Afternoon Announcements: October 11, 2011

An early draft of a Senate committee's sweeping rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act rolls back major accountability provisions of the law's current form, known as No Child Left Behind. The bill would require states to develop their own standards for student performance with little federal oversight, according to language obtained by The Huffington Post.

Education Week reports Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., a former Denver schools chief, arrived in Congress hoping to bring his on-the-ground expertise working in a large school district to ESEA reauthorization. This week, he'll have the chance when Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduces his ESEA reauthorization plan.

According to Education Week, Race to the Top, the competitive grant program first created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, would become an authorized part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, under a draft of Senate education leaders' reauthorization proposal circulating around Washington. So far, states have split a total of $4 billion in Race to the Top grants, which further some of the Obama administration's top school reform priorities The draft language would allow grants to go to high-need districts in addition to states, and also to groups of states, or groups of high-need districts.

Read Entire Post

VIDEO: A System Approach to Building a World-Class Teaching Profession

The Alliance for Excellent Education and the New Teacher Center held a briefing on October 4 for a discussion about the role of states and districts in supporting new teachers through comprehensive induction. A new Alliance policy brief was released at the event—“A System Approach to Building a World-Class Teaching Profession: The Role of Induction”—that examines research on teacher turnover and performance and implications for designing induction supports and professional learning as part of a coherent teacher development system.Check out the full video of the event here or by clicking on the image to the left. You can also watch the webinar that followed the the event here. Read Entire Post

Morning Announcements: October 3, 2011

Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the department’s proposed reforms to improve teacher preparation programs and better prepare educators for classroom success, according to Ed.gov. “America’s teachers and America’s children deserve world-class preparation programs that prepare teachers for today’s classrooms and students for today’s information age,” he said.

According to US News & World Report, most high school districts offer some sort of dropout prevention program. A new report released last week by the National Center for Education Statistics shows a majority of high schools (approximately 8 in 10) offer services such as tutoring and remediation classes for students who have fallen behind, but less than half of school districts offer an after-school program for high school students at risk of not graduating.

The New York Times report if no deal is reached by Friday, 716 of New York City’s lowest-paid workers — school aides, parent coordinators and other members of school support staffs — will lose their jobs, the latest victims of budget cuts to the public schools. Nearly 350 schools will be affected, in a scattered pattern, according to a list of layoffs by school, which was obtained and analyzed by The New York Times. The newspaper found the poorest and most struggling schools will be hit the hardest.

Read Entire Post

Digital Learning Now! Highlights Element #8: Assessment & Accountability

Alliance President Bob Wise and Open Education Solutions CEO Tom Vander Ark continue Digital Learning Now!'s (DLN) video series outlining the "10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning."

Today's video focuses on Element #8: "Assessment & Accountability," which says administering tests digitally has multiple benefits. Tests can be administered and scored quickly and efficiently. Computerized scoring provides the opportunity for a cost effective method to create better tests beyond multiple choice, including simulations and constructed responses. Getting the result of tests faster can improve instruction as well as expedite rewards and consequences, which can strengthen accountability for learning.

Learning management systems, digital curriculum, and online summative and formative assessments have the distinctive capability of collecting real-time data on the progress of each student against learning objectives. Instant feedback for students and personalized analytics for teachers provide the support for continuous improvement and competency-based progress.

Read Entire Post

New Report Offers Evidence That Classroom-Based Assessments Can Improve Writing Skills of American Students

Effective assessments are promising tools to help ensure that students write well enough to meet grade-level demands, according to a new report from Carnegie Corporation of New York, released by the Alliance for Excellent Education on September 14. The report Informing Writing: The Benefits of Formative Assessment offers educators and policymakers with evidence-based practices on how assessment can improve the writing skills of American students.

"Writing may not receive as much attention as reading and arithmetic, but it is no less important to a student's future success," said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. "Poor writing skills not only play a role in whether a student graduates from high school, they can also impact his or her success in college or securing a job that pays a living wage." Read Entire Post