Afternoon Announcements: Must Close the Opportunity Gap to Close the Achievement Gap

Some state legislators in Texas are pushing a bill that would allow low-income students across the state access to free breakfast at public schools. Senate Bill 376 would require schools where 80 percent or more of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals to offer breakfast to their students at no cost. New York Times

In a new book, education scholars argue that closing the achievement gap depends on closing the opportunity gap first – ensuring that students have access to quality early childhood education, day care, good teachers, and rich curricula. Politics K-12

11-year-old Sylvia Todd is a science star in the making. She hosts her own YouTube show, “Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show,” and attends speaking engagements and visits maker fairs. She won a silver medal at an international robotics competition and participated in Monday’s White House Science Fair. New York Times

The Minnesota Senate approved  an education funding bill that calls for all-day kindergarten and switches to a new testing system focused on college and career goals. Opponents say getting rid of graduation test requirements will lessen the importance of a high school diploma. Star Tribune Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Obama outlines school safety proposals

The high school graduation rate is going up, after nearly 30 years near the same rate. Harvard economic Richard Murnane’s data shows that 83.7 percent of Americans had diplomas in 2010, compared to 77.6 percent in 2000. Wall Street Journal

President Obama’s plan to curb school gun violence includes many components. Some of the plan, detailed in a White House statement, include allowing schools to create safer environments, putting up to 1,000 more school resource officers and counselors in schools, and ensuring every school has a comprehensive emergency management plan. Washington Post

A new report shows that colleges, on average, spend far more money on their athletes than non-athlete students. The SEC spent 12 times, or $164,000 per athlete than non-athlete in 2010. The report is from the Delta Cost Project. Huffington Post

Elsa Nunez, Eastern Connecticut State/President, writes about if she could change one thing in education – she would chose closing the achievement gap. Huffington Post Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Close the achievement gap by raising academic standards

While most school districts fight to figure out how to cut from their budgets, Fairfax County in Virginia is looking to increase it. The additional $2.5 billion spending will include modest teacher raises. Washington Post

Fewer students are enrolling in colleges, leaving schools with less tuition revenue. These results are from Moody’s Investors Service survey. New York Times

One possible policy initiative to curb gun violence in schools would be to staff schools with police officers. The Obama administration is considering a $50 million plan that would do just that. Denver post

Colleges may become less competitive as admission rates continue to decline, according to a report released this week. Los Angeles Times

One way to close the achievement gap? Continue to increase academic standards. NPR

Read Entire Post

Morning announcements: Maryland's new metric

High School Soup will be on holiday break until January 2^nd. We will still be posting intermittently on our twitter and facebook accounts with education-related news. Follow us there. Happy holidays!

Maryland’s new metric for measuring school progress, the School Progress Index, aims to increase the number of students with proficient scores on standards tests by 2017. It sets more realistic targets for student achievement. Baltimore Sun

What were the top education issues of 2012? Vote and see the results of this poll. Education Next

Unless we can increase parity between schools that serve low-income students and affluent students, we may never close the achievement gaps. Do you agree? This Week in Education

The 342 schools nationwide that follow the Primary Years Program of the Swiss-based International Baccalaureate program, may be ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing the Common Core State Standards. Education Week

Read Entire Post

School Climate Shouldn’t Be An Afterthought

School climate and culture often seem like an afterthought in education policy discussions, a mushy diversion from the hard measures of achievement and graduation rates that really define student success. The truth of course is that it is impossible to divorce school climate from the harder measures. For this reason it was very heartening to read the recent Center for Education Policy (CEP) report, Special Reports on School Improvement Grants, written by Jennifer McMurrer, on how schools receiving School Improvement Grants (SIG) are focusing on improving school climate. 

