Report Round-Up: May 11, 2012

National Assessment of Education Progress at Grade 8- U.S. Department of Education

This federal report finds that eighth graders made modest gains in national science testing, and that Hispanics and Blacks children are narrowing the achievement gap between their white and Asian peers. However, 7 out of 10 students are still not considered proficient.

Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness- Trust for America's Health

This report and policy recommendations aims to close the U.S. education achievement gap by addressing student health and wellness through strategies that could serve as a starting point for broader change in the country's health and education sectors.

How California's Local Education Agencies Evaluate Teachers and Principals- Regional Educational Laboratory Program (West)

This report assesses any differences in evaluation practice between school districts and directly funded charter schools. The report focused on how the 1,482 respondents described their evaluation practices, used student performance data in evaluations, used evaluation results in personnel decisions and developing different types of teacher rating categories.

Spending by the Major Charter Management Organizations- National Education Policy Center

This report concludes that charter schools operated by major charter management organizations in three states often spend more to educate children than the surrounding public schools.