Educational News Update: 1/24/2013
The federal government has denied Pennsylvania's request to evaluate charter school achievement using more lenient criteria, so they must now be assessed by the same standards as traditional public schools. Pennsylvania's Education Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis...
Websites to Visit: 1/23/2013
http://kids/yahoo.com ~ This site offers games and movies, along with homework help, science lessons, and more. http://spoonful.com/crafts.recycable-projects ~ This site offers a wide variety of crafts made from recyclable materials with something for every occasion....
It’s an Education Fact: 1/22/2013
In 24 California districts, only 20% of the students who repeated algebra in grade 9 achieved proficiency afterward. Nationwide, about 275,000 K-12 students attend school online. The 10 largest for-profit operators of online schools have spent about $94.4 million on...
Quotable Education-Related Quotes: 1/21/2013
The critical determinant of growth in achievement is not how smart you are but how motivated you are and how you study . . . Finding ways to motivate students and teaching them study skills may be a critical way to help them progress in math and other subjects." ~ Kou...
Educational News Update: 1/17/2013
The Common Core Standards have been adopted by 46 states and D.C. and will be in place by 2014. They will require that nonfiction texts represent 50% of elementary reading assignments and 70% by grade 12--much to the concern of many English teachers who must replace...
Websites to Visit: 1/16/2013
www.vocabulary.com ~ Says it's the "quickest, most intelligent way to improve your vocabulary, regardless of education level or age." www.scholastic.com/studentreasures ~ A great writing motivator, this site helps students become published authors....
It’s a Fact: 1/15/2013
The federal government spends about $750 million a year to educate English-language learners who now account for 10% of all our students. On the TIMSS, nearly 50% of 8th graders in South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan scored at the advanced level in math vs. 7% of...
Quotable Education-Related Quotes: 1/14/2013
"The Common Core Standards are much better than the state standards they replace because they focus on analysis, understanding, concepts, and skills more than specific content. A great deal of thought has gone into formulating them. They are championed by business...
Education in the News: 1/11/2013
372 districts applied, 61 were chosen as finalists, and now 16 have been named winners of the latest, open-to-districts Race to the Top competition (RTTT); each will receive between $5 million and $40 million. In this latest RTTT district competition, as little as one...
Giving Teachers a Shout Out
Yes, Teacher Appreciation Week is months away--May 6 to the 10th, to be exact—but what better time than right now as the new year unfolds to thank and support our teachers? These under-appreciated folks show up every day to work with our kids and then grade their...
Factually Speaking: 1/10/2013
Last year, nearly 50% of our schools failed to make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act. Standardized testing regimens cost states $1.7 billion a year--or .25% of total K-12 spending. A recent Gates Foundation report of more than 10,000...
Quotable Education-Related Quotes: 1/9/2013
"Although many progressive educators decry what they call 'drill and kill' (kill students' love of learning, that is), rapid mental retrieval of basic facts is a prerequisite for doing more complex and more interesting kinds of math. The only way to achieve this...
Education News: 12/21/2012
A Chicago policy requiring 9th graders to double-up on algebra has resulted in a 17% improvement in graduation rates when combined with those who graduated in 4 or 5 years. Newark's highly praised new contract includes a pay-for-performance component allowing teachers...
American Society: Toxic to Children
Five years old and already too old for Thomas the Train, Sesame Street, and Winnie-the-Pooh—at least, that is, when friends come over. In anticipation of a play date, Thomas and his train pals are quickly loaded into a trunk purchased just for that purpose. Similarly,...
Education-Related Websites to Visit: 12/20/2012
www.stopbullying.gov ~ This site's focus is on preventing and stopping bullying, instead of just promoting awareness. www.healthteacher.com ~ This site offers more than 300 standards-based lesson plans with the goal of increasing the health literacy of all teachers,...
It’s an Educational Fact: 12/18/2012
A Teach Plus survey of 1,015 teachers found that 71% of those with 10 or less years of experience--the "new majority"--said student performance should be part of their evaluations vs 41% of veteran teachers. The U.S. ranks 9th out of 18 countries in enrollment but...
Education Quotes: 12/17/2012
"At the elementary level, [value-added] is a pretty reliable measure in terms of predicting how teachers will perform the following year. At the high school level, it is quite a bit less reliable, so the score for using this to improve student outcomes is much more...
Education News: 12/13/2012
All but Alaska, Texas, and Virginia have adopted the Common Core Standards, which are being taught in English/language arts, math, and literacy in science, history, social studies, and technical subjects. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and...
Education-Related Websites: 12/12/12
www.whyville.net ~ Whyville offers up "a virtual world geared for teen and pre-teen boys and girls," and is filled with learning games, socializing opportunities, and more. www.spatulatta.com ~ This site teaches kids to cook via step-by-step video instruction and also...
Factually Speaking in Education: 12/11/2012
To comply with such existing federal programs as School Improvement Grants, more than 30 states have changed statutes to require principal evaluations based in "significant part" on standardized test scores. Says the Pew Research Center, for the first time, about 33%...
