Study: New teachers more educated, of higher caliber
Teaching may be attracting a more academically successful group of people compared to previous years, according to a new study released Wednesday. Two researchers at the University of Washington examined four national data sets to determine how the characteristics of first-year teachers changed between 1993 and 2010. The study found that more new teachers have […]
Research suggests poor quality of teacher training programs in U.S. compared to other countries
The United States has some of the best university-based math teacher training programs in the world. But we also have some of the worst – and those poor performing programs produce 60 percent of the country’s teachers in schools with the highest percentage of students living in poverty, according to research released earlier this month […]
LA Superintendent rumored to resign
The superintendent of the country’s second largest school system may step down from his post within months. Officials in Los Angeles Unified School District told the Los Angeles Times that Superintendent John Deasy will resign, but Deasy has yet to submit a formal letter of resignation or confirm that he is leaving. The rumors come […]
How to close the “opportunity gap?” Let’s find out
In 2006, researchers at Johns Hopkins University drew an important conclusion after a quarter-century following rich and poor students in Baltimore from childhood to adulthood. The summer, they said, is a major reason students from low-income families are continually playing catch-up with their wealthier peers. Affluent children stay academically engaged during enriching summer camps, museum excursions […]
Common Core slow to change English classrooms
English teachers generally like the new national curricular standards known as the Common Core, but few of them have actually made the most important shifts required, according to a survey released Wednesday. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank, surveyed 1,154 English, language arts and reading teachers in the 45 states that have […]
Mixed reviews to Common Core the highlight of Education Nation Town Hall
Students and teachers at the annual Education Nation town hall on Sunday expressed mixed reactions to the Common Core, mirroring divisions in the wider national conversation about new standards in math and English adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. “I see students rolling their eyes,” said Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC host and moderator of the Student […]
Will technology improve teacher-student relationships, or hurt them?
School districts from the sprawling Los Angeles Unified to the tiny Nome Public Schools in Alaska have embraced technology in the classroom based on the promise that it can improve learning by increasing student engagement. A game which allows students to use a virtual scalpel to prod and poke muscles and blood vessels in the […]
Head Start hit hardest by federal shutdown, but other education programs face problems in long term
For the short term, most schools will likely be unaffected by the federal government shutdown that went into effect today. But if the impasse in Congress lasts a long time, schools may feel the financial squeeze. The shutdown is a result of the House and Senate’s failure to agree on a funding bill, which forced […]
