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Eric.ed.gov – Standards Deviation: How Schools Misunderstand Education Policy. CPRE Policy Briefs. RB-43

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This brief summarizes the findings of a recent book, “Standards Deviation: How Schools Misunderstand Education Policy” (Spillane, 2004), that examines state and local government relations as the standards move from the statehouse to the district policymakers and teachers who attempt to make sense of them. It takes a case study approach, focusing on a single state, Michigan, and strategically sampled school districts. The study is based on empirical data from a four-year examination of approaches to the use of standards in nine Michigan districts between 1992 and 1996. This overview of the study’s findings first frames the subject of standards-based reform, and then moves to a discussion of the Michigan math and science standards. Variation in the progress of standards among districts is explored next, followed by… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Establishing a Strong Foundation: District and School Supports for Classroom Implementation of the MDC Framework

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality formative assessment tools to support teachers’ incorporation of the Core Common State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Lessons from the first generation of standards-based reforms suggest that intense attention to high quality instructional tasks, use of formative assessments embedded in those tasks, and professional development (PD) that attends to both content knowledge and instruction are essential considerations if teachers are to meet the demands of the CCSS. Experts from the Shell Centre have developed a set of formative assessment lessons (FALs) for high school mathematics teachers to facilitate CCSS-based student mathematics learning and provide teachers with feedback about student understanding and mastery. The tools are designed to target the “instructional core”… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – ESEA Briefing Book

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: President Obama and congressional leaders have vowed to take action this year on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently reauthorized and rebranded as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While most observers remain skeptical that everyone will actually see a signing ceremony in 2011, it does appear likely that at least one house of Congress will produce a bill. In this “briefing book,” the authors identify the ten key issues that policymakers must resolve in order to get reauthorization across the finish line, and explore the major options under consideration for each one. The ten issues–which fall under the areas of standards and assessments, accountability, teacher quality, and flexibility and innovation–are these: (1) College and career readiness–Should states be required to adopt… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Evaluation of Flexibility Under “No Child Left Behind”: Volume III–The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP Flex)

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study focuses on flexibility provisions in the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) provision of NCLB. Specifically, it addresses REAP Flex, a program that allows rural districts additional control over how to spend portions of their federal funding. REAP Flex is part of a series of NCLB flexibility initiatives aimed at rural schools. The four primary findings of this study were: (1) Half of eligible districts participated in the REAP Flex program; (2) REAP Flex authority was most often used to provide additional funds for services under Title I, Part A. Districts also commonly used REAP Flex to focus on programs related to Title V, Part A (State Grants for Innovative Programs), and Title II, Part D (Educational Technology State Grants). The program funds most commonly used… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Race to the Top. New York. State-Reported APR: Year One

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper describes New York’s progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, this report highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction, great teachers and leaders, and turning around lowest-achieving schools. Highlights of this report include: (1) The State Board of Regents adopted the Common Core State Standards for Math and ELA; made progress in developing and disseminating CCSS implementation resources–including conducting a statewide webinar with David Coleman and creating the EngageNY.org microsite; completed the design of its very successful statewide Network Team Summer Institute for approximately 500 educators (August 2011); continued its active engagement as a governing state for… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Race to the Top. Massachusetts Report. Year 4: School Year 2013-2014. [State-Specific Summary Report]

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Massachusetts’ annual Race to the Top implementation. The Year 4 report for Phase 2 grantees highlights successes and accomplishments, identifies challenges, and provides lessons learned from implementation from approximately September 2013 through September 2014. In Year 4, Massachusetts continued to refine its use of the Delivery process to track project implementation within the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), gather data on progress, and share updates with senior leadership. The State’s college- and career-readiness initiatives included multiple strategies for supporting educators in meeting the demands of new standards and raising standards for students. In school year (SY) 2013-2014, the State developed and made available a variety of instructional resources, standards-aligned assessments, and curriculum documents to support… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Parent Engagement Representatives (PERS), 2015-2016. Research Educational Program Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Parent, school, and community engagement is widely established as a collaborative strategy to improve the school experience and educational outcomes for children and youth (Epstein & Sanders, 2006; SEDL, 2013; Weiss, Lopez, & Rosenberg, 2011; Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014). Consistent with this viewpoint, the Houston Independent School District (HISD), through the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department, initiated the Parent Engagement Representatives (PERs) program. The PERs program is funded by the Title I, Part A Parent Involvement grant. The program was aligned with the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships. This home to school partnership model incorporates activities that are designed to enhance parent/teacher conference participation and parent awareness of district and community programs and resources. PERs partnered with school staff at 20 HISD elementary, middle, and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Race to the Top. Tennessee. State-Reported APR: Year One

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper describes Tennessee’s progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, this report highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction, great teachers and leaders, and turning around lowest-achieving schools. Tennessee’s application for Race to the Top laid out an ambitious education reform agenda at all levels–from the state to the school district to the classroom. The state established equally ambitious goals for improving both teacher and leader effectiveness and student achievement. In the first year of implementation of the Tennessee First to the Top initiatives, the state made modest gains towards achieving those goals. From 2010 to 2011, overall… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act: Toward a Coherent, Aligned Assessment System

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation’s major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that states ensure those tests align with states’ college- and career-ready standards. However, the law makes significant changes to the role of tests in state education systems. For example, ESSA requires states to include a broader set of factors in school accountability systems rather than just test scores; provides funding for states and districts to audit and streamline their testing regimes; and allows states to cap the amount of instructional time… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Talking with U.S. Secretary of Education: Margaret Spellings

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This summer, “Instructor’s” Editor in Chief, Bernadette Grey, traveled to Washington, D.C., for an exclusive one-on-one meeting with the U.S. Department of Education’s high-profile leader, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Appointed by President Bush, Spellings is responsible for the overall direction, supervision, and coordination of activities and functions as the Chief Operating Officer for the entire Department. Spellings, who replaced the controversial Rod Paige earlier this year, has been focused thus far on implementing No Child Left Behind and on sharing the stories of improved test scores in many American school districts. Charming and tenacious, she also made it clear that she feels a special bond with teachers and wants and needs them on her side. This article presents the conversation between Grey and Spellings wherein they… Continue Reading