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NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: Commissioner Repollet’s School Testing Revisions Make Sense
State Board of Education should adopt education commissioner’s proposed changes as best way to prove students are meeting requirements
In 2016, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted a two-phase plan for transitioning from use of New Jersey’s High School Proficiency Assessment as its mandated high school exit exam, to the use of the PARCC Algebra I and English Language Arts 10 exams.
Sarah Blaine | October 2, 2018
The New York Times--Detailed New National Maps Show How Neighborhoods Shape Children for Life
Some places lift children out of poverty. Others trap them there. Now cities are trying to do something about the difference.
SEATTLE — The part of this city east of Northgate Mall looks like many of the neighborhoods that surround it, with its modest midcentury homes beneath dogwood and Douglas fir trees.
Whatever distinguishes this place is invisible from the street. But it appears that poor children who grow up here — to a greater degree than children living even a mile away — have good odds of escaping poverty over the course of their lives.
Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui| Oct. 1, 2018
The Atlantic--How a Teacher in Rural Oklahoma Started a Science-Fair Dynasty
To get her students interested in STEM, Deborah Cornelison shows them how science projects can improve their community.
Editor's Note: In the next five years, most of America’s most experienced teachers will retire. The Baby Boomers are leaving behind a nation of novice educators. In 1988, a teacher most commonly had 15 years of experience. Less than three decades later, that number had fallen to just five years leading a classroom. The Atlantic’s “On Teaching” project is crisscrossing the country to talk to veteran educators. This story is the first in our series.
On March 9, a few days after teachers in Oklahoma threatened to walk out to demand more funding for public schools, I was standing next to Deborah Cornelison, a veteran science teacher, in the courtyard of Byng Junior High School. At 11 a.m., the school’s only outdoor space was already hot, and a group of teens moved underneath a large beige canopy to catch some shade.
Kristina Rizga| October 2, 2018
Education Week--From 'Rotten Apples' to Martyrs: America Has Changed Its Tune on Teachers
After years of being blamed for the problems in schools, teachers are now being held up as victims of a broken system. How did the pendulum swing so quickly?
For years, teachers continually heard the message that they were the root of problems in schools. But in a matter of months, the public narrative has shifted: The nation is increasingly concerned about teachers' low salaries and challenging working conditions.
Teachers, it seems, are no longer bad actors ruining schools—they're victims of an unfair system, and the only hope for saving kids.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/10/03/from-rotten-apples-to-martyrs-america-has.html
Madeline Will| September 28, 2018
Education Week--Do Students Need an Exam to Measure Workplace Skills? Four States Think So.
Students take tests exhaustively throughout their K-12 careers—so do they need to take a separate exam to gauge reading and writing skills for work? It's a question still a long way away from having a clear answer.
By far the most popular workforce-readiness tests for schools are ACT Inc.'s WorkKeys. The Iowa City, Iowa-based organization offers a host of exams in the WorkKeys suite, but the most commonly administered ones are Workplace Documents, which measures reading in a workplace context; Graphic Literacy, which focuses on finding and interpreting information from charts, tables, and graphics; and Applied Math.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/09/26/do-students-need-an-exam-to-measure.html
Stephen Sawchuk| September 25, 2018
