This Week's Education Research Report 5-31-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT

ACT Report Highlights the Challenge of Catching Up At-Risk Students

Very few students from at-risk demographic groups—including ethnic minorities, English language learners, those from low-income families and those with disabilities—who start off “far off track“ academically are able to get back on track by four years later, according to a policy report released today by ACT.The report, Catching Up to College and Career Readiness: The Challenge is Greater for At-R

1 by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 21h 

MAY 29

Girls' Social Connections Affect Math Learning

Social connections among African American girls influence their participation and recognition in math class, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago researcher who found that students who are more socially connected tend to enjoy more access to learning opportunities.Maisie Gholson, a UIC doctoral student in curriculum and instruction, studied a third-grade classroom in a public school on

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 1d 

"The Condition of Education 2014"

The 42 indicators presented in The Condition of Education 2014 provide a progress report on education in America and include findings on the demographics of American schools, U.S. resources for schooling, and outcomes associated with education.Report findings include: •    As of 2013, about 90 percent of young adults ages 25 to 29 had a high school diploma or its equivalent and 34 percent had a ba

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 1d 

Proposals to change teacher preparation programs lack research foundation and ignore contradictory evidence

Two recent proposals to reform teacher training offer glib diagnoses and remedies – but neither one is based on sound evidence to support their claims or their proposals, according to a new review released today.William J. Mathis reviewed the two reports for the Think Twice think tank review project. His review is published today by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of

1 by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 1d 

MAY 28

"Smarter Lunchrooms" Research Results

The final phase of nutrition regulations in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will go into place this July, requiring school districts to offer more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables both in school meals and outside the meal program. With more than 31 million students receiving school meals each day, ensuring access to healthy food choices at school can have a powerful impact on students' overa

1 by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 2d 

Federal School Improvement Grants: 25 Case Studies

Federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) support turnaround efforts in many of the nation’s lowest-performing schools. This report examines the first year of SIG implementation (2010-11) in a diverse, purposive sample of 25 low-performing case study schools.Key findings include:•    The 25 schools differed in their community and fiscal context, their performance and reform history, and their interp

1 by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 2d 

Long-Term Effects of a Student's High School Experience

Observable dimensions of high school quality explain approximately 20 percent of the variation in freshman GPA...To promote diversity in higher education, several states offer automatic admission to students who graduate at the top of their high school class. A new study, Can You Leave High School Behind? (NBER Working Paper No. 19842), exploits one such automatic admissions policy to study the ef

1 by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 3d 

MAY 27

Heavily decorated classrooms disrupt attention and learning in young children

Maps, number lines, shapes, artwork and other materials tend to cover elementary classroom walls. However, new research from Carnegie Mellon University shows that too much of a good thing may end up disrupting attention and learning in young children.Published in Psychological Science, Carnegie Mellon's Anna V. Fisher, Karrie E. Godwin and Howard Seltman looked at whether classroom displays affec

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 3d 

MAY 24

Could text language and autocorrect technologies have an effect on writing skills?

English teacher Carrie Beth Buchanan sees the effects of students' growing up in an age when communication is done in an abbreviated text language and where they depend on autocorrect to automatically solve the "i before e" literary dilemma."In my classroom, I can already see the negative effects," said the English Department chair at Clay-Chalkville High School and a particip

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 7d 

5-31-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: 

 Schools Matter All Week

Steve Hinnefeld Reviews Hoosier School Heist: Unions Unite NOW

by Doug MartinSteve Hinnefeld has posted a review of my book Hoosier School Heist on his blog, School Matters.  Please read his review and check out his other pieces, too.  Here is an excerpt from Steven's review:  "Martin has a Ph.D. in literature, has taught in universities and published a book of Walt Whitman criticism. He can turn a phrase, and he can bring out the drama in a right-vs.-wr

10 by Doug Martin / 2h 

YESTERDAY

As Pearson Tag Teams with Microsoft for Common Core Curriculum in Urban America, Weingarten Attacks Conservatives for Attacking the Common Core

Randi Weingarten has arrived at the most delusional and convoluted logic yet to deflect from her continuing support of CorpEd's centerpiece strategy for more lucrative testing, corporate professional development, and corporate canned curriculum.  Weingarten has this quote in the New York Times today in a puff piece on Common Core resistance: “The Tea Party is using the frustration with the impl

12 by Jim Horn / 13h 

Doug Martin's Letter to the Anderson Herald Bulletin

222 WordsI find it highly depressing and even insulting that your newspaper did not cover May 28’s Rise Above the Mark movie event at Anderson High School in support of public education.  After the screening, I was a member of the panel which consisted of Dr. Rocky Killion, the supt. of West Lafayette Community Schools, state representative Terri Austin, Daleville teacher Melanie Wright, and educ

