The scariest moment of the 2018 Education Writers Association National Seminar came when Steve Myers, the editor of The Lens, demonstrated how to alter reality in less than thirty seconds.
He pulled up an unsuspecting person’s tweet, and with a few clicks, made the text say something totally new. He only tinkered with the coding to change how the tweet appeared on his screen. (It went unchanged to the rest of the world.) But it was there long enough to take a screenshot.
The Council of the Great City Schools hosted a forum on the
results of a new report on the effectiveness of standardized
testing. Michael Casserly made opening remarks on the report, and
then panelists that included Education Secretary Arne Duncan
analyzed the data in the report.
This panel was moderated by Caroline Hendrie, EWA’s
executive director.
How do you create a good student? How do schools find ways for
children to take criticism well, respond to feedback, and learn
from mistakes? How does a child’s motivation and sense of self
factor into a culture of learning? While schools are finding
answers to these questions, there is no shortcut to creating
classroom practices — and embracing a
“growth mindset” is no panacea. So how can schools
adapt the concepts that research shows go a long way toward
improving student learning?
Carol Dweck, a distinguished professor and the scholar most
associated with the now-widespread concept of “growth
mindset,” talks about new studies on the impact the idea has had
in education. How should a student learn from failure? If you
tell students that the brain can be trained, will they feel
encouraged to put in additional effort? And is feeling
motivated even enough — what interventions are necessary when a
student tries her best but isn’t comprehending the material?
With virtually everything online and a click away, what does it
mean to be knowledgeable? Economists predict that many jobs —
even those requiring a college degree — will soon be automated.
Over the past decade research in neuroscience has provided an
explosion of new knowledge and insights about the adolescent
brain, shedding light on our understanding of teens’ complex
neural state. Importantly, the field has focused on the
development of neural circuits that underpin social, emotional,
and motivational learning and how these systems change at the
onset of puberty. These changes create not only vulnerabilities
but also opportunities for learning.
What does it take to get a kid to care about school? A wave of
research is producing quick interventions that motivate students
to learn, with hundreds of schools adopting curricular tools
designed to boost students’ growth mindsets. How do young
learners respond to these efforts to reshape their views about
themselves in the context of school? How can educators employ
these tricks while teaching core subjects like math or English?
How do the social backgrounds of students influence their time at
school? Can teaching that’s culturally relevant for the nation’s
growing number of non-white students address the achievement gap?
Tyrone Howard, who leads the Black Male Institute, will guide a
discussion on these questions.
Leading researchers share findings from a forthcoming book that
examines teacher quality practices in high-achieving systems,
including Finland, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Canada.
Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute, Stanford
University
Pasi Sahlberg, Harvard Graduate School of Education
A. Lin Goodwin, Teachers College, Columbia University
The OECD regularly produces new reports and analyses on education
issues that can be useful to journalists. Find out about upcoming
work, and get your questions answered by the OECD’s new deputy
director for education.
Montserrat Gomendio, Organization for Economic Cooperation &
Development
Caroline Hendrie, Education Writers Association (moderator)
Learn about efforts to better serve disadvantaged students in
Toronto and other major urban systems in the Asia Society’s
Global Cities Education Network. This fall, education leaders
from participating U.S. cities – Denver, Houston, Lexington, Ky.,
and Seattle – traveled to Shanghai to visit schools and explore
best practices with peers in this network. Other participants
include Seoul, Singapore, Hiroshima, and Melbourne.
Why do global comparisons in education matter? What do
international assessments reveal, and what are their limitations?
Have some countries been over-hyped based on their test scores?
How do reporters make sense of it all for their readers?
Hundreds of U.S. high schools nationwide are participating in an
initiative that allows them to see how their students stack up
globally, and to gain information to improve their practices. Why
are they doing this? What are they learning?
Jon Schnur, America Achieves
Tiffany Huitt, School of Science & Engineering (Dallas)
Daniel Gohl, Broward County (Florida) Public Schools
College affordability has become a key topic in the 2016
presidential campaign, whether through Democratic candidates’
outlining varying approaches to a debt-free education at public
universities or Republican contenders’ suggesting income-sharing
arrangements and accreditation reform. A discussion of the
nuances and potential of these ideas.
Experts and advocates take stock of how early childhood and K-12
education issues are factoring into the presidential campaign.
They offer analysis of the candidates’ track records, campaign
rhetoric, and specific plans (or lack thereof), and explore the
complex politics of education policy.
From calls for eliminating community college tuition to plans for
allowing all students to leave public colleges debt-free,
momentum is building to change the way families pay for college.
But what does debt-free really mean, given that not all of the
proposals add up the same way? What role will this issue play in
the presidential election, and what effect would debt-free
options have on private institutions? Is it really economically
feasible for the nation to ditch student-loan debt?
A top U.S. Education Department official discusses key issues on
the federal postsecondary education agenda in a conversation with
a leading reporter who covers higher education policy.
Jamienne Studley, Deputy Under Secretary, U.S. Department of
Education
Kelly Field, The Chronicle of Higher Education (moderator)
It’s been a year since Florida prohibited public colleges and
universities from requiring students to take the tests that
determine who needs remedial education courses, meaning that any
students could immediately enroll in courses that award college
credit. As Colorado, Connecticut, North Carolina, Texas and other
states similarly look to change how they approach remedial
education, what do the early data on such moves indicate the
impact of such changes might be?
What issues will have the most impact on the shape of
postsecondary education in the 2015-2016 academic year? A top
higher education journalist shares his insights.
Scott Jaschik, Editor and Co-Founder, Inside Higher Ed
Pensions are causing serious budget issues across the country,
including Illinois. But issues around pensions go beyond the
rising costs, and the session will explore those questions, too.
How can reporters generate lively stories on this important (but
potentially dull) subject?
Diane Rado, Chicago Tribune (Speaker/Moderator)
Chad Aldeman, Bellwether Education Partners
Ralph Martire, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability
Funding for charter schools is a complex and divisive issue. Do
charters get an equitable share of public dollars? How do school
facilities fit into the equation, as well as private sources of
support for the charter sector? What are recent evolutions in
policy concerning charter finance and facilities, and what’s on
the horizon?
Schools often say they suspend misbehaving students to restore
order and keep others safe. But a recent study questions the link
between suspensions and school safety. This session flips the
script, as a researcher moderates a panel of reporters who have
explored alternatives to the usual diet of suspensions and
expulsions.
Amid worries of a “skills gap” for U.S. youths and young adults,
some experts call for rethinking and ramping up career and
technical education. Panelists explore the skills and achievement
of American young people in an international context, and
highlight ways to improve CTE with an eye toward promising
practices in other countries.
Research suggests that many students who could succeed in college
never get the chance to enroll. But studies also show this
circumstance can be overcome by getting students more information
about options in colleges, scholarships and financial aid. Gain
insights from experts on what approaches help these students
succeed.
The Great Recession saw most states drastically cut their
spending on public colleges, leading most of those colleges to
increase their tuition. As the national economy continues to
recover, how has state funding for postsecondary education fared
and what does it mean for students and their families?
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, The Washington Post (Moderator)
Daniel Hurley, American Association of State Colleges and
Universities
At one flagship public university, the number of undergraduate
students from China jumped from 37 in 2000 to 2,898 this year. As
public universities recruited more international students, what
impact has the increased diversity had on students’ academic and
social lives?
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed (Speaker)
Peggy Blumenthal, Institute of International Education
Gil Latz, Association of International Education
Administrators
Nicole Tami, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
How many questions does the crucial federal financial aid form
really need? Proposals to simplify have ranged from trimming the
form’s dozens of questions to replacing the form with just few
queries on a postcard. This session illuminates how key questions
can affect how much aid a student receives.
Higher education faces a major challenge: How to educate more
students better as resources and funding at most colleges mostly
stay flat. This discussion will examine whether new technology
and new approaches such as competency-based education or MOOCs
can make college more affordable and effective.
Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed (Moderator)
Goldie Blumenstyk, The Chronicle of Higher Education
How does student-centered learning change the pupil-teacher
working relationship? And what do we know about the longterm
benefits of the educational approach? We’ll hear from a student
who has graduated from a school that was an early adopter of
student-centered learning, as well as a student and teachers
currently using it in their classrooms.
Stephen Henderson, a columnist with the Detroit Free Press, spoke
with journalist members at the Education Writers Association’s
2014 Seminar on Teaching, held in Detroit.
How are cultural and racial biases influencing classroom
instruction and student learning? What does this mean for
teachers and students, particularly in high-minority, urban
school settings? What should education reporters know about
cultural bias as it relates to their reporting on students,
teachers, and schools?
Speaker:
Associate Professor Dorinda Carter Andrews, Michigan State
University
Teacher effectiveness is a front-burner issue in districts
nationwide. How are districts, state departments of education,
and policymakers responding to the push to improve teacher
performance and student outcomes? What does the latest research
show on what’s working in public schools?
What does the new “Primary Sources” survey tell us about
teachers’ perceptions of the Common Core State Standards? And
what are teachers doing to reshape their classroom instruction in
response to the new expectations for grade-level learning?
Teacher effectiveness is a front-burner issue in districts
nationwide. How are districts, state departments of education,
and policymakers responding to the push to improve teacher
performance and student outcomes? What does the latest research
show on what’s working in public schools?
What does the new “Primary Sources” survey tell us about
teachers’ perceptions of the Common Core State Standards? And
what are teachers doing to reshape their classroom instruction in
response to the new expectations for grade-level learning?
Our May 19, 2014 special session at the 67th National Seminar looked at Common Core implementation from a variety of angles and perspectives. Below, you can view each presenter’s remarks in full and download his or her slides.
This three-hour plenary session at EWA’s 65th National Seminar
saw a series of experts take different approaches to answer one
central question: How do we make teaching into a prestigious
profession? (Education Writers Association)
Autistic and Seeking a Place in this World, a video and article
by New York Times reporter Amy Harmon, offer a profile of an
autistic high school student as he prepares to enter life as an
adult.
The National Leadership Summit for Online Learning, organized by
iNACOL, was held in February 2012. This video archive lets you
view most of the discussions held there, including “It’s All
About Teaching and Learning” and “The Disruptive Innovation.”
“Early Lessons,” a project of American Public Media reporter
Emily Hanford, takes a look back at the Perry Preschool Project
and contrasts it with what happens in many of today’s preschool
classrooms.
Math Class Needs A Makeover is a TED talk featuring Dan Meyers,
who argues that “Today’s math curriculum is teaching students to
expect — and excel at — paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids
of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating
them.”
Do Schools Kill Creativity?, Sir Ken Robinson “champions a
radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity
and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”
Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education is a TED talk featuring Sal
Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, “a carefully structured series
of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and,
now, other subjects.”
On Nov. 12, 2011, EWA held a one-day conference at the University
of Chicago to discuss what we can learn from various teacher
evaluation models currently in place around the country.
(Education Writers Association)
40 Must-See YouTube Special Education Videos, compiled by a
graduate student studying special education, offer a wide variety
of perspectives on educating students with special needs.
President Obama: It Gets Better is part of a national campaign
started in 2010 to reassure gay and lesbian teens—who face
disproportionate bullying and commit suicide at higher than
average rates—that they could overcome the abuse and other
struggles. (The text of this post was written by the White House
deputy director of public engagement.)
