Morning Announcements: October 18, 2010

Last Thursday, Baltimore teachers rejected a contract that would have provided six-figure salaries for an elite corps but would have tied the pay of all educators to how they perform in the classroom. Of the rejected proposal, the Washington Post editorial board writes, “it's farfetched to hold the proposal out as a groundbreaking model for the nation… The real model for national reform is the Washington, D.C., teachers contract negotiated by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. It took her three years and scads of money, but she got union leaders to agree to rules that prevent the last hired from being the first fired, empower principals and reward teachers most capable of lifting student achievement.”

Middle and high school classes will get tougher as part of an effort Houston ISD officials announced Friday to help persuade thousands of families to keep their children in the state's largest district, according to the Houston Chronicle. 

Report Round-Up: October 1, 2010

Here is this week's report round-up. Don't forget to let us know if we are forgetting anything!

College Graduation Rates: Behind the Numbers from the American Council on Education. This report provides a layperson’s guide to the most common databases used to calculate college graduation rates, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each. In addition, the report suggests several factors for policymakers to consider before using graduation rates from existing databases to assess institutional success.

The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education from the Center for American Progress. This report calls for Congress to provide incentives for school districts educating 10 million children in rural areas to use full-service community schools as a turnaround strategy.

No Time to Waste: Policy Recommendations for Improving College Completion by the Southern Regional Education Board. This report urges states to place a major focus on increasing the numbers of students who complete college degrees and career certificates — toward the goal of having 60 percent of working-age adults earning some type of high-quality credential by the year 2025.