Massachusetts
Law & Courts
Federal Appeals Court Backs Socioeconomic-Based Admissions Plan for Boston 'Exam Schools'
The court denies an injunction to block the plan for next year and says considering family income in admissions is likely constitutional.
Student Well-Being
How Educators Are Approaching Summer Learning This Year
After a difficult year, schools adjust what's best for students as they customize summer learning, enrichment, and play opportunities.
Teaching Profession
Teacher Salaries Are Increasing. See How Your State Compares
The National Education Association warns that some of the progress in teacher pay could be jeopardized by the pandemic.
Education
Asian Americans Wary About School Amid Virus, Violence
As schools gradually re-open, Asian American families are wrestling with whether to send their children back out into the world.
Special Education
How Will Schools Pay for Compensatory Services for Special Ed. Students?
States’ efforts so far suggest there won’t be enough money to go around for all the learning losses of students with disabilities from COVID-19 school shutdowns.
School Climate & Safety
Triaging for Trauma During COVID-19
Even with remote learning, there are steps schools can take to reach stressed-out students without pathologizing them.
States
Nation's Schools Get a 'C' Once Again, Even as Pandemic Turns Up the Heat
New Jersey leads the states on Quality Counts 2020’s summative rankings based on previous years’ data. But the annual report card shows plenty of work needed all around as the pressure mounts.
Student Achievement
Students Lost Time and Learning in the Pandemic. What 'Acceleration' Can Do to Help
A strategy that gives more learning time in small groups of students without taking time away from core instruction.
School & District Management
How Layoffs Upend Life for Educators, Students, and Districts
Pandemic-inflicted budget cuts have cost thousands of educators their jobs. Here’s how that’s playing out in five districts around the country.
Student Well-Being
Schools Struggle to Meet Students' Mounting Mental-Health Needs
Keeping up with students’ growing mental-health needs was a concern for districts long before the pandemic began. It’s even harder now, educators and psychologists say.
Professional Development
The Success of Social-Emotional Learning Hinges on Teachers
Too often, teachers are asked to use SEL practices without enough training and ongoing support, tanking the effectiveness.
Meeting District Needs
Coronavirus Squeezes Supply of Chromebooks, iPads, and Other Digital Learning Devices
School districts are competing against each other for purchases of digital devices as remote learning expands to schools across the country.
Assessment
Briefly Stated
Briefly Stated: Stories You May Have Missed
A collection of short news stories from this week.
States
Educational Opportunities and Performance in Massachusetts
This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.