How Blended Learning Can Help Turnaround Struggling Schools is a
panel discussion the Alliance for Excellent Education held in May
2011. Four educators from Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and
Tennessee discuss how districts have used online learning to
enhance student learning.
“The Promise of Preschool” is a documentary by education reporter
John Merrow, the president of Learning Matters. The report
followed the experiences of four families in New York, Atlanta,
Bridgeport, CT and Paris, France, as they considered the range of
early-childhood education options available to them. Merrow asked
whether it was possible for families to find a consistent level
of service in America when even public schools are struggling to
maintain programs.
In Changing Education Paradigms, Sir Ken Robinson uses animation
to explore “the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out
rates, schools’ dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD.”
‘Check In’ on Education Inequality allows ProPublica readers
to link their Foursquare account with the news outlet’s
“Opportunity Gap” project. Users can get stats about a school
when they check into it with their mobile device’s Foursquare
app.
Year 2060: Education Predictions, a YouTube video by Sal
Khan, the founder of the KhanAcademy.org educational site,
offers his perspectives on how a college education might change
in the next few generations.
A data analysis by Education Week showed a decline in applicants
to education schools in key states and Ed Week’s Stephen Sawchuk
walks participants through it. ACT’s Steve Kappler unveils a
disturbing new report on a dropoff in high school graduates
aspiring to teach. Other speakers review the implications of
their findings and sources.
Teachers from Chicago, New York, and Arizona offer their views on
how Common Core State Standards and assessments are playing out
in the classroom and how their schools and districts have – and
haven’t – changed practice.
Children are the future, but they’re also the source of billions
of data points, and the battle over that information has just
begun. Startups are angling for a piece of the
multibillion-dollar education market those kids represent, while
government agencies are touting data collection to improve
instruction. But who’s keeping student data safe?
Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Scott Jaschik offers his
insights on the most influential stories journalists should be
following in the upcoming academic year, including funding for
community colleges, upheaval in the admissions process, free
speech, and laws that permit students to carry guns on campuses.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan fields reporters’
questions culled by Motoko Rich of the New York Times at EWA’s
National Seminar in Chicago, April 21, 2015.
At EWA’s 2015 National Seminar, Vassar College President
Catharine Bond Hill discussed the costs of higher education and
Vassar’s efforts to make college more affordable and equitable.
An ongoing “opt-out” campaign has stirred debate over whether
students are over-tested., and what kind of tests are to blame.
How much time – and money – do schools spend on testing? A
panel of experts explored the issue during “Too Many Tests?”
Here are the highlights of the discussion moderated by Emily
Hanford of American RadioWorks. The panel included Matt Chingos
of the Brookings Institution, Scott Marion of the National Center
on Assessment, and Bob Schaeffer of FairTest.
Speakers, including U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-IN, offer reporters
the lay of the land and discuss how rewriting the No Child Left
Behind Act may affect their school districts and states. Some
speakers say NCLB is already dead, but they’re still not certain
what will take its place, other than policies handed down through
the U.S. Department of Education’s waivers from NCLB provisions.
A worrisome dimension of charter schooling is the oftentimes
disproportionately low share of students with disabilities served
by this sector of public education. Experts explore what explains
the situation, what’s being done about it, and highlight examples
where intensive work is underway to ensure that charters
effectively serve the needs of all children, including those with
disabilities.
Republican gains in the 2014 elections set the stage for a
renewed push to expand school choice at the state and federal
levels, including charter schools, vouchers, and tuition tax
credits. What legislation is emerging and what stands the
greatest likelihood of becoming law? To what extent will
policymakers respond to concerns about quality and accountability
in schools of choice?
Public policy efforts to expand private school choice continue to
grow, and may well get a boost from GOP gains in the midterm
elections last fall. From vouchers to tuition tax credits and
education savings accounts, what’s happening, what’s on the
horizon, and why? How do these initiatives vary across states and
cities? What role does and should testing and accountability play
in publicly subsidized choice initiatives? Where do key legal
challenges stand?
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the
storm that sparked an unprecedented experiment in public
education in New Orleans. Nearly all public schools in the city
are now charters. A decade in, what have we learned about the New
Orleans experience and what lessons does it offer to other states
and communities that are looking to ramp up the role of charters
and choice in public education?
This city has developed a robust and diverse set of public school
options for students, including several dozen charter schools as
well as the district’s own “innovation” schools. Denver is also
seen as a place, unlike many, where the district and the charter
sectors play well together. What does school choice look like in
Denver? How meaningful are the options for students? Is the
choice landscape promoting equity?
Learn more about their
strategies for bringing the rollout of the standards to life,
from covering debates over textbooks to the special challenges
for rural school districts and how to creatively cover the math
Common Core.
It’s no secret
that the standards and forthcoming tests have drawn increasingly
strong criticism over the past year. Why has the Common Core
become so controversial? What do the midterm election results
mean for implementation and state support? And what happens in
states that have called for a review or even rescinded the
standards?
This school year
marks the first time that most states will test students on the
Common Core. At the same time, many states have backed away from
their plans to use shared assessments and are choosing their own
tests. Where do the states stand? How different will their new
exams be from prior tests? And what are key questions reporters
should keep in mind as they cover the first round of test
results?
Grappling with achievement gaps between their rich and poor
students, a growing number of schools and districts are resolving
to add more minutes or days to the academic calendar, and Boston
has emerged as a leader in this trend.
The New Yorker magazine recently served up a deep look at Jeb
Bush’s history as an education reformer, and how it might
influence his positions as a potential candidate for president.
President Obama’s address to Congress laid out ambitious plans
for higher education reform. But there was scant mention of
initiatives for elementary and secondary students.
On Tuesday night, President Obama renewed his commitment to
making community college free to most students, despite a
distinct lack of enthusiasm from the Republican-controlled
Congress.
Two journalists, a local reporter who covers education in
Bakersfield and national reporter for NPR, discuss how they
approach their beats, reflect on surprises they encountered in
2014, and provide predictions for the stories of 2015. Teaser:
What grabs attention nationally may not be on the minds of local
readers.
A reporter who covers Ohio State University and a national
higher-ed reporter discuss how their vantage points influence
coverage. Does having a background in covering K-12 improve
higher-ed reporting? Do national reporters benefit from living
near flagship state universities? The guests also make
predictions for stories to watch in 2015.
Journalists will get an early opportunity this week to
review Education Week’s newest Quality Counts report,
which includes a special focus on early childhood
education indicators. The report will evaluate states on their
efforts to expand early childhood education
and examine how new academic demands and accountability
pressures are altering the learning environment for young
children. Join EWA for a Jan. 7 webinar to learn
more.
Star athletes accused of sexual assault. Student athletes forming
their own labor unions and winning judgments that say they are
eligible to profit from their popularity. Academic fraud. While
stories such as these typically have been the turf of sports
reporters, it’s becoming more important for education reporters
to stay ahead of these issues. Two experts on the interplay
between athletics and academics offer their insights.
Since 2011, when the U.S. Department of Education made clear that
schools’ failure to address incidents of sexual assault
adequately could trigger Title IX penalties, this problem—which
has long been a taboo topic in higher education—has become the
flashpoint issue on campuses across the nation. Each new incident
showcases conflicting perspectives, ranging from those of
advocates who say colleges are failing victims to men who think
the new policy guidelines are stacked against them. Some question
whether institutions should even be involved or are these matters
better left to police?
Academics are just part of the story for many students entering
college – a whole new culture of learning awaits them. But if
they are first-generation college students, those cultural
challenges can derail a promising postsecondary career. New
research is exploring the effects mentoring programs and brief
psychological interventions can have on low-income, minority and
first-generation students. What can colleges do to promote
resiliency and support student well-being for all students?
Are such efforts merely too much “coddling” of students by
campuses?
Is keeping students on track to earn a degree as simple as just
sending them text messages reminding them to register for classes
and renew financial aid? That’s one element of “predictive
analytics,” which is the use of detailed student data—from
demographic background to grades on recent homework
assignments—to guide students toward academic success. With as
many as 150 colleges and universities already using some form of
analytics, what do journalists need to know about the pros and
cons of how these systems work?
While high schools across the nation have increasingly turned
their attention toward making their graduates “college and career
ready,” many community colleges are pondering the best way to
educate those adults who enroll underprepared. One approach that
appears to be gaining momentum—in Connecticut, Florida and Texas,
for example— is to eliminate developmental or remedial education
offerings altogether, arguing that these costly courses deter
students from earning degrees.
Can the United States continue to sustain financially the notion
of residential college experience? What are parents and
students expecting when they choose a college? How has the
rise of the “value consumer” altered the landscape of the 21st
Century college campus? How will the changing demographics
(e.g., increased calls for accountability in higher education,
MOOCs, and other models for delivering education) affect the
traditional residential experience?
The Hechinger
Report and NPR Education are diving deeply into the Common Core.
Learn more about their strategies for bringing the rollout of the
standards to life, from covering debates over textbooks to the
challenge of better preparing teachers and figuring out what
makes a good Common Core math problem.
This school year
marks the first time that most states will test students on the
Common Core. At the same time, many states have backed away from
their plans to use shared assessments and are choosing their own
tests. Where do the states stand? How different will their new
exams be from prior tests? And what are key questions reporters
should keep in mind as they cover the first round of test
results?
Educators talk
about their experiences on the ground with the Common Core
standards and a researcher shares insights from a study of how
new math standards are changing teaching and learning in the
classroom.
Lots of recent
surveys have sought to gauge support by educators and the public
for the standards and testing. Learn what the sometimes
conflicting results reveal. And find out where district-level
implementation of the Common Core stands, based on extensive
national polling of school district officials.
Maria Ferguson, Center on Education Policy
Diane Stark Rentner, Center on Education Policy
Erik Robelen, Education Writers Association (moderator)
It’s no secret that the standards and forthcoming tests have
drawn increasingly strong criticism over the past year. Why has
the Common Core become so controversial? What will the midterm
election results mean for implementation and state support? And
what happens in states that call for a review or even rescind the
standards? Will much really change?
As the higher ed community eagerly awaits the details of
President Obama’s plan to rate colleges and universities and
perhaps tie their access to federal funding to their performance,
third-party rankings and ratings of colleges and universities
continue to proliferate. What effects do these reports have on
the priorities of these institutions and how should journalists
interpret each new list of “bests”?
Earlier this month, Rolling Stone magazine published a story
about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, which
resulted in outrage, shock, and a temporary suspension of all
fraternities and sororities at the vaunted institution of higher
education. But now, serious questions have been raised about
freelance writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s reporting, as well as
Rolling Stone’s decision to publish the story without stronger
verification.
It’s no surprise that many college students drink, especially
those attending a flagship university with a storied sports
program. Reporters Karin Fischer and Eric Hoover of The
Chronicle of Higher Education explored the realities of a
mass drinking culture at the University of Georgia in an
extraordinary article, “A River of Booze.”
Politico’s Allie Grasgreen and Alyson Klein of Education Week
join EWA Radio hosts Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn to
discuss the changing education priorities of Congress now that
the GOP controls both houses. The reporters share their election
surprises and provide tips for reporters on what to expect in
federal legislation through 2016.
Why are so many principals in Denver leaving their jobs? And what
is the local school district doing to try and stem the churn? EWA
Radio speaks with Katharine Schimel of Chalkbeat Colorado about
her story looking into the
high rate of principal turnover, and what it means for
student learning and campus climate in the Mile High City.
