Education
Why the Pledge Stands as Civics Fails With government requirements redirecting the focus of achievement goals exclusively toward math and reading, the importance of civics and American history in the classroom is in fast decline.
Funding What Works This new Arizona performance-based funding approach provides three ways school districts and charter schools can earn Student Success Funding based on each child’s performance: students scoring at or above grade level on the state test, students showing higher-than-average improvement over their previous year’s test scores, and students graduating from high school.
What It Will Take to Advance the Growth of High-Quality Charter Schools in New Jersey, Washington, DC and Virginia As the public charter school movement in the United States approaches its 25th year, its intensified emphasis on high-quality options and outcomes stands to benefit students across the educational spectrum. But its evolution remains uneven. Of the 42 states plus the District of Columbia whose laws allow for charter schools, the role these schools play within broader public school portfolios varies greatly. Clearly, some proven approaches stand to inform, and improve, others.
Tie School Funding to Performance: Corbett’s Ready to Learn Plan Would Encourage Improvements Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Governor Tom Corbett’s 2014-15 school budget proposal contains an important provision some observers believe represents a game-changing concept in the struggle to improve the educational outcomes for all students. With $240 mil ...
Why School Internet Matters A small, but growing number of schools around the country are showing that they can leverage technology in classrooms to drive potent improvements in student outcomes. But now a new division between haves and have-nots among students is emerging, those whose schools have sufficient internet capacity to support these powerful tools and those who don’t.
Snow Days Need Not Get in the Way of Learning Pennsylvania kids wishing for snow days might soon come into a shock while parents breathe a sigh of relief. That’s because the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives passed the Online Education Initiative, a proposal that could replace the Xbox with online classes on snow days.
Updating Career and Technical Education For The 21st Century Career and Technical Education (CTE) is undergoing rapid change in many schools across the United States, as educators strive to connect school programs with actual workplace needs. But while a small number of exemplary models are demonstrating powerful progress, as measured by postgraduation outcomes, many of the 17,000 high schools that offer CTE remain mired in outdated instructional models.
Consider Performance-Based Funding for Education Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch The newly minted governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, has a short window in which to impact the Old Dominion’s education landscape. As his team moves to advance his schools agenda, including boosting funding for the Stand ...
Broadband for Schools is Expensive, and Worth it A major change announced by the Federal Communications Commission yesterday will help provide high-speed internet connections to public schools around the nation. It is an important step, but it is only the first step. The agency estimated in 2010 tha ...
Illinois Schools Need Stronger Emphasis on U.S. History Springfield, IL State Journal-Register This year, Illinois joins 44 states and the District of Columbia in the beginning stages of implementing the Common Core State Standards. Because the new standards focus exclusively on English and math, Illinois e ...