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The Obama administration has an ambitious goal of turning around the nation's 5,000 lowest-performing schools over the next five years. To achieve this, the strategies adopted must be ones that can be applied on a large scale. What are the best methods of school improvement that will work across the country? What are some examples of successful school turnaround models? Can they be replicated elsewhere in the country?
-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com
20 responses: Jackie Bennett, Linda Darling-Hammond, Kevin Mitchell, Marguerite Kondracke, Eliza Krigman, Michael L. Lomax, Jeanne Allen, Alex Johnston, Bill Jackson, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Dennis Van Roekel, Rep. John Kline, Steve Peha, Deborah W. Meier, Arne Duncan, Phil Quon, Sandy Kress, Tom Vander Ark, Greg Richmond, Gary Huggins
Updated at 11:27 a.m. on Aug. 26.
Fewer than a quarter of the 1.5 million graduating seniors who took the ACT last school year scored at a "college-ready" level in all four subject areas: English, Mathematics, Reading and Science. Data released by the ACT last week show students have made minimal to no improvement in meeting benchmark standards since 2005. Under the ACT, a benchmark score is the minimum score needed on a subject-area test to indicate 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher, or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college course.
Given these results, what should the nation be doing differently to ensure high school seniors are ready for college? How can the upcoming reauthorization of No Child Left Behind help promote greater college preparedness?
Given Sen. Edward Kennedy's prominent role in education as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, it's appropriate to take a break from the college readiness issue and remember Kennedy. Does anyone have experiences or memories about Kennedy they would care to share? Thoughts about his impact on education?
-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com
41 responses: Alex Johnston, Kati Haycock, Sandy Kress, Eliza Krigman, Linda Darling-Hammond, Bill Jackson, Jeanne Allen, Michael L. Lomax, Beverly Hall, Marguerite Kondracke, Rachel B. Tompkins, Rep. Dale Kildee, Sandy Kress, Rod Paige, Monty Neill, Monty Neill, Rep. John Kline, Dennis Van Roekel, Jamie P. Merisotis, Randi Weingarten, Sandy Kress, Chester E. Finn, Jr., John Bailey, Sandy Kress, Jamie P. Merisotis, Ellen Winn, Monty Neill, Terry W. Hartle, Monty Neill, Andrew J. Rotherham, Steve Peha, Rep. Dale Kildee, Rep. John Kline, Eliza Krigman, Sandy Kress, Bill Jackson, Kevin Carey, Tom Vander Ark, Diane Ravitch, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Monty Neill
As part of the college student loan restructuring bill that the House Education and Labor Committee approved in July, the panel authorized $8 billion over eight years for the Early Learning Challenge Fund. This competitive grant program, proposed by the Obama administration, challenges states to build a comprehensive, high-quality early learning system for children up to age 5.
In order to win funds under the program, states must create a standards-based, outcome-driven system. Is it appropriate to use data-driven standards to assess such small children's readiness for school? How will the federal government ensure that this new program works in concert with other early education initiatives, such as Head Start and Early Head Start? How can early education programs be coordinated with the goals of Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind?
-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com
12 responses: Dennis Van Roekel, Delia Pompa, Eliza Krigman, Alex Johnston, Chester E. Finn, Jr., David L. Kirp, Sandy Kress, Lisa Graham Keegan, Rep. John Kline, Steve Peha, Cornelia Grumman, Sara Mead
Should K-12 students be paid to learn? At least four cities -- New York, Washington, Chicago and Baltimore -- have experimented with pay-for-performance pilot programs in recent years.
Under New York City's Spark initiative, which was developed in partnership with Roland Fryer of Harvard's Edlabs, seventh-graders earn up to $500 and fourth-graders as much as $250 based on good performance on 10 assessments. An analysis conducted by the New York Post found that roughly two-thirds of the 59 high-poverty schools participating in the Spark program improved their scores since last year's state tests by margins above the city average.
Thus far, pay-incentive programs are most prevalent in high-poverty areas, but perhaps they will become more pervasive if results are consistently positive. Is there a moral concern about paying students to learn? How should these programs be structured? How can children be transitioned from learning for cash to learning for its intrinsic merits?
-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com
19 responses: Alex Johnston, Dan Katzir, Bob Peterson, John Bailey, Kim M. Stasny, George R. Boggs, Monty Neill, Monty Neill, Eliza Krigman, Steve Peha, Phil Quon, David L. Kirp, Sandy Kress, Tom Vander Ark, Cynthia G. (Cindy) Brown, Mike Antonucci, Arthur J. Rothkopf, Sherman Dorn, Jackie Bennett
The Education Department on July 24 released draft guidelines for the Race to the Top fund, $4.35 billion in grants to improve America's schools. This is the largest pot of discretionary funds ever made available to the department, and a centerpiece of President Obama's education reform efforts. During a teleconference on the day of the release, Secretary Arne Duncan called Race to the Top an opportunity to turn islands of excellence into systems of excellence.
According to the guidelines, however, states that prohibit linking student achievement data to teacher and principal evaluation will not be eligible to apply. Is this fair? Why or why not?
-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com
29 responses: John Bailey, Jeanne Allen, Ellen Winn, Eliza Krigman, Lisa Graham Keegan, Eliza Krigman, Rachel B. Tompkins, Monty Neill, Lisa Graham Keegan, Monty Neill, Sherman Dorn, Dennis Van Roekel, Sandy Kress, David L. Kirp, Michael L. Lomax, Margaret Spellings, Ariela Rozman, Phil Quon, George R. Boggs, Steve Peha, Nelson Smith, Mike Antonucci, Greg Richmond, Cynthia G. (Cindy) Brown, Arthur J. Rothkopf, Tom Vander Ark, Arne Duncan, Joe Williams, Christopher J. Steinhauser
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