With an eye to toughening admission standards and curricula, a
massive overhaul of the credentialing standards for the nation’s
teacher preparation programs is underway. But given that
participation is voluntary, are ongoing changes enough? What more
needs to be done to improve such programs? And how should
policymakers, taxpayers and potential students judge the quality
of teacher preparation programs?
For new teachers, the first few years on the job can present a
steep learning curve. And the students who need the most
experienced teachers often don’t get them. How are schools,
districts and states ramping up the support provided to new
teachers? What are the hallmarks of a high-quality induction
program? And what does the research show on the effects of
coaching and mentoring?
For new teachers, the first few years on the job can present a
steep learning curve. And the students who need the most
experienced teachers often don’t get them. How are schools,
districts and states ramping up the support provided to new
teachers? What are the hallmarks of a high-quality induction
program? And what does the research show on the effects of
coaching and mentoring?
Gov. Bill Haslam talks with education reporters about the
hoped-for payoffs—and political trade-offs—of his initiative to
boost the number of Tennesseans with education past high school,
including through “last-dollar scholarships” that make two years
of community college tuition-free. His remarks came during a
keynote address on May 19, 2014, at the Education Writers
Association’s 2014 National Seminar at Vanderbilt University in
Nashville.
Gov. Bill Haslam discusses why his home state should stay the
course as supporters of common standards and tests work to fend
off attacks from both the right and left on the political
spectrum. His remarks came in a keynote address on May 19, 2014,
at the Education Writers Association’s 2014 National Seminar at
Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn speak with Annie
Gilbertson of KPCC, Southern California’s NPR affiliate, about
her investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District’s
$1.2 billion investment in classroom technology.
EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn speak with
Money Magazine education reporter Kim Clark about the
publication’s first-ever college
rankings, which focus on the return-on-investment factor of
earning a degree from a particular institution.
A Chicago
Tribune investigation turns up instances of lawmakers
intervening in teacher licensing decisions on behalf of their
friends and donors. Tribune education reporter Diane Rado speaks
with EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn about her ongoing
coverage of licensing issues, and what it means for local
students and schools.
In Texas, a state known for its
zero-tolerance approach to school discipline, 80 percent of its
prisoners are high school dropouts. And as more research finds a
link between suspensions and quitting school early, the evidence
is mounting that keeping kids from learning for behavioral
reasons hurts their academic outcomes. Against this backdrop is
White Middle School in central Texas.
This week, Emily and Mikhail
talk to Joy Resmovits of The Huffington Post, who discusses her
story (written with colleague Christina Wilkie) about the
Charles G. Koch Foundation’s creation of Youth Entrepreneurs: a
public high school finance course being used in schools in the
midwest and south, which was designed to introduce students to
free market theory and economics with a distinctly conservative
point of view.
David Coleman accepted the challenge to rethink our children’s
core curriculum across the nation. Now the architect of the
Common Core is tackling the SAT and the testing that measures our
youth for higher education. What’s up?
A year-long
investigation into Michigan’s charter schools by the Detroit
Free Press uncovered wasteful spending, cozy contracts, and
missed opportunities to shut down long-struggling campuses,
according to the newspaper.
Whether it’s a curriculum that makes religion the fourth “R,” a
principal who steers lucrative contracts to family members, or
test scores that remain stuck in the cellar, charter schools
often make the news for all the wrong reasons. Analysts have long
seen a connection between problem charters and the process for
deciding who gets a charter to operate in the first place. But
how much difference does the quality of charter authorizing
actually make? Have efforts to strengthen charter authorizing
been effective, and if so, where?
Laura Slover of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers talks about the development of PARCC’s Common
Core-aligned math and reading tests.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout,
a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at
Vanderbilt University.
Carol Burris, the principal of New York’s South Side High School,
talks about how Common Core-aligned assessments in New York
frustrated students and inflated achievement gaps.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout,
a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at
Vanderbilt University.
Political backlash against the
Common Core State Standards and assessments appears to be
mounting. These five speakers examine the history of the
standards; explore why people should be skeptical; profile two
state experiences, and offer an examination of left and right
political perspectives about the Common Core.
More places are experimenting with state-run initiatives to
address chronically low-performing public schools. Converting
such schools to charters is among the strategies these state-led
districts employ. We showcase leading examples of the trend,
including the Achievement School District in Tennessee. Observers
also comment on the Louisiana Recovery School District and the
Michigan Education Achievement Authority. How well are their
strategies working?
AFT President Randi Weingarten talks support for Hillary Clinton,
the possibility of a union-backed Republican candidate, and next
year’s mayoral race in Chicago.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Geoff Decker of Chalkbeat New York asks Weingarten about the
United Federation of Teachers contract and the how the proposed
career-ladder model compares to other school districts. Recorded
in May 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Dennis Van Roekel of the National Education Association advocates
for testing and teacher evaluation reform to accompany the
implementation of Common Core.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout,
a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at
Vanderbilt University.
Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution outlines some of his
research related to the Common Core State Standards. Recorded
Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a
special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at
Vanderbilt University.
What are the challenges for teachers in handling topics that
scientists may see as settled questions, but that still stir
contention in society at large? University of Southern California
professor Gale Sinatra talks about the challenges educators,
students and the community face when dealing with controversial
science topics such as evolution and climate change.
Recorded Feb. 21, 2014 at EWA’s seminar for reporters, “STEM
and Beyond: Strengthening the Skills of Students and
Journalists.”
The National Science Board’s biennial book, “Science and
Engineering Indicators,” consistently finds that the U.S.
produces many more STEM graduates than the workforce can absorb.
Meanwhile, employers say managers are struggling to find
qualified workers in STEM fields. What explains these apparently
contradictory trends?
This week, Emily Richmond
sits down with the Oregonian’s Betsy Hammond to talk about her
exhaustive investigation into Oregon’s chronic absentee
problem.
Dana Suskind of Thirty Million Words discusses the childhood
language gap and approaches to closing it; Natasha Cabrera of the
University of Maryland talks about the assets minority children
bring to preschool; and Tim Bartik of the Upjohn Institute for
Employment Research talks about the economics of early childhood
education.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane
University during EWA’s seminar for reporters, “Building a
Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
In 2013, Jonathan Cohn wrote about the frightening inadequacies
of the American child care system for the New Republic. We asked
him to join us at our early childhood education conference to
talk about how he reported “The Hell of American Daycare.”
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s
conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early
Childhood Education.”
What has the Obama administration achieved in the area of early
childhood education? What are the pros, cons and prospects for
its current agenda? And how is that agenda playing out in the
broader policy landscape, federal and otherwise? A discussion
between Libby Doggett, U.S. Department of Education, and Russ
Whitehurst of the Brookings Institution, moderated by NPR’s
Claudio Sanchez.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s
conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early
Childhood Education.”
On this week’s show, Emily and Mikhail talk with Tampa Bay Times
reporter Lisa Gartner about whether Florida’s evaluation
system might be falling short when it comes to identifying the
state’s best teachers.
Big changes are afoot in how schools prepare students for the
knowledge economy. Career and technical education is no longer
and byword for tracking, and districts are exploring ways to make
science and technology learning hands-on. Our panelists discuss
the trends and challenges in preparing students for a meaningful
place in the highly skilled workforce.
Speakers: Jim Stone III, National Research Center for Career and
Technical Education, University of Louisville; Steve Rockenbach,
Ernest S. McBride High School; Abraham Orozco, Heart of Los
Angeles.
In episode 2 of EWA Radio: Ditching the jargon in the New Year;
talking transparency and jumping from journalism to public
service with Dorie Nolt, press secretary to Arne Duncan.
What do officials of the two large-scale testing consortia –
Smarter Balanced and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers — see for the future?
An intensive survey of state officials by the Center on Education
Policy offers insight into the challenges facing states as they
implement Common Core State Standards.
Topics covered include how states are working with higher
education institutions, gearing up for assessments, and preparing
teachers and principals for the transition.
Speakers: Diane Stark Rentner, Center for Education Policy; Maria
Voles Ferguson, Center on Education Policy; Caroline Hendrie,
Education Writers Association (moderator)
The political debate about Common Core is ongoing, but other
issues are coming to the fore. What are the checks and balances
amid the frenzy of products purportedly aligned to the standards?
How are states and districts engaging parents? Will colleges
accept that high school graduates educated to the standards are
college-ready? Our panelists address these and other issues.
A key impetus or the Common Core
State Standards has been American students’ standing in the
world. The authors of two recent books on countries that fare
well in international comparisons place the current U.S.
initiative in its global context.
The political debate about Common Core is ongoing, but other
issues are coming to the fore. What are the checks and balances
amid the frenzy of products purportedly aligned to the standards?
How are states and districts engaging parents? Are colleges going
to accept that high school graduates educated to the standards
are college-ready? Panelists address these and other issues.
Speakers: Gov.
What do Smarter Balanced and PARCC officials see for the future?
Speakers: Jacqueline King of Smarter Balanced and Laura Slover of
the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
Careers. Moderated by Lisa Fleisher, Wall Street Journal.
Recorded Nov. 4, 2013 at EWA’s reporting seminar, Common Core at
the Crossroads: What Comes Next?
A key impetus for the Common Core State Standards has been
American students’ standing in the world. Speakers: Marc Tucker
of the National Center on Education and Economy and author Amanda
Ripley, interviewed by Michael Chandler of the Washington Post.
Recorded Nov. 4, 2013 at EWA’s reporting seminar, Common Core at
the Crossroads: What Comes Next?
John Owens, who worked in the media world, decided he wanted to
contribute to society by becoming a teacher. He lasted only a few
months and wrote an article called “Confessions of a Bad
Teacher.” The column hit a nerve and the article became a book.
Owens will describe his experiences as a teacher with
evaluations, classroom observations and a principal who gamed the
system. Author John Owens interviewed by Greg Toppo of USA Today.
Recorded Oct. 11, 2013 at More Than Scores: Assessing the Future
of Teacher Evaluations.
How are teacher evaluations impacting teaching and learning in
the nation’s fifth-largest school district? How might Chicago’s
experience be a teachable moment for educators and policymakers
in other communities? Panelists: Linda Lenz, Catalyst Chicago
(moderator); Carol Caref, Chicago Teachers Union; Paulette
Poncelet, Chicago Public Schools; Sue Sporte, University of
Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. Recorded Oct. 11,
2013 at More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher
Evaluations.
Robert Pianta describes his extensive research into what makes a
good early childhood education teacher and how the University of
Virginia developed an instrument to measure early childhood
teachers. Laura Bornfreund discusses the different approaches
being used by districts to measure student growth for the purpose
of evaluating early childhood education (Pre-K-grade 3) teachers
as well as the potential hurdles to widespread, reliable
implementation. Panelists: Cornelia Grumman (moderator); Laura
Bornfreund, New America Foundation; Bob Pianta, University of
Virginia. Recorded Oct.
How are states responding to the push for greater accountability
and transparency in how teacher job performance is measured? How
are union leaders helping members adjust to the new expectations?
Can evaluations be used as a lever to more equitably distribute
teacher talent, and ensure the neediest students get the most
effective instruction? Speakers include Stephanie Banchero, Wall
St. Journal (moderator); Sandi Jacobs, National Council on
Teacher Quality; Sarah Lenhoff, director of policy and research,
Education Trust – Midwest; and Dennis Van Roekel, National
Education Association.
