Posted on April 24th, 2009 by arodden
In a major move towards national content standards, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers assembled representatives from 41 states last week to develop common math and language arts standards that are aligned with college and workforce expectations. Gene Wilhoit, executive director of CCSSO and SMHC Task Force member, said [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | No Comments »
Posted on April 23rd, 2009 by jkelly
A new report from McKinsey & Company, The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools, examines the dimensions and startling economic impact of the achievement gap. According to the report’s authors, the cost of the dramatic underutilization of our society’s potential imposes the equivalence of a permanent national recession on the United States. [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 14th, 2009 by arodden
The strategic management of human capital is at the center of Education Secretary Duncan’s interview in Science. In response to a parade of questions on how we can improve student achievement in K-12 STEM education, Secretary Duncan consistently emphasizes the need for great teacher talent. Above all else, great teachers with great content knowledge affect [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | No Comments »
Posted on April 14th, 2009 by jkelly
Sir Michael Barber, Vice Chair of SMHC and Partner at McKinsey & Company, offers an international perspective on the future of American education reform in his paper, “Neither Rest Nor Tranquility: Education and the American Dream in the 21st Century.” According to Sir Barber, the future of American education – and, concomitantly, the American Dream [...]
Filed under: SMHC Resources, SMHC Task Force News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted on April 7th, 2009 by arodden
SMHC previously encouraged all urban districts to “go for the Broad Prize” in Urban Education. Past finalists and winners, including several districts represented on the SMHC Task Force — Atlanta, Boston, Long Beach, and New York City — have produced impressive gains in student performance and reduced the achievement gap, accomplishments all urban school districts [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | No Comments »
Posted on April 7th, 2009 by arodden
In a fascinating commentary printed in the April 1 issue of Education Week, Linda Darling-Hammond and David Haselkorn argue that “[it] is time to put aside the tired debates over routes into teaching and focus on a clearer destination: substantially higher levels of teacher effectiveness.” The article acknowledges both shortcomings of many traditional teacher training [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | No Comments »
Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by jkelly
With the scope of accountability narrowing on the principal’s office, there is increased interest among policymakers to link school outcomes to high stakes decisions for principals, including performance-based pay. Although research indicates that principals are second to teachers in the school impact on student achievement, there are many questions of how to assess leadership outcomes [...]
Filed under: Education Community News, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by jkelly
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced the finalists yesterday for the 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education. According to Eli Broad, founder of the foundation, the nominees “stand as a beacon for other urban districts facing similar challenges and are exemplars of practices that can be replicated elsewhere across the country to improve our [...]
Filed under: Education Community News | No Comments »
