If a child enters kindergarten well behind his peers and gains only one year of achievement each year in school, he will remain well behind at graduation. Disadvantaged children must receive the kind of instruction that produces “catch-up” rates of learning.
Phillips and AIR correctly argue that weak state standards serve to create a false sense of security about state educational outcomes. In most states, school outcomes are distressingly weak compared to national and international standards. In the past, the U. S. led international rankings. In recent decades, however, other countries have moved ahead despite American school reforms. Whether these facts argue for the nationwide adoption of the Common Core, however, is another issue. The National Assessment of Educational … Read More
Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education By almost any standard, many if not most of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges, and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st-century classroom,” and “America’s university-based teacher preparation programs need revolutionary change, not evolutionary thinking. http://educationnext.org/21st-century-teacher-education/
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 – 8:30am to 11:30am Nashville Hilton Downtown Dr. John Stone, founding president of the Education Consumers Foundation, spoke on effective early childhood education at Prepared to Learn, an April 21, 2009 event hosted by the foundation in partnership with the Tennessee School Boards Association. Visitors can view his presentation through the clips below. Note that this video is provided in MPEG-4 format, which is best viewed with Apple’s QuickTime media player. This application is … Read More
It has long been acknowledged that reported scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) are among the most inflated in the country. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently gave Tennessee an ‘F’ when ranking states’ truth in advertising for reporting K-12 outcomes. Recognizing that more reliable reporting was needed, the Tennessee State Board of Education has adopted the scoring model of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a more rigorous national assessment (also known as “America’s … Read More
An Occasional Paper by J. E. Stone October 15, 2004 Briefing Government mandated measures such as the No Child Left Behind Act and New York City’s program to retain failing third graders would be unnecessary if the grades contained in student report cards were accurate indicators of student progress. In practice, however, objective tests and remedial programs are needed because many teachers worry more about discouraging their pupils than providing an accurate report. They are motivated by a … Read More
Peterson and Hanushek (Sept 11, 2013) “The subpar performance of US students has dire implications for the US economy” http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323324904579042672762472600
If we know we have to improve, yet continue to do what we’ve always done in the same way we’ve always done it and continue to get the same results… Who really are the slow learners? Read about the Model here.
In an Investors Business Daily op ed, the president of the Education Consumers Foundation maintains that Americans are largely kept in the dark about the performance of their local schools. Without a convenient and understandable scoreboard, there…… Read More
For nearly a decade, states have sought to have all high school graduates meet a standard of “prepared for college or the workplace.” According to ACT’s most recent report, only 27% meet that standard. The ACT Profile Reports provide valuable information about the performance of each state’s 2017 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. The reports focus on student performance, student access, course selection, course rigor, college readiness, student awareness, and articulation to higher education. … Read More