To open EWA’s 2013 workshop on teacher evaluations, Tim Knowles
of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute talks
about how the changing landscape of teacher evaluations is
influencing broader conversations about school improvement and
student achievement. Recorded Oct. 10, 2013 at EWA’s education
reporting workshop More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of
Teacher Evaluations.
What questions should reporters be asking when using
evaluation-related data in stories? What is incumbent for
reporters to learn about the use of student growth, and what is
incumbent for officials to provide when they report the numbers?
How can reporters convey the nuance without dulling their prose?
Sabrina Laine, AIR, interviewed by Stephen Sawchuk, Education
Week Recorded Oct. 10, 2013 at EWA’s education reporting workshop
More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher Evaluations.
About 250 community colleges and four-year institutions recently
have pledged to track veterans’ outcomes and support them on
campus through a new program of the U.S. Department of Education.
How much do we know about the recent success rates of veterans at
American colleges and what services exist to support them?
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs,
Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics
in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Recorded at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed seminar, “Guess Who’s Coming
to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and
Reporters.”
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt
for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income,
black and Latino students, are the same students who are least
likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs
are succeeding at beating this trend?
Shaun Harper, director of the Center for Study of Race and Equity
in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of
Education, previews new research on how New York City addressed
the challenge of guiding more of its black and Latino male
students to postsecondary success.
Last month, President Obama unveiled an ambitious proposal to
reform higher education by tying a college’s access to federal
financial aid for students to a new set of ratings the government
would produce. Would universities, forced to focus more on
student outcomes, be less inclined to enroll students from
backgrounds that traditionally have been underserved by higher
education?
Last month, President Obama unveiled an ambitious proposal to
reform higher education by tying a college’s access to federal
financial aid for students to a new set of ratings the government
would produce. Would universities, forced to focus more on
student outcomes, be less inclined to enroll students from
backgrounds that traditionally have been underserved by higher
education?
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt
for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income,
black and Latino students, are the same students who are least
likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs
are succeeding at beating this trend? Speakers: Thomas Bailey,
Director, Community College Research Center; Jay Bhatt, President
and CEO, BlackBoard Inc; Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer,
Kaplan Inc.; Steve Kolowich, Staff Reporter, The Chronicle of
Higher Education (moderator) Recorded Saturday, Sept.
For many students, the first hurdle in their pursuit of a degree
is the admissions process. As the debates swirl about whether
colleges should offer special considerations—whether race-based
or class-based—in choosing which students to accept, what is
known about how much access students of all backgrounds have to
higher education?
The next few years could be a turning point for higher education,
as the traditional student population starts to shift
dramatically. How long will the total number of new high school
graduates continue to decline? Of that pool of students, what
percentages will be black and Latino or from low-income
backgrounds? What will these changes herald for postsecondary
education?
About 250 community colleges and four-year institutions recently
have pledged to track veterans’ outcomes and support them on
campus through a new program of the U.S. Department of Education.
How much do we know about the recent success rates of veterans at
American colleges and what services exist to support them?
Speakers: Peter Buryk, Senior Project Associate, Rand
Corporation; Marc V. Cole, Senior Advisor for Veterans and
Military Families, U.S. Department of Education; Ashley
Parker-Roman, U.S.
Shaun Harper, director of the Center for Study of Race and Equity
in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of
Education, previews new research on how New York City addressed
the challenge of guiding more of its black and Latino male
students to postsecondary success. Recorded Saturday, Sept. 28 at
EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed Seminar, Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What
Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.
The next few years could be a turning point for higher education,
as the traditional student population starts to shift
dramatically. How long will the total number of new high school
graduates continue to decline? Of that pool of students, what
percentages will be black and Latino or from low-income
backgrounds? What will these changes herald for postsecondary
education?
With the total numbers of new high school graduates dropping
while tuition prices rise, many private colleges and universities
have seen their enrollment numbers decline. Because most of these
schools depend on tuition revenue in order to operate, these
shortfalls pose serious threats to their existence. Which schools
are in jeopardy and why? Speakers: Jarrett L. Carter, Founder and
Editor, HBCUDigest.com; William S. Reed, Chair, Davis Educational
Foundation; Jon Marcus, Contributing Editor, The Hechinger Report
(moderator) Recorded Friday, Sept.
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs,
Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics
in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Recorded Friday, Sept. 27 at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed Seminar, Guess
Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for
Colleges and Reporters.
Sen. Warren (D-Mass.) discusses rising college costs and student
debt reform at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed seminar Sept. 28, 2013.
Please note: Due to a faulty microphone, the sound quality during
the first part of the Q&A is shaky. Because the audio is not
completely obscured, the event is presented here in its entirety.
The audio for Sen. Warren’s speech and the second half of the
Q&A is normal.
September is Attendance Awareness Month, and to kick it off EWA
Public Editor Emily Richmond chatted with Hedy Chang, director of
the national initiative AttendanceWorks. They discussed a new
report from the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago
School Research examining how absenteeism impacts learning
outcomes for preschoolers, as well as some findings on the
reasons for their absences.
How to Break News Using Social Media and Avoid ‘Bots And Trolls
Journalists need to join the technological arms race against misinformation
The scariest moment of the 2018 Education Writers Association National Seminar came when Steve Myers, the editor of The Lens, demonstrated how to alter reality in less than thirty seconds.
He pulled up an unsuspecting person’s tweet, and with a few clicks, made the text say something totally new. He only tinkered with the coding to change how the tweet appeared on his screen. (It went unchanged to the rest of the world.) But it was there long enough to take a screenshot.
Standardized Testing
The Council of the Great City Schools hosted a forum on the results of a new report on the effectiveness of standardized testing. Michael Casserly made opening remarks on the report, and then panelists that included Education Secretary Arne Duncan analyzed the data in the report.
Why Motivation and Deeper Learning Matter
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
How do you create a good student? How do schools find ways for children to take criticism well, respond to feedback, and learn from mistakes? How does a child’s motivation and sense of self factor into a culture of learning? While schools are finding answers to these questions, there is no shortcut to creating classroom practices — and embracing a “growth mindset” is no panacea. So how can schools adapt the concepts that research shows go a long way toward improving student learning?
How to Motivate Students — or Not
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
Carol Dweck, a distinguished professor and the scholar most associated with the now-widespread concept of “growth mindset,” talks about new studies on the impact the idea has had in education. How should a student learn from failure? If you tell students that the brain can be trained, will they feel encouraged to put in additional effort? And is feeling motivated even enough — what interventions are necessary when a student tries her best but isn’t comprehending the material?
Can School Reform Produce Deeper Learning?
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
With virtually everything online and a click away, what does it mean to be knowledgeable? Economists predict that many jobs — even those requiring a college degree — will soon be automated.
Get Schooled: Unlocking the Secrets of the Adolescent Brain
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
Over the past decade research in neuroscience has provided an explosion of new knowledge and insights about the adolescent brain, shedding light on our understanding of teens’ complex neural state. Importantly, the field has focused on the development of neural circuits that underpin social, emotional, and motivational learning and how these systems change at the onset of puberty. These changes create not only vulnerabilities but also opportunities for learning.
Interventions in the Classroom: What Works, What Doesn’t — A Demonstration
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
What does it take to get a kid to care about school? A wave of research is producing quick interventions that motivate students to learn, with hundreds of schools adopting curricular tools designed to boost students’ growth mindsets. How do young learners respond to these efforts to reshape their views about themselves in the context of school? How can educators employ these tricks while teaching core subjects like math or English?
Student Culture and Learning: What’s the Connection?
New Lens on Learning: The Hidden Value of Motivation, Grit and Engagement
How do the social backgrounds of students influence their time at school? Can teaching that’s culturally relevant for the nation’s growing number of non-white students address the achievement gap? Tyrone Howard, who leads the Black Male Institute, will guide a discussion on these questions.
A Global Lens on Teacher Quality
Beyond the Border: Covering U.S. Education in a Global Context
Leading researchers share findings from a forthcoming book that examines teacher quality practices in high-achieving systems, including Finland, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Canada.
What’s Ahead From OECD?
Beyond the Border: Covering U.S. Education in a Global Context
The OECD regularly produces new reports and analyses on education issues that can be useful to journalists. Find out about upcoming work, and get your questions answered by the OECD’s new deputy director for education.
Educational Equity: A City-Level View
Beyond the Border: Covering U.S. Education in a Global Context
Learn about efforts to better serve disadvantaged students in Toronto and other major urban systems in the Asia Society’s Global Cities Education Network. This fall, education leaders from participating U.S. cities – Denver, Houston, Lexington, Ky., and Seattle – traveled to Shanghai to visit schools and explore best practices with peers in this network. Other participants include Seoul, Singapore, Hiroshima, and Melbourne.
International Tests, Global Comparisons
Beyond the Border: Covering U.S. Education in a Global Context
Welcome Address
Why do global comparisons in education matter? What do international assessments reveal, and what are their limitations? Have some countries been over-hyped based on their test scores? How do reporters make sense of it all for their readers?
OECD Test for Schools
Beyond the Border: Covering U.S. Education in a Global Context
Hundreds of U.S. high schools nationwide are participating in an initiative that allows them to see how their students stack up globally, and to gain information to improve their practices. Why are they doing this? What are they learning?
What College Affordability Means for the Election
Education & the 2016 White House Race
College affordability has become a key topic in the 2016 presidential campaign, whether through Democratic candidates’ outlining varying approaches to a debt-free education at public universities or Republican contenders’ suggesting income-sharing arrangements and accreditation reform. A discussion of the nuances and potential of these ideas.
Journalist Roundtable
Education & the 2016 White House Race
Journalists share their insights about covering education in the White House race, and offer practical tips and strategies for penetrating coverage.
Pre-K-12 Education in the 2016 Race
Education & the 2016 White House Race
Experts and advocates take stock of how early childhood and K-12 education issues are factoring into the presidential campaign. They offer analysis of the candidates’ track records, campaign rhetoric, and specific plans (or lack thereof), and explore the complex politics of education policy.
Welcome & Event Introduction
Education & the 2016 White House Race
Caroline Hendrie, executive director of Education Writers Association, introduces the state of education topics in the 2016 election.
Debt-Free College: Adding It Up
Higher Ed 2015
From calls for eliminating community college tuition to plans for allowing all students to leave public colleges debt-free, momentum is building to change the way families pay for college. But what does debt-free really mean, given that not all of the proposals add up the same way? What role will this issue play in the presidential election, and what effect would debt-free options have on private institutions? Is it really economically feasible for the nation to ditch student-loan debt?
New Developments on the Federal Higher Ed Landscape
Higher Ed 2015
A top U.S. Education Department official discusses key issues on the federal postsecondary education agenda in a conversation with a leading reporter who covers higher education policy.
College Ready, Without Remediation?
Higher Ed 2015
It’s been a year since Florida prohibited public colleges and universities from requiring students to take the tests that determine who needs remedial education courses, meaning that any students could immediately enroll in courses that award college credit. As Colorado, Connecticut, North Carolina, Texas and other states similarly look to change how they approach remedial education, what do the early data on such moves indicate the impact of such changes might be?
