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Missing an opportunity: Ed Dept. criticized by GAO for teacher shortage strategy
With the nation’s schools facing acute teacher shortages, the GAO criticized the U.S. Department of Education’s strategy for not adequately addressing the crisis and guiding states’ in how to attract and retain more educators. As teachers nationwide face “an increasingly disrespectful and demanding school workplace culture,” and compensation concerns, the GAO charged in a report...
By Marianna McMurdock | December 8, 2022
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Analysis: Study shows small emergency grants can help college students stay in school
A new study commissioned by the Heckscher Foundation and conducted by Sage Education documents significant gains in college persistence as a result of a student emergency grants program and contains insights to help others implement similar programs. For the majority of underserved students in New York City who wish to attend college away from home, the State...
By Peter Sloane | December 7, 2022
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Solving the Black male educator shortage
It has been 30 years, but Robert Whitman still remembers the impact his high school teacher and football coach had on him, sparking his interest in education as a career. At a school with few Black students or faculty, Whitman saw himself reflected through educator Rhodes Williams —who served as a mentor in Whitman’s academic...
By Sara Balanta | December 6, 2022
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Review: Why you should buy into the ‘Sold a Story’ podcast
Let me get this hard sell on the table right up front: You should listen to “Sold a Story,” a podcast about reading instruction in U.S. schools. After all, you can be concerned that 1 in 3 American fourth graders read below a basic level and still not want a deep dive into how literacy...
By Nat Malkus | December 5, 2022
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Commentary: Science of reading gives kids the best chance to close the literacy gap
Last month’s national assessment of fourth-grade reading — the first since children’s lives and schooling were disrupted by the pandemic — revealed the largest decline in reading performance in 30 years. Given the troubling reality that only one-third of students were proficient in reading by fourth grade before the pandemic, and even lower percentages for low-income children...
By John B. King & Jacquelyn Davis | December 2, 2022
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LAUSD chief Carvalho: Los Angeles students did well on the ‘Nation’s Report Card’. Why is that so hard to believe?
The recent scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress are the latest indication of what we in the Los Angeles Unified School District already know — our students are demonstrating tremendous resiliency after the pandemic because of the incredible educators dedicating their time and energy to the families of Los Angeles. The tests, which...
By Alberto M. Carvalho | December 1, 2022
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Ponce: Amid new data on how students have been hit by the pandemic, 4 things LA schools should do next
Last month, California released long held student data. And while standardized test scores don’t tell us everything, they do provide an important touchpoint to hold our school districts accountable for delivering an equitable and excellent education for all students. Here are four things our school system should do with this new 2021-22 school-level data: Re-engage...
By Ana Ponce | November 30, 2022
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L.A. vs. the wonks: District’s 8th-grade reading miracle on NAEP draws scrutiny
When the nation’s most important test dropped in late October, the news was abysmal: Scores were among the worst in its history. But amid the carnage, one feel-good story emerged. Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school district, appeared to have accomplished a reading miracle, with eighth-grade scores jumping an incredible nine points. Peggy Carr, the...
By Linda Jacobson | November 29, 2022
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Teachers felt more COVID anxiety than healthcare workers, study finds
Teachers were far more likely than other workers to experience anxiety during the first year of the pandemic, a newly released study has found. And among teachers, those who worked remotely for most of the 2020-21 school year reported higher rates of depression and loneliness than those who worked in-person. The study, which leverages a...
By Kevin Mahnken | November 28, 2022
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Analysis: To improve the nation’s schools, first close the honesty gap
The 2022 NAEP results reveal alarmingly poor academic performance that should be a call to action for big change in our education system. But what are stakeholders — parents, policymakers, voters and taxpayers — to make of the mixed messages they are getting on how well their schools are educating their students? The National Assessment of Educational Progress is...
By Rianna Saslow | November 23, 2022