71 by Doug Martin / 17h 

MAY 29

Teachers File Lawsuit in Memphis to Keep Jobs and Stop TFA Takeover

5 by Jim Horn / 1d 

KIPP Offers Fast Track: Apply Before Midnight, or Whenever

An "invitational" is defined as a competition open only to those invited.  In this odd case below, KIPP, Inc. is exclusively inviting any warm body to apply at their Bay Area franchise, where 40-60 percent of students never make it from 5th to 8th grade and where the average teacher lasts 1-2 years. If you are looking for a teaching job next year, you may see this on the Web or ads like

3 by Jim Horn / 1d 

Legislators File Open Records Request for Huffman Decision Trail to Delay State Test Results

On the day that TCAP scores were to be released in Tennessee, Kevin Huffman's team of TFA lawyers in Nashville called a quick "put down your pencils" timeout just before reporters were ready to write about this year's state test results.  In a scurry to make sure that "post-test equating" had been done "properly," local systems were left holding the bag, since TCAP is

3 by Jim Horn / 1d 

MAY 28

Maya Angelou Reads "I Rise"

4 by Jim Horn / 2d 

Nevada Dad Asked to Pay $10,194 to See Common Core Data on His Children

Bill Gates is a master at using his calculated generosity to make the world dependent upon the technologies that his drones are engineering and his worker bees are mass producing.  Common Core’s move to online testing and the federal extortion efforts to require massive data collection systems on students and teachers are but two small examples.  If the oligarchs get their way, by the time your ki

100+ by Jim Horn / 2d 

MAY 27

Central Office Administrator Admits: "it is almost impossible to get a charter school like KIPP closed"

Posted at Memphis Schools Matter:Since I was recently denied visitation to any of the KIPP schools in Memphis, I have considered a number of strategies that may help get me access.  Today I talked with a very nice individual at Central Offices of Shelby County Schools (SCS).  I explained that I had been denied the opportunity to visit any of the KIPP campuses for observation purposes and that no r

7 by Jim Horn / 3d 

Weingarten and Van Roekel Represent the Antithesis of Social Justice Unionism

Bob Peterson has in interesting piece at Common Dreams on the need to move teachers' unions toward social justice principles and practices.  I could not agree more.However, near the bottom of the piece, Peterson offers this fabrication, or thought disorder, claiming that Weingarten and Van Roekel represent and promote social justice:Support for these types of move towards social justice unionism a

17 by Jim Horn / 3d 

TFA Corps: Corporate America's Paris Island

3 by Jim Horn / 3d 

MAY 26

KIPP: ". . .it's almost like a cult"

Bill was an experienced urban teacher when he came to Memphis to teach at KIPP.  Like other teachers I have interviewed, he found himself so compromised and burned out that he did not last very long.  When he unexpectedly was offered an opportunity in another state, he bailed.  Here are a few excerpts from our conversation: INTERVIEWER: How do you think KIPP achieves its purpose and its aims?BI

18 by Jim Horn / 4d 

KIPP Gets $20 Million in Tax Dollars As Nashville Continues to Delay Action on Public Housing Rebuild

Mayor Karl Dean started the money ball rolling toward KIPP, Inc. in 2010, even as Metro public schools were using garbage cans to catch rain water from leaky roofs and children were forced to have lunch in hallways.  Dean committed 10 percent of Metro's 4 year capital improvement funds for schools to this one project.Four years later, the new KIPP Academy is about to open after the City used over

6 by Jim Horn / 4d 

Opposition the Common Core is More than Opposition to Testing

"Promoters of Common Core say that it is designed to make America’s children 'college and career ready.'  We instead judge Common Core to be a recipe for standardized workforce preparation." --132 Catholic ProfessorsWith the Chicago Teachers Union now officially in opposition to Common Core, Randi Weingarten is in a big PR push to do what she can to save the CC for her plutocratic po

7 by Jim Horn / 4d 

MAY 25

SKrashen: The problem is not a lack of technology. The problem is poverty.

SKrashen: The problem is not a lack of technology. The problem is poverty: Comment on " Education Needs to Change as Fast as Technology," by Zack Sims. Posted at http://www.forbes.c...

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 5d 

Jim Crow Rides Again

From Aljazeera America:by Daniel Denvir @danieldenvirThe Supreme Court ruled 60 years ago this May 17 in Brown v. Board of Education that “segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation,” is unconstitutional.The ruling abolished the explicitly mandated segregation made infamous in

by Jim Horn / 5d 

To Forbes: The problem is not a lack of technology. The problem is poverty.

Comment on "Education Needs to Change as Fast as Technology," by Zack Sims. Posted athttp://www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2014/05/23/education-needs-to-change-as-fast-as-technology/Mr. Sims hasn't done his homework. He points out that the "US is ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. is 31st in math achievement, 24th in science, and 21st in

45 by skrashen / 6d 

MAY 24

Keeping Your Children's Data Out of the Corporate Government Cloud

As the death worshippers of Washington and Wall Street move us closer to the end of civilization in order to grow profits for the oligarchs, resistance will be organized at every level to disrupt and shut down the institutional data systems that will be used to rationalize which of the spreading pockets of individual and collective deprivation and genocide will be allowed.  Test scores and "c

3 by Jim Horn / 6d