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Carnegie, ETS team up to develop competency-based assessments
Two major players in K–12 education launched a joint effort last month to develop new assessments that could help shift schools’ focus away from traditional “seat time” requirements and toward more accurate measures of mastery over academic content. The new tests, to be created by the Educational Testing Service and the Carnegie Foundation for the...
By Kevin Mahnken | May 25, 2023
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LAUSD considers expanding popular math program without clear evidence of effectiveness
Twenty kindergartners at Los Angeles Unified’s Coeur d’Alene Avenue School sit on a multi-colored carpet, listening to their teacher present the day’s math lesson. Projected on the whiteboard are clip art images of a gold coin and a pot of gold against a rainbow background. St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and the...
By Will Callan | May 23, 2023
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Pre-K enrollment nearly bounces back from pandemic amid push for universal access
The nation’s public pre-K programs saw a rebound last year as enrollment nearly reached pre-pandemic levels, new data shows. Thirty-two percent of 4-year-olds attended a state-funded program in the 2021-22 school year — up from 28% the year before, when the National Institute for Early Education Research, which publishes the annual “yearbook,” reported that COVID had “erased”...
By Linda Jacobson | May 22, 2023
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Choice supporters to Oklahoma backers of Catholic charter schools: ‘Proceed with caution’
Catholic Church leaders in Oklahoma could within weeks get the go-ahead to create the nation’s first explicitly religious, taxpayer-supported charter school. And while a few charter and school choice leaders are quietly supporting the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, seeing it as a watershed moment for religious freedom, others are saying, in...
By Greg Toppo | May 17, 2023
California Teen, a ‘16 Under 16 in STEM’, Gets a Big Surprise on The Kelly Clarkson Show
How One Middle School Principal is Using TikTok to Build School Culture & Recruit Teachers
Startling 96% of School Tech Exposes Student Data, Research Finds
A New Playbook to Recruit Tutors: Tap Teachers in Training
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LAUSD by the numbers: Crunching the data on crime, overdoses and accidents at area schools
Los Angeles has been shaken recently by a series of crimes and other dangerous or deadly incidents at local schools. The situation is drawing high-level attention. “In the past two weeks, we’ve seen near-death overdoses at an LAUSD middle school, the death of a mother and critical injury of her child as they walked to school, and...
By Jon Regardie | May 16, 2023
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As post-pandemic enrollment lags, schools compete for fewer students
Three years and counting since the pandemic shuttered schools and tethered students to their laptops, new data shows that enrollment in the vast majority of the nation’s largest school districts has yet to recover. Kindergarten counts continue to dwindle in many states — evidence of falling birth rates and an ever-growing array of options luring...
By Linda Jacobson | May 11, 2023
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Commentary: It’s time to make working in schools one of the most desirable career paths
As America’s schools continue to face mounting teacher shortages — particularly in low-income communities and crucial subject areas like special education — it’s encouraging to see long-needed legislation like the American Teacher Act and the Pay Teachers Act, which seek to raise the salaries of K-12 educators to at least $60,000. Either bill would be a major step forward in addressing the worrying...
By Katy Knight | May 10, 2023
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Q&A: LAUSD student’s journey to 2023 California Student Journalist of the Year
For LAUSD student Delilah Brumer, journalism was not all that appealing — until a series of events tested her and her classmates, revealing the power of the pen and the press. Delilah’s reporting in her community and school led to her selection as California’s 2023 Student Journalist of the Year. Last month, Delilah was recognized...
By Bryan Sarabia | May 9, 2023
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Parent’s view: Our students’ mental health isn’t about politics — It’s about our state’s future
Every parent, no matter race, background, or neighborhood, wants their children to thrive. We do our very best to meet their physical and emotional needs and protect them from pain. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it is that there are some things we cannot control. Despite our best efforts, our...
By Michelle Rivas | May 8, 2023
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Steep drop in student history scores leaves officials ‘very, very concerned’
Eighth graders’ knowledge of both history and civics fell significantly between 2018 and 2022, according to the latest scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Federal officials called the decline an ominous sign for America’s civic culture, with U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona criticizing some states for “banning history books and censoring educators.”...
By Kevin Mahnken | May 3, 2023