Afternoon Announcements: One in Four Dropouts is Still Too Many

L.A. Unified School District in California signed a $30 million contract with Apple Inc. to provide students with iPads. The second-largest school district in the nation has a majority low-income and Hispanic students. High School Soup

The Education Commission of the States awarded Delaware its Frank Newman Award for State Innovation, as a recognition of the state’s creative work to improve student learning and achievement. “Delaware is a great example for the rest of the country to see how innovative approaches  can improve education, even in today’s political climate,” ECS President Jeremy Anderson said. Delaware Online

The US Department of Education is granting leeway to some states already approved for waiver from No Child Left Behind requirements on teacher evaluation systems linked to student growth on staste tests. “To be very clear, this is not a pause or a moratorium,” Secretary Arne Duncan said. Politics K-12

There has been buzz in the news and in the education community surrounding new high school graduation numbers. While the rate is higher than it has been in 40 years, one writer reminds readers that it’s not high enough. “One dropout in four is still too many,” she writes. Huffington Post Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Side-by-Side Comparison of Three NCLB Bills

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan unveiled some of the key components of the President’s competitive grant program for high schools. The administration proposed a $300 million high school redesign initiative earlier this year. The goal is for schools to move away from the traditional idea of “seat time” and base learning on competency and personalization. Politics K-12

Currently, there are three bills to rewrite, change, and reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act bouncing around Congress. If you’re having a hard time telling them apart and keeping them separate, you’ll enjoy this nice side-by-side comparison chart. Politics K-12

“Rather than representing a takeover by the federal government, Common Core shows why states have always led in the area of education policy,” reads a column focusing on why the Tea Party has it wrong on the Common Core State Standards. Washington Post

A new viral video features children asking grown ups for the opportunity to be anything they want to be, including the nation’s future leaders. Kid President narrates part of the video and asks for equal educational opportunities for all students. It’s pretty darn cute. YouTube Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Nevada Focuses Attention, Funds on ELLs

District leaders are calling for more time for teachers to prepare for the transition to the Common Core State Standards. “We must make adequate time for a thoughtful conversation about how assessments can be used to provide instructionally useful information to schools in a timely manner,” say four organizations representing school district leaders in a statement. “Adequate” is not defined. Politics K-12

Some education leaders in Nevada want to increase per pupil spending on English-language learners. With a disproportionate number of students learning English in school, the sees a possibility of increasing overall graduation numbers and potential earnings by focusing on ELLs. Education Week

Delaware wants to decrease the gap between jobs available in STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math – and trained workers to fill them. To do this, the state wants to match students with companies in these fields, in an effort to ensure students are able to compete in a tough job market. Delaware Online

The Council of Chief State School Officers has drafted a document rejecting calls for a moratorium on high stakes tied to the Common Core State Standards. In it, they request flexibility for states to make the transition. Politics K-12 Read Entire Post

Everyone's Getting Straight A's: House Spending Plan Would Cut Education

It's time for another edition of Straight A's, the Alliance for Excellent Education's bi-weekly e-newsletter. You can read the entire issue online, pick from the article snippets below, or receive Straight A's in your inbox by emailing JAmos@all4ed.org. Here are the articles featured in this issue:

A spending plan being circulated by U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) would cut funding for the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education appropriations bill by about $35 billion, or 22 percent less than the current level, in favor of protecting spending for the military and homeland security. Working within an overall spending limit of $967 billion, Rogers chose to allocate a total of $625 billion for the Defense, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security appropriations bills, a cut of $4 billion or less than 1 percent from the current level. Getting Defensive

In a May 9 speech at Manor New Technology High School in Austin, Texas, President Obama called on Americans to rally around what he called the “single-greatest challenge” facing the nation—reigniting the “true engine of economic growth”—a rising, thriving middle class. He listed three things necessary to create more jobs and opportunity for the middle class: (1) making America a magnet for good jobs; (2) ensuring that hard-working people can achieve a decent living; and (3) helping people earn the education and develop the skills they need to succeed in good jobs. Obama Sees Deeper Learning in Action  

Originally signed into law more than a decade ago by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) technically expired in 2007. On several occasions over the last few years, various attempts have been made by both political parties in Congress to rewrite the law, but they ultimately fell short. Since 2012, President Obama has granted waivers to thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia from some of NCLB’s requirements, including the one requiring that 100 percent of students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Although Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed concerns about the waivers, they have been unable to pass legislation to replace them. ESEA in Play?

State education agencies (SEAs) must play a pivotal role in the implementation and performance of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)—adopted by forty-six states and the District of Columbia—if states are to see gains in teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes, a new policy report from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Aspen Institute finds. The report, Teaching to the Core: Integrating Implementation of Common Core and Teacher Effectiveness Policies, offers ten organization and functional recommendations to help state departments succeed in carrying out the new responsibilities necessary to see long-term improvements in teacher and student outcomes. Teaching to the Core

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Afternoon Announcements: State Education Spending Per-Pupil Lowest in Three Decades

When Arne Duncan testified this week before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on the President’s 2014 fiscal year budget, he received numerous questions on student loan interest rates that are set to rise this summer, No Child Left Behind Waivers, and the Common Core State Standards. Politics K-12

New census report data shows how much states are spending per pupil on education. New York spends the most per-student, and Utah spends the lease. Overall, states are spending less per-pupil than they were in previous years. Stateline

The Wall Street Journal covers the new census bureau data on per-pupil spending, as well, today. They note that spending on public-education fell in 2011 for the first time in more than three decades. Wall Street Journal

Why is the GOP opposing the Common Core State standards? One opinion writer claims that the state-level rebuke of the standards is unfounded and challenges leaders to rethink their views. Washington Post Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Alaska, Hawaii, West Virginia Granted NCLB Waivers

