One education researcher calls it "the academic death penalty": A grade of zero on a 100-point scale, a mark that spells disaster for a student's class average. "It's such an extreme score in a percentage grading system" says Thomas R. Guskey, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Kentucky. "To recover from that […]
Administrators who don't feel their staffs have the time to manage community programs have contracted with outside groups to organize and oversee services.
The damage to teaching and learning caused by over-reliance on standardized tests is widely acknowledged. It includes narrowed curricula, teaching to the test, and one-size-fits-all instruction. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers a significant opportunity for states and districts to revamp their assessment systems. Unfortunately, few states plan to replace standardized tests with educationally […]
E ducators in Bradley County Schools in Cleveland, Tennessee, were faced with some staggering numbers: 48 percent of third-grade students were reading on grade level. That meant five out of every 10 were not. "We were above the state average of 43 percent" says Terri Murray, supervisor of Federal Programs/Media Services for the district where […]
Just about every major company uses sophisticated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to streamline procedures, automate purchasing and monitor finances. Now, some early adopters in K12 education have deployed ERP to manage a range of operations more efficiently. The technology has the power to automate many routine events—from payroll to procurement to recruitment—that keep school […]
Illinois has revamped state education funding to provide extra support to economically challenged K12 districts. Evidence-based funding, which goes into effect in 2018, considers each district's needs and local funding resources when allocating state aid, with extra emphasis placed on high-poverty districts. Previously, nearly two-thirds of funding for each district—compared to a national average of […]
The life of a military family comes with a powerful sense of patriotism and pride, but also definite, daily challenges. Personnel are typically transferred every two to three years, which means their children may attend as many as nine schools during their lives.
Gone are the days when a mechanic can pop the hood of a car, take a look around and figure out what to do. Today's auto shop graduates use diagnostic software to determine a vehicle's problem, and then must explain the solution coherently, in a way that all customers will understand. Vocational education used to […]
The Common Core has lost another state, at least in name. In September, New York's Board of Regents voted to revise the standards and drop the Common Core name in favor of "Next Generation Learning Standards." The updates, which range from eliminating some standards entirely to small wording changes to others, will roll out in […]
District and school safety plans and compliance measures are a start, but how do you move beyond the basics to accurately assess the preparedness of your staff and students? This web seminar discussed the most current recommendations for school safety and emergency preparedness that every administrator should understand, as well as practical advice and best […]
