Teaching

Teaching Jobs Saved in 2009-10 But Teacher Layoffs Loom for Next School Year
Read this Center on Education Policy report examining how school districts have spent funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). CEP's report finds that the federal appropriations helped school districts save teaching jobs, but severe cutbacks are expected for the 2010-2011 school year. Center on Education Policy, July 16, 2010

The Implications of Teacher Selection and Teacher Effects in Some Education Experiment
In some experimental evaluations of classroom or school-level interventions it is not practically feasible to randomly assign teachers or schools to experimental conditions. Michael J. Weiss, MDRC, April 30, 2010

Understanding Teachers Contracts
Read Education Sector's report on Understanding Teachers Contracts an issue at the center of education reform today. Andrew J. Rotherham, Education Sector, March 23, 2010

Don't Leave Accountability Behind: A Call for ESEA Reauthorization
A new report argues that, despite the promise of education reform efforts such as Race to the Top and the state-led common standards movement, improvement can only be sustained if Congress and the Administration update and improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Alliance for Excellent Education and the Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind, March 1, 2010

State of the States in Gifted Education
The National Association for Gifted Children released its annual "State of the States in Gifted Education" report finding large disparities in state funding for schooling students labeled "gifted". National Association for Gifted Children, November 23, 2009

 Lost Opportunity: A 50-state report on the "Opportunity to Learn in America"

The Schott Foundation has released a report finding 84 percent of states fail to provide students with a proficient public education system. Lost Opportunity: A 50-state report on the "Opportunity to Learn in America" finds minority and low-income students have only half the opportunity to learn in our public schools as their white peers. The foundation says the federal government must make access to higher quality learning a guaranteed right for all Americans by establishing an accountability system to track student access to educational resources. 6/2/2009

The Condition of Education 2009 is an integrated collection of the indicators and analyses and is produced by the National Center for Education Statistics. 6/2/2009

The cost burden to Minnesota K-12 when children are unprepared for kindergarten
This study finds the k-12 school system in Minnesota loses $113 million annually because students are unprepared for kindergarten. by Richard Chase, Brandon Coffee-Borden, Paul Anton, Christopher Moore, and Jennifer Valorose, Wilder R, 1/23/2009

Changing the Game: The Federal Role in Supporting 21st Century Educational Innovation
In a report released by the Brookings Institution, New America Foundation's Sara Mead and Education Sector's co-director Andrew Rotherham proposed that the federal government provide funding for innovation and experiment.
12/12/2008

The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra
The Brookings Institution analyzes the disadvantages of eighth graders taking Algebra I when they are not prepared. Tom Loveless, senior fellow and director of the Brown Center on Education at Brookings, is the lead author of the report.
by Brookings Institution , 12/12/2008

Counting on the Future: International Benchmarks in Mathematics for American School Districts pdf
This study by the American Institute for Research (AIR) finds U.S. students from six cities perform equal to, or better than their peers in other countries. The study says student math scores in grades 4-8 in Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Houston, New York and San Diego were on par with their peers internationally.
10/12/2008

The 2007 Brown Center Report on American Education: How Well Are American Students Learning? pdf
This year's Brown Center Report focuses on the nation's testing achievement, private school enrollment and the impact of time on learning math.
The Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution - Tom Loveless, 12/11/2007

Teacher Quality in a Changing Policy Landscape: Improvements in the Teacher Pool pdf
The teaching profession is attracting more qualified people. The new crop of teachers scored higher on national exams such as the SAT and earned higher grades in the classroom.
Educational Testing Service - Drew H. Gitomer, 12/11/2007

Reading Tests that Misread Children
Screening tests widely used to identify children with reading problems are being misapplied, landing students in the wrong instructional level and delaying treatment for their true difficulties, says new research from National-Louis University and the University of Maryland.
University of Marylan College Parkand National-Louis University - Rochelle Newman, Diane German, 11/19/2007

Standards-Based Reform and the Poverty Gap
The Brookings Institution has released a report examining No Child Left Behind's effect on the education of the nation's poor children. Researchers said there have been some positive effects for students in the improvement of teacher quality.
The Brookings Institution - Thomas Dee, Laura Desimone, George Farkas, Barbara Foorman, Brian Jacob, Robert M. Hauser, Paul Hill, 11/9/2007

Why Rural Matters 2007
Why Rural Matters 2007 is the fourth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the importance of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the urgency with which policymakers in each state should address rural education issues.
The Rural School and Community Trust - Jerry Johnson and Marty Strange, 10/23/2007

Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?
The study released by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) examines 12 years of data that finds students who attended private schools didn't have much of an advantage over their peers who attended public high schools in regard to test scores, career happiness, and civic engagement. Family involvement is key and the study finds that low-income students from urban public high schools generally did as well if they had a good support system.
Center on Education Policy (CEP) - Harold Wenglinsky, 10/10/2007

Important, But Not for Me: Kansas and Missouri Students and Parents Talk About Math, Science and Technology Education pdf
The study released by ublic Agenda is based on a 10-year project to improve math, science and technology education in the Kansas City region.
Public Agenda - Alison Kadlec and Will Friedman, 9/24/2007

Creating a Successful Performance Compensation System for Educators This report, funded by the Joyce Foundation, offers guidelines on creating a successful system for rewarding educators based on their performance. Reporters will probably find the stories of school systems where this practice is being used helpful. National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, 7/24/2007

Choices, Changes, and Challenges: Curriculum and Instruction in the NCLB Era
This report examines time spent during the school week on core academic subjects and how that's changed since NCLB was enacted in the 2001-2002 school year. It finds that approximately 62 percent of school districts increased the amount of time spent in elementary schools on English/language arts and or math, while 44 percent of districts cut time on science, social studies, art and music, physical education, lunch or recess.
Center on Education Policy - Jennifer McMurrer, 7/24/2007

Myths and Facts about Highly-Qualified and Effective Teachers pdf
The Commission on No Child Left Behind explains how the Highly Qualified Teacher part of NCLB does work and how it could be improved in a concise Q&A format.
Aspen Institute - Jennifer Smith , 6/14/2007

Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? pdf
A follow-up analysis, based upon a large-scale survey of California elementary schools serving high proportions of low-income students who are also learning English as a second language. The report shows specific practices used by schools that were more successful in helping EL students.
EdSource, 6/14/2007

The Condition of Education 2007
High school students in the United States are taking more courses in mathematics and science, as well as social studies, the arts, and foreign languages, according to an analysis of high school student coursework that is highlighted in this government report. Statistics on student achievement, school environment and a wide range of other topics related to early childhood education through postsecondary education are also included.
by National Center for Education Statistics, 5/1/2007

Performance Pay for Teachers: Designing a System that Students Deserve
Teachers from across the United States authored this report that concludes teachers would support pay for performance plans that "advance student achievement and the teaching profession." The report recommends rewarding teachers who raise student achievement while working in small groups or agree to work in high-needs schools and paying teachers according to their success in the classroom, not their level of education or experience.
Center for Teaching Quality, 4/11/2007

Tough Choices or Tough Times
A bi-partisan commission, comprised of former Cabinet secretaries, governors, college presidents and business, civic and labor leaders, is calling for a total shakeup in how America educates its people. Its findings include ending high school at 10th grade, revamping and reducing pension systems, collective bargaining at the state -- instead of local -- level.
by The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce , 12/15/2006

Missing the Mark: States' Teacher Equity Plans Fall Short
A new Education Trust analysis of teacher-equity plans prepared by all 50 states and the District of Columbia finds that most states failed to properly analyze data that would determine whether poor and minority children get more than their fair share of unqualified, inexperienced,and out-of-field teachers. Only two states, Nevada and Ohio, fully complied with the requirements and offered specific plans to remedy inequities, the report says.
Education Trust - Heather Peske, 8/10/2006

Teachers and the Uncertain American Future
The College Board's Center for Innovative Thought, whose members include business and academic leaders, calls for a new education compact between America and its teachers, starting with the establishment of a public-private Teachers' Trust to finance an immediate pay increase of 15 to 20 percent and targeted programs to increase the number of qualified math and science teachers.
College Board Center for Innovative Thought, 7/12/2006

Parents fret about MPS middle-high school hybrids
When Kim Lecus heard that the Fritsche Middle School program would move into Bay View High School in the fall of 2010, she immediately was concerned about the impact on her daughter, who just finished seventh grade at Fritsche.The Milwaukee School Board has approved an increasing number of sixth through 12th grade schools in the city. Board members think it will improve the transition for students from middle to high school and will consolidate space in the district. Erin Richards, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 19, 2010

Young illegal immigrants get chance to learn but not earn
Federal law bans public schools from denying admission to illegal immigrants. Between 50,000 and 70,000 of them graduate each year from American high schools, up to 16,000 of them in Texas. No such law exists for public universities, though 10 states including Texas provide some form of in-state tuition aid to illegal immigrants. Jessica Meyers, The Dallas Morning News, June 29, 2010