Virginia students will take end of the year standardized tests on a computer this year. The state is abandoning paper-and-pencil tests. It’s one of few states to make the switch, primarily because of cost concerns to upgrade computers and internet access. Washington Post

A new assessment from the Education Testing Service (ETS) seeks to measure non-academic variables that may determine college readiness. These include social behaviors such as class attendance, engaging with professors and content, and making eye contact. Inside Higher Ed

Stephen Colbert’s commencement address at the University of Virginia has been circulating the web this week for good reason: it’s funny and inspirational. Colbert begins by joking he would have given the speech for free, but by the middle, he offers solid advice. YouTube

The U.S. Department of Education has offered three more states waivers from federal accountability standards under the No Child Left Behind Act. Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia are the latest additions, and bring the total number of states with approved waivers to 37. Politics K-12 Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: MRIs Can Predict Student Receptiveness to Math Tutoring, Study Finds

Indiana’s NCLB waiver eligibility is under question now that is has announced a ‘pause’ on implementing the Common Core State Standards. The state filed for its waiver saying it had adopted the Standards and joined a consortium developing aligned assessments. Politics K-12

The newest group of critics attacking the Common Core Standards are conservatives railing against the costs and impediment to local education decision-making. Some union leaders have come out against the Standards as well because of their perceived implications on teacher evaluations. Wall Street Journal

An interesting study at Stanford University School of Medicine finds that the size of certain areas of children’s brains predict how they’ll respond to math tutoring. The study found that the children’s IQ and math scores did not predict tutoring outcomes but brain scans from MRIs that measured the size of different areas of the brain, could. Pasadena Star News

The recent National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators Conference included a discussion on how to improve learning and student outcomes for English language learners. While the number of ELLs continues to grow, their progress stagnates in part because of a lack of access to the same courses and teachers as their English-speaking peers. Education Daily Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Chicago Students Boycott State Exam

A number of Chicago high school students plan to boycott a state exam, saying that it’s unfair that their results will be used to judge the quality of their school. Two student-led groups have organized the protest – Voices of Youth in Chicago Education and Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools. WBEZ

House Republicans are asking questions about No Child Left Behind Waiver implementation. They’ve sent their questions to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, along with state chiefs who were approved for the flexibility from provisions in the law. Politics K-12

New research from the Pew Research Center shows that American students aren’t doing as poorly on international science tests as the public thinks. Many Americans surveyed incorrectly assumed that U.S. 15-year-olds scored near the bottom on international science tests. Huffington Post

An interesting feature looks into how standardized testing can help low-income students. It looks into the Atlanta teaching scandal, refuting the misplaced idea that teachers need to cheat in order for low-income students to “pass” exams. The Atlantic Read Entire Post

Everyone's getting Straight A's: Alliance expert on higher education testifies before Congressional committee

Every other week, the Alliance for Excellent Education posts a new edition of Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress, an online newsletter. Here are excerpts from this issue. You can read the entire articles online here.

This month, the U.S. Congress passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 spending package that avoids a government shutdown by keeping the federal government funded through the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The bill provides $65.8 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education—an amount that reflects the 5 percent across-the-board cut mandated by the sequester—compared to $68.1 billion in FY 2012. Congress passes fiscal year 2013 spending bill

Federal student aid spending increased to nearly $237 billion this year, but students entering college find the system obtuse and financial support difficult to obtain. This summer, federal student loan interest rates will be up for debate again, and will rise, if Congress does not act. These two issues were the primary focuses of a March 13 U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on improving the federal student aid system. Dr. Charmaine Mercer, vice president of federal policy at the Alliance for Excellent Education, testified before the committee, referencing the recent Alliance paper, Repairing a Broken System: Fixing Federal Student Aid. Keeping college within reach  

On March 19, the Alliance for Excellent Education and Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University opened enrollment for a first-of-its-kind Massive Online Open Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed). Titled “Digital Learning Transition,” the free course will examine how the effective use of digital learning can help school districts meet educational challenges, including implementing college- and career-ready standards for all students and preparing teachers to make effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Massive online open course for educators (MOOC-Ed)

States are optimistic that waivers will help ease some of the unrealistic requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and improve learning for all students, but they are concerned about what will happen to the programs and policies in their waiver plans if the law is reauthorized, according a new report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at George Washington University. States' perspectives on Waivers

As the new national accreditor for educator preparation, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is seeking public comments on the draft of the next generation of accreditation standards for educator preparation developed by the CAEP Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting. All stakeholders in education and educator preparation are encouraged to review the draft standards and submit feedback by March 29, 2013. Feedback on accreditation standards for educator preparation due March 29

If you would like to receive Straight A's in your inbox, please email jamos@all4ed.org.

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Afternoon announcements: States seek flexibility on NCLB waiver accountability

Three additional states joined the quest for flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act, wanting to redesign their own accountability systems. Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming submitted their waiver applications, but at least two of the states – Pennsylvania and Wyoming – failed to submit their plans to the public, despite the federal requirement to seek input from stakeholders. Education Week

The Utah State Senate is putting their resources where their mouths are, passing more than $15 million worth of school technology-related bills on Monday. The funds include $5 million for a web-based math program for K-6 students; $3 million to increase the number of tablets for student use; and $2.4 million to expand a smart schools technology program. The Salt Lake Tribune

New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy voted to close 22 low-performing schools. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said, “We are consistently working with schools to improve their outcomes. There are, unfortunately, some schools that just do not get better.” New York Post

Flipped classrooms have become a trend in K-12 education, and are becoming one in colleges as well. Washington Post Read Entire Post