NEA Proposed Policy on Teacher Evaluation & Accountability

Posted on June 7, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

National Education Association officials announced that they would put a “policy statement” before the union’s governing body for approval that, among other changes, would open the door to the use of “valid, reliable, high-quality standardized tests,” in combination with multiple other measures, for evaluating teachers. The statement, passed by the NEA’s board of directors, wouldn’t Read more about NEA Proposed Policy on Teacher Evaluation & Accountability[…]

Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard?

Posted on June 3, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Yesterday I blogged about a journal article in Educational Researcher that found that the Common Core Standards were not aligned well with international standards. Today, I present a dissenting opinion. ACT has released a research report, titled “Affirming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard?” This study also looks at the Read more about Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard?[…]

Common Core Standards: How they Stack Up

Posted on June 2, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

A recent article in Education Researcher by UPenn education dean Andy Porter and several of his colleagues explains similarities and differences between the Common Core and current state and international standards, using the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) as its metric. The SEC is an analytic framework developed at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research Read more about Common Core Standards: How they Stack Up[…]

Baseline Analysis of SIG Schools

Posted on May 26, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released the Department’s first report on the revamped School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, “Baseline Analyses of SIG Applications and SIG-Eligible and SIG-Awarded Schools.” This baseline report provides an overview of the state policies and practices for SIG implementation as well as a description of the first round of Read more about Baseline Analysis of SIG Schools[…]

Private Enterprise and Public Education

Posted on May 23, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

What is the role of private enterprise in American public education? AEI is launching a new education project to explore this question. Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), announced the launch of a new AEI research project to examine the role of for-profit companies in public education. Read more about Private Enterprise and Public Education[…]

Illinois Senate Bill 7

Posted on May 16, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

The Illinois Senate passed SB7 unanimously in April, 57 to 0. Last Thursday, the bill also passed House nearly unanimously (112 for, 1 abstaining and 1 against). The Bill now goes to Governor Quinn’s desk for signature. SB 7 was developed during months of discussions involving a wide variety of education stakeholders including the Illinois Read more about Illinois Senate Bill 7[…]

Controversy: Does anyone REALLY want a national curriculum?

Posted on May 15, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

Last month, I blogged on The Shanker Institute’s manifesto, A Call for Common Content. This manifesto, available at http://www.ashankerinst.org/curriculum.html, urges the creation of curricular materials that support the Common Core Standards and bridge the gap between the standards and the new assessments being developed. These curricular materials would be voluntarily adopted. Last week, a counter-manifesto, Read more about Controversy: Does anyone REALLY want a national curriculum?[…]

A Letter to Teachers from Arne Duncan

Posted on May 7, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week last week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has published an open letter to American teachers. In Education Week, he writes that as someone working most of his life in education, he has “a deep and genuine appreciation for the work [teachers] do.” He wants to see the profession treated Read more about A Letter to Teachers from Arne Duncan[…]

The False Promise of Class-Size Reduction

Posted on April 17, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

Class-size reduction, or CSR, is enormously popular with parents, teachers, and the public in general. The latest poll results indicate that 77 percent of Americans think that additional educational dollars should be spent on smaller classes rather than higher teacher salaries. Many parents believe that their children will benefit from more individualized attention in a Read more about The False Promise of Class-Size Reduction[…]

Merit Pay in NYC

Posted on April 13, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

For the past four years, New York City has experimented with merit pay. Recently their experiment came to a halt, after $57 million and no increase in test scores in schools that received bonus money. Why did NYC’s merit-pay program fail? According to the Wall Street Journal, one reason is that unlike other incentive programs, Read more about Merit Pay in NYC[…]

Special Interest – Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools

Posted on April 6, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

Hot off the Brookings Institution press is Terry Moe’s magnum opus on teacher unions, Special Interest – Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools. At more than 500 pages, it is deeply informative, profoundly insightful, fundamentally depressing, and yet ultimately somewhat hopeful about our children’s educational futures due to the combined forces of technology and changing politics. Read more about Special Interest – Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools[…]

Reform Implementation

Posted on February 25, 2011April 28, 2012 by coreeducation

The Center on Education Policy has released a report based on an October 2010 survey of state education officials, which discusses state education budgets, implementation timeline for initiatives to support the four American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reform assurances, state education agency capacity, and Race to the Top. The full report, More To Do, But Read more about Reform Implementation[…]

Education Budget Request 2012

Posted on February 18, 2011April 28, 2012 by coreeducation

February 14th, President Obama made his education budget request for Fiscal Year 2012. The New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project Summary and Analysis explains the president’s request. This brief covers key education proposals, including: Increases in funding for K-12 programs, such as ESEA Title I and special education grants; Program consolidations for reauthorization of Read more about Education Budget Request 2012[…]

Controversy: Teacher Preparation Program Ranking

Posted on February 12, 2011April 28, 2012 by coreeducation

Last week, a joint letter from the chancellors of The California State University, the University System of Maryland, and the State University of New York was delivered to Brian Kelly, Editor of U.S. News and World Report. The letter was among many that have been submitted by colleges and universities in protest over a proposed Read more about Controversy: Teacher Preparation Program Ranking[…]

College- and/OR Career-Ready?

Posted on February 10, 2011April 28, 2012 by coreeducation

This one is sure to generate some controversy! Please weigh in with your comments! “College- and career-ready” is a phrase we hear often, in connection with student standards, curricula and new assessments. But should it be College- and/OR Career-Ready? The Pathways to Prosperity Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has released a new Read more about College- and/OR Career-Ready?[…]

“Quality-Blind” Teacher Layoffs

Posted on February 9, 2011April 28, 2012 by coreeducation

As education budgets across the nation contract in response to the recent financial crisis, many school districts have been forced to lay off a sizeable number of teachers. This raises two important questions: what determines which teachers will be let go, and is the existing policy offer best for students? Legislators in the state of Read more about “Quality-Blind” Teacher Layoffs[…]