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Villaraigosa criticizes new school accountability system
Former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who once attempted to take over LA Unified and later founded a public school network, criticized the state’s new accountability system Wednesday at a panel discussion with education experts. The event, “A for Accountability: A Report Card on California’s New Public-School Assessments,” was sponsored by CALmatters, Southern California News Group...
By Sarah Favot | September 15, 2016
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Commentary: New state accountability system signals progress
By Sonya Heisters There is a growing, and arguably overwhelming, array of ways to measure school performance. Many researchers and policymakers say that we’ve been measuring the wrong things and, in some cases, I think that those naysayers are on to something. Then, in Thursday’s California State Board of Education meeting, the board unanimously adopted a new accountability system that, in...
By Guest contributor | September 12, 2016
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State Board of Education approves new evaluation system for schools
Despite calls for creating an overall rating, the California State Board of Education on Thursday approved a new evaluation system for schools that will display outcomes on a number of measures moving away from a system that relies on standardized test scores. More than 100 speakers signed up to address the 11-member board during the...
By Sarah Favot | September 8, 2016
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LA parents head to Sacramento for this week’s vote to plead for an overall rating to assess schools
*UPDATED A contingent of LA parents, armed with a petition of about 420 signatures, will ask the state Board of Education this week to adopt a summative rating to evaluate schools in addition to a number of proposed measures that move beyond ranking schools solely based on test scores. The Board of Education is expected...
By Sarah Favot | September 6, 2016
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Commentary: Will California come out of the shadows on standards to protect its students?
By Iris Maria Chávez Ignorance is bliss, as the saying goes, and no state has taken that message more to heart than California. Alone among the 50 states, California stopped reporting accountability ratings for public schools in 2013 and was the first state in the nation to hit pause on accountability. Now, with responsibility for...
By Guest contributor | March 22, 2016
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Commentary: Why do many big donors prefer charter schools? (Hint: It’s not because they hate unions)
By Richard Whitmire Recent big-dollar donations from pro-charter philanthropists leave traditional educators sputtering: Why don’t they just donate their money to us? Good question, and one that was raised in Los Angeles recently in light of a possible huge gift from philanthropist Eli Broad and others that appears headed mostly to charter schools. LAUSD board...
By Guest contributor | February 8, 2016