Happy New Year!
As we approach this new year, many people will be making resolutions and anticipating what the new year will bring to education policy and politics. I am devoting this blog to my predictions for 2012. I invite you to share your predictions by making a comment or emailing me at johnwilsonunleashed@gmail.com. Now, here are my predictions for 2012:
1. No Child Left Behind (ESEA) will not be reauthorized, and the Department of Education will use waivers very liberally in exchange for their core reforms.
2. Those schools receiving a school improvement grant and having a labor-management collaborative agreement will become the models for the greatest school improvement.
3. The number of teacher-led schools will at least triple as test scores show the success of this management structure.
4. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will emerge as the “north star” for the teaching profession with an expanded influence and outreach.
5. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers will begin merger talks as they realize it is in the best interest of sustainability and power as well as an efficient use of members’ dues dollars.
6. Every state and school district will embrace the concept of 21st Century skills and integrate these skills into their curricula aligned with the common core standards.
7. More school districts will balance their obsession with tests with a culture of school-based decision making undergirded by core values as well as a shared purpose and vision of what is best for every child.
8. Investment in diagnostic testing and formative assessments will increase two-fold as school management and policy-makers recognize these as better drivers of student achievement than high-stakes tests (summative asessment).
9. Mitt Romney will wear down the conservative wing of the Republican Party and win their nomination in June of 2012.
10. President Barack Obama will win re-election with less than a majority of the popular vote due to independent candidates like Donald Trump and a strong Libertarian.
I look forward to hearing your predictions. May 2012 be the best year for education policy and practice and may teachers and education support professionals get the respect and recognition they deserve.