Pension rules allow educators to double dip

A taxpayer-funded state pension system encourages career teachers and administrators to retire in their 50s, tap the fund and return to work. If the educators don't retire at that relatively young age after 30 years of service, they are likely to receive far less income in both their working careers and retirement. And much is at stake - for both educators and taxpayers. Dennis Willard, Ohio Newspapers, June 20, 2010

The Littlest Schoolhouse
Brainy but easily distracted, Ta-Nehisi Coates barely made it through high school and dropped out of college. Would a program like New York’s new School of One, which uses technology to tailor learning to each student’s style and pace, have made all the difference? Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic Monthly Magazine, June 9, 2010

The Teachers' Unions' Last Stand
Michael Mulgrew is an affable former Brooklyn vocational-high-school teacher who took over last year as head of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers when his predecessor, Randi Weingarten, moved to Washington to run the national American Federation of Teachers. Over breakfast in March, we talked about a movement spreading across the country to hold public-school teachers accountable by compensating, promoting or even removing them according to the results they produce in class, as measured in part by student test scores. Steve Brill, The New York Times Magazine, May 17, 2010

Colo. Overhauls Teacher Tenure System
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill that will require teachers to be judged on the performance of their students and put their jobs on the line if they fail. The Associated Press, May 21, 2010

Florida high schools boosting graduation rates by removing struggling students from rolls
Florida high schools have been boosting their graduation rates for years by transferring thousands of struggling students to adult-education centers and then removing them from school rolls as if they didn't exist.Dave Weber, Orlando Sentinel, May 11, 2010

Home-school is so popular, some are getting suspicious
More than 22,620 Texas secondary students who stopped showing up for class in 2008 were excluded from the state's dropout statistics because administrators said they were being home-schooled, according to Texas Education Agency figures. Jennifer Radcliffe, Houston Chronicle, May 11, 2010

Last Teacher In, First Out? City Has Another Idea
Peter Borock, 23, is in his second year teaching history at Health Opportunities High School in the South Bronx. It could be his last. With New York City schools planning for up to 8,500 layoffs, new teachers like Mr. Borock, and half a dozen others at his school, could be some of the ones most likely to be let go. That has led the schools chancellor, Joel I. Klein, into a high-stakes battle with the teachers’ union to overturn seniority rules that have been in place for decades. Jennifer Medina, April 27, 2010

Alternate Path for Teachers Gains Ground
Not long ago education schools had a virtual monopoly on the teaching profession. They dictated how and when people became teachers by offering coursework, arranging apprenticeships and granting master’s degrees. But now those schools are feeling under siege. Officials in Washington, D.C., and New York State, where some of the best-known education schools are located, have stepped up criticisms that the schools are still too focused on theory and not enough on the craft of effective teaching. Lisa W. Foderaro, The New York Times, April 19, 2010

The Examined Life, Age 8
A few times each month, second graders at a charter school in Springfield, Mass., take time from math and reading to engage in philosophical debate. There is no mention of Hegel or Descartes, no study of syllogism or solipsism. Instead, Prof. Thomas E. Wartenberg and his undergraduate students from nearby Mount Holyoke College use classic children’s books to raise philosophical questions, which the young students then dissect with the vigor of the ancient Greeks.Abby Goodnough, The New York Times, April 18, 2010

Strong Debate On Both Sides Over Bill Requiring Dissection Option In Schools
Allie Petit knew she'd have to dissect a fetal pig in her sophomore biology class at Plainville High School, but she always thought her teacher would give her an alternative so that she wouldn't have to pick up a scalpel. Petit fought the school and was eventually allowed to study a dissection manual, instead. In the end, she got a B-plus in the class and succeeded in getting the school to change its policy so that students are now offered an alternative. Grace E. Merrit, The Hartford Courant, April 9, 2010

D.C. schools, teachers union reach tentative deal
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and the Washington Teachers' Union have reached tentative agreement on a new contract, ending more than two years of closely watched and often-rancorous negotiations, union and District officials. Bill Turque, Washington Post, April 7, 2010

Firing teachers: First step to reform or useless effort?
Is the wholesale firing of teachers and administrators at an underperforming Rhode Island high school just the kind of get-tough intervention students need? Or is it an unproven, risky disaster waiting to happen? Greg Toppo, USA Today, March 11, 2010

Building a Better Teacher
On a winter day five years ago, Doug Lemov realized he had a problem. After a successful career as a teacher, a principal and a charter-school founder, he was working as a consultant, hired by troubled schools eager — desperate, in some cases — for Lemov to tell them what to do to get better. He tried to figure out what he could do to help. He knew how to advise schools to adopt a better curriculum or raise standards or develop better communication channels between teachers and principals. But he realized that he had no clue how to advise schools about their main event: how to teach. Elizabeth Green, for the New York Times Magazine, March 3, 2010.

