it be helpful to you and how does it work? These are all questions that blogger Evan L. R. Hays addresses in a post for the Read more about Twitter for Educators: 3 Essential Starter Tips[…]