Standards & Accountability
Read more about the skills students are expected to acquire and policies designed to hold schools accountable for learning
What’s the Purpose of Standards in Education? An Explainer
What are standards? Why are they important? What's the Common Core? Do standards improve student achievement? Our explainer has the answers.
Standards & Accountability Major Publishers Get Poor Reviews for High School Common-Core Math BooksThe curriculum review website EdReports.org released its first round of results for high school math textbooks—and three of the major publishers performed quite poorly.Standards & Accountability 1 in 5 Teachers Unfamiliar With the Common-Core Standards for WritingA recent survey finds that teachers say the common-core standards have led them to focus more on teaching writing than they have in the past, and yet they haven't gotten the proper training to do so.
Standards & Accountability Louisiana to Require Teaching Cursive All the Way Through 12th GradeStarting in 2017, students in Louisiana schools will learn cursive writing in 3rd grade—and they'll keep getting instruction on it through graduation.
Standards & Accountability States Still Working to Align Tests to Standards, New Map ShowsResearch by C-SAIL, a new group that's tracking standards implementation and testing, finds that some states are still working to fully implement standards in the classroom, and some have yet to reach that goal.Standards & Accountability Opinion Teacher and School Capacity for Meaningful Learning: Opportunities Under ESSAThe Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers opportunities for states, districts, and schools to strengthen teacher and school capacity to improve student learning.Standards & Accountability What Common-Core Standards Did Louisiana Actually Change?While the state says they changed 21 percent of the standards, a closer examination shows the task force, among other things, altered words, moved some standards around and changed the labels of a handful of math courses.Standards & Accountability GreatSchools Ratings to Expand, Include U.S. Civil Rights DataThe site with more than 50 million users aims to make information on student access to educational opportunity more accessible for parents.
Standards & Accountability Opinion Can 'The California Way' Turn Around Underperforming Schools?The state is moving away from test-and-punish. Here's why I think the instinct to improve is a stronger driver than naming and shaming.Standards & Accountability New York Releases Majority of Common-Core Test QuestionsThe New York state education department announced it was releasing 75 percent of the multiple-choice items from its 2016 common-core-aligned math and English/language arts tests, up from 50 percent last year.
Standards & Accountability In California, Common-Core Opposition Rooted in Disapproval of ObamaRepublicans are 90 percent more likely than Democrats to oppose the Common Core State Standards, according to an analysis of California poll data.
Standards & Accountability Gates Chief Acknowledges Common-Core MisstepsIn a letter posted today on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's website, CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann acknowledged that the group had made some miscalculations regarding implementation of the Common Core State Standards.Standards & Accountability Opinion 'Uberizing' Assessment: Why the Trust Economy Could Provide a Model for SchoolingIn this blog, Jenny Poon explains how Uber and Airbnb could provide a model for a future of locally driven assessments.
Standards & Accountability Video Webinar: Tapping Teachers to Play a Lead Role in Shaping Common-Core ImplementationThis is a replay of Education Week's webinar, "Tapping Teachers to Play a Lead Role in Shaping Common-Core Implementation." As districts across the country grapple with implementing the Common Core State Standards, learn about the strategies employed by Nevada’s second largest school system, where educator Aaron Grossman was tapped for a special assignment to help his district take on the new standards. The initiative has put teachers at the center of efforts to develop resources and professional development to support implementation. Grossman is joined by Rachael Etienne of Student Achievement Partners, who shares additional strategies.Standards & Accountability States Eye Data Dashboard for Nuanced AccountabilityEducators and lawmakers in some states want to move away from one-size-fits-all school rankings and offer more information using a model drawn from the business world.Standards & Accountability Opinion Raising the Common Core Bar Until Nobody Can Get OverThe Common Core is just another set of standards. We can raise and lower, tweak and replace standards until the cows come home, but until other things are in place (clean, safe classrooms, say--or books, supplies and experienced teachers), it's an exercise in blah-blah over reality. Most important: if we're going to dump everything we've been working on, let's put the rebuilding back in the hands of educators, not politicians.
