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California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance
Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you. The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same. Fullan, though, would lead the state in a sharply different direction from the forced march that federal officials … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Featured, International Comparisons, No Child Left Behind, Program innovation, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Standardized tests, Systemic Change, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Unions, Teachers, Turning around failing schools
LA Unified off track to meet deadline for college prep courses
Los Angeles Unified School District has some work ahead of it to meet its deadline for all students to pass college-preparatory classes in order to graduate. Only about a quarter of students who graduated in the class of 2011 had completed what’s known as the A-G subjects, according to a new study by the Strategic Data Project of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. A-G courses are a sequence of math, English, science, history, language and visual or performing arts classes that are required for admission to the University of California and California State University. LA Unified’s requirement that all students pass A-G courses in order to graduate doesn’t take effect until the class of 2016, and project researcher Jon Fullerton said he expects the rates to increase as that date nears. Still, … Read entire article »
Filed under: A to G Curriculum, California Colleges, College and Career Preparation, College Enrollment, High School Completion, Quick Hits, Research, UC and CSU
Californians upbeat on education budget, poll finds
Californians are expressing a long-lost sentiment: optimism. A new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found growing support for Gov. Brown, for his education finance proposal and for making it easier for local communities to pass parcel taxes to help fund their schools. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Finance, Funding and Taxation, Jerry Brown, Legislature, Bills, Reporting & Analysis, Research, State Budget, Taxes, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)
California wins millions in school innovation grants
It was a clean sweep as all seven finalists seeking federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grants for California schools received word that they won. Together, they’ll get nearly $31 million, plus an additional $5.2 million in matching funds to develop or expand innovative programs designed to improve student achievement, reduce the dropout rate, increase high school graduation rates or boost college enrollment and success, especially for English learners and low-income students. … Read entire article »
Filed under: English learners, Equity issues, Featured, High School Completion, Parents, Program innovation, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Students
Many math students are flailing, repeating courses without success
A big reason California students are pushed to take higher math in high school is to see that they satisfy the admission requirements to a state four-year university. And yet 68 percent of students who haven’t passed one of the required courses, Algebra II, by the end of 11th grade don’t even enroll in math as seniors, giving up on the possibility of applying to a UC or CSU school. That puzzling statistic is among the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Common Core standards, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Science, Math (STEM), Standardized tests, Tests & Assessments
The grit factor: hard to measure, hard to succeed without
Much of the debate over how to reform public schools has fixated on improving student achievement by focusing almost exclusively on strengthening academics and students’ cognitive skills. Paying disproportionate attention to standardized tests, teacher quality, per-student spending, technology, extra learning time and adequate facilities is like putting the heaviest boys on one end of a schoolyard see-saw. In his important new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, New York Times … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equity issues, Featured, K-12 Challenges, Interventions, Poverty, Poverty, Race, Ethnicity, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Values and Habits
Study finds little uniformity in CA school discipline
There’s little consistency in the way California schools deal with expelling and suspending students, according to a new survey of 315 of the state’s largest school districts. Most districts agree on one thing, however: They need more counselors, support staff, and professional development to provide alternatives to kicking kids out of school. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Data, Discipline, Featured, Legislature, Bills, Reporting & Analysis, Research
State creating “time bomb” with cuts to higher ed
Give a dollar to California’s public colleges and universities and receive $4.50 back. Those are pretty good odds, and they’re not from one of those overseas scam emails humbly requesting your help in transferring funds. This more-than-400-percent yield is the net return on the state’s investment in higher education, according to California’s Economic Payoff, one of two reports released yesterday that make the case for a stronger state investment in higher education. Multiply that by the hundreds … Read entire article »
Filed under: California Colleges, CALPADS, College and Career Preparation, College Completion, College Enrollment, Community Colleges, Data, Equity issues, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Science, Math (STEM), UC and CSU, Workforce preparation
Select committee: Time running short to end racial disparities
California’s economic prosperity may lie in a dozen recommendations for helping African American, Latino, and Southeast Asian boys succeed in school. The state Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color is releasing those proposals today in Sacramento along with testimony from an all-star panel of education, health, and workforce experts. Committee members spent the last year and a half holding hearings across the state to gather personal stories, research, and examples … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, College and Career Preparation, Dropout prevention, Equity issues, Legislature, Bills, Partnership Academies, Poverty, Poverty, Race, Ethnicity, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Workforce preparation
Educational differences run deep by race, ethnicity, and income in new report
California’s poor showing in a national study of children’s well-being came despite increases in academic achievement. California students improved on all four indicators in education, according to the 23rd annual Kids Count report released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Equity issues, Featured, Poverty, Poverty, Race, Ethnicity, Reporting & Analysis, Research
Video Highlights from
2013 EdSource Symposium
Transforming Public Education: What's Next For
Students, Teachers and Schools
- In Partnership with the California State PTA -
May 4th symposium in San Jose featured a number of prominent speakers on key challenges in education today, including Linda Darling-Hammond, Martha Kanter, and Pedro Noguera.
You can find video of those speakers and more at our new YouTube channel by clicking below.
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