How are the nation’s institutions that train tomorrow’s teachers doing? The second edition of NCTQ’s comprehensive Teacher Prep Review has the answers. This edition is one third bigger than last year’s, and features program rankings, so that teacher prep’s consumers can readily know which are the best bets. Click here to read more.
From A Nation at Risk, 1983: “We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.” The SAT scores since since 1967 clearly document the decline and … Read More
“The Free and Happy Student” By B. F. Skinner Phi Delta Kappan, 55(1), pp 13-16, 1973. The natural, logical outcome of the struggle for personal freedom in education is that the teacher should improve his control of the student rather than abandon it. The free school is no school at all. His name is Emile. He was born in the middle of the eighteenth century in the first flush of the modern concern for personal freedom. His father … Read More
“Teaching Skill Under Scrutiny” by W. James Popham Popham, W. J. (1971). Teaching skill under scrutiny. Phi Delta Kappan, 53(1), 599-602. Results of a recently reported series of investigations reveal that experienced teachers may not be significantly more proficient than “people off the street” with respect to accomplishing intended be- havior changes in learners. In three separate replications, groups of experienced teachers were unable to out-perform non teachers in bringing about specified changes in learners. This article … Read More
Motivation and Learning in America’s Public Schools (click here for full article) (Click here to download the PDF of this article) By David A. Goslin, PhD, Past President and CEO of the American Institutes for Research and Former Executive Director of the National Research Council’s Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education Latham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2003 Briefing Rising standards and accountability, by themselves, do little to increase student achievement. The task of acquiring knowledge … Read More
Policy Analyses by J.E. Stone, Ed.D. Research and Analysis A great deal of research and policy analysis is available and its ostensive purpose is to improve public education. The problem, however, is that almost all of it is produced by and for educators, not consumers. As a result, it tends to serve the aims and purposes of its educator audience, not those of the consuming public. In general, the public want schools to produce better student learning outcomes. … Read More
Tennessee Growth vs. Achievement “Birdshot” Chart Tennessee school performance is measured on two factors: achievement, assessed with the TCAP and ACT tests; and growth, seen in TVAAS (i.e., value-added) results. Parents can compare the performance of their child’s school with others across the district or the state by viewing ECF’s interactive Growth vs. Achievement Charts. Links to charts of recent years are listed below. Note that the 2011 charts for elementary and middle grades rely on a “Growth … Read More
Idaho: Comparing schools and districts based on student proficiency The information below reflects the most recent data available to us; please contact us with questions or to request additional analyses. Analysis: Comparing schools and districts on third grade proficiency in reading and math The charts linked below allow you to compare schools and districts in Idaho with their peers. The Y (vertical) axis shows the percentage of proficient 3rd graders in a subject; the X (horizontal) axis shows … Read More
Hawaii: Comparing schools and districts based on student proficiency The information below reflects the most recent data available to us; please contact us with questions or to request additional analyses. Analysis: Comparing schools and districts on third grade proficiency in reading and math Available charts: Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2022) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2019) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2018) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2017) Poverty versus … Read More
Connecticut: Comparing schools and districts based on student proficiency The information below reflects the most recent data available to us; please contact us with questions or to request additional analyses. Analysis: Comparing schools and districts on third grade proficiency in reading and math Available charts: Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2023) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2022) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2019) Poverty versus 3rd grade reading proficiency rates (2018) Poverty versus 3rd … Read More