Mass firings at R.I. school may signal a trend
The mass firing of teachers at a Rhode Island high school this week is hardly new: For nearly two decades, states and school districts have been "reconstituting" staffs at struggling public schools. Greg Toppo, USA Today, March 1, 2010

Teacher Seniority Rules Challenged
Teacher seniority rules are meeting resistance from government officials and parents as a wave of layoffs is hitting public schools and driving newer teachers out of classrooms. In a majority of the country's school districts, teacher layoffs are handled on a "last in, first out" basis. Critics of seniority rules worry that many effective and talented teachers who have been hired in recent years will lose their jobs. Barbara Martinez, The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 19, 2010

O'Malley to push teacher changes
Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to add a year to the time it takes public school teachers to achieve tenure and to tie their performance evaluations to data on how well their students are doing, changes that Maryland education leaders say will better position the state to apply for as much as $250 million in federal money. Julie Bykowic, The Baltimore Sun, Feb. 16, 2010

Failure rate for AP tests climbing
The number of students taking Advanced Placement tests hit a record high last year, but the portion who fail the exams — particularly in the South is rising as well, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Jack Gillum and Greg Toppo, USA TODAY, Feb. 5, 2010

Battle of the Sexes
I often say that I spend more time and energy on my one boy than on my three girls. Other mothers of boys are quick to say the same. Not so fast, say moms of girls, who point out that they have to contend with fussier fashion sense, more prickly social navigations, and a far greater capacity to hold a grudge. And as a daughter grows, a parent's concerns range from body image to math bias.Stereotyping, or large kernels of truth? Paula Spencer, Parenting.com, Jan. 26, 2010

Female teachers may pass on math anxiety to girls, study finds
After a year in the classroom with female teachers who say they are anxious about math, girls are more likely to share that attitude -- and score lower on tests, researchers say. Karen Kaplan, The Los Angeles Times, Jan. 26, 2010

Why Boys Fail
Former EWA board president Richard Whitmire appeared on Good Morning America to discuss his new book Why Boys Fail which examines the gap between the education of boys versus that of girls. You can also listen to an interview Whitmire did on KGO News Talk Radio in San Francisco. Jan. 15, 2010

Schools could consider merit pay for teachers
Local school district leaders have said they will consider linking teacher evaluations to student performance and other reforms proposed by the state as it competes for a federal grant. Missouri could bring in $250 million if it's one of the eight to 10 states expected to receive part of the $4.35 billion designated to help reform education. Kalen Ponche, St. Louis Surburban Journal, Jan. 12, 2010

HISD may fire teachers over test scores
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier's plan to tie teachers' job evaluations to their students' progress on standardized tests would put Houston among a small but growing number of school districts pushing to make it easier to oust ineffective teachers. The more aggressive approach coincides with President Barack Obama's call for increased teacher accountability. His administration's $4.35 billion education grant competition, Race to the Top, excludes states that prohibit linking student test data to teachers' evaluations. Ericka Mellon, The Houston Chronicle, Jan. 11, 2010

Gauging the Dedication of Teacher Corps Grads
Teach for America, a corps of recent college graduates who sign up to teach in some of the nation’s most troubled schools, has become a campus phenomenon, drawing huge numbers of applicants willing to commit two years of their lives. Amanda M. Fairbanks, The New York Times, Jan. 8, 2010

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Merit Pay Should Be Tied to Student Growth
With billions in stimulus funding, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has more power to create change in the nation's schools than any of his predecessors. Read this interview that US News and World Report's Kim Clark conducts with Duncan. You can also listen to the podcast of the interview. Kim Clark, US News and World Report, December 16, 2009

Unto the next generation: Homeschooling
The reasons parents choose to education their children outside of the public system are complicated and varied. Religion Links, December 8, 2009

More Texas students taking, failing AP exams
Robust Advanced Placement programs are often seen as a seal of quality for high schools. And in its quest for excellence, Texas has seen an explosion of the classes that offer the promise and prestige of college credit. But the latest data show Texas high school students fail more than half of the college-level exams, and their performance trails national averages. First in a two part series. Holly Hacker, The Dallas Morning News, December 7, 2009

Beyond the Bell: Educational Engagement
Research shows parental engagement brings results, but efforts - including in Milwaukee Public Schools - have lagged. Part 1 in a series. Erin Richards, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 1, 2009

Colleges look at new ways to teach teachers
Indiana colleges have started re-examining how they teach the state's future teachers, prodded by rising numbers of teachers who are trained through other programs and bypass traditional education schools. Andy Gammill, The Indianapolis Star, November 17, 2009