Hot Topics in Education
As an extension of our research advocacy, each month NCEA gathers and shares the latest research and data from across the country on issues affecting K-12 students on the path to college and career readiness (CCR). To examine Hot Topics resources organized by NCEA focus area, use navigation keys provided to the right on this page.
December 2009 Archive
2009 Data Quality Campaign Annual Progress Report on State Education Data Systems
On November 23, the Data Quality Campaign (NCEA and ACT are partners) released the results of its annual survey of the states at the annual policy meeting of the Council of Chief State School Officers in Naples, FL. Every state is on track to have a longitudinal data system that follows student progress from preschool through college by 2011. Key findings from the 2009 survey of all 50 states include: 1) 11 states have all ten essential Elements of a longitudinal data system; 2) 31 states have eight or more of the Elements; 3) only 2 states have fewer than five Elements; 4) all but one state collect student-level enrollment, demographic, and program participation data, or collect student-level graduation and dropout data. Overall, states are capitalizing on the new momentum caused by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are promoting the effective use of this data to inform decision-making and teaching and to improve outcomes. Read More…
This comprehensive study of the nation’s eight remaining inter-district school desegregation programs – which were expressly created to enable disadvantaged, black and Latino students cross school district boundary lines and attend affluent, predominantly white suburban public schools – has found that these programs help close black-white and Latino-white achievement gaps, improve racial attitudes and lead to long-term mobility and further education for the students of color who participate. It was released by the Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. Read More…
Expanded Learning: Making It Work for High School Students
The Campaign for High School Equity released this issue brief to advocate that educators and policymakers should substantively reframe and expand teaching and learning to include additional supports and opportunities for students that go beyond the traditional school day. Expanded learning programs promote student engagement in academic and enrichment activities, provide more time for academic learning, and lead to greater preparedness for college and work. Read More…
Fighting for Quality and Equality, Too
This paper from the Education Trust outlines ten steps state policymakers and school district leaders can take now that hold the promise to make a difference in teacher quality and equitable access to the best teachers for low-income students and students of color. It focuses on the effective use of federal grant funds under both competitive grants of the stimulus Act (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) and regular formula grant programs. If state leaders invest resources and energy wisely, they don’t have to choose between excellence and equity. Read More…
This paper from the New Teacher Project provides a framework and practical strategies that will enable states to establish and achieve clear teacher effectiveness goals in the context of Race to the Top competitive grant applications and national goals. Now that the U.S. Department of Education has issued final guidance on Race to the Top and states begin to put together their Phase 1 applications, The New Teacher Project offers state applicants a blueprint for what they believe will be foundational to any winning proposal. Read More…
Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Innovation
This new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress focuses on the future of education and what states are doing to prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead. The report took this focus because, regardless of current academic accomplishments in each state, the organizations believe that innovative educational practices are vital to laying the groundwork for continuous and transformational change. They define innovation as leveraging new tools, talent, and management strategies to craft smart solutions. This report follows up on the original report of two years ago. Read More…
This report from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation focuses on the use of education data for improvements in teaching and learning. The report discusses ways to give teachers real-time information in user-friendly ways. The report also makes recommendations on how to build the right infrastructure in schools and districts to support performance management, such as developing a culture committed to collecting and using data and assembling the right technology so teachers, principals, and central administrators have the types of information they need. It also provides examples of urban districts headed in this direction. Read More…
Preparing Teachers of English Language Learners
This paper was released by the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and addresses the challenges of preparing general education and ELL teachers for classroom contexts that include a diverse array of languages and cultures. It also includes an method for evaluating teacher preparation programs and professional development in this area. Read More…
Race to the Top: Accelerating College and Career Readiness
Achieve prepared four guides to help state leaders participating in the American Diploma Project to take advantage of this competition. The guides look at RttT through a college and career ready lens, offering specific advice and examples of promising practices to help states build on the work they have already begun. In four separate briefs, they provide recommendations for meeting the Race to the Top guidelines beyond the minimum criteria in each of the core reform areas states are asked to address in their plans: Standards and Assessments; P-20 Longitudinal Data Systems; Teacher Effectiveness; and Low-Performing Schools. Read More…
Report on Teacher Reading Strategies from an International Perspective
This new report from the National Center for Education Statistics contains the results of survey data from teachers and school administrators in 45 countries that participate in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. It attempts to identify best practices. The report found that while literacy coaches and specialists have proliferated in American schools, the most used approach around the world is to engage parents in helping their children learn to read. Read More…
Rewriting the Job Description: The Teaching Profession in the Twenty-first Century
This “Outlook” paper from the American Enterprise Institute reexamines what the teaching profession should look like in the 21st century, stepping back from the status quo and revisiting existing assumptions. It looks at expanding the hiring pool beyond recent college graduates, staffing schools in ways that maximize the value of talented teachers, and using technology to increase teacher effectiveness are smarter ways for schools to approach the human capital challenge. Read More…
State High School Exit Exams: Trends in Test Programs, Alternate Pathways, and Pass Rates
The Center on Education Policy released its 8th annual report on high school exit exams this month. The report identifies long-term trends in state exit exam policies and student performance and highlights a growing trend among states to establish alternate pathways to graduation for students who are struggling to pass exit exams. The report profiles the 26 states that are, or will soon be, implementing exit exams. Read More…
STEMing the Teacher Shortage Tide
This report from the National Association for Alternative Certification, in collaboration with IBM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, focuses on how corporations, universities, and local school districts can form partnerships to address the critical shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) candidates to pursue careers in these fields as well as to teach in K-12 schools. The report outlines a framework to support possibilities for successful collaborations. Read More…
Strategic Management of Human Capital released this call to action outlining the steps necessary to improve teacher and principal talent. In this report, SMHC offers 20 policy recommendations for state and district actions to improve student achievement by recruiting, developing, evaluating, compensating and retaining more effective teachers and principals. Read More…
The Alliance for Excellent Education released this policy brief on November 3 at a Washington, D.C., event that featured exemplary teachers and administrators validating its findings. The brief offers a new conception for secondary teacher preparation that ensures candidates are able to prepare students for college and career success after high school, encourages a shift to the skills, knowledge, and competencies candidates should have once they become classroom teachers of record, highlights the need for improved teacher performance assessments and data systems, and contemplates how federal policy can support the realization of these goals. Read More…
The Nation’s Path to Economic Growth: The Economic Benefits of Reducing the Dropout Rate
The Alliance for Excellent Education released its latest report with data showing that dropouts reduce revenues nationwide by losing $4.1 billion in additional income and losing $536 million in yearly state and local tax revenues. The report focused on 4,900 high schools in the 50 largest central urban areas and their surrounding geographic areas. The average graduation rate of the schools in 2008 was 69.8%, with more than 900 schools classified as “dropout factories,” or schools where fewer than 60% of freshmen make it to their senior year. Read More…
What School Boards Need to Know: Data Conversations
This guide was developed jointly by the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) Association and the National School Boards Association for school boards to use in planning for and using data systemically. The guide examines the potential use of statewide longitudinal data systems to improve success. It examines using data to further the strategic goals and objectives of the school district – ultimately increasing student achievement for each individual student. Read More…