Afternoon Announcements: Students Stress Over State Tests

“Just breathe,” is what one teacher tells his 10-year-old students when they panic while studying for upcoming tests. In many schools state tests may be outpacing lesson plans. New York Times

The Washington Post released their 2013 list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools. The Post answers frequent questions on how the Index is compiled, how it works, and what it means. Washington Post

At least one school district in Missouri is beginning to train teachers to carry weapons. Parents in the area generally support the measure. New York Times

These infographics help explain the rise of Massive Open Only Courses (MOOCs) and how perceptions towards them continue to change. The information is based on research released earlier this year by Babson Survey Research Group. Huffington Post Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: November 6, 2012

Today’s #ednews focuses on Election Day, what else?

Of course everyone will pay attention to the presidential race tonight, but for what should education enthusiasts be watching? Tonight’s election could have a large impact on education – federally and in individual states. This is a nice resource for education issues to keep an eye on tonight. Huffington Post

So there’s a lot at stake for education in tonight’s election. What’s most important? There are two ballot measures, in particular, of note: one in Washington State on the future of charter schools, and one in Missouri, where hiking the tax on tobacco could raise revenue for K-12 and higher education. The Atlantic

In Georgia, voters today will be deciding on the fate of not only the next four years but of the state’s charter schools. Residents will vote on a ballot measure that would allow an amendment to the State Constitution to appoint statewide commissioners who would gain the authority to authorize new schools. New York Times

The candidates are finally done with their sweeping tours and long campaign season. But what happens to the myriad supplies leftover from their campaigns? A New Jersey teacher has launched a change.org petition calling on the candidates to donate the supplies… to public schools! Huffington Post

Who would be president if high schoolers could vote? According to a nationwide ‘mock election’ of 54,000 students across 130 high schools, Obama would win with 52.2 percent. Romney received 41.2 percent of the vote. Huffington Post

We know what would happen if high schoolers could vote for president, but what would happen if first-graders were the president? There are five finalists in the national “If we were president” contest – in which first graders created a video answering what they would do if they were president. “I would make sure kids get a good education,” one student said. Miami Herald
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Afternoon Announcements: June 20, 2012

It's Wednesday, and it is very hot here in Washington, D.C. Why not cool down and read some of today's education news?

In an effort to get the presidential candidates to focus more on reforming education, the College Board yesterday set up 857 desks on the National Mall to represent the number of students who drop out each hour of every school day. The news on the "Don't Forget Ed!" Campaign comes from the Associated Press.

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Afternoon Announcements: May 18, 2012

Stateline.org reports that Delaware Governor Jack Markell defended the new Common Core English and math state standards at a meeting in Philadelphia on Thursday. The article says Markell dismissed the contention that national benchmarks for what students should be learning are part of a “high-level conspiracy from the federal government” to impose its standards on states.

The Philadelphia Public Schools Notebook reports on the city's broken pipeline to college. It notes that only seventeen of the 145 students who started ninth grade at North Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin High School in fall 2005 enrolled in a four-year college. Citywide, only 25 percent of students who started 9th grade in one of Philadelphia's neighborhood high schools that year enrolled in any postsecondary education, compared to almost 80 percent of students who started at the city's most selective magnet high schools. Of those 145 students, seventy-two earned a high school diploma--seventy-three have not.

The New York Times reports that New York City officials have have abandoned plans to negotiate with the union for the removal of some 830 teachers who do not have permanent jobs, but are still salaried, costing the city millions of dollars each year. Instead, Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott proposed on Thursday to offer buyouts to those teachers to leave the system.

The PBS NewsHour spotlights a journalism program in Florida that gives students a reason to stay in school.

 

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Morning Announcements: November 2, 2010

The Harvard Review examines how U.S. high schools can help students be prepared to succeed in college: “As Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and the former governor of West Virginia, told the HPR, college preparedness boils down to the Three A’s: academic preparation, attitude, and assets. Wise defines the first as basic reading, writing, researching, and critical thinking skills; the second means appreciating the importance of college; the third means ensuring an adequate college funding plan. While Wise considers all the A’s to be prerequisites for higher education, most public policy has only focused on the first.”

Nearly 40 percent of Arkansas' 1,075 public schools have failed to meet minimum achievement requirements on state exams for at least two years according to the Northwest Arkansas Times.

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