Top 10 Higher Ed Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
Higher Ed 2015
What issues will have the most impact on the shape of postsecondary education in the 2015-2016 academic year? A top higher education journalist shares his insights.
Scott Jaschik, Editor and Co-Founder, Inside Higher Ed
Beyond the Rising Costs of Pensions
2015 EWA National Seminar
Pensions are causing serious budget issues across the country, including Illinois. But issues around pensions go beyond the rising costs, and the session will explore those questions, too. How can reporters generate lively stories on this important (but potentially dull) subject?
Trends in Charter School Finance
2015 EWA National Seminar
Funding for charter schools is a complex and divisive issue. Do charters get an equitable share of public dollars? How do school facilities fit into the equation, as well as private sources of support for the charter sector? What are recent evolutions in policy concerning charter finance and facilities, and what’s on the horizon?
Ways to Examine School Discipline
2015 EWA National Seminar
Schools often say they suspend misbehaving students to restore order and keep others safe. But a recent study questions the link between suspensions and school safety. This session flips the script, as a researcher moderates a panel of reporters who have explored alternatives to the usual diet of suspensions and expulsions.
Rethinking Career & Technical Education in a Global Context
2015 EWA National Seminar
Amid worries of a “skills gap” for U.S. youths and young adults, some experts call for rethinking and ramping up career and technical education. Panelists explore the skills and achievement of American young people in an international context, and highlight ways to improve CTE with an eye toward promising practices in other countries.
Opening Doors: Helping Students Make Their Way to College
2015 EWA National Seminar
Research suggests that many students who could succeed in college never get the chance to enroll. But studies also show this circumstance can be overcome by getting students more information about options in colleges, scholarships and financial aid. Gain insights from experts on what approaches help these students succeed.
New Insights on State Funding for Higher Education
2015 EWA National Seminar
The Great Recession saw most states drastically cut their spending on public colleges, leading most of those colleges to increase their tuition. As the national economy continues to recover, how has state funding for postsecondary education fared and what does it mean for students and their families?
The Impact of International Students in Higher Education
2015 EWA National Seminar
At one flagship public university, the number of undergraduate students from China jumped from 37 in 2000 to 2,898 this year. As public universities recruited more international students, what impact has the increased diversity had on students’ academic and social lives?
Can FAFSA Be Fixed?
2015 EWA National Seminar
How many questions does the crucial federal financial aid form really need? Proposals to simplify have ranged from trimming the form’s dozens of questions to replacing the form with just few queries on a postcard. This session illuminates how key questions can affect how much aid a student receives.
Can Innovation Improve Higher Education?
2015 EWA National Seminar
Higher education faces a major challenge: How to educate more students better as resources and funding at most colleges mostly stay flat. This discussion will examine whether new technology and new approaches such as competency-based education or MOOCs can make college more affordable and effective.
Speaking Up: Student and Teacher Voices on Student-Centered Learning
2015 EWA National Seminar
How does student-centered learning change the pupil-teacher working relationship? And what do we know about the longterm benefits of the educational approach? We’ll hear from a student who has graduated from a school that was an early adopter of student-centered learning, as well as a student and teachers currently using it in their classrooms.
Tips Via Tweets: Should Financial Aid Be Based on Merit or Need?
Tips Via Tweets: Covering Arts Education
This webinar was made possible in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, whose Knowledge Center features resources on arts education.
Eyes on Detroit: Perspectives from an Education Journalist
EWA Seminar on Teaching
Stephen Henderson, a columnist with the Detroit Free Press, spoke with journalist members at the Education Writers Association’s 2014 Seminar on Teaching, held in Detroit.
Teaching Across Cultural Differences: Equity in Instruction and Classrooms
EWA Seminar on Teaching
How are cultural and racial biases influencing classroom instruction and student learning? What does this mean for teachers and students, particularly in high-minority, urban school settings? What should education reporters know about cultural bias as it relates to their reporting on students, teachers, and schools?
Speaker:
Associate Professor Dorinda Carter Andrews, Michigan State University
Taking the Pulse of the Teaching Profession: Andy Baxter
EWA Seminar on Teaching
Teacher effectiveness is a front-burner issue in districts nationwide. How are districts, state departments of education, and policymakers responding to the push to improve teacher performance and student outcomes? What does the latest research show on what’s working in public schools?
What does the new “Primary Sources” survey tell us about teachers’ perceptions of the Common Core State Standards? And what are teachers doing to reshape their classroom instruction in response to the new expectations for grade-level learning?
Speaker:
Taking the Pulse of the Teaching Profession: Kyle Good
EWA Seminar on Teaching
Teacher effectiveness is a front-burner issue in districts nationwide. How are districts, state departments of education, and policymakers responding to the push to improve teacher performance and student outcomes? What does the latest research show on what’s working in public schools?
What does the new “Primary Sources” survey tell us about teachers’ perceptions of the Common Core State Standards? And what are teachers doing to reshape their classroom instruction in response to the new expectations for grade-level learning?
Common Core: Politics and Public Debate
Five-video playlist
Check out the first of three sets of videos from our special session on Common Core at the National Seminar.
Common Core: Realities of the Rollout
Our May 19, 2014 special session at the 67th National Seminar looked at Common Core implementation from a variety of angles and perspectives. Below, you can view each presenter’s remarks in full and download his or her slides.
Check out our Topics page more resources on Common Core.
Playlist 1: Politics, Power and Public Debate
Playlist 2: Impact on the Classroom
Covering Common Core: How I Did the Story
Reporters describe their coverage of Common Core and ways to look at the rollout in lively and interesting ways.
Tomorrow’s Teacher: Paths to Prestige and Effectiveness
This three-hour plenary session at EWA’s 65th National Seminar saw a series of experts take different approaches to answer one central question: How do we make teaching into a prestigious profession? (Education Writers Association)
Autistic and Seeking a Place in this World
Autistic and Seeking a Place in this World, a video and article by New York Times reporter Amy Harmon, offer a profile of an autistic high school student as he prepares to enter life as an adult.
National Leadership Summit for Online Learning
The National Leadership Summit for Online Learning, organized by iNACOL, was held in February 2012. This video archive lets you view most of the discussions held there, including “It’s All About Teaching and Learning” and “The Disruptive Innovation.”
Early Lessons
“Early Lessons,” a project of American Public Media reporter Emily Hanford, takes a look back at the Perry Preschool Project and contrasts it with what happens in many of today’s preschool classrooms.
Math Class Needs A Makeover
Math Class Needs A Makeover is a TED talk featuring Dan Meyers, who argues that “Today’s math curriculum is teaching students to expect — and excel at — paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them.”
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Do Schools Kill Creativity?, Sir Ken Robinson “champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”
Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education
Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education is a TED talk featuring Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, “a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects.”
Tennessee Teachers Find It Hard to Make the Grade
An overhaul of the teacher evaluation process in the Volunteer State has discouraged teachers.
Big Education Grants Threatened By Teacher Spats
In several states—including New York, Hawaii and Tennessee—disagreements between teacher unions and policy makers are putting federal funds at risk.
Education 2012: What the Election Year Will Mean for Education Policy
Mitt Romney Attends Education Nation Summit
President Obama Addresses Education Nation Summit
Evaluating Teachers: Beyond the Rhetoric
On Nov. 12, 2011, EWA held a one-day conference at the University of Chicago to discuss what we can learn from various teacher evaluation models currently in place around the country. (Education Writers Association)
U.S. Education’s Race to the Top
The governors of Delaware and Tennessee discuss why their states were the first Race to the Top federal grant recipients.
40 Must-See YouTube Special Education Videos
40 Must-See YouTube Special Education Videos, compiled by a graduate student studying special education, offer a wide variety of perspectives on educating students with special needs.
President Obama: It Gets Better
President Obama: It Gets Better is part of a national campaign started in 2010 to reassure gay and lesbian teens—who face disproportionate bullying and commit suicide at higher than average rates—that they could overcome the abuse and other struggles. (The text of this post was written by the White House deputy director of public engagement.)
How Blended Learning Can Help Turnaround Struggling Schools
How Blended Learning Can Help Turnaround Struggling Schools is a panel discussion the Alliance for Excellent Education held in May 2011. Four educators from Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Tennessee discuss how districts have used online learning to enhance student learning.
The Promise of Preschool
“The Promise of Preschool” is a documentary by education reporter John Merrow, the president of Learning Matters. The report followed the experiences of four families in New York, Atlanta, Bridgeport, CT and Paris, France, as they considered the range of early-childhood education options available to them. Merrow asked whether it was possible for families to find a consistent level of service in America when even public schools are struggling to maintain programs.
Changing Education Paradigms
In Changing Education Paradigms, Sir Ken Robinson uses animation to explore “the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools’ dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD.”
‘Check In’ on Education Inequality
‘Check In’ on Education Inequality allows ProPublica readers to link their Foursquare account with the news outlet’s “Opportunity Gap” project. Users can get stats about a school when they check into it with their mobile device’s Foursquare app.
Year 2060: Education Predictions
Year 2060: Education Predictions, a YouTube video by Sal Khan, the founder of the KhanAcademy.org educational site, offers his perspectives on how a college education might change in the next few generations.
Falloff in Aspiring Teachers: Where and Why?
2015 EWA National Seminar
A data analysis by Education Week showed a decline in applicants to education schools in key states and Ed Week’s Stephen Sawchuk walks participants through it. ACT’s Steve Kappler unveils a disturbing new report on a dropoff in high school graduates aspiring to teach. Other speakers review the implications of their findings and sources.
Common Core in the Classroom: Teacher Voices
2015 EWA National Seminar
Teachers from Chicago, New York, and Arizona offer their views on how Common Core State Standards and assessments are playing out in the classroom and how their schools and districts have – and haven’t – changed practice.
Guardians of the Gigabytes: Who Is Protecting Students’ Data?
2015 EWA National Seminar
Children are the future, but they’re also the source of billions of data points, and the battle over that information has just begun. Startups are angling for a piece of the multibillion-dollar education market those kids represent, while government agencies are touting data collection to improve instruction. But who’s keeping student data safe?
Moderator:
Speakers:
Top 10 Higher Ed Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
2015 EWA National Seminar
Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Scott Jaschik offers his insights on the most influential stories journalists should be following in the upcoming academic year, including funding for community colleges, upheaval in the admissions process, free speech, and laws that permit students to carry guns on campuses.
Keynote by Gov. Bruce Rauner
2015 EWA National Seminar
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks with attendees at the kickoff of EWA’s 68th National Seminar in Chicago on April 20, 2015.
Video Highlights
2015 EWA National Seminar
A Conversation With Sec. Arne Duncan
2015 EWA National Seminar
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan fields reporters’ questions culled by Motoko Rich of the New York Times at EWA’s National Seminar in Chicago, April 21, 2015.
Keynote by Vassar College President Catharine Bond Hill
2015 EWA National Seminar
At EWA’s 2015 National Seminar, Vassar College President Catharine Bond Hill discussed the costs of higher education and Vassar’s efforts to make college more affordable and equitable.
Too Many Tests?
2015 EWA National Seminar
An ongoing “opt-out” campaign has stirred debate over whether students are over-tested., and what kind of tests are to blame. How much time – and money – do schools spend on testing? A panel of experts explored the issue during “Too Many Tests?”