 

Read Entire Post

Advanced Placement Testing Sees Moderate Increase; Obstacles Still Remain

For the eighth straight year, the number of high school graduates who took an Advanced Placement (AP) exam increased nationwide according to a new report by College Board. Data from the recently released AP Report to the Nation, indicates that the average percentage of graduates from the class of 2011 who took at least one AP exam reached 30.2 percent nationwide, a 2 percent increase from 2010.

In all but one state (Alaska), the percentage of high school graduates who took an Advanced Placement exam increased. Florida, with 47.4 percent, ranks highest in the percentage of 2011 graduates who took an AP exam, followed by Maryland (46.4 percent), New York (40.3 percent), Virginia (40.1 percent), and Arkansas (40.0 percent). Although Advanced Placement enrollment and testing have maintained a steady climb among high school graduates in schools across the country, there are still obstacles to analyzing the effect of Advanced Placement courses and expanding its reach among students.

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: December 20, 2011

Good afternoon. The Alliance brings you seasons greetings, holiday cheer, and education news. Enjoy!

A large focus for education reform experts has been minimizing the achievement gap that exists between White and Asians students and their non-White counterparts. Education Week reports on the existence of a diffrent type of achievement gap often overlooked. According to new data, African-American students whose primary language is English perform worse on math and reading than Blacks who speak a different language at home.

Just how vital are scholarships? In 1988, two philanthropists give college scholarships to a group of fifth graders from Maryland and their journeys were chronicled by The Washington Post magazine. Learn just how critical scholarship aid is to education and personal development as brought to you by NPR.

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: December 7, 2011

Congratulations! It's the middle of the week, two days in and two more to go. Let's make them productive shall we? Here are the top stories in education news.

Recess has long been the time to release the stress of class by playing kickball, soccer, or just running around on the playground. Now, elementary schools across New York City are opting to replace beloved recess with enrichment courses. The New York Times enlights us on the newest competition to a childhood pasttime.

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: October 13, 2011

Education Week reports that the sprawling Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization bill put forward yesterday by the chairman of the Senate education committee envisions major programs both for literacy and STEM education. “This is an important provision, and we are pleased to see it included in the draft bill,” said Phillip Lovell, vice president for federal advocacy at the Alliance for Excellent Education. “This proposal takes a comprehensive approach to strengthening literacy by recognizing that students need literacy support and instruction throughout their education.”

Today, the Washington Post highlights education historian Diane Ravitch’s recent blog post “Why Finland’s schools are great (by doing what we don’t).”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about the Alliance’s recently released report on improving teacher quality by improving the induction of teachers, citing “In 1987–88, the most common experience level of teachers was 15 years. Twenty years later, it was one year.”

Louisiana leads the nation in high school dropouts, as according to the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, one of every six students in the state fails to make it to graduation. “In Louisiana, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, the financial impact of the dropout rate is significant. The Alliance for Excellent Education … estimates that dropouts from Louisiana’s class of 2008 could cost the state roughly $6.9 billion in lost wages over their lifetimes,” says the report. (via WWLTV.com in Louisiana)

According to the Huffington Post, YouTube has a Teacher’s Channel that provides teachers with instructions on how to make and upload videos and how to incorporate existing videos in their classroom instruction.

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: September 1, 2011

State education commissioners in the Chiefs for Change group are urging U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to hold those who win Race to the Top grant money accountable for the plans they submitted. The group wrote a letter to Duncan on Aug. 25 saying they understand implementation may require adjustments; however, Race to the Top competition winners need to stick to their plans for improving academic achievement. Education Week reports the letter comes after some states who won the competition scaled back on certain project proposals or delayed projects.

The former Kansas City public schools chief that abruptly resigned this week is heading to Detroit, where he may earn up to $1.6 million to become the new chancellor of a statewide school district for low-performing schools. The Detroit News reports John Covington signed the contract last Friday with the Michigan Achievement System that provides an $800 monthly car allowance, $10,000 in professional development funds, and runs until June 30, 2015. The Kansas City Star reports the Kansas City School District appointed Steve Green as the interim superintendent to replace Covington.

Read Entire Post