It’s an Education Fact: 8/20/2013

1) In reading on the NAEP, 9-year-olds posted an average score of 221, up 13 points from 1971; for 13-year-olds, the average score jumped from 255 to 263, but for 17-year-olds, scores were statistically unchanged at 287. 2) A 2009 Stanford University study found that...

Making Education News: 8/15/2013

1.  Next up: The Next Generation Science Standards said to be designed with the most- and least-advanced science students in mind. 2. The government is now allowing states that received their No Child Left Behind waivers by last summer to apply for a delay in using...

Quotable Education Quotes: 8/12/2013

**  "Most of my teaching career was spent working with at-risk kids, the ones destined to fail. The scores of my students cannot be compared with the scores of the AP teacher's students. My students scores should be compared with their previous test scores to see how...

1. Beginning in spring 2015, the ACT exam will be offered both online and as a paper and pencil test. 2. Ability grouping is now back, thus helping teachers cope with students' various skills and achievement levels. 3. Pennsylvania is proposing to toughen standards...

It’s an Education Fact: 8/06/2013

1) Only 39% of teachers say they are very satisfied with their jobs, down from 62% in 2008. 51% report feeling under great stress several days a week. 2) 85% of teachers say their principals are doing an excellent or pretty good job; 98% of principals give their...

The Common Core Standards: A Summer 2013 Update

Introduced in draft form in 2009, the Common Core Standards are on their way to schools across the country, ready or not. This large scale education reform was initiated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers...

Quotable Education Quotes: 7/29/2013

** "Back in 2011, the administration's Race to the Top sweepstakes . . . had a round focused on early childhood education. The first priority that states were asked to consider as they wrote their proposals was this: 'Priority 1: Absolutely Priority--Using Early...

Making Common Core News: 7/25/2013

1.  More than one million students across the country have participated in a pilot of the math and English/language arts SBAC and PARCC Common Core standardized tests to help prepare teachers for when they really count. 2.  The Next Generation Science Standards have...

Education-Related Websites: 7/24/2013

** http://englishcompanion.ning.com ~ This site explains that it's "where teachers go to help each other, a place to ask questions and get help . . ." ** www.usingenglish.com ~ This site offers "a large collection of English as a Second Language (ESL) tools and...

It’s an Education Fact: 7/23/2013

1) A recent survey showed that 71% of 4th grade teachers grouped their students by reading ability in 2009, up from 28% in 1998. In math, 61% of them grouped by ability, up from 40% in 1996. 2) Obama's School Improvement Grant program has given up to $2 million to...

Quotable Common Core Quotes: 7/22/2013

** "In fact, I think Common Core is going to set education back even further because you're dictating curriculum, what people are supposed to regurgitate on some kind of an assessment that's supposed to gauge how well kids have learned the material and how well...

It’s an Education Fact: 7/16/2013

1) While women hold 48% of all U.S. jobs, they hold just 24% of STEM-related ones. 2) Tech jobs represented 5.4% of the private sector workforce with an average salary of $93,800 vs. the average private wage earner's $47,400. 3) Now only 4% to 5% of children start...

Quotable Education Quotes: 7/15/2013

** On online schools: "Like the charter schools, they have no busing costs, they have no transportation costs, there's just a whole series of costs they don't have. So the question is, why would we give them as much money as we give to traditional public schools? The...

Making Common Core News: 7/11/2013

11. Opposition to the Common Core Standards is mounting--especially towards their frequent testing and mostly from conservative groups and teacher unions. Meanwhile, many Democrats, while not opposed to national standards, say that the Common Core is not based on...