-
The pandemic exposed the severity of academic divide along race and class: New 2021 data on math and reading progress reveal it’s only gotten worse

Despite promises to focus on the growing racial and income divide among the nation’s students, new fall testing data show academic gaps have worsened, falling heaviest on some of the most vulnerable children. While education researchers have sounded the alarm for more than a year — that pandemic learning hurts low-income students and students of color most...
By Marianna McMurdock | November 22, 2021
-
Analysis: In designing resilient school systems, we must move beyond ‘either/or thinking’ when it comes to digital tools & remote learning

A story is told about a flood that rose so quickly, a man had to go to the second floor of his home, where he prayed for God to save him. Before long, a neighbor came by in a canoe and yelled to the homeowner, “Come on in. I’ll get you out of here.” The...
By Julie Young | November 18, 2021
-
Holt: Under new pilot program, tutoring providers will get paid only if students succeed. It could change how districts and vendors do business

Last fall, seven school districts and eight tutoring providers came together in a virtual summit run by the Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research. The goal was to see if representatives of two sides of the education market could agree on a radical new contract, one in which schools would pay providers for outcomes...
By Laurence Holt | November 17, 2021
-
California aims to come from behind in making sure children learn to read, but some see new push as political

It’s been more than a decade since California’s education system placed a strong emphasis on making sure educators know how to teach children to read. Reading experts and parent advocates say a lack of consistent attention to the issue since then shows. Thirty-seven percent of the state’s fourth-graders score below the basic level on federal...
By Linda Jacobson | November 16, 2021
-
Analysis: The COVID crisis cracked our education system. A new reform coalition must come together to fix it in the interest of children

Anyone who cares about kids must rejoice over their being back in school with their peers. But that should not blind us to the harsh truths we have learned about our public education system, how badly it responded to the pandemic and how, as always, it served those with loud voices and political power and...
By Robin Lake | November 15, 2021
-
Just having standards isn’t enough — study finds teachers use high-quality curricula in states that actively promote them

The number of teachers using curriculum aligned to academic standards has ticked up since 2019, rising more quickly in states that have adopted policies incentivizing the use of high-quality materials than in others, according to a new report from the RAND Corp. Teachers are much more likely to use standards-aligned math curriculum than English language...
By Beth Hawkins | November 11, 2021
-
Dillard & Hoover: During the pandemic, teachers became much more engaged with education technology. How to keep that momentum going

For all the ways that schools and educators have changed since the pandemic, this may be the longest lasting: Teachers have a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, education technology. Allison Shelley for EDUimagesBefore COVID-19 shuttered the schools, it was not uncommon to hear teachers say they just don’t do technology. In Alexandria City Public...
By Emily Dillard and Elizabeth Hoover | November 10, 2021
-
$5 billion needed by California libraries: Amid leaky roofs, bad plumbing and no internet, advocates warn of a $32 billion national infrastructure crisis

In Bisbee, Arizona, the Copper Queen Library, founded in 1882, is 114 years old — and it shows. The library, on the National Register of Historic Places, a hub for Brisbee families, has a leaky roof, and cracks in the facade. The ceiling in the young adult room collapsed recently, forcing the room to close...
By Cheryn Hong | November 9, 2021
-
‘Not a pipe dream’: New report offers roadmap to eliminate internet affordability gap for students

Almost two years into the pandemic, over 18 million households lack high-speed internet access. Even if it’s available, they can’t afford it, according to a new report from nonprofit EducationSuperHighway. CEO Evan Marwell estimates about half of those families include school-age children. “The narrative is that it’s been about building infrastructure in rural America,” Marwell said, but...
By Linda Jacobson | November 8, 2021
-
Supreme Court weighs limits of censure in case with implications for divisive school boards

Legislative bodies, including K-12 school boards, should be able to police their own members and censure is the historical mechanism for doing that, attorneys representing the Houston Community College System argued Tuesday in a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. But censuring a board member for criticism of the board violates that person’s First Amendment...
By Linda Jacobson | November 4, 2021