Here are the highlights of the discussion moderated by Emily Hanford of American RadioWorks. The panel included Matt Chingos of the Brookings Institution, Scott Marion of the National Center on Assessment, and Bob Schaeffer of FairTest.
RIP NCLB?: A New Role for Uncle Sam
2015 EWA National Seminar
Speakers, including U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-IN, offer reporters the lay of the land and discuss how rewriting the No Child Left Behind Act may affect their school districts and states. Some speakers say NCLB is already dead, but they’re still not certain what will take its place, other than policies handed down through the U.S. Department of Education’s waivers from NCLB provisions.
Special Education and Charter Schools
Charters & Choice Seminar
A worrisome dimension of charter schooling is the oftentimes disproportionately low share of students with disabilities served by this sector of public education. Experts explore what explains the situation, what’s being done about it, and highlight examples where intensive work is underway to ensure that charters effectively serve the needs of all children, including those with disabilities.
School Choice Policy and Politics: What’s Ahead?
Charters & Choice Seminar
Republican gains in the 2014 elections set the stage for a renewed push to expand school choice at the state and federal levels, including charter schools, vouchers, and tuition tax credits. What legislation is emerging and what stands the greatest likelihood of becoming law? To what extent will policymakers respond to concerns about quality and accountability in schools of choice?
Private Schools and Public Funding
Charters & Choice Seminar
Public policy efforts to expand private school choice continue to grow, and may well get a boost from GOP gains in the midterm elections last fall. From vouchers to tuition tax credits and education savings accounts, what’s happening, what’s on the horizon, and why? How do these initiatives vary across states and cities? What role does and should testing and accountability play in publicly subsidized choice initiatives? Where do key legal challenges stand?
Lessons From New Orleans
Charters & Choice Seminar
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that sparked an unprecedented experiment in public education in New Orleans. Nearly all public schools in the city are now charters. A decade in, what have we learned about the New Orleans experience and what lessons does it offer to other states and communities that are looking to ramp up the role of charters and choice in public education?
Eye on Denver
Charters & Choice Seminar
This city has developed a robust and diverse set of public school options for students, including several dozen charter schools as well as the district’s own “innovation” schools. Denver is also seen as a place, unlike many, where the district and the charter sectors play well together. What does school choice look like in Denver? How meaningful are the options for students? Is the choice landscape promoting equity?
Common Core in Action
Covering Standards and Testing (Denver Seminar)
Educators talk about their on-the-ground experiences with the Common Core standards and the impact on students of applying them in the classroom.
How They Did It: Journalists Share Their Stories
Covering Standards and Testing (Denver Seminar)
Learn more about their strategies for bringing the rollout of the standards to life, from covering debates over textbooks to the special challenges for rural school districts and how to creatively cover the math Common Core.
Taking Political Stock of the Common Core
Covering Standards and Testing (Denver Seminar)
It’s no secret that the standards and forthcoming tests have drawn increasingly strong criticism over the past year. Why has the Common Core become so controversial? What do the midterm election results mean for implementation and state support? And what happens in states that have called for a review or even rescinded the standards?
Making Sense of the Evolving Assessment Landscape
Covering Standards and Testing (Denver Seminar)
This school year marks the first time that most states will test students on the Common Core. At the same time, many states have backed away from their plans to use shared assessments and are choosing their own tests. Where do the states stand? How different will their new exams be from prior tests? And what are key questions reporters should keep in mind as they cover the first round of test results?
For Students, Uneven Benefits of Boston’s Longer School Days
EWA Radio: Episode 20
Grappling with achievement gaps between their rich and poor students, a growing number of schools and districts are resolving to add more minutes or days to the academic calendar, and Boston has emerged as a leader in this trend.
Jeb Bush: The Education Reformer
EWA Radio: Episode 19
The New Yorker magazine recently served up a deep look at Jeb Bush’s history as an education reformer, and how it might influence his positions as a potential candidate for president.
State of the Union: Where’s the K-12?
EWA Radio, Episode 18, Part 2
President Obama’s address to Congress laid out ambitious plans for higher education reform. But there was scant mention of initiatives for elementary and secondary students.
State of the Union: Higher Ed Steals the Spotlight
EWA Radio, Episode 18, Part 1
On Tuesday night, President Obama renewed his commitment to making community college free to most students, despite a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the Republican-controlled Congress.
Covering the K-12 Beat and Stories to Watch in 2015
EWA Radio, Episode 17, Part 2
Two journalists, a local reporter who covers education in Bakersfield and national reporter for NPR, discuss how they approach their beats, reflect on surprises they encountered in 2014, and provide predictions for the stories of 2015. Teaser: What grabs attention nationally may not be on the minds of local readers.
Covering the Higher-Ed Beat and Stories to Watch in 2015
EWA Radio, Episode 17, Part 1
A reporter who covers Ohio State University and a national higher-ed reporter discuss how their vantage points influence coverage. Does having a background in covering K-12 improve higher-ed reporting? Do national reporters benefit from living near flagship state universities? The guests also make predictions for stories to watch in 2015.
EWA Hosts Sneak Preview of National Report on Early Childhood Indicators
Journalist Only Webinar
Journalists will get an early opportunity this week to review Education Week’s newest Quality Counts report, which includes a special focus on early childhood education indicators. The report will evaluate states on their efforts to expand early childhood education and examine how new academic demands and accountability pressures are altering the learning environment for young children. Join EWA for a Jan. 7 webinar to learn more.
College Sports for Education Reporters
2014 Higher Ed Semiar
Star athletes accused of sexual assault. Student athletes forming their own labor unions and winning judgments that say they are eligible to profit from their popularity. Academic fraud. While stories such as these typically have been the turf of sports reporters, it’s becoming more important for education reporters to stay ahead of these issues. Two experts on the interplay between athletics and academics offer their insights.
Campus Sexual Assaults: Understanding the Angles
2014 Higher Ed Seminar
Since 2011, when the U.S. Department of Education made clear that schools’ failure to address incidents of sexual assault adequately could trigger Title IX penalties, this problem—which has long been a taboo topic in higher education—has become the flashpoint issue on campuses across the nation. Each new incident showcases conflicting perspectives, ranging from those of advocates who say colleges are failing victims to men who think the new policy guidelines are stacked against them. Some question whether institutions should even be involved or are these matters better left to police?
Attitude Adjustment: The Impact of Mentoring and Psychology
2014 Higher Ed Semiar
Academics are just part of the story for many students entering college – a whole new culture of learning awaits them. But if they are first-generation college students, those cultural challenges can derail a promising postsecondary career. New research is exploring the effects mentoring programs and brief psychological interventions can have on low-income, minority and first-generation students. What can colleges do to promote resiliency and support student well-being for all students? Are such efforts merely too much “coddling” of students by campuses?
The Data Deluge: Can Student Information Improve Completion?
2014 Higher Ed Semiar
Is keeping students on track to earn a degree as simple as just sending them text messages reminding them to register for classes and renew financial aid? That’s one element of “predictive analytics,” which is the use of detailed student data—from demographic background to grades on recent homework assignments—to guide students toward academic success. With as many as 150 colleges and universities already using some form of analytics, what do journalists need to know about the pros and cons of how these systems work?
(Community) College Readiness
2014 Higher Ed Seminar
While high schools across the nation have increasingly turned their attention toward making their graduates “college and career ready,” many community colleges are pondering the best way to educate those adults who enroll underprepared. One approach that appears to be gaining momentum—in Connecticut, Florida and Texas, for example— is to eliminate developmental or remedial education offerings altogether, arguing that these costly courses deter students from earning degrees.
What Should the College Student Experience Look Like in the 21st Century?
2014 Higher Ed Semiar
Can the United States continue to sustain financially the notion of residential college experience? What are parents and students expecting when they choose a college? How has the rise of the “value consumer” altered the landscape of the 21st Century college campus? How will the changing demographics (e.g., increased calls for accountability in higher education, MOOCs, and other models for delivering education) affect the traditional residential experience?
How They Did It: Journalists Share Their Stories
Covering Standards and Testing (DC Seminar)
The Hechinger Report and NPR Education are diving deeply into the Common Core. Learn more about their strategies for bringing the rollout of the standards to life, from covering debates over textbooks to the challenge of better preparing teachers and figuring out what makes a good Common Core math problem.
Making Sense of the Evolving Assessment Landscape
Covering Standards and Testing (DC Seminar)
This school year marks the first time that most states will test students on the Common Core. At the same time, many states have backed away from their plans to use shared assessments and are choosing their own tests. Where do the states stand? How different will their new exams be from prior tests? And what are key questions reporters should keep in mind as they cover the first round of test results?
Common Core in Action
Covering Standards and Testing (DC Seminar)
Educators talk about their experiences on the ground with the Common Core standards and a researcher shares insights from a study of how new math standards are changing teaching and learning in the classroom.
Surveys: What Educators and the Public Are Saying About Common Core
Covering Standards and Testing (DC Seminar)
Lots of recent surveys have sought to gauge support by educators and the public for the standards and testing. Learn what the sometimes conflicting results reveal. And find out where district-level implementation of the Common Core stands, based on extensive national polling of school district officials.
Taking Political Stock of the Common Core
Covering Standards and Testing (DC Seminar)
It’s no secret that the standards and forthcoming tests have drawn increasingly strong criticism over the past year. Why has the Common Core become so controversial? What will the midterm election results mean for implementation and state support? And what happens in states that call for a review or even rescind the standards? Will much really change?
Ratings and Rankings: What They Really Mean for Colleges and Universities
2014 Higher Ed Semiar
As the higher ed community eagerly awaits the details of President Obama’s plan to rate colleges and universities and perhaps tie their access to federal funding to their performance, third-party rankings and ratings of colleges and universities continue to proliferate. What effects do these reports have on the priorities of these institutions and how should journalists interpret each new list of “bests”?
Lessons From the Rolling Stone Debacle
EWA Radio, Episode 16
Earlier this month, Rolling Stone magazine published a story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, which resulted in outrage, shock, and a temporary suspension of all fraternities and sororities at the vaunted institution of higher education. But now, serious questions have been raised about freelance writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s reporting, as well as Rolling Stone’s decision to publish the story without stronger verification.
“A River of Booze”
EWA Radio, Episode 15
It’s no surprise that many college students drink, especially those attending a flagship university with a storied sports program. Reporters Karin Fischer and Eric Hoover of The Chronicle of Higher Education explored the realities of a mass drinking culture at the University of Georgia in an extraordinary article, “A River of Booze.”
The Midterms: New Congress, Same Education Strife?
EWA Radio, Episode 14
Politico’s Allie Grasgreen and Alyson Klein of Education Week join EWA Radio hosts Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn to discuss the changing education priorities of Congress now that the GOP controls both houses. The reporters share their election surprises and provide tips for reporters on what to expect in federal legislation through 2016.
Principal Turnover: What’s Happening in Denver?
EWA Radio, Episode 13
Why are so many principals in Denver leaving their jobs? And what is the local school district doing to try and stem the churn? EWA Radio speaks with Katharine Schimel of Chalkbeat Colorado about her story looking into the high rate of principal turnover, and what it means for student learning and campus climate in the Mile High City.
Arts Education
Research Shows Arts Education Boosts Learning, So Where's the Rush to Teach Arts?
Decades of research suggest that some types of arts education can lead to academic improvements.
