It’s an Education Fact: October 8, 2014
1) Responding to an ASCD survey asking if this year's Common Core Standards assessments should be used for accountability, 25% of teachers said they want a 4-year-delay and 24% seek a 2-year-delay. 2) An August PDK/Gallup poll found that 81% of respondents had heard...
Making Education News: October 7, 2014
1. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has announced that states can delay using test results in teacher-performance ratings for another year. Over the past 4 years, 40 states adopted laws tying teacher evaluations in part on students' standardized test results. 2. Texas...
Quotable Education Quotes: October 6, 2014
** "Arne Duncan brought the most ambitious reform agenda in years to the Department of Education--and a determination to use every lever of power to accomplish it. The results were stunning: In barely a year, more than 100 state laws were passed to open public schools...
Education-Related Websites to Visit: October 2, 2014
*** www.scholastic.com/livestrong ~ The LiveStrong at School site offers "award-winning lessons, worksheets, and more to generate classroom discussions about cancer, cancer treatments, and how to support those living with cancer." *** www.edreport.org ~ This...
It’s an Education Fact: October 1, 2014
1) An EdTech survey found that 82% of readers feel their schools are doing at least somewhat well preparing students for needed college and career technical skills. 48% say teaching the rules of digital citizenship and responsible social networking is most important....
1. Georgia, Delaware, Minnesota, New York, and South Carolina are the latest to receive No Child Left Behind waiver extensions, along with Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. 2. Utah was considering voluntarily ditching its NCLB waiver...
Quotable Education Quotes: 9/29/2014
** "The formal structures that buttress the [Common Core] standards, and the related tests from two federally funded consortia, have eroded somewhat, as states reconsider their adoptions of the standards and reject the common tests. And common-core advocates have...
Education-Related Websites to Visit: September 18, 2014
*** http://educatorlabs.org ~ This site, made up of school librarians and media specialists, helps teachers "discover valuable classroom resources, including the lesson plans you need." *** www.bing.com/classroom ~ This site provides "an ad-free, kid-friendly search...
Education-Related Facts: September 17, 2014
1) About 50,000 immigrant children are starting school; under federal law, they are entitled to a free public education regardless of immigrant status. 2) Finds Whiteboard Advisers, 72% of surveyed "key education influentials" agree that Congress won't reauthorize the...
Making Education News: September 16, 2014
1. $4 million in federal funds, ranging from $142,000 to $250,000, is being awarded to preparatory graduate schools for special education leadership positions. 2. The U.S. Department of Education has decided to evaluate states' special education systems based on the...
Quotable Education Quotes: September 15, 2014
** "As passed by Congress, the legislation language for Race to the Top invited states to put forward detailed plans to improve data systems, adopt 'career-and-college ready' standards and tests, hire great teachers and principals, and turn around low-performing...
Education-Related Websites: September 11, 2014
*** www.thebestbooksite.com: Here you'll find crafts, story times, and kids songs just for starters. *** www.discoveryeducation.com: This site offers digital textbooks, streaming digital media, curricular resources, and more for parents, teachers, and students. ***...
Making Education News: September 9, 2014
1. The Philadelphia School District's "School Redesign Initiative" is inviting teachers, principals, university and community organizations to propose turnaround designs instead of just going with more charters. As many as 10 schools could be transformed in September,...
Education Websites: September 4, 2014
*** http://littleclickers.com: Created by Children's Technology Review, this site offers "safe, fun, Internet explorations for children." *** http://gigglepoetry.com: This site is about all things poetry and leads with "How to Turn Struggling Readers into Fluent...
It’s an Education Fact: September 3, 2014
1. For the one in 8 children born to a mother without a high school diploma, 84% live in low-income families, just 16% read proficiently by 8th grade, 40% don't graduate on time, and 27% are obese. 2. Nearly 40% of 18- to 24-year-old Americans believe they're not good...
Making Education News: September 2, 2014
1. New Jersey Governor Christie has rolled back the impact of tests on teacher evaluations from 30% to 10% next year. 2. A new study finds that struggling first graders do significantly better when taught traditional math than progressive methods. 3. A move is afoot...
Quotable Quotes: September 1, 2014
** "Education is in something of a Catch-22. If they have standards, there will be dropouts among people who don't want to do the work to reach the minimum levels. If they don't have standards, they are just an assembly line and that is bad for teacher morale. Because...
Education-Related Websites: August 28, 2014
** www.shelsilverstein.com: Here visitors can listen to the author reading his poems accompanied by animated cartoons, make a bookmark, download puzzles, and so much more. ** www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus: Here you'll find games, stories, printables, videos, and...
It’s an Education Fact: August 27, 2014
1. Four years ago, about 40 states were interested in the $370 million federally-funded online Common Core assessments. At least 17 have now backed away from them. 2. Of the 35 waiver-monitoring reports reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education, 17 states are...
Making Education News: August 26, 2014
1. 60 of America's largest school districts are joining Obama's "My Brother's Keeper Program" to improve the education futures of African-American and Latino boys from preschool to high school graduation. 2. The FCC has approved spending $2 billion over two years to...
