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Policymakers react to StudentsFirst’s ‘F’ for California
California’s policy efforts to improve student achievement earned an F from StudentsFirst, the Sacramento-based advocacy group led by Michelle Rhee, the former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor. The state ranked 41st in the nation on education policies in three major areas involving teachers, parents and school finance and governance. No state earned an A, and more than two-thirds of states received D’s or F’s on the group’s State Policy Report Card. “While there is great momentum for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Advocates for Education, Evaluation, Reporting & Analysis, School Choice, Systemic Change, Teacher Pay, Teachers, Tenure
Congress must demand effective teachers for all students
October 18th, 2011 | 7 Comments | By John Affeldt / commentary
(This commentary first appeared in TOP-Ed.) Congress is debating this week whether to turn back the clock on advances for our most vulnerable students that were part of the legacy of No Child Left Behind. At stake is whether our legislators believe teachers should be required to complete a minimum level of training and demonstrate competence before they enter the classroom — and especially whether poor and minority students, English language learners, and students with disabilities deserve equal access to such well-qualified teachers. To provide some history, for years advocates and reformers have been pointing to the large achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and more affluent peers, which has stayed stubbornly large since the Reagan reforms wiped out the educational investments and anti-poverty programs that had caused the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Advocates for Education, Commentary, No Child Left Behind, Teachers