Teacher College Accountability: Changes on Horizon
EWA Seminar on Teaching
With an eye to toughening admission standards and curricula, a massive overhaul of the credentialing standards for the nation’s teacher preparation programs is underway. But given that participation is voluntary, are ongoing changes enough? What more needs to be done to improve such programs? And how should policymakers, taxpayers and potential students judge the quality of teacher preparation programs?
Panelists:
Teacher Induction and Mentoring: Liam Goldrick, New Teacher Center
EWA Seminar on Teaching
For new teachers, the first few years on the job can present a steep learning curve. And the students who need the most experienced teachers often don’t get them. How are schools, districts and states ramping up the support provided to new teachers? What are the hallmarks of a high-quality induction program? And what does the research show on the effects of coaching and mentoring?
Panelist:
Teacher Induction and Mentoring: Magdalene Lampert, Boston Residency Project
EWA Seminar on Teaching
For new teachers, the first few years on the job can present a steep learning curve. And the students who need the most experienced teachers often don’t get them. How are schools, districts and states ramping up the support provided to new teachers? What are the hallmarks of a high-quality induction program? And what does the research show on the effects of coaching and mentoring?
Panelist:
Preparing New Teachers
EWA Seminar on Teaching
Corey Drake, Michigan State University College of Education, presented her insight and programs from MSU at EWA’s 2014 Seminar on Teaching.
Haslam Discusses Push to Foster College-Going Culture in Tenn.
Gov. Bill Haslam talks with education reporters about the hoped-for payoffs—and political trade-offs—of his initiative to boost the number of Tennesseans with education past high school, including through “last-dollar scholarships” that make two years of community college tuition-free. His remarks came during a keynote address on May 19, 2014, at the Education Writers Association’s 2014 National Seminar at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Tenn. Gov. Haslam on What’s at Stake With Common Core
Gov. Bill Haslam discusses why his home state should stay the course as supporters of common standards and tests work to fend off attacks from both the right and left on the political spectrum. His remarks came in a keynote address on May 19, 2014, at the Education Writers Association’s 2014 National Seminar at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
The 10 Higher Education Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed talks to reporters at EWA’s 2014 Higher Education Seminar.
Recorded Sept. 6, 2014, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Under Scrutiny: Los Angeles Unified’s iPad Purchases
EWA Radio, Episode 12
EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn speak with Annie Gilbertson of KPCC, Southern California’s NPR affiliate, about her investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District’s $1.2 billion investment in classroom technology.
Money Magazine Ranks Colleges’ ROI
EWA Radio, Episode 11
EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn speak with Money Magazine education reporter Kim Clark about the publication’s first-ever college rankings, which focus on the return-on-investment factor of earning a degree from a particular institution.
Illinois Lawmakers Use Influence on Teacher Licensing
EWA Radio, Episode 10
A Chicago Tribune investigation turns up instances of lawmakers intervening in teacher licensing decisions on behalf of their friends and donors. Tribune education reporter Diane Rado speaks with EWA’s Emily Richmond and Mikhail Zinshteyn about her ongoing coverage of licensing issues, and what it means for local students and schools.
To Avoid Suspension, Students Talk It Out
EWA Radio, Episode 9
In Texas, a state known for its zero-tolerance approach to school discipline, 80 percent of its prisoners are high school dropouts. And as more research finds a link between suspensions and quitting school early, the evidence is mounting that keeping kids from learning for behavioral reasons hurts their academic outcomes. Against this backdrop is White Middle School in central Texas.
Is Kochs’ High School Finance Class Pushing Conservative Agenda?
EWA Radio, Episode 8
This week, Emily and Mikhail talk to Joy Resmovits of The Huffington Post, who discusses her story (written with colleague Christina Wilkie) about the Charles G. Koch Foundation’s creation of Youth Entrepreneurs: a public high school finance course being used in schools in the midwest and south, which was designed to introduce students to free market theory and economics with a distinctly conservative point of view.
Prepping Our Kids for College: What Will the Next Decade Teach Us?
David Coleman accepted the challenge to rethink our children’s core curriculum across the nation. Now the architect of the Common Core is tackling the SAT and the testing that measures our youth for higher education. What’s up?
Speakers: Jane Stoddard Williams, David Coleman
Michigan’s Charter Schools: Detroit Free Press Digs Deep
EWA Radio, Episode 7
A year-long investigation into Michigan’s charter schools by the Detroit Free Press uncovered wasteful spending, cozy contracts, and missed opportunities to shut down long-struggling campuses, according to the newspaper.
Common Core: Angles on Assessment
Six-video playlist
The third of three sets of videos from our special session on Common Core at the 67th national Seminar.
The Authorizer Effect
Whether it’s a curriculum that makes religion the fourth “R,” a principal who steers lucrative contracts to family members, or test scores that remain stuck in the cellar, charter schools often make the news for all the wrong reasons. Analysts have long seen a connection between problem charters and the process for deciding who gets a charter to operate in the first place. But how much difference does the quality of charter authorizing actually make? Have efforts to strengthen charter authorizing been effective, and if so, where?
Asking the Core Questions
Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute talks about some of the important questions to ask about Common Core assessments.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: Test for Learning
Jacqueline King of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium talks about how the assessment experience will change under Common Core.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Alabama’s ‘Uncommon’ Core
Tommy Bice, Alabama’s state schools superintendent, talks about developing assessments outside of the PARCC and Smarter Balanced consortia.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
The End of Test Prep
Laura Slover of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers talks about the development of PARCC’s Common Core-aligned math and reading tests.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
The Future of Assessment in the Digital Ocean
Kristen DiCerbo of GlassLab/Pearson, talks about using digital tools to build better assessments.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: The Plane Being Built in the Air
Carol Burris, the principal of New York’s South Side High School, talks about how Common Core-aligned assessments in New York frustrated students and inflated achievement gaps.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: Politics & Public Debate
Five-video playlist
Political backlash against the Common Core State Standards and assessments appears to be mounting. These five speakers examine the history of the standards; explore why people should be skeptical; profile two state experiences, and offer an examination of left and right political perspectives about the Common Core.
Achieving a New State: A Look at State Turnaround Districts
More places are experimenting with state-run initiatives to address chronically low-performing public schools. Converting such schools to charters is among the strategies these state-led districts employ. We showcase leading examples of the trend, including the Achievement School District in Tennessee. Observers also comment on the Louisiana Recovery School District and the Michigan Education Achievement Authority. How well are their strategies working?
Randi Weingarten on Testing and Common Core
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, talks about teacher frustrations with Common Core implementation.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Common Core, Uncommon Politics
Patrick McGuinn of Drew University talks about the sometimes-unexpected world of Common Core polling.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: The Power of Purpose
Georgia Teacher of the Year Jemelleh Coes talks about answering the age-old question, “When will I use this?” in the context of Common Core.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
The Scenario: How Educators Can Do So Much Better
NYC math teacher Jose Vilson talks — and raps — about his experiences implementing Common Core in his classroom.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: Teachers Need Support, Not Sympathy
Sandra Albert of Student Achievement Partners offers ideas for teacher-focused stories on Common Core implementation.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Randi Weingarten on Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
AFT President Randi Weingarten discusses value-added teacher evaluation models with the Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Common Core: Why Implementation Requires Change
William Schmidt of Michigan State University discusses four key areas he believes need to change as the Common Core math standards are implemented.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Randi Weingarten: Assessing Teacher Prep Programs
AFT President Randi Weingarten calls the Obama administration out for perceived hypocrisy in how it judges teacher preparation programs.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Randi Weingarten on Hillary Clinton and Partisanship in the Ed Debate
AFT President Randi Weingarten talks support for Hillary Clinton, the possibility of a union-backed Republican candidate, and next year’s mayoral race in Chicago.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Randi Weingarten on the Career Ladder Model in New York
Geoff Decker of Chalkbeat New York asks Weingarten about the United Federation of Teachers contract and the how the proposed career-ladder model compares to other school districts. Recorded in May 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Randi Weingarten to Reporters: Move Beyond Talking Point of the Day
AFT President Randi Weingarten takes a question on the possibility of a strike in Philadelphia at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Recorded May 19, 2014 at EWA’s 67th National Seminar.
Spring Training: Working on the Fundamentals
Amber Northern of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute talks about her research into Common Core implementation.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Engaging the Core
Jonathan Supovitz, co-director of CPRE, talks about writing policy that leads to greater engagement with Common Core.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Keep the Core, Change the Course
Dennis Van Roekel of the National Education Association advocates for testing and teacher evaluation reform to accompany the implementation of Common Core.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: From F to Fastest in Tennessee
Jamie Woodson, President and CEO of SCORE, talks about Tennessee’s experience with Common Core implementation and the state’s gains in NAEP scores.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Kentucky’s Common Core Lore
Terry Holliday, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education, talks about the state’s experience implementing the Common Core State Standards.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Why We Should Be Skeptical of the Common Core
Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution outlines some of his research related to the Common Core State Standards. Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
The Real Story Behind the Common Core
Michael Cohen of Achieve talks about some of the big misconceptions behind the Common Core State Standards.
Recorded Monday, May 19 at Common Core: Realities of the Rollout, a special session held during EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University.
Common Core: Impact on the Classroom
Seven-video playlist
The second of three sets of videos from our special Common Core session at the 67th National Seminar.
Climate Change and Evolution: Teaching in the Face of Controversy
What are the challenges for teachers in handling topics that scientists may see as settled questions, but that still stir contention in society at large? University of Southern California professor Gale Sinatra talks about the challenges educators, students and the community face when dealing with controversial science topics such as evolution and climate change.
Recorded Feb. 21, 2014 at EWA’s seminar for reporters, “STEM and Beyond: Strengthening the Skills of Students and Journalists.”
STEM Worker Shortage: Does It Exist and Is Education To Blame?
The National Science Board’s biennial book, “Science and Engineering Indicators,” consistently finds that the U.S. produces many more STEM graduates than the workforce can absorb. Meanwhile, employers say managers are struggling to find qualified workers in STEM fields. What explains these apparently contradictory trends?
Investigating an Absentee ‘Epidemic’ in Oregon
EWA Radio, Episode 6
This week, Emily Richmond sits down with the Oregonian’s Betsy Hammond to talk about her exhaustive investigation into Oregon’s chronic absentee problem.
Zero to Five: The Crucial Years
Dana Suskind of Thirty Million Words discusses the childhood language gap and approaches to closing it; Natasha Cabrera of the University of Maryland talks about the assets minority children bring to preschool; and Tim Bartik of the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research talks about the economics of early childhood education.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s seminar for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
How I Did the Story: Tips For Reporters Writing About Early Ed
Veteran education reporter Sarah Carr offers advice and strategies for journalists on the challenges of covering early childhood.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
How I Did the Story: The Hell of American Day Care
In 2013, Jonathan Cohn wrote about the frightening inadequacies of the American child care system for the New Republic. We asked him to join us at our early childhood education conference to talk about how he reported “The Hell of American Daycare.”
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
Is Federal Early Childhood Policy Headed in the Right Direction?
What has the Obama administration achieved in the area of early childhood education? What are the pros, cons and prospects for its current agenda? And how is that agenda playing out in the broader policy landscape, federal and otherwise? A discussion between Libby Doggett, U.S. Department of Education, and Russ Whitehurst of the Brookings Institution, moderated by NPR’s Claudio Sanchez.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
How Fair Are Florida’s Teacher Evaluations?
EWA Radio, Episode 5
On this week’s show, Emily and Mikhail talk with Tampa Bay Times reporter Lisa Gartner about whether Florida’s evaluation system might be falling short when it comes to identifying the state’s best teachers.
Preparing Future Workers: High School Redesign and Career/Technical Education
Big changes are afoot in how schools prepare students for the knowledge economy. Career and technical education is no longer and byword for tracking, and districts are exploring ways to make science and technology learning hands-on. Our panelists discuss the trends and challenges in preparing students for a meaningful place in the highly skilled workforce.
Speakers: Jim Stone III, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Louisville; Steve Rockenbach, Ernest S. McBride High School; Abraham Orozco, Heart of Los Angeles.
One Teacher, One Principal: The Human Side of Evaluations
EWA Radio, Episode 4
In episode 4 of EWA Radio, Emily Richmond talks to Gabrielle Russon of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune about covering teacher evaluations from the perspective of teacher and principal.
Julián Castro on Early Childhood Education
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro delivers the keynote address at EWA’s seminar on early childhood education in New Orleans.
How I Did the Story: Covering the Early Ed Beat
Lillian Mongeau is one of the few reporters whose whole beat is early childhood education. She offers advice on how to cover the topic effectively.
Recorded Feb. 3, 2014 at Tulane University during EWA’s conference for reporters, “Building a Child’s Mind: Inside Early Childhood Education.”
State of the Union: Parsing the President’s Education Priorities
EWA Radio, Episode 3
In episode 3 of EWA Radio, Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein of Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog stop by for some post-State of the Union analysis.
New Year’s Resolution: Kick the Buzzword Habit
EWA Radio, Episode 2
In episode 2 of EWA Radio: Ditching the jargon in the New Year; talking transparency and jumping from journalism to public service with Dorie Nolt, press secretary to Arne Duncan.
Assessing Common Core: What’s At Stake?
What do officials of the two large-scale testing consortia – Smarter Balanced and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — see for the future?
Ten Takeaways on Where States Stand on Common Core
An intensive survey of state officials by the Center on Education Policy offers insight into the challenges facing states as they implement Common Core State Standards.
Topics covered include how states are working with higher education institutions, gearing up for assessments, and preparing teachers and principals for the transition.
Speakers: Diane Stark Rentner, Center for Education Policy; Maria Voles Ferguson, Center on Education Policy; Caroline Hendrie, Education Writers Association (moderator)
Opportunities and Risks: Practical Issues with the Common Core Rollout
The political debate about Common Core is ongoing, but other issues are coming to the fore. What are the checks and balances amid the frenzy of products purportedly aligned to the standards? How are states and districts engaging parents? Will colleges accept that high school graduates educated to the standards are college-ready? Our panelists address these and other issues.
Putting Common Core in Context: Why it Matters
A key impetus or the Common Core State Standards has been American students’ standing in the world. The authors of two recent books on countries that fare well in international comparisons place the current U.S. initiative in its global context.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
EWA Radio, Episode 1
It’s the very first episode of EWA’s new podcast!
Opportunities and Risks: Practical Issues with the Common Core Rollout
The political debate about Common Core is ongoing, but other issues are coming to the fore. What are the checks and balances amid the frenzy of products purportedly aligned to the standards? How are states and districts engaging parents? Are colleges going to accept that high school graduates educated to the standards are college-ready? Panelists address these and other issues. Speakers: Gov.
Assessing Common Core: What’s at Stake?
What do Smarter Balanced and PARCC officials see for the future? Speakers: Jacqueline King of Smarter Balanced and Laura Slover of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. Moderated by Lisa Fleisher, Wall Street Journal. Recorded Nov. 4, 2013 at EWA’s reporting seminar, Common Core at the Crossroads: What Comes Next?
Putting Common Core in Context: Why it Matters
A key impetus for the Common Core State Standards has been American students’ standing in the world. Speakers: Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and Economy and author Amanda Ripley, interviewed by Michael Chandler of the Washington Post. Recorded Nov. 4, 2013 at EWA’s reporting seminar, Common Core at the Crossroads: What Comes Next?
Confessions of a Bad Teacher
John Owens, who worked in the media world, decided he wanted to contribute to society by becoming a teacher. He lasted only a few months and wrote an article called “Confessions of a Bad Teacher.” The column hit a nerve and the article became a book. Owens will describe his experiences as a teacher with evaluations, classroom observations and a principal who gamed the system. Author John Owens interviewed by Greg Toppo of USA Today. Recorded Oct. 11, 2013 at More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher Evaluations.
The Chicago Perspective: A New Model for Teacher Evaluations in the Windy City
How are teacher evaluations impacting teaching and learning in the nation’s fifth-largest school district? How might Chicago’s experience be a teachable moment for educators and policymakers in other communities? Panelists: Linda Lenz, Catalyst Chicago (moderator); Carol Caref, Chicago Teachers Union; Paulette Poncelet, Chicago Public Schools; Sue Sporte, University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. Recorded Oct. 11, 2013 at More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher Evaluations.
The Early Education Connection: Measuring the Youngest Learners
Robert Pianta describes his extensive research into what makes a good early childhood education teacher and how the University of Virginia developed an instrument to measure early childhood teachers. Laura Bornfreund discusses the different approaches being used by districts to measure student growth for the purpose of evaluating early childhood education (Pre-K-grade 3) teachers as well as the potential hurdles to widespread, reliable implementation. Panelists: Cornelia Grumman (moderator); Laura Bornfreund, New America Foundation; Bob Pianta, University of Virginia. Recorded Oct.
Teacher Evaluations and Equity: A National Overview
How are states responding to the push for greater accountability and transparency in how teacher job performance is measured? How are union leaders helping members adjust to the new expectations? Can evaluations be used as a lever to more equitably distribute teacher talent, and ensure the neediest students get the most effective instruction? Speakers include Stephanie Banchero, Wall St. Journal (moderator); Sandi Jacobs, National Council on Teacher Quality; Sarah Lenhoff, director of policy and research, Education Trust – Midwest; and Dennis Van Roekel, National Education Association.
More than Scores: Framing Remarks from Tim Knowles
To open EWA’s 2013 workshop on teacher evaluations, Tim Knowles of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute talks about how the changing landscape of teacher evaluations is influencing broader conversations about school improvement and student achievement. Recorded Oct. 10, 2013 at EWA’s education reporting workshop More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher Evaluations.
Understanding and Using Value-Added Data
What questions should reporters be asking when using evaluation-related data in stories? What is incumbent for reporters to learn about the use of student growth, and what is incumbent for officials to provide when they report the numbers? How can reporters convey the nuance without dulling their prose? Sabrina Laine, AIR, interviewed by Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week Recorded Oct. 10, 2013 at EWA’s education reporting workshop More Than Scores: Assessing the Future of Teacher Evaluations.
Tracking Veterans’ Success in Higher Ed
About 250 community colleges and four-year institutions recently have pledged to track veterans’ outcomes and support them on campus through a new program of the U.S. Department of Education. How much do we know about the recent success rates of veterans at American colleges and what services exist to support them?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Student Loan Debt
Sen. Elizabeth Warren addresses higher ed journalists at EWA’s September 2013 seminar for reporters.
The 10 Higher Ed Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Making the Most of Online Education
Recorded at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed seminar, “Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.”
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income, black and Latino students, are the same students who are least likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs are succeeding at beating this trend?
Black and Latino Males: Getting to and Through College – YouTube
Shaun Harper, director of the Center for Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, previews new research on how New York City addressed the challenge of guiding more of its black and Latino male students to postsecondary success.
Obama’s Proposal: Will Performance Ratings Hurt Student Access?
Last month, President Obama unveiled an ambitious proposal to reform higher education by tying a college’s access to federal financial aid for students to a new set of ratings the government would produce. Would universities, forced to focus more on student outcomes, be less inclined to enroll students from backgrounds that traditionally have been underserved by higher education?
Obama’s Proposal: Will Performance Ratings Hurt Student Access?
Last month, President Obama unveiled an ambitious proposal to reform higher education by tying a college’s access to federal financial aid for students to a new set of ratings the government would produce. Would universities, forced to focus more on student outcomes, be less inclined to enroll students from backgrounds that traditionally have been underserved by higher education?
Making the Most of Online Education
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income, black and Latino students, are the same students who are least likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs are succeeding at beating this trend? Speakers: Thomas Bailey, Director, Community College Research Center; Jay Bhatt, President and CEO, BlackBoard Inc; Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan Inc.; Steve Kolowich, Staff Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education (moderator) Recorded Saturday, Sept.
Getting In: The Debate Continues
For many students, the first hurdle in their pursuit of a degree is the admissions process. As the debates swirl about whether colleges should offer special considerations—whether race-based or class-based—in choosing which students to accept, what is known about how much access students of all backgrounds have to higher education?
The Changing Face of College
The next few years could be a turning point for higher education, as the traditional student population starts to shift dramatically. How long will the total number of new high school graduates continue to decline? Of that pool of students, what percentages will be black and Latino or from low-income backgrounds? What will these changes herald for postsecondary education?
Tracking Veterans’ Success
About 250 community colleges and four-year institutions recently have pledged to track veterans’ outcomes and support them on campus through a new program of the U.S. Department of Education. How much do we know about the recent success rates of veterans at American colleges and what services exist to support them? Speakers: Peter Buryk, Senior Project Associate, Rand Corporation; Marc V. Cole, Senior Advisor for Veterans and Military Families, U.S. Department of Education; Ashley Parker-Roman, U.S.
Black and Latino Males: Getting To and Through College
Shaun Harper, director of the Center for Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, previews new research on how New York City addressed the challenge of guiding more of its black and Latino male students to postsecondary success. Recorded Saturday, Sept. 28 at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed Seminar, Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.
The Changing Face of College
The next few years could be a turning point for higher education, as the traditional student population starts to shift dramatically. How long will the total number of new high school graduates continue to decline? Of that pool of students, what percentages will be black and Latino or from low-income backgrounds? What will these changes herald for postsecondary education?
The Struggle to Fill Seats
With the total numbers of new high school graduates dropping while tuition prices rise, many private colleges and universities have seen their enrollment numbers decline. Because most of these schools depend on tuition revenue in order to operate, these shortfalls pose serious threats to their existence. Which schools are in jeopardy and why? Speakers: Jarrett L. Carter, Founder and Editor, HBCUDigest.com; William S. Reed, Chair, Davis Educational Foundation; Jon Marcus, Contributing Editor, The Hechinger Report (moderator) Recorded Friday, Sept.
The 10 Higher Education Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Recorded Friday, Sept. 27 at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed Seminar, Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.
Elizabeth Warren on Student Debt and College Costs
Sen. Warren (D-Mass.) discusses rising college costs and student debt reform at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed seminar Sept. 28, 2013. Please note: Due to a faulty microphone, the sound quality during the first part of the Q&A is shaky. Because the audio is not completely obscured, the event is presented here in its entirety. The audio for Sen. Warren’s speech and the second half of the Q&A is normal.
Hangout with Hedy Chang
September is Attendance Awareness Month, and to kick it off EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond chatted with Hedy Chang, director of the national initiative AttendanceWorks. They discussed a new report from the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research examining how absenteeism impacts learning outcomes for preschoolers, as well as some findings on the reasons for their absences.